The Unofficial Biography Of Kimmay

Book 4: The Nature Of The Matriarchy

by G L Hudson

 

CHAPTER 21

 

Jennifer released her grip on Gloria's and Gabrielle's hands. Gloria and Gabrielle closed the circle as Jennifer stood. Jennifer picked up her purse and threw the strap over her shoulder. As she walked out the door, Jennifer opened her purse and began feeling her way to her phone. As she stepped onto the elevator she placed her call to the President's aide. The aid was an old friend of Jennifer's and she would trust Jennifer implicitly.

"We have an alien space shuttle coming from the mother ship. Your people may pick it up on the monitors as it comes through the atmosphere. If they do sight it, tell them to let it through. We have total control of the ship and it has Kimmay and Traci onboard. They're being taken to Milwaukee General Hospital. Both women are in bad shape and they need immediate medical attention. The shuttle will land on the heli-pad on the roof."

Jennifer stepped out of the elevator and ran to her car. She touched the security pad and quickly jumped into the open vehicle. As she began driving to the hospital, she continued to explain things to the aid, and the President who had now joined the call.

"The shuttle is being piloted by the Supreme Commander of the aliens. She is very dangerous and must be taken into custody. I can hold her for a short while, but you need to send a fully equipped military urban assault force. They must take the alien into custody and hold her in solitary confinement. I'm sorry that I can't tell you why she must be held in solitary confinement, but you must do so immediately upon taking control of her. It's important."

The President asked several questions and Jennifer explained what she could. She was under strict orders not to reveal the Matriarchy's ability to control minds. That made some of her answers awkward and devious. They wanted the Supreme Commander in solitary confinement, so that they could continue to control and question her without interference.

The President was no fool and knew he was receiving only half the truth. But he also trusted Jennifer. They had been friends ever since Krysallis' first term in the White House. The President would give Jennifer a great deal of latitude. But Jennifer would be expected to explain many things later. That was when Jennifer would need Krysallis' help.

As Jennifer turned the last corner on her way to the hospital she excused herself and closed her phone. She locked the brakes as she skidded to a stop in front of the emergency room. She quickly searched through her purse until she found her wallet of federal identification badges. Jennifer had ID badges for just about every Federal Branch of the Government. She pulled out her wallet and flipped it open to the NSA badge on the top and FBI badge on the bottom.

Jennifer jumped out of the car and ran to the trunk of the car. She grabbed a large backpack from the trunk and slipped her arm through the first strap as she ran into the hospital emergency room. She ran up to the first uniform she saw and flashed the badges in the intern's face. "Who's in charge of the emergency room and where are they?"

"What the …?" the intern began to mumble.

Jennifer grabbed the intern by the throat in a grip used only to kill. She pushed her face into the intern's view and demanded, "This is a national emergency, who's in charge? Now!" she yelled.

The intern was scared to death and pointed Jennifer in the right direction. She burst through a set of swinging doors and spotted several nurses. She held the badges high in her left hand and pointed at the closest nurse, "Who's in charge? This is a national emergency."

Another nurse spoke up. She was very tall and probably in her fifties. She was obviously used to making life and death decisions. Jennifer could detect her confidence and authority immediately. The nurse walked over to Jennifer looking at the badges the entire way over. She wasted no time, "What's the emergency?"

"A shuttle will land on your heli-pad in a matter of minutes. It will contain two humans who have been tortured. They're in very bad shape and they need medical attention immediately."

"Humans?" she asked suspiciously. "What kind of torture?"

"I'm not entirely sure, bad burns and broken bones for starters; broken ribs and severe cuts. I need to talk with the doctors immediately. There is more that they will need to know."

"You can start by telling me." The nurse was not about to back down from Jennifer. She was brave indeed.

Jennifer was about to grab her by the collar of her uniform and shake the fear of god into her. Instead, Jennifer caught herself at the last moment and placed her hand on the woman's shoulder. "The first woman is Kimmay and the second is her body guard Traci. They have been aboard an alien space ship and they have been tortured. Each of them has an electronic dart stuck in her. Whatever happens, those darts must not be removed. If they are pulled out, the girls will die. It is imperative that everyone understands that. Do you understand?" Jennifer squeezed her shoulder so hard that the nurse cried out.

She squirmed away and yelled, "Back-off! I heard you! Follow me." She spun around and began walking at a feverish pace. They barged through another set of doors and into a triage room. There were a couple of nurses and technicians cleaning up. "Prepare for two women, extreme prejudice! They've been tortured and will be in very bad condition. I want full staff in here now. Move it!" she yelled.

"Follow me," she told Jennifer. She pushed through another door and into a lounge. A doctor was sleeping on the couch. "Up and at em!" she yelled once more. The doctor opened his eyes and looked at her. She walked over to the doctor and grabbed his shirt and pulled him into a sitting position. "Two women are coming in on the heli-pad. They have been tortured and are in bad condition. They have darts of some sort stuck in them. The darts must not be removed. If the darts come out the girls will die. Do you understand?"

"What are you talking about?" the doctor asked.

The nurse was still holding the doctor's shirt and she pulled him closer to her, "Listen rookie, one of the women is Kimmay and she is in bad shape. You will go find your buddies and get your ass to the roof in two minutes or I will personally kick the shit out of all of you. The victims have darts stuck in them and you must leave them alone. If you remove them you kill the patients. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"I'm going," and the doctor stood and headed towards the locker room.

"Is that the best you have?" Jennifer asked.

"They'll do. They're young but they'll do what I tell them" the nurse responded as she began walking away. She started walking into the other locker room and Jennifer began following her. She turned and stopped Jennifer in her tracks. "The elevator to the roof is over there. Go up and wait for me, I'll handle everything."

"You'd better," Jennifer snarled.

The nurse pulled herself up to her full height and stood up to Jennifer, "I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt because I know that you're distraught. But don't get in my way again." The nurse gave as good as she got. She kicked the locker room door open and disappeared.

Jennifer finally felt better. She had definitely found the person in charge.

When she reached the roof, Jennifer was slightly relieved to see that the shuttle had not arrived yet. She pulled her backpack off and unzipped the top pouch. Jennifer pulled out her pistols and ammunition, and quickly loaded the pistols. Next she took out two holsters and threw one over each shoulder and fastened the buckles. She slid one 9mm into each sleeve and then went back into her backpack for her ammo belt. After fastening the ammo belt around her waist, she made a quick inventory of the pockets. She made sure that she had cuffs and an EV probe. She tied the holster straps to the rings on her ammo belt so she could smoothly pull the guns from their holsters. Finally, Jennifer pulled out two knives and strapped one to each leg. She picked up the back pack and held it in her hand as she started looking into the sky.

Interns began arriving on the roof and moving equipment into place. Two doctors came walking over to Jennifer and asked who she was. Jennifer pulled her wallet out of her pocket and tossed it to the doctor. "I'm anybody you want me to be," she said firmly. The doctors started flipping through the wallet and saw badges from the NSA, the FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service, the White House Military Command and several others. Neither doctor bothered to read the name.

