(thanks to my brother who got me a new monitor.)
It was time. There was no denying it any longer. The trip to the titanic was now and I didn't have enough time to ensure the biotics were ready. So we go with plan a and hack into the navigation terminal of the ship to avoid the blackhole all together.
Amy and I were currently packing our stuff for a week. The amount of time the cruise should last. She was currently packing over 500 different types of makeup and hair care products. While I was going with the much more sensible 7 showers in a can and enough clothes to get me through the week with a change every day.
When we finally finished packing, we both decided to head to planet express via taxy since we couldn't fit luggage in the tubes very well.
When we arrived at planet express everyone was getting ready to take the ship to the launch point of the titanic.
"Hey guys we're here!" Amy called out and got the attention of the senior staff. Leela, Hermes, Bender, Steve, Dr Kahil, Candy, Bella, scruffy, and the professor. Zoidburg still hasn't finished his medical degree so he's still only an assistant and as such cant go on the cruise.
"Bout damn time, What took you so long." Steve spoke. He was getting a little bit testier lately as a result of some of his acquisitions (hostile takeovers) not turning out he way he wanted them to.
"Put a sock in it Steve. We're only a few minutes late." I tell Steve and he looks genuinely annoyed for a moment before taking a deep breath and calming himself.
"Times is money." He says but I can tell he's calmed down a bit.
"And I'm paying you a shit ton of it so come off it." I said returning the banter. Steve was a good friend if you get past his sarcastic personality and sociopathic tendencies. Especially if you keep him well paid. He's even taken down a few smaller shipping companies that were trying to muscle in to our contracts.
Everyone was ready to go so we all piled up inside the planet express ship and started heading to the parking lot next to the docking bay for the titanic. I was ready to get on board, upload the virus, and then relax for the entire week.
It had been a stressful couple of days even if you exclude cannibalon. Making the damn virus for a system i had no solid data on was a pain in the ass. I had to build the virus for every system in existence even the ones that weren't on the market yet just to ensure I could take the idiot zap brannigan's control away so he would launch us into a black whole.
The second we arrived at the parking lot I started breaching the ships systems from a distance, locking in the travel path only giving the ability to start and stop the ship over to the captain. This Is zap brannigan we're talking about the less power given to him the better.
So, as we stepped off the planet express capital ship I was already in control of the titanic. No one would know as the captain would be able to put in course corrections. Those course corrections would just do nothing.
Soon we arrived with the rest of the group waiting to get into the ship there was a large crowd around watching the ship launching.
"And now fresh off his defeat of the retiree people of the assisted living nebula zap brannigan!"
"Oh god not zap brannigan." Leela sad covering her eyes like she just got a massive headache.
"You know Zap Brannigan?" Tom asked this time.
"Lets just say we've been aquainted." Lella said still hiding her face.
"Was that before or after you slept with him." Said bender in a mocking voice.
As we started walking up the ramp into the titanic the professor was eager to show us our rooms. The ship was a luxury ship after all and this time we had the money to actually afford that luxury. As we walked through the hallways of the ship staring at beautiful dining halls, indoor swimming pools, bars, a bowling alley, and tons of other amenities you would expect to be on a luxury cruise in the 2000's I couldn't help but be excited it had been a while since I had actually relaxed.
I always had something going on that could occupy my attention. I preferred it that way. Its too easy to get caught up in my own thoughts when I don't have something to do, but I can't say that its not exhausting to live that way.
We finally arrived to our rooms. All the couples got single rooms. While everyone else was split amongst double bed rooms. It didn't really matter as they wouldn't be spending much time in the rooms anyways, an everyone of the senior staff was comfortable with each other enough to share rooms.
Each room cost over twenty-five grand a piece so they have no reason to complain.
Labarbra and Hermes, as well as Amy and I each got a single room. Leela brought Tom as her plus one despite him not being senior staff. Labarbra wasn't senior staff either but Hermes took her. So, there was a precedent.
When we all finished putting our stuff in our rooms, we started heading out to the dining hall where they were serving lunch.
When we got to the dining hall much to the displeasure of Leela and Tom we met Zap brannigan. He immediately tried hitting on Leela but was repelled by Leela introducing her boyfriend, Tom. Brannigan backed off but invited everyone to sit at the captain's table during dinner.
We all agreed it was worthwhile since it would be a good place to eat and for Steve to network. Then we ran into the wongs who were now looking like they were in their twenties, they ended up skipping the line on the nanobot testing. So they were first in on the rejuvenation treatment after the professor and mom.
Speaking of mom, she was on the cruise too. She came as the professor's plus one. it was rather funny seeing Inez and Leo shocked that Amy and I were still together, they ended up shuffling a pool boy out of the way. Amy gave them a stink eye for it since it was clear they thought she was flighty enough to break up with me after only a few months.
"Fry. It's good to see you still dating my daughter." Leo said with a big smile on his face.
"yes, still no grandchildren though." Inez said narrowing her eyes.
"No reason to have children yet. I'm waiting until I can somehow make money from it." I said stifling a laugh and trying to keep my face serious.
"Tax breaks?" Leo said with a laugh
"that's just making the government rip you off less you're not making money from it." Came Amy who was perfectly deadpan on delivery.
We ended up messing with the wongs for the rest of lunch. Until it was time to head out and we said our goodbyes.
Luckily Amy was in a relationship and they already knew me so they could enjoy their vacation without being meddling parents.
So since we had the free time we decided to head off to the bowling alley.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Bender was doing what he does best, hustling people and pool and buying some drinks in the bar. Luckily with his higher position in the company he could afford them. Then something came into the corner of his eye. a beautiful metal and gold bracelet with brilliant diamonds embedded onto it.
Now if it were the old bender, he would seduce the wearer, snatch the bracelet, and ghost them afterwards, but now he had things that were actually important to him. Something that he had wanted to a while and he wasn't going to ruin in by giving into his baser urges. So instead of his automatic plan. He approached the lady and introduced himself.
"Greeting my lady. I am bender."
"Charmed I'm the Countess De La Roca. Im surprised to see another robot in first class most of the other robots I know are laborers."
"I'm no laborer. I'm the leader of the robot division of planet express, and a major shareholder."
"Ah plant express isn't that the cyberware company. you must have quite a large fortune if you're a major shareholder." The countess said with a smiling voice. though her faceplate made it hard to recognize.
"My current holdings are only a couple million due to it being a new company but there's something a lot more valuable than money at planet express. The adventure." Bender said.
"It must be so wonderful. To travel the stars and see all the different civilizations and get into all sorts of adventures." The countess spoke quietly with a small frown.
"Maybe we could sit together at the captains table tonight and ill tell you a few stories about some of our adventures."
"Really!" she all but yelped. So exited she forgot herself for a moment.
"Of course. I could tell you about the little snafu we got into on cannibalon. It was a dangerous mission but we got out alright."
"Oh I heard about that. You interfered in a rebellion didn't you." the countess said excitedly usually the only adventure she got to hear about was from the news. Or the stories she was allowed to read by her handlers.
"More like we were forced to fight in the rebellion to get to our ship."
And so the two robots spoke to each other bender starting to feel something he had never felt before and the countess started to become entranced with the robot in front of her.