Forgetting A Ghost
We'd just docked on Beaumonde. The place was supposed to have a great nightlife; bars, nightclubs even a circus. We'd been onboard The Spectre for weeks doing jobs. Travelling from one side of the 'verse and back with deliveries. Still, it was hard to complain with the platinum we were earning.
The crew were some of the finest people I'd met. They kept me from going space crazy! There was my captain, once a lieutenant, Darryl Koffeld. We had become quite close. He never had any problem he couldn't come to me with. Our talks were always nice, even when the subject wasn't. Our mechanic was a very handsome guy with a great voice. I could listen to him talk for hours, and on occasion, I did. Willem was his name. Just thinking of him makes me smile. What a sweetie.
Our medic was the closest to my heart though, young Skye. She was only out of MedAcad and Darryl scooped her up for his crew. She was too good to not have onboard, but she was so young. She had to heal some pretty serious stuff during her time on The Spectre. Some stuff that brought me right back to the trenches. Our pilot, Kravitz, was an old war vet, like me and Darryl. He was a bit of a grump at times. Not that I could blame him, the amount of shrapnel he had stuck in him. But he was a good guy.
Then there was Lowe, and boy was he low. That gorram piece of gos se…
That night. The crew were getting ready to run amuck in Beaumonde.
Skye's gentle voice came from my doorway, "Oly, you want me to wait for you?"
"Thank you mei-mei, but I'm gonna get changed. You can go ahead without me". I threw her a warm smile, then heard her skip off down the corridor.
"You alright, darlin'?"
I laugh softly. Willem. "I'm just fine," I call out to him. "I'll be out in no time."
"Alright then, but don't keep me waitin'."
Me and Willem were always flirting, but it was always playfully. He was a young man, twenty three I think. Nothing would have came of it, but it was always nice to speak with him. Made you feel real special.
I reached down for the dress that lay on the bed. Skye told me it was dark blue, guess I had to take her word. It felt pretty though. She'd picked it up for me on our last job. Sweet girl.
I started to sing as I pulled my vest off.
Bei fang you jia ren
Jue shi er du li
Yi gu qing ren cheng
Zai gu qing ren guo
Ning bu zhi
Qing cheng yu qing guo
Jia ren nan zai de
What I didn't hear was Lowe lumbering into my room, graceful creature that he was. I didn't notice he was there till he grabbed my wrist roughly and spun me around. It threw me off balance and I fell to the floor. My glasses slipped off and cracked off the wall.
"What in ruttin' heck d'ya think you're doin', hwoon dahn!"
"Aw, what's the problem, Bright Eyes?"
I could smell the drink on him. He reeked.
"Willem!"
"Oh, they've all gone.." I felt his presence getting closer. "Made plenty sure of that". He whispered the last sentence, his hot breath stinking of Ng-Ka-Pei, his drink of choice. I'm sure the stuff ran through his blood every day.
I tried to get up but he pushed me back down. His gruff hands grabbed my leg. I kicked at him but that only worsened the situation. He was accustomed to wearing a long metal ring that covered his whole finger and ended in a sharp point. It sliced through my skin, all the way up the back of my leg. I winced at the pain but I'd welcome it again in place of what followed.
I only wish I'd fallen unconscious or just magically lost my recollection of that night. But I didn't and I still have every tear soaked memory. I didn't have the choice of closing my eyes to everything, I walk around every day with them shut.
When he'd left me, I gathered up my stuff and got changed. There was no joyful singing that time though. I waited for the crew to return to say my goodbyes. I made up something about my folks needing me back on Haven. That they were sending a shuttle to collect me. It took a lot of convincing, but they let me go. I wish I could have just told Darryl the truth. He would have believed me. I could have stayed. They were as good as any family I had and I left that all behind..
Still, the world keeps turning. I gotta keep fighting and do what I can to go on. Even if that means putting the past behind me. That said, if I ever come across Lowe again I won't be held responsible...