The Pilgrimage Ch. 03

"Nah, I don't think the Goddess is gonna be mad at you for talking to me about this. In fact I have a sneaking suspicion that she set it up. You have to remember, she was in both of our heads that day too. I think she was in a bit of a bind though. She knew you hadn't even adjusted to the powers you already had yet, so there's no way you could possibly be ready for more. On the other hand, time is short. You needed the additional knowledge that was also virginity locked. Otherwise you wouldn't be able to finish everything you needed to get done before we got to Erie."

"Gods Megan! Ya know, I think you're right. I mean it all makes perfect sense. I feel a hell of a lot better now. I'm not saying that I'm not still scared shitless, I am. But now that I can actually understand the need for me getting all these new powers so fast, I can keep my fears under control. I wonder why the Goddess didn't just explain all this to me earlier."

Megan held her hands out wiggling her fingers. "Woooo, the gods and goddesses move in mysterious ways," Causing them both to crack up laughing.

When they finally stopped laughing, Morrigan looked at Megan with a grin. "Thanks Megan I REALLY needed that. I haven't laughed like that in... oh gods... it feels like forever!"

"Good! I'm glad you're feeling better. I finally have an answer to your question too. I think I CAN be both at least to some extent. In here, I can be anything you want, or need me to be. But out there..." Megan tipped her head towards the door. "In the real world, I'll have to act professional and be your P.A. Fair enough?"

"That works for me. But what would you say if I asked you to share a bottle of Zinfandel with me after dinner some night?"

"I'd say I'd love to. BUT only if it's in your bedroom and ONLY if the door's closed. Zinfandel gets me horny as a bitch in heat and I'm VERY bi-sexual just like you!" Megan giggled.

"Sounds like a fun night to me. But they say anticipation is the best aphrodisiac, so let's leave that one on slow simmer for a few days while I get my shit together. Right now though, it's time for me to become a queen again. Go over to that computer, pull up a diagram of the arc, and pick a random rec room on any deck but this one."

"How about this one?"

"That's fine. Now go down to that section and knock on every door. Let people know I'll be in that rec room in say, fifteen minutes. Oh, and tell them it's an open forum. They're free to ask or discuss anything with me. The only rule is that they have to raise their hand and wait until I acknowledge them before speaking."

"Okay, you got it Morrigan. Want me to grab a camera crew on my way there?"

"No, I'll handle that. I've got a feeling my uncle's not gonna be happy with my plan."

When Morrigan told Pete what she was up to, he said, "Fifteen minutes? Gods Morrigan, you don't give me much time to get a security team ready, do you? On top of that, it's not nearly enough time to screen the people that are gonna be in that rec room."

"Uncle Pete, this is a direct order. Send a camera crew, and only a camera crew, down there NOW! There will be NO security team, and NO security checks! The day will NEVER come when I can't walk freely among my people to hear what they have to say!"

"Couldn't you at least take Kelli with you?"

"NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT! Peter O'Connor, are you refusing to obey a direct order?"

"No Ma'am," he grumbled.

"Good. You have eleven minutes left to get that camera crew in place and set up."

Morrigan stepped back into her quarters to compose herself. She reached out to Megan's mind. "Is everything all set for me down there?"

"Yeah. The camera crew just finished setting up. We're ready when you are Morrigan."

"Okay. Contact Peter and tell him to make a ship wide announcement that the open forum will begin in one minute, then begin your introductory remarks. I'll be right outside the door until you call for me."

Morrigan knew the room Megan had chosen was actually a large open space intended to simulate a public park. She grabbed a cushion off the sofa, slipped it under one arm then ported herself into the hallway outside the rec room. She listened as Megan explained how the open forum worked and the one rule it had. As Megan called for Morrigan, she stepped through the doorway frowning at the podium.

Morrigan grabbed a wireless mike from a surprised camera crew member, then tossing her cushion on the simulated grass in front of the podium, she sat, gracefully folding her legs underneath her. "Afternoon folks. I realize this is a bit unexpected, but I think it's a little more fun that way. I didn't give anybody enough time to drag a bunch of chairs in here. Just garb a seat in the grass like I did and we can chat a while."

