Epilogue
It took another forty or fifty days, but we did eventually get Rebecca back into Jenny's capsule for one last Re/Gen. Unfortunately that was more out of urgent necessity than a decision our captain made for herself.
We'd just wrapped up a delivery at Regulon-4 when some cocky idiot recognized Queen Rebecca from the news vids. And apparently he wanted to try and make a name for himself, by taking down what he thought was 'some pretentious Imperium bitch' trespassing on frontier turf. He came dangerously close to succeeding too, mostly because he took advantage of the boss's blind spot and attacked from off to her right.
Fortunately Jenna and I were both there too, and the would-be assassin was extremely unprepared to deal with an enraged foxgirl and an angry android. Needless to say he didn't live long enough to realize how badly he'd screwed up.
On the other hand it was another wake-up call for our captain, and after that we were all a lot more careful.
The Demeter continued tramping around the Gorath Sector for another year or so after that, until we finally scored a new regular gig. It was somewhat boring, but also fairly safe and reliable. And that was the main thing. We quickly settled into a routine of running high-demand fresh fruits and vegetables from Deveron-8 over to Korantis-12. Then on the return trip we'd haul low-grade consumer and farming tech back to the Deveron system. In addition we had the occasional stop at the Fuminja Cluster, and we made sure to visit Rolandan-2 every year so we could check in with Tamsin while the Demeter got her annual maintenance.
Things worked out well for the Artemis too, she eventually landed a regular job of her own. Every fifteen days they delivered a small load of valuable high-tech gear from Rolandan-2 to Port Ecclestone, plus they had a semi-regular delivery at Fuminja Beta. Which meant Nyssa and I got to see each other at least four or five times a year. It wasn't as often as we'd have liked, but it was good enough. The Artemis also visited Rolandan-2 for her scheduled maintenance checks, which was another opportunity for Nyssa and I to catch up.
Finally we made sure to stay in touch with the crew of the Persephone as well. They seemed to prefer the unpredictable tramping lifestyle, since they stuck with it the longest. But after a few years even they settled down with a regular schedule that had them running goods between Ecclestone's World, Gametae-4, and the Fuminja Cluster.
Speaking of schedules, the Tullrohane departed Deveron-8 and the Gorath Sector as planned. The cruiser took Lady Magniveen back home to Vysalis-4, and Gwen settled into her new duties as de-facto regent in the queen's absence. She and Rebecca remained in regular contact, and five or six times a year our captain dressed up and put on her crown then recorded some official royal news or announcements or whatever other business her secretary had for her.
In all it was a pretty good, quiet, routine sort of life. It wasn't entirely boring, we still ran into trouble now and then, but nothing we couldn't handle. Even so, I don't think either Sarah or I were all that surprised when our boss brought up the subject of retirement one evening after the three of us settled into bed together.
None of us paid much attention to birthdays, but apparently it was Rebecca's eighty-ninth that day. And considering she'd joined the Imperium Marine Corps just after turning eighteen, that meant she'd been pretty much on the move one way or another, living a nomadic and often dangerous lifestyle for the past seventy-one years. And after thinking it over, she decided she didn't really want to spend her ninetieth year doing the same thing.
She also reminded us she'd been ready to settle down once before, back when she was flying with Ella and Gabe. She never got the chance though, after they were double-crossed and both Rebecca's and Ella's lives were changed forever. And our girlfriend didn't want to take the chance of that happening again. So she asked if both Sarah and I would be willing to give up our lives on the Demeter and settle down into something quieter and more stable. Somewhere we could raise a family together.
It only us a day or so to make the decision. Then the three of us had some difficult conversations with the rest of our shipmates, before we rendezvoused with the Artemis so I could talk to Nyssa while Rebecca shared the news with Jaycee and Violet. We also made one last stop at Rolandan-2, so the boss could see Tamsin and say goodbye in person.
Not long after that the VDS Tullrohane made its second trek all the way out to the frontier. The Demeter, Artemis, and Persephone all docked with the big cruiser when she arrived. There was a little celebration, then Rebecca officially signed the Demeter over to Cammie, while the Artemis was transferred into my sister's name. There were plenty of hugs and some tearful goodbyes, then my girlfriends and I settled into the royal stateroom for the voyage back to the Imperium.
