Chapter 119: 118. Employed

Whatever other questions Rebecca had for our passenger would have to wait till later, as port security personnel quickly arrived to take control of the situation.

Within a minute or so there were at least a dozen people in uniform surrounding us, the unconscious attacker, and a few other bystanders. Our captain quickly and quietly made sure the rest of us knew to stay quiet and cooperate, while she'd do most of the talking.

The assailant's weapon was carefully collected and put in an evidence bag by one of the security people, while others were taking statements from everyone on the scene. And finally two medics arrived to tend to the injured. Apparently that included more than just Rebecca Cam and the attacker. Two bystanders were also hit by that first shot that injured my shipmates.

I was frustrated that I couldn't look after my friends' wounds myself, but I hadn't thought to bring a first-aid kit with me. I decided to make a point of carrying one in the future, whenever I was off-ship.

The whole mess seemed to take ages to get through, and at one point my friends and I were all separated so we could give statements to the security people. Fortunately it seemed like none of us were in any kind of trouble, and aside from all the staring neither Cam or I were questioned about our feline or vulpine traits. Likewise nobody seemed to figure out Jenny was an android, which was a relief.

After about forty-five minutes the four of us were finally told we were free to go, while the attacker was taken into custody and hauled away. By then the security people had verified our statements matched what other witnesses said, and apparently they had security camera footage which confirmed what everyone saw.

"Let's head back to the ship for now," Rebecca suggested. "I still want to find us some work, but I think we could all use some down time in a safe familiar environment."

We all agreed with that sentiment, and the four of us quietly headed back to the lifts in the central part of the concourse. And a few minutes after that we were back at the Demeter. The cargo airlock doors opened as soon as we approached along the docking gantry, courtesy of our android friend.

"Sarah is aware of the situation," Jenny commented as we passed through the airlock into the Demeter's main hold. "She's got some whiskey waiting for you all up in the mess."

"Thanks Jenny," Rebecca responded.

The airlock closed and sealed again behind us, while we continued aft towards the lift in engineering. Sure enough Sarah was waiting for us in the mess, with four shot glasses and a bottle of whiskey on the dining table next to the boss's usual seat.

The glasses were empty for now, the cute engineer was probably waiting for Rebecca's approval. Or maybe she meant to let the captain pour the drinks.

"I've already taken care of the port fees and paid for fuel," our cute engineer reported. "Fuelling is currently under-way, and should be complete within the half hour. So what happened to you folks? And is everyone ok?"

Jenny started recounting the story as we all got comfortable around the table. Rebecca and I filled in a few details, but Cam stayed quiet as the three of us described the attack to Sarah.

As we reached the end of the story I looked to the cat-kin and asked, "How are you holding up? I know it's probably a lot to deal with, getting wounded again so soon after the last time."

They actually looked thoughtful rather than upset or in shock. And with a slight frown on their face Cam commented, "The security folks called me 'miss' a lot, and I heard one of them call me a catgirl. It felt kinda different."

"Did it bother you?" Sarah asked.

The cat-kin slowly shook their head, "I guess not. It just felt different. Better than being called 'sir' or 'man' anyways."

I pointed out, "It doesn't hurt to correct people if they use the wrong pronouns for you, or address you in a way you don't like."

"It's ok," Cam shook their head again. "Like I said, it didn't bother me."

Our AI changed the subject as she announced "My other self has been busy since the attack. We've accessed the port's security computers and reviewed their logs, we've downloaded everything they've found so far in their investigation."

Rebecca rolled her eyes while Cam looked surprised, and Sarah grinned.

Jenny continued, "The attacker arrived by shuttle from Fuminja Epsilon at approximately the same time the Demeter docked. He was carrying credentials that identified him as a Fuminja Cluster local, which allowed him to pass through the streamlined customs station. He was scanned for weapons on arrival same as everyone else, but nothing came up."

"Security personnel have already made enquiries with the research facility at Fuminja Epsilon," she added. "They claim they have no idea who he is, they say he's definitely not employed by them. And finally, the weapon is unregistered and apparently doesn't show up in scans, which is likely how it got past security in the first place."

I asked her, "Do you know what they plan to do with him?"

The android replied, "Between eye-witness statements and security cam footage, there is little doubt of his guilt. He will receive a trial as soon as he's medically cleared for it. And assuming he's found guilty, he'll likely be sentenced to work for one of the local asteroid mining corps."

