"Can you remove it?"
"Yes, but there's a high chance you will die or suffer brain damage," Amy admitted.
"I don't care," Alberta said. "I want that damn thing out of my head and destroyed. We need to get away from the Lorkiiz starship."
"I assumed you would say that, Alberta," Amy said. "Piper is waiting to see you. And so is Erica."
Alberta nodded. "Send them in."
Amy gave a cold smile and left to get them.
Piper and Erica entered the operating room. Piper kissed Alberta several times on the lips and cheeks. Erica hung back behind her mother, waiting and watching.
"How do you feel?" Piper patted Alberta's hair and then her arm. Piper's eyes were wet and puffy as she had been crying.
"Like a bunch of crazed nanobots had been running around inside my body." Alberta chuckled.
"I know the feeling," Erica said.
"Yes, you do." Alberta looked at Erica. Has she been crying too? Idiot, of course she's been crying. We're family. "And..."
"What?" Piper said.
Alberta sighed. "I guess. I mean, you were right, Erica."
"I was?"
"Amy found the Goddess damn thing the aliens put in my head." Alberta threw it out. "I was wrong."
"Oh Goddess, help us!" Piper laughed. "She was wrong."
"Oh hush, wife." Alberta smiled.
"Hush yourself, wife." Piper squeezed Alberta's hand.
"I am actually sorry, Erica."
"Thank you, Captain," Erica said. "Mother." Erica leaned over and gave Alberta a peck on the forehead.
"All is right." Alberta looked at Piper. "Tell Amy I'm ready for her."
Piper nodded and wiped her eyes.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Waiting.
Erica watched her mother Piper pace back and forth in the sickbay's waiting room. Tilly Zhou was assisting Doctor Amy Merendez with the operation. There was another doctor and nurse helping. Along with a medical-bot, which was doing the actual cutting and maneuvering within her mother Alberta's brain. Everyone Erica knew and others on the Guinevere had come in to give them their sympathies and love from time to time.
CHAPTER FIFTY
Post operation.
Alberta wakens, and screams.
"Easy. Easy, Captain."
Alberta heard the calming voice of Doctor Amy Merendez. She swallowed more screams and wondering what had happened. Was she okay?
Alberta slowly opened her eyes to see the medical people looking down at her. She was on the operating table. She was being moved out of the operating room.
"Was it successful?"
"Yes?"
"Why?"
"Why did you scream?" Doctor Merendez said. "Pain. I told you there would be pain. I turned off your pain, but it will be back later. You’re not going to like this, but I tried to warn you."
"How bad is it?"
"Could have been worse, Captain." Merendez said. "But I'm not letting you take command of the ship for several days, maybe weeks."
"What?" Alberta snapped as the nurses moved him to another bed.
"Sorry. Doctor's orders."
"Dammit."
"Your wife and daughter can see you now for a bit." Merendez left the room as Alberta mumbled.
Piper and Erica walked in. "How do you feel? They said it worked," Piper said.
"Horrible," Alberta complained. "I'm bedridden by the damn doctors. They won't let me out of here. I'm fine, just a little pain. Which I think I can deal with on the bridge, but doctors... Damn her."
"Well, sounds like you’re going to be fine after a while, dear." Piper smiled and kissed Alberta on the lips.
"Oh," Alberta said.
" Janet said they just jumped out of hyperspace," Piper said. "She thinks they can wait there a little bit now that they can't track us. It seems to be a dwarf star with nothing but a gas giant planet orbiting it. Not even moons around the planet. I forget what she called the star."
"I know. It doesn't matter," Alberta said. "I have a plan to jump to Collard system. There's an alien race that lives on the inhabitable planet with a small human presence in system. Miners mostly."
"I'll tell her, Alberta," Piper said. "You rest."
"Okay."
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Looking at space.
Erica looked at a screen in the security monitoring room where she was working. This screen she had changed to the view outside of Guinevere. It was the Collard system. We’ve been contacted by human miners in the farthest asteroid belt. They seemed interested in trading with us. Hopefully we could get something out of that. At least we have a moment of rest before the damn Lorkiiz show up again.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Barhoping.
