The Pilgrimage Ch. 07

The Goddess Banba smiled at Morrigan and said, "while we're on the subject of helping you get through the rough spots; there's some things you should know. Now that we've gone through the portal; some of the other gods and goddesses have already started laying the ground work for your cities. They tell me they'll be finished in three or four days. When we get to Erie; all we should have to do is set the individual modules in the right spots and we'll be good to go as far as housing your people is concerned. They're also laying out some temporary roads and bridges just to make it easier for people to get around in the beginning. You'll have to replace them with something permanent as you go along. Once we land, we can't have you living in these tiny quarters. You need a place that shows your status as queen. Frigg and Hera have put their heads together and built you a three wing, one hundred eighty room palace that you can be proud of. Any time after noon tomorrow, we'll be close enough to Erie for you to port there and see it for yourself if you want. Hera says she'll be happy to give you the grand tour whenever you're ready."

Morrigan ran her hand through her long red tresses with a sigh. "I'm extremely grateful for everything the gods and goddesses are doing. Without all of the help from you and them it would be almost impossible to get organized and settled in on Erie. My people look to me to be their queen, My Goddess. But even with all the knowledge, skills, and powers that have been bestowed on me, I'm still just an eighteen year old girl who gets scared out of her whits at times. All the gifts I've been given do help make my job a whole lot easier; but what they can't do is take away the fear of making a mistake. That's why I've been doing everything I can to build a great leadership team to be my council of advisors. I really wanna be the best queen I can be, but I've still got so much to learn yet. One of my biggest problems is that sometimes I don't know what I don't know, and yes, that worries me. I realize that all this comes with time. I don't want you to think I'm complaining; I'm not. All I'm trying to say is that without all the help from you and the other gods and goddesses I wouldn't be able to do the job you chose me to do.

I try my best to do what's expected of me but sometimes making the right decisions gets a bit difficult for me. I wasn't born into royalty; I don't have a lifetime of experience to guide me. All I can do is to be true to myself; be who and what I really am and hope that's good enough. Kylie's right; being a queen can really suck sometimes. There are times when I have to make some really horrible decisions. Like ordering an execution. That's one I truly detest. I know it was necessary but I still feel like I went a bit too far with the way that I did it. I keep asking myself if I made a mistake. Did I let my temper get the best of me? If I did; what's gonna happen the next tine I lose my temper?"

Banba thought for a few minutes as she decided the best way to address Morrigan's concerns. "We understand a lot more than you think, Morrigan. We realize that you're still a young woman. But we see that as an asset not a liability. You're not set in your ways. You're able to adapt to changing situations fairly quickly. Yes, you're gonna make mistakes. But you can't live your life walking on egg shells worrying about it. You've surrounded yourself with some of the very best people the Ark has to offer and you always have us to fall back on as well. Being a queen means making the hard decisions. You were very angry when you executed those two assholes. But I don't think you lost your temper at all and I don't think you were being vindictive either. My feeling is that you were right; the death penalty should be reserved for the most heinous criminals and should be society's way of seeking vengeance for the victims of those crimes. Believe it or not, you've given your people the best of both worlds. You've shown them that justice can be tempered with mercy when you freed the gun owners despite what they were planning and you're showing them the flip side of that coin. If you have to execute someone; you will, and they won't die an easy painless death.

The simple truth is that being a queen isn't exactly a rose garden. It's a tough job. There's no way you can please everyone. There's always gonna be those who love you and others who hate you. It comes with the job and there's nothing you can do to change it. Accept that fact and just continue to do the best job you can. We realize that you're working under some very difficult circumstances. This situation was just dumped in your lap without any real warning what so ever. Getting scared is a natural reaction. Just try to remember that we've been preparing you for this role since the day you were born. You have all the attributes necessary to be a truly great queen. Courage doesn't mean not being scared; it means doing what must be done despite your fears.

