The Star Traders: The Star Traders Series Volume One

by Gary W. Feather

  Before she could say anything, her mother left. Exhausted, Erica fell back on the couch. She ran her hands through her brown hair.

  Buzz! Buzz! Now what? What she back? Buzz! Fuck you! Buzz! Buzz!

  "Computer, open the damn door!"

  "Erica?"

  Erica looked up at the beautiful woman whom she had risked so much to save.

  "Hi, Martha." Erica wiped the tears from her eyes.

  "Can I come in?" Martha smiled. She nervously clutched her elbows.

  "No."

  "I'm sorry about your sister getting hurt," Martha said. "I-I'm sorry for everything. Please. I-please forgive me. I really do-do love you."

  "How can I believe that?" Erica yelled. "This wouldn't be the first time you lied to me."

  "I know." Martha trembled. Tears fell from her eyes.

  Was it real tears?

  "I'm so sorry. Please. I love you."

  Erica turned her back to Martha. "I wish I could believe you."

  "I promise that I'll stay out of trouble." Erica heard Martha say. "I'll work hard for your family. I'll prove that I'm telling the truth."

  Erica heard the door shut.

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR

  Problems on Selene

  The Daughter stood alone inside an old spaceport that hadn’t been used for centuries. She was a giant, and powerful rocketship able to climb out of the gravity wells of planets three times the size of old Earth. Her full name was Guinevere’s Daughter and she belonged to the huge Williams free trader clan of the Yin Confederation. Free Traders belonged to none of the mega-corporations throughout human space. The mega-corporations owned most of the starships that traded goods throughout civilized human space, but the frontiers were open to the free traders who ran starships crewed by one or more large clans from the various human nations.

  Erica Williams was far away from the old spaceport and the Daughter, but she could still see it several miles away in local city. Martha is back there. Do I love her? Can I forgive her?

  Erica forced her thoughts back to the job. Her security job. Janet Williams the XO and Tawny Williams the Cargo Chief were negotiating trader with a family of merchants on the planet Selene. A human colonized planet that once had space flight ability, until a terrible war, centuries ago, destroyed much of their technology. The old thing was that they knew what they had lost and wanted it back. Right now, they had silks, furs, minerals, and art work to see.

  Erica’s family hoped to find something big to make money on, but all Erica was currently concerned with was watching for troublemakers that might attack. Keiko Williams, a security officer more senior than Erica, stood behind Janet as her bodyguard. Erica was further back from the crowd to keep an eye on the area. Erica held a tablet in her hand that was linked to a satellite, one of six, that the Daughter had placed in low orbit around Selene to watch surface. It told her about the weather and Selene’s pseudo-ants were doing a few feet from the white oak trees east of Erica. The white oaks were no more native to Selene than the humans, and had been brought from Earth. Similar things had been done by the earlier colonists of the more successful planet Yin.

  With all of this technology you’d think it would be impossible for this meeting to be interrupted, but you never can tell. Oops. Did I just jinx it?

  #

  Erica heard a loud thunderous sound. Everyone turned to look to see a four-story building crash to the sidewalk. Erica held her arm over her face, but the dirt and debris didn’t reach her location. That was loud!

  “Merciful Buddha.” Erica drew her stunner. Janet hadn’t permitted security to bring a blaster to the meet. Erica wished again that she hadn’t.

  Six men and women rode in on horse back. They were dressed in local clothes: sandals, khaki shorts, and thigh-length shirts. Selene’s only continent was at the planet’s equator and most of it was fairly tropical. I bet those rubber masks are hot in this burning sun. One of them fired a crossbow bolt at Keiko’s chest.

  Keiko was flung backwards and hit the ground hard.

  “Keiko!” Janet screamed.

  Erica aimed her stunner. Several crossbow bolts flew towards her from the six armed attackers. She took cover behind a tree. Erica heard screams and shouts. She poked her head out and fired her stunner. Miss! Kidnappers? Horses! The bad guys have horses! When she looked to aim her stunner Erica saw Janet, Tawny, and a local being tied up by the six bad guys. They also had horses, which the merchants didn’t have with them. I need to look again. They look fast and organized. I need a better view of what’s going on. Damn it! I’m an idiot!

