Note: There is no real story to accompany the first three generations, but if you'd like to see the Taffity family rise from much of nothing to owning an island; the thread is HERE
Generation 4, Chapter 1
Let's go back a moment. Rewind, rewind, rewind...hmm, yep, stop right there....
See that? That was the moment that I totally changed everything else. You see, I was eleven then and like all eleven years old - I was pretty stupid. I made a wish that day as a blew out my candles and everyone knows that a birthday wish is the most powerful of all.
I wished for love - simple enough right? I'd seen how happy my parents were and I wanted that..someday anyway, when I wasn't a stupid eleven year old. It seemed like such a simple wish at the time, I guess I should have been more specific.
Anyway, that's me as a super intelligent teenager...okay maybe not super intelligent but intelligent enough. I had to get glasses just before high school and honestly, I didn't mind them. A couple kids tried to make fun of me but considering I didn't really care, it didn't last long.
My dad is Leader of the Free World and after three generations, our family owns most everything on the island. We didn't need the money or anything but for whatever reason, I wanted to get a part time job for after school. So I went down to the grocery store and filled out an application - as soon as they saw my last name, I was hired.
I love the smell of fresh produce...is that weird? Maybe that's why I'd picked the grocery store that day. I brought home so much fresh produce that there really wasn't room in the fridge. Mom was about to throw it out but Dad, being the frugal guy that he is, suggested planting it - well the seeds anyway. Waste not, want not. I started with just a couple struggling seedlings but in time, I had a lovely little garden growing.
Seeing that my work was paying off, my dad helped me build a couple structures to protect the young plants from the sometimes brutal ocean winds but still let them get plenty of sunlight. We had two little garden plots for me to tend and soon, between the garden and my school work, I quit my job at the grocery store.
River, meanwhile, was bringing in a fair amount of money as well. Although no one else seemed to know how. She stayed up most nights after our parents had gone to bed hacking into various servers. When my dad would wake up before work and see her at the computer, he often raised his eyebrows but never said anything. I wonder if he knew how often his cyber crimes team was chasing River all over the internet?
My parents were getting old - not that they acted old or anything - it was just a fact...they were getting older and with five kids, four of them grown up (because River was turning eighteen) - it's no wonder. At the same time River was about to celebrate her eighteenth birthday; Mom and Dad's birthday came up. Apparently they were born on the same day because they ALWAYS celebrated together.
Dad aged gracefully, I swear, aside from the gray hair instead of his light blond, he didn't look a day over fifty. Mom, on the other hand, was reluctant to age. She still looked great in my opinion but she was pretty sulky about it at first. It took a lot of convincing on my part to get her to cheer up - it was her birthday after all!
River had been anxious to get out of the house on her own; out from under Dad's eye and government influence that could impede her budding hacker career I think. But after she blew out the candles, she had one of those panic moments she was prone to. I wonder if she'll ever settle down and have kids...it doesn't seem to suit her really.
After a week of packing though, she did move out of the house. She moved in with our aunt Leia so at least she wasn't totally alone. Shortly after the grand birthday it was time to go back to school. Byron, as always, was there to greet me at my locker. He'd been one of my best friends since we were kids and I was thrilled to have him. "Wanna come over for a Mario Kart rematch?" he asked that morning.
"Can't, mom is still a little spastic since River moved out - nearly empty nest or something. But you can come over." I suggested.
That afternoon, Byron came over and I swear I saw Mom poking around every corner spying on us. You see, there is apparently some unwritten rule that means I'm supposed to marry a blond...not that I'm even thinking of marriage but sometimes I think Mom made sure to put me in playdates with Byron just so that someday I would marry him and give her blond grandbabies.
"Hey Byron" I said, cutting him off mid-sentence.
"Yeah?" he said, fiddling with the CD player, he glanced at me and I looked away. There was Mom again!
"Close your eyes..." I said. Although I'm not sure who I was talking to; Mom or Byron...
"Inara...what's up?" he asked.
I kissed him then and it was great, it really was. He was perfectly happy to kiss me back and didn't pull away. It was almost as if he'd been waiting and hoping for it as much as my mom had been.
"Well that was....great" he said as a slow pink blush crept up his cheeks. Wasn't I the one who was supposed to be blushing?
I touched his cheek and nodded. "yeah, yeah it was.." I said.
It really was great but I'm not really sure I felt it as strongly as he did. He started yammering about homecoming and prom and the future and it all felt like yada yada yada to me as I looked into his sweet eyes.
I pulled him into a hug and looking over his shoulder, there was Mom, shooting me a thumbs up sign. I gave her a weak smile and went on hugging my best friend, now boyfriend?
Maybe this was the love I'd wished for all those years ago. It didn't really feel like love but I was young and I did like his company - he was my best friend after all. Maybe...
Afterward we settled in for some Mario Kart...only I wasn't really in the mood so I contented myself with watching him play and pondering the possibilities.
