Personal Log 86: 28th December 3301 - 3rd January, 3302
06 Oct 2016Jemine Caesar
28th December 3301 - 3rd January, 3302 Once we were aboard the Darkangel Nathalie lost no time in entering the Adder's frequency into the tracking system.
"Jem," she said. "tell me, is your "father" emotional? Does he get easily lost in his emotions?"
I thought for a moment. "I've never really been with Barnes long enough to know if he's an emotional man. He's an actor, or at least he was until he retired. I think any emotions he has are carefully controlled. Grandmama... I mean, mother... described him as safe and dependable in her holomessage to my real father. I don't think Barnes is likely to have done anything drastic."
Just then the tracking system returned the result of its search. "Well, the ship is at Ackerman Market, Eravate," said Nathalie.
"Eravate?" I replied. "They haven't gone far at all. Oh! Nath, I just remembered! Mama once told me that grandpapa proposed marriage to grandmama at Eravate. It was during a romantic weekend, in a south sea island log cabin on Eravate's fifth planet. I even have the location here, in my dataslate. Perhaps they've gone there?"
I dashed to collect my flight suit from The Last Thing, then returned to the Darkangel. Nathalie was already running through pre-flight checks. I changed into my flightsuit as quickly as I could, then settled into the Darkangel 's co-pilot seat for take-off.
During our trip to Eravate, a k-cast message came in for me from Sam.
"My dearest Jem, I'll be taking a trip to Rotanev in the coming day or so. There's been a Federal Intelligence tipoff that some of the mob that killed my brother and nearly myself in 3300 are causing havoc over there again, and this time it's a kill mission. I'm not one for revenge, but justice is something I relish. I'm part of a detail of five ships and fifteen fellow personnel, so we'll fly pretty safely, believe me."
Rotanev! That place hung over Sam like a spectre. I hoped it wasn't becoming a fatal obsession for him.
Presently the Darkangel docked at Ackerman Market, and Nathalie and I swapped our flightsuits for more appropriate clothing. A short time later we were aboard the shuttle, cruising down to Eravate-5's southern hemisphere.
*****
The island, we learned, was unsuitable for aircraft to land on, so we had to make the trip by sea-skimmer instead. After a five kilometre walk, we found the log cabin. The door was unlocked, so we went in.
"HELLO!" I called out. "ANYONE HOME?" There was no reply. "Look," I said. "there's coffee in these cups... and it's still warm. Someone has been here very recently. Let's take a look in the bedroom..."
Nathalie followed me along the short passageway into the sleeping quarters. There we found clothes laid out on the bed and in the wardrobe. "These clothes belong to Barnes and mother," I said.
A sudden clunking sound made us freeze. "Sshhh!" I hissed." Did you hear that? I'm sure it was the front door... and I can hear voices! They're laughing!"
It was then that a moment of realisation hit me. I now knew why Barnes and mother had come to this place. "Oh, Gaia! What an idiot I am! They mustn't know we're here, Nath! But there's no way out of this room! Into the wardrobe, quickly!"
The situation had become almost farcical. There was no way of knowing how long we would be stuck in the wardrobe waiting for a chance to escape from the cabin undetected. Nathalie and I hugged each other in the darkness, hardly daring to breathe, as we listened to the sounds of movement beyond the wardrobe door...
*****
Our hiding place didn't last very long. The door was opened by Barnes, who performed what I thought was a rather overly-theatrical double-take at the sight of Nathalie and I cowering inside the wardrobe. Then he grinned, and spoke in his most magnificent baritone voice...
*****
Jemine! My dear girl! And Nathalie! What in the name of Gaia are you both doing in the wardrobe? Hahaha! Out you come! REBEKKA! Rebekka, my dear, you'll never guess who's here! It's Jemine and her friend, Nathalie! Why don't you two girls sit down and get your breath back while Rebekka makes us all some coffee. Then you can tell us what you're up to.
You tracked us here by following our ship's frequency? Ingenious! But why didn't you simply read the note we left for you on the hall table? That would have explained everything!
Jemine, you heard me say that I have always known the truth about your real father. In fact I learned it shortly after you were born, from one of the actors in Star's End. I can't recall her name, but she was a spiteful gossip who was fond of causing trouble.
I never told your mother that I knew. She had her reasons for keeping the truth from me, so I decided to allow her to believe her secret was safe. Why? Because I loved her. And I always have.
But now you also know that secret, Jemine. When I overheard your mother telling you about her and Harvard, I felt it was finally time to end the deception once and for all. When you left the room, your mother and I talked about our future together. Or rather, whether we even had a future. And we decided that we do.
Rebekka and I came here to make a fresh start. As you know, It was here that I asked her to marry me, all those years ago. We've talked, laughed, and cried. And we've learned that we are still in love. I have no ill feelings for your real father. What happened, happened. We must put it behind us, and move on. No more lies.
Now, why don't you two young ladies stay here for a few days with us? We can celebrate the new year together.
*****
I was very happy when Nathalie agreed to stay. And, with only the four of us on the island, it was a peaceful way to end the year. I decided not to tell Barnes and mother about my search for Edward Harvard. That could wait for another day.