This belongs to Joss, just borrowing the characters for a while...

For my Big Damn Heroes, Adam Baldwin, Robert Anson Heinlein, Tennessee Ernie Ford and, oh yeah, Joss Whedon ;) Thanks!

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"In case I haven't mentioned it, me and Kip just spent some time in the Canton factory settlement on Higgins Moon." Rhysling paused while his unseen audience collectively held their noses. He listened till they'd had their say and went on. "Yeah, it stank..."

"My sympathies," a man in the audience said. "I hope you got away really, really fast!"

"Not so much, as it happened. We were there six weeks, the ship we came on took off without us." He held up his hand as the audience groaned. "Their captain was a very jealous and insecure man..."

It felt like a good crowd, tonight. From what he'd overheard (and a blind man overheard quite a lot), the second biggest factory was pulling a lot of overtime, building components for yet another starscraper for the Alliance. These people had money and wanted a good time, which was just the way Kane Rhysling liked it.

He told a few anecdotes about Canton, working his way around to the crowd-pleaser that was the little moons' best-loved export. He was a little surprised when someone asked for 'Sixteen Tons.' It was as old as company towns and Earth-That-Was.

"Some people say a man is made outta mud... A poor man's made outta muscle and blood..."

When he was done, he heard someone call for 'Sweet Home, Shadow Planet.'

"We have some Shadowers here tonight? Shiny..." Rhysling was dry, tired and more than a little down. He felt a warm, soft hand on the back of his, which was guided to a mug. Rhysling sipped it.

"Let me take this one, Rhys. I love that song."

"You've triply blessed me, lady fair. Once for the joy of your voice, twice for the sound of 'Duke' and thrice over for the Tullamore Brew!" Rhysling took a long pull to the cheers of the crowd, grabbed his sonador and made his way off the stage, led by Kip.

Angie, the tavern owner's daughter, tuned up h