The Pilgrimage Ch. 05

Maria blinked her eyes rapidly several times then shook off her shock and said, "oh I'm sorry. Of course you can, My Queen! You're welcome in the Fernandez family home at all times." She pointed to a sofa and said, "please sit. What can we do for you, My Queen?"

Morrigan waited until Maria sat on the other sofa between Lucy and Maria's husband Hector then said, "it's my sad duty to inform you that Officer Suzanne Fernandez was killed in the line of duty less than an hour ago. She and her partner were shot when a prisoner escaped from the brig with the help of another man. Both officers were pronounced dead at the scene."

Maria was sobbing on her husband's shoulder as he gently rocked her back and forth. Lucy choked back a sob if her own and asked, "Where the hell was Athena? She was supposed to be protecting them!"

Morrigan told Lucy the same thing Kelli was told. Then Lucy said, "promise us you're gonna fix this. I don't want Suzanne and Josh's deaths to be meaningless. What about the escaped prisoner and his partner? Have you caught them yet? What's gonna happen to them?"

"Lucy, I swear to you by my goddess that I'll do everything in my power to see to it that nothing like this ever happens again. I will not let their deaths be in vain! As to the two perps, they're trapped in a secure location. They can't escape; I saw to that myself. We haven't gone in to get them yet. We wanted to notify the families first. We didn't want you to hear about it through the rumor mill. There will be a short trial after which I have no doubt they'll be executed.

But I don't intend to stop there. I'm gonna be making a lot of changes over the next few days. I want you and your family to be the first to know that by this time tomorrow you and every other prospective Kelli will be fully equipped with all your protective gear and weapons. You'll all receive your skills from your patrons and be fully prepared for battle. You'll still have to complete your law studies. But your gear will protect you from any weapon ever created. Never forget that great power requires an even greater responsibility. After tomorrow, you and your sister Kellis will become my right arm. Be prepared to respond instantly whenever I call upon you, day or night."

Lucy stood placing her closed right fist over her heart and snapping her arm out straight in the traditional Kelli salute. "By my word of honor, I will serve you faithfully, My Queen." After sitting back down Lucy turned to Kelli and said, "the other perp was Mike wasn't it?"

"Yeah it was Mike. I'm so sorry Lucy. How did you know?"

"He asked me for a date earlier. When I turned him down he spit in my face and called me a prick tease. Then he said that ever since Morrigan came aboard all the women were being prick teasers and that he was sick and tired of it. He stormed away mumbling to himself. I didn't think anything of it at the time. I just figured he was being an asshole. Now I wish I had said something to somebody. Maybe they could've stopped him," Lucy replied.

Morrigan shook her head as she said, "don't blame yourself, Lucy. Even if you had said something there's nothing that anyone could've done. As I told you earlier these were impulsive acts. I don't know for sure yet, but I'm guessing that from the time he got his hands on the weapons until the first shot was fired wasn't more than a few minutes.

There's one other thing. I will make whatever funeral arrangements you want, happen. But I'd like to offer you the opportunity to bury Suzanne on Erie with full honors like the true hero that she was."

Maria spoke up for the first time. "You would really do this for us, My Queen? Could we bury my Suzanne close by so that I could visit her every day?"

"If this is what you want, I promise you, I will make it happen. We will lay Suzanne to rest within sight of your home. You will be able to look out your window and see her everyday," Morrigan replied.

"Suzanne really loved you, My Queen. All she ever wanted was to have a family with Josh and to serve you. So yes, I want Suzanne buried close by me on Erie. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for this, and for seeing to it that my Lucy is safe from harm."

"No thanks are necessary, Mrs. Fernandez. Suzanne died in the line of duty. She deserves the very best we can give her. If you want to see her, she's in the medical center on deck five. You're welcome to visit with her whenever you want. I have one more sad duty to preform. Before I go is there anything you need, or anything I can do for you, and your family?"

Maria's eyes darkened as she said, "vengeance, My Queen; we need vengeance!"

"Agreed," Morrigan said as she, Kelli, and Pete stood and walked out, closing the door behind them. She turned to Pete and asked, "where to now Uncle Pete?"

Pete pointed to his left and said, "this way. The Higbie family is in suite twenty-six."