  Erica remembered her tablet and cursed herself again. She pulled on the sides to increase the pocket-sized tablet to 10 by 8 inches. Erica adjusted the view and was able to see better. The merchant family was running and screaming, while the attackers gathered up Aunt Janet and the merchant family’s leader.

  Seeing her moment, Erica aimed her stunner and hit the last bad guy in the back the rest raced off on their horses. They got away with her aunt and the leader of the merchant family they were hoping to do business with. Shit!

  “Keiko!” Erica ran over to her cousin. She knelt by her to check for life signs.

  “Shit! That hurt!” Keiko clutched the spot between her breasts where the crossbow bolt had hit. She yanked the bolt out of her shirt. The light body armor under her coveralls had protected her. Erica was also wearing light body armor. SOP: Standard operating procedures when on a primitive world like this one.

  “Are you okay, Keiko?”

  “Yes!” Keiko coughed. “My armor’s AI says I’ve some minor bruises and minor muscle tears, but I’m okay. Janet?”

  “They got her.” Erica patted Keiko’s hair. “Can you move?”

  “Sure.” Keiko held out her hand and Erica clasp it. “I’m glad we decided to wear these things, especially with this damn murdering heat.”

  “The class 2s are supposed to have better coolants and heaters,” Erica said and pulled her cousin to her feet.

  Keiko pulled out her tablet to contact the Daughter and inform them about the kidnapping.

  #

  Erica looked at Keiko’s tablet as she talked to Piper Williams, the security chief of Guinvere’s second shift. The second shift was currently running Guinevere’s Daughter, while first and third shifts ran the Guinevere over in the Collard star system. Piper was also Erica’s O-mother or birth mother.

  “We need to go after them, ma’am,” Erica told her mother’s image on Keiko’s tablet.

  “Out of the question,” Piper replied. “You will return to the Daughter. We will make a plan and wait to see if a ransom is demanded. We have Janet and Tawny’s location and are following them. There’s no way anyone on Selene has the technology to locate Janet and Tawny’s tracker implants and remove them. We can’t go all action movie hero running around Selene looking for them. That’s an order.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Keiko replied.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Erica grumbled.

  Erica got behind the wheel of the four-door hovercar with Keiko in the passenger seat.

  “They're not far away; we could have caught up with them.” Erica slapped the steering wheel.

  “I know, but the chief does have a point,” Keiko said. “We don’t know who we’d be up against. We need more info.”

  “I guess.”

  Erica drove them back to the spaceport ruins where the only security was the one the Daughter’s security people provided. They approached the checkpoint.

  “Heidi. Judy.” Keiko nodded.

  “Keiko. Erica,” came the response. Erica drove the hovercar over the vehicle scanner and set the hovercar down on it. There was a loud hum that indicated the scanner was working. Heidi gave a thumbs up to them. “You're clear. Move on.”

  “Thanks,” Keiko and Erica replied.

  Erica drove the hovercar through the large cargo doors and into Cargo Bay 3. They got out and a cargo worker came by to get the hovercar. It was Tea.

  �
��Hi, Erica,” Tea Williams said. Her cousin Tea seemed to be trying to be more friendly to Erica. Why does that make me paranoid. What is really after? I thought we were enemies.

  “Hi, Tea.”

  Tea drove the hovercar into the Storage Pod 6 where the vehicles were kept.

  Erica followed Keiko out of Cargo Bay 3 to find Security Chief Piper Williams waiting for them.

  “Sorry, Chief,” Keiko said. “We fucked up.”

  “Come on.” Piper waved them to follow her. “We’ll need to debrief you.”

  “Yes, chief,” Keiko said. Erica gave the same reply in a quieter voice.

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE

  Seeking trouble

  “I can’t believe this,” Tilly Zhou whispered in the Daughter’s cafeteria. She was sitting across from her roommate Erica. “The XO and the cargo chief are in trouble; we need to get out there and find them.”

  “It isn’t that simple, Tilly.” Keiko tried to explain. She was sitting on Erica’s left side.

  “We know where she is.” Tilly sipped her hot coffee.

