This week, I’d like to introduce you to a few of the most important residents of Rusty Gulch. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present… the Good.

Abbey Glasser, the Sheriff
Sheriff Glasser is as tough as she looks, and she won’t put up with trouble in her town. But she’s smart, too, with wisdom and compassion that most folks never see. That suits Abbey just fine, since she rightly figures that a tough sheriff will get more respect than a smart one. Abbey plays the loner, but secretly longs for the friendship of the townspeople. It’s implied she’s relatively new in town, but her past is still a mystery.

Shane Caldwell, the Deputy
A grizzled, balding man in his 60s, Deputy Caldwell has lived in Rusty Gulch since it was little more than a haven for refugees from the robot wars. He’s held any number of public offices, each just long enough to make the town a little better. Now, he’s Abbey’s right hand man, filling in the background details she might not know about the people, law, and history of Rusty Gulch. While he’s no match for Abbey in a gunfight or barroom brawl, Shane’s much better than her at calming a situation with a kind word, a soothing tone, or a joke.

Gopher-2, Abbey’s Robot
The bot probably has a real name, but Abbey’s been calling him "Gopher-2" for so long, no one remembers it (and Abbey’s not saying what happened to "Gopher-1."). He’s a small bot who helps out around the sheriff’s office in hopes of being deputized someday. Abbey and Shane have made it clear this is never going happen, but he presses on undeterred. Often clumsy and incompetent, Gopher-2 is more comic relief than deputy material, but for some reason Abbey loves to keep him around.

Otis O’Conner, the Blacksmith
Much more than a blacksmith, Otis is the local techie, capable of building, repairing, and programming robots, hover vehicles, and any other device that needs fixing. And yes, he can shoe horses too. Otis is a cheerful fellow who loves his job. Dark rumors have it that he loves his job too much, and has voluntarily used his skills to fix up the outlaw robots who raid these border towns. No one accuses him of such to his face, of course; Otis is too important a person to have him as your enemy.

Godfrey, Assistant Blacksmith Robot
Godfrey was built by Otis to help him with heavy lifting and bending in the blacksmith shop. Godfrey says very little, but is staunchly devoted to his maker. Unless he’s running errands, Godfrey is rarely seen outside Otis’s workshop, where he helps by picking up horses and moving them.

Next Week: You know if we’re leading off with "the Good," then next week’s preview must be of "the Bad." And you’re right. Swing by in another seven days to check out the folks who love to make Abbey’s life miserable.