Chapter 126: 125. Liqueur

"I couldn't help noticing the cases of liquor that came in with the supplies earlier," our AI commented while Rebecca and I were cuddling together on the sofa.

Our tall amazonian captain had her right arm around my shoulders, while her left hand stroked the floof on my tail, which was wrapped around and across my lap and onto hers. She glanced over at Jenny who was sitting in one of the large chairs off to our right and asked, "What about it? Was there something wrong with it?"

"Not at all," Jenny replied. "But it reminded me of the conversation you had with Doc Linnz, back at Regulon-4. I was wondering if we're still planning to try and sabotage the research facility at Fuminja Epsilon? And if so, will we be able to procure the liquor that Mr. Linnz said he could leverage to get us docking rights at the facility."

By the time the android finished talking I'd gone from relaxed and cuddly to tense and stressed.

I told Rebecca, "We have to stop them. From what Doc Linnz said they're resuming the human trials at the mining colony, and the information we intercepted back when they tried to blow us up made it sound like they think they're in the final steps of the testing phase."

"That technology is bad news no matter who gets their hands on it," I added, "But if the Imperium gets it then I don't think any planet or sector in the galaxy will be safe."

I could tell my girlfriend was stressed too, her muscles had tensed up and she'd stopped stroking my tail. She let out a long deep sigh, "I know Amanda. And we've got a plan, more or less. Like Jenny said, Linnz can get us docking clearance at Epsilon if we've got a case of that fancy booze for his contact there."

"The contact name was Doctor Ayala Kelsonian," Jenny reminded us. "And the liqueur was called Charentais XXO."

Rebecca nodded, "Right. So we know what we need to get us there. Once we're docked it's all going to be up to you Jenny, to infiltrate their systems and do what it takes to destroy their research and records. If that step goes wrong, we're all dead. Even if that goes perfectly we might still get dead, but maybe not right away. It depends on whether or not they figure out it was us, and if they have the resources to come after us by the time they know who did it."

The AI sounded apologetic as she responded, "I'm afraid I can't guarantee success. I can promise I'll do my very best, and I've been reviewing all the relevant information in the various courses I took. I've also been honing my skills whenever the opportunity arises. However we're talking about a system which would be deliberately secured and will certainly have countermeasures deployed specifically to prevent unauthorized access. There's simply no way for me to predict how successful I'll be."

"I get it Jenny," Rebecca nodded. "I know you'll do your best."

The three of us were quiet for a few moments, until I asked "Do you think the Kennington's involved?"

Rebecca shrugged, "Odds are they have the same sets of sealed orders that the Hammersmith had. And odds are, nobody outside of us and Imperium Intelligence knows what those orders are."

I frowned, "So if the latest round of testing is a success then the Kennington might unlock those orders. They'll be sent to hand over a few million ecks in payment, in return for research materials and maybe even a shipment of the finished product. Then they'll take that back home with them and hand it over to Imperium Intelligence. We can't let that happen."

"I know," the boss sighed again.

Jenny commented, "If we're successful in sabotaging the project that might result in the Kennington unlocking one of the other sealed orders. If the Imperium has already invested money in that project, being told there's nothing to deliver after all might lead to lethal retaliation. And unlike the Demeter, the Kennington does have the firepower to destroy the research facility."

Rebecca was silent for a few moments as she considered that. She finally shrugged, "I honestly don't know whether that's a good thing or a bad thing? I suppose it's a net win for free will and the greater good of the galaxy? It'll cause a lot of hassles for the Fuminja Cluster and the rest of this sector in the short term though."

"Anyways," she added a moment later, "If you don't mind Amanda, I'll accompany you and Sarah this afternoon. Once you've sent your FTL we'll see about getting our hands on that expensive hooch. I know a few places here in Port Ecclestone that trade in fancy imported goods."

"Ok boss. Thanks," I said as I gave her a gentle squeeze.

She squeezed me back then started stroking my tail again, "No need to thank me Amanda. It's a bad situation and someone needs to stop it. Just too bad that someone happens to be us."

