Wiper Fall: Rewind.
Hoochie fell down planet after leaving wiper space. Still a long way out; a mere speck, against the backdrop of the gulf, taking a safe look before establishing a base of operation. Lieutenant Commander Colton Jones, HMRN Portsmouth Prime, and his panel of experts, armed with a impressive stack of heavily redacted e documents, placed their best estimates somewhere near where the yacht the lost hedonist princess might have entered real space again, or summat.
With these detailed guesses, SALLY, the Self Autonomous Long Lasting Yertsberg(tm), combination of a beleaguered Ford A.I. and the mind of a very special sexbot, piloted them across the gulf between Portsouth Prime and the tip of the nearest arm of the Greater Magellanic spiral. Thirty days or so later a Royal Navy LSV would arrive and discretely leave enough Thorium to fill Hoochies' bunkers once again. Anything else Colton decided a potential outpost of the empire might need would be shuttled down as well. Messages left on a Repeater(tm) would be retrieved before a hasty departure.
SALLY brought the temperature up as 246 travelers recovered from the chill of wiper drive. After 245 conversations, 245 questions and few answers later they were scattered about the ship, Toi to their departments and Interns to wiper fall duties. Time to get Harry out of bed where he still lay under the duvet with Sallybot's heat on low, and send her where the sexbot was needed for heavy lifting.
"Wake up Captain Sweetie. (kiss sound) I'm afraid it's bad news." A groan as Sallybot slipped out.
"It always is." he said, throwing aside the covers and dressing haphazardly. Her voice followed him to the bridge, passing a great deal of information in the short time it took. By ships noon much had been done to answer all but two of those questions. Who were they and what do they want? Her attention focused on his bath-robed figure, still face forward in the command chair. Long nano-moments passed before shifting back to the shallows of the tiny system and the bad news there. Together they searched for answers while the light cannons were changed, unarmed, exposed but forewarned.
Many hours later, Harry tired of drinking the fine coffee-like beverage discovered in the wilds of Prime. All the Toi and their crews were busy preparing for action while he was left alone. Watching the screens while plots of intersection between two ships changed was like waiting for a Vacfiber(tm) bin to dry. He decided to do a walking tour of the ship, starting with a late breakfast after visiting the bridge loo.
He left down a Lightpaint(tm) graffiti covered passageway that ran straight into the service lane of the galley; it ended under a large screen that displayed crew bulletin boards down one side; a large real time image of their destination covering most of it looked like a window into space.
The dining room was filled with exuberant Interns, fresh from a much deserved holiday, milling at tables and the commons areas adjoining; they were still wide eyed from the cryptic announcement that preceded severing the connection from the naval station, then moving out planet at speed, toroids howling their way to gray wiper threshold while they raced to more comfortable wiper fall awakenings.
Pleasant conversations ended as he walked in; quick, quiet remarks were exchanged as he met their faces with a smile and wave. Now was as good a time as any to explain their hasty departure and the unprecedented silence of the Toi after leaving wiper drive. The omission of an arrivals play list was puzzling. Harry mimed his order to an Intern on duty and took a seat on a empty aisle table top facing the loyal assembly gathered.
General Quarters:
"Folks, I'm sure you are all wondering what all the whispering and commotion has been about. It's good to see you all sharing. This is the main reason for our urgency in getting here. We've been asked to outfit a search party for an overdue vessel."
"And a lost princess!" Blynd shouted out of the crowd. Harry spoke quickly to quell the rumble of wondering interest, turning to address his fellow owner.
"Yes Toi Blynd, that's right; and also it's possible I have a relative on that ship; who is not important right now. Why are you in the galley instead of the weapons suites?
"Umm, coffee run, Toi. Nonny was dry." He was right; non-caffeinated Nonny's were fearful. This was an emergency.
Harry searched the back of the crowd and saw Bridget looking out of the galley. He made a series of hand gestures then pointed to Blynd and made more. She made some gestures of her own, saluted flippantly, thrusting breasts out far enough to escape the cooks apron worn as a single piece of clothing, then marched away, butt bare. He turned back to find the amused Interns following the silent conversation. He adjusted robe and expression to one more fitting the occasion then ran a stern eye over the bright faces of the eager rescuers.
