"This is pretty good actually," Sarah smiled as she relaxed in her seat. "I'm glad we thought to grab a couple tables too."
As if to emphasize the sentint she reached out and picked up her soda from the small table that sat between us and had a sip.
I smiled as well, "It's nicer than standing around. I'm not looking forward to getting covered in dust when the delivery arrives though."
My cute blonde girlfriend frowned, "Yeah there's that. I'm sure the drivers could be more careful about how they land. I'll bet so of them do it on purpose, just for kicks."
"Maybe," I sighed, then had a sip of my water.
The two of us were sitting outside the ship on a couple of our new folding chairs. We were just to the right of the ramp, enjoying so sunshine and relatively fresh air. It was even almost peaceful, apart from the constant drone of orbital lift ships coming and going from the far side of the spaceport.
We were waiting for all the supplies Rebecca arranged this morning, they were due to be delivered so ti in the next hour or so. Then and Sarah would be busy loading everything into the ship and getting it all stowed away. There'd be more than usual too, the boss ordered enough to completely fill the Deter's galley and store-room. This would be a longer trip than usual, as much as forty days if we stuck to level-zero jumps both ways and allowed for a few days layover at Deveron-8.
With that in mind I comnted, "It'll be weird having a passenger on board for so long."
"We did ok with Tamsin on board," my girlfriend pointed out. "Though I get that this is completely different. Tamsin wasn't really a passenger as such, being an old friend of Rebecca's and all."
After another sip of her soda Sarah lowered her voice and added, "Having a stranger on board is what'll make this different. Well, that and him being a guy. We'll probably have to be 'on duty' the whole ti."
"Yeah," I replied as I suppressed a sigh. "Maybe we'll end up using jump-1 so it's only a few hours instead of eighteen days."
"Maybe," Sarah grinned. "I'll bet Rebecca feels exactly the sa as you and ? She'll probably want to get this over with as much as we do. Maybe even more."
I nodded quietly. I knew she was probably right, but I still wasn't sure Rebecca would give the custor a free upgrade to jump-1 travel. Especially not after negotiating the rate for it. On the other hand she did ntion taking crew morale into account, and she already admitted to getting sucked in a bit by Jace's story.
In the end it was probably going to co down to whatever she learned about conditions at Deveron-8. Like if fuel was cheap there and if there was a good chance of finding another cargo so we wouldn't lose money on the trip back, then she might be more inclined to make it a level-one jump.
"I trust you two are enjoying the afternoon sun?" Jenny asked as she erged from the ship.
The white fringe in her hair identified this as her HPD, not that Sarah and I needed the confirmation. After all, we'd both watched her android body fly off in the grav-sled with Rebecca a half hour earlier.
"It's nice," I nodded. "Once you get used to the sound of the lift ships in the distance it's almost peaceful."
Sarah grinned at the AI, "It's tis like this when it really hits ho how you can be in two places at once. Will we ever see your HPD and android self interacting with each other? That'd be kind of neat to be honest."
"Perhaps soday," Jenny replied with a small smile. "It's a matter of bandwidth though, I can only directly control one at a ti due to limitations on the transmitter we're using. My body can operate in autonomous mode while I'm using the HPD of course."
I asked, "Can you still communicate with it remotely while you're also using the HPD?"
The AI nodded, "Yes. The HPD base is high-bandwidth but very short range, so I route all the long-range signalling through the ship's comm gear."
"The upgraded communications hardware we installed in the android is capable of long range at reduced bandwidth," Sarah added. "So it works both ways."
Jenny finished, "Which ans I can be here talking with you two while also keeping tabs on my other half and our captain."
"And what are those two up to? Staying out of trouble, or having so fun?" our engineer asked with a grin.
"Avoiding trouble of course. They're..." Our AI's voice trailed off as she looked to the left and frowned, "I believe we have so company. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say, you have so company Sarah."
My girlfriend and I both turned our heads, and the cute blonde next to muttered softly, "Uh-oh. This can't be good."
A man and woman were approaching the ship, with their eyes locked on the three of us. Though I got the feeling they were mostly staring at and Sarah.
The woman looked to be in her late forties or early fifties. She seed slim and fit, and I'd guess she was about the sa height as Sarah or Jenny, around five-foot-five or five-six. Her blonde hair was trimd in a short professional-looking style, and her blue-grey eyes were sharp. She was dressed casual, in simple slacks and a blouse, but her boots were polished. She also wore a jacket that was hanging open, and there was a standard-issue side-arm at her hip.
