The Star Traders: The Star Traders Series Volume One

by Gary W. Feather

  “Candy! My dear, you brought them. Wonderful.” The elderly woman held out her left hand.

  Candy Stones almost skipped forward and knelt by the older woman’s hand. She kissed the wrinkled hand and stood. “Always a pleasure to serve you, Ms. Long.”

  The old woman chuckled at Candy.

  Candy Stones waved at Martha. “This is Martha Clarke.”

  “Mmmm. You’re the one who stole the information.” Ms. Long snorted. “Naughty.”

  “And this is Erica Williams.”

  Erica forced her hands not to shake as the old eyes spied her up and down.

  “Mmmm. So you're the one he trained.” Ms. Long nodded. “Yes.”

  “What? Who are yo—who do you mean?” Erica stumbled out a reply.

  “Jacob Caleb Musashi.” Ms. Long laughed and shook her head knowingly.

  How does she know about him?

  “Um-he was a monk at the Buddhist monastery I once lived at. He trained me in Karate and Jujutsu.” Erica coughed nervously. "I used to be a nun."

  “Sit down,” Ms. Long commanded. She was obviously a woman who expected to be obeyed. “Both of you.”

  Erica and Martha sat in chairs side by side. Erica held Martha’s hand now.

  “Mmmm. Aren’t they cute, Darla?” Ms. Long said to Darla, who sat down in a chair beside Ms. Long.

  “Yes. Quite adorable, Ms. Long.” The middle-aged woman nodded.

  Ms. Long cleared her throat. “But we have a serious matter to deal with, Ms. Clarke. You stole very sensitive information from my society. I am both impressed and annoyed by that. Though I wish to let bygones be bygones, if you return it to us.”

  “I…I can do that,” Martha replied. “I have it hidden on Guinevere. I’ll need to go get it.”

  “Oh. Of course.” Ms. Long nodded. “Darla. Please contact the Guinevere and tell them what has happened. And be sure to inform them about the deal I have offered to Ms. Clarke.”

  “Yes, Ms. Long.” Darla rose and left the library by a door behind Ms. Long.

  “Excellent.”

  Ms. Long gazed at Erica with deep curiosity.

  I think that’s what she’s doing. Eeew, she's even too old for my moms.

  “Do you know what Jacob Caleb Musashi did before becoming a Buddhist monk?” Ms. Long asked her.

  Erica hadn’t expected the question. What is it about her and Sensei Musashi?

  “He said he’d been in the military. Suiko Army. Special forces,” Erica told her. The humorous look she gave him made him wonder if it wasn’t true.

  “No,” Ms. Long said. “He started that way, but later became one of the top feared assassins in the galaxy.”

  “Huh?”

  “Yes.” Ms. Long nodded. “But one day he quit and became a monk. No one knows why. I wonder what it could have been. Did he fall in love? Or did he discover he had a heart in his old age, and could do it anymore? But he never told you anything about his real past? A pity. I was hoping to learn something about him. We were lovers once. Long before you were ever born, child.” Ms. Long chuckled at an old memory. “Mmmm. Yes. Well. Hopefully, I can get you two off this planet and strike a hard blow on that bitch Ms. Finn for once. Yes.”

  Darla returned to say that Guinevere had been contacted. They were to meet them at the spaceport.

  “Good work, Darla. Now come with us to the garage and we’ll be off,” Ms. Long ordered.

  Erica and Martha went with Ms. Long, Darla, and Candy to the garage. Erica watched Ms. Long walk and recognized that the old woman still had a deadly grace about her. She could still hold her own in fistfight, and I’m sure she could kill with her bare hands. Scary old woman. Erica found several armed women waiting for them in the garage.

  “Please join me, Ms. Clarke and Ms. Williams.” Ms. Long invited Erica and Martha into the back of her long hovercar.

  Erica scooted in behind Ms. Long, and was followed by Martha. It might be silly, but I’d rather be between Martha and this deadly old woman.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED

  Getting ready for it

  Three more regular-sized hovercars were quickly loaded up with armed assassins and their drivers. The hovercars moved through the highway with Ms. Long’s hovercar in the number two position of their little convoy. Nothing happened along the way to the restaurant. There was a large hologram sign above the building. The hologram was of a blond-haired woman in only a g-string and heels walked in a circle holding a sign that read Brice’s Roar.

