Everyone said Tina Dooley had a touch of the fey about her. She was an odd one from the start. She was Pato's sister, but that can't explain it all. Even he couldn't drive someone that mad.
When their mother and father died, Pato looked after Tina, in the crippled transport with life support malfunctioning and their remaining air turning stale and becoming thin. He held her tight and kept her warm until the rescue teams came in. They were found huddled in a corner at the furthest end of the cargo hold, as far from the smashed bodies of their parents as they could be.
Perhaps that was when it started.
Tina would always beg Pato to take her along with him on this mission, or that cargo haul, or that stretch of recon. He'd almost always refuse, but sometimes they headed out into space together. Pato would be at the controls, and Tina would be watching everything he did, every star viewable out of the cockpit, examining the star charts. While they were out from Arranmore and met with traders and freelancers, in space or on freeports, or Hood, she would hear the stories that Pato was hunting. Stories about the blue fish, as he called them or the Nomads as others did. There was a war, most people said. A war they thought we won.
Pato would often head to Chester, where he saw the blue fish most. He'd take the jumphole on breaks between piracies, and have his lunch in the grey cloud where the blue fish swam. They came up to his vessel, and would play around it, and then return to the dark formation half-hidden within. Tina was there once, and the blue fish came close, and one pressed itself against the cockpit. The hull began to groan under the pressure, Pato leapt at it, waving his arms, trying to scare it off, but Tina stopped him.
She said 'Don't worry, brother. They just want to give me a hug. I showed them what it was.'
Or at least, that's what young Pato told me.
These days it's worse though. She blues up her skin, and wears things.. some things I can't even describe. I don't know what they are. Some like frills, or fins, other times she wears contact lenses that make her eyes look inhuman. Most of the families in our part of Arranmore are spooked. But what can we do? She's Pato Dooley's sister, and you don't mess with ought of his.
I'm sorry I lost you in space when I blew that man out of the airlock, but you were in my bag and he'd grabbed my bag and I had to run. I'm really really sorry. But at least I found you again! That tracking beacon wasn't a waste of time, hey?
Okay, so I had an amazing day. I struck a blow for the Nomads! I took the fight to our enemies! Hell yeah!
There were these two guys, and I think they were like that other guy, you know like a bully or something. And anyway, they jumped into Leeds through the Dublin jumphole were I was sitting, watching the tradelane traffic go by. And doing sentry duty. Obviously. But who cares about that? Boring.
So these two guys drop out of the jumphole and I'm all like 'Oh maybe I'll get to shoot something today', and guess what diary?
I bet you can't guess.
I got to shoot something today!
They were in Hathors, which are like these big flat flying saucers. And the Order, those are the bullies who shoot the Nomads.. I mean us!.. But they were like Corsairs, or whatever, but I wasn't fooled. I knew what they were after. They wanted to kill a nomad! And I was there!
I was so scared, diary.
But I put on my brave face and I hollered at them and they went all defensive and I did the spinny weavey thing and I shot them in the bum and they tried to shoot me but they were really bad shots. And well, a Werewolf isn't much against two Hathors so I took the jumphole back to Leeds. But that wasn't the end of it, oh no! They chased me!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: Wait! Morpheus.Rising: nomad The.Ugliest.Nomad: I can read your mind!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: You're a.. CORSAIR! Morpheus.Rising: hold your eng The.Ugliest.Nomad: Everyone knows Nomads hate Corsairs, because Corsairs are greedy and stupid and have dumb names!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: A wise nomad knows when to fleeee!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: See? So dumb!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: Muah ah ah!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: The Nomad always wins!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: It can read your miiiind!
Of course, they didn't catch me. Dumb Corsairs.
But there was this IMG guy and these two Corsairs went for him, like they were going to pirate him or shoot him or something (I must've made them really mad) and they cruised towards him and shot cruise disruptors and stuff but I was there, all over them, blatting away with my cruise disruptors and they didn't get anywhere near him! And he got back to the Hood.
Morpheus.Rising: hold it IMG IMG|V|Miles.Green: Well bugger me! The.Ugliest.Nomad: They're bad men!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: Don't go near them!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: I am a Nomad and I read their minds and I only saw NAUGHTY thoughts.
The.Ugliest.Nomad: You're safe now Mister IMG man!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: Hehe!
And then a gunboat came out!
IMG|Miles,Green[D] Try this on for size you cowards! The.Ugliest.Nomad: Watch those dumb Corsairs run! IMG|Miles,Green[D]: bring it! Morpheus.Rising: next time. Fools with your alien allies. IMG|Miles,Green[D]: Hah. Chuckens! The.Ugliest.Nomad: You ain't nothing but bullies and bullies are scaredy cats! Equilibrium222: didnt see you two fighting back haha
And we chased the Hathors and one of them got stuck in Dublin so we went pew blatt blatt pew! And then it ran through the jumphole. But we caught them on the other side and turned them into fireworks! Strike two for the blue guys! Yeah!
The.Ugliest.Nomad: That's what you get for robbing the graves of my creators! IMG|Miles,Green[D]: Bloody idiots! The.Ugliest.Nomad: That's what I said, but did they listen?
The.Ugliest.Nomad: No. They just shot at me.
The.Ugliest.Nomad: Shooting at a nomad just proves they're idiots. IMG|Miles,Green[D]: Yeah. Some people are just plain stupid. The.Ugliest.Nomad: Nomads never lose!
Anyway diary, I'm sleepy so I'll let you get some rest. I promise never to blow you out an airlock again.