The Pilgrimage Ch. 06

She patted Megan's scrumptious ass. "You have to stand, Babes. The next order of business is a double execution. It's gonna be horrendous. I can't ask any of you to participate; I have to do this on my own."

"You don't want us involved; I get that. You're our queen; you have that right. But at least let us be there, with you, for you," Megan pleaded as she stood.

Morrigan sighed deeply. "You wanna come along? Fine. But be warned; this isn't gonna be pretty. In fact it may make you wanna vomit. I have no intention of letting either one of those two assholes die a quick or easy death." She handed Pete his key-card. "Yeah, I know; you wanna come along too. Take this, it's your brig. You may as well be the one opening the door.

When they got to the brig, Morrigan sat in one of the wheeled chairs and spun it to face the prisoners. "Michael Crowley; you've been sentenced to death. I'm here to execute your death warrant. Before I carry out your sentence, your family, especially your mother, would like to know why you raped, killed, and mutilated the bodies of two innocent women. She'd also like an explanation as to why you brutally murdered to unarmed police officers."

"I'll tell you why! Because of you and your slutty sister; that's why! Ever since you came onboard, all the girls walk around practically naked. What little they do wear hides nothing. I mean look at all of you. Tits ready to pop out, pussies and asses showing. Then when I ask for a date you all look at me like I've got two heads or something. You might as well just laugh in my face. The way your whore of a sister embarrassed me in that fucking meeting didn't exactly help matters either. I finally got sick and tired of all the prick teasing. You and your fucking sister drove me to this shit. But hey, at least I won't die a fucking virgin, now will I?"

Morrigan's rage was ready to explode. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself as Megan and Vanessa each placed soothing hands on her shoulders. "Let me get this straight. You want me to tell your mother that you did all this because you couldn't get your infant sized dick wet? Wow! I'm sure THAT will make her really proud of you! After what you've just told me, and considering the horrendous things you've done; I'm gonna really make you suffer before you finally die."

She made both cells air tight then added a small device in the upper corner out of their reach. "Those things dispense a caustic gas. Not enough to kill you, but enough to burn your lungs a bit. Every few hours it'll spit out another small dose. After about three days, your lungs will be burned enough so that you won't be able to breathe, and you'll finally keel over and croak. Enjoy your deaths guys. I can't think of two men more deserving."

Morrigan stood and walked out the door without saying another word. Once everyone was in the passageway, Pete locked the brig door and they all returned to the control room. When they got there, Morrigan swallowed the lump in her throat and said, "Aileen, take command. I need to go to my quarters for a while."

Morrigan wasn't surprised to find the rest of her battle crew was right on her heels when she opened the door to her quarters. She walked in and without a word plopped down in her easy chair as the tears streamed down her cheeks. Megan cuddled in Morrigan's lap pulling Morrigan's head down to her shoulder. "Shh, it's okay to be upset, Babe. We all know how hard that was on you. Taking someone's life should never be easy; even when it's absolutely necessary."

"I know it was necessary, Meg. But did I have to be so mean and vindictive about it? Three days of hell before dying seems a bit extreme to me now."

Kelli knelt on the floor at Morrigan's feet. She slid two fingers under Morrigan's chin. "Look at me Morrigan. I understand just how hard this was for you to do, because I know how hard it was for me to watch. He may have been a worthless pile of shit, but he was still my little brother. So yeah, it hurts me too. Was it extreme? I really don't know. Only you can decide that one. What I do know is that when people hear about his execution, they'll think twice before pulling the same shit. I honestly think that it'll be a very long time before you have to go through this again. My Gram, my Dad, and Jake will bite the bullet and deal with it. But my Mom's gonna flip when she finds out how Mike was executed. I can't even begin to guess what she's gonna say or do. But I also think it would've been worse if you had just spaced his stupid ass. I don't know what you are planning to do with the bodies afterwards, but maybe it'll help settle her down if you let her bury him on Erie."

Morrigan wiped the tears from her eyes. "I'm really sorry, Kelli. I never meant to cause you so much heartache. I only hope you're right and things work out for the best in the long run. It's okay with me if your mom wants to bury Mike; I won't stand in her way. What about Keith? Should we offer Donna and her brothers the same opportunity?"

"Making the offer is the right thing to do; but don't be surprised if they turn you down,"Kelli replied.

Megan placed her hand on Morrigan's cheek. "I realize that you came in here in order to have some time to pull yourself together so that you could make a statement about the executions being underway. But I think it's best if you hold off until it's all over with. Then you can explain the process you used. You can say the execution began at 14:35 today and they expired whenever. I think that would be a little easier on Kelli's mom then pacing the floor for the next three days waiting for you to say Mike's finally dead."

"That surprises me; you usually go the opposite direction when it comes to keeping people informed. But you're right; this is a special case. So I'll wait until it's finished before I say anything."

There was a knock on the door and when Megan opened it Gael and Teagan came strolling in each pulling a two wheeled dolly with four cardboard boxes stacked to the brim with documents for Morrigan to seal and sign. Teagan giggled. "I told you, we had a ton of paperwork for you to take care of, Morrigan. The good news is that this is all of it. The bad news is we need them back as soon as possible."

