Starship Guinevere (Star Traders Book 1)
Page 1
Contents
Title
Dedication
Copyright
CHAPTER ONE Waiting at the Bar.
CHAPTER TWO Going Home.
CHAPTER THREE Blast Off!
CHAPTER FOUR Working for the Family.
CHAPTER FIVE Security Job Day One
CHAPTER SIX Guinevere.
CHAPTER SEVEN Settling In.
CHAPTER EIGHT Meetings and Conferences.
CHAPTER NINE Fight! Fight!
CHAPTER TEN The Loss and the Search Begins.
CHAPTER ELEVEN Where Am I?
CHAPTER TWELVE Sold.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Clitoris.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN Launch!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN The Alien Captain.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Escape!
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Prepare for a Journey.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The Other City.
CHAPTER NINETEEN Monsters!
CHAPTER TWENTY Hide!
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE Alien Prison.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO Weird Questions.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Confessions.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Fight!
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Getting Ready.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX Battle with Blasters and Mini-nukes!
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN Home.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT Paperwork.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE Amusement Park.
CHAPTER THIRTY Conference.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE Talking to her daughter
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO Dirt Problems.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE Sleepless.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR Welcome to Weir.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE Checking Gifts.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX Going ahead.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN Unknown vessel
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT Fight or flee?
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE Being chased.
CHAPTER FORTY Erica's idea.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE Convincing mother.
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO Convincing wife.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE Erica's operation.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR Welcome to Chumley.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE Still there.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX Disappointed Janet.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN Another operation.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT Complications.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE Waiting.
CHAPTER FIFTY Post operation.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE Looking at space.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO Barhoping.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE Oceans of problems.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR Captured.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE The mothers that worry.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX Oscar Beaumont.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN Alberta and her mother.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT Fight?
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE Hostage negotiations.
CHAPTER SIXTY Escaping!
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE Talking with local authorities.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO Bar and grill.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE Police problems.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR Hostages, what hostages?
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE Running from the police.
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX Do you actually have hostages?
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN Where's Bubba?
CHAPTER SIXTY-EIGHT Making a command choice.
CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE How to steal a shuttle.
CHAPTER SEVENTY An unknown vessel in Collard.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE Beatdown.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO Meditation.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE Fight back!
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FOUR Incoming missiles!
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE A family meal.
Things to Come
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Author's Note
STARSHIP GUINEVERE
Gary W. Feather
Dedicated to everyone who loves starships.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:
Starship Guinevere
All Contents copyright 2016.
Gary W. Feather
Published by Interstellar Bushido Publishing.
All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in the fiction in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts there of, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
Author website: www.garywfeatherauthor.com
CHAPTER ONE
Waiting at the Bar.
Erica sipped her Jacobean tea. It was a mild relaxation drug made from a plant found on the planet Jacob in the Hungarian Monarchy.
Erica looked around the bar again. She still didn't see her kinfolk that were to come pick her up. The bar was on the planet Caroline near the main spaceport, thus it catered to spacers.
Erica's family—the Williams clan—were traders who hauled cargo from one star system to another for pay or sold their own cargo for profit. The Williams clan was from a minor interstellar nation called the Yin Confederation, though it was more advanced than Caroline.
Erica had left her family to go live in a Zen Buddhist monastery on the planet Buddha. Buddha and its Sutra star system were another interstellar nation. Like Yins the Buddhists were once a part of the great Hungarian Empire before it fell apart after its wars with the Egyptian Stellar Empire.
Unlike Erica's people, the Buddhists were mainly interested in spiritual pursuits, and not that of financial or territorial gain.
"Erica!"
She looked up from her thoughts and saw a teenaged girl waving at her. Erica didn't recognize her. Erica did recognize her female cousins, Lynna and Tea, who stood behind her. The three of them hurried to Erica's table. They were dressed in the coveralls worn by most civilian spaceship crews—blue and red with the Guinevere ship patch over the left breast.
Erica stood to shake hands. She didn't recognize the girl, but she had the tiny pointed nose of the Williams' women. The clan probably patented it. Cousin? Very likely.
The girl jumped on her with a hug. "Remember me?"
"Huh?"
"That's my little sister, Gwen," Lynna Williams said. "Hey, cuz."
"Oh, hey kiddo," Erica said.
"Kid?" Gwen said, with her arms crossed. "I'm seventeen. I'll be legally a woman in eight months."
"Sorry, Gwen."
"Careful, Gwen," Tea said. "You were probably legal on this planet five years ago. Of course, unlike Erica, you probably are more used to being around men.
Erica looked at Tea, whom she’d never liked. She had the feeling that Tea felt the same way. Asshole! "Buddhist monasteries are not male or female only. Unlike in the past or like the Druid Monasteries in Victorian space, stupid."
"Whatever, dork," Tea snapped.
"Will you two stop it," Lynna said. "We need to get back to the ship as soon as pos—"
A plasma bolt blasted through Lynna's left hip.
