Space Quest

by

MichelleA

 

CHAPTER FIVE

  

"What's wrong, how can I help?" He quickly inquired.

"Nothing right now." I returned. "All that can be done is being done. Lisa is undergoing gene therapy to save her life. It looks promising but I still can't help worrying about her.

"Tell me about it, please." He asked.

For the next hour I told him what had been happening to Lisa and the emergency trip here with Ed and finally the diagnosis of Lisa and myself. I also told him about the surprise DNA match between Lisa and I.

The Admiral made a quick call to Doctor Gomez and talked about Lisa and the probable source of the genetic defect. After several probing questions he said thank you and goodbye to Doctor Gomez.

After he was finished he said, "I don't like what this new information implies. I'm going to have to send a medical evaluation team to Sigma 7 to test for foreign bacterial strains."

"I don't understand." I commented.

"If I'm right then I think we may have the reason for the slaughter on Sigma 7." He stated. "If I'm right, Sigma 7 was never sanitized of this bacteria. That would leave the bonded insurer liable for damages to the entire population of that planet. If that is true we have a lot to do to prove it."

"Do you mean that this whole mess was caused by someone not wanting to be sued for their negligence?' I questioned.

"Yes it looks that way." He answered. "We have a lot to prove and not much evidence to go on."

"What do we have to prove?" I asked.

"First that the bacteria exists on Sigma 7." Responded the Admiral. "Second, that lives were affected. Lisa proves that. Third that the company was aware of the problem and last that they were somehow directly involved in the attack."

"How do we prove those things?" I questioned.

"A medical team can identify the bacteria if it is truly on the planet to infect people." The Admiral explained. "Your people on site will be infected by now but they can be easily treated at this point. With Lisa we can show that it is harmful to people. Now comes the hard part. Proving that the company knew about the bacteria problem."

"My crews are recovering all sorts of property that still has value." I mentioned. "I could have them concentrate on the hospital records, the city and court records and the media records. Maybe that will turn up something."

"I'll need Patrol investigators on site to certify that everything that they find is marked as evidence and handled accordingly."

"That reminds me," I said, " I have all the records from the Station that were recoverable. Maybe from these records of ships arrivals and departures, you can find a witness that can give us a clue to help sort this out." With that I handed over the package that Arnie had given me.

"Admiral, was there any clues on the pirate ship that could help us?" I inquired.

"There were some code names and frequencies and contact times but nothing that would indicate which planet that they made contact on." The Admiral lamented. "Even if we knew which planet, as soon as a Patrol ship arrives, everyone climbs into their little hole and doesn't come back out until we leave."

"Admiral, I think you should try Hopeswell." I suggested. "That is where the pirate that I was with learned about the raid, it stands to reason that the informer was the same individual that contacted the other pirates or was very close to that source. If he isn't the same one then he knows where he got his source from and so on back to the original source."

"You're right." Agreed the Admiral. "I know just who to assign this to also. While I'm thinking about this, I need to introduce you to Admiral Osgood."

"While I served with him as an Ensign and have nothing but admiration for him, must you tell him my secret?" I asked.

"While I understand your reluctance Marcia, I do think that he should be put into the loop about Sigma 7 and you." Advised the Admiral.

"I guess you're right but it is an embarrassment to me to be reminded of it all the time." I assented.

Admiral Howe made a call to the secure records room and ordered that the secret file on Sigma 7 be delivered to Admiral Osgood's office immediately. After a quick intercom conversation, we were quickly ushered into Admiral Osgood's office.

Walking into Admiral Osgood's office we were greeted by the Admiral. "John, what is this urgent meeting and who is the beautiful young lady with you?"

"In good time Joe, in good time." Admiral Howe answered. "First I want you to read a file. You now have access to all the files here but I know that you haven't had time or the need to access this one." Just then the intercom announced the courier from the records room. The file was quickly delivered to and signed for by Admiral Osgood. Admiral Howe urged him to read the report summary first and to read the entire report later.

As he read the summary, he would occasionally glance at me with a question in his eye. He finally finished the report and laid it down in front of him. "OK, that's quite a tale if true." Said Admiral Osgood. "Can you truly confirm that Mark Owens and Marcia Owens are one and the same persons? Who is this young lady and how does she fit in?"

