Chapter 191: Chapter 191

The next morning Rebecca and I were up bright and early. There was no reason for Sarah to get up too, but she joined us in solidarity. As soon as we were all presentable the three of us headed out to the ship's mess, where we found Nyssa already up and waiting with a coffee in hand.

"G'morning sis," I smiled. "I'm glad to see you're ready to dive into the training."

She made a face then corrected me, "I'm ready to dive into breakfast. Food first, then after my tummy's full you and your girlfriend can start stuffing knowledge into my brain."

"Coffee first," I stated firmly. "Then food. Then training."

"Sounds like a plan," the boss smiled as she and Sarah prepared the morning beverages for all three of us.

Then my girlfriends both sat down at the table while I got started fixing breakfast. I didn't bother making anything too fancy this time, just a big mess of scrambled eggs with cheese and onions, plus some toast on the side. Nyssa helped get the toast ready, while Sarah set the table. Everyone else was up by the time the food was ready, so we all ate together.

Cammie and Sarah offered to take care of the cleaning up afterwards, so Rebecca and I could get started immediately on Nyssa's training.

I quietly tried to brace myself as the three of us headed forward into the Demeter's cockpit. After putting up with my sister's bratty whining the whole time we were searching for the Kára I wasn't looking forward to spending another two days stuck in a cockpit with her. I didn't want to leave it all on Rebecca's shoulders though.

Nyssa managed to surprise me again as she took the training very seriously. We actually made it through the first day without a single complaint from her. My little sister was obviously determined to impress me, so she could take over flying the Artemis solo. In fact the whole thing reminded me how committed she could be when she set her mind on something. Like travelling by herself all the way out here to the frontier to try and find me.

In all we spent about ten hours in the cockpit on the first day, and another eight on the second day. My sister started out in the copilot seat, getting trained and quizzed on navigation and jump plots, before swapping over to the pilot seat where we focused on her general flying and landing skills.

The whole thing was simulated, fuel and port fees were too expensive on Rolandan-2 plus the port was way too busy to actually take the Demeter out and back on multiple training flights, but by the end of the second day Rebecca was satisfied.

And I had to admit I was too. Nyssa was almost as quick a study as myself, and when she wasn't being a little brat she paid close attention to all the important details. I still had some concerns about her lack of maturity and experience, but those were things that couldn't be rushed.

"So what's the verdict?" she finally asked as the three of us exited the cockpit together. "Did I pass?"

Rebecca and I exchanged a glance, then the captain nodded. "I'd say so, but it's not my call. What do think, Amanda?"

My ears folded back and I hesitated when we all entered the ship's mess together. Both my little sister and my girlfriend were looking at me, awaiting my decision. For that matter so was the rest of the crew, they were all waiting for us. And for dinner, since it was that time.

"Yeah," I finally nodded, while my ears stood up and my tail flicked back and forth behind me. "Well done Nyssa. Tomorrow you'll be the Artemis' new skipper."

My sister let out an excited whoop, then the others all smiled and congratulated her. I still had some reservations, but everyone else was in a celebratory mood so I fixed up something nice for dinner.

The following morning we woke up to the message we'd been waiting on from the Freeborn Shipyard, that the Artemis was ready to go. Our scout ship was fixed up, fuelled up, they'd even topped up the autochef in her little galley.

Knowing it would be the last good meal Nyssa Jace and Gwen had for a while I made an extra special breakfast of french toast, with bacon and potato pancakes on the side. Then my sister and our two guests packed up their gear while Cammie and Jenna headed down to the main hold to get the grav-sled ready.

"I'll take the Artemis crew over to the shipyard," Rebecca said. "I need to settle our account with Helen, then they can get started on their mission. I'd like the rest of you to prep the Demeter for launch while I'm gone. We've got our own mission to worry about, so I want to get this ship moving as soon as I'm back."

My ears angled forward and my tail stood straight out behind me as I shook my head, "I'm coming too. I have to see my little sister off."

The boss knew she wouldn't win that argument so she didn't even try. Instead she looked to Sarah and Jenny, but our cute blonde engineer answered the question before it was even asked.

