The Truth of Past and Present

Chapter 9: I talk to my friend and say goodbye

I couldn't sleep for the entire night.

In the morning, I looked so terrible that when I saw myself in the mirror, I actually squeaked in terror. Needless to say, I used probably a pound of makeup before I showed my face in the breakfast room. 

Father looked nothing out of the ordinary, and I was kind of disappointed about that. Being a girl, I could see he was wearing no makeup, meaning he got a perfect sleep last night. This meant that he was not bothered by a guilty conscience. This bothered me even more. 

But my dramatic flair came in handy as I acted completely normal, which I now knew as naive. Father said he had work to do that night, and he would not see me before curfew, which was fine with me. I told him not to wake me up because I would already be asleep by then.

Things were coming together.

I left for AT, and Father left for work. At the door, I reached out and gave him an enormous hug, wishing with all my heart that I didn't have to do this, betray him, but he had betrayed me first, and I had to do what I could to right his wrongs.

I didn't speak to Garek that day, and he, in turn, did the same. At first, he tried to talk to me, but I knew it was only because he did not want to be in a bad standing with the Governor's daughter. In discovering my father's dark side, I felt different, and in looking around I could now see right through everyone's act.

I was glad it was my last day.

 There was at least one sad part, and that was the fact that I had to leave Marissa behind. As a result, I spent my entire day by her side, talking with her. 

"Oh Galactica! You worked in a cantina, in the lower sectors, and you didn't bring me?!?" she shrieked.

"I didn't plan on it," I promised her, "It just happened."

"Like it happened that Garek ditched you?" she said.

"You heard about that?" I said sheepishly. Then I blinked. "What am I saying? Of course you heard about it, you're Marissa."

She smirked and stuck her nose in the air. "The one and only! The best sources, the best ears in the biz. However," she nudged me playfully, "I got no details. Spill."

I grinned. "Well, he found me working in the kitchen and told me right out I shouldn't do it."

Marissa gasped. "Oh, no he didn't!"

"Oh, yes he did."

"He dissed your talent, your hobby, your love, to your face?!"

"Yep. He said it "didn't befit my station"." I put exaggerated quotation marks in the air and mocked his voice. "I played the 'governor's daughter' card. I told him that he couldn't limit me to his shallow perceptions of what a girl could do."

"Well you told him!" she giggled and clapped her hands gleefully.

We talked for a while in the same way, though I didn't mention Daniel to her. I ached to tell her what happened, what I was doing, what my plan was, but I knew that it would only put her in danger. My father knew she was my best friend, and so he would go to her immediately if I went missing. I trusted her, but I didn't want to risk her life. My father was a slaver and a liar, what else was he capable of?

When I said goodbye to her at the end of AT, I hugged her extra long and hard. If Marissa was surprised, she didn't show it, only matched her hug to mine. 

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I arrived back at my house, my suite, as soon as possible. There were things to do and little time to do them in.

It was almost 5 pm, and I needed to be ready and out of the house by 6. One hour.

The first order of business was simple: whip up a batch of my best cookies. it only took about 15 minutes, I knew the recipe so well.

The second thing I did was break back into Father's study. I inserted a mini-drive into a port on his mainframe, bypassed the security, and began downloading everything in his database. Nothing would change, nothing would show Father that anything had happened, but nevertheless, a copy of everything would now be at my fingertips.

As the info downloaded, I went back to my room and straight into my closet. I grabbed a large, durable leather backpack Father had given me from another planet. It had never been used but still smelled new, as if it had been waiting for this.

I packed everything I knew I would need long-term: extra clothes, toiletries, pajamas, socks, and more. Any small bits of tech I had collected, like listening bugs, mini cameras, and even random parts, went into a waterproof compartment. I took a bedroll I had hidden away in the hope that I could go somewhere with my father one day, and a multitool I had been wanting to use for some time.

Then I got dressed.

I had no clue of where I would end up in this wild adventure, so I decided to dress smart. No more pink skirts and frilly tunics.

I had on a stretchy black crop-top, followed by a blue t-shirt and a button-up forest green long-sleeved shirt around my waist with a brown hoodie over top. On the bottom, I had on dark green cargo pants with no-nonsense black leather mini boots and socks. I had also packed shorts but decided to get those out later. Over the top of it all, I put a black leather belt with pockets attached and a black leather jacket.

So basically, by the time I was done, I had all the functional things from my closet either in my bag or on me. 

The only non-functional items were the bits of jewelry I had accumulated over the years, now in a secure box which would only open for my fingerprint. I was a little sentimental, but also they would sell for a great deal of credits, which I would need.

I checked the time: 5:45.

My guards were upstairs, sleeping after I gave them each a cookie.

Back in Father's office, I took the mini drive and stashed it in the deepest pocket of my bag. Then I hacked into Father's security feeds from the district detention facility. I found Daniel in the termination schedule, including his cell number and the hallway to and from it. 

Perfect.

Within minutes, I programmed a virus to be released into the security systems at exactly 6:20, which would give me enough time to get to the facility and get in without arousing suspicion.

In the remaining 10 minutes I had left, I rushed down to the basement and grabbed my knife belt. It had maybe 10 knives in their sheaths, and I knew I would need them. I stuffed it into my bag, along with my whetstone and polishing cloth.

Then it was time to go.

I grabbed the cookies I had made, took one last look around the kitchen I knew so well and walked out the door.

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Well, that's Chapter 9! How is everyone liking it so far?

Sorry for the long clothes descriptions, I had a probably too-exact image in my perfectionistic brain. :-D

So how do you think the next chapter will go? Anything you want to have happen? How do you like it so far? I would love the feedback!

See you in the next chapter...#10!