Laser gun training went well at the on board firing range. Everything was holo-projected, no real heat in the shots, just targeting. I only had to sit the final safety and marksmanship test twice before I was given my certification via the Quadrozzi Merchant Clan. The license was added to my Clan pin which allowed me to carry a side arm while I was on the Merchant Guild Station and on any Quadrozzi Merchant Clan starship. Both Mocha and Latte took the training along side me. Mocha was quite efficient in taking the gun apart, cleaning it and placing all the components back together. Latte ended up being a better marksman than either of us. She smiles a lot more knowing that she is better at something than Mocha.
It wasn't until two days after our little chat in the bunk room about what the Twins wanted to do with their lives, that they quietly thanked me for giving them a choice, and they made it clear that they wanted to follow me. They loved the idea of gaining fighting skills and dreaming about taking down the operation that kept them captive all their lives. Mocha also expressed his desire to eventually go to his home planet out past Alliance space. He wasn't sure what was left of it.
After all the laser gun training, talks with Mocha and Latte, meals and fun times with the Quadrozzi crew, and checking over my newly purchased supplies, we finally arrived in the system holding the lost moon planetoid.
"Ms Briller, please make your way to the bridge. Ms Biller to the bridge." My clan pin buzzed then a message sounded in my head. I jumped in fright as this was the first time I'd received a comms message from this ship. I was in a cargo hold going over the manifest with Phill again. He saw my stunned face and laughed.
"I should have got your face just now on vidcomm. Is that the first time you've been paged ship-wide?" He asked. I nodded and handed him the clipboard in my hand.
"I think, even if we go over this all for a fifth time, we won't really be able to make changes. I think we have enough food, meds and filters to last us five years. If we find a few locals to join us, we could take on another twelve people and still feed them for a year. I am happy with this quantity. What about you Phill? Do you think we might need anything else?" I asked the merchant for his professional opinion.
"I think you will want to consider taking a backup energy membrane generator or another meteor shield. You never know if an emergency will pop up." He nodded at his own suggestion.
"Yeah, I get that. Please pack a few more and put it on my tab." I smirked then left the large cargo hold and trotted my way back to the forward centre of the freighter where the bridge was located. I waved and said hello to all the crew who I met along the way. One of the guys who usually works with Phill invited me to the poker game. I declined as I was certain I'd lose a lot of credits like the last time I play with his team. They cheated, but I couldn't exactly pull them up for it while playing friendly. I waved him off as I remembered what Phill had said about Quadrozzi and gambling. It's only fun when you can get away with cheating. He warned me prior to the game so I knew what I was getting myself in for.
"Briller on the bridge. Captain, what can I help you with?" Using the lingo that I'd heard the other crew members use, I made myself known and reported in.
"Miss Cia, we've arrived in system and doing a radar and lidar sweep now. You have about six hours before we leave this position and deliver you to your new home." Cade smiled at me and nodded towards the forward screen, directing my attention to the new information The Chaser had already collected about the F class star and all her pretty little planets. Mostly dirt rocks in the goldilocks zone, two gas giants further out, one larger than the other and an oort cloud out past the last and fifth planet. A few random asteroids and icy exo-planets further out. Nothing unnatural, human, alien or otherwise showed up on the radar and lidar so far, but they would be sweeping for a few more hours before all the data came back to the ship. It wasn't instantaneous, but if there was a human colony or aliens belonging to our alliance, the system would be dotted with beacons or relay buoys, making things go faster again.
"Looks clean. What about the moon, how's it looking?"
"Cia's Rock is looking fine and dandy. It is about a third of the way around the star's orbit from our position, and it looks like it is in it's night time cycle. Looks like you're pitching up tents in the dark."
"Good thing we have extra wind generators coming along with us. Let's hope we don't run out of power for our lights, then."
"Make sure you check in with Gianni before you leave. She has a whole bunch of plants she wants you to take along with you. Ever since you made your request for this place, she's been developing seedlings for edible plants in low light dry climates."
[That sounds interesting. I'd love to have the data she is using to develop these plant variety.] Nova asked.
I doubt she'd send us planet-side with strange plants and no data instructions for care and cultivation. I replied.
"That sounds interesting. Thank you, Cade. I'll go get packed up now. Do you know where Mocha and Latte are located?" I asked and I began walking back towards the bridge exit.
"Yes, I believe they are in the family lounge baking with Gianni. Save me some, don't eat all the goodies!" I waved him off and left, muttering about baking.
They have cooking facilities aboard The Chaser? I asked Nova.
[Yes, I believe Gianni had an antiquated conventional oven installed many years ago. She bakes confectionery from time to time. She has spent the last few days teaching the Twins how to prepare vegetation, and protein products for human consumption.]
How come I don't know about this? I asked, surprised that they hadn't approached me with this idea.
[I believe it was an attempt to gain much needed skills of their choosing. They wanted to surprise you, Cia.]
So why are you telling me this, why ruin their surprise? I asked him, genuinely interested in his answer.
