Daughters of Demeter

=::= Day 154 - Cam's PoV =::=

"There it is," I said as our destination finally became visible ahead of us. "That's Port Bayview."

Jenna smiled as she admitted, "Whenever you mentioned it I always pictured a small spaceport. I never imagined it would be something like this."

"Nah," I shook my head. "It ain't that kinda port."

A few kilometres ahead of us lay the oldest and largest settlement on this side of the planet. Port Bayview was home to almost fifteen hundred people, with about a third of them farming the plains surrounding the town. And the reason it got its name was because of what another third of the population did for a living.

The settlement was built alongside a natural harbour, and past that was nothing but shimmering blue ocean for as far as the eye could see. Port Bayview wasn't about space, it was about the sea. And as such, it was home to a small fleet of fishing vessels.

There was probably close to a hundred in total, and they came in all shapes and sizes. Some were no bigger than the shuttle we was flying, small craft with a small crew that could support a couple families. Others were maybe five times larger than the Demeter herself, with a couple dozen crew on board and a few dozen more on shore taking care of maintenance and loading and such.

The last third of the population was there to support the other two groups. There were factory workers who'd process whatever the boats brought in, package it up and ship it off to the capital city. And they had silos and mills for handling and storing grain and cereal products, along with abattoirs and cold storage facilities for taking care of livestock.

Back before the drought started, most of what folks grew around Ganvis ended up going to Port Bayview. Then it would have been shipped to the capital, either to feed the folks there or maybe it would have been loaded on ships and sent off-world.

And that thought left me grimacing, "The only actual spaceport on Deveron-8 is the one at the capital city. Or I mean, that was the only spaceport, before it got destroyed."

"Although I reckon they're already working to rebuild it," I added quietly.

"Ella mentioned a few days ago that the new spaceport isn't expected to be fully operational for another hundred days. Maybe a hundred and fifty," Rebecca commented as she slowed down the shuttle and began our descent towards the large settlement ahead of us.

The captain continued, "Obviously they're able to land and launch ships right now, all you need for that is some flat solid ground. But a proper port needs facilities, and that's what takes time to rebuild. I think their biggest requirement right now is to get a fuel depot up and running, so any ships coming in can refuel before heading out again."

"Speaking of which," my android girlfriend commented, "I hope you haven't forgotten what my sister said?"

Rebecca shook her head, "I know what she said. Worst-case scenario we can just sit and wait until they there's a local fuel depot, like I just said. Or realistically someone will show up to capitalize on the situation first. All they need is a ship with big tanks, a way to skim from one of the local gas giants, and on-board processing. They wouldn't even have to land here, just hang out in orbit and name their price."

"Anyways," the captain added, "If we really can't wait then we could always call on the Persephone for help. They could take on extra fuel at Fuminja Beta, then transfer it over to the Demeter after they landed."

My girlfriend frowned, "Paying a bulk goods freighter to transport fuel for us is probably the least efficient and most expensive option."

"Which is why I'd only do that if we were desperate," Rebecca pointed out.

The reason we was talking about fuel was on account of each time the shuttle or fighter was launched that took a little bit out of the ship's tanks. It weren't much, but it added up over time. And since there still weren't no way to get more, it meant every little flight like this one brought the Demeter closer to not having enough on board to leave.

From the stuff Sarah taught me I knew there were a couple minimum levels, and we'd already passed the first one. That was how much fuel it took for a level-one jump to the nearest place we could get more fuel, and we didn't have enough on board to do that.

The second one was how much it took for a level-zero jump to the same destination, and we wasn't far off from there either. The last one was most serious, that was how much fuel it took to get the ship into orbit. If the Demeter's tanks went below that number then the only way she'd ever get off the ground was if someone else brought us fuel.

And I knew most of my shipmates and both my girlfriends were really worried about that. Even if they didn't say so. After more than a hundred and fifty days on the ground, I was positive some of them was getting desperate to get back up into space. Even though there were still bounty hunters and assassins looking for us out there.

