Chapter 216: Chapter 216

Instead of 'first thing in the morning' like she'd been told, it was almost noon by the time Nyssa and Jaycee and the Artemis finally showed up at the Freeborn Shipyard.

Which meant my girlfriends and I all had a very slow quiet morning while we waited for them. Around mid-morning I made the three of us a nice brunch, and I'd have offered Cammie some as well but she and Jenna were out. According to Jenny, her sister and girlfriend took the grav-sled back into the city again.

Then after we'd eaten Rebecca stepped out for an hour or so, she said she wanted to speak with Tamsin about something. She was back before noon though, which meant she was with us when Nyssa and Jaycee finally turned up outside the Demeter about a half hour later. Jenny let the pair of them in, and they both helped themselves to coffees from our autochef before joining the rest of us at the dining table.

After a sip of her drink Nyssa asked, "So what was it you wanted to talk to us about?"

"You're not firing me are you?" she added nervously. "You can't fire me the day after my birthday."

Rebecca shook her head, "Nobody's getting fired."

"Unless we find out you've done something worthy of being fired," I added as I gave my sister a warning look.

Nyssa's ears drooped as she protested, "I've been good, I promise!"

"You were supposed to be here first thing this morning," I reminded her. "Not half past noon."

Her tail ended up tucked down under her chair as she mumbled, "That's not my fault. Stupid port controllers made us wait almost an hour before they gave us clearance to take off."

"You said something last night about the Artemis defences being upgraded?" Jaycee chimed in, perhaps to try and steer the conversation away from my sister's misbehaviour.

The boss nodded, "We're having part of the cryo system removed to free up space for more important equipment. And we're adding a pair of advanced PDLS turrets, one forward, one aft."

"These are high power high efficiency units," Sarah added. "They're a lot more capable than normal. Smaller too, so they're easier to conceal."

Jaycee smiled, "That sounds good. What about this other equipment though? I'd have figured if you were getting rid of some cryo tubes the idea would have been to maximize cargo space, considering there's not a whole lot of room in the Artemis' hold."

Rebecca and Sarah and I all looked to Jenny for the answer to that question.

Our AI addressed the other two, "The equipment in question is another Re/Gen capsule. Violet was the primary objective of our recent salvage mission, she's the same make and model Re/Gen as myself."

"And we've decided that the best place for Violet was to put her in the Artemis," Rebecca added.

Jenny continued, "I've already updated her with copies of everyone's customized body files. So whether you're assigned to the Demeter or the Artemis, you'll have immediate access to a Re/Gen capsule if necessary."

"She'll be able to help out in other ways as well," Sarah pointed out. "She's being patched into the Artemis' data bus, and we've arranged to set her up with a set of HPDs too. So she'll be part of the crew there, just like Jenny is here."

"Does this mean I'm still the Artemis' captain?" Nyssa added with a hopeful grin as her ears perked up.

"No," Rebecca stated, which left my sister pouting and her ears drooping.

I clarified, "You were never her captain sis. You were her pilot, and maybe her skipper. And those positions are still yours if you want them?"

Nyssa's smile was back, while her ears shot up and her tail started wagging happily. "Heck yeah! Of course I want the job!"

"Wait, what about Jaycee?" she added with a glance at her date-friend. "Can she keep flying with me?"

Rebecca nodded to them, "If you don't mind the work? You'd be Nyssa's deck-hand, hired gun, local guide, that sort of thing. Just don't forget you'll both be working for me. I'm the captain, the Artemis is my ship same as the Demeter."

They nodded, "Yes ma'am. I definitely want to stick with Nyssa, and I'm happy to be working for you."

"So captain," my sister began with a grin, "What's our next gig? When do we ship out, where are we going?"

The boss shrugged, "No idea. Once the work's done on the Artemis you can take her back to the spaceport. We'll do the same as soon as the Demeter's fighter's patched up. Then we'll start looking for jobs for both ships. In the meantime I have a couple more questions for you two, about that diplomatic mission at Korantis-12."