Neither Jenny or I had anything else to say about that, so the three of us sat quietly while we waited for our two mechanics to finish up.

They were busy in the cockpit for about three quarters of an hour, then finally emerged carrying the two original chairs with them. As they passed by on their way aft Sarah flashed me a smile, "It won't take long to install those lockers cutie. Then I'll be ready to head into town with you."

"Thanks Sarah," I smiled back. "Rebecca's coming with us, we'll be doing some shopping after I'm done at Vesfar Urox."

"Sounds good," she replied as she and Cam continued on to the lift in engineering.

True to her word Sarah called up on the ship's intercom about a dozen minutes later, "All done down here. I'm ready to go whenever you are."

"We'll be right with you," Rebecca replied. Then she gave me another gentle squeeze before letting go, and the two of us got to our feet while Jenny remained in the lounge.

I stopped by the cabin first to grab some cash and my datapad, while Rebecca stuffed a handful of bars into her jacket pockets. Then the two of us headed down the starboard ladderway to the main hold, where Sarah was waiting by the grav-sled. Meanwhile Cam had already gone back up to the main deck via the engineering lift.

Rebecca took the drivers seat in the sled and I sat down next to her, while our blonde girlfriend sat in the middle on the second row. Jenny opened up the ship for us, and sealed it again behind us as we took off.

"So what shopping did you need to do Rebecca?" Sarah asked during the short trip to the FTL company.

The tall redhead replied, "I need to find some rare booze, so we can bribe someone with expensive taste."

I glanced back and saw the confused look on our engineer's face so I added, "It's the Fuminja research thing."

"Ah," she nodded. "I was wondering if we were still doing that."

Rebecca nodded, "We are. It's not exactly my highest priority, but we'll get there."

It didn't take long before the sled was descending towards the FTL company's office. As soon as we were on the ground I hopped out and told my girlfriends, "Hopefully this won't take long."

"Want us to come and keep you company?" Sarah offered.

"Only if you want to?" I replied. "It's probably going to be boring."

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Rebecca shut down the sled then punched in the lock code as she replied, "At least the three of us will be bored together."

That put a smile on my face and got my tail wagging too as both my girlfriends accompanied me into the building. The place was as inefficient as ever, with a ten or twelve minute wait to speak with someone who took that much time again to actually get my message sent. As usual the guy gave me a hard time about my account being based out of Rolandan-2, and I was fairly certain at least one of the extra fees I was charged was something the guy made up on the spot.

On the other hand it still wasn't that expensive, and despite the staff at this location being annoying the organization on the whole seemed pretty reliable. At least I hadn't actually run into any trouble using them to correspond with my sister, so I put up with the minor annoyances.

When I was finally finished the three of us headed back out to the grav-sled. Then as Rebecca got us moving again Sarah commented, "I remember way back when, you said that company was one of the better options boss. I hate to think what the worse ones are like."

Our captain grimaced, "This particular office is not a great example. And that probably applies to all their competitors too. The worse options are probably pretty similar in terms of customer service, but less reliable as far as actually getting your message where it's supposed to be. And in a reasonable timeframe."

"Huh," the cute blonde frowned. Then she teased, "If project princess is successful then you could appoint Amanda to some official government position. That way all her correspondence with her sister could flow through official Vysalis-4 channels. Then she wouldn't have to deal with those Vesfar folks anymore."

Rebecca's only response was an eye-roll, which Sarah unfortunately couldn't see since she was seated in the back again. After that we were all quiet for the rest of our short trip, which only lasted another six or seven minutes. Then the boss angled the grav-sled downwards, and soon enough we'd set down in what was clearly a well-off part of the city.

We were about as far away from the spaceport as you could get while still being in the city, and there was even pavement on the ground so landing and taking off didn't result in huge clouds of dust and grit being blown around. The buildings around us all looked shiny and clean, and rather than being squat blocky solid structures a lot of them were designed to look good. There was lots of windows and brushed steel on display, along with what looked like faux-wood panelling and even cut polished stone like granite or marble.