The second doctor asked again, "Who are you?"

"Jennifer Gayle, assistant to Krysallis." Jennifer continued scanning the sky.

The doctor walked over next to Jennifer and handed her the wallet. "Listen, I've checked with the communications room and they say they haven't received a message from anyone. There are no copters in the air."

Jennifer never looked at the doctor. "There is no copter, they're coming in an alien space shuttle. There will be two women on board that need your help. In addition there will be one alien piloting the ship." Jennifer turned to the doctor, "Keep everyone away from her. I'll take care of her."

"Is that the reason for the GI Joe outfit?" the doctor asked sarcastically.

Jennifer stepped towards the doctor. "The two girls will have darts stuck in them. Whatever you do don't pull them out. Those tags are keeping them alive. Now you take good care of those two women and make sure they're ok. Because if you don't, I'll make you wish you had." The doctor got the message.

The head nurse arrived on the elevator and walked over to Jennifer. "We're ready, where are they?"

"They're coming. It won't be long."

"What's this all about?" the nurse asked pointing at Jennifer's weapons.

"There will be an extra-terrestrial on the ship. She is the Supreme Commander of an alien warship. She belongs to me. Tell everyone to stay well away from her." Jennifer lowered her voice just enough to show that she was being sincere, "I'm deadly serious. Don't let anyone near the alien."

"There!" someone shouted. Jennifer spun towards the west and saw the ship approaching.

"Christ!" the doctor muttered. The ship was much larger than Jennifer had expected. It slowed down and hovered directly over the heli-pad. As it slowly dropped onto the pad, doctors and nurses were pushed to the edges of the roof trying to stay out of the way. After the ship touched down, it sat there for about five minutes with nothing happening. The doctors and nurses started muttering and looking at Jennifer. Jennifer shrugged her shoulders to signify that she didn't know what was talking so long.

Vents started hissing and noxious smelling fumes began leaking out of the belly of the ship. Fortunately the breeze was blowing the fumes away from the group. Finally some one shouted, "Over here!" Jennifer ran to the side of the ship and watched a ramp dropping open. After a moment the Supreme Commander walked out with Kimmay leaning against her. The doctors moved towards Kimmay and Jennifer moved towards the Supreme Commander. As the doctors grabbed Kimmay, Jennifer grabbed the Commander and spun her around throwing her to the ground. Jennifer jumped on her back and jammed a pistol in her ear. She clicked off the safety and the Supreme Commander instantly understood the situation. She didn't move a muscle as Jennifer cuffed both her hands and ankles.

"Where's the other woman?" the head nurse asked. There was a great amount of confusion and talking.

"She needs help," Kimmay whispered. "She's in a bunk."

The nurse grabbed a medical-technician and pointed at a gurney. "Follow me," she ordered. The nurse and the med-tech disappeared up the ramp. A few seconds later the med-tech ran out and yelled, "Doctor, we need you now." One of the doctors went up the ramp and disappeared. Two minutes later the tech ran out and started grabbing equipment and yelling to the others. As Kimmay's gurney went down the elevator, more people ran into the ship.

Jennifer stood over the Commander and pointed her pistol at the prisoner. "You better hope they live." Jennifer watched as Traci was rolled down the ramp with medical personnel surrounding the gurney and accompanying it into the elevator. Jennifer's eyes squinted and her finger tightened on the trigger.

Jennifer guarded the prisoner for another hour. The prisoner was not allowed to move a muscle and Jennifer stood over her the entire time as she waited for reinforcements. Two helicopters approached from the south, but they couldn't land on the roof because the shuttle filled the pad. Jennifer could see the US Navy insignia on the side of the copters. They landed in the mall behind the hospital. It was another ten minutes before the marines arrived.

Six of the marines picked up the prisoner and left. The rest of them took up positions around the shuttle. The captain walked over to Jennifer and said, "You are instructed to call the President of the United States."

Before Jennifer called the President she remembered that there was someone else that she was supposed to call. She placed the call to New York and waited for an answer. "Mr. Rocky Robbert, my name is Jennifer Gayle. I am sorry to be the bearer of some bad news…"

 

As soon as the marines had control of the Supreme Commander of the Kastelles, the girls adjourned their meeting and moved to the hospital. Kimmay and Traci had been given separate rooms in the hospital. They were both still in surgery. The girls were forced to wait several hours before doctors finally sent out word that both women had been stabilized. The girls were wheeled into their private intensive care units.

The entire floor was blocked off and guarded by marines. Everyone was eager to interview Kimmay and Traci and try and determine what exactly was happening; and that included the government.

The group of girls formed again in a waiting room close to Kimmay's room, and sat around on the floor. Salindale quickly took the group to the Supreme Commander's mind and made sure that she was under the control of the marines. She was in the brig at the Great Lakes Naval base where Kimmay had once been held by the United States. The Commander was in a cell in solitary confinement.

After they were satisfied with the Commander's situation they entered Kimmay's mind. She and Traci were sleeping under the influence of strong sedatives. During triage the doctors had found both girls under the influence of strong stimulants; their respiration and heart rates had been pushing the upper limits of sustainability. Traci was in much more serious jeopardy than Kimmay. She had burns to 90 percent of her body and lacerations on top of that. She must have been in horrible pain. She was currently covered in an anti-microbial jelly, trying to stabilize the bleeding. The doctors gave her less than a fifty-fifty chance.

Remarkably, neither girl was now in pain. The doctors didn't understand how, but they knew it had something to do with the darts. Traci had a dart in her shoulder and Kimmay had one in her left cheek. The doctors had the darts taped to the girls so they wouldn't accidentally be pulled out. They were the size of quarter, gold in color and had several ultra-thin wires entering the skin. Under X-ray the doctors could see the wires were penetrating nerve sheaths. Under NMR they could see that those nerves were enlarged and ran into the central nervous area of the brain. From there they couldn't discern what was happening. It would probably take an autopsy to determine the full affect.

Kimmay and Traci were asleep for almost twelve hours. Nurses and doctors constantly came and went, monitoring vital signs, changing I.V.s and checking bandages. The girls had one of their own in each room all the time. In case either Kimmay or Traci woke up, they would have a friend there immediately. The rest of the girls spread out through several waiting rooms, eating and sleeping. Krysallis was in contact with the President, assuring her that the alien ship was under control and would be destroyed soon. No one wanted to run off to Lucerne to bomb the aliens until they were confident that Kimmay would recover.

And that was the big question that they were discussing. Kimmay would recover, but she was going to die. They were aware of the tag power limits and they discussed numerous ideas as to how to keep the tags operating until they could be removed. The doctor's prognosis had not been good. They didn't understand the interface or the enlarged nerves. They could see no way to remove or reverse the effect of the tags.