When I woke up the next morning, and every morning after that, I felt terrible for kissing him. It just didn't feel right; at least not like I'd imagined it would. I told myself that some people would be lucky to spend so much time with their best friend...to marry their best friend even. But marry Byron?! Besides, I was too young to think about such things.
I took up fishing behind our house. It had two advantages, the fish made excellent fertilizer for my garden and it gave me time to think - away from my mother who I'm pretty sure was smuggling bridal magazines into the house to plan my wedding to Byron. Ya know, I always said River was the insane one but maybe Mom passed it down to her...is insanity genetic?!
A few weeks later, I ran into Scotty Shear at school. And by ran into...I really mean ran into. I was running late for class and took a turn really fast. There were papers and books everywhere. But one of the most popular guys in the school was sprawled on the floor next to me. "You pack quite a punch" he joked as we both stood. My cheeks flamed red and I bent down to pick up my stuff without responding. "You're Inara right? One of the Taffitys?"
What were we? A separate race?! I smiled up and him awkwardly and nodded. "Sorry 'bout that." I said. "Gotta go." I grabbed the last binder and ran the rest of the way to class.
It was until after school that I realized I'd grabbed his History binder instead of my own Math binder. He must have noticed it too because he showed up on my doorstep with it in hand. When he handed it to me, our hands brushed and it felt like electricity shot through me. We both looked at each other in surprise - I guess he felt it too...
"I shouldn't do this..." he said as he touched my arm gently - again there was a pleasing electrical moment between us - it wasn't painful or anything.
"I can't do this..." I said looking away from him. "I'm dating Byron...and you're dating Shana..."
"True, both of those are true statements" he said lamely. There was a long silence between us and then he smiled at me, flashing me a gorgeous smile. "But..."
"But...?" I said. I gnawed on my lower lip for a moment and took the plunge.
Now THAT was the love I'd meant when I'd made that wish on that fateful birthday! Caressing his cheek under the slowly rising moon, I couldn't help but smile - even if I'd just screwed up everything else.
End Chapter
Outtakes that don't fit in Inara's telling ;)
Leia, at the Bistro playing for a random gathering of Townies - there are too many elders..
River, still as insane as ever lol
I told you he looked pretty good for a sim elder :P
Look it's a catfish
Chapter 6
The car was filling with water faster than I could really begin to process the situation. I've seen it happen before, from the other side of course, and it seems like the car takes forever to sink. But from the inside; forever turns into practically nothing. I turned to look out the back window and saw a dark, human like shadow standing on the lake shore - just waiting for us to surface.
"What the hell?!" Leni shouted as the cold water covered her legs. She started to scramble for the seat belt latch and panic set it. She barely spared me a glance as she started fighting with the door, trying to open it against the pressure of the water outside. "HELP!" she shouted. I'm not sure if she was shouting at me or hoping for someone else to show up in her hour of need.
I reached over and put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Calm down." I said; then pulled a gun from the center console. It was no doubt water logged but it would serve some purpose anyway. The water was about to overtake our heads so I had to get Leni's attention back on me, as she was now scratching at the door. "Leni!" I said loudly. "You need to stop and take a deep breath!" I grabbed her head and turned her to face me. "Do you hear me? Take a deep breath and be ready to follow me!"
She nodded her head vigorously between my hands, thankful that someone seemed to have a plan. I only hoped it would work! I felt the water touch my chin and nodded to Leni; I took my own deep breath at the same time she did and the water enveloped our heads at the moment. I waited just long enough for the rest of the window to be submerged before using the butt of the gun to smash it several times. Without looking at Leni, I pushed my way through the broken window, a few remaining shards tugged at my clothing.
Thankfully Leni was right on my heels and I grabbed her arm to pull her from the car as it continued to sink toward the bottom of the lake.
I didn't have time to survey the area before I saw Leni moving toward the surface. I tried to grasp her arm to stop her and met only water; my second attempt won though as I grabbed her shirt and pulled her back down. I tried to shake my head vigorously in the water, thinking of the man above who seemed to be out to kill us - well me anyway but I'm not sure he'd spare much thought for Leni.
She, thoroughly unaware of the heap of trouble she'd landed in, fought against my hold on her. We were losing precious air as we struggled against each other so I grabbed her firmly around the wrist and started swimming. There was only one area I could think of that we might be able to surface without being seen. Leni continued to struggle against my grip but eventually gave up.
If the sinking of the car seemed fast, the short swim from the car to the waterfall seemed to take an eternity. Every second we were under water without air began to burn inside and every stroke was a feat in and of itself to make. Somehow, through sheer force of will or just dumb luck, I felt the pressure from the waterfall all around me. Once we'd crossed the barrier so I knew we were safely behind it's watery veil, I let go of Leni.
"What the hell!?" she shouted after taking a large gulp of air.
I clamped my hand over her mouth quickly and prayed that the noise of the waterfall would mask her voice. "Would you shut up?" I hissed. I tried looking through the thick wall of water but couldn't get a clear sight on the shore. "A man just tried to kill us, I'd prefer it if he thought he might have succeeded."
