Personal Log 129: 6th June - 14th August, 3302 (Part Two)
04 Nov 2016Jemine Caesar
6th June - 14th August, 3302 (Part Two) Our holiday came to an end on June 24th. Sam and I agreed that we had sampled most of what Binet Port had to offer, and the time had come to get moving again. As we packed, Sam received a k-cast from his cousin Mark.
“He’s decided to go back into the pub trade,” said Sam. “In fact he’s already lined up some suitable premises on Chelbin Service Station, in the Wolf 397 system.”
“That’s wonderful news,” I replied. “I’m glad he feels able to put that awful shooting incident behind him now. What’s he going to call the new place?”
“Ah,” said Sam. “That’s where you come in. Mark would like you to come up with the name, so get your thinking cap on!“
*****
Much as I had enjoyed the rest, it was good to get back into space again. Delivery missions took me to Olker, Ross 129 and LTT 13232. It never ceased to amaze me why people were prepared to pay so much money for transporting items of such little value. I received 97000CR for delivering a few canisters of kiwi fruit! Still, as a trader I was not about to complain.
There was, of course, the occasional hazard. An expert-rated Adder pilot was intent on preventing me from reaching my destination with a hold full of medicines. He decided it wasn’t worth the bother when I took out his shields and reduced his hull to 78%. I could hear him cursing me as he high-waked out of my reach.
I had heard several pilots discussing the advantages of a point defence system against missile attacks, so I arranged for one to be installed in The Last Thing. At the same time I had my gimballed lasers swapped for a pair of fixed mounts. I just hoped that, the next time I was in combat, I would be able to keep the target in front of me for long enough.
The opportunity to find out came quickly, when I was interdicted at 89 Leonis by an Imperial Courier. Her pilot was only rated Mostly Harmless, but the battle lasted an absolute age. I managed to win, collecting a bounty of 58000CR, but my fixed lasers had made little contribution to the victory.
After competing a data delivery at Ross 129, I decided my piloting skills would need to improve before it was worth having fixed weapons. I swapped the new lasers back to a pair of gimballed beams, and upgraded The Last Thing’s power plant in compensation. Sam had advised me to get a fuel scoop, so I bought one of those as well.
On August 13th I was hailed by an old acquaintance, commander Chiral. We had spoken very briefly on a previous occasion, when commander Chiral had told me his wife had gone missing. He had been worried then, but now he sounded distraught.
“I’m still looking for her, Jem,” he said. “A friend of mine, Corvo Amadeus, is assisting me, but it’s a big galaxy. I’m calling everyone on my contacts list to ask for help. Let me know if you hear anything, will you?”
“Of course,” I replied. “Do you have any clues?”
“Just one. It’s possible she’s at Merope, so that where I’m headed.”
“Then may our gracious lady Gaia bless your search,” I said.
*****
The next day a message popped into my dataslate. It was from Miriyan Thiessen.
“Hey, Jemine!” she began. “Remember the advice you gave me back in June, about Valentina! magazine? Well, the thing is, I got the job on the magazine’s executive board! The interview was a breeze. Well, I say interview, it was a coffee and bagel affair at Bloomingdale’s in New York. I was given the position there and then! The thing is, Jemine, I’ve got a proposition I’d like to make to you in person. Come out to Bactrimpox, Coney Enterprise starport. We can fix up a meet when you arrive.”
I showed the message to Sam. “What do you think?” I asked him.
“Maybe she’s going to offer you a job on the magazine,” he replied.
“On the strength of one reply on a social media site? It doesn’t seem likely." Curiosity welled up inside me. "Still," I said, "there’s no harm in going and finding out, is there?”
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Thank you to commander Chiral