"And I'm sure we can all guess why he attacked," Sarah stated with a frown. "Considering where he came from."

The boss had a grim look on her face as she stated, "Revenge probably. I'm sure they got flack for accepting the last shipment we left them, with the tampered seals. Or for handing over the goods we walked away with? Either way they probably saw the Demeter was in the system. They could have been monitoring the port frequencies so they knew we were planning to be here for a while. So they sent an assassin to get rid of me."

Jenny asked, "What makes you so sure they were after you specifically?"

"I'm the only one the folks at that station know," Rebecca explained. "They might have seen Sarah on our last visit, but I'm the one they worked with for over three years, they knew my name and what I look like. Makes sense they'd target me specifically."

She added, "I recognized the gun, it's short range and not very accurate, only good for a couple shots. It's only advantage is it doesn't appear on most scans. Using a weapon like that and attacking from behind, he wouldn't have been planning to keep shooting. Just one or two shots, point blank in the back or the head, then drop the gun and disappear into the crowd with the rest of the fleeing bystanders. So I doubt they were targeting anyone other than myself."

"If not for Cam we might have lost you," I stated quietly. Then I looked to the cat-kin and added, "Thanks for saving Rebecca's life. We owe you one."

They blushed and shook their head, "You'da done the same thing if you had the chance. And you all saved my life already."

Sarah asked, "That's the only part of the story I didn't quite get. Cam did you see the gun or something?"

"I'm curious about this myself," Jenny added. "Considering the assailant approached from behind both of you, I'm not sure how you could have seen a weapon or known what he was planning."

The cat-kin blushed brighter and looked down at the table as they mumbled, "Like I said, it was just instinct."

"Is this some sort of feline thing?" Rebecca asked. "Something to do with the enhancements Jenny gave you?"

"No ma'am," they shook their head. They kept their voice low as they continued, "I've had it all my life. I just get a feel sometimes for when folks are going to cause trouble? That's how I kept myself safe back home most of the time. When guys like Finn or Wess were looking to pick a fight I'd get a feel for it and go hide someplace so they'd leave me alone."

They shrugged then winced slightly in pain before adding, "My ma told me never to tell anyone I got those feels about folks. She said they wouldn't understand, they'd use it against me. But I think I can trust y'all. Actually I think my ma would have liked you folks."

You are reading story Daughters of Demeter at novel35.com

Seeing the look of pain in the cat-kin's eyes I stated, "I think we should put the rest of this conversation on hold for now? Cam, Rebecca, you both need some rest. I can administer painkillers if you're in discomfort, or sedatives if you have trouble sleeping. The two of you should be taking it easy for at least the next two or three days at least. Cam, try not to use or move your right arm if you can avoid it. And Rebecca, same goes for your left arm and shoulder."

Our tall strong captain gave me a bit of a look, "You know I'm not going to spend the next few days convalescing because of this Amanda. Maybe I'll take it easy once we're under way again, but right now there's more work to be done."

"Normally I wouldn't offer my services for treating minor injuries," Jenny commented as she looked from Rebecca to Cam, "But you know I can have you back to a hundred percent health in seven or eight hours instead of a few days rest and slow recovery."

"Not that your recovery will be that slow," she added. "You both heal much faster than normal humans, after all."

The boss responded, "Thanks Jenny. And Cam, I don't mind if you want to take her up on that offer but I'm going to ask you to hold off until we're under way again. As long as we're docked I'd prefer to keep Jenny's attention on her other responsibilities, like sensors and comms."

I stifled a sigh as I asked Rebecca, "I don't suppose you'll consider taking a couple hours to rest at least, before going back to work?"

"Sorry," she replied with a wry grin. "I'm going to put on a clean shirt and a jacket without any holes in it, then I have to head back over to the port to find us some work. Jenny I'd appreciate if you'd accompany me again, but Amanda, Cam, I'll understand if you two would rather stay here."

The cat-kin grimaced, "I think I'll stay here this time if y'all don't mind? Maybe get some rest like Amanda said."

"I'll come with you," I replied. "I'm bringing a first-aid kit though, incase you manage to get yourself hurt again."

Sarah asked, "The people at Fuminja Epsilon have to know their assassin failed right? What if they send someone else? They're probably not going to just give up because the first attempt failed."