Your people don't need, or want a friend, Morrigan. They want a queen they can look up to. One that they can love and admire. Someone they can trust, who says what she means, and means what she says. You've given them all of that and more. Listen to your advisors, but trust your instincts as well. Don't be afraid to go your own way if you feel they're wrong. Also you have the combined might of the united gods and goddesses behind you and we won't allow you to fail."

Morrigan shook her head with a soft laugh. "Okay, My Goddess, I get the point. Being a queen is a learning process. I can't expect myself to know everything all at once. Speaking of not knowing everything; what on Erie am I supposed to do with a one hundred eighty room palace?"

Banba giggled. "It's your palace, Morrigan. Do whatever you want with it. You could have a little fun and see how long it would take you and Megan to have at least one orgasm apiece in every room and nobody would care in the least. Seriously though, it's not just one hundred eighty single rooms. Most of it's divided up into various sized suites. For instance the top floor of the west wing is reserved exclusively for your use. It has five bedrooms all with their own private baths. There's a kitchen and dinning area for when you just want quiet meals. We've included a room with a Jacuzzi big enough to hold fifty people comfortably for when you want to relax and unwind after a hard day. You have a huge sitting room with a beautiful fireplace to encourage you to socialize with your ministers, mayors, and others in leadership positions. The rest of the third floor is reserved for family and friends of you and your battle team.

The second floor is is the same thing. Various sized suites that you can use for your ministers, advisors, and their families. The first floor has an industrial sized kitchen, a huge dining room, a grand ball room, a briefing room, office space for ministers and advisors, and of course your throne room for your official duties. There's also a situation room under the first floor that's fully equipped to allow you to deal with whatever problems that may arise. Your uncle already knows about your palace. Hera discussed it with him before it was built. He had some concerns about everyone being housed in a single location. He said it violated every security protocol he'd ever heard of. He settled down when Hera explained to him that your entire palace and the surrounding grounds except for the main gate would be covered by a dome shield that nothing could penetrate and that Kelli herself would be in command of palace security forces."

When Banba finished talking, Morrigan laughed. "Hera must've had her hands full with that conversation. I know how my Uncle Pete is. He can be very overprotective when it comes to the people he loves." She turned to Kelli. "Uncle Pete trusts you,Kelli. He loves and respects you. The way he sees it; you're a part of our family. But I think it would be wise to go over whatever security plans you may have with him. I'm sure you've got all the bases covered. It's just a matter of respect. You already know he's gonna ask you about them. But if you go to him first, he'll appreciate you that much more."

Kelli thought quietly for a minute or so then said, "When it comes to VIP protection and security, Pete is the closest thing we have to a resident expert. He and I have been working together off and on for days. We have a basic security plan already put together. All it needs is a little fine tuning to fit the physical environment. Some of it I know you're not gonna like very much, but I'm asking you to please go along with it. You have to accept the fact that the instant you became our queen, you had a bright red target placed on your forehead. We're not so much worried about you being harmed. We know that only a god or goddess can hurt you. It's the people around you that we're worried about. Erica is a perfect example of what I'm talking about. If that incident had occurred in an open environment; you might not have been able to get to her in time to keep that asshole from killing her in front of a whole bunch of innocent children and the goddess only knows how many of them could've been hurt or killed as well. We know how important your open forums are to you. Right now, while we're aboard the Ark, it's perfectly safe for you to hold as many as you want. But once we land on Erie, the situation has to change. You're gonna be assigned a protection detail around the clock. I know you're gonna hate it; but please, Morrigan, promise me you'll give them your full cooperation. Not so much for your protection, but to help prevent causalities in the event of a surprise attack on you."

Morrigan smiled. "Uncle Pete was really smart to let you be the one to drop this bomb on me. I understand what you're saying, Kelli, and I do agree with your reasons. But you're right, my open forums are very important to me. My people are not just statistics; they're real living, breathing human beings. They have hopes, dreams, fears and worries just like you and I do. So just to let you know; I have no intention of stopping once we land. I plan on holding one whenever I have the time. I 'll cooperate fully with your security details as long as they remain damn near invisible unless they have to take action. You'll get at least 24 hours advance notice and whenever possible they'll be held inside a building so that you can use reasonable precautions such as metal detectors; though I can't promise that everyone of them will be held inside. There may be times when we need to use a sports stadium or other outside environment depending on the situation.

