LIGHTNOVELONLINE 152. Wanted
"Seriously Jenny?" Rebecca yawned and stretched as she lay cuddled in between Sarah and I. "You woke us up for an FTL? You could have let us sleep in, I'd have answered it later."
The AI's voice came through the intercom as she apologized, "I'm sorry captain, but it's not an FTL. They're calling from orbit."
"Actually I believe they're preparing to begin their descent," she added.
"Crap," the tall beautiful redhead muttered as she scrambled out of bed. "Tell them to hold a minute please Jenny, I'm on my way to the cockpit!"
Sarah pouted, "I guess that means it's time to get up?"
"And dressed," I sighed. That turned into a smirk as I changed my mind, "Or maybe not?"
My blonde girlfriend grinned too as we both watched Rebecca hurry out of our cabin and towards the cockpit without a stitch of clothing on. Neither of us made any move to get up or join her though, and as soon as the cabin door shut behind her we both relaxed back into bed. A few seconds later we were cuddled up together, and my big floofy tail found its way around one of her legs.
It was the morning of our ninth day at Ganvis Station, and while our first couple days on this world were hectic the last few had been kind of quiet. It wasn't exactly shore leave or a vacation, but it wasn't really work either.
That first meeting with Mrs. Wheeler ended with Jace accompanying us back to the ship to take care of the cargo. Cam's old loader was still in her workshop so she and Sarah teamed up to get the six containers off our ship, then the catgirl set them down next to the ones we brought last time. After that the two mechanics finished their assessment of the Demeter, and delivered their report to the rest of us.
I had a feeling the boss was expecting bad news, but it was still disappointing to hear it spelled out. The good news was the Demeter was actually in fairly good shape considering what she'd been through. The bad news was, she wouldn't be going anywhere without some significant repairs, especially to the starboard engine. And before that work could begin, Sarah needed a number of replacement parts. Stuff we didn't have on board, and couldn't find or fabricate locally.
The boss took it in stride, and got Sarah to provide a complete detailed list of everything we'd need to get the ship operational again.
It was around that time that Jenny picked up a sector-wide FTL news flash about us. Apparently the Demeter was wanted by the Fuminja Cluster authorities, in regards to a serious incident involving one of their asteroid installations and an Imperium warship.
That certainly justified our decision to find someplace quiet to hide out, although Jenny picked up another news flash just a couple days later that indicated the situation had changed somewhat.
As expected, Tamsin leaked the details of those illegal medical tests along with at least one set of the Hammersmith's secret orders. That found its way into the hands of the Rolandan press, and from there the news quickly spread out across the sector. It led to a brief investigation and a handful of arrests at the Regulon-4 mining colony, while the Fuminja officials called in the Kennington's commanding officers to question them about their involvement.
We were still wanted for questioning too. But instead of being wanted criminals for destroying a scientific research lab, the tone they were using in the news had shifted. Now they were playing us up as if we were local heroes, for foiling this horrible plot hatched by the evil Imperium outsiders. The fact that our ugly little tugboat broke their big strong Navy frigate only added to our growing folk hero status, which was equal parts amusing and worrying.
My comfy cuddle time with Sarah finally came to an end a few minutes later, when our cabin door slid open and a still-naked Rebecca stuck her head in. "Time to get up you two. And maybe put some clothes on? We'll have guests in about half an hour."
"Fine," I sighed as I sat up. "That's not enough time for me to make us all breakfast though."
Sarah suggested, "Coffee now, then brunch after the meeting?"
"Sounds good," the boss replied as she turned to head for her own cabin. "See you both in the mess in a few minutes."
My blonde girlfriend and I reluctantly got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. We also strapped on our sidearms, since the boss was still picky about that while we were on this world. Then Sarah and I headed out towards the mess where we found the rest of our shipmates. Rebecca was already dressed and armed, seated by herself on one side of the table. And the others were all dressed too, sitting together across the table from the boss.
"G'morning gang," Sarah greeted the others as she moved to the autochef to get us both some coffee.
I greeted them too as I moved to sit next to the tall strong redhead, "Good morning Cammie, and Jenny, and Jenna."
That was another thing that got sorted out during those first few busy days after we landed. Our AI and android shipmates finally ironed out the various details they'd been debating, including what we should call them. The Re/Gen AI kept the name Jenny, while the android changed one letter and took the name Jenna.
