This week with Arlene and Jeff:
...Christine, as with Ashley, was all too aware of the rifle slung over her shoulder. And yes, she knew all the parts, ad nauseam, and just how they worked because of the tutelage of both Jasmine and Morales, but she was still uncomfortable with the thing. Both had told them that the rifles were their lifelines. Without them, they would be battling the enormous beasts of this planet with crossbows. The rifles were bolt actions instead of autoloaders, but they were still worlds faster than cocking a crossbow, not to mention that jams for a bolt action were almost unheard of if you used the correct motion, which was easily learned. She had to admit that once she got past the fear of holding an unloaded rifle, it did have a certain feel to it that she was beginning to… respect, she thought the term might be. Having grown up with Ashley, she knew that she was probably feeling the same. Maybe we can do this, after all.
They stopped while Morales explained the solar collectors and pointed out the mechanism that kept them directed toward the sun.
A wistful look passed over Jasmine's face. "I hope Jeff will be back soon with whatever he needs to get things going for us. I can't wait to have hot water and a sink to wash dishes in."
"Baby, that can't happen until spring," Morales reminded her, "but we should have lighting once he has the battery units and the wiring in."
"It surely would be nice to have heat in our outhouse," Jasmine agreed.
"Okay, we're here," Morales said a couple of minutes later as he threw down hides for them to put their equipment on. "Who's first?"...
Have a goodun;
Roust