She waited until everyone was seated. "Okay, when I call on you tell me your first name, just so I know who I'm talking to, then say whatever is on your mind. Who wants to go first? You sir in the black tee shirt."

"Um...Hi Morrigan. My name's Frank. Rumor has it that you're only eighteen years old. If that's true, how did you become our queen, and why?"

"Look Frank. You and everyone else on board already know the answers to those questions. It's all been explained more than once. First by your patron god or goddess, then again in this morning's session with Kylie. I'm not gonna waste everyone's time just so you can stand there ogling my tits. There are people in this park with honest questions, valid concerns, and real problems. Unless you have a real question, I'd advise you to sit down."

Morrigan was looking around for somebody to call on when she heard Frank say something as he sat down. She spun her head back towards Frank, her eyes cold as ice and her voice dripping with venom. "Did you just call me a slut Frank?"

"So what if I did," he retorted.

"Okay Frank. There are children present so I'm gonna be nice. You wanna have diarrhea of the mouth and constipation of the brain? I'm gonna give you exactly one minute to get back to your quarters before that diarrhea begins running down your legs. If I were you, I'd run fast Frank, otherwise you're gonna be awfully embarrassed. Oh and Frank, I allow anyone one mistake. You've just made yours. DON'T make a second one."

Frank was just closing the door behind him when the feces began running down his legs inside his jeans.

Morrigan took a deep breath letting it out slowly. "Sorry about that folks. That wasn't exactly what I'd call a good start. Let's try again, shall we?" She looked around at the sea of hands. "Okay, let's try you, in the flowered print dress."

"Good afternoon Morrigan. My name's Nancy and this sweet little girl is my daughter Lisa. First I wanna thank you for taking the children into consideration during the episode with Frank. As a woman, I understand your outrage at what he called you. As a parent of an eight year old child, I appreciate the way you handled it without scaring the children. I doubt there's a woman, or parent in this park that doesn't feel the same way. Anyway, my question is about Erie. My husband Steve, that's him waving the mike in my face, and I were farmers on Earth. Is there anything more you can tell us about the planet itself, growing conditions, climate, that sort of thing?"

"Thanks for understanding the position I was in with Frank. As a woman, I was insulted, as a queen, I was furious. For the sake of the children I tried to be as gentle as possible, while still sending the message that he simply can't be disrespectful to his queen, and expect no repercussions. It's funny you should ask me that question about Erie though. I um... I learned a new trick this morning. If we can get a couple of volunteers to move this useless podium behind me out into the corridor; I think I can do a little better than just tell you about Erie. How would you like to see what she actually looks like in real time?"

Nancy's eyes went wide as her jaw dropped. "You can do that? Oh gods yes!" she grabbed the wireless mike from her husband. "Go on Steve, get your butt up there and help move that thing! I wanna see what our new home looks like!

"I thought I asked for volunteers, not draftees Nancy," Morrigan giggled.

"He's my husband, I can volunteer him, for him, and I don't think he wants to be sleeping on the sofa tonight," Nancy laughed.

After the podium was moved and everybody seated again, Morrigan moved her seat to the doorway. She looked back at where she had been sitting. "That will do quite nicely." She closed her eyes for a few seconds, then opened them projecting a seven foot tall image of Erie in the spot she had just vacated. "There ya go Nancy, Erie as she exists at this very moment. This is about the view you'll see as we pull up alongside her in a few weeks.

Nancy stood beside Steve hugging him, both their eyes glistening with tears as he held Lisa in his arms. "My gods Steve, look at her! Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?"

"She's beautiful all right, but she's not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. She can't hold a candle to you and Lisa."

Nancy giggled. "Flatterer!" She turned back to Morrigan. "Can I ask one more question?"

"You can, but I think I can save you the trouble. Yes, I've found Hope's Landing. Would you like to see that as well?"

"Could we? Please?"

Morrigan slowly rotated the image until Hope's Landing was front and center, then she removed the rest of Erie leaving only the continent itself. She created a three foot long pointer and stood beside the image. "The whole continent will be called Hope's Landing. The city, which I haven't named yet, will be spread out in this general area. You said you were farmers. The farms will be spread out across the lakes near some of these rivers and streams. Your new farm will be somewhere in this general area. As for livestock, the whole continent is teeming with it. As you can see it has both tropical and sub-tropical zones so the climate, even in winter, is gonna be generally mild and good for crops."

