=::= Day 210 - Rebecca's PoV =::=
"Amanda and I are heading out now," Jenna reported over the comm.
Jenny added, "Sealing up the ship as soon as you're clear sis."
"Understood," I responded. I was already in the pilot seat and had my comms headset on, the fighter's hatches were sealed up as I prepped it for launch. "Running through my checklist now, I'll be airborne in under two minutes. Jenny keep me posted on the targets' progress."
The AI replied, "Of course captain. They are maintaining their current velocity, ETA is now twelve minutes."
Jenna's voice came over the comm again, "No sign of Finn or his militia yet. Amanda and I are at the usual muster point."
I was just bringing the fighter's engines online when Jenny spoke up once more.
"Mayor Wheeler wants us to stand down," she announced. "I have her on the other comms frequency, patching her through to you captain."
A moment later my ex's voice came through my headset, grumpy as usual and in mid-sentence. "- go causing us any incidents we ain't gonna be able to recover from! So stow them guns and keep that fighter parked, ya hear me princess?"
"I do now," I replied with a frown. "Can you repeat the first half of that rant, so I know why you don't want us to defend Ganvis today?"
Ella grumbled, "This time ain't nobody attacking us, damnit! Them's government craft on their way here. Some kinda official visit, they say Arun's probably got his people out taking a census or some-such."
"I'da warned you girls ahead of time if I knew they was coming," she added, "But I only found out about it myself just a few minutes before miss AI here called me up all in a panic."
I let out a quiet sigh of relief, "Ok Ella, we're standing down. Do you want us to stay on alert though, just in case? They're bringing a lot of firepower for some bureaucrats taking a census. Two fighters and a troop carrier, along with a smaller command craft."
She responded, "Y'all can stay uptight long as you like, just don't go waving any guns in none of them government folks' faces. We just got through one civil war missy, let's not go starting another one!"
"Yeah I hear you," I replied as I started reversing my way back up the checklist to shut the fighter down again. "Jenny, Jenna, I assume you both copied that? Stand down, they're friendlies. But uh, please keep an eye on them Jenny? If you see any indication that they're going to attack you have permission to defend the ship."
Our AI responded, "Understood captain. Amanda and Jenna are on their way back, I'm unsealing the ramp to let them in."
The mayor was still patched in on the frequency as well. A moment later she added, "I reckon they're gonna want some words with you princess, so you may as well come out and join us. I'll be there a minute or two, to do the official welcome nonsense."
"Right," I sighed again. "See you in a few minutes then Ella. Shutting down the fighter now, I'll be off comms."
With that I slipped off the headset and hung it up, then finished shutting things down. Cammie and Sarah were both waiting for me as I emerged from the fighter, the two of them obviously heard what was going on.
"Be careful just incase, ok?" the catgirl said. "I'm not saying I don't trust them folks, but until I can see 'em I can't really get a feel for them, you know?"
I smiled, "I know Cam. If you like, you're welcome to tag along? I'll be bringing Jenna with me as well."
"Sarah you'll stay with the ship," I continued as I looked to my blonde girlfriend. "Amanda too, when she gets back in. I'm trusting you and Amanda and Jenny to keep the Demeter safe."
A few minutes later Jenna and Cam and I watched the Demeter's ramp seal up again after the three of us left. The android and I both had pistols on our belts like usual, while the catgirl still refused to arm herself. And the Ganvis Mayoral Welcoming Committee was approaching past the empty shipping containers that were all lined up between the town and the landing area.
"That's what you're wearing?!" Ella frowned as she and her entourage stopped at the edge of the hard-packed ground. "Didn't even bother taking a minute to put on something more appropriate?"
I rolled my eyes, "If they wanted us to dress up fancy they should have told us they were coming. I used my 'dress nicely' time to power up then shut down the fighter, thinking we were about to go into combat."
The mayor sniffed then pointed out, "Showin' up unannounced seems to be a pattern for you important government types. Ain't that right, princess?"
Thankfully she let it go after that last jab. Although to be fair she probably had a point, me and my crew were dressed a little too casual for an official government meeting. I was still in shorts and a crop-top, Jenna was in shorts and a rather tight t-shirt. At least Cammie was in a pretty pink dress. And all three of us were just wearing sandals on our feet.
