Chương 21: Interlude 2

TO: Minks Family (Home Terminal) FROM: Mila Minks SUBJECT: Sorry I Missed Last Week! (IMPORTANT NEWS INSIDE AAAAAA) Hey everyone! So, first things first: sorry I didn't call last week! Before you start worrying, I'm fine! Better than fine, actually. I'm just allllll the way out in the sticks near Griath III right now, and the comm buoys down here are absolute garbage. Seriously, it's like they were installed during the First Expansion and nobody's touched them since.

Couldn't hold a quantcall for more than thirty seconds without the whole thing dissolving into static, so you're getting an email instead. Old fashioned, I know, but it'll have to do! Okay, Mom? Sit down. I mean it. Find a chair. Are you sitting? Good. WE GOT INTO A REAL BATTLE. (I'm fine! Keep reading!) Not just a scuffle with some pirates or a bunch of jerks who didn't know which end of a blaster to point. I'm talking a full-on engagement with Sovereign Reach fighters!

There was an ambush while we were in-route to Griath II. I told you guys that, right? Sovereign interceptors came screaming in, and suddenly there's plasma flying everywhere and alarms going off and holy crap. I'm not even exaggerating when I say there were like two dozen of them! The local Libret garrison got torn up pretty bad, but Strider Squadron held the line! I only bagged a few of the Sov fighters myself, but that's okay! I've still got a lot to learn, and Trigger is teaching me so much.

You should see him fly, he took on their heavy cruiser and blew it up BY HIMSELF! After the fight, though, the Aquila (that's our ship, remember?) was pretty shot up. We had to dock at Killigan for repairs. Silver lining: my friend Jodie, the team mechanic I told you about, actually managed to fit VR training pods into our tiny little corvette while we were there! On a ship this small!

I don't know how she did it, something about stealing processing power from our AI and ripping out half the electrical system, but now we can train properly without having to rent station time. How wild is that? Anyway, we're back on the road now, heading deeper into Griath to finish out the escort contract. Okay, here's the big one. As of last night, I'm dating my captain! I KNOW, I KNOW. But Mom, you need to see him to believe him. Remember how I said he's an alien? A human?

I didn't go into detail about him, did I? He's not all tiny like a krewbold or something wild like those four-armed guys from that one Free Sector enclave. In fact, he's very Cornerian-looking. Kinda tall and apeish, with just hair on the top of his head. Like, I didn't think I'd be attracted to a guy with no fur, but WOW you can really see a lot of muscle on bare skin. Whew.

Trigger is a pretty serious guy so I don't think he'd say yes if I asked for a nudie of him, but I'll try and sneak you a picture of his torso at least. And before any of you get ideas: NO, he is not "lording his position as captain" over me for sex. Gross. In fact, HE asked if we could take things slow. So wipe those looks off your faces right now, boys. My Trigger is a sweetheart and would never! Oh!

Speaking of you lot: Trigger says we're heading to LOSA after this mission for a drop-off mission, which means I'M COMING HOME TO VISIT! And I'm bringing the crew with me so you can meet everyone! Which brings me to my last point. Bjorn. Nils. Erik. I love you guys. You know I do. Please, PLEASE, do not try to give Trigger the shovel talk. I am begging you. It's going to be really embarrassing for me, and then it's going to be double embarrassing for you three when Trigger just brushes you off.

You're not going to scare him. So please. For my sake. Be normal.... Actually, you know what, I'm asking the impossible. Just try not to be TOO weird, okay? I love you all so much. Give Mom a BIIIIG hug for me. I'll call as soon as I'm somewhere with decent comm coverage! With love from your favorite daughter/sister, Mila <3 P. S. - Mom, I've been practicing my cooking! I've been getting better, and Trigger gets us quality food to cook. Can you send me a copy of your recipe book?

TO: Dremmond Cask (STN Kalibo-III) FROM: Jodie Coyote SUBJECT: RE: Position Available - Senior Technician Hey Drem, Got your message. Took me a bit to reply because I wanted to sit on it and think it over properly. You deserved that much. I'm gonna have to say no. I know, I know. Senior Technician with a pay bump and my own bay? That's a hell of an offer, especially for someone you pulled off the street with nothing but dried grease under her claws. Believe me, I ain't taking it lightly.

You're right that this merc life is dangerous. We got into a real scrap a few weeks back, Sovereign Reach fighters jumping us near Killigan. Saw more bolts fly in ten minutes than I saw in three years on Kalibo. Our ship got chewed up pretty bad, and I spent the better part of a week auditing 3rd party repairs and doing refits. And you know what? I loved every second of it. Not the getting shot at part. That I could do without. But the rest of it?

The freedom to do things my way, the puzzles that don't come with a service manual, the satisfaction of knowing my work is getting used by folks who depend on me? That's the stuff that gets me out of bed in the morning, Drem. That's the stuff that makes me feel like I'm actually doing something with my hands instead of just going through the motions. The characters I've met out here don't hurt, either. My captain's an odd one, but he keeps bringing me projects that force me to give everything I've got.

Just last week, I figured out how to cram VR training pods into a Javelin-class corvette without blowing the electrical grid. Could I come back? Be safe? Make better money? Yeah. Probably. At least in the short term. We're getting a bit of a reputation out here, so who knows what the long game looks like. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. But I can't do it. Safety and steady credits always come second to chasing passion.