Jenna and Jenny still looked almost completely identical, apart from the white fringe in Jenny's hair and the pink fringe in Jenna's. Even their outfits matched, with the AI crewmate adjusting her hologram to mimic whatever clothing the android was wearing each day. So apart from their hair, the only other difference was Jenna had a pistol strapped to her belt, same as my girlfriends and I.
"Thanks love," I smiled when Sarah placed a mug of coffee in front of me.
She smiled back as she sat down on the other side of our shared girlfriend, "You're welcome cutie."
Jenny mentioned, "I'm tracking the Persephone, she's about fifteen minutes out now."
"I told them to follow a similar flightpath to the one we took when we got here," Rebecca added. "So they don't attract any undue attention."
"That reminds me," Sarah commented. "I had a look at the scan data you took during the descent. I'm positive that large installation you found is the terraforming stuff Tamsin talked about? Like you said there were no energy signatures though, so it's either shut down or it broke down."
She sighed as she added, "It'd be nice if we could get someone with the right skills to have a look at it. I'm sure the people here would love to see an end to the drought."
We all agreed with that sentiment, and that led to a brief discussion of whether or not we could send the scan data to Tamsin so she could forward it to someone who'd know what to do with it. Except there was still the problem of the local government refusing to accept outside help, and none of us wanted to get involved in that.
Then Jenny announced, "The Persephone is on final approach. She should be on the ground in under five minutes."
"I thought we weren't expecting them for at least another five to ten days," I commented. Then I looked to Rebecca and asked, "Did you tell them we were in a hurry or something?"
The beautiful redhead shook her head, "Nope. I didn't actually tell them anything, I just sent them a list of what we needed."
That was another thing that happened back on our second day here. After Sarah gave the boss a list of all the new parts the ship needed, Rebecca sent out an encrypted FTL on a pre-arranged frequency. It was something she'd discussed with Tanya Nieves, during our last visit to Port Ecclestone. The transmission didn't have any other information, no mention of names and especially no reference to where we were located. We'd shared those details with the Persephone's captain in person before we set out for the Fuminja Cluster.
"Maybe it was Gwen's idea?" I suggested. "She might have decided Princess Rebecca was too important to be kept waiting."
"Don't you start with that princess stuff too Amanda," her royal highness groaned, while everyone else smiled.
It was only a few more minutes before Jenny let us know the Persephone had landed alongside the Demeter. The AI also warned us that a couple locals were approaching, this time it was Jace and Finn. The local lawman was probably worried about an unfamiliar ship showing up without warning.
"I'll go let Tanya and Gwen in," Rebecca said as she got to her feet.
Cammie stood up as well as she offered, "I'll tell Jace and Mister Finn that the Persephone's with us."
"I'll come with you," Jenna immediately added.
That put a smile on the catgirl's face, and the two of them followed the boss aft to take the engineering lift down to the lower deck.
As soon as the others were gone Sarah looked to Jenny and asked, "Is it just my imagination, or is there something brewing between Cammie and your sister?"
Our AI shipmate hesitated and a faint pink tinge coloured her cheeks. Then she sighed, "On the one hand I'm not sure that's any of your business, but on the other hand I suppose there's no point keeping secrets among shipmates. There is indeed 'something brewing' as you put it. Between Cammie and Jenna and myself."
Before either Sarah or I could respond she added, "I'll ask you both to keep quiet about it for now. All three of us are new to this sort of relationship, and I'd rather not see anyone hurt or scared off by undue attention."
"Of course Jenny," I nodded. "Thank you for trusting us. Both Sarah and I will respect your privacy and keep this to ourselves."
"Yeah," my cute blonde girlfriend agreed.
A few seconds later Rebecca was back, along with Captain Nieves and Lady Magniveen. The boss got more coffee for herself, as well as for our two guests. Except before joining us at the table both Tanya and Gwen froze and stared at Jenny in surprise.
"Didn't we just see you outside?" the tall brunette woman asked.
The attractive blonde diplomat added, "You and the catgirl were talking to a couple locals."
Jenny looked like she was fighting a smile as she responded, "That was my twin sister Jenna."
"Oh... Ok," the Persephone captain said as both she and Gwen slowly took their seats.
It took another second or two before Tanya seemed to push that confusion aside. Then she addressed our captain, "We've got everything on your shopping list. It's in our hold, we can transfer it over to you whenever you like."
"I also got a complete itemized receipt if you need it. According to Helen she gave us a good rate once she knew those parts were for the Demeter," she continued. She seemed a little awkward as she added, "And a junior mechanic named Tamsin asked me to tell you she sends her love."