By comparison Ella's group looked almost formal. The mayor was in one of her long dark skirts and a long-sleeve blouse, Preston was in one of his suits with the skinny little tie. Jace and Finn were both in long dark pants and white shirts. Both of them were armed too, the lawman had his hunting rifle with him while the mayor's son had his long handgun holstered at his hip.
That's all the time we had for comparing fashion notes though, as our guests finally arrived. The two fighters showed up first, and began circling the settlement. One was only about a hundred meters above the deck, the other was about half a kilometre up, and they were circling in opposite directions. Then the larger grav-sled came in and touched down about fifty meters off to the left of the Demeter.
A moment later its loading doors opened and half dozen soldiers emerged, but they obviously weren't here for combat. Three men and three women were in dress uniforms, and while they did carry rifles they were all polished and shiny, just like their boots and the buttons on their jackets.
Finally the smaller grav-sled came into view. It touched down between the Demeter and the larger sled, and the six soldiers moved to the door in what was obviously an honour-guard formation. One of them activated the door controls, and as soon as it was open three men stepped out. The first was another military type, middle-aged and his uniform had enough insignia on it I knew he was probably a general or something similar. Then there was a younger man in an impeccable business suit and carrying a leather-bound datapad, he was obviously some kind of secretary or assistant.
The last man wasn't in a uniform or a suit. He wore some faded blue denim trousers and a light blue button-down shirt, and apart from his boots and hands being clean he looked like he could have just stepped off any farm in the area. And all of us recognized him, from the various news broadcasts we'd seen over the past ninety days or so.
"That's him," Cam whispered in surprise as her tail tucked down between her legs. "That's the president, come all the way here to our little town!"
Jenna added softly, "No wonder they kept this visit a secret until the last minute."
I nodded slowly, but I was mostly focused on what Arun and his general were saying. The two men were discussing something as they emerged from their vehicle, and I was positive it had to do with my ship.
"...no idea this old thing was here," the interim-president was saying. "It looks like it's been here a while though, don't it? It actually looks old enough, I'd almost believe it'd been around since Ganvis was founded! Except I know that ain't the case."
The general replied, "Our satellites have always had trouble getting clear images of this area sir. Our techs assumed it was some kind of glitch, a bug in the software they said. It seems obvious now that whatever the cause, it was no mistake or coincidence."
By that point Arun and the others were standing in front of the mayor's group, and the planet's leader smiled at my ex as he greeted her. "Ella, I'm so glad you and your people are alright. I know the war didn't reach this far, but bandit activity and the drought..."
His voice trailed off as he looked around again. The fields surrounding the town were all green now, thanks to the irrigation gear the Demeter delivered and all the maintenance work Cam and Sarah did. He even spotted Amanda's little garden next to the Demeter, those colourful berry bushes were hard to miss. Then there were all the empty shipping containers, and the general lack of damage in the area.
Arun finally focused on Ella again, "I was going to say the drought affected everyone, and we heard talk of heavy bandit activity round these parts. But it seems like you've managed to keep a peaceful little oasis here at Ganvis. You know I'm awfully curious to hear about that. I can't wait to hear about this ship of yours too, and something tells me those two stories might be connected."
Without waiting for a reply from Ella he turned towards me and my crew, since we were standing a little ways apart from the mayor's group. He glanced at me then Jenna, before his eyes settled on Cammie.
"I don't think I've ever seen a catgirl before," he commented. "I didn't even know we had any here on Deveron-8. My name's Ed Arun, young lady. I take it you came to Ganvis Station on this here ship?"
Our shy quiet catgirl gulped, her tail was still tucked between her legs and her ears drooped down. She nodded then shook her head, before finally responding in a quiet voice. "Hello Mr. President sir, it's an honour to meet you. My name's Cammie, I was born and raised right here in Ganvis. But I am with the ship now, I'm part of her crew."
"This here's our captain," she added as she gestured, "Rebecca Piper."
I winced as Cam revealed one or two secrets I'd have rather she kept quiet about. I couldn't blame her though, meeting her homeworld's leader was probably a little overwhelming. Meanwhile Arun's eyes were on me, and they widened slightly in recognition.