Leni's eyes went wide with shock and horror as she caught up to everything that had just happened. "He tried to...." she trailed off. "Who is he? And why?" she asked, this time in a reasonably quiet voice.
I didn't answer her questions; instead I turned my back on her and swam toward the edge of the falls. Pressed tightly against a rock face, I peered out across the lake through a sliver. The man was still standing there and this time I saw him lazily tapping a gun against his thigh. I was about to turn back toward Leni when a series of gunshots rang out. Behind me somewhere I heard Leni shriek and I turned back to see if somehow she'd been hit. Thankfully she was fine, though completely freaked out. Looking back toward the man, he was pointing his gun into the water where the car had submerged. He held his gun out for several moments before he relaxed and resumed his vigil; he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.
I looked back at Leni and wondered how long it would take before she would break under the pressure and get herself killed. I erred on the side of caution and assumed not long. Swimming back to her, I considered our options, anywhere we surfaced on the open shore, the man would see. "Leni, I need you to stay here" I said. "I'll be right back. Just. Stay. Here." She nodded but didn't speak. I took another deep breath and dove beneath the surface; Nes had told me there was a cave and tunnel down here that led under the waterfall and to the outer edge of the island. She was always trying to get me to go exploring with her but I'd never taken her up on it - I only wish I had now. I spotted the entrance just before I had no choice but to surface again.
To her credit, Leni was there waiting. "Take a deep breath and follow me." I said. She nodded, this time with less enthusiasm, but did as she was told.
The entrance to the cave system led upwards and soon we were able to break the surface of the water - though the heavy rock formations around us were imposing. Most of the system was at least partially above the water level so there was little risk of drowning. Any time we had to make a dive, I left Leni behind so that I could figure out how far we'd have to go. Luck, for once, seemed to be on my side as we never encountered a completely submerged area that we couldn't navigate. Unluckily, the caves and tunnels were far more complex than Nes had led me to believe. There wasn't just one tunnel or even two; there were several leading to several small caverns which would dead end.
"Don't you know where you're going?" Leni asked as we hit one such dead end. Her freak out had now been replaced by annoyance it seemed. I couldn't really blame her.
"Honestly? No...not really." I said and took another huge gulp of air before ducking back under the water.
A few more wrong turns and several quarrels later, we surfaced and found ourselves in the much smaller lake near my house. "Thank God!" Leni said climbing out of the water and into the cold night air. I was about to start another fight with her, the hours I'd spent with her had been the longest of my life, but I caught sight of my tiny shack. And the plume of smoke rising above it. I ran towards it, leaving a cold, shivering Leni standing by the water.
The door had been kicked in, I could see the fire inside before I even got there. Scattered across the floor were files, books, clothes and broken dishes - all I had on this island was inside that house or sitting at the bottom of a lake.
I shoved my way past some smoldering debris and saw that whoever had started the fire had completely trashed the house. I don't know if he was looking for something or setting a scene for law enforcement but chairs were overturned, the ancient TV had been smashed in and the sofa had been slashed.
I felt myself detaching from those few belongings as the flames licked around me. There were few things here that I was particularly attached to and I was prepared to let it all burn away.
"Oh hell!" Leni shouted from behind me.
Her shout brought my attention back into focus. I started to push her back out of the burning house when my eye caught on a fleck of silver. I didn't even have to look closely to know what it was the flames had claimed as their next victim. I reached toward a kitchen cabinet and pulled back quickly as the fire leapt against my exposed flesh. I growled and thrust my arm forward again and pulled out a fire extinguisher from under the sink.
Leni had disappeared, outside I hoped, and I turned the extinguisher on the flames that now seemed to be surrounding me. I was determined to put them out and salvage at least that one small object.
I heard a pop behind me and turned back to see Leni wielding her own extinguisher, as if she'd magicked it into existence. I couldn't spare the time to think about where it came from and returned to the battle against the flames.
With the two of us working against the fire, it was soon extinguished and I would have collapsed on the couch if a large, uncomfortable looking spring wasn't poking out of it. I knelt down and picked up the object I...we...had fought so hard for. The small silver picture frame was black with soot but the pictures inside appeared to be unharmed. Aunt Pru smiled back at me as I dusted the film of soot from the glass and tucked into the corner was a small picture of Felicia, I had clipped it from a newspaper before leaving the states.
"Thank you." I said, standing up with the frame firmly in my grasp.
Leni didn't say anything, she was leaning heavily on the railing of the stairs and looked like she might collapse or freak out at any moment - although I'm not sure she really had the energy to do a freak out justice.
I looked over the stairs and decided they seemed to be structurally sound, mostly untouched by the fire. "I have some shorts and tanks and tees upstairs...if you want to put on something dry." I said. "At least I hope I do." I said as I toed a pile of charred clothes with my shoe. Leni nodded and slowly ascended the stairs, dragging her tired body upwards. Once she was out of sight, I pulled out my cell phone in an attempt to call John - with the fire, I had completely forgotten that it had spent the better part of the afternoon under water. The screen attempted to flicker to life but I heard an unpleasant fritzing noise from within the device and then the screen went dark again.