"Of course we can handle it," Sarah smiled. "You know I'll have the engines warmed up and ready to go, and I'm sure Jenny can take care of whatever silly little details you people worry about up front."

Rebecca rolled her eyes, then the two of us accompanied the others down to the lower deck. The tall redhead settled in behind the sled's controls, while I took the seat next to her. Gwen sat behind us, while Nyssa and Jace were together at the very back with the luggage.

"Safe travels to all three of you," Jenna said as the boss powered up the grav-sled. "And good luck on your mission."

Cammie added, "Yeah, have a safe trip!"

With that we were off, and Rebecca didn't waste any time getting us to the shipyard. It was pretty obvious both she and Gwen were eager to finally get moving again. Soon enough we had our destination in sight and we began descending towards the landing bay where our scout ship was waiting.

Rebecca set the sled down next to the Artemis, then hopped out and grabbed a couple strongboxes from the back as she said, "I'll go settle up with Helen. Nyssa, take care of your VIPs then start prepping the ship for launch. Amanda maybe you can give them a hand?"

"Yes ma'am!" my sister replied with a sloppy but enthusiastic salute.

Then as the captain headed away on foot Nyssa hurried up the ramp and into the small ship, while Jace and I gathered up all the luggage from the back of the sled.

I led the two passengers up the ramp then apologized to Gwen, "Sorry ma'am. That ladder's the only way up to the main deck. This ship's too small for a lift."

"It's fine Amanda," she replied as she started up.

Once we were all up top I showed Lady Magniveen to her stateroom. We put her in the captain's cabin where I'd been staying earlier, since it was the biggest and fanciest quarters on the ship. And Nyssa was in the second cabin again, which was also pretty posh. Unfortunately that left the former brig for our other VIP.

"Sorry about the accommodations," I told Jace as he dropped his duffel bag on the lower bunk in there. "The previous owner was a bounty hunter, he had this cabin set up as a cell. We've fixed the locks so you don't have to worry about getting trapped in here, but it's still a bit spartan. At least you don't have to share."

He smiled, "It's fine Amanda."

"My cabin's pretty nice," Nyssa commented with a sly grin. "You're welcome to hang out in there with me if you like?"

Before I had a chance to react to my sister's antics our other VIP spoke up from the corridor, "Do you know if we've got clearance to depart yet?"

I gave my sister a look as I responded, "You should be clear any moment now. So the pilot should probably be in her cockpit, monitoring the comms while the engines are warming up."

"Yeah I'm on it!" Nyssa grinned as she turned to head back up front again.

Except I caught her shoulder and stopped her first to add, "Remember sis, Lady Magniveen is in charge of this mission. You're the Artemis' skipper, that makes you responsible for the ship and the safety of your passengers. But apart from safety matters, you're taking orders from Gwen."

"Yeah I get it," she nodded. She looked and sounded serious as she continued, "And I promise I'll be careful Amanda. I want to do this right. I want you and your girlfriends to know you can trust me."

I smiled and pulled her into a hug, "Ok Nyssa. Good luck. And keep in touch, I want regular FTL updates. I'll do the same." This update ıs available on novel⁂fire.net

That was all the time we had, as the ship's comm came to life with the message that the Artemis was cleared for departure. I gave my sister one more little squeeze then let go of her. She hurried into the cockpit while I wished Gwen and Jace good luck, then I finally made my way back down to the lower deck.

Jace followed me down to the cargo hold and saw me out, then sealed up the ship while I headed over to the grav-sled where my girlfriend was waiting. Rebecca got us up and clear of the landing bay, then we hovered a few hundred meters away to watch the Artemis' launch.

The small sleek ship was soon soaring skyward, and before long she'd disappeared from view. I let out a quiet sigh as we finally set off towards the Demeter.

"She'll be ok," Rebecca commented during the flight back to the spaceport.

I sighed, "I know. I can't help worrying though."

"So what next?" I added. "Level one jump into the Gorath asteroid field?"

She nodded, "That's the plan. We should be in range of that asteroid base in about four or five hours, depending on how fast we can get clearance and a vector out of here."

