Daughters of Demeter

"I have to admit this has become one of my favourite parts of the job," Rebecca smiled as she glanced around the table. "I've always enjoyed that sense of satisfaction when a mission or a job's been completed successfully. Even better when it's profitable. And being able to share those experiences with the rest of you makes it the best."

Sarah grinned as she teased, "Very poetic boss, but I think payday's always been popular no matter where when or who's involved."

The tall strong redhead rolled her eyes, "Whatever. Before I get the numbers I want to let you know I've decided to make a change to how I'm calculating the percentages. But first a little background for our newest crew member."

She paused to smile at Cam, which made the cat-kin blush slightly, before launching into a small lesson.

"The way Gabe taught me to do it," Rebecca explained, "The way a lot of merchant ships handle pay, is you deduct the job's expenses from the revenue to get the profit, then that's divided up. Eighty percent goes to the ship, that's held back to cover repairs, maintenance, and any other unexpected major expenses that come up. It's also our rainy-day fund, so if we run into a stretch of bad luck we can continue to afford fuel and food. The remaining twenty percent is split in half, ten percent goes to the captain and the other ten percent is divided equally among the crew."

"That worked when there was only a couple of us on board," she continued. "Like when El and I worked for Gabe, or when Amanda and Sarah first signed on with me. It felt less fair when we added Jenny to the roster, and now with Cam joining us it feels even more imbalanced. So taking inspiration from Tanya Nieves, I've decided from now on that the twenty percent pay amount will be divided equally between all five of us. Which brings us to the pay for that salvage job."

Rebecca paused for a gulp of her drink then gave us the run-down, "Nate Seyoun paid us ten thousand in advance, and another sixty thousand upon delivery. We picked up an additional thirty-five hundred for the three containers of agri equipment, and eight thousand for the twelve cases of tech gear. And finally, we recovered just over seventy-one thousand ecks from the Kaden Merit's safe. After deducting the cost of fuel port fees and supplies, that left us with a profit of one hundred and forty thousand, seven hundred and seventy-five ecks."

By that point Cam's eyes were wide and their ears and tail all pointing straight up. I was positive they'd never imagined so much money before. They kept quiet though as our captain continued her little speech.

Meanwhile the boss smiled as she got to the good part, "Twenty percent of that divided equally five ways comes to five thousand six hundred and thirty-one ecks apiece."

She had the money prepared already, and each of us received one bar and a half dozen coins. As she handed out the last of the pay Rebecca added with another smile, "Good job everyone. And don't forget there's going to be more. I sent an FTL to Helen at the Freeborn Shipyard about the salvaged ship parts, and she responded that they're interested. So we've got another payday coming up in the very near future."

"Wow," Cammie mumbled as they stared down at the pile of money in front of them. "Between this and the money Tanya gave us, I've earned more in the last twenty-five days than I did the whole rest of my life combined."

Sarah grinned at the cat-kin, "If the boss gives us some shore-leave at our next stop then we can show you some of the best places to spend that new-found wealth of yours. Trust me, you can get some really fun toys on Rolandan-2. And you can also get nice custom-made clothes and things there too."

Rebecca rolled her eyes then told Cam, "You're an adult and I'm not going to coddle you, but I'll give you the same warning I told the others after their first pay. We've had a run of good luck lately and there's nothing wrong with splurging a bit and enjoying yourself. But we can also hit bad streaks where money is scarce. So it's always a good idea to keep some in reserve, so you have your own rainy-day fund just incase."

The cat-kin nodded, "Yes ma'am. My ma taught me something similar."

"Speaking of Rolandan-2," I finally spoke up, "Are we still planning on setting out for our next port of call this afternoon?"

We'd only been in port for a little over twenty-four hours. Yesterday afternoon we unloaded Nate Seyoun's shipment, then shortly after that the contact showed up to claim the three containers of agricultural equipment. Less than an hour after that a couple guys came to haggle with Rebecca over the cases of high-tech gear. And after they finally left we visited that fancy merchant to pick up the case of over-priced liquor. Then we rounded out our day with our traditional dinner at Gilly's restaurant.

Today was almost as busy. After breakfast the boss had the ship's fuel tanks topped up and took care of the port fees. Then she and I visited the port authority offices, and true to her word she handed over the documents we recovered from the Kaden Merit's safe along with a data crystal copy of the ship's log and the wreck's location. After that we made a few stops and loaded our grav-sled with some supplies, which Cam and Sarah stowed away in the ship's stores when we returned.