The man was a bit younger I figured, late forties at most. He stood about five-ten or five-eleven, and was also in casual clothes. He had loose dark trousers, a green shirt, and a dark-grey jacket that looked too small for him. Unlike the woman, his boots were scuffed-up. And like the woman he had a side-arm at his hip. He actually looked familiar to , but I couldn't rember where I'd seen him before.
Despite them both being in civilian outfits I was positive they were Navy. Or at least military. The woman's posture and bearing, along with the polished boots gave her away as an officer. The man could maybe pass as a civilian, but not alongside the woman. Not when they were both wearing identical standard-issue pistols.
Then again, and Sarah were also wearing matching standard-issue Navy pistols, so I knew the side-arms weren't a definite tell. Still, I had a feeling about these two.
"Jenny get back in the ship," Sarah said quietly as she got to her feet. She added to , "I don't expect trouble Amanda, but be ready just incase?"
I stood up too as I asked, "Who are they?"
By that point the two were practically right in front of us, and Sarah addressed the man. "Hi Andy. I honestly wasn't expecting to see you around here again."
As soon as I heard the na I knew where I'd seen him before. It was just once, and only for a few minutes. He was in a Navy uniform at the ti, which confird my suspicion about both of them. Andy Ferguson was Sarah's old friend, chief engineer of the ISS Kennington. Which ant the woman next to him was another Navy officer.
"Hi Sarah," Lieutenant Ferguson replied. "Sorry for dropping in on you unannounced like this, but I really need to talk with you about sothing."
My girlfriend sighed, "Should I bring a couple more chairs out here?"
The woman responded, "It might be better if we could talk in private? I don't think this is a conversation we should be having out in the open where anyone could hear it."
Sarah glanced at , then shrugged "In the hold then."
She and I picked up the two chairs and the table, we carried them up the ramp and set them down on the deck of the main hold. Then we grabbed two more folding chairs off the shelf and set them up, and Sarah motioned for the two Navy officers to join us.
Once they were clear of the airlock the cute engineer hit the controls to seal up the ship, and the four of us sat down together. The chairs were sort of in a loose circle, with our two guests closer to the cargo airlock while and Sarah were nearer to the shelves on the starboard side. I knew there was a loaded shotgun hidden on the shelf next to my girlfriend's head, but I really hoped neither of us would need to use it.
"So what's the occasion?" Sarah asked once we were all seated. She glanced at the woman and added, "And I suppose we should do introductions? I'm Sarah, and this is my girlfriend Amanda."
"I'm Kate McClure, captain of the ISS Kennington," the woman announced. "And if I'm not mistaken, you're Sarah Holloway, chief engineer of the Hamrsmith. And Amanda Voss, the Hamrsmith's dic."
My heart skipped a beat and suddenly I was worried she was here to arrest us for desertion or sothing.
"I'm the Deter's chanic," Sarah replied calmly. "And Amanda's our navigator and co-pilot. And part-ti ship's mascot. What's your business with us?"
Captain McClure glanced at Lieutenant Ferguson then replied, "My engineer wanted to consult with you regarding a chanical problem. And I wanted to et the two of you for myself."
"I'm really sorry Sarah," Andy stated, and he sounded like he ant it. "I tried to keep it to myself but she figured it out."
Sarah sighed, "It's about the plasma conduits, isn't it? Did you lose one? I hope nobody was hurt."
The Navy engineer shook his head, "I've been keeping a close eye on them since you warned . And sure enough one of them started warming up during our last jump. I took them all offline for an inspection two days ago, and found three of them were faulty. Now we're stuck, I need spare parts and I have no idea where to find them around here."
"Lieutenant Ferguson thought perhaps you could suggest a local source with a good reputation," the captain added. "Frankly I don't have high hopes that we'll find anything on this world we can trust."
Sarah grimaced, "On this world? I don't know anyone trustworthy here either, and I don't know that I'd be comfortable shopping for critical parts on this planet. Your best bet is Rolandan-2, and while I do know a shipyard there that I trust, I can't give you the na until I've cleared it with my captain. Partially because I don't know if they'd be happy to work with an Imperium ship. But either way, you'll have a lot more luck at Rolandan-2."
"The problem is we can't get there while our jump drive is offline," Andy grumbled. "Unless we put the flawed conduits back into service, and knowing what happened to the Hamrsmith I'm not eager to do that."
A thoughtful look settled on my girlfriend's face for a few monts, before she looked up at the two Navy officers again.
