Chapter 121: 120. Information

I wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed when Rebecca actually took the pilot seat for our arrival at the Regulon-4 mining colony. After she'd left me in control of the ship so much recently I half expected her to have me take the Demeter down into that crevasse and dock the craft on my own while she was in the shower or something.

"Sorry Amanda," she apologized as she took over. "This is one of those situations where it's actually harder than it looks."

For a moment I wondered how she knew what I was thinking. Then I remembered my ears and tail pretty much broadcast my emotions, which left me blushing slightly.

I shook my head, "No worries Rebecca. In that case I'm glad you're at the controls."

As she brought the ship down along our assigned vector she explained, "With the port being below ground level it can baffle some of the helm sensors. Then the docking facilities are more like taking a docking bay at a space station, except you're fighting planetary gravity so you can't do it with just the manoeuvring thrusters. It makes for a delicate process. And the last thing we want to do is bang the cockpit into a rock wall while the ship's hovering over a fifteen-kilometre-deep chasm."

"Understood," I replied with a grimace.

She talked me through the process as we made our final approach, so I could see and follow what she was doing. It was definitely a bit of a juggling act to keep the ship steady as she fought gravity while lining up on a small entrance carved into solid rock that seemed only slightly bigger than the ship itself.

Soon enough we were inside the assigned landing bay, and the big doors were sliding closed behind us as the ship touched down on the stone floor. The engines and power plant were shut down as we went through our landing checklist, then the captain and I finally left the cockpit together.

We were both already in our 'work outfits', complete with handguns and spare magazines on our belts. I pulled on my jacket and double-checked that I had a first-aid kit tucked in one of the pockets, and some cash in another pocket incase we needed to buy anything.

The captain addressed the others in the mess, "Sarah, Cam, you two are staying on board. You can both relax up here on the main deck. Amanda and Jenny and I will oversee the cargo offloading, and I'll take care of the port fees and get the fuel topped up."

"Are you sure boss?" our cute engineer asked. "If you have other business here you could go see to that while I deal with the dock hands and the port stuff."

Rebecca nodded, "I'm sure. Stay here, keep Cam company, put your feet up and relax. With luck we won't be more than a couple hours."

Jenny and I followed the boss down to the lower deck, then while the captain unsealed the airlock and lowered the ramp our android reported that she'd sealed the secondary hold doors and the ladderway so the main hold was secured from the rest of the ship.

The docking bay was almost all plain grey stone. Stone walls, floor, and ceiling. Light came from a few scattered panels attached to the ceiling, and there were two sets of doors. Ahead of us on the left was a smaller airlock-style door, while a larger secure cargo-sized doorway dominated the wall in front of us. And on the right was some equipment that I assumed included the usual port facilities, like a power feed and a fuel supply line.

The port staff already knew we were making a delivery of equipment for the mining corp and that we wanted fuel. Not long after we emerged from the ship those big secure cargo doors unsealed and opened up to reveal a medium-sized flatbed grav-sled and a couple burly dock hands with grav-assist loaders.

Jenny and I stayed off to the side out of the way while Rebecca supervised, but the process was fairly efficient. The dock hands were professional and probably did this sort of work all day every day so they had plenty of experience. Even so, it still took them almost an hour and two trips with their sled to complete the offloading.

When the hold was finally empty most of the guys left with the cargo. The one who remained was probably a supervisor or something, he took care of the fuelling process while Rebecca sealed the main airlock.

"Ok," she said to me and Jenny, "Let's go. We need to get paid, then I can pay for the fuel and the port fees. And when that's done there's someone I need to see while we're here."

The bay's cargo doors were already sealed again, so the three of us left through the smaller airlock-style doors off to the left.

Outside the landing bay was a long wide corridor with a high ceiling. It was a good fifteen meters across and maybe ten meters high, and probably a hundred meters from end to end. Our landing bay was towards one of the ends so we had to walk almost all the way to the far end to get a lift. And unlike Fuminja Beta, there was no chance of forgetting that we were in a facility carved from solid stone. It was everywhere, with exposed conduits and pipes and cables just bolted to the bare rock along one wall or suspended from the ceiling, along with the occasional light panel.