Leni returned a few minutes later and handed me a couple things as well. "Thought you might need it." she said quietly.
"Thanks." I said nodding. I climbed over some charred debris and stepped into the small bathroom to change, still holding the frame and the useless phone. After changing, I tucked them both into the pocket. I attempted to dry off my wallet and cards a bit before stowing them in my pocket as well.
Leni was half asleep on the couch with the popped spring when I came out of the bathroom. I walked over to her and gently touched her shoulder, causing her to jump and shriek. Her eyes were wide with terror for as few seconds before they settled on me. "Sorry" she mumbled once her breathing had slowed some.
"It's okay. Come on, we need to get out of here." I said offering my hand.
"What? Why?!" she scrambled to her feet quickly and looked around for the next threat. When she realized that we weren't about to be gunned down or chopped to bits she settled down slightly.
"It's not safe, we need to get off the island." I explained quickly.
"We?! Why we? I didn't do anything to the crazy guy - I just was in the wrong place..." she started to stutter, backing away from me. Being a tiny house, she found herself up against a wall within a few steps.
"Yeah but this guy doesn't know that." I said mostly to myself. I hated to bring her along - partially because she would be a hindrance more than likely but mostly because I didn't want to get her killed. "So looks like we'll be working together after all..."
I can't be sure, but I don't think she was entirely thrilled about that prospect anymore.
End Chapter
Chapter 15: The University
Laying in the hotel bed that night, I simply couldn't stop grinning. The whole premiere had been incredible and I was sad to see it end. It was approaching one in the morning and the boys were back in their room but Nai'a and I were still awake. "Just how well do you know Jasper Cassidy?" I asked again with a grin. I'd asked her before and she'd changed the subject on me.
Nai'a laughed. "We've known each other since we were kids." she said, without really answering my real question.
"And are you two....?" I trailed off but I knew she would follow my line of thought.
"No!" she said with a loud laugh. She picked up her pillow and threw it at me. This, naturally, triggered an all out pillow war that involved jumping on the hotel beds and making more noise than we should have. I barely heard the knock at the door over our shrieks. We giggled as we scrambled to try to somewhat right the room before opening the door.
Todd and Erik stood on the other side grinning at us. "Having a party without us?" Erik asked while Todd glanced around the disorderly room. Nai'a and I exchanged a look and started giggling all over again before shooing the boys back to their room and finally settling down to sleep.
"So you and Jasper aren't dating?" I asked just after she'd turned out the lights. She didn't reply right away but I heard some shuffling from her bed just before a pillow landed on my face.
"Go to sleep Ginny." she said with a muffled chuckle.
-----
The next day was the start of the weekend at CSU. Mei-Ling assured us that the party in the evening would be fun and mostly other high school students and freshman. But for the first part of the day, it was mostly touring the large campus and meeting people. By either luck or some sort of coercion, Mei-Ling was our little group's tour guide. She breezed through the more mundane areas and focused mostly on the main building which was a general gathering point for students.
"This is one of the larger Student Lounges" she said. "People come to study...and sleep; mostly sleep." she said with a laugh.
I could understand why, the room was full of plush couches and large accommodating chairs. Being a Saturday it was mostly empty but I saw a couple people had pulled two chairs together for optimum comfort. One wall was lined with books and there were a handful of desks for those that didn't want to succumb to the comfort of sleep. Unlike the study areas around the libraries, this place looked cozy.
We hit up yet another library after - really, how many libraries does this campus need?! I was glad we were with Mei-Ling because I would have gotten lost on my own. As we passed through the halls and crossed between the buildings, I tried to imagine myself going to college here - or anywhere for that matter - but the thoughts couldn't form in my mind. It still seemed like there was so much of high school left even though it was only a little over a year now.
One of the last stops before breaking up for lunch was one of the large lecture halls. Standing at the bottom of the room and looking over the five hundred or so stadium style seats made my eyes go wide. A student really could be just a name without a face really in a place like this.
That night at the "mixer", I found myself hanging back from the crowd. Mei-Ling was introducing Todd around to her friends and Nai'a - who seemed to find a place in any group - was happily mingling. But I couldn't stop the thoughts now churning in my head about the future. I retreated to a window and gazed out across the lawn and the spanning campus.
"Ginny?" Erik said coming up behind me and placing his hand on the small of my back. "You okay?"
I shrugged. "I guess." I said, with very little conviction. "Just thinking I guess."
"About?" Erik asked.
"The future." I said with a frown. "Is it bad that I have no idea what I want to do after high school?" I looked back over my shoulder at him.
He shrugged. "I don't think so. Lots of people already out of high school don't know what they want." he pointed out.
I nodded and looked back out the window. "I guess. Just feels like everyone seems to be pushing us to know now and start planning ahead."
"You still have plenty of time Gin." he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me gently against him. "There's no rush."
