Paul Kater - Bactine

“Captain Chambers has taken over his place, he got promoted tremendously.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Daniel remembered Chambers. “Glad to hear that. If you see him, please give him my regards.”

“My regards,” Rhonda echoed. “You never said you were born here and just snuck out to the base, Daniel.” She grinned and finished her glass of wine.

During dinner, they had several more glasses of wine and talked about everything they could think of. Rhonda really enjoyed herself and Daniel felt as if he had never been so relaxed since he had arrived on NGC6637-VIII.

As they were sipping the best cognac-ish drink the restaurant had to offer, Daniel settled the bill with his ring. Rhonda was amazed by the simplicity of the system.

They walked back to the street where Daniel could summon a carriage. “Can I take you somewhere, Rhonda?”

“I think you can… Wait…” She dug around in the shoulder bag. “Dammit, where is the stupid bloody- oh, here it is.” She held up a cable. “I thought you might like to…”

Daniel stared at the cable as if it was something entirely alien to him. “You brought one?”

“Of course,” she said as she put it back in her bag. “As my dear mother used to say: never leave home without one.”

Daniel laughed along with her. “You had a really clever mother, Rhonda Flower.” He pulled out the hydger and called for a carriage.

They went into the apartment. They needed no light. Clothes fell, Bactine bodies connected, and the cable slipped into connectors. They spent most of the evening and part of the night making love in that amazing way that left them both drained.

Daniel woke up. He knew, before he had his eyes open, that Rhonda was not lying next to him. He got up and found her looking out the window, the morning light painting the town and the harbour in soft pastels. He slipped his arms around her.

“No, Daniel. Don’t.” She slowly pushed his arms away, yet remained standing against him, looking outside. “You know this won’t work. Not with us.”

“I know. But holding you feels good.”

“Okay then. Hold me. But that’s all.”

Daniel wrapped his arms around her again, but the moment was gone and lost forever. After a few minutes he let go. “I really want to thank you, Rhonda. For visiting me.”

Rhonda turned and leaned against the wall next to the window. “I wanted to. Just a visit. To check on you. My privilege, since I reconstructed you.” She grinned. “It’s good to see you again. Too bad I have to go again.”

“I still have a few days off, Rhonda,” Daniel said.

“That’s good for you. I have to leave today, Daniel.” She walked to the table with the shoulder bag, pulled out her clothes and put them on. “Thank you, for a wonderful dinner. For renting the dress. And the night I got to spend here.”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

She shook her head, sending her short black hair dancing. “No. I would appreciate it if you could call me one of those carts and program it for the Embargo plaza or whatever the place is. I get frustrated spelling out the numbers that the thing doesn’t understand.”

“You mean the Embarcado Circle,” Daniel grinned. “Yes, I will do that. And I’ll pay the fare for you.” He got dressed.

Rhonda folded the dress and put it in the shoulder bag, together with the hairnet and the little hat. She chuckled as she looked at it for a last time.

Daniel picked up the bag and escorted Rhonda downstairs, where he called for a carriage. In silence they waited until it arrived, and Rhonda got in.

“Thanks for everything, Daniel,” she said as he set the destination for her using the hydger.

Just as he left the carriage, she quickly kissed his cheek. Then the door closed and the carriage pulled away into the traffic.

Daniel stared after it until it was lost in the hustle and bustle. Something inside him rolled over and scratched in a most painful way. He looked at the bag in his hand. He turned and started walking towards the dress rental shop, the scratches getting worse with every step.

Daniel woke up after a short night. Sleep had forgotten to attend. He had been thinking about too many things. He had kicked himself, for not going after Rhonda. He also knew that she would have kicked him if he had, so the end result was all the same.

He got up and stood at the window where Rhonda had been not even so long ago. It was still dark, the city lights were still on and the stars were bright this morning. Night.

“This, man, sucks rocks like a black hole,” Daniel told his mirror image in the window. His image agreed in silence.

Daniel showered, dressed and walked outside. He strolled through the silent streets, his thoughts churning over the last evening. This was not what he wanted, he was certain of that. He felt certain that Malcolm was either a fool or had never had all his marbles. He even wondered if Cynthia was doing the right thing with her boyfriends. And still, whenever the train of his thoughts stopped at the station called Rhonda, there was this tweak. Why hadn’t he gone after her?

Suddenly Daniel found himself at the harbour. “Workaholic,” he muttered.

Affairs at the harbour were going on as usual, ships needed to be loaded, goods needed to be moved, so there was a lot going on. Daniel walked onto the yard and watched the people work. Then he would walk on and watch another group. Curiosity drew him to another part of the harbour this time. He knew there was another arm where more eight masted clippers were moored, so he turned his steps toward it.

The part of the harbour he came to was as large as the side he knew. Nine ships the size of the Pricosine lay there, tugging at the ropes, wanting to go and play on the water. There was room for four more. Daniel studied a few of the ships in the dusky light and was satisfied that he could recognise some differences between them. The shape of the rigging, the curve of the bow at the waterline, the height of the stern. He knew he still wasn’t much of a sailor, but the few trips he had made for now had taught him a lot already. Ulaman had since long not called him a landlubber anymore.

“Good morning, Seigner,” a voice said.

Daniel looked, to find a man with a cane walking up to him. “Good morning to you too, Seigner.”

The man approaching was remarkably big and round-bellied. He had long curly brown hair and a round nose. His moustache stood out from his face like giant whiskers. “Dogom ko Tzuy. May I enquire after your name?”

“Daniel Zacharias. Nice to meet you, Seigner.” They shook hands.

“Zacharias. Yes. I have heard the name. Seigner Skinsh ko Talush mentioned you. You are on the Pricosine, is that right?”

Daniel nodded. “Indeed.”

“Seigner Dandra ko Galem speaks highly of you.”

Daniel grinned. Either the man had not heard about the mishap with Clelem’s daughter the other day, or daughter dear had not mentioned it to her Daddy. “I am delighted to hear that.”

Huajo Dogom ko Tzuy pointed at the ship they were standing for. “This is one of mine. The Tzuy number three.”

Daniel had seen the name on the ship’s bow already. “And where are number one and two, if I may ask?” He knew that some ship owners preferred to be secretive about the whereabouts of their ships.

Huajo was not one of them. “Number one is on a long journey. They should return in approximately two months. Number two… unfortunately, that fell victim to pirates. The very reason you are here.”

So the threat was real. Daniel had wondered a bit about it, as he had not seen any sign of pirates so far. He wondered how a band of pirates would master such an enormous ship.