They probed the Commander's mind trying to learn how the alien's power systems worked, but unfortunately the Commander had no idea how the tags or the external power worked. The Commander was no scientist. She knew that the tags were energized by a radio-wave grid throughout their ship, but she knew no specifics. She couldn't help the girls with frequencies, power levels or software protocols. They also discovered there was another problem with the tags. As the tags collected pain and emotional data from the victim, they stored it in a buffer for downloading to the RF grid. When the tag memory was saturated, rather than dump information, it shut down and quit taking new data. The end result was the same as removing the tag; death.

The girls had no idea how long Kimmay or Traci would live. Their only consolation was they knew the girls were not in pain.

 

Kimmay woke late in the evening. The entire Matriarchy was still at the hospital and they all crowded into Kimmay's room. Kimmay needed to talk with them. They no longer had to hold hands to communicate, so they were able to sit on the floor and lean against the walls and furniture. The girls immediately tried to reassure Kimmay that they could save her and Traci, but Kimmay would have none of it. She knew the facts, and she knew that she was going to die.

"I thought I had the next thirty or forty years to share my lessons with you. There is much that I have kept from you. I apologize for hiding information, but I thought I had valid reasons for doing so. But now my time is limited and I must help all of you. Salindale, the Matriarchy is going to need a recorded history. For the time being, you must keep your identity and purpose secret, but eventually you will need to share everything with the rest of the world. You cannot hide forever and when you reveal yourselves, you must be totally and completely honest and forthcoming. A recorded history will be important."

"I understand," Salindale replied.

"Before I begin explaining history and future, I must explain something up front. We all agreed to establish this Matriarchy and provide daughters for the future. I did not do as I promised. Even as I was making that promise, I was lying to you. Salindale was very important to our future. Only by having a male child and raising him as a girl, only by suppressing his male hormones and using female hormones to convert him to a transsexual could I activate certain genes and abilities within Salindale.

"Salindale has a limited ability to reach out with her mind. By herself she can see limited minds and possibilities. She was born with enough inherent ability to see, or rather feel, large groups of minds. When the time came, she would be able to find the Kastellians in their screened ship. That was going to be very important for the battle against the Kastellians. I was able to see this and I made sure that Salindale was born a male.

"What I did not foresee were my mother's actions. She used her own sperm to impregnate herself. The sperm she used had been altered by the Seekers and they had never returned to destroy it. Mixing her own sperm with her own genes enhanced the effects from those alterations. Even though Melissa conceived two daughters, not sons, their abilities are even greater than Salindale's. I can only imagine what Cynthia and Maria could do now if they had been born male and stimulated with female hormones."

Melissa was concerned with Kimmay's words. Melissa did not believe that she belonged in this circle. All of her life she had seen what Kimmay was capable of doing, and Melissa knew those capabilities were beyond her understanding. But now, thanks to the Keeper, she was in their circle. She had the ability to join these girls and she was indeed a member of the Matriarchy. Melissa was intimidated and unsure of herself and her new role. She had to speak up and seek some assurance, "Kimmay, did I do wrong? Please, I have to know."

"No, of course not. I merely point out what I believed I could see, and now I admit my blindness. Cynthia and Maria will be wonderful additions to the Matriarchy. But Salindale, Cynthia and Maria together are now stronger and more formidable than anything I envisioned. This is a blessing for the Matriarchy, but it may also be a curse. Remember that this path was never expected. Therefore, it must be regarded with utmost suspicion.

"Salindale, your abilities are temporary in our genome. Rocky, I was going to instruct you to make sure that one of your children was a boy. You would raise him as a girl and transition him to a female before reaching puberty. Your transsexual child would then have the same types of abilities as Salindale. The abilities would have lasted only two or three generations and then faded out, but they would be most useful while they lasted. But if Cynthia or Maria were to now decide to transition a male child, the ability may be much stronger and maybe different. I cannot say how it will develop. You and the Matriarchy will have to decide whether or not you desire to take that path."

Cynthia and Maria nodded their understanding. Even as Kimmay spoke the girls were already determining their future. Each had instantly made her decision.

"There is more that you all must understand. Beyond the abilities of Salindale, Cynthia and Maria, we all have additional and unique abilities. We are learning that we can all join our minds. We all know, have always known, how intelligent we are. This is not bragging, but a direct result of the interference from the Travelers. It is in our genes. We can neither take credit nor blame, it is a fact. And the Keeper, they added to this when they transformed us into females. I did not know until know that they had done this. I do not understand how the Keeper are involved, but I believe they are playing some role in all of this."

"And there is more." Kimmay turned to her mother, "Mom, what year were you born?"

Melissa turned red, "1984."

"Krysallis, when were you born?"

"1987."

"You two are almost one hundred years old, and yet you look half that age."

"But that is due to the Keeper. She returned our youth."

"Granted," Kimmay agreed, "But none-the-less, you are much younger than your apparent age. Tiffany, how about you?"

"I was born in 2003. It was a very good year," she smirked.

"Do you look or feel like you are almost eighty?"

"Hardly," she answered.

"And I am the same way. You younger girls, none of you look like you're pushing thirty, let alone forty. Let me ask you girls a question; have you ever been sick?"

The girls thought about it and each responded no. "Any idea why?" Kimmay asked.

"It's in our genes, isn't?"

"Are we unique this way? Is this our purpose, to share our genes and change the human genome?"

'That's an emphatic no," Kimmay answered as she looked towards Krysallis. Krysallis had a concerned look on her face. "No, we are blessed but it is meant to only be temporary. It's a result of the Traveler's influence. As you marry and create successive generations, our genetic advantage will fade away. We will not pull the human genome in any direction, instead it will be the other way around."

"So what is the point of all of this?"

"The point is that we have a temporary advantage. We use it now, but don't depend on it in the future. And we remember something very important; just because we have a temporary advantage we are not to begin thinking of ourselves as superior to anyone else. That is the deadliest mistake we can make. And that is the real point that I wanted to make. Does everyone believe me?" There was silence. "One last chance," Kimmay said. "If you do not believe me one hundred percent, then challenge me now. This is crucial to us and our future."

No one challenged Kimmay. With that said, it was time to begin the first lesson.

"I have learned certain things through the years that I will share with you. I spent fifteen years with Linda while she was trying to brainwash me into thinking and acting the way the Seekers needed. I learned many things during that time – some of which we are using now. I also spent several days with the Keeper. Those were those most interesting and bizarre. But let me start with Linda's trip. The first stop we made was on Quandor where I lived with Salindale and her family …"

Kimmay began her narration and without speaking a word, showed the Matriarchy what she had seen and learned. She spent almost an hour on Quandor, and then moved onto a planet called Myr. The story from Myr was much better than the Quandor story. The people of Myr had worked very hard and diligently for many years as they built their technology. Eventually they began a space exploration program and visited a sister planet in the same solar system. They found their kindred souls on the sister planet. Each planet had strengths, weaknesses and problems that were almost the opposite of the other's. They quickly overcame any suspicions and helped each other overcome problems that might have bogged them down interminably as individual cultures. Together they advanced very rapidly and were ready for their first extra-terrestrial encounter.

