PEGASI AUTUMN - Interlude & Chapter 15
30 Oct 2017Jemine Caesar
“So that’s it, then?”Jemine Caesar turned to Sam Hodkin, the final confirmation of her ship’s sale displaying on her dataslate. She’d sold it earlier in the afternoon, before joining him and Kyla Emmerich for drinks at the Intergalactic Bar on Citi Gateway. The man to whom the Innocent Flower now belonged had been all business- middle-aged, but with piercing eyes and an unsmiling mouth. They’d shaken on the agreement and transferred the funds, but even in 3303 a ship sale took time to register in the Pilot’s Federation master registry.
Now it was official. For the first time in many months, Jemine Caesar was a pilot without a ship. It had been by choice, and she was glad to be rid of it. In the months leading up to where she was, she’d fancied herself a bounty hunter, a righteous dispenser of justice in an unjust universe. Now she was happy to simply be alive.
Sam had missed her terribly, altering his own trade mission to be able to meet his lover at Citi Gateway when she’d sent word of her return. Between the business of selling her ship and the time it took to tell the full story of her adventure, there hadn’t been time for anything except a quick hug and kiss. He’d rented a luxurious room for them both, choosing to reunite in style instead of the spartan cabin of his Asp.
Jemine looked up from the dataslate, noting her new account balance and tossing the device on the bed.
“It is. I’m afraid that I’ll be depending on you for any rides I might be needing.”
Sam chuckled to himself, pouring a drink. He offered one to Jemine. She silently shook her head in refusal.
“Not that you’ll be flying much, running a business right here on Citi. And how on Earth did you come up with the name? The ‘Olive Grove’?”
Jemine allowed herself a private smile, intimate memories flashing before her eyes.
“I associate olives with certain things. Pleasurable things.”
Sam shrugged, gesturing to the account balance still displayed on the dataslate.
“Suit yourself. But are you certain of this? That’s enough credits to buy a mansion on the right planet.”
Sighing, Jemine rose from the foot of the bed where she’d been sitting, walking with a slight limp to look outside the picture window. By Citi Gateway standards, the room that Sam had rented was luxury defined- but Apollonia’s suite had put the place to shame. Gaia only knew what Marra’s penthouse looked like.
The woman glanced over her shoulder, eyeing the eight figure balance on her Zaonce account and knowing that most of it would soon be spent.
“As certain as I’ve ever been. I’m not a hunter, Sam. I’m not a killer either, and I never will be.”
The man set down his glass and walked across the room to her, concern in his eyes.
“One failed job doesn’t mean that you’re a failure. And I’d thought that you got into piloting to get away from this kind of thing- not plunge yourself back into it.”
Despite the pain that was encroaching on her body, Jemine smirked. “Said the man who gave up bounty hunting himself to lead the nice, safe life of a trader. And the Olive Grove isn’t about me. It’s about providing a haven for those who have none. Women, mostly- but the pleasure trade doesn’t discriminate, does it?”
A look of consternation spread over Sam’s features as he looked out the picture window.
“I was raised differently than you,” he admitted. “And I don’t see the good behind any flesh-for-cash setup. It’s exploitation, no matter how much you sugarcoat it.”
Jemine placed a gentle hand on his arm. “You know how it was for me,” she said. “My terms, my choice, and my profit. The same will be true for the workers. They’ll be free, being paid good wages and conducting business on their terms.”
Sam shook his head. “A real man doesn’t pay for it. A real woman doesn’t sell it.”
The woman’s face settled into a frown. She loved Sam, but he was hard-headed about certain issues. It was hard to get through to him from time to time.
She took his face in her hands, looking up at him. “You, uh- you enjoy making love, right?”
The man swallowed. “Of course I do.”
Jemine pulled his head to hers, their foreheads touching. “So do I. With you, with Nathalie- even when it was to feed myself and Bekka. When I was a girl, and just becoming aware of my sexuality, mama told me that sex was a gift from Gaia; the act of love in which two become one and the blessing of children is conferred.”
