Chapter 91: 90. Misunderstandings

"He's my mechanic, Sergeant Blake Bixby," Captain Nieves stated. "We mostly just call him Blix. And she's our boss, Lady Gwen Magniveen."

The tall brunette looked to the younger blonde and asked, "How are you doing ma'am, feeling any better now?"

The expression on Ms. Magniveen's face left me thinking she wasn't sure yet. After a few moments she shrugged quietly, then had another gulp from the glass of water in front of her.

Our boss set out full shot glasses in front of the rest of us as she responded, "I'm Captain Piper, our medic's name is Amanda, that's Sarah sitting beside her."

"And Jenny's in the cockpit," she added, "Keeping watch on the sensors and comm traffic."

The wounded sergeant winced with discomfort as he reached out and picked up the shot glass in front of him, then knocked it back in one go.

"My recommendation was bed rest," I stated with a disapproving frown. "Not sitting around getting drunk."

The red-haired man just smiled as he set the empty glass back down on the table.

I looked at Rebecca and added, "And I still need to properly treat your injuries boss. A dose of painkiller and a squirt of wound sealant is not proper health care."

"It can wait. We've got business now," she replied as she turned to look at Nieves.

The other captain knocked her whiskey back as well, then as she set her glass down she commented "Thanks for the drink. What the hell was that all about earlier? Is that how you normally conduct business around here?"

The boss shrugged, "Not really, but it happens from time to time. I appreciate the assist though. Sergeant Bixby, mind telling me what the hell you were shooting? I didn't think it was possible to take down an armoured sled with a handgun."

He grinned and nodded towards his shot glass. The boss reached over with the bottle and refilled it for him, and he knocked the second one back before finally answering her.

"It's a custom build," he stated with more than a little pride. "Loaded with heavy HVP incendiaries. They'll punch right through thinner armour plate and body armour, then set fire to whatever's on the other side. Trade-off is it's only good for five rounds between reloads."

From the look on our boss's face, I had a feeling she wasn't sure if she should be impressed or worried.

I took the opportunity to speak up in the silence that followed, "What happened with the authorities boss? We saw you hand over some cash, did you have to bribe them?"

"It was a 'fine' not a 'bribe'," our captain replied, though her tone made it clear there was no difference between the two. "They charged us ten thousand ecks for having a gunfight on space-port property, and they billed us another ten thousand ecks for the cleanup cost. The survivors are being tended to by local medics, and supposedly someone from the port will come around to deal with the burned-out sled and the bodies."

She added with a sigh, "We still need to scrub the deck down in the hold."

"We also have to give everything down there a thorough inspection," Sarah pointed out. "There were a lot of bullets flying around, we need to make sure nothing important got damaged."

I noticed Captain Nieves was staring at me, she finally spoke up and asked "It's Amanda, right? What's the deal with the ears and the tail? Are they real?"

That made me blush slightly, but I nodded. "Very real. And there's no 'deal' with them, they're just normal ears and a normal tail."

"That's not true," Sarah grinned. "Your ears are more sensitive than ours, and your tail is very soft and floofy."

Nieves and Bixby both stared at me and Sarah, and it looked like the brunette was going to make another comment but someone else spoke up first.

"Captain Piper," the blonde woman suddenly stated. She was looking at our captain, and some of her earlier excitement was starting to return. "Are you the granddaughter of Gabriel Piper?"

The boss frowned, "Gabe was my dad, not my granddad."

"Was?" the young woman asked. "Is he no longer with us?"

"He passed on a few years ago," Rebecca replied. "What's your business with him?"

The young woman looked genuinely sad to hear that, "My sincere condolences for your loss."

Then she took a deep breath and stated, "My name is Gwen Magniveen. I'm Secretary to the Regent of Vysalis-4, and I'm here as a representative of our planet's monarchy."

"Ok?" our captain shrugged. "I'm Rebecca Piper, captain and owner of the MV Demeter. What brings you all the way out here to the frontier?"

"You and your ship came up on a Navy report," Gwen replied, and she was looking and sounding a lot more lively now. "A copy of a routine message from the ISS Kennington was rerouted to my desk, and that alerted me to your existence."

She sat up straight and smiled at the boss as she stated, "And you are so much more than a freighter captain. You're the last surviving member of the royal family of Vysalis-4. You are Princess Rebecca, and your throne and your people await you, your highness."

Rebecca's eyebrows slowly crept up as she stared at the blonde woman.