Their first encounter was with a group of well practiced pirates and thieves. The extra-terrestrials did not have the resources to conquer two worlds, but they did have the ability to steal resources and leave the Myr vulnerable to later visitors. The Myr quickly determined that the aliens were con men but they didn't know how to deal with them. The pirates had formidable weapons and could have taken anything they wanted. The Myr hatched a plan to send the pirates back and forth from one planet to the other with promises of ever greater wealth on the other world. They convinced the pirates that the two worlds disliked each other, and so they were only too happy to expose greater riches on the other planet.

Eventually they convinced the pirates there were so many hidden riches, that they became greedy and split their forces between the two planets. Then on each planet, they split their forces a second time to search out ancient temples with powerful technologies that had been left behind by ancient visitors. By the time the Myr were ready to defend their planets, the pirates were split into such small forces that even with superior weapons they were quickly defeated. The moral was evident to all.

As Kimmay moved onto her next planet and her next lesson, doctors and nurses came and went and never realized that Kimmay was giving a lecture. Government officials looked in but saw a quiet Kimmay who wasn't speaking. The girls sat quietly and never verbalized a thought. Kimmay was still very weak and she usually managed to stay awake for only two or three hours at a time. She would doze off and the girls would leave for food or a catnap of their own. It took Kimmay two full days to share her experiences with the group. She had tales and stories and morals from seventeen different planets that she needed to share.

 

On the second day she had a visitor. "You bitch! All of this is your fault. If it wasn't for you she wouldn't be in there dieing," he yelled.

"You're right, Rocky. She is suffering only because she knew me. She didn't deserve this. I am truly, truly sorry."

He fell into the chair next to her bed and held his head in his hands. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "My sons! Both of my boys are dead. She said they killed them immediately when they kidnapped her."

'If only that were true,' Kimmay thought. Traci had been kind sparing Rocky Robbert the details of how his sons had suffered horribly at the hands of their murderers.

"She didn't deserve this," he sobbed. His anger began to well up again. "You should be the one in there. You should be dieing not her." The words came flying forth without benefit of thought. Rocky was bitter and hurt.

"You will get your wish, Rocky. I'll be dead in a matter of days." Rocky looked at her through red-rimmed eyes. They were filled with hate. "She didn't tell you?" Kimmay asked. Rocky shook his head. "The tag in my cheek now controls my body. When it runs out of power I'll die. It can't be prevented."

"And Traci too?"

"It won't be the wounds that kill her, but the tag. She's trying to save you, Rocky. She doesn't want you to worry or feel sorry for her. My God she is strong."

He shook his head and rubbed his raw eyes. "What happened? Why did this happen?" he asked quietly.

"There is no reason for this, Rocky. We did nothing wrong. There are bad things out there in the universe and these scum are some of the worst. They exist and that is a fact of the universe. Fate just brought them here at this time." Kimmay stopped and looked at Rocky. "Traci and your boys were innocent. They wanted me and the bastards were afraid to come straight after me. So they took Traci to interrogate her. Your boys were there and the bastards took them too. All they know is killing and death. They're useless creatures and we will exact our revenge. I promise you, Rocky."

"How?"

"Your daughters are preparing to do it right now. You would be proud of what your daughters have done, Rocky. They have invented things that the world can only imagine. Shortly, they will return to Lucerne and use one of those inventions. They will materialize a nuclear bomb inside that space ship and blow it to hell."

Rocky looked at Kimmay. "My daughters?"

"Yes Rocky. Salindale and Rocky will exact revenge for Traci, your sons and us. When I'm dead, they will blow the bastards to smithereens."

"Rocky? Salindale?" he asked sadly.

"They're going to need a father Rocky. They'll need more than just a couple of trips to the ranch now and then. Please tell me you will be there for them. Not for me, but for them."

Rocky slid down in the chair and stared at the ceiling. Tears continued to roll over his cheeks, and his hands shook with fatigue and anger. He was utterly defeated and he didn't even pretend to be strong. "Kimmay … Traci loved you. She thought you were the most wonderful, most powerful human being in the world. How could you have let her down? How could you have let them do this to her?" His anger was gone. He too had started to believe what Traci said about Kimmay. Kimmay hadn't just failed Traci, she had also failed Rocky. Rocky was no longer bitter about Kimmay and their long ago tryst. He was no longer bitter about losing his two daughters to Kimmay and her world. He merely wanted to know why it had all happened. Why Traci? Why his sons? Why Kimmay?

Kimmay looked at Rocky and her heart broke. Tears welled up in her eyes and she too had to ask the question; why? She reached out and touched Rocky's hand.

 

Over the next day and a half, Kimmay was able to finish the stories about her trip with Linda. The Matriarchy now knew what she had gathered from those planets. They now understood part of Kimmay's reasoning for establishing the Matriarchy. It was making more sense. But there were still questions remaining. Tiffany especially had questions for Kimmay, but she held them to herself. She was waiting for the right time. Tiffany hoped that Kimmay would explain everything, including the time anomalies.

But all of that was going to have to wait. The Kastellians turned out to be much more competent and deadly than the Matriarchy ever realized.

 

CHAPTER 22

 

"Kimmay, wake up. Please Kimmay it's urgent." A hand gently grabbed her should and gave her a soft shake. "Kimmay, are you awake?"

Kimmay's eyes tried to open through the glue holding them shut. She blinked several times, trying to focus on a face leaning over her. It took several moments for Kimmay to realize where she was. Her mind had wandered and she had forgotten that she was still in the hospital, recovering from the broken ribs and the trauma of her torture and interrogation. As her eyes slowly focused she saw her daughter's face. Rocky looked very worried as she looked into her mother's eyes.

"Rocky," Kimmay whispered. Her throat was parched and she could barely speak. "Water," she asked. Rocky handed her a bottle of water and helped her sip through the straw. The water was warm and tasted like chlorine, but it was most welcome.

"Mother, we have a horrible problem," Rocky began.

Kimmay handed the glass back to her daughter. Her mind was still full of cobwebs. She tried to sit up in the bed, but her strength was still lagging, and she fell back. She had been in the hospital for three or four days – she wasn't sure. She remembered talking about her trip with Linda and wasn't sure if she had finished or not.

Rocky grabbed the bed control and raised it so Kimmay would be able to see her better. "Mother, are you awake? Come on mom, we need your help."

Raising the bed seemed to make all the difference in the world. Suddenly Kimmay's mind cleared and she was back in the moment. "I'm here, Rocky. Tell me what's wrong."

"The Kastellians have launched a global biological attack. We're in deep shit!"