Even at Jump-2 the trip took a while, and it was fairly uneventful. There were a few stops for fuel along the way, but that didn't involve the three of us. In fact things were quiet right up until we reached our new homeworld. Lady Magniveen and Prime Minister Magolen were there to greet us, but what really got to us was just how many regular people turned up at the spaceport to be there when the queen's shuttle landed.
There were literally tens of thousands of them, all hoping for a glimpse of her majesty. And millions more were watching the live vid feeds. Then the following day the entire planet shut down for a huge celebration, like every single person on Vysalis-4 was happy that their queen was finally home.
It was all a little overwhelming, but very moving too. The sheer outpouring of love and joy from so many strangers definitely had an effect on Rebecca, as it did both Sarah and myself.
So much so in fact that it took another ten or twelve days before it hit me, that I'd finally fulfilled my original wish. At long last I was on an Imperium core world where they had great medical care, and where being trans or gay was completely accepted, normalized, and fully supported. And best of all, I had a body I loved. Not to mention being in love with two beautiful amazing women I'd pledged to share the rest of my life with.
There was only one long-term goal that never came to fruition, and that was working in a core hospital as a proper doctor. The closest I ever came to that part of my dream was my one year internship on the ISS Hippocrates, and my stint as a ship's medic.
On the other hand we weren't exactly lazy since retiring to Vysalis-4. We were definitely a lot safer here than we'd been out on the frontier, but our new lives were anything but quiet. And while I never worked as a doctor, we all had plenty of other duties here to keep all three of us busy over the last ten years. The most important of which ---
"Mommmmmaaaaaaaaa!"
The plaintive cry from the adjoining room made my ears fold back and my tail tucked under my chair as I cringed. Only for a moment though. Then I got up and hurried into the parlour as I asked, "What is it Clara? You girls know I don't like to be disturbed when I'm working on my memoirs, right?"
"Talia's being mean to me!" she whined as she looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "She said she was gonna throw my Silver Nova off the balcony into the sea!"
At six years of age Clara was our youngest. She was Rebecca's and my second daughter together, and she'd inherited the queen's fiery red hair. Her amber eyes and freckles came from me though. And while she had plenty more growing ahead of her, so far it seemed like she might be destined to share my small stature too.
Oddly enough though, when it came to interests she'd taken after Sarah the most. Instead of dolls or sports Clara liked to play with toy spaceships, and preferred technical games that revolved around problem-solving. And she absolutely loved watching old reruns of 'Frontier Patrol' with Sarah.
"You know she can't do that honey," I said as I leaned down and gave her a hug. "There's safety screens around all the balconies, including the ones overlooking the cliffs and the sea."
Then my ears folded back as I turned to address our oldest, "Even so, it's not nice to make those kinds of threats. Ok Talia? Please don't torment your little sister. Now give her back her ship. Anyways shouldn't you still be in class right now? Same with you Selina."
Talia pouted as she handed over the sleek shiny silver toy, "It's not my fault! Clara was bugging us again!"
Talia was my and Rebecca's first child, and even though she was only nine she was already nearly as tall as me. I had no doubt she was going to grow up to be a strong athletic young woman just like the queen. She had Rebecca's brilliant green eyes too, along with the queen's fighting spirit. Her long auburn hair came from me though.
"We're all done school for today mama," Selina added. "Classes ended half an hour ago."
At eight years old Selina was our middle child, she was Rebecca's and Sarah's girl. Not that we made those sorts of distinctions in our family. As far as all of us were concerned they were all our children and all three of us were their mothers. Still, it wasn't hard to tell Selina had some of Sarah in her, based on her long golden locks and her bright blue eyes. She was also the only one of the three who seemed to have any interest in being a princess.
Talia liked to run and do sports and was probably going to join the Defence Forces the second she turned eighteen, and Clara was likely heading for some sort of technical career that may or may not involve the engine room of a VDS frigate or cruiser. But Selina was happy to play dress-up with her dolls and have make-believe tea parties with her friends. She was also the most outgoing of the three, and loved to meet new people.
One thing none of our kids inherited though were my vulpine traits. Or our enhanced speed and strength. Apparently those sorts of mods weren't passed on, despite being part of my own genome. So if any of our girls wanted them, they'd have to wait until they were old enough to make the trip out to the Gorath Sector.