With all that done we stopped for a break and a light meal. The boss also took that opportunity to distribute our pay.

Now it felt like we'd done everything we needed to do on this world. The only other reason to stick around that I could think of was to maybe find another cargo that was bound for Rolandan-2. Our secondary hold was still full of salvage, but the main hold was empty and it was probably 'good business' to try and fill that up before we set out.

Fortunately the boss was more interested in visiting her friend than making another couple hundred ecks. Instead of talking about more work she drained the last of her glass then announced with a smile, "We'll be shipping out just as soon as we're all done our lunch here."

"Fifteen days at Jump-0?" Sarah asked. Then with a hopeful smile she added, "Or six hours at Jump-1?"

Rebecca grinned, "Jump-1 of course. I don't know about the rest of you folks, but I'm looking forward to seeing my old friend again. And a bit of shore leave will be nice too."

That put smiles on a few more faces, as we all enjoyed the last of our mid-day meal. When time came to prep the ship the boss had me and Jenny up front with her again this time around. Cam joined Sarah back in the engine room, and I was positive the cat-kin would be learning all about the lift off and landing process from the perspective back there. Not to mention the differences between Jump-0 and Jump-1.

Our departure from Port Ecclestone went without incident, and Rebecca handled the flying again. I knew she'd start getting me to do it sooner or later, but for now I was happy to handle the sensors and comms while she picked her own vector and piloted the Demeter out of the atmosphere then away from the planet's busy orbital space.

When we were far enough out I did all the jump calculations, and after double-checking my work Rebecca engaged the jump drive. The stars blurred and shifted into violet-blue streaks outside, and that was that. There wasn't any work for us to do during the trip, so the five of us ended up just relaxing and enjoying a bit of down-time. Rebecca Sarah and I had some quality cuddle-time in the ship's lounge, while Cam rested a bit in their cabin and Jenny reviewed some of those courses she'd taken.

We were all back at our stations before coming out of jump, then our arrival and landing at Rolandan-2 was as routine and boring as ever. I spoke with someone new at the Freeborn Shipyard and we got clearance to set down at a landing pad just outside their facility this time. And the boss let me bring the ship in to land, although by that point following an assigned landing vector was pretty straightforward.

Once the ship was on the ground we started going through the shut-down routines. That's when Jenny announced with a smile, "It looks like the welcoming committee is eager to see us."

She routed one of the external cameras to both my and Rebecca's main displays, and sure enough an excited and happy looking Tamsin was impatiently waiting outside for us to unseal the ship.

"Why don't you go down and see your friend boss?" I suggested with a smile. "I'll finish running through the checklist here."

Rebecca smiled back as she got up out of her seat, "Thanks Amanda. I'm sure we'll all be catching up over some drinks in the mess soon enough."

While our captain headed out of the cockpit then down to the lower deck Jenny and I stayed put. She helped me finish running through the landing procedures, and after another minute or two we had everything shut down and secured.

"That's it," I said as I got up out of my seat. "Let's go meet our guest. I'm curious to see how she's doing, now that she's had time to settle into things."

The AI agreed, "As am I. While I'm confident Tamsin hasn't had any trouble adjusting to her new body, I'm less certain about the other potential issues she'll have faced in her new life here."

The two of us headed aft together, and as we reached the mess we joined the boss and her friend in the middle of a conversation already in progress.

"...my days out in the shipyard again. It's been like a dream come true," Tamsin said with a wide smile on her face.

Miss Lancaster and Rebecca were standing next to the dining table, it looked like they were on their way to get something to drink before they got distracted. And it wasn't hard to guess which of them was more distractible, not to mention excitable.

The cute ravenette mechanic suddenly turned towards us and grinned, "Amanda, Jenny! It's great to see you both again!"

"Hi Tamsin," I replied with a smile. "How are you doing?"

Jenny added, "It's wonderful to see you again too. You're looking well."

Our AI was right about that. Even though she was dressed in cover-alls and work boots, Tamsin still managed to look good. The outfit was definitely tailored to suit her petite figure. A tool belt rested on her hips while also highlighting her narrow waist. The shipyard logo on the right side of her chest and a name badge on the left side both called attention to the swell of her bosom. And the lower half of the outfit was just tight enough to show off the contours of her legs and behind. Her jet-black hair was still cut short, and perfectly framed the fair skin of her attractive face and pretty blue eyes.

