by L M Lacee
Agnes snorted derisively as she retaliated. ‘You mean loyal, just to you.’
‘If you like!’
‘You think I cannot be loyal?’
Peyton ignored her question. ‘You see Agnes; we can and will do this without your participation, and I will sleep better tonight and every night after this knowing you have ceased to exist.’
Peyton leaned across the table and said harshly. ‘I am told we all go to an afterlife, after our bodies breathe their last. I really hope that is true, and you end up there. So you can dwell for eternity, knowing you sold out everyone who liked and admired you, for empty promises.’ With those words Peyton waved her hand, and the doctor was engulfed in a bright white light, when it cleared, Agnes was gone.
A voice reminiscent of a winter’s day washed through her mind. Justice Realized.
With hands that shook only a little, Peyton finished her coffee, letting the rage she felt calm. Without turning to look at the woman behind her, who remained silent she huskily asked. ‘Janet, are we going to have a problem with this?’
Janet had been a trooper for five years then a military police officer for eight years. At thirty-five, she thought she had seen everything. Especially in the last few months, but this… this was way above her pay grade. ‘Madam Peyton, I hope one day you tell me what the fuck just happened!’
Peyton was aware Janet had not replied to her question, but she let it go for now and instead said. ‘Please retrieve her tablet. Darby will need to see it, and then we should bug out.’
Janet re-holstered her forgotten weapon, then grabbed the tablet, cleared her throat, and stated.
‘You have been hanging with the General too long?’
‘Huh, I say that. So I think we all need breakfast?’
‘Where, the restaurants are closed?’
‘Helen’s diner.’
Janet swallowed and said as casually as she could. ‘Good idea, I like it.’
‘Well if you like it, it must be okay?’ Peyton quipped back in her normal tones, as they left the dwelling. Janet actually managed a grin, it may not have reached her eyes, but it was there, nonetheless.
Peyton hummed as she shoved the sadness she felt to the back of her mind, recognizing before this was done. She would have many things she may come to regret but this, she thought, would not be one of those.
The woman had been motivated not by love but by greed. She had despised the Warriors and feared the unknown and was jealous of Darby, which was why she did what she did. Greed, spite and fear drove her decisions and her own death.
Peyton sighed heavily, there was so much to do and very little time to dwell on the betrayal of one woman. She was more worried about how Janet perceived her now, and as she looked at her from the corner of her eye, she could see her drawing in on herself. There was none of the easy chatter and smiling guards that had escorted her to the house, less than thirty minutes ago.
A sharp stab of loneliness touched her heart, but she pushed it away, there was nothing she could do to change what had happened and the part of her that was the Star Daughter did not want to.
Ships would appear soon. The town would start receiving women from all over the world who were ready and willing to leave Earth. There was no time to mourn the loss of one person’s regard, even though it hurt.
TWENTY-SIX:
‘What do you mean, they are not on the ships?’
‘You heard.’
‘Seriously, Melody. What is wrong with them?’
‘Who knows, they are old!’
Peyton stopped pulling her boot on and looked at Melody, who was standing at the front door ready to leave. ‘Oh wow, I can’t believe you said that!’
Melody shrugged self-consciously. ‘You will not repeat that.’
Peyton finished pulling her boot on as she said. ‘Well, not today at least.’
‘Never, you hear me star girl?’
‘I hear you. I am just ignoring you.’
‘At your own peril, remember that.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘You know we saw it on a vid last night.’
‘Huh, are you sure? I don’t remember.’
‘Why, am I not surprised? Regardless you will not repeat what I said.’
‘Yeah,… yeah.’ Peyton said then she hugged Melody and asked. ‘Can you believe it, we are finally going?’
Melody swallowed hard and plastered a smile on her face. ‘Thank goodness, I just want to be gone.’
Peyton nodded and hugged her tighter knowing she was as nervous as she was. ‘I hear yah!’
‘Well, stop grabbing at me and let’s go round your ladies up.’
‘So rude.’
Peyton was thrilled and slightly nervous, the day was finally here, months that felt like years of preparation were complete. Containers were filled with every conceivable plant and product as well as farming and building equipment they thought they would need for building a new world. Every type of pot, pan, utensil, fabrics as well as bedding, towels, beauty products, you name it someone had thought of it and acquired it in bulk, lots and lots of bulk. They knew it would not last forever, the intention was to have enough to get them through until traders and growth could sustain them.
The Warriors’ advice made sure they obtained supplies they had not even considered and not just for themselves. Trading was a big factor of life in the universe they were to call home. When Melody found this out, she had delegated one hundred of her soldiers and just as many Warriors the task of obtaining the items listed by Commander Roeah and his men.
Containers had lined the streets of Runnerdale and the surrounding towns for weeks, waiting for the ships to arrive which they had done two days ago. Now everything had been loaded and transported to the Warships and Battle Cruisers orbiting Earth.
Today they had only the last of the containers to load, and she had been told they were near completion. Then they would say their final goodbyes to the planet that had given them life and fly away, toward a future that awaited them.
