Adventures of an Ancient Space Battleship

The pregnant woman's visit went pretty routine at first. A fact that lined up with the previous observations Qei relayed to her. The receptionist did most of the work on the computer before asking her to come back to sign some papers. May followed her into the back to watch. The receptionist had taken them to a small office where she had produced the documents and went over them with the pregnant Neku. They were just the standard documents in finalizing the closing and transfer of the money in multiple accounts.

After the documents were signed, and the finalizing of the transfer of all her assets into the suspected black account was where things got interesting.

The receptionist smiled as the last document was signed. “Alright we are done here. Is there anything else you need?”

The woman replied, “Yes, I have a call I need to make. Can I do it here?”

The receptionist replied “Certainly. There is a comm terminal on the desk. I will leave you alone while you make your call.”

May smiled to herself and had to stop her newfound tail from wagging. Lest it knock something over. She wondered how the Neku dealt with them. Not for the first time either. Her life had definitely been easier without one. Meanwhile the receptionist showed the woman the terminal on the desk, and activated it before leaving the room.

The pregnant Neku slipped into the chair while being careful of her bulk. She was clearly several months pregnant but she wasn’t likely due for a few months more. Accessing the console, she entered a few commands. Entering her citizen id, she then made a call to a contact whose comm id May recognized. Qei had mentioned it in a report. It was the id the other woman had contacted when she transferred her money into a black account.

After a moment the familiar and nude form of an Irini appeared on the screen. She smiled as the woman gave her details. Details that May actively noted. They might prove useful to know later.

The Iniri nodded, as the woman finished with saying, “I have finished closing my active accounts, and transferred all of my money into the new account you have provided.”

The Iniri, while tapping something into the terminal at her end, replied, “Great. Thank you for cooperating on this matter. I’m sending you details on a second account. This second account will be your spending account. As for the first account until we instruct you otherwise you are not to touch the money deposited in that account. You will be depositing all future wages you receive into that account. Money may disappear from that account, pay no attention to that, it is normal.

“As for the spending account, you will be paying all of your bills with that account from now on. Make sure you pay them on time. You will also be submitting to us a log of all purchases you plan to make weekly for review, and approval. You may not make any purchase with the account without our approval.”

The pregnant woman nodded, and said “Understood.”

May noted that the rules were the same as those given to the other woman. She expected the woman would be told that she should make herself available for some extended weekend trip or something next. As that was what happened with the other woman. Her expectations were soon betrayed.

The Iniri leaned forward, “Great. Now I want you to make sure all your bills get paid. Furthermore, I want you to use the spending account to clear any debts you may have. In addition, I would like you to quit your current job, and make yourself available for an extended stay with us. A courier will be picking you up the day after tomorrow at 0500 for that trip. I want you to wait by your door for her. Wear nothing, do not pack any bags, and leave the door open for the courier. You will not be returning to your current residence. We will take care of your current possessions and move them into temporary storage for you. As for your lease, don’t worry we will take care of that as well.”

The woman nodded, and said “Understood.”

May blinked. This seemed interesting. The woman was clearly being disappeared. She didn’t know why or to where, but this might lead to something important. She made a mental note to be nearby when this woman was being collected. She wanted to know exactly where they were taking her. Hopefully, by then they would have had a chance to collect a specimen, and learn enough about the Iniri to adjust their cloaks. Getting too close to one before that would be far too risky. She would almost certainly be found out, and May wasn’t going to trust in luck. Kiru was very lucky with that first encounter. At that moment, she received a text from Qei.

When she read it, she had to suppress a chuckle. Trust in Qei to prove her thoughts on that. Unfortunately it might be a while before she could get out of the bank. So she told her as much. While the Iniri was saying more.

“We will provide you with a new residence after you have completed your stay with us. Your stuff will be returned to you around the same time.”

The woman nodded, and said that she understood.

The Iniri smiled, “Great. Also we will provide you with a new job after your stay with us is completed. Details for that job will be given to you when you receive it. So do not worry about your future living arrangements. We will take care of everything for you.”