The news didn't make any sense. Did Kimmay's time lock-down of the Kastellians fail? Kimmay quickly looked through her mind to the spaceship orbiting the Earth. Nothing had changed. She could tell that the ship and everyone on it were still moving at a minor fraction of real time.

"How is that possible? They're still in time-hold."

"Mom, they did it before we knew they were even here. They planned it as a back-up strategy just in case something went wrong."

"I don't understand," Kimmay said. "Start at the beginning."

Rocky took a deep breath and exhaled. She gave herself a moment to relax, and then began, "Salindale checked the Commander about four hours ago. The Commander asked Salindale how long she had been on Earth. Salindale said about three days. The Commander asked how many hours and Salindale said 70 or 80 hours.

"Then the bitch started laughing. She said, 'We win. You might be able to kill me, but all of you are going to die. You can't stop it!' She kept laughing and Salindale got angry. She grabbed the Commander and started squeezing her mind. We never knew anything about it, mom. We all missed it somehow."

"Slow down Rocky. What did we miss?"

"The Kastellian's standard operating procedure is to capture prisoners before they make any contact. They use the prisoners for study and also to fine-tune their weapons and tags, and offensive strategies and things. They're very meticulous in their preparations for the big attack. For instance, they make sure that their tags are fine tuned to the victim's physiology so they can control the mind and at the same time collect and record the emotions and pain that they will inflict. Prisoners are studied in detail to determine their physical needs so that they can be raised and bred in captivity. They experiment on the humanoid types to see if they can be used for sexual pleasure and as slaves. Another reason they study their prisoners is to determine what type of torture works best to elicit the greatest amount of pain for the longest period of time.

"Prisoners are also handed over to their scientists to develop biological weapons. The doctors and scientists look for infectious contagions that they can reproduce in large quantities. After they produce the contagions they want, they store them in containers and place them in satellites. The satellites are stationed around the planet and set on timers. If the Kastellians get in trouble, they use the satellites as a fall back strategy. They have the satellites break orbit and fall to planet-side. After they come through the atmosphere, they open about two miles over the planet and spread the disease. They launch a biological attack to take out the defenders."

"But Rocky, I've had them in time-hold. They can't communicate with their satellites."

"That's right," Rocky explained. "But the satellites have to be re-set every few hours. They have timers and if they don't receive a hold order for 72 hours, they automatically launch. If the Kastellians were ever defeated or even fought to a standstill, this is their final revenge."

"Did they actually prepare diseases and stock their satellites?"

"We're afraid that they did, mother. We have probed the Commander relentlessly and everything we find indicates that she is not deceiving us. As soon as we learned this information, Krysallis contacted the government and told them what we had learned. They checked with their space command, and the command center confirmed several atmospheric entrances right around the correct time. At the time, space command logged them as space debris in decaying orbits. But then they ran more detailed analysis and believe that the terminal half of the entrances were controlled. Plus, the entrances were spaced around the planet in an ideal pattern to spread biological agents.

"Mom, we are 99 percent certain that they have indeed launched a primary biological sneak attack."

Kimmay stared into her daughter's eyes. She said nothing as she thought about the situation. They connected on their mental level, and left words behind. "How did she withhold this information from us?"

"We plead inexperience," Rocky confessed. "Plus, we must confess that our attention was focused on you, not her. We were infatuated with your stories about your travels with Linda. While you slept and rested, we discussed the lessons almost continuously. We looked in on the Supreme Commander only intermittently. Not until she began her gloating did we turn our full concentration on her."

"And what has she revealed?"

"Too little. She is a leader that knows strategy and plans, but she knows nothing concerning details. We have no idea what the contagion might be."

"We know nothing? Do we at least know if it is a virus or bacteria or poison?"

"We know only that it is biologically active. We have ruled out chemicals. Chemicals have too little range. Their satellites had only limited capacities, so they had to pack in self-replicating biological agents. We are sure that the agents are biological. The Commander thinks the contagion has a 30-hour incubation period and takes about 48 hours to kill. It is spread through the air and that is about all we know."

"And you could get nothing else out of her?"

"She knows nothing more about the contagions. But she told us they also have several hundred if not a thousand humans as prisoners. It is another pre-attack procedure for them. They collect enough victims to set up a 'breeding herd' they call it. They kidnap primarily young females and enough males to fertilize them. They raise humans like animals, and then use them for torture or sex slaves."

"They've already collected people?"

"Yes, and they may still be intent on collecting more."

"Are they tagged?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Then there is probably nothing we can do for them," Kimmay sighed.

"We have to help them, mom," Rocky pleaded.

"How? We can't even save Traci or me. How can we help them?"

"I don't know, but we have to think of something."

Kimmay closed her eyes and thought for a moment. "Does she have anymore surprises for us?"

"We don't think so. We spent the last couple of hours trying to force our way through any potential deceptions. She can't withhold information from us if we probe and ask for specific items. But we have to know what to go looking for. That is where our inexperience puts us at a disadvantage."

"Do you have any ideas?" Kimmay asked.

"We're still looking for more information. We don't know what to do, so we are waiting on Krysallis and her meeting. Krysallis and Jennifer took an Air Force jet to Washington to meet with the President. They left about three hours ago. They will be our eyes and ears inside the government. The President has called an emergency meeting with the Defense Department's Biological Warfare Team and their domestic Emergency Biological and Chemical Terrorist Response Team. We're hoping their experts have enough experience with these situations to guide us. We're afraid that at this time we can only assist.

"But we do have one thing going for us. The Kastellians consider biological warfare the ultimate weapon in their arsenal. Just like we think nuclear weapons are the last and most powerful weapon we have, that is how they view their biological agents. They think that they have discovered a weapon that other cultures have overlooked. That may be our best hope."

"I understand," Kimmay responded. "They may not have pushed the technology as far as they think they have. Hopefully, they thought they had enough overkill that it didn't warrant the effort to push the technology farther."

"Exactly. We probed that possibility as far as we could, and we do have hope. They have never encountered a planet like Earth. We see mutations of deadly viruses on a daily basis. We are mobilized to chase down biological weapons as well as aviary influenza and ebola outbreaks. The entire planet has tremendous infra-structure and experience in these types of attacks, whether planned or natural. We will have to rely on our past experience to dictate our response.

"And we have one more advantage. We've got you. You can slow down time and give us the time we need to develop an antidote."

Kimmay winced when she heard Rocky's idea. Kimmay said, "No Rocky, I can't help. My abilities are more limited than you think. I may be able to hold a spaceship in a time stasis, but I can't envelop the entire world. And even if I could slow down world-wide time, I can't do two things at once. I would have to release the Kastellians and they would most likely press their attack on us if I released them."

"Oh," Rocky whispered dejectedly. "We were counting on your help," she said.

They both fell quiet for several minutes. "Rocky, where is everyone?"

"Krysallis and Jennifer are in Washington D.C. Everyone else is either here at the hospital or back at the apartment building. Why?"