I could have stayed in his arms forever. Can I make a career out of Erik? I grinned at the errant thought. As I considered it, something streaked across the main lawn. I leaned forward to get a better look and tilted my head. "Is that....?"
"Hmm?" Erik looked over my shoulder as well. "It can't be..." The female streaker suddenly turned and ran back across the lawn again before disappearing into a building on the other side.
"I swear, it looked like Veronica!" I said. "Ask Erik! He saw her."
All eyes in the hotel room turned toward Erik. He nodded, "I agree with Gin, it really did look like V. I mean we were fifty plus feet away but still..."
"No!" Todd said in disbelief. "Streaking? Seriously?!"
"Naked as the day she was born!" I said laughing.
"It happens on the weekends a lot...usually a frat prank of some sort." Mei-Ling pointed out. "The Kappas were having a party last night; maybe she was invited..."
"Or maybe it wasn't her and just someone who looks like her." Nai'a suggested in the midst of painting her toenails.
We talked about the likelihood of it being Veronica until about one in the morning when Nai'a's father popped his head in and evicted the guys. The vote was three to two in favor of it being V.
Mei-Ling had come back to the hotel with us for the night to hang out and I offered to share my bed with her. Nai'a, Mei-Ling and I stayed up gabbing for another hour before the need for sleep overwhelmed the impulse to stay up all night.
I had a hard time falling asleep for some reason so when the bed shifted around four, I woke up enough to glance at the clock. Mei-Ling mumbled something about the bathroom I think so I fell back asleep without much thought on the matter.
When I woke up a few hours later and found her side of the bed still empty, I sat up concerned. Nai'a was still asleep even though the morning sun was streaming through the window - it had been a late night though. I walked quietly to the bathroom and knocked lightly on the door. The door opened from the knock - no Mei-Ling.
I was pulling on my shoes to go see where she'd gotten off to when I heard the click of the door lock yielding to one of the electronic card keys. The door opened very slowly and Mei-Ling made sure it closed as quietly - hoping not to wake the inhabitants of the room. "Morning" I said softly.
She whirled around to face me and her face blushed scarlet. "Hey Ginny." she said, she looked over at Nai'a's bed before looking back at me. "I was getting ice." she said quickly.
"Where's the ice bucket?" I teased.
She looked down at her hands sheepishly, as if hoping it would magically appear in her hands. "Um...." I chuckled softly and she instantly relaxed at the sound.
-----
Everyone else slept in pretty late to the point that "breakfast" was replaced with a brunch picnic back on the university lawn as we took Mei-Ling back to her dorms before heading home.
"It is nice here." I said looking around the nearly empty lawn since it was a Sunday. There were a few students here and there but nothing like I'd imagine it would be during the school week.
"Thanks for being our tour guide Mei-Ling" Erik offered as he bit into his sandwich.
Mei-Ling nodded but didn't say anything. She and Todd couldn't seem to keep attention for anyone else for more than about a minute today. Neither having eaten much of anything, they put their plates down and walked a couple feet away.
"What's with them?" Erik asked.
I had to bite the inside of my mouth to not grin or giggle. I just shrugged to Erik, not trusting myself to open my mouth.
None of us saw the young man approaching until he was practically right next us. I looked up at him curiously but his attention was not on those of us on the ground. He was completely focused on Mei-Ling and Todd.
For their part, Mei-Ling and Todd were oblivious to the man as they were completely enamored with each other.
As they cuddled and kissed, I returned my gaze to the man and realized he was probably our age, maybe a year or so older. He looked Asian and I wondered if he and Mei-Ling knew each other. I was about to interrupt them when he cleared his throat, saving me the trouble.
When Mei-Ling and Todd did not cease or give their attention to the man, he cleared his throat louder and then said something in Chinese to Mei-Ling. I watch her eyes go wide before she turned to face him. "I would appreciate it if you remove your hands from my fiance." the man said in clipped English.
There was a collective gasp from everyone pretty much. "Fiance?!" Nai'a said a little loudly and then instantly clamped her hand over he mouth. The man paid her no attention at all, or any of us really.
"I am not your fiance!" Mei-Ling said angrily. "What are you doing here?!"
He replied in rapid Chinese; Mei-Ling replied in Chinese as well leaving the rest of us completely baffled for several moments.
Todd tried to step in and interject several times but having received several looks from both Mei-Ling and her possible fiance, he gave up on that and was resigned to watch from the sidelines as they argued in a foreign tongue.
The man did not look happy when he turned to leave but he had a fierce look of determination as well. He glared at Todd before he disappeared. Had Mei-Ling not stepped in front of Todd, he would have gone after him for that. But the forlorn look on her face stopped him in his tracks. "What's going on Mei-Ling?" he asked.
End Chapter.
Chapter 5
"Um...morning." I said as she slowly took in the small room.
"Is it?" Leni asked putting a hand to her head and swaying. She blinked several times to focus her eyes. "Is that my file?" she would probably have been annoyed if her head didn't hurt so much, instead she sounded almost lazy about it.
