''That's nice of her.' I said.'Yeah.' Pepper smirked, 'but that wasn't the reason for the call.''And that reason was?''She said that she loves me, but... she is completely, hopelessly and unchangeably in love with you, and even when she was munching rug she could never get you out of her heart.''Did she really say munching rug?' I said to try and disguise the fact that my throat had gone dry and my hands were shaking.'No, not in those words. She's going to fight for you, Hunter. That's what she. ." DAAAD!" There was that teasing again. "I'm NOT. That wascoincidence..." Do you know you pout like a girl?" Yes, I do. Randy said it," I replied with hands on hips."So we go home then?" If we have still some time I'd like to go to the shelter to look atthose kittens," I asked."What shelter?" ASPCA I guess." There're two in the town. Was there a swan painted on the side of thecar?" Oh no, definitely no swan. There was a lot of something written likephone numbers or something," I replied."If. Phillips. You acted in good faith and were shot at. Around here, we don't cotton to wife beating. If it hadn't been you, someone else would have taken care of him, sooner or later."The Marshal excused himself and returned to his office to write up his report. The Phillips' women took the scared young lady down to their suite. Waite followed after closing the door. He caught Tommy before he went downstairs and handed him a half-eagle. He suggested that Tommy get the undertaker to come get the. However, the technology involved could be modified to serve a more useful function in the Collective. The Orichalco's personal hologram technology could be used by the Borg to allow secretive assimilation of new drones. Considering the humanoid brain's immense allocation of resources towards the pursuit of pleasure, this hologram technology would prove to be most useful if it worked as well for assimilation as it seemed to for recreation.The Collective now had the means with which to finally.