"I'm doing really good," the mechanic replied with a wide grin. "I was just telling Rebecca how happy I've been lately? I'm working full-time in the shipyard now, doing what I love. And Helen's been great, looking after the management decisions and the numbers, as well as introducing me to the rest of the staff and generally helping me transition into my new life here."

"Does your boss know you've taken some time off to come visit us?" Rebecca teased. "I hope you're not risking your perfect job by sneaking off to waste time with friends."

Tamsin's grin didn't even falter as she nodded, "I clocked out the moment I saw the Demeter coming in. Helen told me you were en route, and she knew I'd want to come and say hi."

"Hi Tamsin!" Sarah called as she and Cam finally joined the rest of us in the mess.

My engineer girlfriend had a happy smile on her face, while our newest ship-mate looked a little shy with their ears back and tail down.

Rebecca did the introductions, "Tam, this is Cammie Blake. They're a self-taught mechanic, and they've signed on with us as Sarah's apprentice. Cam, this is my oldest friend Tamsin Lancaster. She actually owns the Freeborn Shipyard, she inherited it from her dad."

Tamsin continued smiling as she looked the cat-kin up and down, "It's a pleasure to meet you Cammie. Cute ears and tail by the way!"

"Thank you miss," Cam replied as their cheeks coloured slightly. "It's nice to meet you as well."

The boss gestured towards the table, "Instead of standing around why don't we all take a seat? Or we can go sit in the ship's lounge, that's a little more comfortable."

"Although I expect Helen will be along at some point," she added. "Then I'll need to talk business with her."

The shipyard heiress nodded, "I heard you have another load of salvage you're looking to part with."

"Is there another story behind that?" she asked as she glanced towards Cam.

I realized she was probably wondering how the cat-kin ended up joining us, and with the feline ears and tail it was probably obvious that Cam was another of Jenny's Re/Gen users.

Rebecca steered her friend towards a seat at the dining table, and I helped get soft drinks for everyone. Then the boss replied with a shrug, "The salvage came off a wrecked freighter. We were hired to recover some valuable goods from her hold, but anything else we came across was ours."

"It was a real shame," Sarah added with a sigh. "The captain ran that ship into the ground. She was years overdue for regular maintenance, the captain ignored his engineer's warnings and requests for parts. It ended up costing the whole ship and six lives with it."

Tamsin grimaced, "Damn I hate to hear that. There's no excuse for that sort of neglect."

It seemed like that topic brought the mood down so I decided to steer the conversation in another direction.

"So Tamsin," I addressed our guest, "It's been a while since we dropped you off here. Over fifty days now I think? I'm glad you're enjoying your new job, but I'm curious how everything else is going? I remember Helen said there were quite a few arrangements she needed to make and some red tape that needed to be addressed before you'd be fully established here?"

"The first ten days or so were pretty hectic," Tamsin replied. She paused for a gulp of her soda then shrugged, "Luckily Helen's a champ when it comes to that sort of thing. She got me set up right away in an apartment not far from the shipyard. Then there was the whole funeral and dealing with the will and everything, which was even more awkward than you can imagine."

She made a face then shrugged again, "Anyways like I said it was about ten awkward days? By the end of it I got my citizenship and the inheritance was taken care of. I decided to stay in my new apartment though, rather than move back into the old place. It feels better to have that fresh start, so Helen arranged to sell the old residence. And of course she's now the CEO and president of the shipyard."

"I mean she was practically running the place for the last year and a half anyways," Tamsin continued, "But now it's official. And even though I own it, I'm just a junior mechanic. The other staff know me as Mel's daughter, but they treat me like a coworker. Which is just the way I like it."

Rebecca smiled, "That all sounds great Tamsin. I'm really glad to hear you're happy and that everything's worked out for you."

"Thanks old friend," the petite ravenette mechanic replied with a happy smile. Then her expression changed to excited curiosity as she asked, "So what have you been up to with this old boat of yours? You haven't spent fifty-five days salvaging one old freighter. And where'd you find Cammie? I know you've got stories, so let's hear them!"

The boss grimaced slightly as she glanced around the table at the rest of us. Then she sighed, "I don't even know where to start..."