"This Joe is Marcia Owens." Stated Admiral Howe. "I have known her before the events on Sigma 7 and since. I have no doubt in my mind that she was Mark Owens."

"Well I too knew Mark Owens when he was an Ensign serving under me." Commented Admiral Osgood. "There was only one time that I had to discipline him, do you know about that, Miss?"

"Actually, Yes I do, more than you might think." I answered. "It was a bogus charge that you used to try to harass and initiate your new Ensigns. The charge was the unauthorized expenditure of munitions. Don't look surprised Admiral. I cut my teeth on Patrol stories by Admiral James Owens my grandfather and Captain William Owens my father. I was raised with tales of initiations and hazing. I expected nothing less when I came aboard your ship. However I was also taught to cover my backside as well. I caught the gunner switching the ammunition. In fact, I have confessions and the signatures of the gunner, the Ordinance chief and the Ordinance Officer in the daily pass down log. That log is now a permanent part of the ships history files. I made sure of that before I left her. Is that sufficient information to convince you Admiral?"

"Yes it is." He admitted. "However, I will hunt up that log. That log has too much incriminating evidence in it. OK where do we go from here? I presume that some more has come to light to explain your presence here."

The Admiral and I then began to fill Admiral Osgood on the new events and what we suspected. Admiral Osgood listened carefully and asked a few probing questions for clarity. After we were finished I bid them both farewell and returned to the hospital to be with the girls.

During the course of our treatment, a few things happened. I learned that Ed had talked with the Admiral and then left for Sigma 7. The Stations logs showed several ships and passengers that the Patrol was trying to locate. They hoped to find out if they had anything to report about currant affairs while they were on Sigma 7. Lisa was making a full recovery, as was I. The Patrol was also starting a full-scale investigation of the emergency door motor failure on the Station and had subpoenaed the company records and all station maintenance records for all stations.

Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly but I still felt disjointed. Physically the doctors gave me a clean bill of health, but something wasn't right. I felt uneasy but unable to identify it. I sent a message to the Manley's to see if they would have a ship in the area when it was time to leave. Unfortunately they were all in the Omega Sector working their way back home.

I then chartered the next available transportation to Mander III. I was still uneasy but ignored the feelings. My dreams added to my feelings of unease. I couldn't make any sense of them. I felt good when I awoke but didn't know why. I assumed it was the feelings of relief since Lisa was better now.

Nothing was happening here that held any interest for me. Besides I was missing the rest of the girls. I had to be home soon. A week after we were given a clean bill of health, we left for home. Home. What a wonderful sound that had.

****

Coincidentally, the Captain desired a communications refit and I was just the one to offer a deal. We sent out our call to the Station as soon as we were within range. By the time we had landed, we were mobbed and what a wonderful mob it was. We were late for Tennille's birthday but by unanimous consent it had been delayed for our arrival. It was Tennille's party but there was much more to celebrate than that.

Life quickly resumed normality, whatever that is. My businesses continued to expand. More workers continued to be hired and the male population slowly increased. The Station was running at full capacity and the final men were scheduled to arrive in the next month or so to start full 24/7 operation. The pirate ship was cleared of wreckage and was just waiting for a power plant for final assembly.

Sigma 7 was the only real question. I was still feeling listless but why? Was it an after effect of the treatment or was it something else? Ever since I'd left Ringold 5 I had felt this way. What was the problem with me? It wasn't my visitor. What was it?

A couple weeks after our return, the Admiral sent his projected arrival. He also sent word that his aid had requested assignment to the Patrol Base here at Mander III. The news of his request made Sally very happy. Lisa was back to normal without any apparent ill effects. In retrospect, I don't know whether to hug the Doc or spank her for what he did. I'm too happy to do either one. I guess I'll just have to give Marion an extra hug. Or is it Melissa? No it's Marion. I'll give them all an extra hug for good measure. Time passed by with no news of interest. We eventually received confirmation that a power plant had been purchased and would be shipped but no definite dates. While on Ringold 5, I realized how important having a ship available for emergencies could be. Without Ed's ship, Lisa could be dead or have had her short memory erased by regression.

