The Pilgrimage Ch. 05

"Fuck they're huge; scaring them isn't gonna be easy," Morrigan nervously thought to Vanessa.

"Size is relative, Morrigan; you know that. Just stick to your plan. It's a good one. It'll work. Have some faith in yourself. I'm here for you if things start to go south," Vanessa thought back.

Talar looked at the sensor readouts for a minute or so then looked at the alien on the left side of the view screen and said, "what kind of trickery are you up to now? Nothing so big could move through space without massive engines. Yet our scanners show no sign of any engines at all. We are being threatened, yet our scans can detect no weapons. Whatever game you're playing; it isn't gonna work."

The alien on the left shook his head. "I give you my oath that whatever that thing is, it is not of my doing. I'm as mystified by it as you are."

"Bah, I don't believe you! You would say and do anything to end this war, except surrender," Talar replied.

"You're right, I won't surrender my people to a tyrant; but I wouldn't dishonor myself and my people by lying either, you fool. We offered you a ceasefire but you refused. You're the reason this foolish war has gone on as long as it has. What makes you think you can attack us with impunity? You strike; we retaliate, and thousands die on each side. Are you so without honor that the lives of your people mean nothing to you?"

Morrigan sat tapping the armrest of her chair with her fingertips as the two aliens argued back and forth. They were both testing her patience and she was about to say so when Vanessa thought to her, "easy, Sis. Let them argue. The more they do; the more information they're giving you to work with."

"I realize that, Sis, but we've only got a small time window here."

"These are intelligent beings, yet they act and sound like stubborn little children. Give them a few more minutes. Things will pop soon; trust me, Sis"

Talar gave an evil grin and said, "here's my answer to your trickery you honor-less ringoass!"

The other alien looked on in horror as six missiles streaked towards the Ark. Morrigan shook off her own shock as Vanessa thought to her "pop those incoming missiles now, Sis!" Morrigan counted to three, then six huge fireballs streaked out from the Ark destroying all six missiles at once. "Good job, Sis! Now take a deep breath and calm your nerves." Vanessa thought.

"Easier said than done, Vanessa. You're not the one on point here. When I saw those incoming missiles; my stomach started churning so bad that I thought I was gonna vomit. What if they send a bunch more our way?"

"If they fire at us again, pop the missiles first, then take out their spacedock. That's where the missiles came from."

"I intend to do that anyway. If nothing else; it'll force them to stop killing each other for a while," Morrigan thought back to Vanessa.

The alien on the right said, "you broke our interplanetary treaty? I refuse to negotiate with one who has dishonored himself and his people in such a way!"

Suddenly Talar's face disappeared and he could be heard yelling in the background as a new face appeared on screen. "My apologies, I am Rotan. The new leader of the planet Rastok. Talar has been placed under arrest for his actions. He secretly developed long range interplanetary missiles in direct violation of a long standing treaty. By doing so he has done more than dishonor himself and our people; he has committed an act of treason. I give you my oath that he will be punished according to the ancient laws. Please allow me to restore the honor of my people."

"Here's the opening we've been waiting for, Sis! Now plow through it like a wrecking ball," Vanessa thought to Morrigan with glee!

Morrigan noted the look on Rotan's face and gave a grim smile. "I see you're beginning to understand the error of your ways. I'm gonna give you one more chance to save your species. Instead of turning your planets into this..." She glanced over at Pete and he played the clip showing Earth as a raging inferno again. "I'm only gonna destroy the spacedocks in orbit around both planets. You have five minutes to evacuate your personnel. You may use shuttles and escape pods. But any warship attempting to exit a spacedock will be instantly destroyed."

"Again, my apologizes, I am new to this position. But I believe that taking such drastic action would require a vote by the council of elders," Rotan replied.

"A leader who hasn't got the authority to make decisions is no leader. Now either evacuate your spacedock or the blood of your people will be on your hands, not mine. I've given you your last warning."

"Bu, bu but..."Rotan started to reply.

Morrigan interrupted him by snapping, "DO IT! You now have four minutes and thirty one seconds. Any personnel left aboard them after that time will die."

