Daughters of Demeter

Once again all four of us were gathered around Jenny's Re/Gen capsule, waiting for our captain to emerge. The timer was finally counting down the last few seconds, and I couldn't help but feel a combination of hope and anxiety.

Sarah and I stood side by side as we waited for our mutual girlfriend to return to us. We were holding each other in a tight side-hug, the cute blonde's right arm was around my shoulders and my left arm wrapped around her waist. The timer finally ticked down to zero and I found myself holding my breath when the pod unsealed and the door rotated back out of the way.

Seeing Rebecca sent a flurry of mixed reactions through me, with the biggest being relief. She was alive and breathing, her injuries were gone, she appeared completely whole and healthy. Along with the relief came some surprise, and perhaps even a little confusion. Because the Rebecca laying in the Re/Gen pod wasn't our tall strong amazonian captain. She wasn't Cammie's petite catgirl twin either.

The young attractive redhead laying in the capsule before us was the one I'd first seen about a year earlier, after Lebeau's bomb nearly destroyed the ship. Rebecca was back in her original unmodified form, the one she'd had for nearly three decades. It was an unexpected change, and despite my relief it also left me feeling a tiny bit uneasy.

Part of the reason for my surprise was it made her look younger than she was. Technically she'd only got as far as nineteen this time, but her tall strong amazonian form made her look more mature. Now on top of resetting her age to eighteen she'd also lost the extra height along with all the defined muscles. Together the differences left her looking like a fresh-out-of-high-school teenager once again. The long bright red hair and faint dusting of freckles on her cheeks didn't help either.

Another second or two passed before Rebecca's eyelids fluttered then opened, revealing her beautiful dark green eyes. She took a deep breath then sat up and turned so her legs were hanging over the side of the pod. Then in a soft calm voice she said, "Hi Amanda, Sarah. What's going on?"

Hearing her voice pushed my emotions over the edge and I almost pounced forward. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a hug as I choked back a happy sob and said, "Welcome back!"

"We missed you," Sarah added as she joined in the hug.

Rebecca slowly raised her arms up and held both Sarah and I, and we all enjoyed a long three-way hug.

After a minute or so Rebecca asked again in that same soft tone, "So what's going on? Um, what's our status?"

I finally let go and took a step back as I replied, "We're still on Regulon-4, but we've left the mining colony spaceport. I've got us parked alongside the Eris-Nine, so Jenny can have a go at overriding the computer locks when she has a chance. And the Demeter is fully fuelled, so once we've decided what to do with the scout ship we're ready to head back to Rolandan-2. Or anywhere else we need to go."

Sarah stepped back while I was talking, but neither of us moved too far away from our girlfriend. After I finished my report Rebecca was quiet for another couple of seconds, like she was considering our options or planning out our next move.

"Ok," she finally responded. Then after another long pause she asked, "What about your little sister? Is she alright?"

I sighed as I shook my head, "I haven't actually tried to revive her yet. She's still in the cryo pod."

Rather than go into a detailed explanation about forgetting my med-kit on the Eris while I rushed Rebecca's body back to the ship then describing the incident in the spaceport and everything else that happened, I figured it was easier just to sum it up in one simple sentence.

"I decided to wait until after you were healed," I explained. "Now that I know you're ok I'll be able to give her my undivided attention."

Sarah asked, "You are ok now, right Rebecca? How are you feeling?"

The cute redhead looked to our engineer, then her eyes wandered over to Cammie and Jenna who'd been quietly watching and listening as they stood together a couple paces away from Sarah and myself.

Finally Rebecca looked at our blonde girlfriend again and replied with a little shrug and a rather bland tone, "I'm fine. Jenny fixed me up."

"I guess I need to get dressed though," she added after a glance down at herself.

By that point I was starting to feel uneasy again. As grateful as I was to have her back, I was sure something wasn't quite right. The little pauses and hesitations, the soft dull tone of her voice, and the fact that she'd given up the extra height and muscle tone were all clues or symptoms of something. And one thing crossed my mind right away, that they seemed to indicate a loss or lack of confidence. Except that's something our captain usually had in spades.

It also occurred to me that we hadn't heard from Jenny at all yet, but I'd definitely be speaking with her shortly. For now I just nodded to our girlfriend as I said, "We brought something down from your cabin for you to wear."