*****

The Admiral finally arrived. The surprise was that Jason was in his company. There had been no advanced notice that he would be arriving. This would be a surprise for Sally. We had a warm greeting and I escorted the Admiral to the Excalibur. While the Admiral was unpacking and settling in, I brought Jason to the Base. On the way he asked me if I had any objections to his proposing marriage to Sally. I wasn't that surprised by the idea itself but rather that he would ask me if I had any objections. Of course, I didn't and offered that I thought that Sally would agree without hesitation. As we parted at his quarters, we hugged and I welcomed him to the family.

When I returned home, Sally was still on the phone with Jason. I gathered that they had a date for tomorrow but I didn't let on that I knew about anything. It would be her day tomorrow. That night I confided in Lady Judith about the coming event. Naturally Sally had to find a new gown for tomorrows date, but little did she know how important it would be. Tomorrow would be a day of power shopping for Sally. Judith and I would make sure that she found just the right outfit for the occasion.

The next morning as we were dressing Sally was still tightening the laces on my corset, so I did the same to hers. Lady Judith put a stop to it when she came in while we were dressing and measured both our waists and then laced us both to 19 ½ inches. She then gave us clothes tailored to fit and sent the rest out to the seamstress. With a smirk she turned and walked out saying, "Let's go shopping".

Before we could leave the Admiral called and said that we were to meet Jason and Sally later that night so that we could witness the proposal. Now we all needed gowns with matching accessories. I just told Sally that I was meeting the Admiral for a late dinner. I then decided to give us all a makeover and scheduled it for late afternoon. As an after thought, I called the one person that I knew couldn't keep a secret and told her of the coming proposal at the Excalibur tonight.

We managed to upset three quarters of the businesses in town for one reason or another. Luckily by the time our appointments were scheduled we had our glad rags in hand. There was even time for the alterations necessitated by our now slimmer waists.

Sally wondered a little about Lady Judith and I dressing up for just a business dinner. I passed it off as just my wanting to dress up for a change. After all I've been sick and with the girls most of the time and hadn't been out much lately. She seemed to buy that for now.

Jason picked up Sally on time for their evening together. He was scheduled to propose at 10 PM. The Admiral picked us up at 8:30 so that we could have dinner and finish dessert by the 10:00. When I opened the door for him, I received very complimentary remarks on my looks. When Lady Judith walked into the room he was momentarily speechless. I could tell that Lady Judith was also trying to make an impression. Now I knew what to get them for their birthday's, a private room. As we left I was silently humming the tune to "Matchmaker".

As we entered the restaurant, I noticed that it was unusually crowded for this time of the evening. I also noticed that it was filled with almost everyone I knew. On the way to our seats, I was greeted by many of those friends. Sally and Jason arrived shortly after and were seated at our table. We had an excellent meal as usual and were only interrupted a few times by friends greeting us. After we had finished our desserts and were just talking, 10 PM arrived. The band started playing softly, Jason stood up and went to his knees before Sally and presented her with a beautiful ring and asked her to be his bride. Her 'yes' was almost too soft for me to hear and I knew that the audience couldn't hear so I said, "Louder".

She almost screamed her 'YES' to the crowd and jumped into Jason arms.

Before the crowd of well wishes became too dense we bid them goodnight, congratulations and see you tomorrow. When we returned home, I said goodnight to the Admiral and Lady Judith and went to check on the girls. Lady Judith still hadn't come inside by the time I was preparing for bed. Not much effort would be required to make that match. I went to sleep humming 'Matchmaker'.

Sally woke late but was on Cloud Nine. Lady Judith was definitely distracted by something and the first two guesses don't count. Everyone oohed and ahhed over Sally's ring. Lady Judith made the proper noises but Sally finally noticed that something wasn't quite right. After I told her about the evening with the Admiral and Lady Judith's reaction, I had a co-conspirator.