  “What did our other mother, the captain, say about this?” Jessica Williams placed a hand on Erica’s forearm.

  Erica pulled her arm away. She was uncomfortable with physical contact, even from her little sister Jessica.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t speak with her about it.” Erica shook her head. She didn’t feel like talking to her T-mother, Junior Captain Alberta Williams. That’s going to be far worse than talking to a hundred Mother Pipers. Erica saw Martha Clarke approaching their table. Martha! She was dressed in the standard Guinevere crew coveralls: blue and red with the Guinevere logo on the left breast, much like Erica and her friends. The only difference was that Martha wasn’t family. They had picked her up when the woman was running from assassins and they had no choice but to protect her. She now worked in the cafeteria as a cook assistant.

  “May I join you guys?” Martha stopped beside Tilly and her pretty eyes glanced down at the empty chair and back up to them. Tilly looked at Erica for an okay.

  “Sure.” Erica nodded.

  Martha beamed a smile at Erica that made Erica’s heart flutter, though if asked she would deny it. Another odd thing about Martha was that she was a regular human being. She was a genetically engineered human like the Yin.

  “Thank you.” Martha set down her tray and sat. Everyone was quiet at first. Eyes glanced from one to another. Each person wondering what to say. “I’m sorry to hear about Janet the XO. She helped me a lot to fit in and get a job working in the cafeteria.”

  “It's her job,” Tilly said.

  “She’s good at it,” Martha said. “So can you tell me what happened out there?”

  Erica and Keiko told their stories again about the kidnapping of Janet, Tawny, and the leader of the merchant clan. The discussion continued.

  “So when are we going to go try to save her?” Martha said after a drink of coffee.

  “The captain has decided,” Keiko said. “They’re waiting for a ransom demand. Probably making some plans with the security chief, bu—”

  “No, I mean us.” Martha pointed around the table with her fork. “When are we going to do something?”

  “Are you crazy?” Keiko snapped. “We already are in enough trouble for helping you. Why make more problems?”

  “Janet needs our help,” Martha replied.

  “She has a point,” Jessica said. “Aunt Janet is in trouble. We know where she is.”

  “Oh. Here we go again,” Keiko complained.

  “Do you think you can get us some weapons again, Keiko?” Tilly asked.

  “Shit,” Keiko said.

  “I think we could at least get some stunners to take with us,” Erica threw in. “What we really need is a fast hovercar.”

  “I have a fast hovercar.”

  Everyone looked up to see the two newcomers: Tea Williams and Judy Williams.

  “That is if you take me and Judy with you.” Tea tilted her head to the left. “We are going after my mother Tawny too, right?”

  “Yes. Of course,” Erica said. “But Jessica…” She turned to her sister who’d only recently got out of college. “You should stay here.”

  “What?”

  “Please, I don’t want our parents pissed off at me about nearly getting you killed.”

  “I’m not a minor anymore, Erica,” Jessica said. “Shit.”

  “You know as well as I do that they’re keeping a close eye on you,” Erica said.

  “I know. Dammit,” Jessica grumbled. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

  “And you’ll keep your mouth shut?” Tea added.

  “Yes!” Jessica snapped.

  “Let’s get together at my place to plan this,” Erica said.

  #

  Tea drove her hovercar out of storage pod 9. Erica opened a door and hoped in. Martha tried to follow, but Tilly pushed her out of the way. Tilly moved across the seat to be by Erica. Martha sat by Tilly. She glanced toward Erica and looked away when Tilly looked at her.

  Tea zipped them out of the spaceport in her hovercar. I sure hope we don’t screw this up. Erica looked down at her tablet that told her how far away Janet and Tawny were from them. Everyone but their driver Tea had their tablet out to follow the trackers, and how long it would be before they caught up with them and the kidnappers.

  Tilly didn’t want Martha snuggled all cozy-like beside me. Could Tilly tell that I was still attracted to Martha? I’m trying my best to stop it!

  CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX

  Enemy attacks

  Two women watched a hovercar flying away from the spaceport. One woman Mickey Tuan watched with her binoculars, while the other Bobby-Jane Grose, watched through the scope of her blaster rifle.

