Sahara

"Gomen'nasai! Am I ... ho .. my soul is as bleach as the grimy oil that slithers down the midnight steel, White and black is my life, strict and sharp, I am so cutting edge that if I move I might slice through steel. You can't hear me speak because that would tarnish my darkling groove ... I am dour, I am punk, hear me ... hee ... hee ... heeheeheeeheeheeeehee oh i can't do that and keep a straight face ... Jinsei wa ikiru kachi ga aru ... its a fine night, the neon is sparkling like falling stars, why should I be all mysterious and droll ... I live in a world made up od arrs and gees and bees ... lighten up, laugh, and have fun." Li Kusanagi-hime

Practiced dancing by myself on the squat. Got bored. Went to town and bought a skirt. Never wore one before, not a long one anyway. It feels strange, I think I like it. Went to Reaktor and practiced dancing more. It feels entirely different dancing in public. Spoke with Frankie. He’s offered me a deal; he can help me settle here so long as I report to him anything I hear from corporates that might be useful to him. Easy deal. We spoke about Sahara. He described her as unpredictable, a spitfire. I want to take her on. I don’t want to get dragged down, not now especially when I have a chance for a clean break. Put the dirty past behind and clean my life up. Professional dancer in a lucrative club like Fusion, its a dream.

Sah arrived, bored and needing a drink. She’s a little stand-offish with me. Listened in the background to the gibberish of Li Kusanagi-hime at the bar, she’s on an intellectual par with Frankie and there’s me trying not to drool over wants-to-be-alone-with-her-misery-and-woes Sahara.

A few swigs of vodka later and I’m feeling more real, dancing with my eyes closed and shrugging off insecurity. Tried it on too hard with Sahara. Through booze and need we opened up with each other; she told me some stuff about her and Frankie. We are in a similar predicament. I danced exclusively for her. Could feel her trying not to watch me. I’m falling for her. Her tenderness and vulnerability. Knowing how it is, hooking and thieving to get by. I see myself in her and it feels way too close to seeing myself in that dead girl behind Blue Ant. The vibe speaks for us all.

Spoke with a mutant called Eris, her ancestors were genetically engineered so her body has scales all over it, her skin is paler white than mine. She’s a dealer in unique artifacts, by which she means she goes to earth to get relics. I told her, and Sah and Frankie, about Katha 6. Getting an old book for the serial cyborg might placate it next time it tries to kill me. Eris left, there were others in the bar and they gradually left too, leaving Frankie Turner, Sahara and myself.

Sahara has been complaining all night that she can’t get her head straight so I finally remembered the syringes of ‘straight shit’ she gave me before I went by mistake to Mars, and I stuck one in her. She was straight out! Snoring like a babe. I spoke with Frankie, confessed to him that Sah had told me about his past and their reason for coming here. Gradually he calmed down after putting a gun on me and panicking. I'm getting used to this. I talked him down; not nearly so frightening as Katha 5 putting a gun to my head. Humans you can reason with. Frankie realized I am an ally and we spoke about sorting it out. Discussed what to do about Sahara who is zonked out.

Frankie went out to get a signal on his datapad and contact a friend who he thinks can sort Sah out. I guess he went home after that he didn’t return while I was there. Riza Sena turned up much too quickly with a metal box full of tricks and offered to whack something into the girl. I defended her, not wanting to see someone I don’t know who the fuck she is put something unknown into Sahara’s system while she’s out of it. Reality test - make claim of her being my girlfriend to protect her. Riza explained they are Micro-botic anti-tox, nano’s that she uses herself, a lot of addicts do to get them clean (temporarily). Sah wakes enough to swallow one of the pills.

We spoke of Frankie, publicly known as Richard Hughes past - Sena had been rescue by him, taught by him how to survive without hooking. Rena met him through her sister who is dead now. Rena kept taking the piss out of Sah and I, I don’t like her.

They started talking about Richard/Frankies life, some event in a hotel room a few nights ago. I switched off. Exhausted and tired. Made sure Sah promised me she would stay of drugs before I saw her in Fusion tonight, and checked she had a place to stay. Told her I don’t trust Sena and I went home, slept. Cried. Want to hold her in my arms. Need to get rid of this attachment. My heart hurt walking away. It shouldn’t hurt so bad.

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