"Lynna!" Gwen screamed.
"Fuck!" Tea cursed.
"Who?" Erica said.
"Grab her, Erica." Tea drew her blaster.
Gwen had a similar one in her hand.
Why is someone trying to kill us? Erica thought.
Erica half carried Lynna out of the bar as fast as she could. Most everyone in the bar had dropped behind tables and anything else safe. Tea and Gwen fired shots at someone as they left the bar.
"Fuck! Fuck!" Tea pulled out her tablet to shout into it. "Lynna has been hit. We got Erica. Possibly just one attacker, but maybe more. She needs a doctor immediately. We could use some help."
"We're on our way," a familiar voice announced from the tablet.
Did Tea call the Daughter with her tabl
et?
Erica helped Lynna down the steps outside of the bar. Lynna was bleeding; Erica tried to keep her hand on the bloody opening. Over twenty hovercars and groundcars were parked in the parking lot. A man jumped out of a nearby groundcar and tackled Erica and Lynna. Lynna yelped in pain.
Erica got up and the man had a grip on her shoulders. A knee slammed into her ribs. She stopped the next knee strike with her own knee. She brought down a knife-hand strike to the man's collarbone. She kneed the guy in the stomach and tripped her attacker's leg. As her attacker went down she let her knee fall on the man's groin. She followed it up with a right and left punch to the throat.
Erica saw Tea and Gwen in a firefight with the driver in the ground car. The driver slumped in the seat.
"Who are these crazy people?" Erica said.
"Long...story...Erica," Lynna said.
"Our car is over here!" Gwen helped Erica get Lynna into the backseat of the hovercar.
Gwen sprayed medic goop on both sides of the wound to stop the bleeding. Then she wrapped a bandage around the area. Tea started the engine. Gwen hopped in the front passenger seat and Erica got in with Lynna. The hovercar lifted and headed off through the streets.
CHAPTER TWO
Going Home.
"Where's the ship?" Erica said.
"Caroline's main spaceport, off course," Tea said.
"I don't see anyone following us," Gwen said. "Maybe we lost them."
"Oh we didn't get all of them," Tea said. "Just keep watching, Gwen."
"Whatever," Gwen said.
The spaceport wasn't too far from the town where the bars and brothels were located. Erica could see the spaceport in the distance, along with the various rocket ships along with the large control tower. Between them and the spaceport she could see a hovercar headed towards them.
"I hope that's our people," Erica said and looked behind her. There was no one coming from that way.
"Ugh!" Lynna mumbled and clutched her wound. "Me too."
Gwen's tablet beeped at her.
"Hello, this is Gwen."
"Hello, Gwen. This is your Aunt Amy. You should see us coming. Is Lynna conscious?"
"Yes, she is," Gwen said.
"Good. Slow down and we'll meet you."
"Okay."
Not soon after they stopped, the other hovercar arrived. Dr. Amy Menendez got out of it carrying her med bag. "Hello, Erica. You go ride with them and I'll get in back here."
"Okay." Erica nodded.
Erica found Amy's husband, Saul Menendez, in the driver's seat. Eric got into the empty seat beside him. In the back were her cousins, Isabelle Menendez and Cyma Williams. Erica gave them a nod, which they returned. The hover cars took off for the spaceport.
They showed their IDs to the security guards before entering the spaceport. The large free trader rocketship loomed in front of them. Her name was Guinevere's Daughter. Erica had been born on her.
"Did you miss her?" Isabelle asked Erica.
Erica sighed for she realized for the first time that she had missed the ship.
"It feels strange," Erica said. "But I did miss the old lady."
As the two hovercars went up the ramp and into one of Daughter's cargo holds, Erica wondered if she had just killed a man. She had punched the guy twice in the throat. Real hard. Would he get medical care soon enough?
Erica wiped her sweaty palms on her pant legs. She had never killed or seriously crippled anyone. Sure she had bloodied a nose and cracked someone's ribs, but nothing serious.
"Shit!" Erica said.
"What?" Saul parked the hovercar.
"Nothing," Erica said.
Some of Aunt Amy's medical team was waiting with an anti-grav gurney. Erica started to follow the others; somebody grabbed her arm. She turned to face her mom, Piper Williams, the security chief of Guinevere's second shift crew.
Piper let go of Erica's arm, reached out to touch her head and stopped. All Buddhist monks and nuns at the monastery were bald. Erica had stopped shaving it once she left. It was still very short.
"I'm glad you’re back, Erica," she said.
"Thanks, Mom.” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. This is awkward. I feel like I'm nine years old again.
"Your other mother is glad you're back too," she said.
Oh, yea! Erica thought. I feel nine.
Her mother looked away at something. Erica followed her gaze and saw her other mother: Junior Captain Alberta Williams, Guinevere's second shift crew's commanding officer. She walked like she owned the place. Beside her, and slightly behind, was Erica's other aunt, Janet Williams. She was Alberta's XO or second crew's next in command after the CO.