"Yes it is." I said honestly. "There's coffee..." I pointed to the coffee maker in order to change the subject. "I'm gonna go...I'll be right back." I said. I brushed past her on my way up the stairs. I pulled on a shirt and changed so at least one of us was more than half dressed. When I got back downstairs, she was sitting at the table, nursing a cup of coffee. I poured myself another cup and stood a little awkwardly in my tiny nook of a kitchen.
"Um...last night..." she started awkwardly, not meeting my eyes. "Did we....I mean...what happened exactly?"
I couldn't help but grin. "You passed out, I didn't know where you were staying so I brought you back here."
"And I'm wearing one of your shirts because..." she fiddled with the fabric and tried to pull it down further than it could go.
"Your clothes were wet, soaked really - I think you must have gone for a swim." I explained. I left out the part about trying to get her changed. "Speaking of which, they're out on the line - I'll go get them for you."
I put my coffee cup down and stepped outside to the side of the house where I had hung the clothes out to dry. Leni's clothes from the night before were dry, though my own laundry was still damp.
I stepped inside and handed them to her, as I did my phone started ringing, so I left her to change and stepped back outside. "Geirson" I replied.
"Hey Niko, it's Nessia - we have a DB down at the Bistro. You available for a bit?" a female voice asked.
I glanced over at the house and saw Leni near the window. I could just take her back to her hotel and then head over to the Bistro. There were only a couple hotels on the island so it would likely be on the way.
"Niko? You there?" Nessia asked as I considered what to do with Leni, the sooner I could get her off my island, the happier I would be.
"Yeah yeah. Just have to get rid of a house guest first." I heard her chuckle on the other end, I could imagine what she was thinking. "I'll be there in twenty."
"Oh take your time, he's not going anywhere." she replied, still chuckling as the phone went dead.
Leni came out as I hung up the phone, "So, are you going to help me out with this or not?" she asked holding up the file that I'd been reading that morning when she came down.
"Come on, I have a job to do - I'll drop you back at the hotel on the way." I said in response. I stepped inside to grab my things and locked up to tiny house.
"So what do you do during the day?" she asked while driving, having decided to temporarily drop the topic of Felicia.
"Stuff." I said. "Which hotel are you staying at?" She shook her head and refused to tell me so ten minutes later, I was forced to drop her off in town and then headed for the Bistro, I only hoped she wouldn't follow me.
Nessia waved me across the crime scene tape. "Morning Niko." she said. "Get rid of your guest?" she asked with a smirk.
"More or less." I muttered. I crouched beside the body and looked over him. "Hey I know this guy..." I said after looking over the face a couple times. I thought back to the brief encounter with him as I left The Bum yesterday.
"You do?" Nessia asked in surprise.
"Well not know exactly, I saw him yesterday at The Bum." I said standing up.
"You think the food there killed him?" she joked.
"No, looks like strangulation." I said pointing toward the neck. The bruising had become pronounced in the hours since death.
"Hey who's that?" Nessia asked, looking over my shoulder and pointing. I turned to look and groaned. "Ah, your not so absent house guest then..." she covered her mouth to hide a laugh.
"Would you please just..." I knelt before the body again and was handed a pair of gloves. I pulled them on and tilted the neck ever so slightly to get a better look at the neck. "Looks like a chain..." I said looking up at Nessia. To my surprise, she was waving Leni over as well.
"Hi" she offered Leni her hand.
"Hey Nessia, dead body...crime scene....you don't even know this woman." I said. I looked at Leni and shrugged. "No offense or anything."
"I didn't know you much either when you first arrived and yet here you are..." she grinned. Ugh, everyone around here was far too laid back sometimes.
The coroner arrived and started speaking rapidly with Nessia in French, one of the many languages spoken on the island.
Nessia started giving her the details (I assume anyway, I don't speak French beyond a few phrases) so I returned my attention back to the body of the dead tourist. I had seen what looked like a tattoo on his arm and returned to look at it.
It wasn't a tattoo at all, it turned out to be a stamp from a local night club. A stamp of a crescent moon. "That's not good." I muttered to myself and glanced around quickly as if the killer were lurking nearby.
Only Leni heard me and she knelt beside me to look at the stamp. She was completely confused by it, telling me she didn't know the significance. "What is it?" she asked. I didn't comment but started poking around in the dead guys pockets for a wallet.
I'm not sure if it was smell of death, the hangover or some combination of both; but Leni jumped to her feet and backed away from the scene. After I found the wallet (with nothing taken), I glanced back at her and saw her swaying on her feet.
"His name is Rob Jamison." I said holding up the wallet for Nessia. That caught her attention enough to bring her attention back to me.
She pulled on her own gloved before taking the wallet. "You know you should have waited for the coroner before snooping around..." she teased. When I'd first arrived I'd been a stickler for my sort of protocol and it had taken me time to get used to the way things were dealt with here.