"We've been in some tough scrapes, those of you who have served on the Hoochie for some time, but those circumstances were forced on us, not something we would willingly endure. I believe, as do the rest of the Toi, that we are heading into danger above that of planetary colonization. Most probably it will be a long time before crossing the gulf again. We're in it for the long run, that's why you were given the chance to stay at Portsmouth Prime; it's also the reason each of you will be offered the opportunity of establishing a station on the planet we're set to orbit. We may never find Littopia but perhaps the first step is ours. It might not be the sybarite refuge envisioned in Cinnabomb(tm) dreams late at night with the vape light on and the Autotender(tm) open. This planet will be home for some unforeseeable time for most of you, but first we have a small problem to suss out before we begin."
He turned to point at the magnified image on the galley screen; the welcome blues, greens, and whites of a hospitable planet waited for an exploring foot. One of the Interns mused that it looked a lot like Prime, setting Harry's mind to wander over Coltons possible duplicity in engineering all those educated guesses to lead SALLY in picking this particular spot. He spoke above the murmur of interest.
"Put the bridge intersect plot on the galley screen please, SALLY. We most likely will be involved in a fight with this ship, which is not the one we are looking for unfortunately. Debrief the troops." The billboard sized view of the planet zoomed out to show the red dot of a vessel still developing a stable orbit; a paragraph of statistical information changed incrementally beside it as the A.I. began
"Good Day, Interns. (kiss sound) The subject of our concern was just entering the influence of the planets gravity well at the time we left wiper drive. Since then it has adjusted repeatedly to come up astern when we enter orbit. There is no doubt intentions are hostile. Our weapons suites are not operable at the moment but I am told they will be dreadnought grade when they come back online, far superior to anything commercially available; unfortunately, we will not get the chance for a field test before entering firing range. There's still plenty of time left before we need them given our new peek-a-boo tactic." The screen zoomed out again until the planet was all but lost in the cluster of suns behind.
"Doo, Toi, um really, no test?" Blynd spoke into the stunned silence. Thoughts raced behind his eyes then a potential reason burst from his lips. "Dum, ah, are we setting a trap?"
"Damn right it's a trap you nit! Where's the coffee? Nonny has gone on strike until her demands are filled." Thaycher griped out of a screen opening nearby them showing a view of the torn apart number two weapons suite and his irritated face. "Oh!"He registered the assembly in the background as the view became real time and opened all of the one above the galley.
"Ladies and gentlemen, your cruise director." Harry waved upward at the W.O. then slipped onto the bench seat of a table. (cheers) Above on the big screen, Thaycher quickly rearranged his scowl to a toothy smile; all grave bearings turned cheerful as the man who engineered three legged nude conga line races during the multi-day party at Cuddles' estate on Prime, reviewed the conversation before his impatient bark and began a spirited informal discussion with devoted fans. While all were excited at the prospect of a rescue mission, they were most interested concerning the activities peripheral to the first Standard(tm) shuttle setting down on the as yet unnamed planet. A contest was organized to remedy that.
The conclave was loud and boisterous when Bridget delivered Blynd's express coffee order and Harry's breakfast. He tucked in, speaking to Blynd while shoveling real scrambled eggs. She took a seat at the table, watching him while he talked around mouthfuls to his fellow Toi.
"You need to stay where the work is. I'll set something else up here. Let SALLY know if you need anything and for gods sake don't leave Nonny alone again until her babies are fixed; now go." He bent again to breakfast. A burst of laughter brought his head up to see Blynd hurrying away and Bridget looking at him with a cheeky 'I finally nailed you' smile. Harry sighed, a faint expression of remembrance preceded his returning gaze.
"I need you to organize things here, Bridget. There's a lot of work going on and those people shouldn't stop to get food or drink. Please step up and handle things in the commons because all the Toi are really busy. Can you handle it?"
"No hello? No kiss?" Bridget pouted. Harry looked away to the commons where the Interns still engaged with Thaycher. Mixed expressions ran over his face for some moments before he spoke.
"I thought Prime was goodbye, that there was too much uncertainty here for you, that mess at the planet of Assholes. Hell I thought that was Sallybot's mouth on my cock when I jammed it down your throat, and well; it all got out of hand after that." He leaned across the table and kissed her. "Hello Bridget." Her eyes danced with mischief.
"Hello Harry." He blinked. "I'll take care of all you need me to do. Will there be anything else?" He nodded, marking her well earned familiarity with his own cheeky grin.
"SALLY put Bridget on the command circuit."
"Should I give the standard indoctrination speech now Captain?"
"She can catch up with all that later; its not that difficult to learn how it works."