Sam’s hands ran down hers, along her arms and down her back. “When you say it like that, it almost makes me want to join a landship caravan.”
Jemine laughed, despite her pain. “Don’t you dare!”
The man’s smile remained in place, but his eyes grew serious. “I’m worried about you, though. You’re... different. And you’ve been limping and wincing ever since halfway through that story.”
The woman put on a good face, smiling to reassure her lover. “It’s the meds wearing off, nothing more. And don’t worry about me.”
Sam smiled, gathering the woman to him and holding her close. “The only thing I’ll be worried about is you becoming bored while I’m away. Are you sure you’ll be able to hang up your wings and settle down?”
Jemine chuckled, taking her lover by the hand. “I’m due for some boredom. Now c’mon. It’s time for bed.”
Sam leaned in close, anticipation in his eyes. “I thought you’d never say so!”
He kissed her long and deeply, his pent-up feelings rushing to the forefront. His lips traced along her cheeks, biting her ear and nibbling on her neck. He lowered himself, kissing the outside of her clothing until he reached her trousers. Slowly, he untucked her shirt and kissed the bare skin of her belly. His eyes swam with an idea, kissing just below her navel once again and looking up at her.
“You’re not the only one who’s been giving thought to settling down, you know. And to other things.”
With a practiced hand, he unfastened her trousers, unzipping them and letting them hang open. He loved the sight of his lover’s body, stretch marks and all. But he couldn’t contain his question any longer.
“What if… what if we took Gaia up on that blessing of hers?”
He kissed the skin before him, pressing his face against her belly and relishing its smoothness. Above him, he heard a gasp escape her lips, which wasn’t unusual. Then he felt a drop of liquid fall against his forehead, which was.
Sam looked up. Jemine’s eyes were squeezed shut, visibly trying to control herself. Her hands were clenched, trembling in tight fists, the fingernails almost drawing blood from her palms. She swallowed hard, opening her watery eyes only with great effort.
Her words escaped her lips as hushed whispers. “I can’t.”
A look of puzzlement contorted Sam’s features. “Huh?”
Her fingers took his and led them to where she’d been violated. The needle had been large, and left a scabbed-over mark that would surely leave a circular scar.
Another tear fell from Jemine’s eyes. “I can’t, Sam. Not any more.”
Sam’s eyes focused and widened, noticing for the first time a thin red gash along Jemine’s belly, blended in with a stretch mark. He lifted up her shirt, not to seduce but to investigate, his mind reeling at the menagerie of half-healed wounds that covered her torso. So, too, did a ghastly purple bruise cover her sternum, along with a concealed stab wound between her ribs. Aghast, he pulled down the garment, unable to find words at the sight of just how much his lover had been hurt.
With a trembling jaw he took a step back, holding her out by the shoulders. “What happened?”
Her poise collapsing, Jemine hugged her arms around her torso and stammered, her voice trembling and her eyes falling downward.
“It was Kat. And Marra. And Stryker. It was fucking Pegasi. And it was me, for thinking that I had what it took. They did something, Sam. They did something to me, and now I can’t give you children. I can’t…”
The woman’s legs buckled, her knees hitting the floor. Sam fell to his own knees and held her, feeling the wetness of her tears soak through his shirt. His fingers traced along her back. It, too, was marked from the numerous cuts and scrapes of being caught in a storm of speeding obsidian flakes. He squeezed Jemine harder, making her cry out and push the man away.
Sam, too, was unable to summon words. “What…” Sam halted, swallowing and trying again. “What did they do to you?”
Looks of fear, hatred, and guilt competed for prominence on Jemine’s face.
“I told the story of what happened in the bar,” she said. “But I didn’t tell everything. I didn’t tell how it ended.”
Not knowing what else to do, Sam leaned in, kissing his lover. “You can tell me,” he said.
“You won’t like it.”
Swallowing, he looked down to her battered body, and then up to her eyes. Some of her makeup had been smeared, revealing carefully-concealed bruises beneath.
“I don’t care. I love you. Please tell me.”
Another tear rolled down Jemine’s cheek. “If you insist…”