During the evening with the Admiral, he told me that they had finished their testing of the Emergency Door Motor. The motor rating was fine for normal door operation. However, when using the emergency procedures, the motors rating was severely exceeded and was guaranteed to fail within two to five uses. Since the door was required to be tested annually, it would predictable fail every couple years. Since the company failed to keep failure data or actively concealed failure data, the motor could fail on the next use as it did at Sigma 7. All station records and company records were being examined. So far it was still a preliminary investigation to determine if there was any criminal negligence involved.

Jason and the Admiral have been here a week now. Sally and Jason haven't set a date yet. The Admiral started working yesterday and will be spending several days in a row on the Station. This does not make Lady Judith very happy. She'll get over it eventually. I'm still out of sorts but I think I know now what my problem is. The Manley's have called in and will arrive soon with the ships power plant. The Patrol just presented us with a schedule of ships in need of communications upgrades. They are to begin in two weeks from tomorrow. One a week for the next 30 weeks if all goes well. There is still no news from Sigma 7. Then there is no news from Ed either. He didn't even say goodbye.

I received a message from Winslow and Hayes suggesting that I form a government for Sigma 7. There logic had something to do with legal status when dealing with other government entities. In addition, the claims for damages or reparations to an individual could be represented by a governmental agency in the absence or death of that individual.

******

Grace's birthday is here again. How time flies. Tonight we will have a party with all our friends here. Sally hinted that there was to be an announcement tonight. Gee, I wonder what it might be?

The wedding date announcement wasn't a big surprise. They set it for four months away. The surprise was Jason's announcement. He has been selected as the next Executive Officer for the Base. This suggested advancement in the near future and eventually the position of Commanding Officer of the Base. While not guaranteed, it does follow the normal course of events within the Patrol.

Marcus Manley just arrived with our fourth ship for upgrade. On the cargo manifest is the power plant and final parts necessary for completion of the former pirate ship. Lisa's illness has frightened me. I can never again feel safe without a ship available for emergencies.

It's been a couple weeks since Grace's birthday party. The Station is fully manned now for 24/7 operations. The Admiral and Arnie have some reservations about a couple of the workers. I don't know how much is work related, a Patrol bias or just the previous incident at work. Time will tell.

There has been an increase in new housing construction. My investments in land and clearing the ruins has put me a step ahead of my competitors. The next two months were devoid of any news from the outside. I've finally admitted that my depression is caused by no word from Ed. Have I become so female that I now desire male companionship? I have to admit to myself the truth of that. The question remains, how far am I willing to go. Am I now 100% female or is Mark still lingering in the background to object? Time will tell. Ed first has to come back and there is no guarantee of even that.

*******

The only notable event was the ongoing mad scramble for Sally's wedding arrangements, which I tried to avoid. I was occasionally roped in to them but was usually blissfully left out.

********

Lady Judith's one year is up this month. She has spent many hours with the Admiral during his down time. Yes, we still call him the Admiral. Nothing else seems to fit him as well. I have just offered to finance a school for 'Young Ladies' with Lady Judith as its headmistress. She was overjoyed with the prospect of staying and having her own school. Of course, in the beginning it would have to be small. After all, Mander III doesn't have a large population to start with. With Lady Judith's reputation, I think that we can attract students from other worlds. We will have to affiliate with some of the educational facilities depending upon the age of the student. However, we will have to have our own dormitory to house the students since the training is continuous all day everyday.

The Pirate ship is finally finished. After the installation of the Power Plant, it was discovered that the remote control mechanism was damaged and the power sensor unit had disappeared. He had to wait for parts to arrive before it could be ready for a test flight. I had decided to 'loan" the ship to the Patrol for an indefinite period of time for intrasolar system operation. In an emergency, I could take it back.

*********

For Lisa's birthday I decided to have another corporate party. We had a small carnival set up on the property complete with rides and games. It was a huge success and everyone had a great time. I think from now on I'll have a committee set up to organize these events. It was exhausting making all the preparations, but well worth it in the end.

Ed just called in to the Station that he would be arriving in a few hours. I was on pins and needles waiting for his arrival. Sally and Lady Judith just about have to tie me down to get ready to see him. I just want to go and greet him but I've been overruled by a vote of 2 to 1. It's a no brainer who voted and what their vote was in that meeting.