Meanwhile Sarah and I exchanged a surprised look, then I glanced at our other two guests. From their expressions I could guess they weren't expecting this either.

After a few seconds of silence the captain finally giggled. It wasn't a sarcastic sound, she seemed to be legitimately amused. She shook her head as she giggled for half a minute, then finally scooped up her glass and gulped down the whiskey it contained.

"I'm sorry Miss Magniveen," Rebecca said with a smile, "But you are very, very mistaken. There is no way in the galaxy that I'm a princess."

Gwen didn't seem upset or unhappy by the boss's reaction, if anything she probably expected it. She still looked eager and excited as she replied, "I suspect your father never told you about his past? Do you know where he was from, who he was?"

The boss shook her head, "Gabe never talked about that stuff. I suppose you're going to fill me in on it though?"

The blonde nodded, "Gabriel Piper was born on Vysalis-4, as Princess Anastasia Rhiannon Magrethe."

She paused there, perhaps expecting some kind of reaction from us. Her two companions looked startled, but the rest of us already knew, or at least suspected, that Gabe was trans. The princess part was a surprise though.

After a few seconds Gwen sighed and continued, "Fifty years ago Vysalis-4 had some...backwards laws and beliefs regarding people like your father. Because of those laws, Princess Anastasia was not allowed to transition. That's why she fled her home and her birthright, so she could -"

"His name was Gabe," Rebecca stated firmly. "His pronouns were he and him. Don't forget that."

The blonde bowed her head, "My apologies your highness. I meant no disrespect."

"There have been significant changes at home in the time since your father's departure," she continued. "His mother Queen Isabella made great strides to correct the circumstances which caused Gabriel to flee the planet. Laws were changed or repealed, and people were better educated and informed, to counter the misunderstandings and negative opinions regarding trans people. The queen always hoped that your father would someday return home, to take his place as heir to the throne."

I couldn't help feel impressed that the queen did all that for Gabe. And I wondered what my home-world would be like if someone put in the effort to do the same there. It would be nice to know the next generation of trans kids growing up there would have the chance to be themselves.

After a brief pause to drink the last of her water Gwen addressed Rebecca again, "Your father was heir apparent to the throne of Vysalis-4. Upon his mother's death two decades ago, he would have been crowned monarch. And now you, Rebecca Piper, daughter of Gabriel Piper née Anastasia Magrethe, are the sole surviving member of our planet's royal family. You are the princess of Vysalis-4, and upon your homecoming you will be crowned queen."

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"Well fuck," the boss stated as she poured herself another drink.

"I can't be the princess," she added a few seconds later. "I was adopted. I'm not Gabe's flesh and blood, I have no biological relationship with him or your queen."

Gwen asked, "Did he have any natural children?"

Rebecca sighed and shook her head, "Not that I know of. He never mentioned it anyways."

"In lieu of a blood heir adoption is considered a valid path for succession," Gwen explained. "Your highness."

The boss sighed and shook her head, "I really can't be your princess. This is all a huge misunderstanding."

Our guest gestured, "That ring you're wearing as a pendant is part of the Vysalis crown jewels. If I'm not mistaken it's the royal signet ring. One of a handful of items your father took with him when he fled."

"Crap," Rebecca sighed again, and gulped down her second drink.

The next few seconds another awkward silence settled across the table. The only sound was from the whiskey bottle, as Rebecca poured herself another drink. She also refilled everyone else's glasses, before setting the bottle down.

Finally Sarah spoke up, with a question for Gwen. "So hypothetically speaking, what happens if her highness doesn't want to go with you? Are you going to try and abduct her or something? Haul her off and force her to be queen?"

"What?" the blonde woman gasped, "Absolutely not! Her highness is royalty, I'd never dream of treating her like some common criminal."

She looked to Rebecca and elaborated, "I know this must be a tremendous shock your highness, and I'm here to help you however I can. Of course I hope that you'll agree to return home, and I will do my best to convince you that's the right decision. But I won't try and force you."

"Good," the boss stated. She drained her third shot of whiskey then suggested, "I think we could all use some down-time after the action we had earlier, and you ought to get the sergeant here back to your ship so he can get that bed-rest Amanda recommended."

Captain Nieves seemed to agree, as she gulped down her drink then got to her feet.

"Thank you Captain Piper... Er, Princess? Sorry," Nieves stated awkwardly. "I'm sure we'll be in touch again before long."