Rebecca sighed, "I'll be a little more careful this time. Now that I know the threat's there, I'm going to be looking out for trouble. And Jenny, needless to say but if you pick up anything suspicious let the rest of us know."

"Of course captain," the android replied.

The boss glanced at the empty shot glasses and the whiskey bottle then got to her feet.

"We'll save the drinks until after we've left port," she said as she started for her cabin. "I'm going to get changed then Amanda, Jenny, we'll head back out again."

I sighed but stood up as well. Jenny accompanied me down to the lower deck, where I borrowed the first-aid kit from the secondary hold and tucked it into my jacket pocket.

"Is there a reason you don't just bring your medkit with you?" Jenny asked. Her tone indicated she was genuinely curious, rather than being critical as she added, "Isn't that it's purpose?"

"It's bulky and it's a pain in the ass to haul around all the time," I admitted. "And it wasn't really meant to be carried around everywhere. It was so I could help injured crewmates wherever they were on the Hammersmith, before getting them back to the infirmary. And as the sole medic, I was almost never included in off-ship missions? So there was no need to equip me with a smaller lighter medkit."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded "I see. Thanks for explaining that."

I gave her a smile, "No problem Jenny. And now you've got me thinking? There's no reason why I can't put together a proper lightweight medkit to keep with me off-ship. For that matter it wouldn't hurt to stock up on a few more things."

Rebecca joined us both a minute or two later, then the three of us headed back into the port once again. We didn't have to go through the customs process this time, but we did have to walk through the security arch every time we re-entered the place.

We skipped the tour and didn't bother wandering around, we just went from the docks to the lift then from the lift we walked directly back to that Ward Room place. When we arrived there was no trace of the earlier excitement out front, everything seemed back to normal again. I attracted plenty of stares as usual, but apart from that nobody seemed to pay us any attention at all.

"Why don't you two grab a table," Rebecca suggested as we entered. She gestured to the 'bar' side of the establishment, then added "I'm going to check in and see if there's any jobs pending that we might be interested in."

"Ok boss," I nodded.

Jenny and I moved to take a table against the far wall, but I kept one of my tall fuzzy ears pointed at my girlfriend as she approached one of the desks on the 'business' side of the place. And thanks to my sensitive hearing I was able to listen in as Rebecca greeted the woman at the desk, then asked if there were any jobs that would take us to Port Ecclestone or Rolandan-2.

Unfortunately I didn't hear the reply as the android picked that moment to speak up. She looked amused as she asked, "Keeping one ear on the captain I see? You know that's not unusual behaviour for canids. They do tend to monitor their pack leader, alert for any cues signals or orders."

"Are you trying to fill in for Sarah or something?" I blushed. "I get enough teasing from our engineer, I don't need it from our technical liaison as well."

Jenny had a faint smirk on her lips as she nodded, "Indeed. Your other girlfriend asked me to cover for her in that capacity while she remains confined to the ship."

I rolled my eyes, "Of course she did."

Before either of us could continue that discussion Rebecca joined us.

"How'd it go?" I asked her as she sat down next to me. "Do they have anything here for us?"

The captain nodded, "Yeah I got us a job. Simple straightforward delivery work, just like I wanted. Not to Ecclestone's or Rolandan, but close enough."

"We're hauling six containers of mining gear to Regulon-4," she elaborated a moment later. "Just like old times I suppose, running cargo from Fuminja to Regulon."

Our AI frowned slightly, "Perhaps I'm being a little paranoid, but the mining operations here are not connected to the one on Regulon-4 are they? So why would they be sending equipment from one mine to another?"

The boss shook her head, "No idea. And generally that sort of thing is none of our business? We just haul freight, we don't care so much why."

She lowered her voice and added, "But considering our recent experiences I think there's no such thing as 'too paranoid', so I'd appreciate if you looked into those questions yourself Jenny? See what you can find out about this shipment. And needless to say, we'll be verifying the contents against the manifest when it comes on board."

"Anyways," she added at regular volume, "Unless you two have anything else you want to do while we're here, let's head back to the ship. We have to make a short hop over to Fuminja Gamma to load up the cargo, then we'll be off to Regulon-4."

I suggested, "Let's pick up some clothes for Cam first, then we can head back."