"Where is the Supreme Commander?"

"The Great Lakes Naval Base down in Chicago. They still have her in solitary confinement."

"And what about the space shuttle?"

"I don't know." Rocky mentally asked the other girls, "Does anyone know about the space shuttle?"

"I'll go look," answered Gail. She headed to the elevator and went to the heli-pad on the roof. "It's not here anymore," she reported.

"Can someone find it?" Kimmay asked.

"I will," Gail answered, as she pulled out her cell phone and started making calls.

"Why does it matter?" Rocky asked.

"I'm trying to think ahead," Kimmay said. "I might be able to help the doctors. If they need time to develop the vaccine, I can place a small research team in a time envelope and speed up their time. In an accelerated time-zone, an hour of real time would give them almost ten days of research time. But to set up that time zone, I'd have to release the Kastellians. In only one hour the Kastellians might do a lot of damage.

"I'm sure their computers and analysis capabilities are much faster than ours. In that one hour they might be able to make enough decisions and launch enough weapons to destroy us. When they discover their Commander is gone, I suspect they'll look for her and her shuttle. If they launch an attack, they will probably head towards the shuttle first, so we need to know where it is and be prepared for a first strike or rescue attempt there."

The other girls were listening to the conversation. "Why don't we launch our nuclear weapons first? We could destroy their ship and then we wouldn't have to worry about a counter-attack while we work on the antidote."

"That precludes our chance to help our people on board the ship," Kimmay answered. "Personally, I think that is a moot point. I think they are already beyond our help. But secondly, what if they have another surprise for us? We may need something from that ship – technology or knowledge – and I don't think we should destroy it until we are sure that we're safe."

"It's a chance we will have to take," Ginger responded. "We will see what Krysallis reports back, but the research teams will have to have more time. Even if we developed the antidote immediately, it has to be synthesized and deployed around the world. That can't be done in just a few hours."

"Mom is right," Gloria added. "Kimmay will have to use her abilities to give the research team enough time. That means releasing the Kastellians and hoping for the best, or take them out first and hope there are no more surprises."

"We don't have to make that decision yet," Kimmay said. "Let's wait for Krysallis' report. In the meantime we need to know where everything is so that we can make educated decisions when the time arises. Krysallis, what is your opinion?"

Krysallis was sitting in Washington and listening to their discussion. "I agree with Kimmay. We have some time, let's gather all of the information that we can, make an informed decision and then move as fast as we can."

"When will you know anything, Krysallis?"

"The meeting starts in twenty minutes."

"We'll be with you," Salindale chimed in. "In the meantime, Gail find out what you can about the shuttle."

"Mom, there is one more thing," Rocky said to Kimmay.

"What's that?"

"There are government people outside who want to talk with you. You're their only source of information about the aliens."

"Make them go away. They're only going to slow us down."

"I know, but what do we tell them? I mean, do we admit that we have control of the Kastellian Commander? Do we admit that we can read minds and control people? And what about time dilation? Do we tell them about that?"

Kimmay sighed, "This is going to be tricky. Let's think about my responses before you let them in here."

 

Kimmay eventually met with the government agents. She answered what questions she could and gave them her new story. Rocky and the Matriarchy listened in as Kimmay told them about the tag she had been shot with. "They made a serious mistake with my tag. Maybe it was damaged or something, but after a while, I felt like I could see and feel things. It was nebulous at first and didn't make any sense. But slowly the feeling started to coalesce and I started receiving actual thoughts. This sensation has been continuing since I returned to Earth. Somehow I must be hooked into their computer system, because I can find information if I look hard enough. It even shows up in my sleep and dreams.

"I was still asleep when I sensed the biological warfare plan. It took several hours before I could find enough information to know what they've actually done. There is no doubt that they've launched an attack against us."

The girls allowed the interrogation to last about an hour before they sent the doctor into Kimmay's room to chase away her interrogators. As the interrogators walked out the chief counsel turned to Rocky, "Do you believe all of this? Can she really be listening in to the aliens?"

Rocky smiled and said, "You're dealing with Kimmay … The Kimmay. Nothing is impossible."

The agent wasn't so impressed. He and his team returned to their little office. The transcript of their conversation was finished and he added his own thoughts to the report. "This entire situation doesn't pass the smell test. I find it difficult to believe that these aliens would be so stupid as to let their victim access their computer database. And if Kimmay can access their information, how do we know they can't access her? How do we know they aren't controlling her? I would be very leery of sharing anything with Kimmay."

He finished his comments and quickly sent his report back to Washington.

After the agents left Kimmay, Rocky ordered food for her and then went to look in on Traci. Traci was covered from head to toe in bandages. She was awake when Rocky entered. Traci was not in pain, her tag was still saving her from that specific horror, but her mind was preoccupied with dark thoughts. She had lost her sons and she was going to die. She had been told the truth about the tag in her shoulder, and she was trying to come to terms with her life.

Like most people, Traci had plenty of regrets, but much satisfaction also. She was having extreme mood swings as she passed from utter despair and depression to resignation and acceptance. But even with resignation, she was not satisfied with her fate. How could she be satisfied with such a horrible and unnecessary conclusion to her life? Rocky held Traci's hand and silently offered her stepmother all of the consolation and comfort that she had. She tried to calm Traci and make her as comfortable as possible. A nurse brought in a tray of food, and Rocky helped feed Traci.

Across the hall, Traci's husband was sleeping uneasily in a chair. As he twisted and contorted himself to fit the chair, a small tear slipped down his cheek.

 

The meeting in Washington had begun, and along with Krysallis and Jennifer, the rest of the Matriarchy listened. The experts were given the facts and they began their planning instantly. The task before them was going to be tremendously difficult. The details concerning extra-terrestrial invasions and contagions could have overwhelmed them and locked them in fear or indecision. But much to the amazement of the girls, the experts plunged straight into their predicament with professionalism and expertise that was inspiring.

They immediately set up priorities and initiated actions even as they sat in the meeting. While team leaders talked, cell phones and computers were sending messages and sharing ideas. Resources and field units were pinpointed and alerted, and teams started converging on their work-sites. Laboratories were called and they in turn were calling in all of their experts and technicians. They even communicated seamlessly with foreign teams around the world. As the girls watched, it became evident that this scenario had been played out before.

Computers on the table quickly logged into the room projector and displays were flashed on the central screen. Space Command pointed out the most likely landing positions of the fifteen sub-orbital paths that may have been Kastellian satellites making releases. None of the atmospheric incursions had been confirmed as actual Kastellian satellites, but teams were on the way looking for residue. Space Command held little hope for finding any remnants. The Kastellians had planned and programmed their satellites very cleverly. The satellites had impacted in remote locations or in water, making it difficult or impossible for their victims to find residue and test it for the contagion.