It's also important to me that Vanessa gets to know and understand her people and that they get to know her as well. So I intend to turn her loose and let her start holding her own open forums. I know you're planning on assigning a security detail to her too. So the same rules apply there as well. You can assign whatever members of the battle team that aren't otherwise occupied to supplement your security details as long as they're not showing their gear. They can jump in and help out if the situation requires it, but otherwise they're to stay in the background as well. If you and Uncle Pete can accept those rules then you have our word that Vanessa and I will cooperate with you as much as we can once we reach Erie."

"Pete and I expected you to have some preconditions. Your rules are nowhere near as strict as we expected them to be. We can definitely work within those perimeters. You've got yourself a deal, Morrigan," Kelli replied.

Vanessa spoke up. " While I agree with everything Morrigan said and I will promise to do my best to fully cooperate with your security details, Kelli. You have to understand that neither Morrigan or I really like the idea of having a bunch of security agents up our ass all the time. So anything you can do to make things a bit more comfortable for us would be appreciated. In fact if Erica is willing to accept the assignment and undergo the necessary training; I'd love to have her as my chief of security. She's someone I know and trust and I'm sure she'd do her best to keep her team out of my hair while making sure that everyone else was safe."

Erica looked at Vanessa with shock. "You want ME to be in charge of your security detail? I would be very honored to accept that assignment! If Kelli is willing to go along with it; I'll start protection training whenever she wants, and yes, I 'll do everything I can to make things as comfortable for you as I can without compromising anyone's safety."

Kelli smiled. "That's actually a pretty good idea. Princess Vanessa trusts you and you're certainly geared for the job. It also saves me the trouble of finding someone her highness would feel comfortable working with. Pete has a protection class starting at zero nine hundred tomorrow on deck nine. Go ahead and join it. Tell Pete that I've appointed you chief of security for Vanessa's security detail and to give you the additional training you'll need. It's only a basic beginners course so you'll have to follow up with regular training exercises and drills. I'll be honest with you, Erica. Protection detail isn't a walk in the park. It's gonna take a lot of commitment and a shitload of hard work on your part."

"I don't care what it takes, Kelli! Princess Vanessa has given my life a new purpose! I swear by Aphrodite that I will never let her or you down! I will do everything in my power to see that nobody comes to any harm while her highness is in a public place."

Morrigan spoke up. "All anyone can ask is that you do your best, Erica. Aileen has the control deck tonight. I'd suggest you and Vanessa spend some time together getting to know one another better. I realize it's late and you both have a busy day tomorrow. But an hour or two of girl talk wouldn't hurt anything. It doesn't matter what the two of you talk about. The idea is to build on that trust you have in each other and to make your bond stronger. I 'm gonna spend the night with Meg in her quarters again. That way you can enjoy each others company while Meg and I have some fun again."

"You mean so that you to can fuck each other silly again in private," Vanessa giggled.

"Yeah well, that too," Megan replied with a wink. "Come on, Babe, let's get outta here; I don't know about you, but my poor little pussy is drenched," she giggled.

"You're not the only one who's more than just a wee bit wet down there, Megs. But my day isn't quite over yet." She turned to Kelli. "We both know you have more than enough on your plate as it is, Kelli. I'm probably gonna be all over the place once we land. At least for the first year or so. If you tried to take on the additional duty of being my chief of security; you'd never have time to get anything else done. I have a couple of people in mind that I think could fill that role; but I'd like to talk to them personally first. I'll let you know who once I've made my mind up."

"You're right, Morrigan; it would stretch me pretty thin; and it's your choice to make anyway. Just try not to take too long in deciding. The more they miss of the protection class, the harder it'll be for them to catch up," Kelli replied.

"I'm aware of that, Kelli. I'll let you know something soon. Come on, Meg. We've got places to go and people to see before I can call it a night."

