Evangeline Anastasia McDowell

[Bazza]

Entry#: 124
Date: 29 - 11 - 818 AS @ 19:21 SUT
Title: Untitled.

As much as one side of my psyche tells me it's bad to think this, I am relieved to be taking part in something that resembles what my life used to be. Smuggling goods through the blockade between Rheinland and Liberty.

After throwing everything and everyone into the two ships we departed Braunschweig and after some careful navigation wound up at Kreuzberg Depot. I counted a few Military patrols who no doubt would have been questioning my conduct amongst themselves, but, I suspect as the Alsatia and Maelstrom are both associated as belonging to the Admiralty, they simply chose to ignore me.

Which, when I think logically, throws dirt in the face of my earlier conspiracy theory.

Still, it doesn't change the fact Gunther hasn't presented himself to me for a very long time with no indication of his whereabouts nor activities.

Anyway. I'm rambling.

I filled both ships to the brim with various cargo and, in fact, three passengers who were interested in making the jump from Rheinland to Liberty - yet were of too high a profile and too low a financial standing to use the legitimate channels.

The three of them proved a capable and, importantly, trustworthy lot; helping me and the girls out tremendously. I ended up making a fantastic deal with them - If they lent us their labour and helped us move the cargo, they'd get their trip free of charge and right to wherever they needed to go.

"Fitzy", "Claire" and "Jules" - an assortment of two of thirty-something lads and one ladette of unknown vintage clearly down on their luck. All of them by their voices and mannerisms appearing as Bretonians like me. Their story, told during the more boring parts of the journey, revealed they used to share control of an old tramp steamer not unlike the Peterborough, ferrying cargo around wherever it was needed at the time.

That was up until the wars between the houses fired up a few years back and inter-house trade slowed to a relative crawl. I noticed the same thing myself when I was still aboard the Peterborough, but we were lucky in that mum made her money in-house and through repeat contracts for the most part. Sole traders like these people got muscled out by the bigger corporations; being forced into lesser and lesser legitimate methods of making their money, which in this case ended up in their only ship being "repossessed" by the loan shark they owed money to.

With the convoy loaded and prepped for the long haul into Liberty we all departed the safety of Kreuzberg and took off through the lesser-known regions of Rheinland. Firstly through a jumphole inside the asteroid field that also hid Kreuzberg, and then the very long way around Hamburg. With a great deal of care and utilising the information granted to me from the Military I avoided any unwanted contact for the entirety of the passage across the desolate backwaters of the system.

Myself at the helm of the Alsatia, Misaka and Sakura gallantly piloting the Maelstrom alongside Kana and Fumika and the extra part-timers at my hand. One thing I have learnt in my time is not to automatically trust people, but, the desperation evident on the faces of this lot was quite apparent. They needed a second chance and I was pretty much it. Rheinland is all but shut off to small time Indies now-a-days, being almost completely controlled by government-supported corporations.

Liberty at least has a market a small timer can worm their way into - even if it won't make you a millionaire it'll beat being derelict any day of the week.

We spent most of the time idly chatting amongst ourselves, using the radio to hold a conference call with the Maelstrom. Misaka of course insistent on enquiring about my well-being with embarrassing frequency. I mean, sure, I'm pregnant, but I'm a big girl and can handle myself just fine. I was more concerned about not only her but little Sakura. Both of them have been neglected by me for some time now as I've been dealing with my own issues. Only now do I find myself with the soundness of mind to worry about them like I used to.

Misaka, for a girl her age, is making a fine cruiser commander. That she is able to manoeuvre the bulky ship around with a steady speed and fair confidence is something I am very, very proud of. Especially taking into consideration when I first found her she couldn't even fly a little freighter without turning white. I have no idea how she managed to survive for that brief period she was with the Chrysanthemums all that time ago.

And of course, the pride of my "family" this little chocolate-haired princess we call our daughter. She can't quite handle a ship herself yet at the age of eleven, but, she is well on her way. She understands how the Alsatia responds to input from the controls and, one day soon, I'm going to take her out somewhere desolate and teach her how to fly properly.

Which moves me on nicely to the two more people I've been neglecting. The little day-dreamer and her princely guardian angel. Considering they're supposed to be my employees the two of them haven't been doing much work lately, besides cleaning and routine maintenance of my ships. That and, they haven't been paid properly for a while.

That is one significant issue that I am now glad can be resolved. I was starting to run out of money. Of course, I'd never tell anyone that but, when the pay-cheques stopped coming in I'm sure the two girls knew something was up. I ditched a good chunk of my saved-up retirement fund to get the loads of cargo in my possession. Now that it's all been sold, for a handsome sum, everyone can enjoy what is owed to them. As much as the two girls insist that food and a place to sleep is all they need, it cannot be denied that money makes the universe turn. I'm sure the two lovebirds will find a way to spend it.

I think Fumika's birthday is coming up soon, I remember we discussed it as being less than two weeks away from mine. Which means Kana will want to buy her something nice to celebrate. And that we'll be throwing a party. And that we'll all spend much more money than we can really afford right now.

Hell. I almost forgot. I turn 22 next Thursday.

It does feel damn good to be back at my old stomping ground. The Maelstrom sits on one side of me, sleeping soundly inside the dry dock of Puerto Rico. Upon the other side rests the long-idle salvager. Aboard the Alsatia all of us are enjoying the spoils of our victorious smuggling operation.

My "guests" are swapping old war stories with the older members of my crew and the younger two are both sound asleep before me. One on the outside, her head nestled within my bosom and the other wrapped up inside waiting for her chance to join her older sister in this crazy, mixed up thing we call a family.

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