SIMONE'S DIARY

...

Heavens must hate me. The emergency communication is on and airing. Our coordinates exposed to all Universe. Dwarfus has just informed me. I had a hysterical outburst. Because of that, Their fighter has already had to start to finish the job. I went to such great lengths to save the Egg from Their clutches, and for what? I'll eliminate Dwarfus with pleasure.

...

Tonight is the night. Dwarfus should be removed from my way. After this, I'll take the Egg and jump into outer space. This is the plan. Not a pleasant vista, but I cannot think out how to prevent Them from laying Their dirty hands on the Egg. It is a disturbing image, flying away with the artifact I'm ruined my life for.

Waiting for Dwarfus to fall asleep. I don't want to stay alone. I don't want to die this way! I'm crying and thinking of Monkeis and Mastodontus. Sentimental bitch! Sentimental bitch! Sentimental bitch!

The same day, later

Dwarfus heard and consoled me. If anything, I have recovered my self-esteem. I'm still not so low to seek solace with him.

...

The execution postponed. Someone received our SOS. Cannot believe our luck. If I were religious, I'd call it a miracle. In the vast empty Universe, there is a freight ship nearby. Dwarfus excited, I not so much. The first rule of what They taught me: Space is deaf even if you yell. No one would risk their lives in such a fool's errand.

The same day later

They are changing their course towards us! No hesitation at all. Idiots? Heroes? The captain keeps repeating instructions to Dwarfus, planning an emergency extraction. He must be either a greenhorn or a master pilot. Probably the former. It's clear as a day the freight ship is not exactly suited for subtle maneuvering.

That man is very short-tempered. Twenty minutes in conversation with Dwarfus, and he prefers to speak with me. Dwarfus' ego hurts. He is in charge, and he doesn't like being belittled by some "random chap."

...

The extraction successful! Everything surprisingly smooth. It took three attempts to connect our ship. Incredible! The captain of the freight ship must be competent beyond belief. But Dwarfus thinks he is a klutz. So funny considering Dwarfus had never had an opportunity or wish to switch to manual. He doesn't realize that a tiny mistake could damage the freight ship or worse.

The Egg is with us. I made a half-hearted attempt to convince Dwarfus to leave it behind, but I'm sure he intends to smuggle it. Envisioning himself being a Mr. Millionaire.

Too bad the captain is overly cautious. We had to strip off all clothes except for underwear. Dwarfus got offended. Worrying about his little buttocks? This was the golden chance I had been waiting for. Picking up the most revealing bikini I could find. The captain must be lonely, right? I'll befriend him in no time.

The same day later

Finally met with Hyenus and his bizarre crew. If he is a space merchant, I'll eat my shirt. He reminds me of the camp instructor. Could he be one of Them? But he did not respond to any of my secret signs. So I played my typical dumb and woke Simone. Not appreciated at all. He seems to disdain this sort of people. Especially Dwarfus! Never before has Dwarfus been hinted so many times he was a stupido. Amusing! And I had a shower!

The same day later

Hyenus brought our belongings. Half-naked and clean, I opened the door. Once again, not appreciated. Staring directly into my eyes, a proper gentleman. Not interested in women? So confusing! The walls of the ship are full of erotic paintings. And he has a female sex android to satisfy his needs, so why not react to me as well? A bit demotivating to lose the battle against a mere robot.

Tried to tease him a little. Got a stern look and a shocking revelation. He is an ex-Space Force pilot, probably the elite. From what he told me, I understood he had participated in the elimination of Their borrowed sword, the Free Traders.

The instructor trained these thugs. Was very fond of them. Very loyal servants of our Thing, the bunch had no trouble exterminating whole habitats of Elves. They loved to "dance" with dying families in space, especially when they got paid for it. Still, due to leaked information, the Space Forces had eliminated their nests.

