Personal Log 134: 16th - 27th September, 3302
22 Nov 2016Jemine Caesar
16th - 27th September, 3302John Graham was a well-groomed man in his fifties. His rounded face was creased with the cares of running a mega-corporation spanning dozens of star systems.
"Good morning, Miss Caesar," he said as I entered his New York office. "What can I do for you?"
His affable welcome took me by surprise. I had expected a far more hostile reception, and I suddenly wondered whether he knew that it was I who'd murdered his son.
"I'm here to deliver a message, Mr Graham," I said. "It consists of just one word, so I'm presuming you'll know what it means."
Graham's face darkened. "And what is the message?"
" 'Exotica'."
On hearing this, Graham took on the appearance of a man who had just been punched in the stomach.
"I'd hoped they'd forgotten," he said at length. "I guess not."
"Who?" I asked. "Who are they? What does the message mean?"
Graham shook his head. "It's better that you don't know the answer to either of those questions, Miss Caesar. Tell me, who was it sent you?"
"Elian Thiessen," I replied.
"Really? Well, well! He's certainly mixing with some very dubious company these days. His father and I go back a long ways. Talk about adding insult to injury..."
Graham's voice trailed off. He walked slowly across the room to stand at the window, and looked down onto the green expanse of Central Park. He was clearly very trouble by the message I had brought, whatever its meaning might be.
"Mr Graham," I said. "Elian said there would be a reply. Is there?"
The businessman turned to look at me. "Yes. Yes, there's a reply." He opened a desk drawer, withdrew a datachip, and handed it to me. "There. That's the reply."
"What's on it?" I asked.
"Again, better you don't know."
I placed the datachip into my handbag and turned to leave.
"Before you go," said Graham, "there's something I'd like to tell you."
"Oh?" I replied.
"I finally got round to disposing of the sea-skimmer last month. You remember The Camilla, don't you?"
"So," I said. "You do know..."
"That it was you who killed my son?" Graham nodded. "Yes, I know. Gayle told me all about it. You've met my late wife, of course."
I bowed my head, remembering the torture I had suffered at the hands of Gayle Graham. "Are you going to hand me over to the police?" I asked.
"As a matter of fact, no, I'm not. I bear you no ill will, Miss Caesar. This may sound callous, but the truth is I detested John. The feeling was mutual, believe me. I was glad when he died."
"Your wife didn't share that feeling," I said.
"No, she did not. And I'm genuinely sorry for all the crap she put you and the other girls through. It is my eternal regret that I didn't find out about her rampage of revenge sooner. She doted on John, you see. She would have gone to hell and back for him."
"Mr Graham," I said. "Was it you who told Sam, my boyfriend, how to locate my ship?"
"Yes," he replied.
"And was it you who arranged to have my lockets returned to me?"
"Yes again. Gayle brought them back here, you see. She showed them to me just a few days before she..."
Again his voice trailed off, lost in thought for a few moments. Then he opened a cabinet behind his desk, and took out a wooden box about thirty centimetres long. He handed it to me.
"The item in this box," he explained, "was on The Camilla. It was the only thing of John's I held on to, for some reason. I want you to take it. I have no use for it."
I opened the box. What I saw inside took my breath away in shock. For there, nestling in a leather sheath, was the shark knife I had used to kill the man I had once known as Caz.
*****
Elian Thiessen's face wore an expression of smug satisfaction as I handed him the datachip.
"Welcome back, Jem Jem," he said. "I knew I could rely on you. Now, run along and carry on with the stirling work you're doing for Elite And Real. But stay close; I may have need of your services again. We wouldn't want that holo-recording to fall into the wrong hands, now would we?"
"How long are you going to hold that over me?" I seethed. "How long is this going to go on for?"
Elian just smiled and shrugged. "For as long as I feel like it," he replied. "Until the novelty wears off. Now, get out!"
Later, when I told Sam about the outcome of my latest meeting with Elian Thiessen, he was livid.
"That does it!" he fumed. "I've had enough of that slimy bastard. I'm going to go and knock his fucking block off!"