"I'm still not clear why we needed to use the shuttle for this trip in the first place," Jenna commented. "Or why we're even involved at all. Surely the people of Ganvis Station wouldn't have relied on shuttlecraft for this sort of thing in the past?"

I shook my head, "Nah. There used to be big grav-sled haulers that'd make the rounds between all the remote farming communities and the bigger settlements like Port Bayview. They had specialized rigs, depending on what they was carrying? Like hoppers for grain and special compartments for livestock and what-not. And flat-bed haulers for whatever else didn't fit in the specialized ones. They're a lot slower than the shuttle, but they was designed for carrying the kind of goods that come out of Ganvis."

"I reckon Mayor Wheeler probably tried to find someone with that kinda rig before she asked us to do it," I added. "But a lot of them got snatched up by bandits and raiders back when the drought started getting serious."

My voice was quieter as I said, "And I figure some of them folks with the big haulers maybe ain't around no more, between the bandits and the drought and the war."

The other two were both quiet for a few seconds after that. We were practically overtop of the town by that point, only about a hundred and fifty meters up as the captain brought the shuttle into a wide circular flightpath.

Then the boss glanced at me and asked, "So you know your way around here, right Cam? Where exactly are we going, where should we land?"

"Oh right," I grimaced again. "Look for all the wind turbines, they ought to be south of the town? Some will be in the water, but most are on land. There'll be a big warehouse style building there, outside the port but near the wind farm. That's Hank's place, that's where we're going. You can set the shuttle down right out front of the big doors on the side of the building."

The captain smiled as she adjusted our course to the south, "I should have guessed that."

"Do you know if I'll experience any electronic interference here, similar to what I encountered at the wind farm in Ganvis?" Jenna asked.

I shook my head, "I don't think so. I'da said something up front Jenna if I knew there'd be any trouble for you. I'm still sorry I forgot to mention it that time back home."

She leaned forward and gave me a hug from behind as she replied, "It's ok Cammie! It didn't hurt me, I just wanted to be prepared incase it happened again here."

There was a gentle bump as the shuttle touched down about a dozen meters away from the big doors on the side of Hank's building. Rebecca started shutting down the engine while I saw one of the warehouse doors open up part-way. Hank stepped out, with a shotgun cradled in his arms. He looked wary, not that I could blame him. I figured he probably never had a spaceship shuttlecraft park out front of his shop before, and he wouldn't know what to make of it.

"Do we need to worry about that?" my girlfriend asked as she looked at Hank and his shotgun.

Rebecca got up from her seat as she said, "You two hold back. I'll let him know we're friendly. We're supposed to be expected, but maybe he didn't know what we'd be driving."

Both the captain and Jenna had handguns on their belts like usual. Plus there were a pair of carbines in a rack me and Sarah installed on the wall just inside the shuttle's port-side hatch. The boss ignored them though as she moved past and unsealed the door.

She had her hands out to the sides to show she was unarmed as she called, "Hello there! I'm here to speak with Hank? I'm from Ganvis Station, we're here to do business."

"That's me," Hank replied. "Weren't expecting to see nothing like a shuttlecraft on my doorstep, but I suppose it don't matter what you're flying long as you've got goods to trade."

Rebecca nodded, "I do. Do you mind if my companions join us?"

Hank didn't mind, so Jenna and I exited the shuttle and moved to stand next to the captain.

I couldn't help feeling awkward for two reasons. First up I knew Hank and met him a couple times way back before the drought started. And second, as soon as I stepped out of the shuttle he was staring at my ears and tail.

"Hello Mr. Hank sir," I greeted him in a softer than usual voice. "Mayor Wheeler sent us to see you about getting some more wind turbines for Ganvis."

The captain added, "This is Cammie, and that's Jenna. And my name's Rebecca. Sorry if our transport alarmed you, it's the best we've got right now and it does the job."