Erica Williams watched as her cousin Lynna Williams swallowed another shot of whiskey.
"You should try some, Erica."
"No thank you, Lynna." Erica saluted her cousin with her cup of hot tea.
"Can I try some?" Gwen Williams said. She was the youngest of Erica's five cousins present in the bar and grill.
"No, Gwen," Lynna said. "You're not eighteen and too young to drink alcohol."
"Oh."
"She's right, Gwen," Tilly Zhou had a fork full of lasagna. "We don't know the rules here, especially the unwritten rules."
"And as a long respected member of security I cannot allow it," Keiko Williams said with a stick of Cimmerian black root between her teeth.
Erica pushed back a stray brown hair and looked down at her fettuccine alfredo.
"Do you want to dance with me?"
Erica turned in her chair to see beautiful woman with long blonde hair with her hands on her wide hips.
"Sure she does," Lynna encouraged. "Go on, Erica."
"Yes." Erica smiled and stood nervously. "I would love to. My name is Erica."
"Hi, Erica. I'm Martha." She held out her hand to Erica. Her hand had three rings with shiny rubies on them. "Let's dance."
Martha pulled Erica away from her friends to the dance floor.
Later Erica and her friends were talked into going to a different bar. There was no food served in this bar, just alcohol and recreational drugs. It was full of exotic smells, but all Erica could mostly smell was the cute woman she was with. Her scent was exciting and arousing. Erica watched Martha, the other non-Yin woman, swing her hips. Her blonde hair flew in every direction. It was much longer than Erica's hair, and she was conscious of how erotic that difference was. How long ago was I bald? Did I ever have hair that long before I became a Buddhist nun? Erica pushed the thought away to focus on her dancing to the techno-rock bursting out of the floor's speakers. Erica could actually feel the music vibrating through her toes.
"Dick?" Martha laughed.
"What?"
"Do you have a dick?" Martha said. "That's right, isn't it? Some of you Yin women have dicks and some don't. Yes?"
"Yes, I do have a dick." Erica giggled and felt her skin flush. "We have two types of females. T-females and O-females. T refers to testicles and yes, dicks, while O refers to Ovaries."
"And pussies?" Martha teased.
"Uh." Erica coughed. "Yes."
"Which do you prefer?" Martha rested her hands on Erica's shoulders as she swayed her hips to the music.
"O," Erica mumbled. "O-females."
"Pussy?"
"Yes," Erica said.
Martha kissed Erica on the mouth and held the kiss longer than Erica could stand. It was sweet and salty. I feel so hard. Suddenly Erica realized Martha was dancing, or rubbing, up against her body. Oh, Goddess. This is happening so fast. What should I do? Don't freak out, Erica. We can do this. How? Oh Goddess, she is hot!
"You’re kind of sweet, Erica," Martha said. "I'm actually kind of sorry."
"Sorry?"
Several men and women ran into the bar carrying big guns. Military style guns. Everyone screamed and ducked under tables, or tried to run outside. The people with guns ignored them and walked strai
ght up to where Erica and Martha was. Erica and all of her friends were threatened. Their stun guns were taken and all were handcuffed. Martha was not treated like that.
"Sorry, Erica," Martha said. "Me and my friends are here to kidnap you and your friends. It's nothing personal. We just really need the money."
Erica didn't respond.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
Oceans of problems.
Alberta Williams slowly kicked out with her feet to get closer to the five-foot shark, which had just bitten into the bait they had put out to lure it. She gripped the spear gun's handle with her index finger curled. The shark swerved to the left as Alberta pulled the trigger. A miss! The shark swam downwards. She reached for another spear to reload the gun. Hilde floated nearby with her shock stick just in case.
The shark, with the speed of a predator, slammed into Alberta and bit into her shark proof swimsuit. Hilde sent volts of electricity into the shark with her stick. The shark dashed off and was out of sight.
"Are you okay, Captain?"