"No, Sam," I begged. "The Thiessens are too dangerous. Elian is no fool, and I don't want you drawing attention to yourself unnecessarily. You're on that Gettysburg Bar recording too, remember."
"So?"
"So that makes you an accessory after the fact," I explained. "Or something like that. No, it's me he wants. And if it's merely a matter of running errands and making a few deliveries, then so be it. Elian knows I have nothing he really wants. He's simply enjoying the feeling of power he gets by making me dance to his tune. He'll let me go, once the novelty wears off. Those were his very words, in fact."
"Dammit!" Sam muttered. "I don't like this, Jem!"
"Nor do I," I agreed. "But what else can I do?"
"All right. But as soon as this is over, we're getting out of Bactrimpox for good!"
I promised Sam that, as soon as Elian said he had no further use for me, I would gladly leave Bactrimpox and forget all about Elite And Real. In the meantime, however, I carried on working for the Thiessen family business. Delivery jobs took me to Yi Trica, Supen, Gomm Crua and Gliese 506.2, to name but a few. It was at Gliese 506.2 that I was hailed by Nathalie Hudson.
"Hey, Jem!" she said. ""You still trading for that outfit at Bactrimpox?"
I replied that I was. It had been almost a month since I had last seen my mercurial friend. "What are you getting up to?" I asked. "Still bounty hunting?"
"You got it," said Nath. "It's in my blood. I just got a contract to take down a guy at HIP 74466. That's a system not far from you. Say, you wanna help me? Make a change for you from delivering cargo canisters."
I doubted very much that Nathalie needed any help from me in combat. But the idea sent a thrill through me, and on impulse I accepted the invitation.
"OK!" Nath replied. "Listen, we got some time on our hands before my target shows up. How about we rendezvous there now, and I show you some handy maneouvers you can use?"
"That would be wonderful!" I agreed, and immediately set the course on my navcom. A short time later I was learning how to use my ship's flight assist controls to keep a target in view more effectively. In this case the 'target' was Nath's own ship, the Darkangel.
"You're doing great!" said Nath encouragingly. "Keep your velocity in the optimal range, then you can turn quicker. The bad guys don't like it when they can't shake you!"
Soon my tuition was over, and it was time to put my new skills into practice. Nath's quarry had appeared right on schedule; a Vulture, accompanied by an Eagle.
"You take the Eagle, Jem, " instructed Nath." I got the Vulture."
Nathalie's Fer-de-Lance made short work of her mission objective. I had a harder job with the faster, more agile Eagle but, remembering what Nath had taught me, I was able to pummel my opponent with sustained laser fire. Once the Eagle's shields were down, the end was not long in coming. Congratulating one another on our victory, Nath and I returned to Gliese 506.2 and docked at Dietz Orbital to celebrate over a drink.
"Great job!" enthused my friend once again. "We made a good team out there."
"I must admit it was very exciting. Thank you for letting me join you, and for teaching me those manoeuvres."
"No problem. So, you heading back to Bactrimpox?"
"I suppose so," I replied. "I've been working long hours for Elite And Real, but there's always plenty for me to do."
I noticed an unmistakable flicker of disappointment cross Nath's face.
"On the other hand," I continued, "There'll still be plenty of work available tomorrow." I took out my dataslate and booked us into a room. "And after all, tomorrow is another day."
*****
I hadn't been exaggerating when I'd said there was plenty of work. Elite And Real's system influence was now 35% and rising, putting Darcy Thiessen's faction only 11% behind Bactrimpox Industries. As a result of all the cargo runs I had undertaken for them, my rep with Elite And Real had reached Allied status.
Sam, meanwhile, had kept himself busy by resolutely working for anyone but Elite And Real. When we spoke, it was often by k-cast across dozens of light years.
"I know the position you're in, Jem," he said. "But I'm damned if I'm going to help that bunch of crooks. In fact I've been thinking of paying a visit to my parents. I'd rather not be in Bactrimpox for the time being."
"I understand, Sam," I replied. "Please give your family my very best wishes."
I was sad to be parted from the love of my life, and hoped that Elian Thiessen would soon decide to release his hold on me. Until then I would have to carry on as normal, running errands for Elite And Real.
