You and your crew have been busy flying supply runs between rim worlds. It has been profitable, and you have been lucky.
Some of the new colonies have no UGA (United Galactic Alliance) presence at all so they have been self-governing. That can work to your benefit when folks are honest, and most colonists are too busy trying to set up and survive to try to cheat each other.
Oh, you get the occasional person whose greed for valutos and goods, outstrips their desire to be cooperative instead of competitive. But those are either banished from their colony or turned over to the Maristos. Maristos are the only “Uggo” presence this far out on the rim.
Your crew and ship have been a lifeline for some of the newer colonies, which has been profitable for you. Not everything you earned was valutos, and that which wasn’t, you were able to trade to those who needed them.
Some runs were easier than others. Building supplies are easy. Livestock is trickier. If you had a larger ship, you probably could have raked in the valutos, but as it is, you like your little cargo hauler and your crew.
Cookie and Meko hate when you transport livestock, because you have to carry extra feed, water, and collect the waste. We lucked out the past few times, because the animal waste was sold off as fertilizer. Not a huge profit but more than enough to pay to clean up the cargo hold when we were done.
On this trip, you are delivering compact construction equipment, and mini-tractors. The contract is for delivery only, so you charged the client transportation and labor costs, which they agreed to. It is still a pretty pricey run, and you wondered why the client agreed to the cost, but Navs reminded you. “Skipper, if it was an SG freighter hauling it, they would have charged that, plus Guild fee, and UGA taxes. They got off cheap.”
She and Kurgio agree to oversee the delivery. They will take the ship’s land scooter and accompany the client’s drivers as they form up into a line of vehicles. The slowest ones up front and the faster ones in the rear.
Once the cargo hold is empty, you watch the small caravan of vehicles drive away as you lift up the ramp and close the hatch.
Cookie, comes up. “Skipper, it’s been half a jaro, since we really took a break. We’ve done run after run without complaints or a major incident. Heck, even the Maristos haven’t been a problem. Haven’t we earned ourselves a little rest?”
‘Ok, Cookie. What do you have in mind?’ You ask as you look at your cargo officer / galley chief.
“Meko, Kurgio, Navs and I were all asking ourselves when was the last time we pulled into the Pleasuredome for more than just a fuel stop. Haven’t we earned enough valutos to rent ourselves some entertainment and the time to enjoy it?”
‘Ok, let’s have everyone meet in the galley and we can see what folks want to do. Shall we wait until meal time or call a special meeting?’ You ask as look at a minividi watching the caravan’s progress and also checking the calendar. ‘We don’t have any scheduled runs, that we have agreed to, as of yet.’
“And you won’t Skipper, I looked over the calendar too before I brought this up. I think this can wait until next mango, if you want.” She says as she checks the time.
‘That sounds like a good idea, by the way, do you have a special meal planned or are we still eating konservita mangajo?’
Cookie shakes her head, “Nothing special. We haven’t bought or traded for fresh food in a while. I will see what I can whip up for you.”
‘I trust you will. See you in a couple of hours, along with the rest of the crew.’ You say as you head to the Con.
On the way, you see Meko working on one of the ships systems. ‘Hey, Meko, is everything all right?’
“Yes Skipper, I’m just checking things while we’re on the landing pad. There are a few things we should probably replace next time we pull in somewhere closer to the Core worlds.”
‘Is it anything serious, or hard to get?’ you ask with genuine curiosity.
“No. Just things that if we switched out soon, we wouldn’t have to worry about breaking down in the middle of a run. And for ease of getting, we could probably get them at one of the supply stations.” He says as he wipes his dirty hands on a rag.
‘Ok. Remind me of that during the next mango. We don’t have a schedule run, and I might be looking for options.’
“Aye, aye Skipper”. He says in his relaxed tone.
You are so glad that he got bored with using Navy traditions and slang. You knew it was only a temporary thing, but for a few months he was calling everyone to Attention when you entered an area. It got old quick. You are glad stopped using and forgot them.
Continuing on to the Con, you find Helm checking the controls and watching the vidis. ‘Hi Helm, what’re you doing?’