Alberta shivered and held tightly to her gun. Where had the spear gone? Did I drop it?
"Captain?"
"I'm fine, Hilde." Alberta tried to relax her grip on the empty gun. She didn't want to say how bad her ribs hurt. "Just surprised. I don't think it bit through."
"I don't see any punctures." Hilde hovered around her shoulder and back where the shark had struck so swiftly. "I think we should go back."
Alberta looked around at the beautiful ocean all around them. Our little private ocean. The ocean that encircled most of the starship Guinevere was the ship's water supply, and it kept deadly radiation from the crew in combination with the outer hull and electro-magnetic shielding. Most spaceships and starships used this strategy. The artificial ocean was also not salty, but fresh water. All the fish in it were fresh water fish or had been engineered to be fresh water fish, like the sharks.
"I would like to have another go at that damn shark." Alberta said.
"I—" Hilde didn't care for the idea. She was supposed to make sure her captain didn't die out here for nothing. Alberta was sure the idea was top on the other woman's list of priorities and not catching a shark.
Alberta glanced at her oxygen supply. It was falling quickly. "Goddess, damn shark! I'm losing oxygen."
"Must have damaged the tank."
They swam back to the 'beach'. The beach was a halfway tube between the large 'ocean' deck surrounding the ship and the dry decks within the ship.
Shit. Alberta saw her oxygen falling to dangerous levels. Alberta didn't tell Hilde. I can make it. Just a little in the red. Just a little further. Alberta felt her eyelids were heavy and bit her lip to stay awake. Why am I sleepy? Alberta heard someone shouting at her. Hilde? What's wrong? I'm fine. Once a woman swims out of the ocean into the halfway tubes you swim through the tubes to a waiting chamber. There the water and pressure slowly goes out of the chamber. If you do it too quickly like in an emergency a woman could the bends just like surfacing to quickly in a real ocean or coming out of space in a spacesuit too quickly. Same problem. Not fun.
Alberta felt herself being pushed and pulled into the chamber. The water disappeared faster than it should have done from Alberta's point of view. The room was blurry and someone yanked off her scuba mask.
"What the fuck were you thinking?" Amy shouted at Alberta as she waved a scanner over Alberta's body. Doctor Amy Menendez was Alberta's sister and the chief surgeon of Guinevere's second shift crew. Amy was married to a man, a non-Yin citizen from the Victorian Star Kingdom.
"I almost made it," Alberta said.
"You should have told Hilde that you were losing oxygen so fast."
"I suppose you told my wife," Alberta said.
"Of course," Amy said. "She'll cuss you out later, just like you deserve."
"I'm sure she will."
Amy had a robot carry Alberta to sickbay for a full examination. Alberta turned out to be fine, which didn't seem to improve Piper Williams’ mood when she arrived in the sickbay. After a good stormy explosion of cuss words Piper kissed Alberta on the mouth.
"Are you okay now, dear?" Alberta said.
"I should kick you in the balls, woman," Piper said. "But I'll let it go this time."
Alberta got a call on her tablet. She answered it.
Alberta arrived in the meeting room where first shift crew's department heads were waiting. Following Alberta were Piper and Amy from second shift crew.
"Who's been kidnapped?" Alberta asked as she came in and dropped into a chair.
"I'm sorry, Alberta and Piper, but Erica was one of them," Senior Captain Audrey Williams said. Audrey was Alberta and Amy's mother. Alberta dropped into a chair between Piper and Amy.
Janet dashed into the meeting room. She was Alberta's other sister and her XO (executive officer). "What is going on?"
"Sit down, Janet," Audrey said calmly. The old woman sighed before she continued. "We've learned from the police spokeswoman—I mean spokesman that at 22:01 T-hours, a group of local terrorists entered the bar Hammer and kidnapped the following members of Guinevere: Erica Williams, Keiko Williams, Tilly Zhou, Mindy Bettencourt, Lynna Williams, and Gwen Williams. The police are doing what they can and send the victim's families and friends their sympathy. We also received similar sympathies from the spacestation's governor office."
