Personal Log 159: 7 June, 3303 (continued)
28 Jul 2017Jemine Caesar
7 June 3303"Kyla!" I said, smiling. "What a surprise! How lovely to see you again!" I gave Kyla an affectionate hug, and then introduced her to John Mathurin.
"A pleasure," he said, offering his hand to Kyla in greeting.
"Hello, you," returned Kyla. "I don't think we've met. Making sure Jem behaves are you?" Kyla gave Mathurin a slight smirk as she spoke. "Mind if I join for a bit? I've got a few hours to kill before my next... haul."
Mathurin cocked an eyebrow. "Does she... need supervision?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "So, what kind of things do you haul?"
Kyla sat down. "Oh, y'know... Just... things that need moving... that involve being paid in the process." She slouched back and relaxed. "So, Toolfa for Jem, and you'll have?" she said, turning to John.
I took out my dataslate and briefly checked its display screen. Sighing, I tapped the screen back into sleep mode and replaced the device in my bag. The sigh was enough to arouse Kyla's curiosity.
"What's up sweet cheeks?" she said, prodding my shoulder. "You need a double Toolfa? Why do you look so glum?"
"Glum?" I replied, scowling at Kyla. " Well, since you offered a double, I'll tell why I am glum. I'm here with a woman named Diadem Palama. She's engaged to be married to my father in a few days time. Or, rather, she was. It turns out that she's leaving my father for another man. Diadem told me she used to be a member of some pirate gang in Reorte. Her boyfriend is an ex-lover from those days, but they lost touch when Diadem left the gang. The boyfriend - Skaigh, his name is - got in touch with Diadem a couple of months ago, wanting to rekindle the old flame. Diadem realised she still loves Skaigh, and so now she's here, waiting for him to get in contact and tell her where to meet up with him. And, believe it or not, she wants me to take her to him."
I once again took out my dataslate and tapped the display screen a few times. "Diadem said she'd message me just as soon as she's ready to leave. So, here I am, killing time and thinking about how I'm going to break my father's heart when I get back." Replacing the dataslate in my bag, I picked up my gin. "That's why I'm glum," I said, and downed the drink in one go.
Mathurin sipped at his scotch. "You probably don't want my opinion," he said, "but if it were me, I'd do one of two things; first, just leave her here. She's shown no loyalty to your family, so I don't see why you'd help her make the trip. If they want to see each other so badly, let him come to her." He drained his Scotch and put down the empty glass, signalling the bartender for another round. "The other idea is leave for the meet without her and space him when you arrive. It's petty, sure, but probably satisfying, though it'd cause all sorts of unnecessary problems."
I stared incredulously at him for several seconds, then said, "Why not both?" Then I burst out laughing.
"Wow," said Kyla, with a scowl. "Okay, so this Diadem person sounds like the female version of my dad.” She took a large sip of her gin before continuing. "I might have to agree with John on spacing the dude. Two reasons..." she went on, raising an index finger. "One, he's a home-wrecker. Fuck that guy. Two, you said he's working for a pirate organization right? I'm not sure I want him on my tail." She turned and nodded to Mathurin. "And leave the bitch here. Maybe I'll introduce her to my father. They deserve each other. Is she even paying you or is this all a big favour?"
Before I could answer, Mathurin leaned forward again. “Hell," he said, with a half-shrug, "you could even take her with you to space him, depending on how vindictive you were feeling."
Kyla chuckled at the remark. "Well, that'd definitely soil the goody two-shoes image I have of her. Gods, we're a bad influence aren't we?"
I grinned at Kyla. "Oh, come on, Kyla! I was sure I'd shed my goody two shoes image ages ago. But no, Diadem isn't paying me. To be honest, it never entered my head to ask."
"Jem, you either make sure she pays you, or you tell her to find another ride out of here. It doesn't sound to me like she's struggling for credits, and your fuel and maintenance are not going to pay for themselves, y'know..."
Taking another sip of my drink, I noticed a man approaching the bar counter. He was slender, mid-thirties with greying black hair and a twinkle in his eye. I'd met him before, in this very room, back in January, but his name escaped me... Foster? Fazackerley? Whoever he was, he gave me a polite nod before passing his order to the bartender. Then, shifting my gaze slightly, I caught sight of another familiar face a little further along the bar counter.
“Stryker…?” I said, with a gasp.
"Oh, you know that guy?" asked Kyla. "Jeez, it's a small 'verse."
"Yes," I replied. "I know Stryker. We met here, as a matter of fact, just a few months ago. We... that is, he and I..." I suddenly began to feel uncomfortably warm, and knew that I was blushing. "It's getting hot in here," I said. Signalling the bartender, I ordered a glass of ice cold lemonade. Kyla's lips curved to a wide grin.
"Ooooh, I see!" she cooed. "A history huh? Jem Jem and Stryker, up a bulkhead..."