"First off, when you got to the Amundsen Trade Station did you have to pass through any scanner archways at any point after you left the ship?" she asked them both, although she was mostly looking at Jaycee. "And second, how old were the representatives for Korantis-12?"

My sister and her friend both looked confused by the questions, but Nyssa spoke up first.

She shook her head, "I don't remember seeing any of those things. You're talking about the kind you see at spaceports when you have to go through customs, right? I think the only place I've seen those in this entire sector was at Fuminja Beta."

Jaycee agreed, "They didn't have anything like that at the Amundsen station. As for the Korantis-12 delegates, they were pretty much what you'd expect? A bunch of boring middle-aged men. Some of their aides were younger, but I reckon Lady Magniveen was probably one of the youngest folks in the room. Why?"

Rebecca and I exchanged a look, but it was Jenny who answered that question.

Our AI sighed slightly, "My Re/Gen technology originated at Korantis-12. Had the diplomats you met with been aged eighteen to twenty that would have confirmed that Re/Gen use was still common there. The diplomats being older means either Re/Gen use has fallen out of favour, or perhaps it was lost after the war ended."

"We know during the war they used those scanner archways to detect their own people," the boss took over. "Like the Imperium uses identity implants, they scanned for genetic markers. If they were still using those then it wouldn't be safe for anyone who'd been through Jenny's pod to visit Korantis-12."

Sarah pointed out, "We still can't be sure it's safe. They might have switched to other scanning methods."

"And the diplomatic team might avoid Re/Gen capsules since the young age is a bit of a giveaway," I added.

Nyssa reminded us, "The trade station isn't run by Korantis-12. And outsiders can't go down to the planet at all."

"That's a good point," our engineer conceded.

The captain nodded, "Alright. The bottom line is it might be safe, but we can't be sure. So we're probably better off avoiding the place for now."

"Good," my sister stated while her ears folded back. "That place almost bored me to death. So what sort of jobs will we be looking for? Something more exciting I hope?"

I frowned, "You know how I feel about exciting, Nyssa. Anyways the Artemis is perfect for courier runs, where it's all about speedy deliveries rather than moving a lot of bulky cargo. And if you stick to the pilot's cabin that frees up the larger stateroom, so you could also take on the occasional VIP passenger."

"The Artemis is also a good choice for scanning or scouting missions," Sarah suggested. "She's got a great sensor suite, and with her speed and range she can get out to remote locations and back again pretty quickly."

"What about bounty hunting?" Nyssa asked. "Maybe me and Jaycee can earn some big ecks by hunting down dangerous criminals? Don't forget, I'm the one who took down General Sidex, right?"

I shook my head, "Absolutely not! You got lucky sis, but that kind of work is dangerous and messy. I know you keep trying to be a bad-ass, but the last thing you need is to go looking for trouble. Especially trouble like that!"

"Aww," she pouted, but she didn't bother arguing.

"Listen to your sister," Rebecca stated with a wry smile. "Anyways both ships will be here for a couple days, so we've got plenty of time to find us some safe easy jobs."

Just like that Nyssa was wearing another hopeful smile, "Does that mean we get more shore leave?"

I rolled my eyes, "Maybe. I think I'd like to spend this afternoon going over some more lessons with you. The Artemis belongs to Rebecca, but while you're her skipper it'll be your responsibility to take care of her and her crew."

For a moment I thought my sister was about to protest, like she definitely wasn't happy about more training. She bit back whatever sarcastic remark she had planned though, and instead nodded in agreement.

"Ok Amanda. I know this is a big responsibility, and I don't want to let you down. I definitely don't want to get Her Majesty upset with me either."

"Good choice," I smiled.

I took the lead on that, but Rebecca sat in on it as well. So did Jaycee, and it turned out they already knew some of the stuff I wanted to teach Nyssa. Their involvement seemed to have a positive influence on my sister's attitude too, which was a small but welcome surprise. As for the stuff we were reviewing, it was a lot like the sort of information Rebecca shared with Tanya Nieves way back when.

