Daughters of Demeter

It was a five-hour jump to Ecclestone's World, and the four of us mostly took it easy while the ship was in transit.

Sarah and Jenny sat at the table in the mess and discussed some ideas they had about remedying that ownership issue with the AI's android body, apparently both of them had been putting some thought into that matter.

Unsurprisingly, Jenny was taking a more conservative approach and looking for ways to circumvent the issue, while Sarah's ideas were much more bold and direct. The cute engineer wanted to remove the power module completely and replace it with something entirely custom-made.

Rebecca and I left the two of them to debate the pros and cons of their different ideas, while the two of us got comfy in the ship's lounge.

We cuddled, she stroked and played with my tail, and we passed the time talking about obscure edge cases you could get into with jump plots. We avoided discussing the unpleasant results of failed jumps, and instead she told about me some of the more amazing jumps she'd seen, and a few she'd performed herself.

Around the half-way point we all got some more coffee, then Sarah and Jenny joined me and the boss in the lounge. I ended up cuddled between both my girlfriends on the sofa while our AI friend sat on one of the nearby chairs.

"What are we going to do about the Lebeau issue?" Jenny asked. "I can't imagine we'll be able to avoid him while we're at our next stop. Certainly not after we took his shipment from Fuminja Epsilon and failed to deliver it to Regulon-4."

Rebecca looked thoughtful as she sipped her coffee, "No, we probably won't be able to avoid him. The question is, how eager will he be to confront us? The man's a coward at heart, but he likes to act tough and he'll play the bully when he thinks he has the upper hand."

I couldn't help feeling anxious as I asked, "So what do we do? He's going to know when we arrive, won't he?"

The boss shrugged, "We won't announce our arrival. We won't contact the port authority, and we'll stay well clear of the exclusion zones. He might still know we're back though, he could have eyes on the port. Once we're on the ground I'll contact the guy who's expecting this shipment, and with any luck he'll be as efficient as Polson was? Get the delivery done and over with ASAP, so that's clear before any trouble shows up on our doorstep."

She added, "Whatever happens, I'm confident we can handle it. I know the three of you are still new to this, but remember I've been doing this sort of thing for almost forty years now."

"What should we do if things do go bad?" I asked.

Rebecca had another sip of her drink then stated, "Take cover. If you're there with me and we end up in a fight, get behind something solid. Don't get involved unless you have no choice, leave the shooting to me."

The thought of getting involved in a gunfight left me very uneasy, but I was pretty sure I wouldn't have any trouble hiding if that was the case. It left me with another question though.

"Are you still planning on paying him a visit?" I asked. "Instead of waiting for him to come for us, I guess?"

We all knew what I was really asking. At one point she was pretty adamant she was going to kill him, but I wasn't comfortable saying that out loud.

The boss sighed again, "We'll see. It's been long enough that my anger is down to a manageable level."

"It depends how things play out when we get there, I suppose?" she added after a few seconds. "If he apologizes nicely things will go a lot differently than they will if he sends a team of gunmen to greet us."

We were all quiet after that. I was pretty sure Jenny and Sarah felt the same as I did. None of us were comfortable talking about murdering the guy, but I was positive none of us would lose any sleep if that's what ended up happening. I still didn't want to be there when it happened, but I definitely wouldn't try and talk the boss out of doing it if that's what she decided.

Things remained quiet, in fact it felt like everyone was happier just dropping the subject entirely. Sarah and Rebecca and I continued cuddling together on the sofa while Jenny relaxed in her chair. It wasn't until we were nearly at our destination when the boss finally spoke up.

"It's time we got ready for our arrival," she said as she got to her feet. "Amanda, Sarah, get your side-arms then get to your stations."

"Yes boss," I replied as I stifled a sigh.

The rest of us all got up and started moving, and a few minutes later I was back in the cockpit ready for our arrival. Rebecca was next to me in the pilot seat, Jenny was behind me, and Sarah was back in the engine room.

My jump plot dropped the ship back into normal space exactly one hour away from Ecclestone's World. I checked the sensors for any trouble while Rebecca took the controls.

"I'll be handling our approach and descent this time Amanda," the boss decided. "I hope you don't mind."

I shook my head, "Not at all."

Honestly I was quite happy to let her do it. Not just because of the possibility we'd run into trouble, but without a landing vector to follow I wasn't confident I'd be able to just wing it the way she did. And I didn't have all the exclusion zones memorized either.

So while the boss flew the ship I kept an eye on the sensors. I was also ready to handle the comms if anyone contacted us.

Like our last couple times here, there was a kind of controlled chaos in terms of traffic orbiting the planet. In addition to a couple mega-freighters there were all the orbital platforms and a few dozen smaller craft. I also spotted a familiar ship among the larger craft in medium orbit.

"The ISS Kennington is in orbit here again," I reported.

The boss smiled, "That might work to our favour. Could be coincidence, but last time they were around Lebeau kept a low profile."

She gave the Imperium warship a wide berth, but they scanned us as we made our way past.

I reported that as well, "The Kennington just scanned us. It was a normal short-range scan this time, not the high-power high-rez one they did before."

"I wonder if that means they believed what you told them last time Captain," Jenny commented. "They're no longer searching for identity implants."

Rebecca responded, "I sure hope so. That's one less headache we need to worry about."

I reminded them, "They notified my and Sarah's families that we're dead."

"That doesn't necessarily mean they believed it," the boss stated. "But you're right, it was a good sign."

As planned we didn't bother contacting the port on our approach. The captain picked her own course then followed that down, and soon the ship was starting to shudder and groan as we entered the upper atmosphere.

"Jenny I want you to keep track of comm traffic," Rebecca stated. "Even after we're on the ground keep an ear on local comm activity. And keep an eye on the sensors after we've landed as well please, for any potential threats around the ship."