The woman smiled, “I understand and appreciate that.”

“I will let you go now. Remember to be ready for your pick up as requested. Take care of the requested items, and get it done quickly.  Contact us when you are done with those items.”

The Neku nodded, “I will.”

May then watched as the channel was closed. This was most informative actually. Although she did want to follow the woman home, but she figured she would have to go bail Qei out as soon as she was out of the bank. She attached a cloaked tag to the woman so she could find her later.

The woman sat behind the terminal for a moment or two after the comm line was closed. Idly she stretched a bit in her seat, and then turned the terminal off. She carefully extracted herself from the chair, then made her way to the door. Where the receptionist was waiting for her.

The receptionist gave the woman a friendly smile, and asked, “Done?”

“I am, thank you.”

The receptionist gestured, and said, “Great. This way please.”

May followed the pair as they made their way out of the bank. The moment she was about to leave, she sent a text to Qei asking for an update. The response was a little surprising. Qei replied, Might be a little hard to help now. I really needed you earlier. I’m stuck with her in a gravtruck right now. I’ll let you know when and where we set down.

The woman was already leaving. She followed after her. All the while making a few more brief exchanges with Qei. Allowing her to come to the conclusion that she would be free to follow the woman for longer. That was a relief for May as she had a feeling that it might be worth watching this. At the very least, it would be useful to have visited the woman’s residence before. It would make reaching it in time for her pick up easier after all.

As it turned out, the woman lived in an apartment building. One she had visited before. It was the same building as her own. She had just never seen the woman before, since they live on different floors. The woman’s apartment was actually on the first floor. May followed her into the apartment. It had a standard sitting room at the entrance.

The woman went straight through the room, heading to her bedroom. Where she accessed a terminal on the desk. May simply observed as she accessed her mail. Where she retrieved the information she needed on her spending account. Then the young pregnant Neku went about paying her bills with it. She was also making a log of everything she did with it. Likely for their records.

May sat back and watched as she went through her own financials. She was very thorough with making sure everything was in order. May glanced at the door briefly wondering when she was going to get around to quitting her job. That seemed important.

Her waiting did eventually pay off when she finally contacted someone. She sent a text file over with the hail. A Neku woman appeared on the screen after a moment.

She smiled, “Ah, Riku. An unexpected pleasure to hear from you. May I ask what this is about?”

The pregnant woman Riku nodded. “Yes, I am sorry for the short notice but I am terminating my employment.”

The other woman frowned, “May I inquire as to why? You seemed to be doing quite well here.”

Riku replied, “The Iniri requested I terminate my employment.”

“I see. I’ll have your termination filed by the end of the day. It was a pleasure working with you.”

The woman then signed off, and Riku leaned back. She stayed relaxed only for a moment then glanced at the clock. She hit a few keys on her terminal, locking it, and then left the room. May followed, and was reminded of the hour herself, when she noted that Riku went straight to the kitchen. She was preparing a meal.

Meanwhile in orbit. Melia was having a busy time. Megumi was actively reconfiguring the hull of one of her larger shuttles. An act that had drawn the attention of a few scientists. They had crowded the bay with equipment and were trying to study the process. She understood what they were doing, but she also recognized the danger. As such she was trying to keep them from getting too close to the shuttle while it was being reconfigured.

Suddenly someone joined her in pushing back the crowd. It was Erisa. She smiled at the girl’s welcome presence. “Thank you. Glad you could help me.”

She scoffed, “Well it doesn’t take a genius to see that the shuttle is dangerous right now. I don’t know what it is about you science types but I swear you need babysitters to keep you from losing your heads.”

She sighed, “You say that, but didn’t you mess up with that nerve stimulator the other day?”

Erisa blushed bright red, muttering “it’s not my fault that thing didn’t come with a manual. Why does it even have a setting to inflict pain in the first place?”

Melia giggled, “Like you are one to talk about that. Weren’t you using the pain setting on yourself?”

Erisa somehow turned even redder. Thankfully, she didn’t run off though. Sticking around to help her keep the scientist a safe distance from the shuttle. It was much appreciated help.