The Star Traders: The Star Traders Series Volume One

by Gary W. Feather

  They laughed. Erica took a bite and tasted the juicy flesh.

  "I'm going to go check on Lynna after I eat," Gwen said. "Does anyone want to go with me?"

  Everyone agreed to go too.

  "How is she doing, Gwen?" Erica said.

  "She's doing great," Gwen said. "Dr. Amy thinks she'll be ready to leave sickbay tomorrow."

  "That's great," Mindy said.

  "Lynna also won't need to go into suspended animation," Gwen said.

  "That's good," Erica said with her mouth full. "A body shouldn't be freeze-dried, thawed and freeze-dried again. That can't be good for you."

  "What?" Gwen said.

  Erica swallowed and repeated herself.

  "What I hate is how a jump makes me feel," Tilly said.

  "Yeah," Erica said. "That's nauseating."

  "I feel like I'm going to puke, but I don't," Gwen said. "But at the same time I always wish I would."

  "Why?" Mindy said.

  "I might feel better later," Gwen said.

  After Erica visited Lynna, she went to bed just as the starship jumped.

  The next day, as they traveled though hyperspace, Erica played a game of cards with Tilly, Mindy, and Gwen. They played bridge, poker, hearts, and plasma blast. They also drank a lot of water, which was supposed to help with the nausea. Currently first shift crew was running the starship.

  "Don't you have class soon? Gwen," Tilly said after Gwen won the hand.

  "Okay," Gwen said. "I'm going." She dashed out the door.

  "Of course, now we need another player, Tilly," Mindy said.

  The starship Guinevere jumped out of hyperspace. On board the starship, the second shift crew had just started their shift. Fiona Williams—the sensor chief—and her techs looked over the new data they got in from their various sensors.

  Space was vast. Even in a heavily populated star system like Hindi, it was huge. It took a while to find out where everyone was and where you yourself were.

  Captain Alberta waited patiently for Fiona's sensor report. Alberta could already see some of the data on her comp screen.

  "What do you think, Janet," Alberta said. "Do you think it’s safe?"

  "Should be," Janet said. "But after that last thing that happened to us, I'm nervous."

  "Captain," Fiona said. "I have something."

  Alberta and Janet walked to the sensor stations and looked over Fiona's shoulder.

  "What is that?" Janet said.

  "I think it’s the Indian space navy's fleet," Fiona said. "Must be just about all of them. They're headed to the edge of their star system. Fast."

  "Why are they making a hyper jump?" Janet said.

  "Maybe they’re after someone?" Alberta said.

  An hour later, they got a message.

  "Captain," Agatha Gee the communication chief said. "We are being hailed by space station Bombay."

  "Good. Put them on my comp screen," Alberta said.

  "Yes, captain," Agatha said.

  "Welcome to India. I am Bharani Yamuna," the Indian man on Alberta's screen said. "Our sensors tell that you are the free trader starship Guinevere with a Yin registry and a long standing member of the Yin Free Traders Union. Is this correct?"

  "Yes. It is, Mr. Yamuna," Alberta said. "We are here for the free trader conference on Bombay."

  "Ah, I see," Yamuna said. "Many of the starships have arrived, but-but there appears to be an unknown war fleet that is circling out around the edge of our star system."

  "What?"

  "Don't worry, you are very far from it," Yamuna said.

  "My country's space navy has taken off after them. It appears they will not answer any hails and will not identify themselves. Do you still wish to arrive at Bombay?"

  "Thank you, Mr. Yamuna for informing us of this threat," Alberta said calmly. "We will arrive and dock at Bombay shortly. We are not running away."

  "Of course, Captain Williams. I never implied that you would."

  "I'm sure you didn't," Albert said diplomatically. "Guinevere out."

  "Thank you, Bombay out," he said.

  The image vanished.

  "I've got other messages for you, Captain," Agatha said. "Coming from various captains of the free-trader starships. One is from Junior Captain Emily Zhou of the Yin starship Spirit."

  "Good," Alberta said. "I want to talk to Captain Zhou first."

  "Yes, Captain," Agatha said.