That's what my uncle used to say, and I reckon he was right, even if it got him killed in the end. I wanted to thank you, Drem. Proper-like. You took a chance on a drifter girl with no degree, no certs, and nothing to show for herself but a bad attitude. You didn't have to do that. Most folks wouldn't have. I ain't ever gonna forget it, but I don't think our paths are ever gonna cross again. Take care of yourself. And tell Marcy I said hey.

-Jodie TO: Mama (Herrado Colony, Sector 11) FROM: Lars Ortiz SUBJECT: money home [LANGUAGE: REACHIC MARIDIAN DETECTED - TRANSLATING TO CORNERIAN] Hey Mama, Sent this month's payment home and it should deposit in a day or so. You'll notice it's a good bit more than before. Took on a bigger job with a crew out deep in the frontier. Please get something nice for yourself. A fancy dinner, one of those kitchen gadgets you like, or something. Don't worry about saving too much, I promise to keep sending money home.

I don't know how much of my mail you read or if you read them at all. I wanted you to know that I fell in with some good folks this time. Real good. Worth keeping safe with both arms if I have to. I won't go looking for a bolt to take for anyone, but if I stop writing home, I'm sorry. How's everyone doing back home? Tia Camila still running the shop? Are Dom's kids getting big? I wish you'd talk to me, Mama. I'm sorry. Love always, Lars.

TO: Cornerian Marine Corps Defense Appellate Division (CMCDAD) CC: General Pepper, Office of the Joint Chiefs FROM: Elijah Gunjar SUBJECT: Withdrawal of Appeal - Case #CMC-00124471-DD (Dishonorable Discharge) To Whom It Concerns, This message serves as formal notification that I am withdrawing all attempts to appeal my discharge from the Cornerian Marine Corps, and withdraw all petitions for reinstatement to Special Detachment Sigma. No further correspondence on this matter will be forthcoming.

Regards, (Formerly) Sergeant Major Elijah Gunjar CMC Service Number: 041721834 TO: Lisa McCarrick (Telvarro, Thrift-Master Living Block™ #14) FROM: Edward McCarrick SUBJECT: Doing Great!! Hey Ma! Just wanted to drop a line and let you know I'm safe! Things are going swell out here! Better than swell, actually. Your boy Edward finally hit the big time! I'm part of a real crew now, Ma. Big operation. We got a ship, we got guns, we got the whole setup. Living like a bigshot!

Money poppin' out my pockets, sippin' on brandy, the works. Told you I'd make something of myself, didn't I? That bitter pissant of an old man was wrong about me. OF COURSE he was wrong about me. Always said I'd end up dead in a gutter or rotting in a cell. Well look at me now! Can't talk about too much, you understand. My team (which I'm basically in charge of, by the way) is on some real secret squirrel billion-cred shit. Hush hush, need-to-know, all that.

But maybe I can tell you a little about [REDACTED BY INTERNAL OP-SEC PROTOCOL. CREW MEMBER REPRIMANDED BY CAPTAIN.] You tell Dad that maybe, MAYBE, if he apologizes for being a shithead my whole life, I'll think about buying his way out of that forklift gig once I get you moved out to your beachhouse in Lylat. That's a big maybe though. He's gotta really mean it. (I ain't gonna do it lol). Give him a kick in the pants for me. Your favorite son, Edward. [DECRYPTING MESSAGE...] [ROUTING PATH: 14 NODES DETECTED] [STRIPPING METADATA...] [VERIFYING RECIPIENT BIOMETRICS...] [DECRYPTION COMPLETE] TO: [ANONYMIZED] FROM: [ANONYMIZED] SUBJECT: [NONE] Aunt Thessaly, If you are reading this, it is because Mother and Father's communications are too well monitored for me to reach them directly. Please speak to them in person. Do not use any digital channels. The news of my departure from Mortnorna has no doubt reached the family by now.

I cannot apologize enough if it has caused any of you grief, whether in your careers or your personal lives. I am sorry I did not reach out sooner. It's only by chance I found a secure channel. I must be brief. This message has a strict character limit due to the length and encryption of the path it took to avoid notice. I am fed. I am healthy. I am sheltered. Whatever news reaches you through official channels, please do not worry.

I want you to tell Mother and Father that I do not resent them for sending me to Mortnorna. I was a little girl drunk on her own power, convinced that the rules did not apply to someone of my talents. I would have spiraled. I would have made a mistake that could never be undone. They made a hard choice, and in the end it was the correct one. Mortnorna taught me humility. It force-fed it to me in the most painful and humiliating manner possible, and I am a better person for it. But I could not stand it anymore.

I will not detail the reasons here. I cannot reveal how I escaped, for fear of incriminating those who showed me sympathy. I can only say that I will not be returning. Not that I could if I wished. I suspect my Hajiti citizenship has already been revoked. By now, I am likely a non-person in the eyes of the Collective. This may be the last you ever hear from me. I am sorry for that. I miss you all dearly, more than I have words to express, but it is better for everyone this way.

Please give Mother and Father my love. Tell them I am at peace with the path I have chosen. With all my heart, Stella [MESSAGE ENDS] [RECEPTION CONFIRMED] [AUTO-PURGE IN: 60 SECONDS] [SAVE DISABLED]