By the end of the day we'd touched on most of the topics I could think to mention. A lot of that knowledge was going to come from experience, but it didn't hurt to get as many tips and pointers up front as possible. And Nyssa seemed to understand that too, she paid attention and kept the clowning around to a minimum.

"Alright that's enough for now," I decided when I realized it was getting close to dinner time.

My sister's ears perked up and her tail started wagging as she asked, "Does that mean we get shore leave now?"

Rebecca smiled, "You can have tonight night off, but I want you two back here again tomorrow morning. And I mean actual morning this time, not noon."

"Yeah!" Nyssa exclaimed as she jumped to her feet.

Jaycee got up as well, but before following my sister they promised "Sorry we were late today ma'am. I'll make sure both Nyssa and I are on time tomorrow."

The boss just nodded as the pair of them hurried out. Unlike Nyssa and Jaycee, my shipmates and I decided to stay put and have a quiet night on the Demeter. I made us a nice dinner then my girlfriends and I turned in early, although it was another hour or two before we were ready to get some sleep.

True to their word our newest hires were back bright and early the following morning, in fact they showed up in time to join the rest of us for breakfast. After that Rebecca and I spent a couple hours educating the pair of them, which included all four of us taking the grav-sled into the city. Our first stop was the port facility, specifically one of those freight brokerage places so we could try and find some work for both ships. Nyssa and Jaycee were there so they could see how it was done, and maybe absorb a bit more of the captain's knowledge and experience.

We didn't actually take any jobs though, since neither ship was ready to go yet. Tamsin figured her people would need another couple days to get the point defence lasers fully mounted and concealed in the Artemis' hull, while she was personally looking after the Re/Gen pod installation. And work on the Demeter's fighter was expected to take just as long.

After the port I suggested we swing by the Vesfar Urox office since we were already in the city, so Nyssa and I could send a message to our mom. I figured a text would be good enough, and less confusing since mom wouldn't recognize my sister anymore. Nyssa insisted we make a video though. Apparently she'd already sent our mother a bunch of messages since arriving in the Gorath sector, and she'd made it clear she wanted to become a foxgirl like me.

So the two of us squeezed into one of those little booths, then Nyssa showed off her ears and tail to the camera and bragged about how she was the big sister now. She also made it clear she was very happy and that this is what she wanted. Then she told our mom that she'd met someone special, and was in a proper relationship now. And finally she got to the big news, about getting her own ship. I tried to tone that back a bit, I promised mom that my shipmates and I were looking after my baby sister and that we were all working together, even if the two of us were occasionally on different assignments.

In the end Nyssa apologized again for running off to the frontier, but she promised mom she was happy and enjoying her new life out here. I had to agree with that, and said more or less the same thing myself. We reviewed the video after we were done, then when we were happy we queued it up to be transmitted back to the Imperium, Kaitor-7, and our mom. Then the two of us headed back outside where Rebecca and Jaycee were waiting.

That evening the boss treated the whole crew to another nice dinner in the city, then my girlfriends and I had a fun night on the town with my sister and her date-friend. The following day we decided to skip the lessons, and instead I arranged for our newest hires to join the rest of us on a day-trip and picnic outside the city.

Nyssa protested at first about being dragged away from fun shore leave adventures to look at some boring plants, but once we actually got there I could tell she was impressed with the place. Even if she tried not to let it show. Jaycee seemed to like it too, and admitted they had no idea there was anything like that waterfall and canyon in the entire sector.

In addition to the views we all enjoyed some nice food and drinks, and by the end of the day I was confident neither my sister or her date-friend would complain next time I suggested an afternoon out there.

We rounded out the day with another fun night in the city, but that would be the last of our leave for now. With both ships due to be ready the following day it was time to get back to work again.

