Hey All

Well, it's been nearly six months since I've posted a new chapter of my epic. But after working my ass off during the summer spiking railroads for 13 hours a day in 30 degree heat (that's in celcius), and then putting it back on during my fall semester, I'm finally getting back to work on the story and finishing it up. So I figured to remind longtime readers of the story, as well as to get newcomers interested, I've decided to re-post the first nine chapters in two collections. There'd be chapters 1-5 today (Wednesday), 6-9 tomorrow (Thursday) and then Chapter 10 on Friday with hopefully the next few chapters each day (I'm thinking 15 chapters).

It helps if you read my earlier stories in this order. THE SERENITY GIG, BLUE HAND BLUES and SHOTGUN TAM. The story is a culmination of those events.

Thanks to TamSibling, ScrewTheAlliance, the late KaySky, misskitten and anyone else who has helped me out with this story.

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As the shuttle engines faded away, three people picked up their belongings and began to walk towards the estate. One of them carried a medical bag, the brown leather faded like an old jacket with the stitching of the handle starting to come apart. Another one carried a square metal box. With every step the clink of metal could be heard coming from the box, which seemed to shine bright red despite the overcast weather. And a third one carried a battered guitar case. Stickers in English and Chinese covered the case as much to repair the rips and tears as for decoration.

Two of the carriers would be returning to a place they had not seen in years, while a third one, filled with joy and hope, would be visiting the place for the first time.

The estate was fairly large. The grounds around it gave it sense of isolation from the outside world, which was heightened by the old force field posts surrounding the area and the big iron gates with the hand scan pad and video screen to the side. But despite its stately surroundin