When Morrigan knocked, the door was opened by a young girl. Morrigan guessed the girl to be about twelve years old. She recognized Morrigan instantly and her eyes went wide as her jaw hung slack with surprise. Morrigan smiled and said, "hi I'm Morrigan. What's your name sweetie?"

The young girl swallowed hard then said," I know who you are. You're even more beautiful in person. I'm Sarah, and I'm gonna be a Kelli when I grow up."

Morrigan shook Sarah's hand as she said, "thank you very much, Sarah. I think you'd make a great Kelli. Is your mom and dad home? I'd like to talk to them for a few minutes."

Sarah nodded and said, "uh huh; they're in the kitchen." She turned her head and yelled, "Mommy, Daddy, Queen Morrigan's here. She wants to talk to you."

The couple walked into the living room and the mother's eyes widened as she said, "OH MY GODS! You're really here! We thought Sarah was just playing another one of her pranks. Come in. Please have a seat. I'm Patty, this is my husband Eric." She turned her head and yelled, "Jeremy, get your butt out here and meet our queen!" She turned back to Morrigan and said, "sometimes that boy gets so wrapped in his studies that I have to remind him to eat."

Once everyone was seated, Morrigan took a deep breath then let it out slowly. 'this isn't gonna be easy,' she thought to herself. She briefly locked eyes with each family member then said, "I'm sorry Mrs. Higbie. There's no easy way to say this. Your son Officer Josh Higbie and his partner were both shot when a prisoner escaped from the brig a little more than an hour ago. They were both pronounced dead at the scene." She proceeded to tell them everything she had told the Fernandez family then added, "I realize that you may think it's too little too late. But I won't let Josh's death be meaningless. Starting tomorrow every police officer, including recruits will be equipped with special body armor by their patron gods and goddesses and as soon as they become proficient with firearms, they will be required to carry a side arm at all times."

Although she was in an obvious state of shock, Patty held herself together. "Thank you for bringing us this terrible news personally. My family and I appreciate the fact that you care so much about your people. Delivering horrible news like this must be an extremely difficult task for one so young. I agree with Maria; I want Josh buried next to Suzanne on Erie. Could you please make sure that when we reach Erie my home is near Maria's? We're very close friends and we'll need to support each other through this difficult time. I don't think your changes are too little too late at all. If Josh knew his death would save other lives, he would have gladly sacrificed himself. The fact that his dying means others will live gives us something to hold on to, and again, we thank you for that."

"You don't have to thank me, Patty. Josh is a hero and it's only right the we do the very best we can by him. I'll make sure that you and Maria are neighbors. If you want to see Josh he's in the medical center on deck five. You're welcome to visit at anytime. I have to go, but before I do, is there anything you and your family want or need?"

"No, but thank you for asking. We trust you, and we know that you'll seek justice for Josh and Suzanne. That's all we would want or need. You're a great queen, Morrigan. My heart aches over the death of my son; but I'm proud of him as well. He died doing what he loved, serving his queen. Wherever he is now, I'm sure he has no regrets."

As Morrigan stood she said, "Sarah, Jeremy, it was nice meeting you. Jeremy, whatever you're studying, keep up the good work and Sarah, I think you'll be the best Kelli ever. I'm very proud of the both of you! Patty, I won't just be seeking justice; I'm out for vengeance. But perhaps in this case, they're one and the same." She turned and followed Kelli and Pete out the door.

Once they returned to the conference room Morrigan said, "It's time we got those two assholes in cells. But first Vanessa, Kelli, Uncle Pete, I want you to clear out two cells. I want them completely empty. No mattresses, no blankets, no sheets, no nothing. If it can be removed I want it gone. Once that's done Vanessa and Kelli can go get them. Uncle Pete, after the shitheads are in the empty cells take all their clothes even their underwear then change the codes and lock the brig door setting them all so that only your key card can open them. When you're done come back here."

"What about guards and meals," Pete asked.

"If only your key card can open the brig and cell doors, there's no need for guards. As far as meals go, fuck 'em. They're not gonna be in there long enough to waste food on them. Now get a move on; I don't wanna be here all damn night."

***

Vanessa, Kelli, and Pete cleaned out two cells completely. When Kelli grabbed the toilet paper, Vanessa and Pete laughed. Kelli grinned and said, "well Morrigan did say EVERYTHING. I don't care if the fuckers have to wipe their asses with their fingers and wash their hands in the damn sink! Do either of you care?"

