=::= Day 252 - Amanda's PoV =::=

"There you go," I said with a friendly smile. "Remember what I said ok? Plant them next to your home or another building so they get some shade, they don't like full sun."

I paused and glanced at the sky, which had been overcast for the last few days. After two hundred and fifty bright sunny days it almost felt strange to have clouds in the sky. Everyone was hoping it was a good sign though. A team of technicians from Rolandan-2 visited Deveron-8 not long after the war ended, to work on the terraforming equipment. Now I had a feeling everyone was hoping these clouds were the first sign of some actual weather.

Then I added, "Don't forget to give them a little water as soon as you've got them in the ground. Not too much though, they don't like their roots to get too wet."

The two young kids nodded quietly as they stared at the plants I'd just given them. The boy was probably about eight, his sister maybe nine or ten years old. And each was holding a little recycled pot that contained a modest berry bush in a clump of soil.

Their mother smiled at me, "Thank you kindly miss Amanda. I'll make sure they look after them berry bushes."

"You're welcome," I replied, while my tail wagged happily behind me. "Those darrowberry plants are supposed to be good for up to three harvests a year, in this sort of climate. So odds are you'll be looking at some yummy berries in another ninety days or so."

That put smiles on the two kids' faces, as they and their mother finally headed away. I brushed some of the dirt from my hands then headed around the corner of the ship, to where my drink and my chair and one of my girlfriends were all waiting for me on the ramp.

"That must be just about all of them right?" Sarah asked, as I settled into the chair next to hers.

I nodded, "Almost. There's a half dozen left, but there's plenty of time to find new homes for them. Odds are we won't be leaving until tomorrow, even if the Persephone is due to arrive later today."

After a sip of her drink she teased, "You sounded like you enjoyed talking with those kids. Is that some maternal instincts kicking in? Do you ever think about settling down and raising some kits of your own?"

"Someday," I replied, although I could feel my cheeks warming up. "I'm nowhere near ready yet, but yeah. I want to try being a mother at some point."

Then I joked, "I'm only eighteen though, remember? I'm too young to be thinking about starting a family."

Sarah giggled at that, "Right! Same here, just eighteen, too young and irresponsible to raise kids."

After a few seconds my expression became serious again as I asked, "You remember the first time we were here? Or even when we came back? We never saw any children. We barely saw anyone at all. Folks were scared, they were hiding from us because we were outsiders. And to them, outsiders meant danger. Bandits, raiders, that kind of thing."

"Like those two kids?" I added quietly. "They were maybe eight and ten? How young would they have been when the drought started, and they've been living with it all that time? That's got to be rough on them, and on their parents."

My girlfriend sighed, "I know cutie. But things have changed a lot while we've been here. Their world is becoming a better place, and we got to help make that happen. You, me, Rebecca, Cam and the twins."

"And those two kids?" she continued, "They might not remember how me and Cammie fixed some irrigation pumps, or that Jenny supplied intel to Arun's forces. They definitely won't know about Rebecca risking her life to save everyone from some nerve gas. But I guarantee they'll remember the cute foxgirl who gave them a couple berry bushes, so they could have some sweet treats every time the bushes produced fruit."

That left me smiling and blushing again while my tail swished back and forth, and I enjoyed a long sip of my drink. Then I decided to change the subject and talk about her work for a bit.

"So how's the ship doing?" I asked. "I heard some noises from both engines about an hour ago. I hope you weren't trying to power them up, because they didn't go."

My blonde girlfriend smiled as she had another gulp of her drink. Then she shook her head, "Cammie and I were running diagnostics on them. That does push power through some parts of them, and it can make noise when you do that. But otherwise they were completely offline."

"And yes, they passed all the tests," she added. She leaned over to gently pat the ramp next to her chair as she said, "The old girl's not happy about sitting so long in one place, but she'll be fine once she's flying again."

We were both quiet for a bit after that, just enjoying the fresh air and our drinks. Eventually I asked, "Speaking of Cammie, where's she hiding? Still inside with her girlfriends?"

"My sister and our girlfriend are at Cammie's workshop," Jenny announced as she emerged from the ship via her HPD.

She moved to stand next to Sarah and I then elaborated, "After disconnecting the ground power feed, Cam wanted to properly stow the cable and connectors incase they were needed again in the future. And while they were there, one of the local farmers dropped by and asked Cammie if she could fix his datapad. Jenna expects our girlfriend will be finished that little project momentarily."

"I hope folks around here are going to be ok after we leave," Sarah commented. "They might have gotten used to having two mechanics on call, but by tomorrow they'll be down to zero."

Our AI friend replied, "Cammie tells me she's already spoken with Mayor Wheeler and made some suggestions. Apparently there's a mechanic in Port Bayview that the town could call upon, if they needed someone to come out and take care of any repair work that comes up. That was impractical before, travel was simply too dangerous to risk it without a very good reason, but things are getting better all around."

"Thank goodness for that," I said, before gulping down the last of my drink.