As she looked through the wallet of on Rob Jamison, a resident of Wisconsin, I stood and pulled off my gloves. I nodded to the coroner and walked over to Leni. "Hey, you alright?" I asked, placing a hand on her back.
"That's a dead body..." she stated, hazarding a glance over her shoulder and then looking like she regretted it instantly.
"Yes, it is." I replied. "Aren't you a private detective?" I asked after the latest round of nausea passed.
"Yeah but I've never worked a case involving dead bodies." she said. "I mostly work divorces...nothing like this."
"And you're hung over...that doesn't help." I added. "Come on," I offered her my hand. "They're taking him back to the morgue, I'll drop you at your hotel on my way...assuming you're ready to tell me this time." I added with a laugh.
"Yeah...hotel, hotel sounds good..." she still looked really green as I led her back to the car. She was in the middle of telling me her hotel when my phone alerted me to a text message.
"Leave now" was all it said. I couldn't be sure who it was from since it was a number I didn't recognize but I felt pretty sure it was from John as I though back to the moon stamp and the files.
"What is it?" Leni asked, having watched my face change.
I shook my head. "Nothing," I headed in the direction of her hotel, determined to leave her there so she didn't get dragged into whatever was going on.
The car shuddered violently as it was struck in the rear. I attempted to correct while looking back to see what had struck us, all I saw was a streak of silver before the car shook again and the sound of metal crunching on metal ripped through the car. Tires squealed and I could feel the car get pushed off the road and onto gravel.
"What the hell?!" Leni shrieked. I turned to look at her for a second and I had time to see the deep lake and waterfall in front us. Before I could try to react, the car shook once more from another hit - he was pushing us straight into the water.
And then I felt the cold water creeping in touch my feet. "Oh shit..."
Chapter 16
Julian recoiled a bit from Freya at the rejection. Freya let him go and for a few minutes they looked at each other across the sofa. The space between them was overwhelming in a sense and yet Freya could reach out and touch him if she wanted. "Part of me expected that I admit but I thought..." Julian scratched his chin, considering his words. "Things seemed different, you seemed different..." He got up from the couch and paced a few feet away.
"I am different Julian." Freya said, although she ached to reach out to him and reassure him that she still loved him, she held back.
"Than why not? I know we couldn't get married in the temple but I'm sure Captain Hunt would agree to marry us..." Julian seemed to flounder for more words, leaving an opening for Freya to speak up.
Freya reached out for him, taking his hands in hers. "I do want to marry you Julian. But..." she chewed on her lower lip for a second. "For years, all my life even, I've simply accepted the rules as being the rules. It never really occurred to me until recently that they needed to change....that I could change them."
"Okay..." Julian looked more confused than anything, trying to understand the significance.
"I don't want to be married in secret, live in secret like I'm ashamed or some sort of criminal. We wouldn't be able to go public with it, we wouldn't even be able to live together or have children...and that is simply unacceptable to me." Freya said, still holding his hands tightly in case he tried to pull away. "I've always thought I wasn't good enough for you - because that's what everyone told me. I thought I wasn't good enough to be a doctor - because that's what they told me. But I know now that I am good enough to be a doctor and I am good enough for you. I'm good enough to marry whoever I want, to work wherever I want, to live."
"I know that Freya!" Julian exclaimed, "I've been telling you for years that I don't care about any of that stuff."
"I know but it took me a long time for me to realize it." Freya said, she placed a hand on his cheek lovingly. "The rules have to change Julian - I want to marry you but I want to do it in front of everyone, all our friends and family. I want to have children with you someday and be able to introduce them to their Great Aunt Theresa - even if she doesn't like me. Do you understand?"
Julian slowly nodded. "Not entirely but I think I get the gist of it. I can wait, I'm willing to wait if need be. I'm going to ask this question again and I want you to understand that, that I'll wait forever if I have to okay?" He slowly pulled the family ring off his finger and held it out to her. "Freya Ryan, will you do me the very great honor of promising to one day be my wife - after WE help change the rules of course?" he smiled expectantly. He put his arm around her shoulders and held her close.
"Are you sure?" she was asking even as she took the ring from him. "It could be years, it could be never..."
"I'm sure." he grinned as she slid the ring onto her finger. "Are you?"
"Yes." Freya said looking at the ring with a smile. "Yes...." she said a little softer.
-----
"So you're engaged?" Andy asked while they were waiting in the transporter room.
"Yes...sort of. Could be a really long engagement though," Freya said with a smirk.
"Never know, the strike is gaining more support every day. And I heard one of the Council members complaining about how his entire staff has pretty much abandoned him. Has to replicate his own lunch." she rolled her eyes.
"Oh the horror." Freya said dryly. "How's engineering?"
"We've worked out some sort of schedule but it's still crazy. We're running with only about ten percent of our staff, makes for some long work shifts." Andy would have every reason to begrudge the strike but she still seemed to be in support of the effort, even if it made things harder for her.