  Alberta was soon looking at her old friend, Emily Zhou. The Williams and the Zhou clans were old friends. Many of them married into each others’ families. The Williams’ also had similar old friendships with the Donatelli clan of the Roma and the Bettencourt clan of the Duchess. The only difference being that Alberta and Emily had been lovers when they were teenagers. They drifted apart, but stayed friends. Later Alberta, met and married Piper Bettencourt. She agreed to take Alberta's surname.

  "Good to see again, Emily," Alberta said.

  "And it's good to see you, Alberta," replied the woman on the comp screen.

  My, we've gotten so old, Alberta thought. We're in our seventies now. Well, my mother, Audrey is hundred and ten. She's not dead yet, but my other mother died in that stupid crash. No, I shouldn't blame Mother Audrey.

  "Did you hear what I said?" Emily said.

  "No, I was thinking. I'll tell you later."

  "Good, Alberta," Emily said. "That was what I was planning for us and our wives to get together for a meal on Bombay. At a lovely restaurant I found."

  "Sounds good to me," Alberta said. "But what do you think about this unknown war fleet?"

  "Well, they haven't done anything. Still, my gut is telling me they're not just passing through."

  "Do you think they could be here to threaten us, to stop the conference?" Alberta said.

  "I think they are," Emily said.

  "Who could have hired them?" Alberta said.

  "Well, it isn't a bunch of pirates. This has to be a corporation. Unicorn Trade Corp. or Far Stars Corp. I wouldn't trust either of them."

  "But a whole war fleet?" Alberta said. "That would seriously piss off the Indians…and every other star nation in the area. Even they aren't big enough to get into a real shooting war with the Indians or Yin. It would be suicide."

  "Maybe they just want to bluff us," Emily said.

  "Maybe." Alberta sounded doubtful.

  "Well, I got other things to do, Alberta," Emily said. "I'll see you later. Emily out."

  "Okay see you later. Alberta out."

  Alberta looked over at Janet. "Did you hear that?"

  "Yes, Captain," Janet said. "Scares the shit out of me."

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Meetings and Conferences.

  "Scares the shit out of me," Erica repeated Janet’s words.

  "I know, Erica. I feel the same way," Keiko said. "Just do your job and pull through it."

  "Thanks for the knife fighting lessons, Keiko."

  "You’re welcome, Erica."

  Erica and Keiko were in SC and had been assigned to monitor the bridge. They had heard all about the unknown war fleet. The speculation on who could have sent it and why continued through the hours. Eventually second shift was over and replaced by third shift.

  Janet asked Erica to teach a zen meditation class, which she did. She was happy to see her friends: Tilly, Mindy and Gwen. Even Lynna showed up, though she had to sit in a chair rather than on the floor.

  Erica felt good. Later she went to the gyms again to teach her friends some Goju Kempo. Tea walked in as Erica was teaching how to move in the traditional stances. Tea had brought three friends with her: Judy, Betsy and Elsie. Bullies from Erica's girlhood. One of the reasons I left was to get away from those bastards. She remembered being shoved into showers with her clothes on. Her head shoved into a toilet and flushed. Sometimes the toilet had stuff in it. She remembered some beatings too. Mainly a lot of running and hiding.

  "Hey, monk-girl's back!" Judy said, with a weird deep laugh. She was the biggest and
looked like she could bench press even more than she could back in school.

  Erica began breathing hard, like she was a kid again. No! I'm grown up. This is silly. Calm. Peace. Breathe, Erica thought and brought her breath under control. "What do you want?" she asked, calmly.

  Judy didn't say anything.

  "We wanted to see what you could do?" Tea said. "How does that temple shit compare to the real thing?"

  Before Erica could verbally respond Tea swung a well-practiced punch at Erica. Erica took the blow on her left cheek. She automatically rolled her head back with the punch to release some of its impact. I should have known she would try something like that.

  Erica shook off the blow then moved to a fighting stance.

  Tea hopped around in her boxing style. She threw a few jabs. Okay. She's probably trying to feel out my abilities. Erica slapped the jabs aside and blocked a reverse punch.

  Tea fired off a second reverse punch. Erica blocked it and gripped Tea's wrist. Erica turned to perform a corkscrew throw. Tea was slammed to the ground.