Gael spoke up. "My brilliant little helper already has your fingerprint data base up and running as well. Since everybody already has a cell phone that can read the prints she had Joe Thompson send everyone a one time file that required them to use their right thumb print to unlock them. We have the thumb prints of everyone age thirteen or older on file now. So as soon as we get those documents from you, we can start passing out the banking cards."

Morrigan shook her head with a soft laugh. "It would take me weeks to process all that paperwork by hand. I trust you both so I'm gonna do it the easy way." She created a seal with the McCarthy coat of arms and the phrase 'prosperity through justice and equality.' Then she created a rubber ink stamp with her signature on it. Morrigan handed them to Megan. "Magic time, Babe. Get them all signed, sealed and ready for delivery."

Megan looked at the two items in her hands. She concentrated on the boxes for a few seconds then picked a document from each of the two top boxes handing one to Gael and Teagan. "Will this do what you need?"

Gael grinned. "If they're all like this; absolutely. But some of them have clauses that require, Morrigan's initials too."

"I already took care of those too. If you look at the signature stamp; you'll see Morrigan changed her last name to McCarthy. So all those sections have the initials MMC."

Teagan giggled. "You cheated, Morrigan."

"Yup, I sure did, Sweetie. But it got the job done. Which reminds me. I know you said you made up a tax schedule. But did you get anything done on a pay schedule?"

"No, not yet. That gets complicated because there's so many different things to take into consideration," Gael replied.

"I understand that. So let's try to simplify things if we can. Okay? Everybody's gonna need some amount of credits when we land. So start everybody off with a thousand credits. Put everyone that works directly for me on a yearly base salary. Also make sure you pay those that are working right now for the work they've already done. See what you can come up with for a pension for Suzanne and Josh for their families. I really think their heroism deserves some sort of financial recognition."

"Morrigan, everything you've said is doable. But are you sure you wanna go with a thousand credits per person? That's gonna put you so far in debt that you'll have to look down to see up," Teagan replied.

"I realize that, Teagan. I don't like the idea of that much debt anymore than you do. But the gatherers are gonna need some up front credits to get them started. It's not right to help one group and not the others. I'm thinking that you and Gram can find a way to turn it into an investment that jump starts the economy and pays for itself over time."

Gael spoke up. "It won't be easy; but you're the boss, Morrigan. We'll find a way to make it work for you." She turned to Teagan. "Okay, Sweetie. Let's get this paperwork filed in our temporary office. We need to get that pay schedule worked out. So that we we can pass out the bankcards. Our queen needs us to get some tax credits rolling in to pay her bills."

As they were leaving, Kylie came strolling in. She pulled Morrigan in for a hug giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. "How's my girl? I know you've had a hell of a day. Are you holding up okay?"

"I'm not exactly happy with myself. But yeah, I'm hanging in there. That's what's expected of me, isn't it? Even when I let my temper get the best of me and I do something I feel really horrible about, I'm just supposed to shrug it all off and carry on like it never happened. Only it's not quite so easy to do this time." She proceeded to tell Kylie about the way she executed Mike and Keith.

"Okay, Sweetie, time for a heart to heart talk. Being a queen can really suck at times. You're the one that gets stuck making the final decisions. You had a duty to see that two vicious criminals were executed. You made the choice of carrying out that sentence yourself because you didn't want anyone else dealing with the pain that naturally follows such an act. I realize that you feel terrible about how you did it. But that's exactly the way you should be feeling.

I'd be really worried if you weren't bothered by it. Killing someone should never be a pleasant task. If it doesn't make your stomach churn, it's time to stop and take a good look at yourself, because then there's something really wrong with you. You're an immortal queen, Morrigan. Somewhere down the line you'll have to order more executions. I pray that you never get used to doing it. I do think that Kelli is right though. This form of execution is gonna make people think twice. Nobody want's to die a slow agonizing death. If you have a few minutes, why don't you come with me. I have something to show you that might just cheer you up a bit."

Morrigan gave a wan smile. "Sure why not. I've always got time for you, Kylie." She looked around then continued, "Why don't the rest of you come along too. Let's all see what Kylie has cooked up for us."

Kylie grinned. "That's a great idea. The more opinions; the better. Someone may even spot something we've overlooked. We're going to what's now deck twenty nine section twelve."

When they got there Kylie said, "Before you start looking them over; I have to warn you that we think we've worked out all the bugs. We can't be absolutely sure though because there's just no way to really test them. As it is, we had to shuffle things around between here and deck thirty just to make enough room to build them."

She led them over to a huge truck. "Let's start here. This is our heavy cargo carrier. Hook her up to a trailer and she can haul sixty five thousand pounds up the side of a mountain at fifty miles an hour. She has six forward gears plus reverse and a two speed rear end for a total of thirteen gears. Her maximum unloaded speed is about eighty five miles miles an hour. She's equipped with GPS, an FM seventeen channel mobile to base radio, a one hundred two channel CB radio with side band, puncture proof self-inflating tires, a heater and ac unit and she has an unlimited range. She even has a full sized sleeper in the back along with a built in refrigerator, coffee maker, and slow cooker for long hauls. Overall, she's designed for maximum safety and comfort while still being able to pull a heavy load.