The following morning Rebecca and I took Nyssa and Jaycee back into the city to look for work, and by noon we'd scored a couple jobs that sounded perfect. The Artemis would be rushing a small shipment of high-value tech goods to Port Eccleston, and to save time and port fees they'd take on the cargo at the shipyard rather than ferrying the ship into port first. Meanwhile the Demeter picked up another salvage job, we'd be recovering some mining equipment from a light freighter that was wrecked near Regulon-4.

Work finally wrapped up on the two ships around the end of the day, then Rebecca met with Tamsin to handle payment for the repairs and upgrades. While she was doing that I headed over to the Artemis with Nyssa and Jaycee so I could check in with Violet and introduce her to her crew.

The AI was already trying out her new HPD set-up when we got there, and her holographic form looked exactly like her image on Sarah's portable terminal. Sure enough she was a few inches taller than me, but a little shorter than Jaycee. And a lot shorter than Nyssa. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ NovєlFіre.net

Violet seemed a bit nervous at first, but she quickly relaxed after we got the introductions out of the way. By the time Rebecca joined us ten or twelve minutes later the Artemis crew were almost acting like old friends.

"Everything's settled up with the shipyard," the boss announced, "And I see you've already got the cargo on board. That's due on Ecclestone's World in twelve hours, so you should probably start warming up the engines and asking for clearance."

Then she looked to me and added, "I'll see you back at the Demeter, ok Amanda? We'll be lifting off soon too."

"I'll be right there," I replied. "I just need a few minutes to say goodbye to my sister, ok?"

Rebecca smiled, "I know love."

A minute or two later Nyssa and I were standing together next to the Artemis while the sun hung low in the sky to the west. Jaycee and Violet were both up in the scout ship's cockpit, getting her engines warmed up.

"You take care of yourself, ok sis?" I said as I looked up at her. "Please be polite when you're dealing with paying customers. And be extra careful at Port Ecclestone. Listen to Jaycee, they know the place and they'll keep you out of trouble."

Nyssa's ears twitched as she replied, "I know Amanda. I'm not your naive little sister anymore. Anyways we'll keep in touch by FTL. And if we do get into trouble we've got Violet now, right? She'll take care of us."

I grimaced, "Sorry. Big sister privilege, I can't help worrying about you."

"You keep saying that," she smirked and flicked her tail, "But I'm the big sister now. Shortie."

My ears drooped as I pulled her into a tight hug, "Stay safe, and be good. Look after yourself, and Jaycee, and Violet, and the Artemis. Ok?"

She hugged me back. "You do the same, take care of your girlfriends and shipmates."

We finally let go of each other, but my tail was down between my legs as I sighed. "I'd better get back to the Demeter. Bye for now Nyssa."

"See you around Amanda," she replied with a smile.

Her tail was wagging happily as my sister turned and headed up the little ramp into her ship, while mine stayed down low as I finally headed back to the Demeter. I'd just reached the ugly old space-bug's ramp when a roar in the sky caught my attention, so I looked up in time to see the Artemis streaking skyward.

A few seconds later she disappeared into the setting sun, and I let out a little sigh as I headed up the ramp. I hit the controls to seal up the ship behind me, then hurried up the starboard ladderway before finally joining Rebecca and Jenny in the cockpit.

"Are we all set?" I asked as I slipped into the copilot seat.

Jenny reported, "The engines are warmed up and we just received launch clearance and a vector for departure."

"Want me to take us up?" I asked.

Instead of answering me the boss looked over at our AI instead. "You've seen us do this often enough Jenny. How do you feel about taking the ship for a change?"

"Oh," she blinked in surprised. "Um, I believe I can handle it?"

I gave the captain a suspicious look, "Hold on. This is another excuse to avoid using her Re/Gen, isn't it? You can't use her pod if she's busy flying the ship."

"Nonsense," Rebecca insisted. Her cheeks were warming up a bit though as she added, "Jenny, the controls are yours. Please take us up."

Our AI smiled as the engines flared to life, "Thank you captain. And here we go."