  This isn't your fight, bitch! Erica saw Judy moving toward them with violent intentions. Erica moved too. She sent a powerful spinning back kick to Judy's bladder. The big girl went down. Erica stopped. Tea's other friends were gone.

  Tea got up and helped Judy wobble out of the gym.

  Erica was later brought before Alberta and Janet, but her friends defended her. Tea eventually told the truth that they had attacked Erica and she’d just defended herself. The matter was dropped as far as Erica was concerned.

  Many hours later once Guinevere had docked at Bombay, with first shift in command, Erica learned that she and Keiko were assigned as bodyguards for her mothers: Alberta and Piper. Her mothers were going to have a meal on Bombay with the captain and her chief engineer/wife of Spirit.

  Erica stood behind her mothers as they paused at the hatch to the walkway tube. She felt the butt of her blaster gun, which security by international law gave her the right to carry on Bombay. She looked over at Keiko who also had a holstered blaster. Keiko gave her a smile and wink. Erica smiled back. Piper opened the hatch and Keiko went in first followed by Alberta and next Piper. Erica drew up the rear.

  Erica kept her eyes alert and watchful. She did everything that she had been taught in classes and learned from Keiko. She also used the deep breathing techniques from the monastery to calm herself.

  There were people waiting for them at the end of the tunnel.

  "Alberta! Piper!" Emily shouted beside the open hatchway. With her was her wife Tina Zhou.

  "Oh," Tina said. "And Erica is here too."

  "She's working right now, Tina," Piper said. "She is in security now."

  "When did she get back from that monastery?" Tina said.

  "We picked her up on the way here," Piper said.

  "I'm sure you'll enjoy the Indian food at this restaurant Tina found," Emily said. "It is amazing."

  Emily and Tina had brought only one bodyguard. There were a few hugs and pats. Soon Emily was leading the way to the restaurant. They had to take an elevator down five floors to get to it.

  The place was called the Curry Queen. Keiko went in first with the Spirit's bodyguard to check it out. Erica waited in the rear of the group. The place looked pretty fancy. An expensive place and not a place to go daily, unless you were rich. Both captains and their wives were middle-class.

  An Indian woman dressed in a traditional silk sari came forward and asked if they had reservations. Emily said yes and gave her name. She escorted them to their table. A waiter showed up to take their order.

  Later Erica stood behind Piper and casually gazed around the room. The other bodyguards were doing the same.

  "The Victorians are, of course, wanting more control over the council than they should have," Emily said.

  "There's no surprise there," Piper said. "I'm sure Joseph Butler is behind it."

  "Oh. He has been the loudest one," Emily said.

  Senior Captain Joseph Butler commanded the Victorian free trader Cornwallis. Some considered him a bit of pirate, but none could prove it. At least none alive.

  Erica looked again at the two men at a table east of them. They had made many nonchalant glances in their direction. It was making her nervous. She looked over at Keiko to see if the other woman had noticed. Keiko gave her a brief nod toward them.

  Erica raised her hand slowly to her gun. Then it happened.

  The men stood, aimed and fired pulser shots at them. Erica shoved her mothers on the floor and turned to fire.

  There were screams everywhere. Erica wasn't sure who did it, but one of the men went down. She looked to make sure her parents were undercover and saw that they were. She herself had ducked between a busted table and the corner of a wall. She fired a couple more times at the one surviving assassin before Bombay police rushed in. The assassin fired at the cops and they killed him quickly.

  "Lay your weapon down, Erica," Piper said. "I don't want the cops to shoot you, too."

  Erica was shocked, but she did as she was told. It had all happened so quickly. No one was dead. Except for the assassins. Tina had been shot in the forearm, but it was minor. A few bruises when bodyguards knocked people down. Theirs weren't the only table with bodyguards standing around.

  "You're a security guard-trainee?" the policeman asked.

  "Yes," Erica said. "Williams, Erica Jane. I'm from the Yin free trader Guinevere."

  "What are you here for?"

  "The International Free Trader Union Conference."

  "What happened…from your point of view?"

  "I saw them draw the gun-"

  "The two dead men?"

  "Yes," Erica said. "I pulled down Captain Williams and Piper Williams and fired back at our attackers. One of the attackers went down. I don't know if I did it or one of the other bodyguards. Then police came shot the second attacker."

