The Continuity of the Pritchard Name

Artemis and The Missus went about re-arranging their quarters. It was a lot larger than Artemis remembered ( A: because he spent little time in them, usually only passing out in the bedroom after working all day B: maybe because he was a half-pint ILIAD brain robot now). Nonetheless, it was being modified so that Artemis, in his new robot form, could live there comfortably.

As Artemis adjusted the bedroom, The Missus unpacked Artemis' away bag. It was filled with 'souvenirs' from his time travelling adventures. The robes he wore in Jerusalem, the fancy outfit he wore in England, the helmet from his time as "Judge Pritchard", and the disposable camera. The Missus took the camera to Artemis and questioned him about it.

"Ah! The camera! I remembered that you wanted pictures so I made sure to take plenty. Holly, is there anywhere on the ship that I can get pictures developed off an ancient film based camera?" said Artemis.
"They might have somethin' on the promenade, the rodents still use 'em" Holly replied.
"Good, I'll be right back dear"

Later

After an aggravating ordeal with the rodents, Artemis returned home with the pictures. He and The Missus browsed the dozens of different pictures, Artemis and Boyd's partying in Vegas, the odd encounters in Jerusalem, the occasional taken by Mini-Phil after he swiped the camera (quite a few were Alex getting hit in the groin), and a few errant shots from inside the prison (mostly in the vault, the camera must have been triggered by the bag being jostled).

"It was fun, especially Las Vegas. I can't remember the last time I had been there before the accident. It was a great party but I ended up with a tattoo of former President Clinton and an alpaca that could talk telepathically. I wonder what happened to Chibbly anyway...."

Somewhere on a distant world

Chibbly walked down the shores of the tropical island. He had ended up there after the time prison's scrubbers re-directed him. A group of savages approached Chibbly, preparing to kill the alpaca.

"KNEEL BEFORE XAGZOR!" He bellowed, the natives followed suit.

It would appear it wasn't the STCP toxin after all, Chibbly really was an inter-dimensional demon

Meanwhile, back on Blue Dwarf

The Missus objected to Artemis' work at the prison after he informed her of it.
"I know dear, I wasn't too fond of it myself. But if it makes you feel any better you have a step daughter...."
The Missus shook her head.
"Yeah, I know. She married a real asshole. But uh...she told me something...about our family"
The Missus shot Artemis a curious look, she questioned the validity of Alexis' statement.
"I trust her. She may have married my nemesis, but she still loves me as her father. She said...she uh...visited Blue Dwarf sometime in the future. She saw you taking children, our children, to school at the Promenade"
The Missus started bombarding Artemis with questions.
"I know! I know! But she didn't specify what time period it was, only that it was soon after...I...left" a thought passed through Artemis' head (brain bowl, whatever)

He looked at The Missus, a Skutter, a robot. He then looked at his own reflection in the television screen across from him. An ILIAD brain bot, a robot.

"Dear...I don't think she went to far into the future!" He said, The Missus cocked her head. "Look at me, I'm a damned robot! Don't you get it? We're finally compatible!"

The Missus nearly fainted (or in robot terms, blue-screened).

"Based on the similar designs between your class of Skutter and the ILIAD, and the short 24-48 hour gestation period for modern robots....we could be parents two days from now!"

The Missus fell into Artemis' arms. She uttered something to him.
"Damn right we're not naming one Lars"

Later

Herbie had been wandering Blue Dwarf for days. Holly had assigned him quarters but had a hard time getting Herbie to find them. Eventually, Herbie ended up on the Promenade in one of the bars.

He ordered the strongest, most volatile thing they had and camped out for hours.

Artemis wandered in and sat (rather hovered) next to Herbie.

"This ship of yours is a nightmare to get lost in" Herbie said.
"I know, I fell into the cargo decks once and had to survive on escaped experiments from mine and Mr. FeBuggure's labs until security could come find me. That bastard Holly knew where I was the whole time"

"It was funny, Artie"

"IT WAS NOT! I ate so many squabbits...." Artemis said. "Anyway, bartender! Give me something celebratory!"

The hamster handed Artemis a drink that was more garnish than actual liquid.

"So, can you actually drink that?" asked Herbie.
"Yes, I am somewhat capable of ingesting things, but there's no need"
"Alright, so what are you celebrating?"

Artemis took a sip of the odd cocktail.

"I'm going to be a father"

<tag/Herbie/anyone>

Anybody else in the bar?

Herbie: on to you now Luke