Over here we have a heavy duty truck. It's all wheel drive. It can carry a payload of two tons and six people. It has all the same goodies the cargo carrier does except for the sleeper. This model has an optional lift tailgate. It's great for farmers, hunters, and almost any small business. It also has an optional refrigerated bed for carrying fresh kills and farm goods and also has a built in trailer hitch for hauling extra cargo.

This last one is an all wheel drive SUV. It has all the options you could possibly want. You name it it's in there. It'll carry eight people comfortably. Like the others, it has a top speed of eighty five miles an hour. We could've made them all faster but it doesn't seem to be necessary. Besides most of the safety features we built into all of them couldn't respond fast enough to reduce injuries at higher speeds. These things all have the most advanced safety devices in existence; but nothing can stop a fool from getting hurt if they're determined enough."

"They all look fantastic, Kylie! You, Lugh, and Thor did a great job! Thank you sooo much! That solves our long term transportation problem. Building and setting up factories and gathering materials takes time. So I have no clue what I'm gonna do about the short term, and immediate transportation needs," Morrigan replied

"We have all the equipment for mass production factories. Including an automotive plant that can be retooled to meet any of your needs. Each chassis is designed to be multi purpose, and we have enough stock on board to build about fifteen thousand vehicles total. I would suggest concentrating on your safety forces and buses for public transportation first. How many are built in a day will depend on a number of factors. But assuming the factory worked three fully staffed shifts and had all the materials; I could see them producing around six hundred fifty or so a day. But if you worked them that fast; they'd run out of materials before they could be restocked. The last thing you want is to have people work themselves out of a job. I'd work them one shift and limit production to about a hundred vehicles a day," Kylie replied.

Morrigan ran over the numbers from the occupational data sheets in her mind for several minutes. "We have about seven thousand people listing their occupation as automotive workers. Unless I miss my guess; that's enough people to run a plant full time. But I agree with you, Kylie; I don't wanna do that just yet. My instinct is to ask the gods and goddesses for help meeting the short term needs. Then asking the automotive workers to join the gatherers for a while. At least until we have the materials to run the plant full time for a year or so. After that, the gatherers should be able to keep up with the plants demands for supplies.

I really don't know much about how vehicles are built. But it's my understanding that the plant itself is just an assembly point. The assorted pieces come from different suppliers. The windows from one place; the doors from another. The tires from still another, and so forth. We need to have all those things up and running before we can even think about opening the assembly plant and that's gonna take some time to do. You did a great job, Kylie, you really did; but I'm gonna have to do some serious thinking to figure out how to make it all work."

"You're a worry wart, ya know that, Morrigan? Just talk to Banba, Brigit, and Danu about what you need for your safety forces. I'm sure they'll be happy to help you out there. I'll have a word with Lugh, and Thor. I'm pretty sure they didn't help build these prototypes just for them to sit and look nice. My guess is that they both already know what you need to make it fit together and that they're way ahead of both of us in their planning."

"Well see what you can come up with, Kylie. I need to get back up top. I've still got a ton of work to do."

When they all got back to Morrigan's quarters, Morrigan was surprised to see the three goddesses siting at the table waiting for them. The goddesses had laid out a full meal of steak, baked potato and tossed salad along with all the trimmings and ice cold colas.

Banba smiled and said, "Sit, My Child. You haven't eaten much all day and you need to keep your strength up. We may not be underfoot all the time; but we do keep tabs on what's happening. There's a few things that you need to know that I'm surprised you haven't already figured out. The covenant that the gods and goddesses have with the Maker of All Things allows us to provide whatever help you may need for your first two years on Erie. After that, you should be able to handle almost everything on your own. We'll still be able to assist you beyond that; just not as extensively as in the beginning. So yes, we can help you with the transportation needs of your security and emergency forces. In fact Lugh and Thor are working on a design for an electric powered advanced medic-vac chopper right now.

It was never our intention for your new civilization to start by struggling to get off the ground. You and I both know that the changes you're being required to make to re-create human society aren't gonna be an easy thing for you to do. The last thing you need is to compound the problems with chronic shortages. That's why we're being allowed to help you as much as we can."

"Thank you for providing dinner, My Goddess. I know you'd never just abandon us. But I had honestly thought that once we landed we'd be pretty much on our own. That's one of the reasons I've been pushing myself so hard to get things done ahead of time. Now that I know for sure that you're gonna be able to help out a lot longer than I expected; maybe I won't be so stressed out all the time. I'm sure you know that you've taken a lot of weight of my shoulders by telling me that."

"I realize that, Morrigan. That's why I finally said something. But remember this; part of being a good queen is knowing when to ask, and when not to ask for help. We still want you to do as much as you can on your own. But we'll be there to smooth out the rough spots for you."

TO BE CONTINUED...