It felt surprisingly good to be back on the Highlander and back in space. Even the normally agonizing transition into the RIP hadn’t seemed as bad as it usually did. They had only been on Dar’mond for a few days but somehow it seemed to be much longer than that. Their account had been frozen and, in any case, there were a limited number of ways to transfer wealth from one system to the next. It wasn’t like they had time to by trade goods or visit a currency exchange that might sell one of the more recognizable regional currencies. She had taken the time to beam a warning down to Kagan. The mercenary had already been laying low but she hoped he was able to get his people of planet. Killing an unarmed woman on a contract wan’t to Sayeeda’s taste but she supposed Kagan might have objected to shooting down enemy aircraft that might have been civilian, or reconnoitering an enemy village by fire. She had her principles but she didn’t pretend she had alot of moral high ground when it came to her working life.


“We should have raided the bar while we were at it,” Sayeeda lamented as she sat down the heavy decanter of industrial alcohol she kept for emergencies. The aestimobium sat on the galley table, glowing like solid starlight. The material emitted no known radiation but was both beautiful as a decoration, and useful in minute quantities in a wide range of extremely high end electronics and research equipment. It usually only occured in minute amounts and a block like this had to have been bought together from dozens or hundreds of separate sources. Aiden would be furious when the mistress he had no doubt inherited from Alexander told him of what had happened. She wished the woman well, she was just a different sort of mercenary afterall.

Neil came back from the cockpit, evidently happy with the jump. The had calculated with necessary haste and made the first jump Lonney could solve for. Dar’mond didn’t have much of a navy but there were more than enough ships to bring down the Highlander if she tarried. Once the reached a safe and obscure system they could plan their next move. She poured three glasses of the alcohol and mixed them all with the cola that they had left from their abortive freight mission.

“Well Neil,” she said raising a glass in saulte.

“It was a hell of a date!” 
[@POOHEAD189]