Rebecca looked like she didn't know whether to smile or cringe, "Thank you Tanya. I don't need the detailed breakdown on the costs. We can talk money later but I'll make sure you and your crew are properly compensated for bringing us that stuff."
The tall brunette agreed to that plan. Then she changed the subject, "By the way, have you been monitoring the news reports?"
"Yeah," the boss nodded. "Jenny's been keeping us updated."
I added, "Things should be getting better though, right? I know we were wanted criminals at first, but the latest news flash made us sound like we were folk heroes or something."
"You're still wanted," the Persephone captain responded. "They say it's just for questioning, but my gut tells me it wouldn't be safe for you to show up around the Fuminja Cluster any time soon."
Rebecca agreed, "Port Ecclestone is probably even more dangerous for us right now. I can't imagine Kelsonian's family are going to be very happy with us. Same with anyone else who had stakes in her operation."
Then Sarah asked, "Any word about the Kennington? Or anything from the Imperium?"
Tanya answered, "The ISS Kennington is still at the Fuminja Cluster. We flew past her a few hours ago when we stopped in at Fuminja Beta to top up our fuel tanks."
"I honestly can't believe this flying antique took down a Navy frigate," she added as she shook her head in disbelief. "Anyways they obviously aren't saying anything publicly, but based on what we saw I think she's stranded. I have a feeling the Kennington's not going anywhere, at least until help arrives from the Imperium."
That seemed to be Gwen's cue as she announced with a smile, "Yesterday I received an FTL from home your highness, with very good news. The Vysalis government has accepted the evidence we submitted, and the vid you and I recorded was very well-received. According to my parents, the Lost Princess is all anyone's been talking about for the past few days."
"Don't forget the other good news," Tanya added. "The former regent's been arrested, he's being held pending a full investigation and trial."
Our two guests were referring to some business our captain discussed with Lady Magniveen before we left Ecclestone's World. Gwen finally made the decision to move ahead with Rebecca's claim to the throne, and she convinced my tall strong girlfriend to record a vid introducing herself to the government of Vysalis-4.
The plan was to transmit that along with all the proof of her claim and her relationship with Gabe back to their homeworld. They also included evidence of the regent's treachery, and details about how he suppressed and sabotaged their mission and put the Persephone's crew and potentially the princess herself in danger.
The young diplomat looked excited as she continued, "We need to record another vid your highness, to address the people directly. Your subjects want to hear from you. And perhaps you could condemn the former regent's actions? You should probably explain your desire to remain out here in the frontier too, right now everyone wants to see you take your rightful place on the throne."
"What does that mean for you?" I asked. "Will you all be heading back home soon?"
Tanya shook her head, "There's no word yet on whether or not me and my crew will be pardoned. That might come after the regent's trial? Or maybe it'll take a royal decree from the princess, I don't know."
"Then again," the tall brunette added, "Maybe we don't really care? Now that we're working, my crew and I are starting to enjoy this new life out here."
Gwen stated quietly, "I would like to return home someday. Ideally I'd prefer to return alongside Princess Rebecca. But for now I remain here at your service, your highness."
Rebecca smiled and slowly shook her head as she pulled both Sarah and I into side-hugs. "Sorry Gwen, but I've got everything I ever wanted right here. These are my girlfriends and this ship is my home. The rest of my crew are my family, and we're all staying right here. Parked at Ganvis Station for now, but even after we start flying again we're not going back to the Imperium."
"I'll do what I can to help you get home," she added. "And we'll see about pardoning the Persephone's crew, so they don't have that hanging over their heads."
That put a smile on Tanya's face, "Thanks princess."
"Indeed," Gwen agreed. "Thank you, your highness."
With no further business to discuss, I got up and began preparing a nice brunch. And Jenny sent a quick message to her sister, so Jenna and Cammie knew the food would be ready shortly.
We even invited Tanya and Gwen to eat with us, but they decided to return to their own ship for now. I got the impression Captain Nieves didn't want to alienate herself from her crew by spending too much time with us. As for Lady Magniveen, I couldn't help wondering if she'd started feeling more like one of the Persephone's crew and less like an outsider.
Either way it meant that by the time I had everything ready it was just the six of us sitting around the dining table. Me and my two girlfriends on one side, the rest of our little family together on the other side. And the possibility of the three of them becoming girlfriends too made me very happy.
And even though we didn't finish our last job back on Ecclestone's World like usual, it still ended with all of us together as family. And that's what mattered most.
~ The End (of Book Five) ~