[...I had calculated that you wouldn't have appreciated changes to events or circumstances without being informed prior and thus decided to inform you of the situation. Was I incorrect in this assumption?]
You are correct that I don't like surprises that can cause bodily harm or cause financial or personnel loss, but Mocha and Latte learning how to cook by taking lessons with Gianni, this is a lovely surprise for them to give, like a gift. Instead of something physical like credit chips or jewellery or a grav-fighter, they are giving the gift of added value to the team. Does this make sense?
[I believe it does. Please clarify for me. How can I tell if a surprise must be kept quiet from you in the future, Cia?]
...I think that if the person has mine and my team's best interests in mind, then this can be kept quiet. If they are plotting harm or planning to thieve from me or mine, or they are running away from responsibilities, then record the evidence and let me know.
[Thank you, Cia. I have added this information to my data banks.]
You're welcome, buddy. So, let's go and pack for our next adventure! I skipped a step and headed back into my bunk room.
Packing didn't take long. We'd pretty much been living out of our backpacks and luggage cases since we arrived on board the freighter. I was mostly sending all of my clothing through the washer unit one last time. Every was wash cycled and dried then folded and packed away again. Holo-projector, boots, medication, snacks, tool kit, new wet weather gear. I placed my left over casino chips and the holo-projector in my backpack with another two cowl hoodies and a pair of boots and extra socks. Everything else went into the travel cases.
Two hours later the Twins arrived and began their own packing. They used the extra luggage cases for the new clothing – cargo pants and t-shirts for Mocha, with tan leather leggings and silk shirts for Latte. She had taken a liking to natural products since she'd never worn anything like it before. I preferred plexi-cloth for leather pants as it had a self-repair module loaded into the memory of the fabric. I hadn't worn anything much like it back home, but I figured that with our time on a dust moon, it would be best to have the extra help as I can't sew to save myself.
Once we'd packed, Mocha left the bunk room to collect something from the family lounge, probably something cooked up hours before, leaving Latte and I alone together.
"All set?" I asked the young girl. Well, technically she was only two years younger than my eighteen years, but she was so much smaller than anyone I knew so I kept thinking of her as a younger child.
When she nodded, I glared at her with a small smile on my face so I didn't look so scary. I raised an eyebrow and waited.
"Yes. Ready," came her small voice and I nodded, smiled at her and patted her on the head. She touched the spot where I'd patted her then hid her happy smile behind her finger tips.
"Good. So, let's get going then." I looked around the bunk room that we'd spent the better part of a month in, checked that the three larger travel cases were lined up by the door, then handed Latte hers and Mocha's backpacks.
We arrived on the bridge just as The Chaser swung into orbit over the larger of the gas giants in the system. The moon was a little dust ball forward of our position. It was greyish brown, contrasting with the brilliant blue azure of the gas giant before us. It was an amazing image of perfect cosmic contrast. I'd always associated blue planets with breathable atmosphere like my own home planet. Surprisingly, its the dirty brown moon that makes this whole system habitable for human life.
"We're just coming up on Cia's Moon now, Captain." The pilot looked at me and smirked. He knew I hated how Cade and Phill named the moon after me. Before this, it only had a alpha numerical designation. As long as they don't go spreading this information around in Alliance space giving my position away, I didn't really care what they named it. I waved at Bladen, the pilot, and turned to find Cade watching me with a fond smile.
"So, this is it. I'll give you one last chance to back out of this hair brained scheme of yours and come home with Gianni and I. Once we enter the Clan compound, we'd be able to keep you safe from almost everything."
"Could you protect me from pirates or smugglers? Assassins?" I cheekily asked the older, flamboyant gentleman.
"Yes, can do."
"Bio warfare? Cyber attack? Multi directional Gatling gunships?"
"Yes, yes and maybe." He replied.
"ASF marine counter terrorist action?" I asked. Cade had to think about that one.
"Only if Gianni was home." I laughed then stepped towards my newly acquired God-Father and good friend. He opened his arms and I stepped in for a hug. Sitting on his large knee, I pecked him a quick kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you for everything. I'm gonna miss you and Gianni."
"You'd better tell me that yourself, Missy." Mama Gianni arrived on the bridge with Mocha in tow. Latte handed him his backpack into which he slipped in a large container. She then stepped back beside him as they watched me give my new God-Mother another hug and kiss goodbye.
It took half an hour of more promises to keep safe, outlining the conditions of the arrangement again and further promises to keep in touch if I could. The last thing I did before I left to the shuttle bay for the trip dirt-side, was hand a memory chip to Cade asking him to deliver a message to my Grandfather and parents. They were happy to obliged. I didn't tell them what was on the memory chip, but it didn't hold anything important. Rather it was misleading in case it was intercepted by anyone looking for me.
The important confidential information was all recorded by Nova in an obscure self-replicating data file that he left on the ship's computer. Once it reached an Alliance communications bouy or the nearest space station, the file would replicate itself, 'traverse' the comms network and find it's way home to Briller Corp Prime and to my Grandfather's computer without anyone in the whole galaxy being any the wiser.