"It wasn't up a bulkhead!" I retorted. "It was far more... oh, just forget it!" Then a realisation hit me. "Wait a minute... What did you mean by that last remark? Kyla, do you know Stryker too?"
Kyla shrugged. "Well... I don't know him per se. He invited me for a drink and he's paying me to move some stuff. That's all, sweet cheeks. He's not my type anyway. Huge muscles just don't do it for me."
Taking a gulp of my lemonade, I cast a furtive glance towards Stryker, who appeared deep in conversation with a rather earnest looking stranger. As if by magic, however, Stryker chose that precise moment to return my glance, adding a wink and a knowing grin.
The exchange of glances had not gone unobserved by John Mathurin. "You're popular," he said, deepening my discomfort even further. I turned away away in embarrassment, only to see yet another familiar figure entering the Ingaba. It was Sam. He shot me a quick wink as he strode over towards the bartender.
Oh, great! I thought. All I need now is for Matt Lehman to turn up, and then my day will be complete.
“She's popular alright," said Kyla, still grinning. "Did you see that handsome young blond lad shooting a wink her way?" She nudged me in the ribs. “Is there anyone here you don’t know?”
I held my glass in both hands, staring at the ice floating on the top. “Gosh," I said. "It’s hot, right?”
Kyla winked at me, then turned to Mathurin. “Oh dear, I think we’ve made her uncomfortable.” She patted my shoulder gently. "Hey, Jem, it's all in good fun y'know? I love you really."
She cast a rapid glance at the man with the twinkle in his eye, whose name I could still not quite recall. Fitzroy? Phillips? Filch?
Kyla turned back to Mathurin. "At least we know she won't need a wingman, am I right?"
"Hey," said Twinkle-Eye, leaning nonchalantly towards us. "Always better to have too much wing support than not enough."
The comment took Kyla by surprise. Twinkle-Eye laughed, and tapped a finger to one ear. "Sorry. Fighter jock ears. Hear way more than I should sometimes."
I looked at Twinkle-Eye, frustrated at not being able to recall who he was. I decided to chance my luck. "So, does Fighter Jock have a name?"
He nodded and extended a hand to shake. "Of course! It's unlucky to fly without a name. I'm Phisto. You?"
I accepted the handshake. Phisto! Of course!
"Jemine," I replied. "This is Kyla and John, both good friends of mine."
"Although," Kyla broke in, "Jem and I weren't always the pally sister act you see before you now. When we first met, we hated each other's guts!"
"A pleasure to meet you, Jemine," said Phisto, giving a lazy salute to Kyla and Mathurin before setting his elbow on the bar counter. "Good to meet you both, as well."
Mathurin returned the salute with his glass, and then took another drink. "If the two of you hated each other," he said to Kyla and me, "It certainly doesn't show now."
I laughed. "Kyla and I had a rather heated debate on the Pilots Fed Social Media site. We didn't see eye to eye over our career choices. Then we met in person - here, in fact - and realised we had more in common than we thought. We've been friends ever since."
Mathurin nodded. "It's good that you were able to put your differences aside, though. Too little of that in the 'verse."
Just then Sam walked over to us, holding a glass of beer. "Fashionably late as ever," he said. "I blame the Navy interdicting me at least twice... arseholes..."
Smiling at the sound of Sam's voice, I turned and, pulling him down to my level, gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Sam," I said, "this is Kyla Emmerich, John Mathurin, and Phisto. Everyone, this is Sam... my boyfriend."
Phisto nodded and raised his glass to Sam in greeting. "Well met, Sam." Taking another sip, he rested his elbow back on the bar counter once again.
Just as I was beginning to relax, the muscular form of Stryker approached. I froze, an uncertain smile on my face. I looked up at Sam and Stryker, fearful of what might happen next.
"Well, howdy Sam," said Stryker, jovially. "Jem here has told me quite a bit about you." Stryker cast a sideways glance at Mathurin, and stretched out a hand to him. "Hey, I'm Stryker."
Mathurin reached over and shook Stryker's hand with a nod. "John." He awkwardly took another sip from his ever-emptying glass.
Phisto tossed a quick wave at Stryker.
"Well," I said, after a few moments. "This is nice, isn't it?"
"Aye," said Sam. "Quite the meet up."
There followed an awkward pause, which was broken by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. Turning to identify their source, I found myself looking at three more familiar faces; Apollonia, Idris, and Marra Morgan.
"Well, well, well," I said, raising my voice slightly. "It most certainly is quite the meetup. Hello, Marra. What brings you to Inara this time?"
Marra Morgan nodded at us brusquely. Idris stood directly behind his mistress, dwarfing her with his huge frame, his mechanical parts whirring and clicking as he set his protective stance.
"Bounty hunters," hissed Marra in her Cambrian drawl. "Who among you is a bounty hunter?" She shot me a contemptuous glare.