Hank stared at me for another couple seconds, then he scratched the back of his head as he nodded "Yeah I hear ya there. We all been makin' do with whatever we can. Still, makes me wonder what in hell's going on over at Ganvis? Wouldn't have expected Ella Wheeler to send three pretty young things like you out doing this kinda work."

"Whatever," he added with a shrug. "Ain't none of my business. So you say you're here to trade, what'cha got and what'cha want?"

My android girlfriend replied, "We have a selection of fresh produce from the first harvest. Corn, grains, and legumes. The corn and legumes are both fresh and ready to use, in fact the corn is still on the cob. Some of the grain can also be used immediately, but some will require milling first."

Hank raised an eyebrow as he asked, "How much are we talking about here?"

"A full load," the captain stated. "The shuttle's packed. There's about two hundred kilos each of grain, corn, and legumes."

"The grain is a hundred kilos of rice that can be used immediately. The remainder are cereals that will require milling before use," Jenna clarified.

We all saw the man's eyes light up at those numbers, and I knew he was excited. It was funny to see a man get excited about grains and vegetables, but drought does that kind of thing to folks.

Meanwhile Rebecca continued, "As I said, Mayor Wheeler sent us to see about getting more wind turbines."

I finally spoke up again, "We ain't looking for any more of the big five-oh-eights like we already got. They're good reliable workhorse units, but our distribution set-up is already maxed-out with twelve of them and the mayor's not ready to set up a whole new wind farm just yet? So I was thinking if we could get some of the smaller ones, like maybe the two-twenty series? Then we could set 'em up out where they're needed. As long as folks ain't greedy a single two-twenty ought to keep a couple farmsteads running, right Mr. Hank?"

He narrowed his eyes at me as he scratched the back of his head again, then finally asked "What'd you say your name was again? You sure do remind me a lot of a funny little mechanic fellow they used to have over at Ganvis."

"My name's Cammie," I mumbled as I felt my cheeks heating up while my tail tucked down between my legs. "I um, know who you're talking about. He's um, he ain't at Ganvis no more. Um, on account of bandits last year."

Hank frowned, "That's a damn shame. Too many good folks been lost or hurt all round."

"Anyways let's do some hagglin' here," he added with an eager smile. "You folks want some turbines, and I definitely want what you're offering. Hell if I ain't never gotta eat another damn fish as long as I live it'll still be too soon."

I ended up having to do some of the haggling, but Rebecca handled most of it. She needed my help though on account of she didn't really know what any of this stuff was worth. Back before the drought we all just used ecks like everybody else, but until it was over food was the real currency on Deveron-8.

The four of us talked and debated for a good five minutes, before coming to an agreement. We all shook hands on it, then Hank got one of his boys to come out and help us unload the shuttle. Both the guys were kind of shocked though when they realized even a little catgirl like me could pick up and carry sacks of grain easier than the two of them.

And once the shuttle was empty we started loading it back up again with the turbine parts. That was a little harder, cause some of the parts was so big and unwieldy. We actually ended up opening the cargo hatch on the shuttle's roof, just to get some of the longer pieces in. The mast assemblies were too big to fit no matter what though, so we'd have to leave that big cargo door open in flight with the masts all sticking out at the back of the roof.

By the time we were finished the shuttle was full again, with everything we needed to set up a half dozen model two-twenty-three wind turbines. We also got four spools of cable and a whole big bucket full of connectors. All together I reckoned it was enough to get over a dozen more farms up and running, without putting any more strain on the existing grid.

"Thank you Mr. Hank sir," I said once the shuttle was all loaded up. "I'm sure Mayor Wheeler will be in touch if we need more turbines or parts or what-not."

He grinned, "Sounds good Cammie. Maybe next time you folks'll have some fresh fruit to trade? Or some meat? Gosh that'd be nice."

Rebecca smiled too, "We'll see. It's been a pleasure doing business with you Hank. Now we'd better get moving."