"Of course captain," the AI acknowledged.

Our descent went according to plan, and soon enough we were over the city. A few moments later we reached the port, and Rebecca circled once as she found us a clear area to set down.

It was at that point that my screen gave me another indication, "Captain we were just scanned again. It was one of the ships in port below us, I'm not sure which one."

"It was a very brief scan," Jenny added. "They couldn't have been checking for much more than our ship's identification. And for what it's worth, I don't recognize any of the craft below. They're all private vessels, a mix of freighters and couriers."

The boss frowned, "Understood. Like I said Jenny, keep an eye on things even after we're on the ground. It might be nothing, but better safe than sorry."

"Agreed," the AI confirmed.

By that point the boss had picked a landing site, and a minute later the ship gently touched down on pad two-fifteen.

There was just one more thing to take care of, but the boss handled that. She sent off a message to the customer's local contact, to let him know his shipment had arrived and where to find it. We got a response almost immediately, the contact was en route and would arrive within a half hour to pick up the goods and deliver our pay.

That put a smile on Rebecca's face, she commented "I'm glad they're just as efficient on this end. I wonder if we can turn this into a regular gig."

"Won't we need another cargo to get us back to Rolandan-2?" Jenny asked as the three of us left the cockpit and made our way aft.

The boss nodded, "Yeah, the job doesn't pay enough for us to fly back empty. Maybe they'll have something here they want to ship back that way? It's something to ask about anyways."

We all agreed with that, and after we met with Sarah in the mess the four of us made our way down to the main cargo hold. It was packed full with the customer's shipment, there wasn't even any room to bring down our grav-sled so that would have to wait till after the goods were removed.

Rebecca unsealed the ship and opened up the hold so everything was ready for when the customer arrived, then all four of us stepped outside for some fresh air and sunlight.

"Can you feel the sun?" I asked Jenny as I turned to look at her. "Sorry if that was insensitive of me."

She smiled, "It's quite alright Amanda. And yes, while I may not appreciate it the way you seem to, I am able to detect the slight increase in temperature caused by direct exposure to the local star's infrared radiation."

Sarah decided, "Next time we get the chance to go shopping I'm going to get the ship some folding chairs. They won't take up much space when they're stored, we can leave them on a shelf in the main hold. But they'll be nice for when we're waiting around like this for customers or supplies."

The boss just grinned, but she didn't bother to comment.

Fortunately we didn't have to wait for very long, the customer's contact showed up about ten minutes later with a large flat-bed and a couple burly guys to help handle the cargo. The rest of us moved out of the way while they got to work, using grav-assist manipulators to lift the containers and carry them out of our hold and onto their craft.

It only took about ten minutes before our hold was empty again, then Rebecca handled the last of the business arrangements. She spoke with the contact for a few minutes before he handed over the payment for the shipment. Then the guys all climbed into their large grav-sled and headed away.

As they left the boss shook her head, "They don't have anything else for us. Looks like this was a one-time shipment rather than a regular gig. So we're still tramping for now."

She added, "Sarah how about you get our sled down? We can head into the city and grab some lunch, then if you really want we'll stop and pick up some chairs so you can enjoy the fresh air and sunlight in comfort."

"On it!" Sarah replied with a grin as she headed over to the hoist controller.

I looked to Jenny and asked, "What do you think, want to come with us this time?"

She seemed to be thinking it over as we watched our engineer release the sled from its clamps then lower it down. Once the vehicle was on the deck Sarah disconnected it from the hoist, then stowed that away again.

Jenny spoke up a moment later, but instead of answering my question she gestured and announced "Captain, we are being approached by three individuals. Two of them are armed."

We all turned to look, sure enough three people were walking towards the ship.

On the left was a tall, fit woman in her thirties. Her dark hair was trimmed short and she had a tanned complexion. She wore unpolished military-style boots, dark slacks, and a well-worn dark-grey jacket. She had what looked like a standard-issue pistol in a holster at her right hip.

On the right was a tough stocky man who looked to be in his late twenties. His red hair was in a buzz-cut, and his skin was fair. He wore heavy-looking boots, dark cargo-pants, and a faded grey vest over a yellow t-shirt. There was a bulky handgun hanging from his belt.

In between them was a young woman who definitely looked out of place compared to the other two. She had shoulder-length curly blonde hair, a pretty face, and she was dressed for a business-meeting. Her outfit consisted of low-heeled shoes, tights, and a burgundy pencil-skirt with a matching jacket over a white blouse. She appeared to be unarmed, and carried a fancy-looking datapad under her left arm.

"Something tells me they aren't one of Lebeau's welcoming committees," Sarah commented.

The captain shook her head, "The guy on the right might fit the bill, but the other two don't look like the sort Lebeau would send out to greet us."

As the group got closer I noticed the two armed individuals were sort of acting causal while their hands stayed relatively close to their weapons. And their eyes were flicking back and forth as they took in the four of us along with the interior of our cargo hold.

While the other two were checking everything out, it seemed like the young woman in the middle was only interested in Rebecca. Her eyes stayed fixed on our captain as the three strangers stopped at the foot of the Demeter's ramp.

The boss asked, "Can I help you?"

The younger woman looked excited as she stared at Rebecca. She took a couple steps partway up the ramp as she opened her mouth to speak, but before she got a word out Jenny interrupted.

"Mr. Lebeau's welcoming party is here," the AI reported calmly.

The armoured grav-sled touched down only a dozen meters from the Demeter's ramp, its loading doors already open. A half dozen armed thugs spilled out with submachine-guns raised, and as soon as they were clear the armoured sled lifted off again.

One of the gunmen shouted, "Hands where we can see them, or you're all dead!"