Editing Captain's Log: Transmission from Pericles

The transmission is video feed as well as audio, and the datachip is
full of files. Nika looks a little strained around the edges as she
records it.

"Hi, Christian. I'm not sure how long this will take to reach you. I'm
sending it from Pericles Station on 13 December. We're en route to Ariel
with the passenger you asked us to retrieve. We'll be making landfall on
or around 31 December -- unless I get us lost out here." Her expression
is rueful. "Mostly I've been getting us where we need to go on time.
Couple of notable exceptions." She pauses, lost in thought a moment.

"Things out here are ... complicated. Since you sent us a run, I know
you at least got the last transmission about losing Jake to the Blue
Hands people. We had another run-in with them at our last landfall.
We've also retrieved Arden's old girlfriend, Valerie, and taken her with
us. She's been a stalking horse for them and she's got a safe place to
go. I won't transmit where just in case they're intercepting things --
though that's probably a little paranoid of me." Nika reaches behind her
to scratch the back of her head with a wry twist of a smile. "It ain't
paranoia if they're really out to get you, though."

Nika sighs heavily. "I've enclosed a data report with all that's occurred
since we left you. You'll find the ship's books so you can update your
copy -- it'll be current as of when we hit Pericles. The financial
situation is pretty dire at the moment, so I sure as hell hope that when
we hit Ariel, we can come up with *something*. But it's time to take a
detour and follow some of the more personal paths. Joshua and Arden both
have some things going on that we need to address." Again there's a
pause, and she drops her head back against the head rest.

"Most everything you need to know is included in the data files. I'm
trying to keep a brief log of events -- I guess you could call it the
'captain's log' if you wanted to. They seem to have decided that it's
time to have someone in the role and I got nominated by default." She
grimaces. "I miss you like mad, my friend. I never realized how much we
tag-teamed one another in this role. I feel... entirely inadequate to
the job, though Shyla seems to have faith." Her smile is faint, just
around the corners of her lips.

"We stopped in at Decatur. I hate telling you that you were right about
things, but... you were right. I'd finally decided to square things with
Brian. I was planning on staying in Blue Sun." Hurt, pain, sadness...
they all flash across Nika's face briefly. "Didn't quite work out like
I'd hoped. Bri's got some issues resulting from the blast and the
medical treatments that Arden was forced to use. Looks like that old
adage about never going home again's got some truth to it," she admits
quietly. "I don't know if things will ever come back around. Guess we'll
see how the wheel keeps turning, yeah?"

Her blue eyes flicker away from the screen, and then Nika looks back at
it. "You told me once that you thought I was marking time with Arden. I
still think you're wrong... but I can't take it as lightly anymore. And
right now, I ''would'' feel like I was using him as a fallback. It's
something I haven't found the words to talk to him about yet, but ... I
will. And in the meantime, I think you've created a monster in Rina. Way
to go breaking down her barriers; she and Joshua have been going hot and
heavy for weeks. Personally, I think maybe she's lost her mind. I didn't
get the impression that Carter was the type to share once a commitment
was in place, but you know... not really my business. I've already
warned her that I think she's making a mistake. And I think Joshua's
already in too deep. He's a good guy, but..."

Nika trails off and says, "I'm worried about keeping him on board, and
I'm ''more'' worried about just abandoning him too. You'll understand
better when you read the reports of our most recent stop. I hope I'm not
making a mistake here. But I have a feeling I'm going to be hoping
''that'' a lot." She smiles faintly. "Shyla's advice was 'do what you do
best -- fly by the seat of your pants' essentially. But I miss your
calm. I hope this missive finds you well, Christian. If this arrives
early, you're welcome to send response by way of Ariel. I don't know if
that's where we'll head after the next stop, but I'll make a point of
trying to contact Ariel for a forward as necessary. Take care and give
Lem a kiss from his aunt Nika. Merry Christmas." She reaches out and
turns off the recording, realizing for the first time that Christmas is
coming. Wonderful.