Sarah had already grabbed the clothes from the locker next to the pod. She held held them out for our girlfriend as she added, "We weren't sure what to expect or what you'd want so it's just a nightshirt and some sandals."

"Thanks," Rebecca replied quietly as she accepted the outfit.

She slipped on the nightshirt then slid the sandals onto her feet, and finally got up out of the Re/Gen capsule. And I couldn't help noticing that she seemed hesitant once again, like she wasn't sure what to do next.

She sort glanced around the secondary hold before finally greeting our other two shipmates, "Hi Cammie, Jenna."

"Welcome back ma'am," the catgirl replied in her own soft voice. "I'm glad to see you're ok."

Jenna added, "Indeed, it's very good to see you on your feet again Rebecca."

Our captain nodded once as she replied, "Thanks."

"I'm going to head up to my cabin for a little while," she added after another short pause. "Amanda, you're in charge."

With that she turned and started walking aft towards the lift in engineering. I exchanged an uneasy glance with the others, then all four of us followed after Rebecca.

As the lift took us up to the main deck I asked, "You're sure you're ok? Is there anything you need, or anything we can do for you?"

"Yeah I'm fine," my redheaded girlfriend replied in that same soft dull voice. Then as she headed forward towards the cabins she added, "I'm going to go lie down for a bit. You should help your sister Amanda, she still needs you."

Sarah and I followed her, but we both stopped at the door to her cabin. The cute blonde said, "We'll be here if you need anything, Rebecca."

"I'll check in on you in a little while," I added.

Rebecca nodded then disappeared into her cabin. And a moment after her door sealed shut another one opened behind us, as Jenny emerged from the cabin she shared with Jenna and Cammie.

The AI didn't even get a chance to speak before I turned and demanded quietly, "What's wrong with Rebecca? You said there were complications, what were they? What happened? Did something go wrong?"

"Slow down Amanda," Sarah gently urged as she wrapped an arm around me. "Let's all sit down and listen to what she has to say."

I sighed, "You're right. Sorry Jenny."

Our AI shook her head, "It's alright Amanda, I understand your concerns."

A minute later we were in the ship's lounge where Jenny answered my questions, "First let me set your minds at ease. While I did run into some initial complications, our captain has not suffered any permanent physiological harm or impairment."

Cammie asked nervously, "Does that mean there's some other kinda damage instead? Something mental, since you said it's nothing physical?"

The AI replied, "Rebecca did sustain some neurological damage, but I was able to repair it. That's why it took longer than expected to process her."

"Has that done something to her memory?" Sarah added uneasily. "I remember you and she both told us she experienced some memory problems in the past."

Jenny shook her head, "Rebecca's memory and recollection are just fine. In fact that is part of the problem. She remembers exactly what happened to her on the MV Eris-Nine. She remembers being shot, and she remembers dying. She even seems to recall the experience of being dead. And needless to say, that has had a strong effect on her."

Sarah Cammie and I all exchanged a worried look. I finally asked, "So what can we do for her? I've said it before but my medical training didn't really include psychology. I don't even know where to start with this."

"I believe the best thing to do right now is give Rebecca some time to recover on her own," the AI replied. "At least give her a few hours to process those experiences. Then perhaps you and Sarah can spend some time with her, when she's ready."

My blonde girlfriend nodded, "Alright Jenny. We can do that."

I agreed, and thanked the AI. Then I sighed, "I have to get Nyssa out of the cryo pod. And odds are she's going to have some traumas of her own she'll need help recovering from. I'll need to be there for her, but I also want to be there for Rebecca too."

Sarah pulled me into another side hug as she said, "You will be cutie. Now why don't we go and take care of your sister? She's waited long enough."

"Yeah," I nodded as I got to my feet. "You're right."

Cammie Jenna and Jenny stayed in the lounge, but they all said they'd be right there if I needed anything. Sarah came with me though, to help out and maybe for moral support. Plus Nyssa would recognize her from all the pictures I'd sent.

I had my med-kit next to me as I crouched next to the big cryo pod we'd left on the floor of Cam's old cabin. That was back to being the guest cabin, and my little sister would end up staying there for as long as she was with us.

After one last check of the pod's status I took a deep breath and said, "Here we go."

Like with our girlfriend, I didn't trust the automated routine to restore my sister. I monitored the process every step of the way, and initiated the various stages myself when I was sure it was safe to proceed.