Even the people we saw around were dressed up better, men wore what passed as fancy business suits and some of the women were in proper gowns or dresses. On the other hand almost everyone we saw was still armed, although typically with smaller sidearms. I didn't see anyone carrying shotguns or rifles in this part of town.

The structure we'd landed next to was finished to look like it had been constructed out of stones and bricks, but there were some large windows across the front. Except the glass was behind iron bars, which along with the stone construction gave the place the feeling of a bank. Or maybe a jail.

Its real function was explained by the sign across the front. Fancy black cursive text on an off-white background identified the place as "Elaine Rho and Associates, Purveyors of Fine Spirits and Liqueurs."

Rebecca led Sarah and I through the door and inside. The interior was all dark wood and polished brass, but also air conditioned and spotlessly clean. The floor was some kind of hardwood, the walls were covered in wood panelling and shelves designed to hold countless bottles. There was a counter across one side of the shop, with more shelves and bottles behind the counter. Finally a secure doorway at the back of the room probably led to a vault or more secure storage, along with back offices and the like.

There were three people in the shop when we entered. Two were obviously security guards, a pair of big burly guys in dark unmarked uniforms, each was armed with a shotgun. The third was obviously the sales person.

She stood behind the counter and greeted us with a polite smile, "Hello and welcome to Elaine Rho and Associates. My name is Yasmin. Is there anything specific I can help you with?"

Yasmin was almost as tall as Rebecca. She didn't look anywhere near as tough though. She had short black hair, dark eyes, and lightly-tanned skin. She wore a professional-looking navy blue skirt suit, and was fairly attractive.

The three of us moved over to the counter as the boss nodded, "Yeah. I'm looking for a case of something called Charentais XXO. Do you have that, or can you get it for me?"

The sales woman raised an eyebrow, "That's a very rare and expensive cognac. There are some similar liqueurs produced locally, but if you're looking for the genuine article it has to be imported from the Imperium."

"Yeah I want the real thing," Rebecca nodded. "Do you have it? Or can you get it for me?"

Yasmin moved to a computer terminal at the end of the counter, presumably to check her inventory or something along those lines. After a few moments she replied, "We have one bottle in stock."

The captain shook her head, "I need a full case."

"That's going to be very expensive," Yasmin warned us. "According to my information there is a case available in another of our locations in this sector. I can have it here for you in about ten days."

"What's it going to cost me?" Rebecca asked.

"Eight bars," the woman replied. "I'll need two bars in advance to have the case transported here, and to hold it for you until you can collect it and pay the balance."

I felt my eyebrows shoot up, forty thousand ecks for a dozen bottles of booze seemed outrageous. Even if it was shipped all the way from the Imperium, I had a hard time believing any drink could be worth that much.

The boss didn't flinch as she responded, "All right."

"I don't know that we'll be back in ten days," she added as she pulled two bars out of her jacket pocket. "Odds are we'll be offworld for a time. Can I get some assurance that you're not going to sell that case out from under me if I can't get back here the moment it arrives?"

Yasmin nodded, "If you want to pre-pay four bars, we'll hold the case reserved for you for up to a full year."

Rebecca brought out two more bars and set them on the counter. She also provided all her contact information, then Yasmin transmitted an electronic receipt onto my datapad since the boss didn't have one with her. And with our business concluded, the three of us headed back out to the grav-sled.

"That was easy enough," the tall redhead commented as she guided us back towards the Demeter.

I grimaced, "Easy, but expensive. Eight bars for a dozen bottles of liquor seems outrageous! No drink can be worth that much."

Sarah shrugged, "Rich people spend money like that for the prestige and to impress their friends. It's not about how good it tastes, is's about other people knowing how much it's worth and that you can afford to pay it."

"Which tells us something about Dr. Kelsonian," Rebecca pointed out. "Either she comes from money and she's used to those kinds of extravagances, or she wants to be."

I asked, "Does it matter? We're just doing this to get access to the facility, right?"

The captain stated, "Right now any information we can get is potentially helpful. I'll ask Jenny to do some digging as soon as we get back to the ship. Maybe she can turn up some dirt on Dr. Kelsonian."