“Hi, Skipper, I am just doing pre-flight checks and monitoring our folks making the hand off. I want to be ready in case we have to blast off. Do we have another run on the horizon, or are you just walking around?” he asks, never taking his eyes off of the main vidi.
You sit down in the co-pilot’s seat. ‘No, we don’t have anything scheduled. Both Cookie and Meko, had mentioned where they would like to go next. I just want to see if you or Navs had any ideas. She and Kurgio should be back soon. Have they called in with any problems yet?’ You ask as you look at the main vidi.
“No, the link has been quiet. I’ll keep watching until they return. They should be calling in soon.”
‘So, I see.’ You interject as you watch the progress of the caravan.
“Then they’ll return, once the transfer of valutos is confirmed.” He said.
‘There are times when I wish we could use UGA banks instead of local transfers.’ '
“But we all know if we did, then Uggos would track and tax us for not being SG. We chose to live outside of the law, Skipper. That means we got to be careful.”
‘I know, like I told you when you signed on “to live outside the law, you must be honest”. Words I heard from my family back when I was growing up, on what was a rim world colony back then but, is now firmly part of the Core. But enough of that. I’ll let you focus here, and go and prep the cargo bay for their return. They should be returning with just our scooter but you never know. Think about where you might want to go, and we’ll all discuss it in the galley at next mango.’ You say as you get up, and head back down to the cargo hold.
You smell the scent of baking bread and stop by the galley. ‘Cookie, are you really baking bread?’ She is stirring something in a large pot.
“Yeah, I thought some fresh biscuits would go good with gulaso. It was either that or varma plato, but we had that yesterday so I thought gulaso was the better answer.”
You sniff the delicious spicy flavors in the air, ‘That all sounds good and smells great.’
Your minividi vibrates in your cargo pocket of your utilities, and you check it. “Delivery complete, and funds received. Returning to ship.” A blinking icon and a map shows their progress. ‘They should be back soon. I’ll go down and meet them. Have things ready and we’ll all eat.’ You say as you turn and leave.
“Will do, Skipper.” She calls after you.
Down in the cargo hold, you open the loading ramp and look outside. The mid-day sun shines down. The planet this colony is on, circles a large white star so the colors are all brighter and more vibrant. The landing pad is a standard prefab structure, but you see the natural land just beyond it. The plants are different than what saw growing up, but it still looks beautiful. “If colony life wasn’t so hard, this wouldn’t be a place so drop anchor and plant roots.” You say wistfully to yourself. Then after a minute you shake your head and look at your ship. “No, you are my home and my crew is my family.”
In a couple more minutes you see the scooter come up the ramp and Navs and Kurgio climb off as you close up the door behind them. “Any problems?” you ask.
Navs smiles and pulls a chip from her pocket. “Here you go, Skipper, all the funds are transferred onto it.” She says as she hands it to you.
“Yea, Skipper, if this was a video or a story, we would’ve been cheated and had to fight our way back or something like that, but this is real life and it was as simple as ‘We delivered what the client asked for, and they paid what they owe.’ Pretty ordinary and boring. So, what’s our next run?” Kurgio asks as he takes his medic bag from the scooter. Even though he was sure he wasn’t going to need it, he, like any good ship’s doctor, brings his kit when he leaves the ship.
“You two, go and clean up. Mango will be in the galley shorty, so hopefully you are hungry. I’ll transfer this to the vault, and make sure everyone gets their cut.” You say as you pocket the chip.
Navs pulls out her minividi “Hey, sexy. I’m back. Are you still up in the Con? Want to join me in a shower before mango?” she says as she walks away.
Kurgio shakes his head. “I don’t get it Skipper. I know they love each other but I swear that Navs comes up with excuses just to see Helm naked.”
You chuckle at that. “We were that young once, and sex was always a good way relax after work. Just as long as they aren’t doing it where we all can see. Bad enough that they echo when they’re really passionate about it.”
“I’ll see you in the galley. I will wash up in the Med Bay. I think I will pass on going to the showers for a bit.” He says as he carries his bag, heading to the interior.
You head to your cabin. Unlocking a small box, you remove a storage drive and plug it into the ships system. Then you connect the chip, and transfer the valutos to the “vault”. Once it is in the vault, you split it evenly six ways, depositing into each one’s wallet.