  “I think I can hit the drive from here, Mickey.” Grose licked her thin green colored lips.

  “No,” Tuan said. “I want them to get to our friends, so we can catch them there.”

  “Okay," Grose mumbled.

  “I see Martha Clarke is in there.” Tuan removed her brown military cap from her bald head, scratched it, and put the cap back on. “Just scare them a little. Wound somebody, Bobby-Jane.”

  “Gottcha.”

  Bobby-Jane adjusted something on her blaster rifle. It was an MDZ-120 sniper blaster rifle with an AI-assisted SY-89 laser scope.

  Bobby-Jane focused and pulled back carefully on the trigger.

  #

  A blaster slammed through the window on Tea’s door to a window on Keiko’s door.

  “Mother fuckers!” Tea screamed.

  “Where did that come from?” Keiko shouted. “Judy, track that thing.”

  “I’m trying!” Judy yelled back.

  A couple more shots were fired from the same direction.

  “Shit!” Erica screamed.

  “I can go faster,” Tea screamed. She tapped some controls on the dashboard.

  Erica felt the momentum shove her back.

  “Mach 1!” Erica heard Tea scream. Minutes later, she added, “Mach 2!”

  “Fuck! I hate this part!” Judy screamed.

  From what Erica could see in the backseat, Judy looked as white as a sheet. I take it she doesn’t like Tea’s love of speed.

  “Oh, Judy.” Tea had a big grin on her face. “All hovercars should go Mach 2! What’s more fun than this?”

  “Jets and rocketships go Mach 2 or more, not hovercars!” Judy complained. “That’s the rules!”

  “Bla! bla! bla!”

  Tea wasn’t just speeding down a deserted road, but through traffic faster than what Erica thought she should. But one glance at Martha showed Erica how much Martha loved such things. Crazy bitch! Erica shook her head and tried to stop her hands from shaking.

  “What was that shit about?” Keiko asked. “Where did the locals get a blaster?”

  “That had to be a sniper rifle,” Judy added.

  “Yes,” Keiko agreed. “A shot. They were pros.”

  Erica knew Keiko meant prof
essional assassins. Erica relaxed a little as the hovercar left the city and zoomed through the open plains. Somewhere ahead were Janet and Tawny.

  “Probably someone trying to kill Martha again,” Tilly tossed in.

  “Why me? Why is it my fault, Tilly?” Martha complained. “It could be anybody.”

  “Who else has a high priced hit on their head?” Tilly snapped.

  “Oh,” Martha whined.

  “Tilly! Stop it,” Erica snapped.

  Tilly jumped. “Fine.” She looked at her tablet.

  She sounded hurt, but Erica didn’t like how her cousin was acting towards Martha. Now I’m being over protective. Is it obvious?

  “Thank you, Erica.” Martha smiled a coquettish smile at Erica.

  Calm down! Calm down! Erica told her heart and other body parts that wouldn’t obey her rational mind.

  “Maybe we should go back,” Keiko said.

  “No we need to save my mom and Janet,” Tea said. Tea landed the hovercar in the grassy plains. Most of the grass was six foot tall and hid the hovercar very well.

  “I agree,” Erica added.

  “Me too!” Martha tossed out.

  “Yes. I want to do it too,” Judy added.

  Everyone looked at Tilly.

  “Okay. Let’s do it.” Tilly nodded.

  “Fine.” Keiko shook her head. “But we can’t just run up there like a bunch idiots.”

  “So what’s the plan, boss?” Judy asked.

  “Okay.” Keiko sighed. “Look at your tablets. Here’s my plan.”

  Suddenly Keiko was shot in the arm by a blaster bolt.

  “Keiko!” Tilly screamed.

  “Mother fuckers!” Tea screamed. “Hold on!”

  Tea lifted the hovercar off the ground and zipped off. Another blaster bolt struck the hovercar, but no one was hit.

  “Damn it!” Judy yelled. She was covering Keiko’s wound with her hand. Tilly opened her med bag and got out a bottle. Tilly moved Judy’s hand to spray medical foam on the wound. This stopped the bleeding and contained medicine to fight the infection and increase the healing. Tilly gave Keiko a shot for the pain.