There were only two sets of lift doors at the end of the hall, and one of those was clearly a cargo lift. We picked the other one, and after waiting a minute or so the doors opened for us. Rebecca tapped a button labeled 'Promenade', then we had about a minute-long ride downwards before the doors opened again.

"This is the main concourse," she announced as we emerged from the lift. "Or they call it the Promenade here. It's pretty much the same concept as the concourse at Fuminja Beta, but obviously smaller. And there's no need for a tour here, you've probably already got a feel for what it's like."

We were at one end of a large rectangular space, about fifteen meters across, fifty meters long, and once again the ceiling was about ten meters above us. The floor and ceiling were bare stone, but most of the walls were obscured with storefronts. Except most of them weren't actually stores. In fact I could only see one place that looked like a store, based on the large 'General Store' sign above the entrance. The rest were bars, strip clubs, or brothels. And none of that was hidden around corners or in back alleys, here it was all on full display.

There were only a few places that didn't fall into those categories. One was the port authority office, which sat directly across from one of the brothels. And next to that was a mining-corp office, with a 'jobs available' sign scrolling back and forth next to the door.

One thing that surprised me was the promenade seemed fairly busy, despite this basically being a closed port in what amounted to a company town. I decided to hold my questions until we were back at the ship though. Especially as I realized that about ninety percent of the people around were rough-looking men, and it felt like almost half of them were staring at the three of us.

Between Rebecca's tall strong attractive amazonian look, my fuzzy ears and floofy tail, and Jenny's body being made for sex, the three of us were probably a bit of a spectacle.

"This way," Rebecca said as she started leading us away from the lift.

Our path was pretty much a straight line to the small corporate office. Inside was a counter with a bored-looking young man seated behind it, though his expression perked up when he got a look at the three of us.

"Hello ladies, and welcome to Regulon-4!" he greeted us with a smile, and I could practically feel him undressing all three of us with his eyes. "If you're looking for work, you've definitely come to the right place."

The captain rolled her eyes, "Can it Mark. These two already have jobs, they're part of my crew. I just delivered a load of mining gear your bosses bought from someone in the Fuminja Cluster, and I'm here for my pay."

The man did a double-take, and his expression went from horny and curious to surprised and anxious. He apologized, "Oh! Captain Piper! Sorry I didn't recognize you. You ah, seem taller? And your hair's longer. And um, that's all irrelevant. Just one moment please."

He focused on the terminal in front of him, and one moment turned into a couple minutes, which became fifteen minutes. Mark was very apologetic the whole time, as he explained he wasn't allowed to release the payment until the shipment was verified.

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I couldn't help worry that this was just a ploy to keep us waiting while they prepared some sort of unpleasant surprise for us, but in the end it turned out to be nothing more malevolent than red tape. Once the shipment was verified Mark handed over a stack of bars, which Rebecca tucked away in pockets inside her jacket.

From there the boss led us into the port authority office, where she paid for the fuel and the port fees.

Then as we left that office Rebecca said quietly, "Stick close to me at this next stop. I'm going to see my contact from when we worked for Lebeau. I don't think this guy's in on things any more than we were? He's more of a middle-man, but he keeps his eyes and ears open. He might be good for some information."

Jenny and I both nodded quietly as we followed our captain.

I was expecting her to take us into one of the bars for a clandestine meeting. Or maybe one of the strip clubs or a brothel even, which I assumed would have plenty of privacy. My next guess would have been some off-limits maintenance area, to meet with some under-cover informant. So I was rather surprised when the three of us walked into the general store.

Rebecca strode up to a middle-aged gentleman sitting behind the counter with his eyes fixed on a datapad.

He looked to be about average height and had a little more than his share of extra weight around the midsection. He was dressed in a fancy-looking black suit which looked good on him, and his face wasn't unattractive. There was a bit of dark grey stubble on his cheeks and chin, and his short curled hair was a mix of black and grey.