Here I am tightly laced and putting on my face while all I want to do is go to him as I am. Maybe I should stop funding for the school and then the vote would only be one to one. That wouldn't work; Sally would just start counting the girls as voting members.

We arrive a few minutes before Ed's shuttle lands. We have to wait for him to debark and enter the Patrol terminal building. I want to rush to Ed but Lady Judith has painfully squeezed my elbow to force me to hold my place. I give Ed a kiss in welcome and let it linger more than necessary. I think I can get to like that with a few hundred years of practice. I definitely intend to practice, too.

It's late evening by the time we drop him off at the Excalibur where he will stay. He is very tired and insists that he must rest but we will meet tomorrow and discuss his news and have some time together.

At the meeting the next morning we meet at our new Corporate Office conference room. At the meeting were Sally, Lady Judith, Ed, Jason, The Admiral, Sam Burke, and Myself. I made sure that Ed and I had some private time together where he apologized for leaving without saying goodbye. More practice time.

When everyone was seated, Ed began. "The true story is starting to become clearer now. After I left Marcia and the girls at the port, I went to see Admiral Howe here who then sent me to his replacement Admiral Osgood. I offered to help in any way that I could. It seems that somehow my resignation had been misplaced and I was listed as on extended leave of absence. I wonder how that could have happened?"

"My office gets very busy sometimes and files can be misplaced occasionally." Commented the Admiral with a smile.

"Admiral Osgood placed me on temporary duty." Continued Ed. "My assignment was to try to locate the Pirate's informant on Hopeswell. With a copy of the Pirates Logbook and contact frequencies I headed off to Hopeswell. After a week of trying different combinations, I made initial contact. After several meeting, I was able to gain a small measure of trust with an appropriate amount of money. I learned that he had given both Captains their information about Sigma 7. To the first Captain he was simply a go between and had relayed the go ahead and followed the previous instructions. In the instructions was the time and date that they were to act. The informer had no idea of the instructions. He deduced that it would be some kind of attack and sold the time date and place information to the second Captain."

"So my pirate Captain simply knew that there would be an attack and that he might be able to pick up some easy picking in the aftermath?" I asked.

"It appears that way Marcia." Ed confirmed. "Just trusting to luck to grab a rich prize in the confusion, but lost it all instead. The informer didn't know the name of his contact but knew that he left one week later for Rondella. According to the stations log for that day, the only ship to Rondella only carried five passengers. From his description and the passenger list I was able to narrow it down to two names. With Patrol help on Rondella, I was able to find that person. He is a criminal lawyer that has his office out of his briefcase."

"Good work!" Exclaimed the Admiral.

"Under questioning by the Patrol he admitted being on Hopeswell on business." Continued Ed. "When informed of the nature of his true business and that he could be faced with the charge of an accomplice to mass murder, he quickly started to negotiate for his testimony. He was given immunity from the charge of accomplice to murder but he can still be charged for dealing with the pirates and related issues."

"I hate seeing sleazebags get away from justice." I said.

"He won't." Ed stated. "He was not a trusting soul. He kept vids of all his shady dealing so that he could trade information to get himself off. We consequently have evidence showing the suspect paying to pass on information to the Pirates. We don't have a name right now but we do know that he works for Futura Galactic Life, Liability, and Casualty Insurance Company. As it turns out, Futura was the bonding company that covered the sanitization of Sigma 7 for colonization."

"They are the ones pushing so hard for me to sell Sigma 7." I exclaimed. "Now we know why."

"The Patrol is doing the follow up investigation on Futura." Ed stated. "On my return to Ringold 5, Admiral Osgood gave me a package for Jason to pass on the information enclosed. Then when I stopped by Winslow and Hayes, John Winslow gave me a package for you, Marcia. By the way all your people on Sigma 7 have been treated and immunized from the fungal infection that wasn't sanitized there. There shouldn't be any lasting ill affects. By now the planet sanitization should be complete."

"Jason, what did Admiral Osgood send you?" I asked.