"Should we assume they are doing nothing?" Piper snapped.
"I was think the same thing." This from Juanita Williams, first shift crew's security chief. Juanita was seated beside Audrey's XO.
"Strangers like us are probably not their highest priority," Senior Captain Audrey said. "Still, if this is a standard kidnapping, then we wait until the kidnappers call demanding money."
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Captured.
Erica heard the name Lorkiiz as she was forced inside the room with her friends by their kidnappers.
"Are you sure it was Lorkiiz?" Keiko said. "If they are working for the aliens, then the Lorkiiz may know we're here."
"I may be mistaken," Erica whispered. "But if I'm not, one of us needs to warn the Guinevere."
"Trying to escape could get all of us killed, or they might kill the ones that don't get away."
Erica nodded.
"We could try to listen to find out more." Gwen added.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
The mothers that worry.
"I suppose the bastards want money." Alberta stirred her spoon in her cheese and broccoli soup, but didn't feel like eating even though the soup was delicious. She was sick with worry over her daughter's kidnapping.
"Most likely they'll send a message of what they want to us or the spacestation's authorities to do." Piper said.
"Should we pay, Piper?" Alberta said.
Piper raised both eyebrows.
"I mean, will they honor the agreement or will they take the money and kill them?"
"I don't know." Piper patted Alberta's hand.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Oscar Beaumont.
Erica lowered her eyes as she sat cross-legged in full lotus. She concentrated on counting her breaths as it came in and went out. In her thoughts, the Lorkiiz chased her through the streets of a primitive city. Erica's heart thumped against her chest as she ran. She tried to shake the memory, or nightmare, out of her thoughts. She squeezed her eyes tightly. Erica rolled her shoulders. Relax. Breathe. Erica opened her eyes.
"You okay, Erica?" Tilly whispered and looked over at the armed guard by the door.
"I can't concentrate on my meditation," Erica whispered. "Other things break through."
"Not surprising," Tilly said. "I don't see how you can do it at under our circumstances."
"We need to do something," Erica whispered. "I can take that guard."
"They'll probably be people waiting for us on the other side," Keiko warned.
"I know," Erica replied. "I can't stand doing nothing."
"Where's that Buddhist nun training of yours?
" Keiko teased. "I thought you was supposed to work on being patient."
"Well, since I'm having trouble meditating, all of my patience has left me."
"Try to get it back," Keiko said. "You're going to need it if we want to get through this alive."
"Shut up, you bitches!" the guard shouted. "I don't want to hear you planning stupid shit, or we might start getting rid of one of you. Understand that?"
Erica and her friends nodded.
The guard lowered his gun and looked away for a second. That was when Erica attacked. She grabbed his wrist and chopped him in the throat. She twisted his arm and got her shoulder under his elbow. Erica pulled his hand down and shoved his elbow up with her shoulder. Snap! The guard somehow screamed through his damaged throat. Erica smashed his skull with her elbow.
The door burst open and three more kidnappers knocked her down. Erica curled into a ball as they kicked her.
After the beating Erica lay on the floor with Keiko, Lynna, Mindy, Tilly and Gwen surrounding her protectively. Tilly was cautiously looking over Erica's injuries.
"I guess I should have thought that through," Erica mumbled through busted lips.
"Yes, that was probably a mistake, but I'm willing to overlook it this time,” said someone that Erica didn't recognize. She looked up to see one of the kidnappers looking down at her. He was surround by five other kidnappers. He was the only one who wasn't armed and wore a suit and tie. "My name is Oscar Beaumont. I'm in charge here, and not you. You will all do what I say, and you will be able to get out of here alive. As soon as your families pay us. Is that plain for you?"
Erica and her friends nodded.
"Good." Oscar Beaumont sat down in a chair that hadn't been in the room before Erica's beating. He crossed his legs and folded his hands in front of him. Then Beaumont pointed a finger at Erica. "I saw what you did on the monitor screen. Impressive moves. You've been well trained. Military or private security?"
Starship Guinevere (Star Traders Book 1) Page 9