Easy let her wings flutter in the breeze as she looked over the railing at the city their ship was flying over. Mari held her by the hips to keep her from falling over again and shivered at the chill wind her so-called clothing failed to mitigate.
"I think I figured out why it's called the 'Eighth City'," Leira commented as she came out to lean on the railing as well.
On the ground, there were two keeps on hilltops surrounded by heavily urbanized city space. Each hill was surrounded by a circular main road, and between them, an intersection where the main roads connected. The city below them looked like a giant number eight and it seemed the locals had embraced it. Many gardens, parks, pools, and other features in the city were similarly made in the figure-eight pattern.
"Where are we going to be docking?" Easy asked nobody in particular.
"Those look like docks." Astra pointed out a spot near the middle of the city but off to one side. "But we are in a holding pattern. So it depends on what Ving is yelling into the radio."
Everyone on the forward deck turned to look into the bridge.
****
"No! You listen!" Ving yelled into the radio receiver she held with one hand while the other kept control of the ship. "We are here to land and do business. We have already survived an encounter by pirates that your city is honour-bound to deal with but haven't! I won't let you turn us away because you don't like the name of our ship!"
"This city does not want the services of degenerate women who would call their ship that word!" The dockmaster retorted.
"This ship is entirely crewed by women! What the fuck would you suggest we call ourselves to make people aware of that fact?! Lady?! We have that on the side of the ship as well!"
"You will not take that tone or use that language with me, woman!"
"Woman?! I am going to come down there and unman you with my teeth! Then we can see how you like being treated without respect!"
Liddy walked onto the bridge and hurriedly stole the receiver from Ving. "It is considered most improper to refuse entry of one with noble rank and this ship has a few on board. I am Lady Captain Liddy, and this is my ship. You will allow me to land or you will have committed an act that has, historically, started wars."
"So have threats of violence!" The dockmaster replied in a condescending tone.
"If I wanted to threaten violence, I'd have used my crew who are renowned monster hunters, who have purged undead villages and haunted mansions, who have crushed a vampire and its thralls in the capital, to threaten you with something a great deal more immediate than a political disaster!" Liddy let her words hang.
"My apologies. I seem to have misunderstood. You are free to land." The dockmaster almost mumbled his words.
Liddy smiled at Ving, who made an angry face as she let out a deep growl before getting to the task of landing the ship. They both heard a cheer from the forward deck as the descent started and saw monies being exchanged as people paid their bets.
****
Harriott was helping Hannah into her corset dress in the bar as Liddy came down from the bridge. Liddy looked appreciatively at the black and red dress and forgot what she had been doing as she admired its colour and how well it pushed the breasts up.
"I am almost into this thing, and I'm not letting you take me out of it already," Hannah teased. She blew out her lungs so Harriott could finish.
"Sorry, what?" Liddy asked, finally figuring out where Hannah's face was.
Harriott giggled as she tied up the corset that was finally in place.
"How's my girl doing? I heard agitated Ving noises," Hannah asked, her breath a lot shorter than normal.
"Oh, she's fine now. Just don't let her off the ship until after the dockmaster has scuttled off. I'd rather not have to hide bodies if it can be avoided." Liddy licked her lips, her eyes having fallen back down to enjoy Hannah's breasts.
"Well, my dress seems to be as distracting as I had hoped, so it shouldn't be a problem," Hannah replied. A bump in the floor told them they had landed.
Liddy took her time breaking her gaze Hannah before exiting the ship. Ving stormed into the bar on a warpath to follow her.
"Ving!" Hannah cheerfully called.
"Wh--" Ving froze as soon as her head snapped to look at Hannah to deliver a frustrated response. As her mind processed what she was seeing, the frustration melted away.
"I know men will like it," Hannah started. "But I think I'm going to call this dress 'girl bait'"
"I think that describes your breasts, or really any--" Harriott got cut off by Hannah placing a finger to her lips.
"I am not getting out of this dress, so you are going to have to go fuck my girl for me," Hannah instructed.
****
Liddy was joined by Blaze on the dock as they waited for the dockmaster to arrive at the end of the ramp.
"One of these days, I want to land at a city where I don't have to argue over the radio," Liddy grumbled.
"If people didn't have air defences all over the place and maintain high alert because of the wars, we could just land and simply inform them over the radio," Blaze suggested as she leaned towards Liddy and gripped her bum.
"Don't think that hasn't crossed my mind," Liddy mumbled quietly as the dockmaster arrived.
He seemed surprised to see both of them, then got distracted staring at their breasts. Liddy was thankful Hannah was still inside; her simple dress was far more casual and yet the man still seemed at a loss for words.
"Our permit?" Liddy prompted.
"Oh yes," he stated with surprise as he came back to reality. "Right here."
Liddy took the paper from his hand after he had finally fished it from the pocket of his old suit on his seventh try, not wanting to stop looking at Liddy or Blaze whose uniform showed even more skin.
"I've cleared you for any business needs. I didn't know you hunted monsters." He paused to compose his guilty confession. "From the name of your ship, I thought you were here to whore yourselves."
"We are," Liddy stated flatly. "The monster stuff just keeps happening. Believe me, if I can get through this visit without any monsters or other emergencies interrupting my sex, I will be happy."
The dockmaster stared dumbly at Liddy before glancing at the ship, but instead of going back to stare at Liddy he snapped his attention back to the ship.
Liddy looked up the ramp to see what he was looking at and saw Ving kissing Harriott in the doorway, both of their tops off and Hannah holding their heads together while each had an arm around Hannah's waist.
"Are they..." he trailed off. "You sell this?"
"No, I..." Liddy trailed off. "Emma!"
A few moments later Emma came out the door, wearing nothing but a towel and trying not to get in the way of the three women enjoying themselves. "Yes?"
"Get dressed now. I have an idea!" Liddy replied.
"Now now? Or after I'm done bathing now?"
Liddy sighed, "After you are done bathing."
Emma turned around and glanced at Ving with Harriott before checking out Hannah. "Love the dress!"
****
Everyone was in the lounge when Liddy started talking, but they weren't looking at her.
"Yes! The dress is amazing, but those breasts should be familiar to every woman on board. By sight at least if not by touch. Now, I know the fact that we all have our own doesn't diminish our desire, but can we please focus?" Liddy was annoyed that her words only got a few cursory glances.
"Maybe you should wear this for meetings? I mean," Hannah grabbed her own breasts. "It's not like you don't need the help."
"Hannah, if you don't put a blanket on and keep the mutiny to a minimum, I will announce the arrival of Duchess Hannah Stirling and make you spend this whole visit stuck in well-supervised political events that redefine the meaning of the word drudgery. Take responsibility now, or I will pile the noble version of it on higher than a mountain."
Hannah knew that while a Lady or lesser noble could be safely ignored, a visiting Duke or Duchess could not. "Well played, Trixie, well played."