A Calm Before the Storm

[Ethan Talon]

- Summit County Fairgrounds, Riley City

Ethan with David and a half dozen other cowboys stood around a steel livestock watering tank. The tank was full of ice and cans of beer bobbed in the ice bath.

In the arena beyond a husband and wife team were chasing a steer. The wife threw her rope and dallied off her rope using the horn of her saddle as the rope settled around the horns of the steer for the "head". She reigned her bay to allow her husband to rope both hind legs for the "heel".

"You think you won with a 78 Jim," Ethan asked as he bent down and fished a beer from the ice.

The bareback rider known as Jim spit a stream of Copenhagen onto the ground considering the question. "Naw, I don't think so. Larry Fitzgerald is riding tomorrow and he drew Domino. Unless he bucks off I don't suppose he can do anything but win."

"Larry won the NFR on Domino last year didn't he?" David asked.

"Yeah, he did. Beat me that time too. He scored a 96 off that ride. Shit I had the best ride of my life at that series, and only scored a 91."

"Off of that little sorrel of Jim Shoulder's wasn't it?" Ethan asked after a long gulp of the barely palatable beer. At least it was cold. That was one thing going for it.

"Sure was. Dolly I think her name is."

"Yeah, that's her name." Another cowboy confirmed. "She bucked me off last weekend at the Cascade rodeo."

"How about you Ethan? You going to do any good today? Especially with you being the home town kids?" Jim asked.

"Naw, I don't think I'll even place today. I haven't ridden a bronc is a couple of months, and I don't even recognize the bronc I drew. Probably new to Ed Schultz's string."

"Well speak for yourself cousin," David teased. "I'll win the bull ridin' for sure!"

Everyone laughed at that, "David the day you win the bull riding will be the day he'll freezes over. You know you actually have to stay on the bull for the whole eight seconds right?"

"Well, I'd like to see you do better."

Ethan grinned, "I ride saddle broncs, not bulls. I'm smart enough to stay away from them bulls. Oh by the way, you're riding in the bed of the truck on the way home today. I ain't letting you in the truck after you're cover in cow shit."

[Trinity Talon]

"There is this miracle invention called... a change of clothes and spray cologne." Trinity said as she walked over and looked at David. "Well I have some faith in you cousin in law. Even if my husband and pretty much the entire county doesn't." she gestured with her hand and fished a water out of the tub and took a sip. "Y'know, this tastes exactly the same as that beer you're holding."

The other's erupted in 'Ohhhs' from that. "

"I could probably drink that and the twins wouldn't even feel it, but it makes me need to pee even more than I have to these days and those porto-pottys... they smell worse every hour." Trinity said with a face. "So Ethan, which one are you riding? I could give the beast some... encouragement not to toss my husband in the horse crap."

[Ethan Talon]

"That little black with three white socks and a blaze," Ethan said pointing out a mare who was picking through the dirt and manure of the coral looking for food. "Best you leave her alone. Last thing I need is to get disqualified for cheating."

[Kalia Lei]

"Wouldn't want that General." Kalia chuckled as she sipped a beer and glanced when she heard a crash. "Ooh that looks like it hurt." she winced and shook her head. "You know that military medical discharges aren't exactly going to happen if any of you break your necks here. Just saying."

"You think I'd want my husband and father of my children breaking his neck?" Trinity chortled. "He's tougher than he looks."

"That sounded almost like a burn." Kalia giggled. "But seriously boss, land on the fake, we can fix those easier than your head."

"Oh I've been trying to fix that for years." Trinity teased.

"She is sharp tonight... watch out for the Colonel." Kalia whistled. "Although I'm sure it'd be nice if you placed, give the Corps a bit of bragging rights here. Maybe they'd give us better than this Lite crap." she held up the bottle. "I'm four in and I don't even have a buzz and I weigh under a buck."

[Ethan Talon]

Ethan dropped the tailgate to their pickup and sat down, "I'll tell you what Kalia next time you buy the beer and you can get whatever is up to your standards."

Ethan finished his beer, pinched the can in the middle and tossed it over his shoulder to join a dozen other cans. Picking up his guitar he started strumming it. Finally he fell into the old cowboy song Dawson Legate. His voice was a clear tenor, and enjoyable in an amateur sort of way.