Well now, I thought, with a surge of panic I hoped I wasn't showing, there's a leading question if ever I heard one. Taking a step towards the pirate queen, I stood with my feet apart and placed my hands on my hips.
"Yes," I said, keeping my voice as steady as I could. "I'm a bounty hunter. As you are already aware."
Marra held out a hand, into which Apollonia placed a datapad. She held the pad up for all to see. On the screen was the face of a woman in her late thirties, dark eyes set in angular features, jet black hair swept back from her face.
"This is Kat von Steuben," hisses Marra with undisguised loathing. "She recently committed a heinous terrorist attack against civilians in the Pegasi sector, and needs to answer for her crimes. I'll pay five million credits to the one who brings her to me, alive and unspoiled."
I studied the image on the dataslate briefly, then looked up at Marra. "Five million credits?" I said. "You must want to bring this woman to, er, justice, very badly."
Hardly able to believe what I was about to say next, I took a deep breath and gave Marra a thin smile. I'd been harbouring ideas of developing my bounty hunting career for some time now. Perhaps this was the moment to seize an opportunity which would either make me or break me.
"All right," I said. "Count me in." The room fell silent, as all eyes watched the tense scene unfolding between Marra Morgan and me.
"She is extremely dangerous," said Marra, casting a slow gaze around the room. "I can understand why some of you would balk at the idea of taking her alive." She gave a sly smile before snapping her gaze back to me. "But typically, a woman steps forward when balls are needed."
Nodding, Marra looked me up and down. "I remember that incident with Edison Lee, Caesar. You stole that mark from my husband. I don't doubt your talent." She held out the datapad towards me.
"The contract's yours."
Kyla stepped to my left side. "Jesus Christ, Jem. You'll get yourself killed." She paused for a moment. "Not saying you're a bad pilot or anything... but people don't slap on a five mil bounty for someone who steals lunch money."
Then Phisto walked forward and addressed Marra. "Are you in the habit of sending new jacks to their doom for shits and giggles, Miss Morgan?"
Kyla frowned, turned around and slapped Phisto hard across the face. "Don't talk about Jem like that! She's a perfectly capable pilot... Just... The person she's supposed to bring back seems a bit ruthless."
Phisto narrowed his eyes at Kyla. "And when Miss Five Million Credit Bounty is finished with Jemine, you gonna slap her too?"
Kyla's frown deepened. "Watch it, bucko."
I rounded angrily on Phisto and Kyla.
"Just shut the fuck up, the pair of you! What are you trying to do, show me up in front of my client? I have absolutely no intention of going to my doom, Mr Fighter Jock, and I'll thank you not to underestimate me ever again!"
"Yes, ma'am," replied Phisto. "Shutting the fuck up, ma'am."
My heart now pounding in my chest, I turned back to Marra and took the proffered dataslate from her still outstretched hand.
"I'll accept the contract, Ms Morgan," I said, "but I have one additional request. When I was at Pegasi, working for your organisation, I visited the Exotica club. A girl named Cherisch Cheerful worked there as a waitress. If I bring you this Kat von Steuben woman, will you release Cherisch to me in return? "
I folded my arms and, holding Marra's gaze, waited for her reply. Marra raised an eyebrow and turned to Apollonia. The blonde waif checked her own datapad and gave her mistress a short nod.
"Oui, she's on the books."
Turning back to face me, Marra smiled. "If you bring me Von Steuben alive, you can take your pick of the girls at Exotica. Name any one and she's yours. And the boys, too, if that's your thing."
I shook my head. "Thank you for the extended offer, but I'm only interested in Cherisch. I have my reasons."
A beep from my handbag signalled an incoming k-cast message on my dataslate. I took out the device out, tapped the screen a few times, and smiled.
"And now," I continued, "if you'll excuse me, I have another matter to deal with. Until we meet again, Ms Morgan."
Without waiting for a response, I turned smartly on my heel and, as calmly as I could, walked out of the Ingaba.
"Jem!" called out Kyla, following me. "Wait up!" She caught up with me in a side alley not far from the entrance to the Ingaba, and looked at me with obvious concern. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marra and her companions sweep out of the bar, apparently oblivious to our presence.
"Before you go," said Kyla, "just promise me one thing, will you? Please come back in one piece." Kyla paused once more, placing her hand on my shoulder. "I know, I probably sound like a drunken tart right now but... You're the only real friend I've had this far from home, so don't die on me okay?"
I smiled at my friend.
"Die? That's the last thing I'll do."
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Author's Note
This log entry is a collation of posts made in the Ingaba during June 2017. My sincere thanks to the following commanders who kindly agreed to my including their contributions here:
Kyla Emmerich
John Mathurin
Phisto
Sam Hodkin
Stryker Aune
Marra Morgan