"Rebecca Piper?" he asked as he stared at me. "Princess Rebecca Piper, of Vysalis-4? You've been hiding out here on Deveron-8 all this time?"
I grimaced, while Ella smirked.
"Yeah that's me," I sighed. "I don't like to make a big deal out of it though."
The young secretary guy finally broke his silence. He spoke softly as he suggested, "Excuse me sir, but we should probably move this meeting somewhere private?"
Arun nodded, "Right, thanks Neil. Officially I'm here to meet with the mayor of Ganvis Station, but I reckon it's ok if the princess sits in on that? It'll be my first face-to-face with another planetary leader, but hopefully I won't mess up any of that decorum stuff you're always going on about."
Back when we first arrived at Ganvis the place looked almost deserted. We rarely saw any locals apart from Ella's family or the militia. That had changed a lot lately, between the first successful harvest and the end of the civil war. So as our rather large group moved past the containers and into the small town, the place seemed to come alive. People recognized their interim president, and they came out of their homes to wave and greet him and their mayor.
Arun was happy to see them, he waved and smiled and said hello and basically came across as a friendly affable approachable man. The fact that he still dressed and acted more like a farmer than a planetary leader probably helped.
Eventually we got past all that, and a smaller group of us ended up in the mayor's office while the rest stayed out in the waiting room. The president's honour guard, Finn, Jace, and Jenna all got left behind, while Ella Preston and I accompanied Arun and his general and secretary into the office. Somehow Cam got in as well, nobody seemed to question how or why the catgirl got to stick with a princess a president and a mayor.
As soon as the office door was closed Arun's general looked to me and in an accusing tone asked, "Princess Rebecca, I take it that ship out there belongs to you? Can I assume you and your people did something to keep your vessel hidden from our surveillance systems?"
"Settle down there Jim," the president said in a laid-back tone. "We don't want to start an interplanetary incident here. I'm sure if the princess was responsible for that, she must have had a good reason."
I sighed but nodded, "Yeah that was us. And I'd think my reasoning was obvious? Taggart's first move was to raze the spaceport and close the sky. The last thing I wanted was see Ganvis fall under the same kind of bombardment that took out the port."
The general was still staring at me, and his eyes narrowed as he made a few more connections.
"What about the planetary defence satellites?" he asked. "Did you sabotage them as well? Is that why they went offline after the opening salvos?"
"Yeah," I nodded. I figured there was no point lying or keeping it secret any longer. And I had a feeling being honest was the right move, especially with a man like Arun. "We couldn't do anything about the fighting on the ground, but we couldn't sit by and watch innocent people get slaughtered like that."
Then I added, "If you haven't already guessed yet, we're also the ones who were feeding you intel on Taggart's plans and troop movements. I know that tapered off eventually, after his people realized they had a leak. At least we were able to tip you off about his escape plans before the information dried up."
"We always wondered where that was comin' from," Arun said quietly. "I thought it was someone in Taggart's camp, maybe even one of his own family? We reckoned the intel was too good, too accurate to come from anywhere outside his inner circle."
He sounded a little more like a president as he added, "You and your people saved countless lives young lady. Sorry, I mean Princess Rebecca. Deveron-8 owes you a great debt for your assistance. Maybe we could do some kind of formal diplomacy thing? Neil, you know what I'm talkin' about right?"
I stifled a quiet groan as images of yet another formal announcement being broadcast across the sector played out in my head. I knew Gwen would be more than happy to get involved with President Arun and his staff next time the Persephone visited. Then she'd ensure the people back at Vysalis-4 heard all about how their princess helped win a war against tyranny and greed, and how she opened up diplomatic relations with yet another world.
Outwardly I just smiled politely, "I can't take all the credit for that. While my people did the work, it was Mayor Wheeler here who originally suggested we could help out on your behalf."
"As for the diplomacy thing," I added, "Perhaps that can wait for another time, Mr. President? After all, you came all this way to see Mayor Wheeler, not an off-worlder like myself."
"Right," Arun smiled. "We'll set something up for another time, Princess Rebecca."
"Ella, I'm sorry to keep you waiting," he added as he finally got on with the meeting he came for in the first place.