Each person’s minividi pings them that a deposit was made. Then you eject the empty chip, disconnect the vault, and place it back into the lockbox. The security seems a bit overboard, but she has heard of cyberpirates getting into a system looking only for digital wallets and draining them dry before moving to the next system. The crew trusts you, and if anyone needed funds that are in the vault, they ask, you connect so they can transfer from their storage wallet to their minividi wallet and then you disconnect. You have been doing it that way since your crew since they joined.
You check the time. Almost time for mango. One of the things you love about your ship and crew is mealtimes can be done as a group or as needed, during a run. But Cookie is a great chef, so its difficult to say “No, I’ll make something myself”, when she is cooking enough to have everyone satisfied. Plus, the table in the galley is perfect for mealtimes, whether it is matenmango, tagmango, vespermango, brunco, or mangeto. Folks can eat in their cabins, but in the galley it’s so much easier to prepare, eat, and clean up afterwards.
By the time you make it to the galley you see bowls set out, a serving bowl with a ladle and a plate piled high with fresh biscuits. Cookie is sitting at the table, waiting for everyone else to arrive.
“You know, Cookie, you could have started without everyone else.” You say.
“Sure, but I sampled and tasted the whole time I was making it, so I probably won’t eat much.”
Meko and Kurgio each come in shortly after you, and then you see Navs and Helm, both freshly showered, and holding hands.
You smile at them. “What, no shower sex today?” you ask
“No, Skipper, I want food first. We can fuck later.” Helm says bluntly.
“Can I watch?” Meko asks playfully
“Sure,” Navs responds seductively “you can watch us eat anytime you want.” Then she grabs a bowl and fills it while others chuckle at the joke. Helm kisses her cheek and fills a bowl too.
Once everyone is dished up and seated, you clear your throat.
“Folks, we had a successful few months and have a fair-sized pile of valutos in the vault. We don’t have another scheduled run and we really haven’t taken any breaks or time off for a while. My question to you, is should we take a break, and if so, where?” you ask as you dip your biscuit into the hot spicy gulaso.
“Pleasuredome” Cookie says loudly and quickly.
Meko looks at her, and says “It’s been a while since we were last there. Do you have a regular there or just know what you want?”
“I know what I want and they definitely aren’t you.” She says tartly, “But you can find yourself something to enjoy there too, if you aren’t too busy just watching.”
“Maybe, if I watch the right one, it’s more than enough?” he says in a husky tone.
You stand up. “Ok, children, if you can’t be adult enough to respect each other, then you’re too immature to enjoy the Pleasuredome.”
Cookie give you an exaggerated pout. “Ok, Skipper. I’m sorry Meko”
“I’m sorry too Cookie.” He says as he dips a biscuit into his bowl of gulaso and takes a bite. You aren’t sure what Meko is sorry for, but at least they are listening instead of sniping at each other.
“I wouldn’t mind a trip to the Pleasuredome.” Kurgio says after a pause.
Navs and Helm both say, “We could use time there too.” “Maybe rent a couple to join us for fun.” Helm finishes. Navs leans in and nibbles his earlobe.
“Okay.” You say “It sound like after we finish eating, you need to chart a course to the Pleasuredome. Meko, you mentioned picking up a few replacement parts at the next station. Is the supply point there good enough?”
He leans back in his chair for a moment. “Yes, that will do nicely Skipper. When we land, do I go to the supply point first or can I rent me some pleasure?”
“Normally I would leave it up to you, but I think we will take enough time at that stop you will have enough time to do both, so I want you to hit the supply point first. I will wait onboard until the parts are delivered.”
Everyone does a quick cheer and high-fives each other around the table. “Before we rent anyone, I’d like to do a quick physical of every one and make sure that you are up to date on all of your shots including contraceptives.” Kurgio says.
“Good idea. After we clean up, everyone schedule a visit to Med Bay, and that includes me. Once we lift off from planetside, I’ll drop by.” You say, showing the crew that you take the doctor’s request seriously. Your visit in the medbay is uneventful aside from updating your contraceptive shot and a preventative for the most common STIs.
(I hope you enjoyed that, and will return tomorrow to see what happens at the Pleasuredome. If you really enjoy my stories, comment and subscribe.)
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