  “Do you recognize any of the vehicles here?” Ms. Long asked. “We’re only a mile and a half from the spaceport. It shouldn’t take your friends long to get here.”

  “No. I don’t.” Erica glanced at the various vehicles around. Hovercars, ground cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and even a couple of horses. Ms. Long’s four hovercars had parked side by side. All of Ms. Long’s people got out of their vehicles before she did. Three of them canvased the area for a few minutes before returning to the group.

  “Too bad. Let’s go in,” Ms. Long said. Candy Stones came to Ms. Long’s door and opened it for her. “Thank you, Candy.”

  “My pleasure, Ms. Long.” She looked at Erica and Martha. “Come, ladies.”

  Erica slid toward the open door with Martha behind her. No one noticed the ten-year-old girl walking towards them until she started to run.

  “Look out!” Darla yelled, too late.

  The little girl pulled out a small blaster and hit Ms. Long three times in the chest. Blaster bolts from various directions slammed into the little girl, ending her life.

  “Motherfucker!” Candy screamed. “Get back in the car! Get her inside!”

  Four more women sped out of Brice’s Roar and fired the blasters at them. Five more armed women rushed out from behind a parked hovercar to charge them. Darla killed a couple of them, but got blasted from all sides. Her blood and brains splattered against the side of the hovercar. Four more of Ms. Long’s women went down.

  “Give me a blaster, Candy!” Erica shouted.

  “Shut up! I’m trying to concentrate!” Candy hid behind Ms. Long’s open door and fired at the attackers. Suddenly a ground van pulled up, and seven more women jumped out to attack them too. “Damn it!”

  “Oh shit! You’ve lost too many people,” Erica told Candy. “Give me a blaster. I can help!”

  Candy tossed her Darla’s blaster. Erica caught the slippery weapon. It had blood on it. She fired at the enemy. Damn it! We're up the creek without a paddle!

  Three hovercars zipped into the crowded parking lot. They screeched as it hit the ground, because they were still moving forward. Erica sighed in relief as several women climbed out dressed in the coverall uniform of the starship Guinevere.

  Erica quickly spotted her mother Piper in the group. Fifteen blasters from Guinevere’s security personnel opened up on the attackers. The few survivors ran for their life.

  “I’m Piper Williams, second shift security chief from Guinevere! Who’s in charge here?”

  Ms. Long’s people, who weren’t dead or unconscious, glanced at each other, unsure of who was in charge. “I guess I am. Candy Stones. Ms. Long has been shot. She needs a doctor! There’s also others wounded too.”

  “Tilly! You’re needed! Let’s go!” Piper tossed an order back at the Guinevere’s hovercars.

  Erica saw her roommate Tilly Zhou, RN, running towards them with a medical bag. “I’m here! I’m here! Please move out of the way.” Tilly patted Candy’s arm. Candy moved. Tilly went to work on Ms. Long, injecting various medical chemicals. Tilly glanced up at Erica. “Hi Erica! Hi Martha!”

  “Hi Tilly!” Erica said. Martha waved.

  “Erica and Martha, get yourselves into one of the Guinevere’s hovercars, so we can get you home.” Piper had opened the door on the other side opposite of where Ms. Long lay.

  “Right, Mother.” Erica followed Martha out of the backseat of Long’s hovercar. Once she was out, her mother hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. Erica returne
d the hug and patted her back. “We’re fine.”

  “I see that, Erica.” Piper nodded.

  Erica heard Tilly shout out on the other side of the hovercar, “I got the blood stopped and I’ve got her stabilized enough to move her. Are there more wounded I need to check?”

  “Yes. Come with me,” Candy replied.

  Erica and Martha got into one of the Guinevere’s hovercars. Ms. Long’s wounded were gathered up and loaded. Soon six hovercars were speeding towards the spaceport.

  “I’ve informed the local police and mayor about the incident here,” Piper explained from the shotgun seat in front of where Erica sat. “Nothing to worry about. If there is, our lawyers can chew on them.”