She addressed her friend, "You could pull a couple plasma conduits off the Kennington's primary weapon. I know it's against regulations, and the manuals say they're incompatible, but the truth is they have almost identical specs. You need three replacents right? So pull conduits eight nine and ten off the large-bore linear accelerator and use those for the jump drive."
"You can always put them back on the big gun after you've secured replacents for the drive," Sarah added.
Captain McClure frowned, "You're telling us to sabotage our main weapon, while we're stranded in foreign space."
I comnted, "The Hamrsmith was here on a goodwill mission. If you're taking over for them then how much goodwill are you planning to spread with your big guns?"
That put a smile on Sarah's face, while the Navy captain looked a lot less amused.
anwhile Andy pointed out, "Assuming it works, it would only be temporary captain. And at the end of the day, we're talking about either being stranded in orbit with a working primary weapon, or being able to travel while relying on our secondary armants."
After a few seconds Captain McClure sighed, "I suppose our only other option is to wait for a Navy supply ship to deliver replacent parts out here."
"Pretty much," Sarah nodded. "Unless you wanted to hire a local ship to go pick up so parts for you at Rolandan-2? I'd offer to talk to our captain about it but we're already booked."
The Navy woman looked to her engineer and asked, "What's your gut tell you Andy? Can we swap parts from the linear accelerator to get the ship moving again?"
"It should work," he nodded. "And I trust Sarah's judgent on this, she's an excellent engineer and she knows the Lambeth-class frigates as well as I do."
"Better," my girlfriend boasted with a smirk. "I've got more experience, old friend."
That left both the Navy officers looking a little uncomfortable at the idea of an eighteen-year-old girl having more experience than a man in his late forties. Which was obviously Sarah's intention.
Captain McClure sighed once more, then finally ca to a decision. "Alright Lieutenant Ferguson, when we get back to the ship I want you to get started swapping those parts to get us moving again."
Then she looked at Sarah and added, "And Lieutenant Holloway, I'd appreciate if you could clear it with your captain then get us the na of that shipyard you ntioned?"
"The na is Sarah," my girlfriend stated firmly. "We don't have ranks on the Deter, I'm no lieutenant."
The captain looked at both and Sarah for a mont, then nodded slowly. "Right, I'll try and keep that in mind. And on that subject, I don't suppose either of you are interested in telling what happened to you two? How you ended up like this?"
We both shook our heads as Sarah responded, "No ma'am."
After a brief hesitation the Navy woman asked, "Andy told you're happy with... All this? You want to stay here, in the frontier with this ship, this life?"
"Very happy," I stated. "I have no interest in going back. Not to the Imperium, and definitely not to who and what I was before."
Sarah nodded, "Sa. Amanda and I both have our reasons, but they're personal and private. I hope you'll accept that and respect our decisions, captain."
She looked at us both for another second or two, then finally nodded. "I'm still not sure I believe any of this, and I know the Navy sure as hell wouldn't. So I'm not going to bother including any of this in any of my reports."
I couldn't help feeling a surge of relief when she said that, and I was sure Sarah felt it too.
Captain McClure added, "I'd also appreciate it if you could keep our conversation to yourselves? Or between you and your captain anyways."
"Understood," Sarah replied with a bit of a grin. "I know the Navy wouldn't be too happy to know you two were consulting with unknown foreign citizens about matters of ship security. I'll bet most of your crew don't even know the ship's stranded here."
From the uncomfortable look on the Navy woman's face I knew Sarah was right. There wasn't as much of that secrecy in the dical corps, but I could imagine that the officers wouldn't want anyone in Port Ecclestone to know the Navy ship didn't have jump capability at the mont. And the best way to keep that information from getting out was to ensure as few of the crew knew it as possible.
McClure cleared her throat as she got to her feet, "As long as we can all agree to keep each other's secrets I think we can all get along? And on that note, my engineer and I should get going. Thank you for your ti er, Sarah. And Amanda. It's been an interesting eting."
The rest of us stood up as well, and Sarah hit the controls to open up the main airlock. She and her friend said goodbye again, but I noticed my girlfriend wasn't so emotional this ti. Maybe because it didn't feel so final this ti, like there was obviously a chance we'd be seeing the Navy folks again.
and Sarah watched the two officers head away, then my girlfriend looked to and sighed "So do you think Rebecca's going to kill when she finds out about this? Or maybe just toss off the ship?"
I grimaced, "She won't toss you off the ship. She might confine you to quarters for a while though."
That was all the conversation we had ti for, as a large flat-bed sled landed in front of the ship. A couple burly guys erged and started to unload cases of supplies, so the two of us got to work.
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