She added to her companions, "Madam Secretary, I believe we've been dismissed. And Blix, let's get your ass back to the ship so you can get some proper rest."

"Yes ma'am," the sergeant sighed. He gulped down his last drink then got up, but he was moving slowly and in some obvious pain.

Gwen reluctantly stood up as well, and the boss accompanied them all down to the lower deck and out of the ship. Once they were gone Jenny emerged from the cockpit to join us, and a minute or so later Rebecca was back as well.

She was still limping, but once again she brushed aside my offer to treat her injuries. Then in a very normal, comfortable, familiar scene all four of us sat together around the table in the mess.

Sarah drained her whiskey then started gently teasing the boss, "So your highness, should we start referring to the Demeter as Vysalis One? You're the crown princess, doesn't that make this your flagship? Or your royal yacht?"

"Can it Sarah," Rebecca replied as she rolled her eyes. "I'm no princess and you know it."

Our mischievous engineer smirked, "I don't know, Gwen made some compelling arguments. And you're wearing one of the crown jewels as a necklace."

Jenny commented, "While the news is certainly unexpected, I'm sure it's nice on some level to know a bit more about Gabe's past. I can't imagine what it was like for him, to keep this information to himself all his life."

"Yeah," the boss sighed. "It's nice knowing more about him, but I wish he'd told me himself. I can understand why he'd keep it secret though."

The others continued their conversation, but I stayed quiet. I listened in as I watched my three companions, and I reflected on how much had changed in the thirty-something days since we were last on this world.

There were a lot of ups and downs. And I was sure the positives outweighed the negatives, but there were definitely extremes in both directions.

Lebeau's bomb was a very scary near-miss for the ship, and neither Rebecca or the Demeter escaped unharmed. And figuring out what that private lab was working on was another unpleasant surprise. Knowing the Imperium was interested or involved in that research was a nightmare waiting to happen.

On the other hand, helping Rebecca work through some of her issues brought the two of us together, and spending a dozen days on Rolandan-2 led to some truly wonderful experiences for all three of us. Not the least of which was the boss officially becoming girlfriends with both me and Sarah. Meanwhile Jenny got her physical body working the way she wanted, and that brought her one step closer to joining the rest of us in a closer relationship as well.

And along the way we helped Rebecca's oldest friend too. Tamsin got a new lease on life, she seemed happy and her future looked bright. I had no doubt we'd be visiting her again soon like she asked, and I couldn't help wondering if the long-term friendship she had with our captain might end up becoming even closer now that the two had even more in common.

As for the most recent events, I hadn't even had a chance to process them yet.

We almost died again, and Rebecca was injured once more. If I had to say there was anything positive from that confrontation it was the fact that Lebeau would no longer be a thorn in our sides. I didn't think I'd lose sleep over his death, but I really wished I didn't have to witness it.

Finally the revelation about Gabe's past was maybe the biggest surprise of all. I was positive Rebecca was even more shocked than the rest of us, I couldn't begin to guess how she felt. The whole thing about her being Gabe's adopted daughter started as a cover story, but thanks to that lie thirty years ago she was now heir to the throne of an important planet deep in the Imperium's core.

"Amanda?"

I blinked and looked over at the boss, "Yes? Sorry, I got a little lost in thought."

Rebecca smiled, "It's ok, I think we're all a little burned-out after the excitement today."

"Yeah," I nodded slowly.

She asked again, "Are you feeling up to doing a little cooking? I think we're going to put off our regular visit to Gilly's until tomorrow. I don't know about the rest of you, but I think a quiet afternoon and evening here together is the plan for today."

"Yeah," I nodded as I stood up. "That sounds ideal."

"Agreed," Sarah added.

Jenny nodded her approval as well.

I decided some comfort food was in order, and while I got started on that Sarah set the table and Rebecca cleared away the empty glasses.

Like the boss suggested, the four of us enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening together. We had a nice meal, then Sarah and Rebecca and I cuddled together on the sofa in the lounge. We even convinced Jenny to join us on the sofa rather than sit on her own in one of the chairs.

I had an arm around Rebecca and my tail was on the redhead's lap again, while Sarah sat on the other side of me. And she reached over and put an arm around Jenny, giving her a friendly hug.

Thirty-something days ago the four of us were family, now I couldn't help smiling as it felt like we were even closer than that.

~ The End (of Book 3) ~