  Erica nodded. Piper looked at Martha. “I take it this Ms. Long promised that their organization while leave you alone if you hand over the information you stole.”

  “Yes.” Martha nodded. “She believes if she gets the information from me herself, she’ll be able to embarrass Pollyanna Finn in the organization. She’ll be able to push the other leaders of the society to get rid of Ms. Finn.”

  “Sounds like a good plan to me.” Piper smiled.

  Keiko nodded. She was in the backseat on the other side of Martha.

  “If it works!” Tea Williams said, from the driver’s seat.

  “Security Chief Piper to Guinevere’s Daughter!” Erica’s mother spoke into her tablet.

  “This is Guinevere’s Daughter. Captain Alberta Williams speaking,” came the voice from out of the tablet.

  “I have Erica and Martha safe and sound. We didn’t lose any of our people, but Ms. Long is in bad shape. She’s lost several women, and she herself has been badly wounded. Tilly is looking after them. She need to be rushed into sickbay as soon as we get there. If not sooner.”

  “Understood,” Alberta replied. “I’ll see you then. I love you, and Erica too.”

  “We know, and we love you too.” Piper glanced back at Erica. Erica blushed and Martha leaned her head on Erica’s shoulder. Piper frowned, but not at Martha. “Erica, are you ever going to take your girlfriend on a date that doesn’t include violence and lots of bloodshed?”

  “I-I— What?”

  Piper, Keiko, and Martha laughed together. Even Tea joined in. Erica frowned for a few seconds before giving into laughter.

  The hovercars zoomed into the Guinevere’s Daughter. Soon Tilly was joined by other nurses with anti-grav gurneys and a couple of doctors. One being Erica’s aunt, Doctor Amy Menendez. Ms. Long was the first to be moved out, but was soon joined by the other wounded. Ms. Long’s women who weren’t wounded stayed with Candy Stones. She walked up to Piper, who in return was headed in her direction too.

  Erica, Martha, Keiko, and Tea all followed Piper.

  “Where do you want us to go, Security Chief Williams?” Candy asked.

  “I’m sending you to a waiting room,” Piper told them. “You’ll be kept posted on the health of Ms. Long and the rest of your wounded.”

  “Thank you.” Candy Stones nodded.

  A new person arrived in the cargo bay: Junior Captain Alberta Williams. A security guard trailed her. She rushed over to them.

  “Hello, everyone. Are you okay?” Alberta smiled at Erica before touching Piper’s back.

  “Yes, Captain. We’re good.” Piper smiled back.

  They all head towards sickbay; Alberta was told everything about their kidnapping, Ms. Stones saving their lives, Ms. Long’s plan to save Martha, and all the threats that Pollyanna Finn posed to their family. In a few hours, a couple of the wounded were quickly healed and sent over to where Candy Stones and her people were staying. One of the wounded died of her wounds.

  “Damn it!” Alberta had just got a call on her tablet. They were in a waiting room inside sickbay.

  “What is it?” Piper asked.

  Erica walked over to them and Martha followed.

  “Janet called. There’s a heavily armed mercenary company demanding to be let into the spaceport. They have armored cars and a tank with them,” Alberta said. “I’m going to the bridge. I’ll contact the Guinevere to tell them about it.”

  “I’ll break out all of the blaster rifles, armor, and helmets for our security forces.” Piper nodded.

  “I hope we don’t need that,” Alberta said. “I’ll tell Jo to sue the mercanaries and threaten to sue the local government for letting rogue mercs run loose. That might get them off their fat asses.”

  “Maybe.” Piper snorted.

  Alberta left the waiting room.

  “Erica, I need your help. You with me?” Piper asked.

  “Yes, Mother.” Erica turned to Martha. “Looks like I am back to work, Martha.”

  “That’s okay.” Martha kissed Erica on the lips. “For luck!”

  “Thanks.” Erica turned and nearly tripped over her own feet. She smiled at her mother Piper without a word, and followed her towards an elevator that would take them to the security deck.

  #

  Erica examined Keiko’s helmet and armor jacket with a scanner, and double-checked it visually. “Everything checks out, Keiko.” Erica said.