Seen the video myself. Hyenus has to have nerves of steel if he can speak of Free Traders so casually. No wonder he is so obsessed with security. But he did not hesitate to come to our rescue. What an unexpected "hero" here, in the middle of nowhere!

So, Space Forces had their officer on us. What a clumsy camouflage! I was told SF could not do undercover operations properly, but this is sheer amateurism. Sure, freight ship with an extraordinary ex-SF pilot aboard, offering the helping hand out of pure altruism. State propaganda at its best!

Still, if SF is involved, the probability of the Egg being destroyed is low. This is why SF and They do not come along, even with the same puppeteers behind. The SF is not so fond of disposing of His artifacts, quite the contrary. SF does love life backups and Q-Field. Moreover, SF doesn't approve of the way how They operate.

I must keep acting and Let Hyenus believe the culprit died on the University's ship. But he is not the problem. The problem is what will happen after we return. The mission is a failure, the Egg seized by the hostile competitor, and poor me is to blame.

Apparently, Hyenus discovered the treasure, calling it a weird decoration. Absolutely clueless, isn't he? As if I could believe a word he said. He even refuses to play the role imposed on him: Meet me, a lewd officer, probably fired from the SF for sexual harassment, now a space merchant with a highly dubious crew of one sex android and one shaky sidekick. I just happened to have some business here. Commonplace!

Just watching him struggling to follow the masquerade is hilarious. He obviously cannot help himself utter sarcasm every now and then, ready for more straightforward actions. Torture? Threats? Most likely. Should not he at least make lecherous moves on a fairly attractive female in his custody? Instead, Hyenus watches me like a bug he'd prefer to stomp upon.

A good time to vent my anger on Dwarfus. The Egg is aboard! How come? I slapped him as hard as possible. The huge and indescribable relief! Pure joy! But being with the imbecile locked for more days again! Give me a break!

...

As expected. Hyenus is losing patience. Under the pretext that we had smuggled a weapon on the ship, he took Dwarfus for interrogation. But before, he showed me his alleged documents, proving his claim to be a former SF pilot.

What does it mean? Is he implying the involvement of private companies or just calling off the charade? Anyway, the threat is crystal clear. Today it is Dwarfus, tomorrow me.

The same day later

Dwarfus is back. Scared, humiliated, but very alive. What a disappointment! Apparently, the torture made him spill the beans. Now counting aloud and trying to assess if the oxygen deprivation has not damaged his brain. I told Dwarfus he'd be fine. He asked why. I told him he never had any brain, to begin with.

Hyenus is surprisingly capable. He won't let us slip away until he squeezes everything out of us.

Dwarfus suggests cooperating fully with Hyenus. Does Hyenus suspect anything, roping Dwarfus to his side? The time will tell. The hidden cameras are removed in front of our eyes, probably to let us feel comfortable and secure. What an old trick!

...

Not sure if I deal with SF anymore. Is Hyenus a madman? A lunatic? We met in the kitchen, so I decided to continue with the plan. He seemed high or something, blabbering about vodka. I think he is doing drugs. He was distracted and had hard time focusing on me. It felt like someone else was with us.

I got a positive reaction from Hyenus after chasing him around the kitchen. His body responded intensively. Almost no experience with women, I guess. What to expect from a typical shut-in who spends the time painting erotic scenes.

Then, a strange intermezzo occurred. It is almost like in a horror movie. It made no sense. The moment I was about to advance further, he stiffened and held my head tightly. It was scary! Trapped, I could not move at all, like being embraced by a marble immovable statue, like being entangled by a huge constrictor. I didn't dare to breathe as not to provoke him to tighten his grip - or I was done for.

I guess it was some fit. Perhaps epilepsy? Once the crisis was over, he threw me away, probably angry I witnessed his weakness. Big tough guys do not like being exposed. So this is how it is! He had to leave the SF because of it.

Trying to play my cards, not able to hide my disgust, so he noticed. I hate ill, non-functional people. They give me goosebumps.