"Hi, Erica," Alberta said.
"Hi, Mother," Erica said and breathed.
"Hi, Erica." Janet gently patted her on the arm. "I'm glad to see you're back with us."
"Thanks.”
"Did they teach you anything useful?" Alberta asked.
Oh, crap! Here it comes.
"Alberta, can't this wait for later?" Piper said. "She just got back and Lynna has been shot."
"Okay, Piper," Alberta said. "Later. Let’s go check on Lynna. Then we get off this damn planet."
Some of the crew were moving the hovercars into holding areas. Everything had to be put in its proper place, especially when you were about to launch off a planet. Erica supposed there were groundtrucks and hovertrucks in storage along with shuttles and haulers (large shuttles with tractor beam emitters).
Erica followed her parents and her aunt out of the cargo hold. They got into an elevator that took them up to Deck 11 where sickbay was located.
They found everyone in the waiting room. Dr. Amy Menendez returned and was the first to speak. "I put her in suspended animation. I'll need more time than we have to operate on her. I've heard we need to get off this planet."
CHAPTER THREE
Blast Off!
"Thank you, Amy," said Captain Williams. "We do."
"Captain, I just got a call from the bridge," Janet said. "There is a tank on its way. A ground tank. It’s moving slow, but will eventually get here."
"Gee, I wonder who it’s after," Captain Williams said.
Alberta sighed and rubbed her now-white hair. It had some brown in it when Erica had left for the Buddhist monastery. Captain Williams pulled out her tablet from a pocket in her coveralls. She tapped the screen.
"All crew, listen up," Captain Williams said. "This is the captain speaking. Everyone, you need to seal up all loose objects and containers. We’re launching soon as possible. Seal things and get into a launch chair. They are after us. Repeat. This is the captain speaking. We need to launch."
Captain Williams put her tablet away. Erica could hear the voice of her mother echoing through the ship.
"Okay, Janet. Let’s get to the bridge," Captain Williams said. The two of them took off.
Erica wondered where she was supposed to go.
"Erica can take one of the spare launch chairs here, until Janet assigns her somewhere." Erica’s mother Piper spoke to her aunt Amy, the med chief.
Piper said goodbye to Erica and left the sickbay. Everyone else took off to the place they knew where to go, but she and Amy. She looked at the middle-aged woman.
"Uh."
"I guess they've dumped you on me," she said. Erica relaxed when she smiled. "Come on. The launch chairs are this way."
Erica followed Amy through sickbay to a room with launch chairs in it. Several medical personal were settling into chairs. She sort of recognized some of them: doctors, nurses and med techs. All relatives of some sort.
Erica found an empty launch chair. She had learned to get into a launch chair and strap down before she was out of diapers. Months ago, on the planet Buddha, and she had been surprised she could still do it. It had been on a passenger rocketship of the Lexa Corp. Now here she was doing it again, and she was home. This is home. Right?
Amy checked to see if Erica was strapped in right. The
other woman nodded in approval from her chair.
"Hey Erica, welcome back," someone said behind her.
Erica turned her head, though the straps kept her from turning very far. But she could see who was sitting behind Amy. "Hi, Tilly," Erica said.
It was her third cousin Tilly Zhou. Tilly had been her best friend growing up.
"Good to see you again, Erica," Tilly said. "In that last message you sent me, you said you were going to be tested for your third degree black belt in Ketsugo Ryu Jujitsu. How did that go?"
"I did pretty good. It was rough, but I got it."
"That's awesome," Tilly said. "You should show me some stuff sometime."
"Sure. That would be cool."
In no time the Daughter was in orbit around the planet Caroline. The planet had only satellites and no space station in orbit. Erica felt her short hair float up. Freefall. How long had it been since she last shaved it? Did she want a haircut? What were the hair styles for Yin women now?
While they waited for the Daughter to break orbit, some people played games on their comp pads or talked to crewmembers elsewhere on the rocketship. Erica needed to get a comp pad. There had been no need for one in a low-tech zen monastery.
"She's out of orbit, everyone," Amy called. "And headed home."
There were a few cheers. Home was the Guinevere. The huge starship was the pride and joy of Erica's clan. A starship like the Daughter had interstellar travel only with its plasma sail and a tachyon particle emitter station.
The station crew fired a tachyon particle beam on the sail, which jumped the ship light-years away. Only large starship with gigantic FTL engines could make such a jump on their own. Guinevere was one of those starships.
"Well, Tilly," Erica said. "It looks like I have to go talk to the XO."
"Good luck, Erica," Tilly said. "Tell me later how it goes."
CHAPTER FOUR
Working for the Family.
Erica stopped off at a restroom that she was happy to find. She went up to a urinal and unzipped her pants. She pulled out her penis and sighed. It had been a surprise to the nuns and monks at her monastery when they learned she had male genitals.