As the pod entered the final recovery stage I asked Sarah, "Can you please grab a blanket off one of those bunks? She's going to be cold when she comes out."

"Of course," my girlfriend nodded as she stepped over the capsule and pulled the blankets off the top bunk.

The pod finally unsealed with a quiet hiss, and I quickly lifted the door up and out of the way. Nyssa still looked half-frozen, her skin had a grey tint to it and her strawberry blonde hair was plastered to her head and around her face. She'd been stripped down to her bra and panties, and I couldn't help shuddering at the thought of Jamison having his hands on my little sister.

"Nyssa?" I asked as I reached in and put a hand on her shoulder. I gave her a gentle nudge, "Wake up sis, you're safe now. It's me, Amanda."

The muscles around her eyes twitched and she frowned. Then she took in a deep shuddering breath and shivered, "S-s-so cold!"

Sarah handed me the blanket and I wrapped it over my sister's arms and chest, but I also reached underneath her and helped her sit up.

"We need to get you out of the cryo pod," I told her. "We'll put you in a nice warm bed with lots of blankets. And I can get you some coffee once you've finished waking up."

Nyssa continued to shiver as she asked, "N-n-no hot chocococolate?"

That made me smile, "I thought you'd have outgrown that by now sis. I'll have to check, I don't know if we can make hot chocolate on the ship."

"Now c'mon," I added. "We need to get you out of this pod and into a warm bed."

She nodded but didn't make any move to try and get up, so I simply picked her up in my arms with my genetically enhanced strength. Then I stepped around the cryo pod, while Sarah turned down the sheets on the lower bunk. I gave her a grateful look then gently set my sister down, and my girlfriend pulled the additional blankets overtop of her.

"Mmm," Nyssa mumbled. She still seemed half asleep as she snuggled into the blankets and sighed, "Better."

At that point her eyelids finally fluttered open. She blinked a couple times then squinted up at Sarah and I as we stood over her next to the bunk. It was almost like I could see her synapses starting to fire as she rapidly went from half asleep to wide awake.

"Amanda?!" she gasped. Suddenly she was hyperventilating as she struggled to get back up out of bed while talking non-stop, and her voice seemed to go up in pitch and volume with every other word. "Oh no! I have to warn you! There's a bounty hunter! He's after you and your girlfriend and your shipmates! Wait he kidnapped me! He took me on his ship and out into space and -"

I pulled her into a hug as I told her, "Shh it's ok Nyssa. You're ok, you're safe now. You're on our ship, not his. He's not going to hurt you or me or anyone else anymore."

Nyssa hugged me back as she stared down at me, her bright blue eyes wide with shock and fear. That quickly changed though, into curiosity and maybe a bit of wariness. She asked, "What happened to him? And his crew?"

My own expression was probably a mix of compassion and regret, but as much as I didn't want my little sister to judge me I also didn't want to lie to her. So I looked into her eyes told her the truth, "I killed them. My shipmates helped, but I gave the order that killed Jamison and Fontaine."

Her eyes widened slightly and she gulped, then nodded once. A moment later her expression shifted to worry again as she asked, "What about his son? It wasn't just the older guy and the woman, the bounty hunter's son was there too!"

I winced but shook my head, "I killed him as well. I didn't know he was Jamison's son but... He shot one of my girlfriends so I shot him. My girlfriend's still recovering, but she should be ok."

Nyssa looked shocked again as she stared at me, but only for another second or two. Then her expression became more curious as she asked, "One of your girlfriends? Just how many people are you dating Amanda?"

"And oh my gosh you're so small and cute and fluffy!" she exclaimed a moment later, as her eyes finally wandered past my face and up to my ears, then down to my big floofy tail that was slowly swishing back and forth behind me.

I let out a little squeak as I suddenly found myself being hugged very tightly against my sister's chest while she half-sobbed, "I missed you so much, you know that? I can't believe I finally found you! Or I guess you found me, but anyways I'm so happy to finally see you again! And I can't wait to meet all your girlfriends, and to finally see your ship! And all the other secrets you've been keeping from me!"

"I'm happy to see you too Nyssa," I mumbled as I hugged her back. My emotions were finally catching up as it hit me. My sister was safe, and she was here. She didn't hate me and she wasn't judging me.