🚀 go-pugleaf

[	MRrK was written by the following authors, in alphabetical order:

	MaryMary	Steve Masticola (masticol@cs.rutgers.edu)
	Red Rain	Mike Metlay (metlay@netcom.com)
	Kyna		Strake (strake@dartmouth.edu)

	Framework for this story by Steve Masticola. 
	Note - this is a bit out of sequence. -S.]

>     The black woman came striding over, and hopeful, Kyna showed her
>the napkin while excitedly spelling in air. "Whatcha got there, little
>rafiki? Ohh, a BUNNY RABBIT! He's really a nice bunny-- hey, what's going
>on? What're you-- can't--" She frowned, then said to the bar at large,
>"Does anyone understand what she's saying?"

MaryMary gulped her remaining coffee and wobbled toward the bandstand,
still shaky from the stun field. "I know some sign. At least how to
finger-spell." To Kyna, she spelled, H-I  W-H-A-T-S  Y-O-U-R
N-A-M-E.

Kyna spelled K-Y-N-A, with a look of pure joy. "She says her name's
Kyna."

"Well, hello, little Kyna! What a pretty name you have!" Kyna
pirouetted happily and fingerspelled W-H-E-R-E-S  D-A-D-D-Y.

MaryMary had no answer; she turned away. To Nona, she said, "I happen
to know about some other stuff that bears on this, too. We shouldn't
talk here. Can we go in the back room for a few minutes?"

Kyna's ears perked up at this. "The back room" she thought. "Secret
things happen in back rooms, Daddy must be in really big trouble."

"Well, just a few; we're off break in a little bit. Hey, REE!"

"Yes?" Ree looked up from her plate of tofu.

"Cover for me with some no-keys stuff until I get back, okay?"

"As you wish," Ree nodded. "I shall play some trios with Elly and
Lita."

"Thanks, rafiki," Nona grinned, then turned back to MaryMary and Kyna.
"Oh, before I forget, I'm Johari Kumaala Nona.  Stick with Nona." She
grinned.

"Pleasedtameetcha, Nona, I'm MaryMary." She offered her hand.

Nona took it and shook it warmly. "Habari gani, Mary. Shall we take
her with us?"

"Uh, that's MaryMary. I guess it wouldn't hurt anything..." The trio
departed for the back room. Kyna squirmed excitedly and demanded
attention from both women; she was so happy that this MaryMary
understood her fingertalk. Well, at least she understood how to spell,
even if she didn't know how to make whole words. Hopefully, now she
could find out what had happened to her daddy.

The door closed behind them, and Kyna resumed her position on Nona's
lap. MaryMary leaned back in a chair, her boots on the scarred
tabletop. "Well, Nona, it's like this.  She's a daughter of a friend
of mine. She was kidnapped a while ago to blackmail him, and somehow
she made it to the Rift. I have no idea how she was able to get that
far on her own."

Kyna smiled and gestured, "Cause I'm smart and cunning and they didn't
know about my powers."

"Lucky girl," Nona said softly. "So let's call her papa up, hm?"

"Sorry, Nona, but it's still not that simple. The same people who
kidnapped her have her father now, too. And unless I'm very mistaken,
they'll be after Kyna if they know where she is. So right now, we
can't put them together, and she needs some protection."

"Well, GOOD," Nona nodded. "Between you and your boyfriend with the
fur, she should be fine."

"Boyfriend, my iron-clad left ovary! Anyway, neither of us can do it.
Both of us have got some very important biz to attend to, and we can't
take her along. I was wondering if, uh, you knew of anyone who's, uh,
good at that sort of thing..."

"Sorry, girlfriend. I'm a musician, not a war machine."

"Not like that." She fished for a stick of gum in her camo, offered
the pack to Nona and Kyna. Kyna smiled and took a piece and began
chomping on it happily.

MaryMary continued. "She needs a mommy, as well as a bodyguard.  Just
until we get her father out of a jam." She fished around again for a
pencil and pad, scribbled some comm numbers. "Here, call one of these.
They're good people for protection, and I know I can trust them."

Kyna signed angrily, "I can take care of myself! I've been on my own
for three months now"

Nona refused the gum. "Now wait a minute! I've got a job, too! I've
got one kid to look after already-- I can't handle TWO! Much as I'd
love to, you cute little yummer you," she said, giving Kyna a hug.
The little girl's eyes shone. She softened a little, consoled somewhat
that she was at least liked even if no one wanted to take care of her.

"Can you find someone who can?"

"Well...." Nona suddenly smiled, her teeth flashing in the ebony face.
"Oh-HO, yes I do. No trouble there at all...."

"Thanks. Here, let me transfer some creds to you, to pay the
bodyguard, and for the milk and cookies, or whatever." She took out
the Cartel bankstick, noting that she had better get as much money out
of it as she could, before the Cartel thought to zero the account.

Nona gaped. "Hey, that's a Cartel bankstick! No way, girlfriend; I
don't touch dirty money."

"I just work for them. Or maybe at this point, I should use the past
tense. They just paid me, they don't own me."

"Well, I guess it's all right, then. Uh-oh," Nona glanced at her
chrono, "Break's over. I've got to get back on." They completed the
transfer, and left for the bandstand. 

As they parted, Nona whispered to MaryMary, "Hey, good luck getting
her back together with her papa. What's his name? Boffin?"

MaryMary put her finger to her lips, shushing. "Oh, and by the way,
Mas knows a little sign, too."  Kyna tugged at her camo and spelled
again, A-R-E  Y-O-U  G-O-I-N-G  T-O  H-E-L-P  D-A-D-D-Y.

She replied, I-M  G-O-I-N-G  T-O  G-E-T  H-I-M, gave Kyna a little
hug, and headed out the main hatch, into the hard world.

"Come on, little rafiki," Nona said softly, picking Kyna up and
carrying her back to the bandstand. "You need a mommy, I gotcher mommy
right here... hey, REE!"