"Nope," Vanessa and Pete said in unison then laughed again. When they finished Vanessa said, "Uncle Pete, wait here. Kelli and I will be right back with those two fucknuts."

Pete raised his eyebrows in surprise at the 'uncle' part. But simply nodded his head in assent.

When Vanessa and Kelli ported into the stairwell. Keith said, "oh fuck," and reached for his weapon.

Vanessa and Kelli both laughed. Kelli said, "you really think those little popguns can hurt us? Go ahead boys; take your best shot." They both stood with their hands on their hips laughing as Keith and Mike emptied a full clip; the bullets fading away into nothing from Vanessa and Kelli's armor. When Vanessa and Kelli started advancing, Keith grabbed his gun by the barrel like a baseball bat while Mike scrambled backwards into a corner. Vanessa caught the stock of Keith's gun with one hand and punched him in the jaw with the other, knocking Keith out cold for a second time in a day. She stood with her hands on her hips watching as Kelli slowly walked towards Mike.

Mike held his hands out and begged, "Kelli, please don't. I 'm your brother for god's sake!"

"No you're not. You betrayed my queen, my family, and at least three goddesses. You're already dead to me. I just hope that Morrigan makes your actual death as slow and as painful as she can! Kelli grabbed Mike by the throat lifting him off the deck. She spit in his face and growled, "that's for Lucy! She set him back down and kneed him in the balls as she said, "that's for Suzanne!" then she punched him in the face as hard as she could breaking his jaw and his nose and said, "and that one is for Josh!"

Kelli stood with her fists at her side breathing hard as Vanessa calmly said, "you done yet? Remember Morrigan said she wanted him alive."

"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know. It's too bad though. I would've loved to beat him to death for her," Kelli replied. She gave Mike a kick in the ribs then grabbed him by the throat again and said, "let's get these two pieces of shit to the brig."

When they got to the brig Keith was just regaining consciousness, and Mike was barely able to move, as Vanessa and Kelli tossed them both in the empty cells. Vanessa and Kelli stood in the doorway of the cells as Pete ordered Keith and Mike to strip. One look at Vanessa and Kelli's faces was enough to tell the prisoners not to argue. Pete stepped into each cell and threw all the clothing out on the deck of the guard room. Once Pete closed the cell doors, Vanessa and Kelli waited in the passageway while Pete did as Morrigan asked. Then the three of them returned to the conference room.

****

Vanessa nodded to Morrigan and said, "both prisoners are in their cells. I won't say they're not hurting, but both are alive as you ordered, Sis."

Morrigan sighed and replied, "well done you three. Thank you; I appreciate all you've done. Uncle Pete, Aunt Sally, I've had it with all this gun violence. Can you please come up with some suggestions to help me solve it?"

"Relax Honey, Pete and I will put together a list of options for you by tomorrow morning's meeting," Sally replied.

Morrigan rubbed the back of her neck as she said, "Thanks Aunt Sally" She turned to the Goddess Banba and continued, " My Goddess, you know what I promised those two families. I don't want to lose any more of my people. Can you please help me out by getting all the other gods and goddesses on board with my plan? I know it won't solve all the problems. But it will take some of the pressure off of all of you, and it will definitely help relieve some of my stress."

The Goddess Banba smiled and said, "it's already being done, Morrigan. All your security personnel will be fully equipped and ready by morning. We couldn't increase Vanessa's foresight very much, so we gave her a danger sense with unlimited range instead. If anyone poses any kind of threat she'll know it instantly. As far as sharing information goes, we think it would slow down your response time. Instead, whenever anyone a patron is responsible for shows any signs of instability, that patron will notify you or Vanessa immediately. That should speed up your response time quite a bit."

Morrigan smiled for the first time in hours. "It seems you've already covered all the bases for me. Thank you very much, My Goddess."

"Anything that makes your life easier, makes our lives easier as well, Morrigan. This is a time of great stress for you and your people. We'll do everything we can to help you." She handed Morrigan a stack of papers about six inches thick. "There are fifty-seven thousand, one hundred, ninety-three firearms aboard this Arc. Not counting those carried by your security personnel or reserved for recruits. That list contains everything you need to know. Who has them. What style and caliber. How much ammunition each person possesses. Even all the serial numbers are in there. What you do with the information is up to you. But at least you know who has what, and where it is."