"Thank you Morrigan. You've answered my questions better than I ever dreamed possible," Nancy said as she sat down.

Morrigan looked around the park. "You, in the blue baseball cap."

"Thanks Morrigan. My name's Ralph. For such a young woman, I think you're doing a fantastic job! I was just wondering if you had any idea of how long we'll have to stay aboard once we achieve orbit around Erie."

"Thanks for the support Ralph. Your question is one that I'm sorry to say, I don't have an exact answer to right now. But I'm hoping no more than a few hours. Certainly no more than a day. Planning for the city and farms is underway even as we speak." Morrigan held up two crossed fingers. "If things go as I hope they will, in about a week each of you should be able to go online, pull up a map of Hope's Landing, type in your name and get an exact location showing where your new home will be. For those of you who will be running a business, be it a supermarket, a bakery, a shoe shop, or whatever, you should also be able to get that exact location as well. Now, remember, I said IF things go according to plan. If for any reason, the information isn't available the first time you try, wait a day or two and try again. I CAN promise the information WILL be available long before we reach Erie. Once I have all that information myself, I can provide a far more accurate estimate of how long we'll be in orbit."

"All right folks. It's getting late and some of you have children to feed. I want to thank you all for coming. I'll try to meet with another group sometime in the next few days. In the meantime, may your god or goddess watch over you, may they protect and guide you. Until next time."

Morrigan stepped into the corridor and ported herself to her quarters. When she got there, she was greeted by Aileen, Kelli, and Ashling. All three women were clapping their hands and grinning. All three shouted, "Great job Morrigan!" in unison. Then they all started laughing and Kelli said, "Really Morrigan? You gave him diarrhea of the ass because the bastard had diarrhea of the mouth? That was too fucking funny! I thought we were gonna piss ourselves we laughed so hard."

Morrigan giggled. "Well what else was I gonna do? I mean, come on now, there were a bunch of kids there too. I couldn't very well stuff my foot up his ass, as much as I wanted to."

Aileen replied, "I wouldn't have kicked him in the ass either. At least not in THAT dress. You'd have given the whole room a free show."

"Hey! I happen to love this dress! It fits the new me perfectly."

"Well it does show off your new...um...assets. Do you have any idea who this guy Frank's patron is?" Aileen asked.

"Nope. I don't even TRY to keep track of that."

"What are you gonna do if his patron gets mad at you for what you did?"

"There's nothing I can do. Dealing with assholes like him is part of my responsibility. I can't function as queen if I allow someone to publicly disrespect me like that. I was in a public park, conducting an open forum. There were dozens of people with small children there and it was being broadcast live throughout the ship. That's part of what pissed me off. He didn't just insult me as a woman. He insulted me as his queen. I could have pretended I didn't hear him and just gone on with the meeting. But THAT would've undercut my credibility and my authority as queen. So what if I don't dress modestly? I have an amazing new body that I'm proud of. I love showing it off. It'll be a cold day in hell before I allow a man, or any group of men, to dictate how I, or any other woman should dress."

"For thousands of years, women have dealt with men's derogatory remarks. Men have controlled every aspect of our lives, telling us what to wear, how we should think, what we should eat. They've even tried controlling our bodies by limiting our reproductive rights, restricting our access to birth control and abortions. Wanna know where it's gotten us? Take a good look around you. A little over five million people on an Arc, all that's left of humanity. Why? Because men wanted to control women, and I mean men everywhere, not just some Islamic fundamentalist dickheads in the middle east who were afraid of losing their grip on the women in their society. Yeah, their women and children were property to be bought, sold, and traded as they saw fit. But Western men, especially the rich ones, weren't much better, to them, women were sluts and whores that dressed provocatively just too corrupt men."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that was the ONLY problem. Truth is, Earth had a multitude of problems. Over population, wasted resources, pollution, entire species hunted to extinction, others hunted to the brink of extinction. The list just goes on and on. But anyone who thinks that organized religion, and its use of men to control women, wasn't one of the root causes of Earth's destruction is fooling themselves."