Suddenly the huge doors on the spacedocks slid open. A few seconds later the space between the planets was filled with shuttles and escape pods as the alien personnel fled the spacedocks. As the time wound down Pete said, "I'm not seeing any lifesigns on either spacedock Morrigan. They're both fully evacuated."

Morrigan acknowledged Pete's words with a slight nod. A few seconds later two bright, bluish white beams of light shot out of the Ark enveloping the spacedocks causing a massive explosion on each and leaving nothing but dust in their place. She glanced at Pete and he re-engaged the cloaking device causing the Ark to disappear off the alien's long range scanners. Morrigan looked back at the viewscreen and said, "I may be gone but I'm still watching you. Find a way to peacefully co-exist or I'll return to destroy you. Is that clear, or do you need another display of my power?"

Both aliens nodded and Rotan said, "we understand, Mighty One! From this day on we shall live in peace as you have ordered, I give you my blood oath on that."

The alien on the left side of the viewscreen bowed at the waist then said, "my name is Quinell. I lead the people of the planet Rolkar. I too give you my blood oath, Mighty Queen! Rotan and I shall become fast friends and we shall aid one another whenever possible. This foolish war has gone on far too long. Far too many lives have been lost because of it. My people thank you for all the lives you've saved by putting a stop to it. I am issuing a proclamation that from now on this day will be known as Queen Morrigan's day on Rolkar and a festival of peace and love will be held in your honor!"

"Good idea Quinell! I shall make the same proclamation!" Rotan exclaimed. "Perhaps we can even find a way to share the festivities!"

"I'll leave the details of creating the peace to the two of you, but I will be watching to insure everything goes smoothly. Good luck to the both of you, and to your people. Rule them wisely, with compassion, and understanding. Peace be with you; until we meet again." Morrigan nodded to Pete and he closed the frequency.

Everyone on the command deck started clapping as Kylie bent down from behind a surprised Morrigan and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Kylie walked around to the front of Morrigan's seat. She squatted down and looked Morrigan in the eye then said, "thank you very much, My Queen! That was a masterful performance! Destroying those spacedocks was a stroke of pure genius! It'll take decades to rebuild them! In the meantime maybe cooler heads will prevail. You've saved billions of lives today, My Queen! I'm very proud of you!"

Morrigan took Kylie's hands in hers then said, "you've been there for me my whole life, guiding me, protecting me, cheering me on, and you've never asked for anything from me in return. I love you more than life itself. I didn't do this for them; I did it for you. I didn't save any lives today; you did by asking for my help. I only wish we had enough time to talk them into a peace treaty instead of ramming one down their throats. I doubt that a forced peace is gonna hold up very long."

Brigit laughed softly then said, "this particular species calls themselves Ran'ak and you have no clue just how big an impact your performance has had on them. You said and did everything right, at exactly the right time. The Ran'ak respect strength, and they value honor above all else. When you destroyed their spacedocks; they believed you could wipe them out just as easily. By letting them live you've convinced them that you expected them to obey you without question, and if they refused, you'd just squash them like bugs. A blood oath is the highest honor a Ran'ak can bestow on someone. It's very rarely given. When a leader swears a blood oath; every member of that society is duty bound to live by the terms of that oath. They'll live in peace and harmony from now on because that's exactly what their honor requires of them.

While that's all well and good; the best part of this is that it was all you! Danu, Banba, and I played no part in what you've achieved today! Think about it, Morrigan. You're the one who stopped a civil war that would've eventually led to the extinction of an entire species, and you did it without any bloodshed whatsoever!

Your people need to see the strength, wisdom, and courage of their queen in action. So this entire incident was broadcast live throughout the Ark with running commentary by Megan. You should know that your people are extremely proud of the way their queen handled this situation. To them you represent the very best that humanity has to offer. Danu, Banba, and I agree with that sentiment wholeheartedly! We're very proud of you as well."

"It wasn't just me, Brigit. I actually had a lot of help. First from Athena. I found her advice to be extremely valuable. It fit the situation perfectly. It was also Athena's idea to ask Vanessa for help. In addition to that, she fortified both Vanessa and myself so that we had the resolve, courage, and self-confidence we needed to get the job done.