He didn't seem to notice us approaching him, or at least he didn't bother looking up as we all came to stand across the counter from him. My cheeks coloured when I recognized the sounds coming out of his datapad, accompanying whatever he was watching on the screen. And I knew those sorts of moans and gasps could really only come from one particular kind of exercise, especially since it was the sort of activity Sarah and Rebecca and I participated in together on a regular basis.

"Doc!" the captain stated loudly, "There's a dozen strip clubs and brothels right outside your door. Why do you waste time on vids when you could go see the real thing in person?"

The man startled slightly then almost leapt to his feet as his face broke into a wide surprised smile.

"Piper!" he exclaimed. "I did not expect to see you around these parts any time soon! I heard you were fired? Or killed maybe? You know the news is so unreliable these days."

His voice came across as a bit loud but very expressive, and he spoke with a moderate accent I couldn't place. I assumed he was from another frontier world I hadn't visited yet. He seemed friendly though, or at least very outgoing.

"And this?" he gestured at the datapad as he put it behind the counter. "Is much cheaper than going across the promenade and seeing it in person. Plus I can watch this from behind the counter, without having to close up shop."

Without pausing for breath he looked at Jenny and myself, then back at the boss. "Now you must tell me who are these two lovely exotic beauties you've brought with you? And for that matter, what in blazes have you done to yourself girl? You're looking different! Good mind you! I swear all three of you could make a year's delivery pay in only a few weeks if you worked at any of those venues across the promenade."

"Bullshit," Rebecca stated. "Miners don't have that much money, and there's only so many hours in a day."

She continued on with the introductions, "These are Amanda and Jenny, two of my crew. And this is Doc Linnz, owner and proprietor of the only store on Regulon-4."

"And no, he's not a doctor," she added before I could ask. Not that I was going to. She added, "I think it's a nickname? No idea why he uses it."

The man laughed, "Because I like it, of course! And it is a pleasure to make your acquaintances, Amanda and Jenny. As for your captain, I must know what you've done with the real Piper. This one is a close approximation, but the real Captain Piper does not have crew."

Our captain rolled her eyes, then leaned closer across the counter and lowered her voice as she spoke to the congenial man.

"What's the word here Doc," she asked quietly. "Have they replaced me with another ship? I'm not asking who they are, I don't want to know. I'm just curious if they're doing the same routine with a new mule."

Doc Linnz hesitated for just a second or two. Then he nodded, and in an equally quiet voice responded "I received word from a new name some fifteen days ago, that the operation is resuming. Your replacement is expected to make their first stop here in another twelve to fifteen days."

"Apparently it's taken some time to replace you," he added. "Or to clean up whatever mess you made when you quit."

That put a grim smile on Rebecca's face. She didn't go into those details though. Instead she asked, "If I wanted an excuse to dock at Fuminja Epsilon, how would I go about it? Or failing that, what can you tell me about Dr. Ayala Kelsonian?"

After a few seconds of hesitation, Linnz asked "What makes you think I have answers to either of those questions?"

Rebecca smiled, "Because this is the best general store on Regulon-4, and information is one of your top-selling products. Come on Doc, don't hold out on me."

Some sort of unspoken communication passed back and forth between my girlfriend and the proprietor, then Rebecca set two bars down on the counter. Doc responded with the briefest head-shake and a subtle gesture, and the number of bars on the counter doubled to four.

They were immediately swept away out of sight, as Linnz leaned forward and said quietly "Kelsonian has a weakness for Charentais XXO, a rare and expensive brand of cognac. Imported from the Imperium, no less! I've sourced bottles of it for her in the past. If you can get your hands on a half dozen bottles of that, I can get you clearance to dock at Fuminja Epsilon. Kelsonian might even come to the docking gantry to collect it in person, if you're that eager to meet her."

"Thanks Doc," Rebecca replied. "I'll be in touch. You stay safe, and don't let Mindy catch you watching that crap on the datapad."

He laughed, "Too late my friend! You notice she's not in the store today? Took a two-week holiday, now I have to run the place all by myself! All because she caught me watching vids? Can you believe such a thing?"

Our captain rolled her eyes, then looked to me and Jenny as she said "C'mon. Let's get back to the ship."