The intercomm crackled to life in the small room. "Team one, prepare to beam aboard the alien vessel." Captain Hunt's voice said. "Scans indicated working atmosphere and artificial gravity but life support is failing. There are twelve occupants, all appear to be contained on the ships' bridge; several are unconscious. Medical, triage them and send them back; there will be medical teams on hand to transport them to the medical ward. Engineering, assess the ship. Transport in two minutes; Hunt out."
Andy and Freya stepped onto the transporter along with two security personnel who would accompany them.
-----
The four person team transported into a cramped cargo bay. It was stuffed with crates and machinery. Andy started walking right away, causing one of the security guys to scramble after her. She was already attempting to load up one of the ship's display console. She pulled out a few tools and within minutes had the schematic of the ship on display. "The bridge is that way. Up those stairs" she said pointing down the narrow hall to an even narrower staircase. She studied to display for a few minutes before unplugging the power source she'd connected to the display screen. "Come on." Once again she tried to lead the way, but this time the security guy stepped in front of her and led the way down the hall. The other security man took up a position at the back and Andy looked at Freya and rolled her eyes.
When the hall forked off at the stairs, Andy stopped. "Engineering is this way, I'm going to go see what the damage it." she said. The two bulking shadows exchanged a look and nodded. One followed Andy while the other led the way up the narrow staircase with Freya.
The occupants of the damaged vehicle were crowded unto the small bridge, some were pacing anxiously but most were slumped on the floor or against the bulkheads. A few were cradling the unconscious or dying in their laps. "Come on." Freya said pushing past the security guy to begin assessing. The first person she came to recoiled in fear at first, she was a young woman and her clothes were ripped, she had a hand across her gut and blood was caked on her hands. Freya looked around quickly and then nodded to the security officer. "This one first." she opened a comm link to Andy, "Can we transport off the bridge yet Andy?" When they'd arrived, they discovered a powerful field isolated around the bridge, preventing them from transporting directly to the people.
Andy's reply was garbled with static and it took a couple repeats to get an affirmative from her. "Ryan to Unity, one to transport now." she said after opening a link to the ship. She put a locator tag on the woman's shoulder and stepped back.
Nobody else was as bad as the first; even those that were unconscious seemed to mostly be suffering from oxygen deprivation. They were in the next batch to be sent back to unity. The few remaining seemed mostly unscathed and a couple were even out of place on the rusty, dingy ship. One, a female, stepped up to Freya and spoke in a fluid, but completely incomprehensible, language. Freya looked back at her security guard, who merely shrugged and started tapping on his translator.
Unfortunately they didn't have time to wait around for the translators to catch up before Andy's voice broke through the comm. "The life support is about to go out for good Freya - we better get home, you send everyone over to the Ark?"
"Almost, about to send the last few now." Freya replied as she placed locator tags on the rest of them. They looked at them curiously but not with apprehension as they'd seen her do the same with everyone else already. Although considering the translators were on the fritz, they had no idea their companions hadn't been beamed into space - trusting lot. After they were gone, Freya turned back her security escort and heard Andy and the other guy coming up the stairs as well. Just before they transported off the bridge, she felt the ship shutter under her feet as Unity locked on with a tractor beam.
-----
"Where's my sister?!" one of the aliens thrashed under the care of the medical staff, trying to look around them.
"I guess the translators have caught up with their language then." Freya said, leaning over to look at the girl. She was a teenager and from the look of her clothes had worked around the engines. "Was your sister hurt?" Freya asked.
"Yas! Here!" she pointed frantically to her gut. "Have you seen her?! Is she good?"
"One of our doctors has her in surgery now. To fix the wounds." Freya pointed to the door to the surgery bay and the teen scrambled to get up from the bed. The nurses tried to grab her but Freya waved them off and followed the girl. She held her back from going inside but allowed her to look through the window in the door.
"You can stay here until she comes out," Freya said motioning to the bed closest to the door.
Reluctantly the girl moved away from the door and sat on the bed. "You are doctor?"
Freya nodded. "Yes, I am." She finished checking the girl over and then encouraged her to lay down and rest. Once the girl was settled, she finished treating the rest of their visitors. She noticed they were all very trusting and a quiet observant sort for the most part. There were two imposing security guards flanking the doors of the medical ward anyway, though the aliens hadn't shown the least bit of malice and most of them were still just barely waking up.
Captain Hunt walked into the bay and assessed the small crowd. Somehow leaders of the ability to find each other in a room, a matter of presence. Freya looked up as he zeroed in on the most likely candidates for the captain of the vessel and introduced himself. After several minutes of talking, he looked toward her; "Doctor, we have some guest arrangements for our new friends. As they are ready to be released, please inform me."
Freya nodded and pointed to the half dozen or so in the waiting area of the ward. "Those have all checked out fine, they can go." she looked to the others, still in the beds. "These mostly just need to finish waking up."
"Thank you." Captain Hunt nodded. He looked toward the others. "After you Captain, Ambassador." he nodded to a couple of them and as a group, they left the medical ward.
End Chapter