"Let me read the cover letter first." Jason said. "I'm not sure what I can show you if anything." After a few minutes: "OK, all this is in the public domain already. These papers were proposed evidence against the Utallian Space Works Universal in regards to the door motor. It appears that against advice, the Chief Executive Officer mandated that all motors be replaced on an 'only upon failure' basis as a cost savings measure. As the Chief Financial Officer he had instituted strict accounting procedures that saved the company from bankruptcy. He was later promoted to CEO when his predecessor retired. These are copies that Utallian released after they fired him and pleaded guilty. A note here says that they are filing criminal charges against the former CEO."

"What is in your package Marcia?" Asked Ed, as if he didn't know.

"Hmmm. This is the preliminary report on Sigma 7." Marcia began while scanning the documents. "From the medical reports and soil samples, the planet was never sanitized for harmful biologic factors before release for colonization. Hanford BioSystems, Inc. was the contractor for sanitation. They went into bankruptcy ten years ago and are still in receivership awaiting criminal and other legal wrangling. Futura was the bonding company to ensure compliance. From the Station's log records, they were able to track down many of the people who had been on Sigma just prior to the attack. By the visitors accounts, there were criminal proceedings scheduled against Hanford and Futura Executives as well as individual lawsuits."

"Does it list any of the charges?" Asked Jason.

"It doesn't list any specifics." Marcia answered. "However, they remember that there was something about mysterious illnesses and several children and adults had died."

"That sounds like what happened to Lisa." Exclaimed Sally.

"Were they that afraid of the trial that they would destroy everyone on a planet to try and cover-up what had happened?" I questioned.

"It appears that someone did." Commented the Admiral.

"The preliminary information has been turned over to the Patrol for further investigation." Marcia continued. "The Patrol has sent investigators to Sigma 7 to search for any information that might remain on Sigma 7. They are going to search the government offices and News service offices for any coverage or mention of anything that may give a clue of what was really happening there."

We continued to discuss what we had recently discovered but still couldn't reach any conclusions. We had to leave it there and wait for more information.

At home, Sally's wedding preparations were progressing ahead like a steamroller. No immovable object was big enough to stop Sally and Lady Judith. The place and time were now cut in stone. The guest list was out and confirmations were arriving daily. There was also an 'Oh, by the way'; Sally informed me that I was her Maid of Honor and that Lady Judith was her bride's maid. We all were scheduled for our dress fittings today. The girls were in the wedding party and had fittings later in the week.

I hate to admit it but we did have fun, although the actual fitting itself was a royal pain. The companionship that we shared was heartwarming. We teased Sally unmercifully about her wedding night to come and her Bachelorette Party next week. Her dress was beautiful and when she was in it she glowed. I only hoped that Jason could wait long enough to take it off her and not tear it off. Lady Judith looked exquisite in her dress. Maybe this could entice the Admiral to pop his own question to Lady Judith. My dress was heavenly. It clung to me like a second skin in just the right places to get Ed to notice. We would have our final fittings a few days after the Bachelorette Party.

We had the party last night. My head still hurts and Sally won't tell me what happened. She has mentioned pictures of what I did, but she smiles when she mentions them. I forgot that the new me can't handle the same amount of alcohol as I once could. That and I still don't have any idea what was in that concoction that Lady Judith came up with.

Note: I didn't really have any pictures of Marcia from the bachelorette party. I'll never tell Marcia that though, it's too much fun teasing her about it and having it hang over her head.

It's a couple days later but Sally still refuses to show me the pictures from the Bachelorette Party. Her day will come, I will see to that. If I could only remember what happened that night.

**********

Sally and Jason's wedding was yesterday. She had an outdoor wedding under a perfect sky. Half the town seemed to be in attendance: the entire town council, everyone from all my companies, most of the base personnel and all of our many friends and acquaintances. The Manley's even managed to show up. They are also giving the newly weds transportation to their honeymoon location. Sally 'neglected' to tell me where they would be.

***********

This was the last entry in Momma's diary. I'm still trying to get her to let me see her new one.

************

Post Script

Unfortunately that was the last entry in Momma's Diary. She says I can have the last one when she passes on. I can fill in many of the blanks for you. The Admiral and Lady Judith never did marry. The Admiral proposed at least once a year but she was happy just to live with him. Her school for young Ladies of any age was a great success. My sisters and I operate them since she passed away many years ago. If you were anyone or longed to be anyone, then you had to go to Lady Judith School for Young Ladies. Most of the most influential Ladies, from many worlds, are now graduates of Her/Our School.