And there was a good chance Jenny or Violet would be able to help them if that actually happened. Last we heard Cammie and Jenny were making great progress reverse engineering the Re/Gen technology, and the catgirl was fairly optimistic that they'd have a working intake scanner some time in the next couple years. They were a long way off from actually replicating the rest of the technology though, so we probably wouldn't be seeing a brand new Re/Gen capsule any time soon.
"A half hour?" I grimaced as my ears drooped and my tail ended up tucked between my legs. "Sorry girls, I didn't realize I'd lost track of time. What happened to your mum, shouldn't she be here with you?"
Sarah and I usually covered for each other, if one of us was busy the other would be watching over the kids. Rebecca would too if she was home, but of the three of us she tended to be the busiest. Which was kind of ironic, considering this was supposed to be her retirement.
"A shuttle landed," Clara replied as she hugged her toy spaceship to her chest, "Mum went to see who it was."
I tilted my head to one side as my ears perked up, "Oh? I wasn't expecting anyone. Unless it's someone here to see your mum?"
There were plenty of staff here at the royal estate, so there wasn't any reason for Sarah to go check the shuttle herself unless someone came specifically for her. Fortunately that little mystery was soon resolved, as the cute blonde returned a moment later. And she wasn't alone.
Rebecca followed Sarah into the room, and all three girls shouted out with a happy chorus of "Mom!"
"Hey kiddos!" the queen smiled as she stopped to give each of them a big hug and a kiss. "How are my little princesses? I hope you've been good for your mum and mama?"
I got a hug and kiss next, after she'd finished with our girls. There was a big smile on my face and my tail wagged up a storm behind me as I greeted her, "Welcome home love! How'd it go with the prime minister? We weren't expecting you back from the capital for another two days."
The tall strong redhead finally let go of me, but rather than reply she glanced around with a frown. Then she called towards the hallway, "Gwen? Come on in, I told you not to worry about lurking out there! Same with you Thomas."
The royal secretary entered a moment later, but she was wearing another one of her long-suffering looks. Which was kind of funny, considering she'd known Rebecca for over seventeen years and should definitely be used to the queen's feelings about decorum and protocol.
As for Thomas, he was more or less in charge of the Tullrohane Estate. His official title was Seneschal, but my wives and I didn't particularly like the term since it supposedly meant 'old servant'. He wasn't even that old, being barely into his mid-forties. Like Gwen though, he was also all about protocol.
"Ma'am," he addressed me and bowed. Then he held out a large secure box and announced, "A package arrived for you with her majesty's shuttle."
My ears and tail perked up as I accepted the delivery, and our girls all rushed closer to try and see what it was.
Sarah slipped an arm around my shoulders as she asked, "What is it cutie, what'd you get?"
"I have no idea," I shook my head. "I wasn't expecting anything."
Gwen commented, "It showed up at the capital a few days ago, addressed to Amanda Voss care of the Vysalis-4 government. It's been fully scanned and confirmed safe."
The container was about twelve inches by twelve inches, and six inches high. It was scuffed and dented on the outside, like it had a bit of a rough journey. I was as curious as the rest of my family though, so I didn't waste any more time cracking the seal on it. Inside was a slightly smaller box, along with a small plastic tube and a data crystal.
The inner box was the kind with a self-contained stasis field, which was expensive but necessary if you were shipping something delicate or perishable over a long distance. I had a closer look at the tube which turned out to be full of tiny seeds, and that only added to the mystery. At that point I decided to check the data crystal before opening the stasis box, just in case.
"Oh my," I gasped when the message came up on my datapad screen. "This box came all the way from the Gorath Sector! It's from a grad student at the University of Deveron."
My tail slowly swished back and forth as I read it out loud, "Dear Lady Amanda, you might not remember me but my brothers and friends and I will never forget you. Please find enclosed a hundred seeds of my new Darrowberry cultivar. I've officially registered its name as 'Mandaberry' in your honour. In addition to being drought-resistant, mandaberries are smaller and sweeter than Darrowberries. And instead of ripening to a deep blue colour they turn an orangey-red, not unlike the floof of a certain foxgirl who once helped save our humble town. I understand the climate on Vysalis-4 is very different from Deveron-8, so incase mandaberries won't grow there I've also enclosed two litres of fresh-picked berries. They're in stasis, so hopefully you can enjoy them when they arrive. Sincerely, Daisy Vestland, originally of Ganvis Station."