Darby and her computer specialists as well as the scientists had been living on Hawk’s Warship for just over a week. Peyton was told that within hours of stepping on the ship, Darby had become enamoured with the replication devices. She, and her people instantly started replicating thousands of new style tablets that were as thin as paper. They also produced what the Warriors referred to as a comm` link or communication device which was linked to the warship and could be linked to the data stream. It also doubled as an identity band or ident band, which held personal information and was worn on the wrist, they came in many different colors. The device was also bio-scanned to an individual, impossible Darby swore for anyone to breach, meaning her people had tried.
Once Darby studied how to navigate the data stream and learned exactly what it was. She downloaded instructions to the tablets, so everyone else could also access what amounted to a universal space data computer. She also kept her promise and wiped every last trace of the Warriors genetic creation from everywhere she found it.
TWENTY-SEVEN:
Peyton and Melody boarded the waiting shuttle, finding her seat she strapped herself in, then sighed and closed her eyes as Melody and the Warriors settled around her.
Her thoughts instantly went to the women who were leaving with them. Worrying about how they were going to accept the fact that as soon as they stepped aboard the ships orbiting Earth, they became citizens of Maikonia. The solar system she would rule.
She quickly shied away from that thought, there was really nothing she could do to lessen the changes they were all going to have to deal with, especially not from where she was right now.
She turned her mind to remembering the shock she and Melody had felt, when last night they had run the numbers, and found they had just over seventy thousand women leaving with them, not the thirty thousand they originally thought. It seemed combined with the messages sent out by Darby’s people along with Jean and Penny’s rescued women and
word of mouth, their numbers had swollen. Not that they were complaining, they were just very surprised.
Peyton’s recent plan had been successful, women had been smuggled in by Melody’s soldiers and Hawk’s Warriors almost continuously since the notification was sent out. The towns had remained hidden from the satellites that daily searched for unregistered pockets of humanity. Jean’s program had paid off as well, and they had rescued hundreds of women and teenagers destined for other worlds and pleasure planets.
To Peyton’s amazement, not every woman they rescued wished to leave. Several thousand decided to stay and fight for a better way of life on Earth. And many of Darby’s cyber-hackers who worked for the Undernet, also decided to stay and assist in the newly formed Resistance.
Darby set them up with updated tech as well as a secure way to communicate with her in case they wished to leave in the future. Melody and Hawk stockpiled weapons and left shuttles for the remaining soldiers and resistance fighters. Melody also contacted Naya and Adam as she promised Peyton she would. Giving them contact details for the soldiers and other resistant fighters like Darby’s cyber-hackers and Mia’s family, who they promised to check in with.
Heather contacted medics that had not wanted to leave Earth and had fallen off the grid, with help from Darby. When she explained there was a resistance movement, they volunteered their services.
Peyton gave the women who decided to remain behind, the town of Runnerdale as well as the surrounding towns as a base of operations. They promised to look after anyone that came to them for help and protection.
Ticking off all the items, on her mental list of things that have to be done before we leave. She felt good, there were only a few things left and then she and the few people remaining would join the others on the ships orbiting the moon.
Opening her eyes when the shuttle landed, she smiled at Melody, who asked. ‘Ticked off everything on your list?’
‘Yep, you?’
‘Yep.’
Together, they stepped down from the shuttle with eight or so guards following and walked into a huge building that was once a warehouse. For weeks it had been the depot for items to be sorted and loaded into containers. A few uniformed women were packing up the last of the containers as children and women hurried to and fro carrying objects from inside to outside where other containers were waiting to be closed up.
Peyton stopped a young girl by grabbing the back of her shirt as she tried to skirt around the group, bringing her to an abrupt halt. She yelped and turned a frowning face toward them until she realized who she was staring at. The huge male and female Warriors made for an intimidating sight, Peyton grinned and tapped the girl on the shoulder. ‘Hi!’
‘Hiyah back!’
‘Can you tell me where I would find, Helen Merson, Brenda Wilkson and Esther Lioni, please?’
‘Are they in trouble?’
Peyton grinned. ‘Only if they don’t get on the shuttle.’
The girl laughed and waved her hand toward the end of the room. ‘They are back there with the others, making food. So you are here to make them and the other ladies go?’
‘You bet I am.’
‘Good, I like them.’ She said as she scampered off, her arms full of what looked like silk.
Peyton’s hands started twitching. A sure sign she was ready to bolt into the tangle of people and containers. She looked around and muttered. ‘Organized chaos, I like it!’
Melody laughed at the almost desperate expression she wore, sensing if given half a chance she would be in there organizing and moving stuff and people around.
She reminded her. ‘You would, so the ladies or have you forgotten your mission already?’
Sighing wistfully, Peyton looked at Melody with a frown. ‘Oh, them and so rude!’
Melody and most of her guards laughed at the comment. They traversed the building, dodging children and harried women, until they came to two large swing doors leading into a makeshift kitchen.