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=::= Day 210 - Rebecca's PoV =::=
"Amanda and I are heading out now," Jenna reported over the comm.
Jenny added, "Sealing up the ship as soon as you're clear sis."
"Understood," I responded. I was already in the pilot seat and had my comms headset on, the fighter's hatches were sealed up as I prepped it for launch. "Running through my checklist now, I'll be airborne in under two minutes. Jenny keep me posted on the targets' progress."
The AI replied, "Of course captain. They are maintaining their current velocity, ETA is now twelve minutes."
Jenna's voice came over the comm again, "No sign of Finn or his militia yet. Amanda and I are at the usual muster point."
I was just bringing the fighter's engines online when Jenny spoke up once more.
"Mayor Wheeler wants us to stand down," she announced. "I have her on the other comms frequency, patching her through to you captain."
A moment later my ex's voice came through my headset, grumpy as usual and in mid-sentence. "- go causing us any incidents we ain't gonna be able to recover from! So stow them guns and keep that fighter parked, ya hear me princess?"
"I do now," I replied with a frown. "Can you repeat the first half of that rant, so I know why you don't want us to defend Ganvis today?"
Ella grumbled, "This time ain't nobody attacking us, damnit! Them's government craft on their way here. Some kinda official visit, they say Arun's probably got his people out taking a census or some-such."
"I'da warned you girls ahead of time if I knew they was coming," she added, "But I only found out about it myself just a few minutes before miss AI here called me up all in a panic."
I let out a quiet sigh of relief, "Ok Ella, we're standing down. Do you want us to stay on alert though, just in case? They're bringing a lot of firepower for some bureaucrats taking a census. Two fighters and a troop carrier, along with a smaller command craft."
She responded, "Y'all can stay uptight long as you like, just don't go waving any guns in none of them government folks' faces. We just got through one civil war missy, let's not go starting another one!"
"Yeah I hear you," I replied as I started reversing my way back up the checklist to shut the fighter down again. "Jenny, Jenna, I assume you both copied that? Stand down, they're friendlies. But uh, please keep an eye on them Jenny? If you see any indication that they're going to attack you have permission to defend the ship."
Our AI responded, "Understood captain. Amanda and Jenna are on their way back, I'm unsealing the ramp to let them in."
The mayor was still patched in on the frequency as well. A moment later she added, "I reckon they're gonna want some words with you princess, so you may as well come out and join us. I'll be there a minute or two, to do the official welcome nonsense."
"Right," I sighed again. "See you in a few minutes then Ella. Shutting down the fighter now, I'll be off comms."
With that I slipped off the headset and hung it up, then finished shutting things down. Cammie and Sarah were both waiting for me as I emerged from the fighter, the two of them obviously heard what was going on.
"Be careful just incase, ok?" the catgirl said. "I'm not saying I don't trust them folks, but until I can see 'em I can't really get a feel for them, you know?"
I smiled, "I know Cam. If you like, you're welcome to tag along? I'll be bringing Jenna with me as well."
"Sarah you'll stay with the ship," I continued as I looked to my blonde girlfriend. "Amanda too, when she gets back in. I'm trusting you and Amanda and Jenny to keep the Demeter safe."
A few minutes later Jenna and Cam and I watched the Demeter's ramp seal up again after the three of us left. The android and I both had pistols on our belts like usual, while the catgirl still refused to arm herself. And the Ganvis Mayoral Welcoming Committee was approaching past the empty shipping containers that were all lined up between the town and the landing area.
"That's what you're wearing?!" Ella frowned as she and her entourage stopped at the edge of the hard-packed ground. "Didn't even bother taking a minute to put on something more appropriate?"
I rolled my eyes, "If they wanted us to dress up fancy they should have told us they were coming. I used my 'dress nicely' time to power up then shut down the fighter, thinking we were about to go into combat."
The mayor sniffed then pointed out, "Showin' up unannounced seems to be a pattern for you important government types. Ain't that right, princess?"
Thankfully she let it go after that last jab. Although to be fair she probably had a point, me and my crew were dressed a little too casual for an official government meeting. I was still in shorts and a crop-top, Jenna was in shorts and a rather tight t-shirt. At least Cammie was in a pretty pink dress. And all three of us were just wearing sandals on our feet.