"Thank you again, My Goddess. I'm sure this will come in handy." She turned to Pete and handed him the list. "Hang on to this for me. Okay people, it's twenty-one hundred. It's been a hell of a day and I'm beat. Vanessa, you're in command for tonight. I'll be in Megan's quarters. Don't disturb me unless it's something you absolutely can't handle on your own. You're all free to go whenever you're ready." She patted Megan's luscious ass and said, "come on, Meg, let's beat feet while we still can."

Once in Megan's kitchen, Megan pointed to a chair and said, "my turn to be the boss for a bit. SIT!"

Morrigan giggled then said, "yes ma'am," as she sat in the chair.

Megan grabbed two wine glasses from a cabinet and a chilled bottle of Zinfandel from her fridge. She opened the bottle and poured two glasses, setting one in front of Morrigan. Then set her glass and the bottle on the table.

Morrigan shook her head with a soft laugh. "Do you have any idea what this stuff does to me?"

Megan grinned and replied, "oh I know EXACTLY what it does to you. In fact that's just what I'm counting on. Now what would you like for dinner, Babe?"

"Umm, I don't know. Something quick, and simple. Sandwiches maybe?"

Megan put her hands on her hips and snapped, "NO! You've been pushing yourself hard all damn day! You ARE going to sit there and have a decent meal. How about steak, eggs, home fries and toast? The steaks are thawed already 'cuse I haven't put them in the freezer yet, and the potatoes are in the fridge ready for frying. So it won't take me that long."

Morrigan held up her hands. "Okay, okay. You win. Can I at least butter the toast?"

"Nope. You just sit there and relax for a change. Let me take care of you for once." She giggled and continued, "in the kitchen, I'm in charge. In the bedroom... weelll maybe you can be the boss."

Morrigan sipped her wine for a few minutes as she watched Megan preparing their dinner. Finally, Morrigan set her glass aside putting her elbows on the table and cupping her chin in her hands. She took a deep breath then softly said, "Meg?"

Megan looked back over her shoulder. "What, Love?"

"I have a confession to make," Morrigan began, "out there, in the real world, I'm strong, because that's what my people need. I keep it all together, because that's what my people expect from their queen. But in here, I'm just a girl a couple of months past her eighteenth birthday. Before my birthday I never even thought about sex. I don't know why; maybe my hormones hadn't kicked in yet. Maybe I was just too busy being a track star, winning races and studying my ass off. I've had sex exactly two times in my life. Once with Aileen, and once with Marcus. I have the knowledge up here," she said pointing to her head. "But almost no actual experience. I'm nervous as hell right now because I'm afraid I might disappoint you."

Megan smiled softly and replied, "Babe, you could never disappoint me. Just your being here tonight is a dream come true for me. I've had a little more experience than you, but not much more. I can count the number of lovers I've had on one hand. Let's just take things slow and easy. We'll go at your pace. There's no need to rush. To tell you the truth, I'm just as nervous as you are and I'm worried about me disappointing you. One thing I know for sure, whatever happens; it'll be real. Don't forget, we've been inside each others head. I know the real you. I'm head over heals in love with you. I don't want, or need anybody else. I'm still dealing with the emotional impact of being gang raped. The very thought of being with a man makes me want to vomit. Maybe it'll get better with time, maybe it won't; I don't know. I do know that you've seen what happened, and that you understand the effect it's had on me. You have no idea how much that means to me.

I honestly don't expect you to be in love with me; you have too much on your plate for that right now. We may, or may not, end up being a permanent couple; but I'm surprisingly okay with that. The fact that you're here wanting to spend the night in my bed tells me that you recognize, and understand how deep my feelings for you are. I know without a doubt that you'd never take advantage of those feelings simply because you're horny and want an easy lay. So I know this isn't just a one time thing for you. You're my queen; a woman who's trying her damnedest to reshape and rebuild the human race. Your time is like a precious commodity. It's something you don't have a lot of. When you told Vanessa you were taking the night off to spend some of that precious time with me, it made me the happiest woman in the universe. I was so ecstatic, I nearly creamed myself right then and there." Megan took two fingers and wiped the inside of her thigh just above her knee. She held out her two glistening fingers and continued, "look how wet I am already and you haven't even touched me yet." Megan giggled as she brought her two fingers to Morrigan's lips. "Here ya go, Babe; have a taste of things yet to cum." Then she giggled again.