Personal Log 10: 1st - 7th June, 3301
06 Sep 2016Jemine Caesar
1st - 7th June, 3301Federal Investigator Bailey returned on June the 1st, with good news. "You're free to go, Miss Caesar. We traced the real culprit to Chamunda, and arrested him at Gidzenko Ring this morning. He's been running a scam in the local systems for weeks, lifting credits from his victims' accounts with some sort of remote hacking device built in to a dataslate. It's the man you know as Thaddeus Finn, but he used a nickname: the Window Cleaner."
"But why did you arrest me?" I asked him.
"Well," said Bailey, "We didn't know if we were looking for a man or a woman. The Window Cleaner somehow managed to implicate you, so..."
I nodded. "Why was he called the Window Cleaner?"
Bailey just shrugged. "Beats me," he said. "Come on, I'll give you a ride back to Serebrov Station."
Bailey deactivated the subcutaneous tracker in my head, and took me back to Yakabugai in his Cobra III. When I got back to The Last Thing, I was dismayed to find that the Window Cleaner had stolen my ship insurance fund of 8,000CR, together with data on several star systems. Fortunately my main savings, in a separate account, were still intact.
* * * * *
In need of comfort food, I flew to Ackerman Market for a mint choc chip fudge sundae at Rikk's Cafe. CMDR Stanchion Ra called, and I told him about my week in custody. "At least you are free to continue on your way to Sol," he said.
"Yes," I agreed. "Though I still need to get the permit first. I thought it would have come through by now. Bureaucracy, eh?"
Next I called Rudolphus, and arranged to meet him at Rikk's Cafe on June the 7th.
Another narrow escape from another interdiction in Eravate set me to thinking about buying an Eagle fighter. My finances were fairly healthy at over 125,000CR, but I opted to stay faithful to my Sidewinder for a little longer.
In the Black Hole bar at Cleve Hub, I chatted by k-cast to Marky. "Guess what I'm drinking?" I asked him.
"Toolfa gin and tonic?" he hazarded, accurately.
"You clever boy! And it's a double, too," I replied, already quite tipsy after having had two of them.
"Watch out for Kokarian Swamp Squids," Marky teased. "They lie in wait for unwary females who get tipsy!"
Sadly, my conversation with Marky was cut short when I passed out half-way through my fourth double Toolfa gin. I awoke the next day in my room, with no recollection of how I got there. I did have a thumping headache, though.
Later, my return to Eravate ended in disaster when I was once again interdicted. Despite my having no cargo on board, my assailant opened fire with devastating speed. Unable to withstand his ruthless onslaught, The Last Thing rapidly disintegrated around me, and I was forced to eject. My escape pod was later picked up by a passing T9 bound for Kremainn.
Although my Insurance account had been stripped bare by the Window Cleaner, I had over 160,000CR available, so I was well able to afford a new Sidewinder with my old loadout. More trade runs took me back to Eravate.
On June 5th the Pilot's Federation released a major software upgrade to all ships, making it easier to see progress in combat, trade and exploring. My readout showed Combat: Harmless (57%), Trade: Mostly Penniless (49%), and Explorer: Mostly Aimless (2%). Oh well.
The day of my postponed date with Rudolphus finally arrived. I decided to buy myself a dress for the occasion, and, after much searching around the Ackerman Market shopping malls, eventually chose a short scarlet semi-shift dress with a slash neck and a side sash. A new pair of black shoes with 7cm heels and a clutch bag completed the outfit. Satisfied with my clothes, make-up and hair, I set off for Rikk's Cafe.