I can't overstate how helpful Vanessa was. Once we linked minds, I was able to draw on her strategic and tactical expertise to quickly formulate a plan. She also made sure I kept my head screwed on straight. I have no idea how the whole thing would've turned out without her help."

Vanessa kissed Morrigan's cheek. "Thanks, Sis. But all I did was babble on in you're head. You're the one that got the job done."

Morrigan turned to the Goddess Banba and said, "so tell me, My Goddess, are there any more surprises like this one along the route you've chosen?"

"Not that I know of, Morrigan. But that's not saying much. We didn't even know about this surprise until Kylie told us about it yesterday. We didn't say anything to you about it because we couldn't get directly involved. We couldn't stop you from taking action if you decided you wanted to. But if you did, you were on your own. We couldn't help you. Don't get me wrong. We knew the Ran'ak were there. We just didn't pay them any mind because they weren't any threat to you and the Arc. When Kylie told us she was gonna ask you to see what you could do to stop the war; all we could do was shrug our shoulders and walk away. That's where the hardest part of our job comes in.

We know we made the right decision when we chose you. We also realize that you have fantastic instincts and we trust you implicitly. But that doesn't stop us from being as nervous as kittens in a room full of rocking chairs when these situations pop up. All we can do is watch, and hope that things turn out for the best. We're not even allowed to give you any advice. I'm curious though. What would you have done if the Ran'ak had rebuffed your threats? Suppose they had joined forces against their common enemy and launched their combined fleets in our direction? Or even worse, sent their individual fleets to attack the other one's planet?"

"Umm, good question." Morrigan thought for a minute or so then continued, "well they really couldn't hurt us, so I'd be loathe to take any lives. I think I'd probably have tried disabling their ship engines and life support. That would have forced them to abandon their ships making it easy to destroy the ships without costing them any lives. After that, I would've destroyed their spacedocks the same way I just did. It would've bought them a few decades of forced peace, and hopefully by then cooler heads would've prevailed. Life is too precious a gift to just stand by and let it be callously tossed aside."

Morrigan's eyes went momentarily wide as a sudden realization hit her. She gave Kylie a quick sly look then turned to Megan and crooked a finger at her. "Come over here girlfriend." When Megan was standing in front of her, Morrigan pointed to her lap and barked, "SIT!"

Megan gulped then turned and nervously sat in Morrigan's lap. Morrigan leaned down and softly kissed Megan's neck just below Megan's right ear. Morrigan leaned back and lightly ran the tip of her index finger up and down over the spot she had just kissed on Megan's neck. Morrigan kissed the top of Megan's head then asked softly, "who's idea was it to broadcast that incident live?"

It was all Megan could do to stifle her moan, but she couldn't hide her arousal as her half inch diamond hard nipples tried to bore holes in her peasant blouse. Megan's voice was shaky as she answered Morrigan's question. "It was Kylie's idea. But I loved it, and as your PA, I approved it. Please don't be angry Morrigan."

Morrigan placed a finger over Megan's lips to silence her then bent down and whispered, "don't worry, Love. You're not in any real trouble. But I do have another question. When exactly did this conversation take place between you and Kylie?"

Megan shivered as Morrigan ran the tip of her index finger gently up and down Megan's neck again. "Um... ah... when you were um ...briefing everyone, Kylie... um... pulled me off to the side...um... out of camera range and she...um told me her idea." Megan took a deep shuddering breath then quickly blurted, "I approved it instantly. I'm sorry, Morrigan. I didn't think it would upset you!"

Morrigan laughed then said, "I'm not upset at all, silly girl." She cocked an eyebrow at Kylie then grinned and asked, "care to explain, you sneaky bitch?"

Kylie laughed gaily then beamed at Morrigan with pride. "My bright little girl is all grown up. You've become a very intelligent and beautiful woman, My Queen. I knew you'd figure things out eventually; I just didn't expect it to happen this fast. You're right, none of this was ever about me. It was all for, and about you. First of all, you really needed to see that all those powers and abilities of yours could be put to constructive use. What better way to show you that than to have you use them to save several billion lives in one go?

Then there's your people. I really love watching your open forums. You do such a wonderful job interacting with those in that room. But your people also need to see how strong and decisive their queen can be when the situation calls for it. I knew you'd be great, but you even managed to exceed my high expectations. By the way, your use of the external hub spokes to simulate high powered beam lasers was absolutely brilliant! You even had me fooled there for a few minutes.

