LIGHTNOVELONLINE 154. Ground
=::= Day 29 - Cam's PoV =::=
"It was only what, five or six days ago that I said we could forget about that apprentice stuff?" Sarah asked, with a wide grin and an impressed tone in her voice.
I could tell she wasn't expecting an answer, so I kept my mouth shut. I wasn't sure I wanted to hear what she had to say next, but either way I didn't want to risk embarrassing myself any more than whatever she already had in mind.
The engineer finally got around to finishing her statement, "It was one thing for you to show me up working on that irrigation equipment, but I never realized you'd be teaching me a thing or two about ship repair so soon."
Sure enough I could feel my cheeks heating up, but my ears were standing up tall and proud along with my tail. I couldn't help it, even if I didn't think I deserved that kind of praise.
I shook my head as I told her, "You're the one who fixed the ship Sarah. I just helped out is all."
"Without your help I wouldn't have been able to fix this at all, Cam. I'm serious," she insisted. "Even with the spare parts, even with everything all lined up and ready to go, I thought we couldn't do it. Not without moving the ship, or at least raising her up. And there's nothing around here big enough or strong enough to lift the Demeter, and no way the captain would burn through the fuel it'd take to lift her up and set her down in a better position for me to work on her."
"Nope," the engineer concluded. "This is all on you."
Jenna gave me a proud happy smile as she agreed, "Sarah's right. You did good work Cammie, you deserve the praise."
Hearing it from her just got me blushing even brighter, while at the same time I could feel a soft rumble threatening to start up in my chest. I still didn't think it was that big of a deal though. It was a simple problem, so I came up with a simple solution.
We needed to repair the busted landing gear, but we couldn't do that when the Demeter's other five gear were buried deep enough in the dirt that her belly was practically sitting on the ground. And like Sarah said, there was nothing anywhere around here strong enough to lift the ship. And no way the captain would waste that much fuel just to raise her up and set her down a couple meters away where the dirt was a little more solid.
The real problem was with that busted gear stuck out sideways it couldn't be retracted. That meant the ship would have a serious weakness when she took off, and once we were in space she wouldn't be able to break atmosphere again until it was fixed. That's when Sarah and the captain started talking about cutting the busted leg clean off, so the landing gear doors could be closed. The ship could make do with five legs instead of six, as long as she wasn't filled up with too much cargo.
I hated to see that though, especially since we already had all the parts we needed to fix it up right. So I made a really simple suggestion. If we couldn't raise up the ship, why not just lower down the ground? It only took a day and a half, on account of I could use my loader to do some of the heavier digging. And we didn't have to dig out the other five landing gear, all we needed was a big enough deep enough space for me and Sarah to work on the busted one.
That's really all there was to it. Nothing fancy, just a hole about a meter and a half deep and a few meters across. Enough room to work on the busted gear, and space to fully extend it once it was fixed.
Despite my best efforts that rumbling finally started up in my chest which made Jenna's smile even wider. Which in turn made me blush even more. I tried to cover up the sound of my purring by saying, "All I did was dig a hole, it weren't no great feat of engineering."
"It really was Cammie," the cute synthetic girl insisted, and from the tone of her voice it sure sounded like she meant it. "It's not the digging that makes it special, it was the insight. Knowing that digging a hole would solve the problem. That's the difference, Cam. That's why you deserve the praise, silly kitty."
I gulped and my heart raced as my purring got louder. I looked into her eyes and replied softly, "Oh. I see."
Sarah had another wide smile on her face as she looked at me and Jenna, but instead of finding more ways to embarrass me the engineer just quietly excused herself. She said something about reporting the completed repair to the captain, but I wasn't really listening.
"Perhaps we should go inside as well?" Jenna suggested after a few more seconds. "I know my sister would very much like to congratulate you as well, for finishing the last of the Demeter's repairs."
Before I could respond she leaned closer and whispered, "Actually Cammie, Jenny and I would both like to congratulate you together. In private."
My eyes widened as my heart rate spiked, while my purring got even louder.
"O-ok," I agreed, as Jenna took my hand in hers and led me towards the Demeter's ramp.
I honestly had no idea how it happened, but somehow the two smartest, most interesting, and most beautiful people I'd ever met had both taken an interest in a shy awkward backwaters nobody like me.
What made it even more amazing was the fact that they were the first people I'd ever been really interested in like that too. And that wasn't just on account of them being synthetic, or a reaction to them being interested in me. Those things helped, but really it was because they were the first folks I truly felt any kind of connection to in that sort of way.
And now all three of us were girlfriends, which was maybe the most amazing and wonderful thing that ever happened to me. And that was at the top of a long list of other amazing and wonderful things. Honestly, I reckoned I must be the luckiest catgirl in the galaxy, the way everything worked out.
Ever since I first met Jenny and the rest of the Demeter crew it seemed like I got one lucky break after another. Trading in my awkward original masc body for something a whole lot more comfortable was the first boon. And finding out I didn't have to keep being a guy if I didn't want to was another big moment. Eventually figuring out it was ok for me to be a girl instead was right up there too. But next to becoming girlfriends with Jenny and Jenna, all them other things paled in comparison.
With all that stuff on my mind I was still grinning and purring while Jenna led me back inside the Demeter. I didn't really snap out of my happy thoughts until the two of us made it up into the ship's lounge, where Sarah was already on the sofa along with the captain and first mate. The three of them were cuddling again like usual, with Rebecca in the middle and Amanda's big floofy tail stretched across both her girlfriends' laps.