By comparison Ella's group looked almost formal. The mayor was in one of her long dark skirts and a long-sleeve blouse, Preston was in one of his suits with the skinny little tie. Jace and Finn were both in long dark pants and white shirts. Both of them were armed too, the lawman had his hunting rifle with him while the mayor's son had his long handgun holstered at his hip.
That's all the time we had for comparing fashion notes though, as our guests finally arrived. The two fighters showed up first, and began circling the settlement. One was only about a hundred meters above the deck, the other was about half a kilometre up, and they were circling in opposite directions. Then the larger grav-sled came in and touched down about fifty meters off to the left of the Demeter.
A moment later its loading doors opened and half dozen soldiers emerged, but they obviously weren't here for combat. Three men and three women were in dress uniforms, and while they did carry rifles they were all polished and shiny, just like their boots and the buttons on their jackets.
Finally the smaller grav-sled came into view. It touched down between the Demeter and the larger sled, and the six soldiers moved to the door in what was obviously an honour-guard formation. One of them activated the door controls, and as soon as it was open three men stepped out. The first was another military type, middle-aged and his uniform had enough insignia on it I knew he was probably a general or something similar. Then there was a younger man in an impeccable business suit and carrying a leather-bound datapad, he was obviously some kind of secretary or assistant.
The last man wasn't in a uniform or a suit. He wore some faded blue denim trousers and a light blue button-down shirt, and apart from his boots and hands being clean he looked like he could have just stepped off any farm in the area. And all of us recognized him, from the various news broadcasts we'd seen over the past ninety days or so.
"That's him," Cam whispered in surprise as her tail tucked down between her legs. "That's the president, come all the way here to our little town!"
Jenna added softly, "No wonder they kept this visit a secret until the last minute."
I nodded slowly, but I was mostly focused on what Arun and his general were saying. The two men were discussing something as they emerged from their vehicle, and I was positive it had to do with my ship.
"...no idea this old thing was here," the interim-president was saying. "It looks like it's been here a while though, don't it? It actually looks old enough, I'd almost believe it'd been around since Ganvis was founded! Except I know that ain't the case."
The general replied, "Our satellites have always had trouble getting clear images of this area sir. Our techs assumed it was some kind of glitch, a bug in the software they said. It seems obvious now that whatever the cause, it was no mistake or coincidence."
By that point Arun and the others were standing in front of the mayor's group, and the planet's leader smiled at my ex as he greeted her. "Ella, I'm so glad you and your people are alright. I know the war didn't reach this far, but bandit activity and the drought..."
His voice trailed off as he looked around again. The fields surrounding the town were all green now, thanks to the irrigation gear the Demeter delivered and all the maintenance work Cam and Sarah did. He even spotted Amanda's little garden next to the Demeter, those colourful berry bushes were hard to miss. Then there were all the empty shipping containers, and the general lack of damage in the area.
Arun finally focused on Ella again, "I was going to say the drought affected everyone, and we heard talk of heavy bandit activity round these parts. But it seems like you've managed to keep a peaceful little oasis here at Ganvis. You know I'm awfully curious to hear about that. I can't wait to hear about this ship of yours too, and something tells me those two stories might be connected."
Without waiting for a reply from Ella he turned towards me and my crew, since we were standing a little ways apart from the mayor's group. He glanced at me then Jenna, before his eyes settled on Cammie.
"I don't think I've ever seen a catgirl before," he commented. "I didn't even know we had any here on Deveron-8. My name's Ed Arun, young lady. I take it you came to Ganvis Station on this here ship?"
Our shy quiet catgirl gulped, her tail was still tucked between her legs and her ears drooped down. She nodded then shook her head, before finally responding in a quiet voice. "Hello Mr. President sir, it's an honour to meet you. My name's Cammie, I was born and raised right here in Ganvis. But I am with the ship now, I'm part of her crew."
"This here's our captain," she added as she gestured, "Rebecca Piper."
I winced as Cam revealed one or two secrets I'd have rather she kept quiet about. I couldn't blame her though, meeting her homeworld's leader was probably a little overwhelming. Meanwhile Arun's eyes were on me, and they widened slightly in recognition.