  There were some more questions for all of them, but eventually they were allowed to leave. Tina was taken to the nearest infirmary on Bombay. The bleeding had already been stopped and the doctor there put it in a nanite foam-cast.

  "I guess that I'll be seeing you at the conference." Emily shook Alberta's hand.

  "Yep, I guess so," Alberta said.

  Everyone returned to their ships.

  "You did a good job, Erica," Piper said.

  "Thank you.”

  "Yes." Alberta gave her a pat on the shoulder. "You did."

  CHAPTER NINE

  Fight! Fight!

  Guinevere's first shift's CO and XO began the conference's first meeting and later on second shift was back running things and its CO and XO came to the conference.

  Erica was happy. Joyful. She had been complimented by her mother the captain. That was rare. When the conference started Erica and Keiko again went as the bodyguards. This time it was for Captain Alberta and XO Janet.

  Erica stood behind Janet and Keiko stood behind Alberta. Spirit's Emily and Tina, with her cast, sat to their right. Behind them were two bodyguards.

  Elsewhere around the large oval table were other captains with their executive officers. On the other side of Tina were the ones from the Yin ships Roma, Sweetheart and Duchess. The Victoria ships Cornwallis, Lady Anne, Woffington and Buckingham. The men and one woman from the Victorians were dressed in their tight laced garb. The woman wore a long hoop dress. Few women were able to reach as high a rank as ship captain in Victorian society. Junior Captain Jessica Stone of the Lady Anne was one of them. Two ships came from Koryo: the Pohang and the Dolgorae. They were dressed in beautiful silk. There were two women from the Indian ship called the Swami. There were four men and women from the Dani ships Henaken and Mogat. Both men and women traditionally went bare-chested in Dani society, except the women always kept their backs covered with a cape. The women wore a hanging cloth on both sides. The men wore one over their butt with a penis gourd over their genitals. Their scrotums were left bare. There were two starship from Deaf World. Silence and
Swift Hands. Each ship's CO had a sign language-to-speech interpreter with them. The Bonobos had sent three ships: Big Breasts, Super Cock and Tight Buns. The Bonobos wore nothing, except for the few items they carried: comp pads and the guns their bodyguards wore. Every human culture had its own strange way of dressing. At least from the point of view of another human culture.

  A mediator and his team had been sent from UN Council of Trade and he pounded his gavel.

  "Order! Order! May the first conference of the International Star Group Free-Trader Union begin its second meeting."

  The conference began and it was very dull. Dull. Dull. Oh Lord and Lady this is dull, Erica thought. She kept her mind occupied with surveying the room. Being sure no one attacked her mother and aunt. It’s what kept her from falling asleep. Eventually some problems gave way and soon there were agreements with the plan. There would have to be more conferences to iron things out, but things were moving along.

  Erica heard some noise outside the conference room. Some shouts. Some gunfire. The doors opened and a couple of police officers burst in. They fired behind themselves. One of them dropped.

  "Get down!" Erica and Keiko shouted to Alberta and Janet, who had already jumped for cover.

  Erica fired at the intruders. Others in the conference fired. Blaster beams flew everywhere. Dishes blasted to pieces, hanging chandeliers rained crystals down on the table.

  The attackers looked to be pirates or cheap mercs. Low-life scum that took any job from the highest bidder. Two more came in dressed in worn military armor. They moved forward, while being hit. The shots slowed them, but they still came.

  "Dammit!" Keiko shouted. Keiko tossed a grenade. She took aim at the armored attackers and fired. The grenade exploded and the armored attackers was flung against the wall. They were also hit by Keiko’s blaster shots. The armored attackers didn’t stand up.

  "Oh Goddess!" Janet said. "You brought grenade?"

  "Yes," Keiko said. "Sorry, ma'am and captain."

  "Well, I guess we can let this one go, Keiko," Alberta said.

  "Thank you, cap—"

  Alberta reached behind her back as if she had been punched or stabbed in the back. She stared into Janet's eyes before her eyes shut. She fell backwards on her butt and seemed to be pulled backwards by a ghost. As she hit the floor, she vanished into thin air. Several others in the room among those being attacked also mysteriously disappeared.