"That just leaves the boss," Sarah pointed out. "Any idea what she's up to? I haven't seen her around the ship since Cammie and I started the diagnostics this morning."

I nodded, "I'm pretty sure she's visiting with Ella again. They probably wanted to have some time to say their goodbyes and things, since we'll be shipping out soon."

My blonde girlfriend couldn't help joking, "That's our captain. A girl in every port, right? She's got Tamsin back at Regulon-2 and it seems like she's patched things up with Ella here. I wonder if she's got any secret girlfriends on Ecclestone's World, or Regulon-4."

"I somehow doubt she's rebuilding that sort of relationship with Mayor Wheeler," I said as I rolled my eyes. "The woman's happily married, remember?"

My tone and expression were more serious as I added, "I wonder how Tamsin's doing though? We had that one visit with her, then pretty much disappeared for almost three quarters of a year."

Jenny reminded me, "The Persephone visits Rolandan-2 on a regular basis, and we know Tanya has spoken with Tamsin a few times."

"For that matter I also recall hearing Cherry bragging about more than one encounter with Miss Lancaster," the AI added with a smile. "So I suspect Tamsin is doing alright."

Sarah grinned at that, before adding "That's probably going to be our first stop when we leave here."

"Or our second I suppose," she added. "I'm betting we'll get enough fuel from the Persephone to fly from here to the Fuminja Cluster. Then we'll take on a full load of fuel, and make a level-one jump straight to Rolandan-2. Get the Demeter into the shipyard for a proper check-up and a tune-up, maybe even a full maintenance routine? And it'll give Rebecca a chance to catch up with her other old friend."

I found myself nodding in agreement, "That's pretty much what I'd do if it was up to me. I'm sure Rebecca will be thinking along those same lines too."

We ran out of things to say again after that, and the three of us spent a few minutes enjoying the relative peace and quiet. Then I spotted a few more people slowly approaching the ship. This time it was a father and three kids. The youngest was probably only five, while her brothers looked about ten and twelve. Each of the kids was carrying an old plastic pail with them, and I knew exactly what they were here for before they even asked.

"Good day ma'ams," the farmer greeted us as he tipped his hat. "I heard tell that you was giving away some berry bushes, to the young'uns?"

I smiled and got to my feet, while I tried to keep my tail from wagging too much again. "That's right. I've got a few more left, just around the corner here."

The two younger kids were quiet but the oldest boy was talkative. While I dug up another three bushes from what was left of my garden he asked about my ears and my tail, if they were real and how did I get them, and did my brothers and sisters have fox ears and tails as well or was it just me.

I smiled and answered some of those questions as I carefully transferred the plants into their pails. Then I gave them the same instructions I'd given everyone else, about planting them with partial shade and not over-watering them.

In the end all three kids thanked me, although the little girl was really quiet about it. And all of them were smiling as they headed off with their dad, to go plant their own little berry garden. And once again my tail was wagging up a storm.

This time when I sat back down with Sarah she asked, "Any idea why those are so popular? I know they haven't had much luck growing anything due to the drought, but they've had two harvests since we've been here. What makes your little darrowberries so special?"

I sighed as the wagging stopped. My tail and ears drooped as I replied, "These boys probably haven't had sweets or treats in years, and the girl's young enough she might not have ever had them. Or if she did, she's probably too young to remember. Kids like them have been living on beans and rice, or emergency rations. But if they can spare enough water to keep those bushes happy, then soon enough they'll get something fun and tasty to eat. And if their parents are smart and replant some of the berry seeds, they'll just keep growing more and more berry bushes."

"Did you plan this all along?" Jenny asked. "And where did you get the seeds to begin with?"

I shook my head, "I didn't get the idea until after we'd been here a little while. It was the Persephone's second visit, when I asked Tanya to get me the seeds. She brought them on their third visit, just before the no-fly-zone was implemented. But water was still an issue at the time, so I had to wait a while before I could get started."

By that point Sarah was looking at me with a wide compassionate smile. "I'm sorry I teased you about your garden, Amanda. I honestly thought it was just something silly you were doing to pass the time."

"It's no big deal," I shrugged, while my cheeks heated up again and my tail started slowly swishing back and forth. "I just wanted to do something for the kids around here."

Jenny was still standing next to the two of us, and she gave me a warm smile too. Then she sighed, "Sorry to change the subject, but the Persephone has just arrived. They've begun their descent, and should be with us in less than fifteen minutes."

"I've already notified the captain, as well as Cammie and my sister," the AI added.

With nothing else to do the three of us decided to just wait there for the Persephone's arrival. Sarah and I continued relaxing in our chairs, while Jenny stood next to us. Only a few minutes later my ears twitched as I heard some distant rumbling from the low clouds filling the sky.

"Did anyone else hear that?" I asked. "Was that the Persephone?"

Jenny replied, "I believe it was thunder."