"Alright," I grimaced. "Let's hope Jenny's right about being able to talk to that guy. Otherwise I don't like the Demeter's chances."

As usual the ship was ready for our arrival, the ramp was down and the main airlock open so we could fly right in and set down in the middle of the main hold. Cammie and Jenna were there to greet us, and to seal the ship and stow the sled while the boss and I made our way up to the main deck. Sarah was standing by in engineering, and Jenny had her HPD waiting for us in the cockpit.

"I've already contacted port control," the AI commented as the boss and I took our seats. "We should have clearance and a vector momentarily."

The captain smiled, "Thank you Jenny. Amanda why don't you take us up once we've got our clearance."

"Sarah," she added over the intercom, "Please bring the engines online, let me know when the ship's ready for launch."

The cute blonde responded immediately, "Way ahead of you boss. The ship's all fired up and eager to get back into space."

By that point everything was sealed up and secured below deck, Jenny reported that her sister and girlfriend were on their way to join Sarah in the engine room. And clearance came through a half minute later.

Rebecca gave the order, "Take us up Amanda."

"Yes ma'am," I replied as I throttled up the engines until the ship lifted up off the landing pad.

Then with all the usual shakes and groans we began our climb skyward. Flying the Demeter was nothing like the smooth quiet ride on the Artemis, but there was something about the rattling conduits and shuddering deck plates that felt like home.

Once we made orbit there was still another forty-five minutes of traffic-control to get through, but after that we were finally clear and free to navigate on our own. The captain had me plot our jump, which would bring us to within a hundred thousand kilometres of where the Artemis first detected the outpost. After that we had a few hours to relax and take it easy, before things got tense all over again.

When the time came we were all at our stations, Rebecca was in the pilot seat while I sat next to her in the co-pilot position. And Jenny's hologram took the engineering station behind me. Meanwhile Sarah and Cammie were in engineering, and Jenna was there keeping our mechanics company.

As soon as the ship dropped out of jump I was on the sensors looking for any sign of trouble, while the captain verified our location.

"Looks good," the boss stated a few seconds later. "Another perfect plot Amanda, we're practically right ontop of those coordinates."

My tail started wagging but other than that I remained professional as I reported, "No sign of the base yet, but I'm not surprised. They're probably back in low power mode, shielding their output to keep hidden. And we both know the Demeter's sensors aren't half as good as the ones on Artemis."

Rebecca replied, "Either way it's a safe bet they've noticed us. The Demeter isn't exactly subtle, she'll have made a hell of an EM splash coming out of jump."

"I believe I have a vector to the outpost," Jenny spoke up a moment later. "Sending it to your helm display, captain."

I looked over my shoulder with my ears folded back and asked, "How? You're just as limited by the Demeter's sensors as I am. Or did you extrapolate its exact coordinates from the Artemis' log files?"

The hologram almost looked smug as she replied, "Not at all Amanda. Instead of searching for a weak energy source I scanned for an asteroid with mass and dimensions that matched the readings you took with the Artemis."

"Of course," I grimaced as my tail tucked down beneath my chair. "I should have thought of that."

The captain smiled, "Thanks Jenny. Setting course, I'm going to approach at dead slow speed. I'll stop us just outside their tractor beam range, then match trajectory so we can hold position there. That ought to be close enough for some decent scans and clear communications, without getting us in too much trouble."

There was a reason they called it 'dead slow' speed, it took a good fifteen or twenty minutes to get to where we'd agreed was the minimum safe distance from the asteroid base. I didn't mind the extra caution though, after the Artemis' close call I really didn't want to risk the Demeter getting caught in Loke's tractor beam.

"There we go," the boss stated as she adjusted the ship's trajectory. "We're now matching vectors with the base, and holding just outside minimum safe distance."

Our AI asked, "With your permission I'd like to try and communicate directly with Loke? I'm confident I can convince him to stand down. Or at the very least, I'm positive he'll refrain from any hostile actions once he recognizes my identification codes."

Rebecca nodded, "Alright Jenny, do your thing. Good luck, and keep us informed."

"Thank you captain," the hologram responded.

A moment later she disappeared, leaving her HPD sitting idle on the engineering chair.