One such errand was a data delivery to Yi Trica. On my return to Bactrimpox I received a hail from a pilot in search of advice. The man's accent sounded vaguely familiar, and it took me a moment to realise it was much like that of the Katzenmaus brothers.
"Greetings, commander," he said. "My name is Ryan Murdoc. I come with a cargo delivery for a faction called Elite And Real. Do you know of them?"
"Yes," I replied. "They're fairly new to this system, and doing quite well."
"Excellent!" said Murdoc. "Then maybe I will be able to help them do better. Assuming they make it worth my while, of course! I will continue on my way now. Good to speak with you, commander. Perhaps we will converse again sometime."
"Perhaps. Good luck, commander Murdoc. Take care out there."
Ryan Murdoc and I did indeed converse several more times over the next few days. He spoke knowledgeably about politics and faction influence ratings, and seemed genuinely interested in the fortunes of Elite And Real. Of course, much of what he talked about was way over my head.
*****
On September 26th came the call I had been dreading. At 1100 GST I found myself sitting in the office of Elian Thiessen.
"I've been following your work, Jem Jem," he said. "I'm impressed with your diligence. You're almost like one of the family. So I've decided to reward that diligence by giving you back your freedom."
"Thank you."
"But there's a small catch," Elian went on. "I need you to make one more little delivery for me. Just one, and then it's all over. When you come back, I'll give you the Gettysburg recording to do with as you wish. Whaddya say?!"
"Do I really have to answer that?"
"Nope."
"What's the cargo? "
"The datachip you brought back from John Graham. After some lengthier than expected negotiations, the time has come to place it in the hands of its new owners."
"And who might they be?"
Elian shook his head. "That info is need-to-know. And you don't. Now, the chip is locked inside this. Put it on."
He handed me a silver-coloured rope-link choker necklace, at the front of which was a bead-like ornamentation.
"I don't understand," I said as I fastened the jewellery in place. "Why do I have to wear this to deliver a datachip?"
Elian smiled. "Let's call it an incentive scheme. The choker actually contains a small explosive device."
"What?!" I shrieked. "You're telling me I'm wearing a bomb around my neck?"
"Got it in one, Jem Jem. Oh, and it's rigged to go off if tampered with, so I wouldn't try to remove it if I were you. Otherwise; BOOM!"
"You're inhuman! Take it off! Now!"
"Sorry, toots. No can do. It's bio-tagged to one man, and one man only."
"Who?" I asked. "No, let me guess. The man to whom I'm delivering the datachip?"
"There you go, that's the incentive part! By the way, the datachip is actually in a separate, sealed container. This one, in fact."
Elian took a datachip pod from his pocket and dropped it into my handbag.
"OK, Jem Jem, you better get going. Sooner you get there, the sooner that thing can come off."
"And where exactly am I going?" I asked.
"Again, that's need-to-know. You'll find out when you get there. The course has been relayed to your ship's navcom. All you have to do is follow it. You can stop to refuel as necessary, but don't deviate from the preset course. Well, what are you waiting for?"
I gave Elian Thiessen a hateful glare before storming out of his office. Later, back in my room, I called Sam to tell him about the latest development. He was outraged.
"That sick bastard'll get what's coming to him, I promise you," he said. "Are you sure the choker is rigged to explode?"
"Are you sure you want me to take the risk that it isn't?" I replied. "Because I'm not! The only option I have is to deliver the chip. Then I'll be free of Elian Thiessen, Elite And Real and Bactrimpox for ever!"
A short time later I guided The Last Thing out of Coney Enterprise and began my mystery voyage. Passing through the familiar systems of Yi Trica, Chelsea and Jaoi, I ploughed on across the void: Rauratunab; Lamgang; Chakyum...
I soon realised with horror that my course was taking me into Pegasi space, the one region of the galaxy I had vowed never to visit.
Yebatayu; Kun; Vishkyamu...
Tjakiri...
"Congratulations, commander," intoned the calm voice of my ship's AI. "You have reached your destination."
Clair Dock.
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Thank you to commanders Sam Hodkin, Nathalie 'Nagita' Hudson, and Ryan Murdoc.