He hung his old saddle up high in the barn
He's made her a promise his cowboyin’ is done
Said I've won them big buckles done all I can do
Now I'm ready to spend my last years here with you
Said we'll break out the flat lands that ain’t been plowed for years

I'll plant wheat and white oats they'll do well up here
And I'll buy us some baldies to run in the hills
And I'll break out some bad ones to help pay the bills

Cause the winters get long up Alberta way
Cloud's get so dark seems there's no light of day
And the long nights get lonely and cold while she waits
As she dreams of her cowboy named Dawson LeGate

He made it alright till the harvest was done
His feet started itchin he wanted to run
He quietly entered the Calgary Stampede
And the first that he took just put wings on his feet
And she cried when he showed her the money he'd won
She knew at the first light of day he'd be gone
But he promised he'd quit when the season was thru
He'd be home to plant wheat fore winter
winds blew.

Cause the winters get long up Alberta way
Cloud's get so dark seems there's no light of day
And the long nights get lonely and cold while she waits
As she dreams of her cowboy named Dawson LeGate.

Well summer went fast he was ridin ‘em all
He placed high at Cheyenne a first at Sioux Falls
He was sendin home money his intentions were good
But then life for a cowboy don't go like it should

He drawed him a bad one at Frisco that fall
A mean one to ride was a chute fightin hoss
The first jump he stumbled fell and he rolled
His neck snapped like straw Dawson's body grew cold


Now the bad weeds have taken the flat lands again
There's a few strands of wire where fences had been
And the baldies are starvin in the hills where they graze
While she's rockin the first son of Dawson LeGate

[Ethan Talon]

Later Ethan was standing on the chute adjusting the cinch in the bronc saddle and with a strand of black horse hair he'd pulled from the bronc's mane he tied it to his reign to mark the proper place to hold.

Ethan watched the next cowboy bail of the chute, his horse crow hopping. He was spurring the best he could, but with a terrible horse like that he never really stood a chance of winning.

"Up next we have a local cowboy," the rodeo announcer's voice boomed over the rodeo grounds. "Ethan Talon riding Necklace."

"Well, that's me," Ethan said wirh a grin to Trinity and climbed over the chute with his left foot on the gate and the other on the inside of the chute with a snorting mass of black horse flesh between his legs.

[Ethan Talon]

Ethan lowered himself into the saddle, and the horse snorted in response. Settling in with his feet in position in the stirrups. With his left hand in the air and the rein in his right he nodded and the chute gate was flung open and Ethan and horse came flying out.

It wasn't a good start as he felt himself out of rhythm. The first jump almost sent him head first over the saddle. At the second jump he lost a stirrup and rolled backwards over the hind quarters of the horse, and then all went black as a hoof struck him squarely on the chin.

[Trinity Talon]

Trinity rushed to his side, despite her pregnancy, she leapt the gate and used the Iljuna to protect Ethan from a further hit as she pulled him to safety. Crouching at his side, she hovered her hand over his face and closed her eyes. There were some techniques she was learning to heal injuries, it helped that she had a strong connection to him...

"C'mon babe... it's just a dislocated jaw... not the first one you've had." Trinity said whispered as she kissed his lips.

[Ethan Talon]

Ethan lay motionless on the soft earth of the arena. Blood flowed freely from his broken nose and mouth where his lip had been sliced open and teeth knocked out.

A pair of EMTs ran towards Ethan and Trinity. One rudely shoved her out of the way as he kneeled down. He scanned him with a tricorder and pressed a hypospray to his neck. "You're the wife? You better come with us." He spoke into a communicator and transporter beam grabbed them.

They materialized in a hospital emergency room. Ethan was still unconscious lay upon a bio bed. A doctor was already there waiting for them.

"We got a white male in his late twenties. He was kicked in the face by a horse. Heart rate 126, BP 118 over 85, O2 sat's 85 and falling."

The doctor scanned him. "His airways are swelling closed," she exclaimed, "We're going to have to intubate. Nuse hand me the airway kit."

A nurse rushed to the side of the doctor habding her a kit which she tore open, the content spilled out all over the bed. With a special tool she opened Ethan's mouth and used it to open the airway enough to push a tube down into Ethan's neck which she then connected to a respirator.

"Vitals are stabilizing Doctor. O2 sats up to 78, heart rate at 108."

Sighing the doctor finally turned her attention to Trinity, "I'm doctor Hall. He's stable for now, but he's going to require surgery. He has multiple skeletal fractures, including his neck. It's too soon to tell if that will result in paralysis."

[Trinity Talon]

Trinity nodded her head. "It won't be paralysis, but do keep in mind he has more artificial limbs than real." she closed her eyes and then looked at him. "Save my husband Doctor, whatever you need to do, you have my consent."