And that was the big concern for the experts. They needed samples of the biological material that the Kastellians had released. They didn't know if they were dealing with viruses, prions or multi-cellular microbes. Waiting for the infliction to hit a human and then trying to isolate the cause wasted time and was very inefficient. The infectious material would have to be separated from its victim, isolated and analyzed. That route would at best take several days. If the material remained air borne and was infectious enough, millions or billions of people would be exposed and probably killed before the team could even hope to provide a vaccine. And even more dangerous was the possibility of mutation requiring several types of vaccines.

As Kimmay listened to the conversation, she and Krysallis began formulating a plan. The other girls contributed ideas and worked out details, and after a lengthy discussion an actual plan began looking feasible.

Their intention was to use the Supreme Commander to bring a large ship to Earth. They would load the trailers, equipment and personnel on that ship and return to the colony ship. Once they were onboard the colony ship, Kimmay would place the analysis team in a time-acceleration mode. The rest of the ship would have to be left in normal time. That would protect the team because the rest of the ship would not be able to interact with them. But it would leave Earth vulnerable to any Kastellian advance.

The Matriarchy would have to remain in real time and control the Supreme Commander. They would use her to keep the rest of the Kastellians either under control, or at least confused enough to keep them from attacking Earth. Meanwhile, Kimmay would remain with the biological warfare team.

"How long will it take?" Krysallis had asked.

"The actual analysis time will be short," Kimmay said. "Thirty to sixty minutes of our time gives the team five to ten days to do their work. With the actual virus that should be enough time – I hope. But overall it will take almost a full day. We have to put equipment and people in place, then we have to use the Supreme Commander to bring a ship to us. Who knows how long it will take to prep a ship and get it here. Then we have to return to the mother-ship. The trip to the ship is probably an hour or more. And we will need another hour to return. And once we return, we have to get the findings communicated and synthesis begun.

"If we don't go to the ship, millions or billions of people are going to die. There is no way this team can move fast enough under normal time to prevent a disaster. It's the only choice we have," Kimmay said.

"Kimmay?" It was one of the few times that Melissa had 'spoken' to the group. Up until now she had listened to everyone else. She had been overwhelmed by the situation and in awe of the ability demonstrated by the Matriarchy. Three days ago Melissa didn't even know the Matriarchy existed, and now with their abilities she was communicating with her daughter by telepathy. "Kimmay, can you use your fast-time on the ship to also synthesize the vaccine? That way you can save additional time when you arrive back on Earth."

No one had thought of that. "Mom, that's a great idea. We'll have to make sure that they take plenty of extra supplies."

"I'll start interrogating the Commander and find out how big their cargo ships are, how long it will take to get here, how big the crew will be and anything else I can think of," Salindale offered.

"Salindale," Krysallis said, "Use Cynthia and Maria. There can't be any mistakes or omissions. The three of you together are less likely to miss something."

 

Krysallis stood before the group and waited for their attention. "I have a request to make. May I speak with the President, General Wilder and the Dr. Kimberly privately, please?" Krysallis still had tremendous respect from everyone in the government, and they all knew her personally. Jennifer joined the group as the President waved them into his private office.

"Thanks President Jastrow," Krysallis said to the president. "I have just gotten off the phone with Kimmay. It is our understanding that the first and possibly most crucial step is to isolate the actual virus and initiate a full analysis. Is that correct?" she asked. There was a general consensus around the table. "And do you have field laboratories that are self contained and can do this analysis?"

"Absolutely," Dr. Kimberly answered. "Where are you going with this?"

"The best place to get a clean strain of the virus they used is the actual source. This may sound far-fetched, but I think I can get you on their spaceship." The room went totally silent. The three men looked at each other in amazement and horror.

"I'm not sure that is such a good idea," General Wilder said. "How are you going to protect people? The aliens aren't going to welcome an invasion onboard their ship."

"And what happens if it fails?" the President asked. "Where does that leave us then?"

The three men started shooting one question after another at Krysallis. Krysallis raised her hands and tried to deflect all of the questions that were being thrown at her. "Wait just a minute," she begged. "First, this is an additional action to everything else you will be doing. I'm suggesting a potential shortcut, and this would not be a replacement action for anything else. If we are successful it could cut a tremendous amount of time from the process." Krysallis couldn't tell them how much time. Neither Krysallis, Kimmay nor the rest of the Matriarchy wanted to tell the group about Kimmay's ability to control time. If they were successful, then they would have to share that information later, but now was not the time or place.

"Once we get on the ship how are we going to be able to move around, let alone find the virus? How are we going to get back? There is no way this can work," the doctor said.

One after another they shot questions at Kimmay. It was an impossible plan. As they threw their questions at Krysallis, she was also listening to the Matriarch. Kimmay was explaining what she could and would do, Salindale was already sending back information from the Commander, Gail had found the shuttle – it was damaged - and others were pouring out additional ideas. Krysallis couldn't keep up with everything. "Slow down, take turns," she verbalized quietly. The verbalization caught two the groups of people off guard. It was like yelling at the Matriarchy, and the girls all quieted and waited for Krysallis.

The whisper had almost the exact same effect on the meeting. Krysallis couldn't have commanded more attention if she had yelled at the top of her lungs. The three men stopped and stared at her. It was if an icon had just stepped forward to lead. Krysallis held up a finger in front of the men as she listened to her girls for several more moments. The room remained quiet and the men watched Krysallis as she stared blankly at the ceiling, listening and talking without speaking. "Excuse me," she said as she took out her sat-phone. She dialed Kimmay and pretended to be getting an update. It was simply a ruse to prevent anyone from wondering how Kimmay and Krysallis were truly communicating.

"Ok," she again verbalized. She glanced around the table and one by one she looked each man in the eyes. "We can do this. It is far and away our best hope. You continue with your current plans, but I need your best field team, all of their equipment and extra supplies to synthesize vaccine. In fact, I want a second field unit just for vaccine production. How much food and supplies does a typical field unit carry?" she asked no one in particular.

"Maybe one day. We supply them by air," the doctor told her.

"Not this time you won't. Do you have a unit with enough supplies for both teams for ten days?"

"Why ten days? We don't have ten days," General Wilder said.

Krysallis looked the man in the eye and said, "Because I said I needed ten days. And I need it in one hour. Can you do it or not? If you can't, I'll go shopping myself." That grabbed the General's attention. General Wilder smiled wryly. He was beginning to realize just how serious Krysallis was. He just shook his head yes.

Krysallis turned to the doctor, "How fast can you have your team ready?"

"Sixty minutes."

"Where?"

They talked for a few minutes, deciding which team was their best and then he said, "Atlanta."

"Where exactly in Atlanta?"

"The Air National Guard hangar."

"Tell your people to be prepared to load your trailer and all equipment into a space shuttle in … ninety minutes."

"You're kidding right?"