Finally, there's the redemption factor. I know how terrible you feel that you weren't allowed to save Earth. I'm hopping that you see this as the second chance that it was meant to be, and that now you can finally begin to move on." Kylie smiled softly then ended with, "I think that about covers it, My Queen."

"I've known you my entire life, yet you still manage to surprise me. That was a wonderful gift. Thank you, Kylie!" She gave Kylie another long look then turned to the rest of the command deck. "All right people the show's over. You can return to your duties. Jake, you can take the rest of the day off. Just be in the conference room at 0900 tomorrow." Morrigan lifted Megan off her lap. She stood then said, "Kylie, Vanessa, Megan, you're with me."

When they got to Morrigan's quarters, Morrigan sat in the easy chair pulling a blushing Megan into her lap as a grinning Kylie and Vanessa took a seat on the sofa across from Morrigan.

Morrigan gently stroked Megan's long red tresses as she said, "it's okay, Meg; there's no need to be shy. We're all friends here."

Megan giggled softly as she cuddled up in Morrigan's lap. She laid her head on Morrigan's shoulder then placed her hand on Morrigan's cheek and said, "you are sooo bad, Morrigan, but I still love you anyway."

Morrigan kissed the top of Megan's head then playfully said, "you'd better still still love me or you're in big trouble, you brat." She turned to Vanessa and said, "okay, Sis; you're up. Tell me about your little project and how Jake's doing."

"Jake's a nice enough guy. He seems to be pretty good with people, which you already know. Beyond that, it's too early to tell. We only had a chance to start working with one of the Goddess Banba's loose ends before you called us to the control deck in full battle gear. Which by the way, scared the living shit out of me; thank you very much," Vanessa giggled then continued, "anyway this whole situation that I was working on when you called is a complicated mess that I've got a really bad feeling about.

First there's Donna, and Michelle. Donna's nineteen. The Goddess Banba has been her patron since Donna was eleven. Michelle is thirty nine. She's Donna's mother and a non-practicing Catholic. Then there's Keith, Donald, and David. Keith is fifty. He's a Protestant and is Donna's father. Donald, and David are Donna's twin half brothers and are both nineteen as well. They don't practice any religion. Donna didn't know Donald and David existed, and they didn't know about Donna. Michelle didn't even know that Keith had a wife, so there was no way she could know about the twins. When Keith found out that Michelle was pregnant; he disappeared never to be heard from again. His wife, Barbara died of breast cancer shortly after the twins sixteenth birthday.

Donna, Donald, and David all want to meet and get to know each other. Michelle has no problem with that. She refuses to hold them responsible for Keith's irresponsible actions. She thinks it would be great for Michelle to have the brothers she's always wanted. However, neither she, nor Donna want anything to do with Keith.

Donald and David are both pissed off at Keith. They're three months older than Donna and they realize that the only way she could exist is if Keith was cheating on their mother while she was pregnant with them. Keith is pissed at the twins because he doesn't want 'his boys' to have anything to do with Donna or Michelle. I don't think Keith's gonna have any choice in the matter It's his reaction that I'm worried about when he finally realizes it."

Morrigan took a deep breath letting it out slowly. "Be very careful with this one, Vanessa. It's a volatile situation that could get ugly real quick. You're probably right in thinking that your biggest problem is gonna be this Keith guy. He sounds like a very possessive and jealous man, and that could be a real danger. Especially if the boys push too hard to meet their sister. On the other hand, the brothers are nineteen and adults. They have an absolute right to meet and get to know Donna if she's willing, and if that's what they all choose to do. Since that seems to be the case, I'm authorizing you to do whatever you need to do to make it happen. In the meantime, Aileen, Kelli, Ashling, and I will be on standby in case you need back up. I suggest using the rec room just down the passageway from us for their first meeting. It'll give them all some privacy, and it'll be safe from any reaction Keith might think of as he can't access this deck without prior authorization."

"That's a great idea for a first meeting, Sis. But what do I do after that? I mean Keith will still be there. He'll probably be madder than ever, and filled with resentment. How do I deal with that mess?"