Personal Log 76: 26th October - 1st November, 3301
03 Oct 2016Jemine Caesar
26th October - 1st November, 3301On October 30th, Edward - that is, my father - came down to the hangar deck to see me off.
"Thank you, Jemine," he said. "You've probably saved my life by coming here to find me. Now I have a reason to carry on."
I smiled. "I'm glad I found you, father," I said. "Please keep in touch, tell me how you are getting on."
He promised me that he would. "Don't worry about me," he said. "Your future is with that young man of yours. Go back to him. And take care out there."
As soon as I was safely alone aboard The Last Thing, the tears came. I'd found my father, and now I was about to leave him again. Was I doing the right thing? Should I stay, or should I go now? But my father had insisted that my life was with Sam, and I couldn't dispute that.
It was some minutes before I calmed down enough to take the ship out of the hangar. As I lifted up from the pad, I caught a last glimpse of my father. He was waving to me from the observation room, a broad smile on his face.
Things had indeed been a little too uncomfortable for Nathalie, the Empire warrant on her attracting attacks with increasing frequency. I had received an encrypted k-cast message from her, which described an especially hazardous encounter. Nathalie had won the battle, but the Darkangel had taken significant damage.
"I believe Zemina Torval wants me dead," Nathalie told me. "With her outdated manners and way of life, I can guess that my actions back at Munshin made her extremely upset. And if my guess is correct, she will send me tougher and tougher guys until I am eventually taken down. I already lived that scenario, and you know what I am talking about. It's pretty hard to live again, I have to admit to you. But I gave you my word. We will leave the Empire space together. I have planned to hide until you are ready to go, but no place is safe now for me, as I have Torval's army on me. But the Darkangel is as tough as my will. What a match, huh? Haha!"
She had taken the Darkangel to a nearby dark system, and it was there that the three of us arranged to rendezvous for our voyage home.
The 260ly return trip was trouble-free, with short stops at Mirolunts, Soch, and Minmar for refuelling. I was happy to see the familiar sight of Miller Depot , and, once docked, Sam and Nath and I met in The George for a proper reunion.
I updated Sam and Nath with some of the details of my stay at Koyans, but it was soon clear that it had been a long day for each of us, so we decided to return to our rooms. Nathalie in particular was clearly exhausted. She had been living on her nerves for the last few days, and was now practically asleep on her feet. Sam carried Nath into her room and laid her on the bed.
"I'll get her ready for bed, Sam," I said. "I'll see you later."
*****
Nathalie was already sound asleep.
"Oh, honey," I whispered. "You can't sleep properly in your flightsuit." I unclasped her suit and rolled her over. "Just raise your arm for me, Nathalie, that's it." I slid the suit down and off Nath's body, then rolled her back into a more comfortable position and covered her with the bedsheet. As I was turning to leave, I heard Nathalie stirring.
"Get off me..." she mumbled. "Leave me alone, Delaine. Uungh!"
I lay beside Nath, cradling her in my arms. "Ssshhhh..." I soothed. "It's all right. I'm here."
Nathalie's arms flailed weakly, a frown on her face. I couldn't leave her like this. I removed my own flightsuit and got into the bed. Suddenly Nath's eyes snapped open.
"Hmm?" Nath muttered. "What...? Hey, Jemine. What are you doing?" I took her hand.
"I thought you could do with some company tonight, Nathalie. You were talking in your sleep, honey. You were quite agitated, and I was worried for you."
Nathalie's eyes widened. "You won't sleep with Sam?" she asked.
"Sam will be all right," I assured her. "You've been through so much, Nathalie. You've seen some horrible things. But you're safe now, and you're with friends who love you."
Nathalie placed one hand on my cheek. "I know that you're here for me, Jem. I just need you to... fill my mind. I know I'll never get Delaine on my own, so... I need to think about tons of things, but not about him."
I put my arm around her shoulders. "In that case, Nath," I said, "we need to make plans. Is there anything you would like to do, or somewhere you want to go?"
Nathalie shook her head. "I don't know," she replied. "I just want to have you close to me. I'm happy to have you in my life, Jem."
The longing on Nathalie's face was unmistakeable. "Nath," I said. "I told you that Sam would understand if you and I ever got... intimate. So, if you want to... just ask."
"I know," she replied, "but... I can't. I prefer avoiding it. Kissing is just fine, though. But if you want it, I won't repel you."
Now it was my turn to shake my head. "I wouldn't want to do it if you weren't completely happy," I said, adding, "But I'll kiss you whenever you like!"
Nathalie brushed her thumb across my lips. I, in turn, ran my fingers through her hair, its vibrant red colour having turned copper in the room's subdued lighting.
"We should get some sleep," I said.
*****
The next day - October 31st - Nathalie hardly said a word. Thinking that she just wanted time to herself, I left her alone. It was a shock to find the Darkangel gone just hours later.
I told Sam about Nathalie's nightmare. "Don't worry, Jem," he said. "She's strong. She'll be OK. She just needs to work things out in her own way."
I hoped he was right. I should have talked to Nath, tried harder to help her. I didn't feel like such a good friend at that moment.
I spent a few hours checking over The Last Thing. The Cobra had served me very well so far. She had proved to be a dependable, resilient little ship. I had accumulated almost 10,000CR of astronomical data on my trip to Koyans and back, which helped my credit balance nicely.
With Sam away bounty hunting in nearby systems, I took The Last Thing out for what was basically a pleasure cruise. No cargo to sell, no missions to complete, no deadlines to beat. I didn't go far: Ross 780 was a short jump away, but I attracted some unwanted attention in the shape of a pirate named Jay Dalziel, an Expert-rated pilot at the controls of a lightly armed Cobra III. I won the battle fairly easily, claiming my 22,000CR bounty at Aristotle Gateway. It was some unexpected income from what was intended to be purely a sightseeing jaunt.
It was here that I received a call from Sam. He was at LP 816-60, having met up with his sister, Sarah.
"I've got some news," he said. "Sarah's is now a single woman! She's split up with her fiance, Luke McCoy, after learning that he's been philandering with other women."
Deciding that Sarah was in need of a sisterly shoulder to cry on, I set course for LP 816-60.
*****
I was wrong. Sarah was absolutely delighted to be rid of Luke.
"Oh, I've had my doubts about him for ages," she told me over drinks in Garratt's Nova bar. "When I found his dataslate full of recent entries for prostitutes on planets all over Federation space, well, it was the last straw! I had a blazing row with him about it, and d'you know what he said? He said, 'Sarah, you just don't do it for me anymore'. The bloody nerve of the man! Well, he might have some explaining to do to his commanding officer about the state of his dress uniform! Haha!"
Over more drinks, Sarah told me she'd recently been on a field research trip to Bhritzameno.
"I met a couple of friends of yours there; Bronwen and Myfanwy. I got their contact details from Sam, and looked them up when I arrived at Feynman Terminal. I just mentioned your name, and it was like I'd said the magic word! We went shopping, had a meal, and later they took me to Galore's! Oh! We had a fantastic time, if you know what I mean, and they spoke very fondly of you." Then, placing her hand on my arm, Sarah said something which took me completely by surprise.
"I'm in no hurry to get into another relationship, Jemine, but if Sam ever dumps you, well, I'd be very happy to take his place!"