Krysallis was not kidding and she was getting hot. She walked over to Doctor Kimberly and stood in front of him. Very quietly Krysallis said, "No, I am not kidding. This is our only hope of saving a billion people. I have the best people in the world working on this problem right now and they tell me it is going to happen. Would you please get on board?" Her tone of voice was even and penetrating. Krysallis was indeed not kidding.

The President stepped up and said, "His people will be ready."

"Then you better get going, don't you think?" Krysallis dismissed Dr. Kimberly.

"General, warn Atlanta they're going to get an unusual visitor. Make sure the spaceship gets in with no problems. Also, I'll need a handful of your best commandos; ten or twelve. Can I have them?"

The general was an old friend of Krysallis and he knew when to argue and when to accede. "How do you want them prepped?"

"Urban warfare. Door-to-door stuff," Jennifer said. "They're on a cover and protection mission. When can we have them?"

"I'll have them at the Air National Guard in Atlanta in ninety minutes."

"No," Jennifer said. "We need them at the space shuttle you captured. My sources tell us that you currently have it at the Great Lakes Naval Base."

"That's right," he nodded. "You have good sources … as always." Jennifer smiled. "I'll send them to Great Lakes. Do you need anything else?" Neither Krysallis nor Jennifer spoke. With his phone against his ear he stood and left the room.

President Jastrow looked at the two girls and grimly shook his head. "I hope you two know what you're doing. My agents in Milwaukee are warning me to be careful with Kimmay. They don't trust her. They think she may have been compromised."

Krysallis simply looked at the President. "Kimmay?"

The President sighed, "Don't worry, I'll give you my complete support. But this is very high risk."

"Trust me Ken, I am being assured by Kimmay herself that she can pull this off."

"Kimmay is in a hospital beat to shit!" the President complained.

"Trust her. I don't know anyone on this planet that I would trust more. And we don't have many good options. Even with extreme luck, we're looking at casualties in the billions if we don't pull off a miracle." She paused and let that sink into the President's thoughts. "Now, I think you need to order a helicopter from the Great Lakes Naval Base to go get Kimmay. She and the Kastellian prisoner are going to have to catch a spaceship."

Krysallis closed her eyes and transferred her thoughts to the girls, "Let's make sure this works. Good luck to us!"

 

Gail had located the Supreme Commander's shuttle. It had been removed from the hospital roof by cranes, and was damaged in the process. One of the stubby wings near the back of the fuselage had been shattered when the shuttle had swung into the building as it was being brought down. The shuttle was now sitting under a large tarp in a hangar at the Great Lakes Naval Base.

The location of the ship was a fortunate bit of luck. They needed a Kastellian radio to call the colony ship and request a cargo ship for the Supreme Commander. The Commander had to make the call, and now she wouldn't have to be transported very far to reach her shuttle. The damaged wing would give her story even more credibility when the cargo ship arrived.

The Commander was prepped for her assignment. Soldiers arrived and began cleaning her up. She was ordered to remove her orange prisoner uniform and her own uniform was returned to her. Salindale, Cynthia and Maria followed the entire operation and kept a tight hold on her mind. The Commander couldn't sneeze unless the girls allowed her that simple reflexive action.

All the while she was being prepped, the girls were in her mind. "Tell us about this doctor …"

 

Kimmay wanted to take Traci along with her. Since they were going to be back on the Kastellian ship, their tags were going to be recharged. It would give them each another several days of life. The other girls strongly disagreed with Kimmay's plans. They too wanted to give Traci every chance that they could, but everyone knew it was too dangerous. Traci was barely in any shape to travel, and she might jeopardize the plan.

Kimmay argued for thirty minutes before the Matriarchy finally convinced her that Traci could not go. Reluctantly, Kimmay stopped in Traci's room to say goodbye. Kimmay's hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. She had two black eyes, her ribs had been bandaged tightly, and her knee had an elaborate, mechanized walking cast on it to give her more strength. The tag on her face was held in place with fresh bandages.

Traci said nothing as she watched Kimmay walk over to her bedside and sit down next to her. "You don't look much better than me," Traci said. She held her hand out towards Kimmay. Kimmay scooted her chair closer to the bed so that she could take Traci's hand. "Do you remember the first time that we met?"

Kimmay nodded her head.

"I thought you were a dirty little rag-muffin, but I was impressed with the way you stood up to that guy twice your size." Kimmay smiled weakly. "You were never afraid of anybody, were you?" Kimmay gave a little shrug. "I remember you trying to convince me who you were. I looked at you and saw this little girl and I thought no way could you be some big, important person. You cleaned my toilet for cryin'-out-loud."

A tear started forming in the corner of Kimmay's eye. She continued to smile weakly as she gently squeezed Traci's hand.

"But you insisted. You stood up to me and made me believe you."

"I think I had a little help," Kimmay said quietly.

"Looking back on that, I can't believe that I ever doubted you. I knew there was something special about you. You were too nice to be true. You cleaned my house, taught me trigonometry and even brought home food.

"But damn you could be tough when you wanted to be. I remember waiting for that elevator after Tiffany told us she was a transvestite and she was being blackmailed. I made a nasty comment about Todd and you jumped down my throat like a lioness protecting her cub. God, you scared me. You were tougher than any drill sergeant I'd ever seen." Traci chuckled just a bit. She fell quiet and closed her eyes. Kimmay continued to hold her hand.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me Kimmay. If it weren't for you, I would never have traveled through a space portal. And I would have never met the President of the United States. I was in her office and shook her hand and she knew who I was. God she was beautiful … and nice. Whenever we met she always said hello to insignificant little Traci."

"You were never insignificant," Kimmay said.

Traci ignored the interruption. "I was able to travel around the world and meet lots of important people. I met aliens. I met Linda and I saw the Keeper and I've seen the cube. I've held it in my hands. And Jennifer was the best friend a girl could ask for. She showed me so much and taught me so many things. And you introduced me to my husband. I can never thank you enough for introducing me to Rocky. He is so great … and our sons …" Traci stopped. Tears started flowing from her eyes and then she burst into huge sobs of grief.

The tears in Kimmay's eyes started flowing freely and she had to sniff back her runny nose. She gently patted Traci's hand. As she blinked back the tears she said, "You saved my life, Traci. I can never thank you enough for that." She sat in her chair, blinking back her tears and looking at Traci. She refused to release Traci's hand. "Traci … I am so sorry for this. You are here because of me. It's entirely my fault and I'm so sorry. What I have done is unforgivable."

They cried for several minutes while Rocky guarded the door and kept everyone out. They all waited outside and gave the girls their final moments together. A nurse came and announced that the heli-port had received a message. The helicopter was five minutes out. Rocky reluctantly walked in and motioned to Kimmay. He helped Kimmay out of her chair and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Then he sat down and took Traci's hand.

"I'm sorry," Kimmay said one last time.

"Kimmay?" She turned to look at Traci. "For my sons, Kimmay. Kill every last one of those bastards. Avenge my sons."

"I promise."

 

(continued)

  

  

  

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