Megan was surprised when Morrigan headed for the door instead of porting to wherever they were going. When they entered the control deck, Pete and Sally were sitting talking with Aileen. Morrigan almost burst out laughing when her sharp ears heard Pete whisper to Sally, "oh fuck! Kelli must've told her already. Shit's about to hit the fan."

Morrigan stood beside Pete for a minute or so with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. Even though it was only a bit more than a minute; it seemed like an eternity to Pete before Morrigan giggled and spoke. "Don't worry Uncle Pete; I'm not gonna bite your head off. Yes, Kelli and I talked about it. Having a security team up my ass all the time isn't something I'm thrilled about; but I do understand the need for it. So does Vanessa. In fact she's already chosen Erica to be the head of her personal security. I don't want you or Kelli assigning somebody to lead my personal team; I'll make that decision for myself. I'll do my best to behave myself and cooperate with my protection team. But I'm giving you fair warning, there may be times when I feel the need to step out of that box and you're just gonna have to learn to deal with that fact. I can promise you that it will never happen without a damn good reason and I'll make sure to have at least Meg and Vanessa with me."

"I don't like it, Morrigan. But I know how you are. Once your mind's made up, there's no changing it. At least you're smart enough not to go wandering off by yourself and if you have Megan and Vanessa with you, the three of you together should be able to handle just about anything that comes up. Just promise me you'll let us know where you're going so that we can send back up if you should need it."

"I won't ever need back up, and you know it, Uncle Pete. But I'll promise anyway." She took Megan's hand. "Time for our next stop Meg." They landed outside suite twenty six in section twelve on deck nine. Once again it was Sarah who answered the door when Morrigan knocked. "Hi my little Kelli. Is your mom and dad here? I'd like to talk to them for a few minutes if they're not busy."

Sarah squealed with joy. "OH MY GODS; YOU REMEMBERED!"

"Who remembered what? Who is it, Honey?" Patty called out.

"It's Queen Morrigan, Mommy. She called me a Kelli and she wants to talk to you and Daddy again," Sarah replied.

Patty was at the door in a flash. She smiled at Sarah and said, "if you're gonna be a Kelli; you have to learn not to make your queen wait in a passageway while you decide whether or not to invite her in." She looked up at Morrigan and Megan with a wink. "Please come on in. Have a seat on the sofa. What can we do for you, Morrigan?"

"I wanted to stop by and see how you and your family are holding up. I know this has got to be a very difficult time for all of you. I also have some news and I'd like to ask a couple of questions if I may."

"I don't know how you do it, Morrigan. With everything you have going on, you still manage to find the time to stop by and ask how we're doing. Honestly? It's hard knowing that Josh is never gonna walk through that door again. It hurts like hell and it's gonna take some time for us to get past that fact. I appreciate your checking in with us more than you know. Josh's death was senseless, but your presence here, now, tells me he died for a worthy cause. You said you had some news and questions, please tell us what's on your mind."

"I don't know if you've checked where your new home is gonna be on Erie. So I'm gonna cover that first. You and Maria will be right next door to each other and your homes will be situated just across the street from the new Imperial Heroes Cemetery. It's a final resting place exclusively for Erie's fallen heroes. A bronze life sized statue of each of them will overlook their graves, and if it's okay with you and Maria, a marble pedestal with a gold trimmed black onyx plaque containing some personal words from me will be placed in between the two statues. I'd also like to ask if you'd be willing to do us the honor of helping with maintaining the cemetery grounds. If you accept, you'll be working directly for me and would be paid twenty four thousand credits a year to start. I know it's not a huge salary. But it's the best I can do at the moment; and I do insist that you be fairly compensated for your work."

"My family and I appreciate everything you've done for us, Morrigan. We'd be honored to have our queen express her thoughts about Josh and Suzanne. I'm sure Maria will be honored as well. Maintaining the cemetery grounds is an honor and a privilege that my family is very happy to accept. I only wish you hadn't insisted on paying us. It's something we'd be more than willing to do for the privilege alone."