Someone had created a small dining area with a few tables and chairs. It looked as though morning tea had just finished. Several older woman sat around drinking or desolately wiping down counters. Peyton’s nose twitched at the delightful smells wafting from the stove, she placed her hands on her hips and bellowed.
‘Esther Lioni, Helen Merson and Brenda Wilkson. Why are you and your ladies not on the shuttle?’
Brenda yelped as she dropped the plate she was holding, several of the other women let go small screams of panic. Melody sighed and softly said to her guards.
‘Such a sweet, delicately refined lady, we have as a leader.’
Brenda Wilkson was of medium height and a little on the plump side, due to her Irish ancestry. She was blessed with the English peaches and cream complexion and soft hazel eyes, which meshed nicely with her auburn hair. It always amused her that she is often thought of as many years younger than her actual age.
Her best friend Helen Merson, was the complete opposite to her, taller by three inches and slender, she had medium length blonde hair and blue eyes. Occasionally she had been heard to say she was three years older than Brenda. As yet no one had asked Brenda her age, because once again, on occasion Helen was known to have a very cutting turn of phrase, and no one wanted to be on the wrong side of that blade.
Both women had been friends since childhood and had grown up in a small village in England, called Lost-on-Trent. Peyton and Heather had found the name adorable, at least that was what Heather said. Peyton used other words that nobody listened to.
Once they learned the name was not uncommon in England, the friends had spent countless hours researching similar place names to see who could find the most outrageous one.
Heather told the others that when Brenda and Helen’s village was wiped out from the Virus, only the two women remained, over two thousand people died including their families in that outbreak.
Heather said, Helen told her, the army in those days roamed the country and when they came upon a village like theirs, they burned it to the ground. Unlike other countries who just had funeral pyres the English Government mandated the army to burn any village that was ravaged by the Virus. When Heather asked Helen why they did that, she said she thought it was just expedient for them. Maybe because there were so many villages like hers or the army were just numb to the deaths by then.
Brenda and Helen were forced to leave the only security they had ever known. Neither of them had ever left their village for anything other than the occasional vacation and never overseas. The friends had been forced to confront traveling throughout the desolate wastelands of England. Searching for another populated village or town, in the hopes, they would find a new home. Sadly they found exactly what they had left, burnt out villages and towns ravaged by disease and uninhabitable. Finally, desperation made them pluck up the nerve to obtain a passage across the ocean to America. Where for a few years they along with several women their age and older banded together and ran a large hotel.
Using the Undernet, they contacted woman like themselves skilled and alone. Offering them a home if needed or directing them to safe places to work and live. Some women had worked in the orphanages that Heather consulted with.
Peyton had come across Brenda, Helen and Esther’s names, when she had hijacked the list from the Government official, and saw what the future held for them. She had personally contacted each woman and explained what she and the others were doing and inviting them to take a chance at a new life.
Over a two-month period. Helen, Esther and Brenda contacted the five hundred plus woman they knew, and with Melody’s help, they all disappeared from the cities and towns they were living in. Then Darby slowly removed their names from records, making it appear as though the Virus had finally taken the women’s lives.
The three women had formed the Ladies club, an organization that helped and organized life in Runnerdale and the surrounding towns. It had been a very fortuitous meeting for Peyton, when she had finally met both Brenda and
Helen. One quiet and sweet with a will of iron and a kind word for everyone, the other a bit more reserved but bold with a heart of a lion. Then there was Esther Lioni, an American Italian who did not suffer fools and spoke her mind. She was invaluable to seeing to the heart of a matter and advising a solution.
Peyton knew they needed these women in the new world and not just for their wisdom and patience, which she knew she and the others lacked at times. Also, these women liked Darby and found her fascinating, rather than off putting. This was always a vote in their favor as far as Peyton, Heather and Melody were concerned. More importantly, the older woman really liked the Warriors and had taken them all into their care and the Warriors responded well to their kindness.
Now, it seemed that these thirty or so women were like the other women, Peyton and Melody had spent the morning rounding up and ensuring were placed on shuttles. For some unexplainable reason all these women seemed to think they were not wanted or needed and no one would tell Melody or Peyton why.
So they were here to gather the last of the ladies and finally find out why her friends were not ready to leave.
Helen next to Brenda growled at Peyton. ‘What are you yelling about?’
Peyton stomped forward. ‘I am yelling because I was told when I woke this morning that you were not on board your ships. Melody and I have just spent the time since then and now making sure all the women, are on shuttles where you should be. Would one of you like to tell me why?’
‘We are too old, that is why!’ Brenda stated near tears. Helen said as she wrung a cloth between her hands.
‘We…’ she waved her hand about. ‘Are all too old, we know that?’
‘Bullshit! Who the hell told you that?’ Snarled Peyton.
They all stopped talking as they watched Melody’s nemesis, sauntered into the room. Peyton heard Melody softly curse. ‘Marta fucking Aude, I just knew it.’