"Rebecca Piper?" he asked as he stared at me. "Princess Rebecca Piper, of Vysalis-4? You've been hiding out here on Deveron-8 all this time?"
I grimaced, while Ella smirked.
"Yeah that's me," I sighed. "I don't like to make a big deal out of it though."
The young secretary guy finally broke his silence. He spoke softly as he suggested, "Excuse me sir, but we should probably move this meeting somewhere private?"
Arun nodded, "Right, thanks Neil. Officially I'm here to meet with the mayor of Ganvis Station, but I reckon it's ok if the princess sits in on that? It'll be my first face-to-face with another planetary leader, but hopefully I won't mess up any of that decorum stuff you're always going on about."
Back when we first arrived at Ganvis the place looked almost deserted. We rarely saw any locals apart from Ella's family or the militia. That had changed a lot lately, between the first successful harvest and the end of the civil war. So as our rather large group moved past the containers and into the small town, the place seemed to come alive. People recognized their interim president, and they came out of their homes to wave and greet him and their mayor.
Arun was happy to see them, he waved and smiled and said hello and basically came across as a friendly affable approachable man. The fact that he still dressed and acted more like a farmer than a planetary leader probably helped.
Eventually we got past all that, and a smaller group of us ended up in the mayor's office while the rest stayed out in the waiting room. The president's honour guard, Finn, Jace, and Jenna all got left behind, while Ella Preston and I accompanied Arun and his general and secretary into the office. Somehow Cam got in as well, nobody seemed to question how or why the catgirl got to stick with a princess a president and a mayor.
As soon as the office door was closed Arun's general looked to me and in an accusing tone asked, "Princess Rebecca, I take it that ship out there belongs to you? Can I assume you and your people did something to keep your vessel hidden from our surveillance systems?"
"Settle down there Jim," the president said in a laid-back tone. "We don't want to start an interplanetary incident here. I'm sure if the princess was responsible for that, she must have had a good reason."
I sighed but nodded, "Yeah that was us. And I'd think my reasoning was obvious? Taggart's first move was to raze the spaceport and close the sky. The last thing I wanted was see Ganvis fall under the same kind of bombardment that took out the port."
The general was still staring at me, and his eyes narrowed as he made a few more connections.
"What about the planetary defence satellites?" he asked. "Did you sabotage them as well? Is that why they went offline after the opening salvos?"
"Yeah," I nodded. I figured there was no point lying or keeping it secret any longer. And I had a feeling being honest was the right move, especially with a man like Arun. "We couldn't do anything about the fighting on the ground, but we couldn't sit by and watch innocent people get slaughtered like that."
Then I added, "If you haven't already guessed yet, we're also the ones who were feeding you intel on Taggart's plans and troop movements. I know that tapered off eventually, after his people realized they had a leak. At least we were able to tip you off about his escape plans before the information dried up."
"We always wondered where that was comin' from," Arun said quietly. "I thought it was someone in Taggart's camp, maybe even one of his own family? We reckoned the intel was too good, too accurate to come from anywhere outside his inner circle."
He sounded a little more like a president as he added, "You and your people saved countless lives young lady. Sorry, I mean Princess Rebecca. Deveron-8 owes you a great debt for your assistance. Maybe we could do some kind of formal diplomacy thing? Neil, you know what I'm talkin' about right?"
I stifled a quiet groan as images of yet another formal announcement being broadcast across the sector played out in my head. I knew Gwen would be more than happy to get involved with President Arun and his staff next time the Persephone visited. Then she'd ensure the people back at Vysalis-4 heard all about how their princess helped win a war against tyranny and greed, and how she opened up diplomatic relations with yet another world.
Outwardly I just smiled politely, "I can't take all the credit for that. While my people did the work, it was Mayor Wheeler here who originally suggested we could help out on your behalf."
"As for the diplomacy thing," I added, "Perhaps that can wait for another time, Mr. President? After all, you came all this way to see Mayor Wheeler, not an off-worlder like myself."
"Right," Arun smiled. "We'll set something up for another time, Princess Rebecca."
"Ella, I'm sorry to keep you waiting," he added as he finally got on with the meeting he came for in the first place.
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