Before Aunt Sally joined Uncle Jason, she passed on Momma's Diary with her notations in it. Aunt Sally never had any children of her own; she blamed it on the injuries she received from the attack. I have no way to verify that but I will take her word.

Momma eventually married Edward Mikesell. She always claimed that he remained a letch but that is why I think she married him. They had 5 more children of their own: four boys and a girl. Edward, Mark, Lawrence, Randall and Abigail.

The boys now have their own ships and have joined the Manley's in partnership. They each spent a few years in the Patrol for experience and then joined the Manley's business. We now have 38 ships total. Between them they have 22 children and 8 grandchildren.

Abigail is the Queen of Sigma 7. We opened the planet for colonization but retained ownership. Abigail and her husband Arthur operate the planet as a business and ensure that the colonists follow the basic charter agreement. Gradually the planet is reverting over to the colonist's private ownership. Each colonists is leasing their land, however if any family stays for 20 years then the land is deeded to them. She is the proud mother of 4 and is waiting for her first granddaughter to arrive shortly.

Lisa died while delivering her first child. Momma thinks that there may have been a weakening of her heart from her childhood sicknesses. Momma lost interest for a while after losing Lisa. Even after she recovered, there was always a faraway look in her eyes. Sometimes the children would bring her back to normal but other times you could see the pain of loss etched deeply in her face.

Most of my sisters work for Lady Judith's School. Most are married with many children and grandchildren each. We have schools on Mander III, of course, with one each on Dupres 7and Ringold 5.

I'm Alice the oldest. The 5 oldest girls Alice, Ellen, Irene, Ursula and Yvonne all have some memories of their previous lives. At one time we discussed this with Momma. We had decided that we were better off than we had been. Our crimes were more from laziness and sloth, which got us into trouble, than being outright evil men. Not that we wouldn't have deserved everything that the justice system might have given us. We all felt that we had been given a new lease on life and to make the most of it this time around.

Of the 5 of us, only Ellen and Ursula never married. They decided that they loved each other and could never be intimate with ANOTHER man. They could accept their femininity but something prevented them from closeness with men.

They eventually identified the person Harold Armentrout that had passed on the orders to the Pirates to destroy Sigma 7. After several years gathering evidence he was arrested and tried for mass murder. He was eventually found innocent after a lengthy trial. Some critical evidence was 'Lost', his lawyers found a technicality about admissibility in some of the other damning evidence. In the end, it was a 'he said, she said' trial and the jury believed him. Later he even bragged that he had done it in so many words.

The real story happened like this: He married into money, his wife being the heiress and CEO of Futura Insurance Company. She caught him cheating and placed him on a long but sterile leash. He couldn't divorce her and receive any money because of her ironclad Prenuptial Agreement. She used him as a trophy husband and that is all she used him for.

He was aware of the problems that Futura had with Hanford and Sigma 7. That is where he had his brilliant idea. Through his contacts he had met some Pirates and had sold sensitive information about Futura Insurance clients. When the trial began on Sigma 7 his wife decided to take the Board of Director's to Sigma 7 and offer a settlement. If he divorced his wife he walked away with nothing and may have to pay her. Again if he tried anything against her, he was left in the cold. As her husband, he would inherit all her money IF she died of natural causes or by accident. Thus the idea was born. If she died due to the Pirates action, then he couldn't be to blame and therefore he could collect. After the deed, his children sued but they could prove nothing.

A year after the trial Momma and Poppa went on a second honeymoon. When they returned, they had Poppa's 2-year-old niece Harriet. She was a relative that I was unaware of. At the same time Mr. Armentrout disappeared from his home and has never been found. Strange coincidence if you ask me. She now lives with Abigail on Sigma 7.

Poppa died about 8 years ago when his ship ran into a large asteroid field. He was outside the ship doing repairs when they ran through a second smaller field. Momma hitches rides from her sons to go visit all her grandchildren. She herself spends a few weeks here and a few weeks there enjoying.

 

The End

  

  

  

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