  “Your turn, Erica.” Keiko took the scanner from Erica did the same procedure for Erica’s helmet and jacket.

  The rest of second shift’s security personnel were doing the same in pairs, including Security Chief Piper Williams. Once they were done Piper had all the blaster rifles handed out and made sure that everyone had a blaster handgun for backup.

  Not everyone would be going outside. Some were left being to monitor the data screens through the Daughter’s sensors both inside and out.

  Piper led them out of Guinevere’s Daughter. Erica could see the mercenaries from where the Daughter stood on her fins. Half a mile or more away from them. Damn that’s a big tank. It was a ground tank, instead of the newer hovertank models, but that still is a scary killing machine. The armored car wasn’t a nice bunny rabbit either. Erica held her blaster rifle to her chest for a brief second. She sighed and glanced at Keiko and then her mother.

  Piper scanned the area. “We’ll need to get some barricades out here, if it comes to a fight.” Piper nodded. “Keiko, you’re in charge here while I’m gone.”

  “Gone?”

  “I need to go speak with the spaceport’s security chief, and maybe the mercs will see reason,” Piper explained. “Erica, you’re with me.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Erica nodded.

  Piper led the way to the spaceport’s control tower. “They’re supposed to be expecting us. Thought they might try to stall just to keep this cluster-fuck in somebody else’s hands.”

  “Great!” Erica snorted.

  “That’s bureaucracy for you.” Piper snorted with disgust.

  Much to their surprise the spaceport’s security chief was eager to speak with them. A young woman, in the long dress of a Victorian businesswoman, met them at the door and handed each of them a cup of tea. Her brown hair was pulled back in a bun. “Hello. My name is Edith Smith. I’m a receptionist here at the spaceport and was sent by the Director Madeline Archer. Our security chief is wait for you in the security control room. Please follow me.”

  Miss Smith turned elegantly in her simple flats and escorted the way into the building. She led them through the hallways and produced enough pretty small talk to pass the time. Miss Smith opened a door marked Security Control Room. This must be it. She gestured to the doorway. “Go ahead please.”

  “Thank you, Miss Smith,” Piper said and entered.

  Erica repeated what her mother said and entered the room. It was full of people and activity. People were standing or seated in front of a variety of data screens that they were tapping and pointing at or typing on keyboards. A man, about six feet tall in a gray striped business suit seemed at the center of the activity. It was obvious that everyone looked to him for answers and questions. He wore a long handle bar mustache. He glanced at them and pulled an antique timepiece out of his vest. He tucked it back in as he walked over
to them.

  “Hello, Mr. O’Brien.” Miss Smith curtsied and gestured to them. “This is Mrs. Piper Williams, security chief from the Guinevere’s Daughter, and one of her security personnel, Miss Erica Williams.”

  “I’m pleased that you could come.” Mr. O’Brien gave a polite Victorian bow.

  “This is Rupert O’Brien, our security chief.”

  “A pleasure to meet, Mr. O’Brien.” Piper gave a Victorian curtsy.

  Erica wasn’t at all sure what to do and just bowed as best she could. She took a sip from her teacup.

  Mr. O’Brien led them back to where he had been. “It would appear that the mayor is not going to help us out here, even though he should. Quite shocking. We have enough firepower to handle most problems, but a tank is not what we usually have to deal with.”

  “Your Guinevere’s Daughter has some firepower: missile launchers and lasers, but we’re not legally permitted to fire on a Victorian planet, even in self-defense.”

  “Of course.” Mr. O’Brien nodded. “I was hoping that together we can give them a good smack in the fanny to make them back off.”

  “It might work,” Piper said. “We could give it a try.”

  “Good show, Mrs. Williams.” Mr. O’Brien smiled.

  CHAPTER ONE HUNDREDONE

  Spaceport battle

  Vehicles and cargo containers were taken out of the Daughter to offer protection for security personnel to take cover behind in case things got bad. And it got bad immediately as the mercenary’s tank broke through the simple security barricades and fired its big gun at the Daughter.

  Luckily Captain Alberta Williams had brought up the rocketship’s electro-magnetic shields to protect it from the proton bolt slammed into it. The Daughter’s barricades and security personnel were far enough away from blast that they weren’t hit by it.