Sure enough just a few seconds later the first large drops of rain started to fall, and within a minute or so there was a constant steady sprinkle coming down all around Ganvis. I could see people in the distance as they emerged from their homes, wandering out to stand in the rain. Expressions ranged from joy to wonder, but everyone was smiling.

There was another not-so-distant rumble from the sky, as it grew a little darker outside. At the same time the rain progressed from a sprinkle to a full-on downpour. It was coming down hard enough that we were getting wet from the rain splashing on the ground, while more of it was coming down on us around the ship's cockpit.

Sarah and Jenny and I retreated from the Demeter's ramp and into the hold, dragging our chairs in with us. We sat down again there, in time to spot our other girlfriend approaching. She was soaked, but had a wide grin on her face as she finally joined us in the Demeter's hold.

"You can't see it from here," Rebecca commented happily as she brushed some wet red hair out of her face, "But there's people literally dancing in the street in town. Folks have been waiting years for this."

I grinned, "I can imagine!"

Jenny commented, "Cammie and Jenna have opted to remain in our girlfriend's workshop for now. Like us, they're enjoying the rain from inside the garage, rather than go out in it and get drenched like our captain did."

Sarah joked, "I know Jenna's waterproof, but I guess it's true what they say? About cats and water, I mean."

"In fact that's not true at all," the AI replied. She sounded almost smug as she added, "My sister and I know from experience just how much our catgirl enjoys a good 'hot' shower."

That left us all smiling, as the Persephone finally came into view through the rain. Water was pouring off her in sheets as she moved past outside, before finally settling down onto the ground just off the Demeter's starboard side.

"I wonder if they'll come out in this to see us?" I commented. "Or maybe they'll invite us to go see them this time. Or just wait until the rain settles down."

Before anyone could respond there was a flash of lightning outside, followed a couple seconds later by another loud rumble. And we all got the feeling this storm might go on for a little while yet. My question was answered a minute or two later anyways, as Gwen and Tanya both hurried into our hold and out of the rain.

"Greetings your highness," Gwen addressed the tall hot redhead. "I trust things have gone well here?"

Rebecca smiled, "Well enough. I don't know if you noticed, but it seems like the drought's finally over."

That led to a few smiles and laughs, except for Tanya. She looked like there was something serious on her mind. I worried there was a problem with the fuel, that maybe something came up and they couldn't bring us enough to get the Demeter flying again. Except rather than asking to speak with our captain, she had something to discuss with me instead.

"Your last name is Voss, right?" the Persephone's captain asked. "Amanda Voss, that's your full name?"

I frowned as I nodded, "That's right. Why?"

Tanya responded with another question, "Have you ever heard the name Nyssa Voss before?"

My heart skipped a beat as a cold heavy weight settled in my stomach. My tail twitched uneasily as I replied, "Nyssa's my sister. But how do you know her?"

The tall brunette sighed, "I met her two days ago, when we were on Rolandan-2."

"We'd just unloaded some cargo there," Tanya elaborated, "I went into the spaceport to take care of the landing and fuel fees, and I found this young woman wandering around asking everyone if they'd ever heard of a foxgirl named Amanda Voss."

By that point my tail was hanging down low and my ears drooped. The thought of my little sister coming all this way by herself then visiting spaceports and asking strangers for help trying to find me left me feeling very worried for her. And all I could think about was getting to Rolandan-2 as fast as possible, so I could find her and make sure she was ok.

Meanwhile Tanya continued, "At first I thought it was another ploy, some bounty hunter going for a sympathy tactic to try and stir up information on all of you people? I watched her for a while, then finally went and spoke with her. She seemed genuine, and she didn't seem to have any idea about your situation? She didn't know the name of your ship or most of the crew. The only names she knew were yours and Sarah's. She didn't even know about the Fuminja Epsilon business, or that you folks had gone into hiding."

"So what did you do?" I asked. I probably sounded almost desperate as I added, "Do you know where she is? Or did you bring her here?"

She shook her head, "I couldn't risk bringing her. If I was wrong about her then that would have led your enemies right to you. I told her I might know how to get in touch with you, and said I'd do what I could then get back to her."

I let out a little sigh of relief, "So she's waiting on Rolandan-2? We could be there in less than twenty-four hours if we use Jump-1. Do you know where she's staying, or how to contact her?"

"I'm sorry Amanda," Tanya grimaced. "It turned out I wasn't the only one who'd taken an interest in your sister. Someone grabbed her as soon as we'd finished talking. I tried to stop them, but..."

She shook her head and sighed as she addressed both me and Rebecca, "A data crystal was delivered to the Persephone just before we shipped out. They're offering a trade. They'll release your sister, if you give them Captain Piper instead."

PurpleCatGirl

Sorry for stopping on a cliffhanger, but we're going to pause here for a short break. Don't worry though, Amanda and the gang will be back with the 2nd half of book six on April 22nd! Can't wait that long? Patrons will get chapter 166 on April 8th, and you can too if you join now!
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