Chapter 10

F R E E     on    the    S E A

ARKON CH-10 Setting Up Weather Watch

Friday, 0600, Oasis Apts, Richmond

When the alarm went off, Stakka woke with a start. The tension from the goal of getting some place had worn off and they all slept deeply. He had to sit up and stretch to turn it off. It was a noisy mechanical Beast. He looked back at Renka who had one eye open and said, "Come on lazy bones, breakfast awaits."

They all met at The Breakfast Club in the mini mall and had bacon egg sandwiches and coffee. "Most businesses operate Monday through Saturday noon," said Karen, "And we do the same even though we don't interact with the public." "Saturday after lunch we'll take you to our favorite weekend market," said Jake, "It's set up in a huge parking lot with an abandoned Mall having spaces for rent."

By 0700 they had finished and started out to the office. Once outside they fasten their cloaks against the chill of the light fog and started walking. Loki asked, "Do the pushcart vendors have a guild to assign street corners to each one for their location?" "I think it must be part of Boss Chaco's plan," said Karen, "I heard there is a Zone Manager for each area that has 10,000 residents. They pay a small fee and get assigned a corner. The roving tray sales people pay a smaller fee and have to stay on a certain street they're assigned."

When they got to the office Nobi said, "It's a little bit warmer outside." Karen said, "We usually lite a couple of candles in the front and 4 in the conference room in back for about 30 minutes to take the chill off." While Jake lit the front office candles Karen said, "Let's go to the conference room and get some coffee started."

After coffee Stakka said, "Why don't you ladies set up the control monitor room and Loki and I will move the heavy hardware up to the roof." "Okay, let's do it," they agreed.

By noon they had finished moving components to the roof and Karen had set up a light lunch in the conference room. "We should finish assembling the weather radar this afternoon," said Stakka, "Then tomorrow morning we'll run power and control cables." "The wooden posts and clear plastic sheeting are for the Grow rooms," said Loki, "When you ladies are done down here, you could start assembling one on the roof." "That sounds like fun," said Renka. "Were the five gallon buckets full of super soil?" asked Nobi. "Yes," said Karen, "That is one of the by-products from Downtown Browns meat operation."

By 6 they had finished up the roof work and Renka asked, "Can we borrow two candles from the office for our room?" "Sure," said Karen, "We can get more at the market tomorrow." "Also, is there a VCD shop on the way home?" asked Nobi, "I want to get some movies." "Ummm, I remember one a half block off our route," said Jake, "We can check it out."

They got back to The Oasis at 7 and agreed to meet for dinner at 8 at The Bongo BBQ.

Later, as they finished up their rib plates, Loki said "Why don't we go to the coffee shop for dessert and a Red Zinger?"

After coffee and a shared toke, Renka said, "I'm feeling really sleepy and it's only 11. Do we meet at The Breakfast Club in the morning?" "yeah, sounds good," said Jake, "Good night all."

Saterday, 0630, The Breakfast Club

They all met at The Breakfast Club in the mini mall and had bacon egg sandwiches and coffee. By 0730 they were at the office stringing cable.

By noon they had finished control and power cables to the roof and Karen had set up a light lunch in the conference room. "We finished the other grow room," said Nobi, "Do you think we need some LED grow lights?" "Yeah, that's a good idea," said Loki, "The sun here is not always strong. We can fix a little bang- bang controller to turn on when the sun is not strong." As they were eating Jake explained the weekend Market was only a few blocks away and they would carry empty backpacks for any items they bought to carry back.

"It looks like everybody is going the same way," said Loki. "Yes," said Karen, "The Saturday market is very popular. Some people come from Sacto Friday night and sleep in a tent. It runs through Sunday afternoon and some people make enough to live on for a whole month."

When they entered the fenced-off area they were given a map showing approximate location of different categories of merchandise. Hand tools over here, farm implement over here, power tools over there, food court in the middle, electronic goods on the outside edge, Etc. "Let's go get some candles," said Nobi, "I want to warm our room in the morning." That was close to the enclosed Mall entrance so after they stocked up they went inside. "Oh look," said Loki, "This guy is selling doobies. How much for a 5 pack of Red Dragon doobies?" "10 creds," he replied. "I'll have two," said Loki. "I'll take a 5 pack of Blue Dragons," said Nobi." Stakka and Renka also restocked.

As they walked around they were surprised to see an abandoned Barber Shop turned into a weekend Dental Clinic. Very good recycling of reclining chairs. Back in one corner a large restaurant had been turned into a dimly-lit Bar & Disco. A few doors down were some slot machines and roulette tables in a converted dress shop. Renka said, "I smell delicious espresso aroma." "I see a sign just ahead," said Stakka, "Let's go in and have a cup."

The little shop had eight tables and served small pastries. They sat in the back and shared a Red Dragon. "Do they sell 9mm ammo here?" asked Renka. "They do," said Jake, "And it is reliable. 15 hollow point reloads cost 20 creds and 15 Factory ball ammo cost 40 creds." "After we get some ammo can we go by the shirt shop?" asked Nobi. "We sure can," said Karen, "I'm in the market for some new threads also"

At the shirt shop the guys bought two striped shirts of different colors and the ladies bought some solid colors with patches only on the back. As they were checking out Loki said, "I'm hungry for some Bongo Dongo; anybody else ready to eat?" "I am starving," said Renka, "Shopping makes me hungry also."

When they had cleaned their rib plates Loki suggested coffee and a toke before turning in.

After coffee and a shared toke, Nobi said, "I'm feeling really relaxed and ready for some Kundalini Yoga." "How late does The Breakfast Club serve in the morning?" asked Renka. "Until 1100," said Jake, "Want to meet at 1000 for brunch?" "Yeah, sounds good," said Stakka, "Good night all."

Sunday, 1015, The Breakfast Club

At brunch the next morning Jake informed them, "We had a message come in on our crypto phone this morning. Sergei said I should escort Stakka and Renka to the Vostok shipping office at 1830. From there he and Natasha will take you back to meet Captain Kuznet at 2100 on the Joy Luck 8."

   (expect posts Sat 8 am EST)

~    ~    ~  ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~    ~   ~    ~    ~  ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~