By the time I got to the end I had to wipe my eyes more than once. Then we cracked open the stasis box, and my wives and I watched our daughters descend with glee on one of the containers full of small red berries. I managed to grab the other container before they could demolish that one too.
Finally the queen and I left our girls with Sarah and Thomas, while we retreated into my office for a private conversation with Lady Magniveen.
"I came back early because something else came up," Rebecca explained. "I'm going to be heading off-world next week for another of my humanitarian missions. And I know you usually prefer to stay here with the kids while Sarah does the royal consort thing, but this time might be different. So I wanted to check with you, to see if you'd like to come with me on this one?"
I frowned, "It's the same thing you've been doing all along, right? Promoting public education about trans and queer rights, and lobbying for better trans medical support?"
Not long after we settled down on Vysalis-4 the tall beautiful redhead decided to take up Queen Isabella's cause as her own. Not just for our new home, but everywhere. She began at the top, pushing the senate to make trans and queer rights a universal Imperium-wide thing. It was slow going, but she'd been making progress there.
In the meantime she was also visiting planets where the trans and queer populations needed extra help, lobbying their governments for change and even directly assisting some especially vulnerable people however she could. Those trips usually took her away from home for a week or two at a time, and she tended to make a few of them each year.
Rebecca gave me a compassionate look as she explained, "Yes love, but this one's special. I've been invited to visit Kaitor-7, and I thought you might like to come. Gwen's putting the itinerary together, and if you want we can make sure Sandlea Province is on the list. Maybe even squeeze in a visit to Dunham Junction, if you like?"
My ears folded back and my tail drooped down as my heart started pounding. I stared up at my wonderful wife with wide eyes and gulped, "It's been so long... And you know I never planned on going back there again."
"I know Amanda," she replied softly as she pulled me into a hug. "And I'm not asking you to out yourself, or turn it into some sort of publicity stunt or photo op. If you want to see your family though, we can make that happen."
I hugged her back, then closed my eyes as I carefully considered her offer. Finally I looked up at her and shook my head, "I appreciate it love, but no thanks. My family is right here, right now. You, Sarah, Talia, Selina, and Clara. You're all I need."
"Nyssa counts too I suppose," I added with a wry smile, "But she's a thousand systems away."
My expression became serious again as I continued, "I'm glad you're going though. I'm glad you might be able to help other confused or frightened trans kids back where I grew up. And I know Gabe and Queen Isabella would both be proud of you."
The queen gave me a gentle squeeze and nodded, "Alright Amanda. I just wanted to ask."
"That's all for now Gwen," she added as she looked over to her secretary. "Let's try and fit Sandlea Province into the schedule anyways, but we don't need to worry about that detour after all."
"Yes your majesty," the royal secretary responded with a little bow. Then she quietly excused herself, and Thomas left with her to see her out.
Meanwhile Rebecca and I joined the rest of our family in the parlour, where our three girls were trying to convince Sarah to open up the other container of mandaberries.
"Hey," I pouted. "Those were supposed to be my berries, and I haven't even got to taste one yet! Anyways you girls are going to spoil your dinner if you eat any more. So let's put the rest of them away for now, ok? It's almost time for supper, and since your mom's back we're going to make it something special. Alright?"
"Ok mama," Clara nodded solemnly, while her sisters grudgingly agreed as well.
"Good girls," I smiled. "Now why don't you all go get washed up and ready for dinner? Your moms and I will see you in the dining room in fifteen minutes."
With that Talia and Selina trudged out of the parlour while Clara followed behind, still hugging her toy spaceship to her chest.
Finally alone with my wives I pulled them both into a tight hug and sighed, "I love those girls so much. Just like I love you two."
"Me too cutie," Sarah whispered back.
Rebecca gave us both a gentle squeeze as she added softly, "Same."
We continued holding each other for another few minutes, but there was nothing more to say. And apart from the distant sound of waves crashing against the cliffs below the balcony, the only other noise was the quiet rumble of purring from my chest. And the gentle thump thump thump of my wagging tail as it bumped against the sofa behind me.
~ The End ~