"Wow! You got all that just from some asshole calling you a slut? I wonder what would've happened if he called you a whore instead?" An unknown woman's voice behind Morrigan said.

Morrigan spun on her toes, armor on and sword at the ready.

"Oh for heaven's sake, put that silly thing away and relax Morrigan. If I was here to harm you, you'd already be dead. I'm Hera. That asshole Frank Rupo is...well, he's not exactly one of mine, but I'm the one who's responsible for his being on your Arc. Don't worry, I'm not upset because you gave him a case of the runs. In fact I thought it was hilarious the way you did it. I appreciate the way you thought of the children first and didn't just lash out at him. I also love your sense of humor," she laughed. "But seriously, I am here because of him. Seems we have a bit of problem. If you have some time, I'd like to sit and talk to you about it."

Morrigan sheathed her sword with a smile. "Sure. Let's go to the kitchen. We can sit and talk there. It's been a long day and I could use a cup of coffee."

Once they were seated at the table with their coffee, Hera began. "I'm not really sure Frank should be here Morrigan. But this is your Arc, and I know how you feel about human life. So I'll leave the final decision up to you. Frank sorta slipped through the cracks. He has an adult daughter aboard that he doesn't even know exists. She's a wonderful woman, a good wife and a fantastic mother. She's one of mine, and that's how Frank ended up here. Time was really short when we got your offer for favored and their family. We all had to use a gathering spell to get the job done on time, and unfortunately Frank got sucked into it."

"He's a serial rapist and a murderer Morrigan. I didn't even realize he was on board until I saw him in your open forum earlier. His adult daughter doesn't know it, but she was a product of one of his first rapes. He got caught once and served some time in prison. After that, he got cagey. He moved across country, then conned someone into selling him a house and some land out in the desert. He used the property to leverage a loan and bought a used eighteen wheeler. He became a long haul, gypsy trucker, traveling all over the country. He'd pick up some poor woman on his way home and rape her. Sometimes he'd kill her right afterwards. Other times he'd keep her bound and gagged in his truck until he got home. Either way, the bodies always got buried on his property, and nobody was the wiser. Anyway, now you know why we have a problem. If you want, I'll take care of it for you. If not, you can handle it whatever way you think best."

"I want him off my ship Hera. The only problem is everyone on board knows he's here. He can't just disappear. I have an idea though. I'll leave him sitting on his little throne in his bathroom until morning. His body won't know which end to expel it's fluids from, his butt from the diarrhea or his mouth from the stink. In the morning, I'll give him just enough time to clean up and crawl in bed, then I'll have Pete send a security team down there and haul his ass up to the command deck. He'll be in a VERY bad mood and when I ask him if he's learned anything, he'll give me another one of his crude remarks. That will give me an excuse to call for you to take out the trash. It'll all be very public and aboveboard. The best part is it sends a second message reinforcing the first one. Women are to be treated with dignity and respect."

"Ooh, I like it! I can see we're gonna get along great. You're almost as devious as I am," Hera laughed.

The two women talked long into the night. They were surprised to learn they had a lot in common. Just before Hera left, she taught Morrigan how to use magic to clean her body and refresh her mind, making her feel like she had a great night's sleep.

Morrigan walked out to the command deck. "Hi Uncle Pete. I'm sorry if I was rude to you yesterday. But these open forums are very important to me. I want people to feel comfortable enough to talk to me about anything. I want to know what people think, their hopes, their dreams, their fears. It helps me be a better queen and sometimes it catches things that would have otherwise been overlooked." She explained everything that Hera told her and asked Pete to send a security team to bring Frank Rupo to the command deck.

"I'm sorry too Morrigan. I didn't really understand what you were doing until I saw you in action. You're right, having a security team hovering around wouldn't work. It would make people uncomfortable and they would just clam up on you. If you don't mind though, this is one mission I have to lead myself. I won't take a chance on that S.O.B. getting loose on this ship."

Morrigan gave Pete a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Uncle Pete. I was hoping you'd volunteer to lead the team that takes that asshole down. Just make sure you get him up here safely. I really need him in one piece if what I have in mind's gonna work."