Jenny was there too, seated at the small table to the side. She got to her feet though and moved to join me and Jenna when we stepped into the lounge, and I found myself in between the two amazing sisters.
"With that number-five landing gear repaired that's just about everything done," Sarah was telling the boss. "The only work left on our list is basically just cosmetic fixes. A few bent hull plates we could try and hammer back into position, and some scorch marks and pitting over the starboard engine housing we could try and smooth out or patch over."
Rebecca asked, "So apart from some minor bumps and scuffs we're fully operational again?"
The engineer nodded, "That's correct. All systems are back online and the ship's a hundred percent functional."
"Does that mean we're planning on leaving soon?" Amanda asked.
The captain took a deep breath, then let out an equally deep sigh. She finally shook her head, "I know we've been grounded here a while already. It's been what, twenty-eight days? I was really hoping the heat would have died down by now, but last we heard there's still people looking for us."
"Jenny?" she added as she looked to the smart attractive hologram next to me, "Have you picked up any more news lately? Any changes or updates?"
My girlfriend shook her head, "Sorry Rebecca. The Demeter and crew are still wanted for 'questioning' by the Fuminja Cluster authorities. And I'm sure I don't need to remind you of the information Captain Nieves shared with us when they visited a few days ago."
That was some really bad news. Someone on Ecclestone's World put a price on our heads. They weren't even quiet about it, it was practically a public advertisement. Apparently it was from that Kelsonian lady's family, either her pa or her grandpa, from the sound of it.
"That's what I thought," the captain sighed. "Anyways I'm glad we're operational. The main thing is we can leave any time we want to, or have to. But for now we're going to stay right where we are. So far the only folks who know where to find us are the Persephone's crew, and I know we can trust at least half of them. Tanya says she trusts the rest, so as long as none of them talk we should be fine here. At least for now."
Sarah asked, "So what are we going to do in the meantime? I guess we can just take it easy, make it a kind of vacation?"
"There's plenty more work to be done around these parts," I finally spoke up.
My ears folded down and my tail twitched behind me as all the others looked my way, but I kept on talking.
"Me and Sarah already patched up a few of them new irrigation pumps," I continued, "But there's lots of older gear all around Ganvis that could use an overhaul or some maintenance. I know some of the locals still don't trust us, and some of 'em don't like me. But a lot of 'em are ok with us now. Especially after Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Ridley started talking up how much we helped them out."
The captain looked to our engineer and asked, "What do you think Sarah? Are you up for doing a little more community service work with Cam?"
"Sure," she nodded. Then she smirked, "It'll give me some more opportunities to learn all Cammie's tips and tricks."
That got me blushing again, and also started up that faint rumble in my chest once more.
Meanwhile Rebecca responded, "I'll try and talk with Mayor Wheeler again tomorrow then. I still want to clear this kind of thing with her before-hand, so she can't accuse us of overstepping our boundaries or anything else along those lines. Although to be fair she's been a lot more approachable lately."
"Anyways thanks you two," she added. "Sarah and Cam, you did good work. I knew you could do it, but I'm still really happy to know that the Demeter's finally all patched up and ready to go."
That sounded more or less like we were dismissed, and both Jenny and Jenna picked up on it too. Without a word the two of them turned and guided me back out of the lounge, with my android girlfriend on one side and my AI girlfriend on the other.
Jenna was still holding my hand, which made it easier for the two of them to direct me into the android's cabin on the port side of the ship. There the two of us sat down beside each other on the lower bunk, while Jenny stood next to the desk to my right.
"My sister and I wanted to congratulate you in private for finishing the ship repairs," the AI began.
Then the android continued, "But before we get to that, there's something we wanted to talk about. More specifically, something we'd like to ask you."
"Please don't feel obligated Cammie," Jenny added. "If this makes you uncomfortable don't hesitate to tell us. And don't feel pressured to give us an answer right away, either. If you need to sleep on it, or take time to think it over, we completely understand."
"O-ok," I responded. "So um, what was it y'all wanted to ask?"
The sisters glanced at each other, then Jenna held my hand in both of hers. She seemed awkward and maybe even a little anxious as she asked, "Jenny and I were wondering if maybe the three of us could all move in together? You could move your things here into my cabin, or I could move into yours."
"And whichever one we pick," the AI continued, "I would move my HPDs in as well. As a symbolic act, to show that I was here with the two of you."
My eyes widened and my heart started racing again as it sank in. I thought being girlfriends was as good as it got, but the idea of the three of us all living together too... That was almost too good to believe. It's like the luckiest catgirl in the galaxy just got even luckier.
"I know it might sound cramped with three of us sharing one of these small crew cabins," Jenny added after a few seconds. "Jenna and I don't think it should be a problem though, since my body is only made of light. And my HPDs won't take any room, the bases can be mounted up on the wall or ceiling above the desk."
The two synthetic sisters glanced at each other then looked back at me again. Jenna asked nervously, "What do you think Cammie? Like Jenny said, we understand if you need time to think. Or if you're not interested -"
"Yes!" I interrupted. I was purring loudly, while my ears and tail all stood up tall and happy. "I'd love to! I can round up my clothes and stuff and move everything in here in fifteen minutes flat."
Jenny and Jenna glanced at each other with wide happy smiles. Then Jenna wrapped her arms around me and pulled me backwards onto her bunk with her.
She held me tight as she whispered, "Move later. Celebrate now."
