Call Girl

Chapter 37

Rick and Kate spent all of the trip in their ship eating their food. The kitchen and ability to hold supplies was of course much larger in Martha and Jackson's ship but Rick felt they needed to talk.

"What are you thinking?" Rick asked her.

"I'm not sure I really know. I think I'm getting used to being out in space and my planet can barely reach orbit, I'm just not sure what to think.

"And worse I still can't get seeing that woman with your cock in her mouth." It was a memory she didn't want or need. She knew he hadn't actually cheated on her. They hadn't had sex but she was giving him a blow job.

"I really don't know what to tell you. I was just trying to come up with a way to get out of this mess when you showed up. I was a slave on a planet where women had all the power."

Then Rick told her something incredible. "Did you know the men liked it this way? The better looking men with the bigger…equipment got to have any woman of their choice. They were always selected to service someone. They didn't see the need to not be slaves."

"That planet was a mess. I guess part of what I'm having trouble with is the fact that our client lost. I thought they were powerful. Was I wrong?" Kate questioned him.

"No, based on all the planets I know about in their realm they are the most powerful beings this area." Rick didn't know of anyone else in this area. "Organics are not true life forms." Rick shook his head.

Kate's eyes widened. "They'll hunt down and kill everyone if no one can stop them."

"That's one thing I've learned since we fled our home planet," Rick said. "There's always someone more powerful than you. You just have to find them."

"I'm still sorry, Kate. She wasn't going to get any further. I just hadn't yet figured out how to stop her without forcing us to move to another area of the planet and start all over again. You're still my mate and no one's going to change that." Rick reached across to take her hand in his.

Kate sighed. She trusted him and she knew she loved him so she stretched out her to take his. "We have to save TiPhar, Rick. She's my best friend. Hopefully she still has her boyfriend. So who else do we take? I don't know fifty people let alone eighty."

"Getting that number isn't going to be the problem. The problem is convincing them that if they stay they'll die. They have a deal for military support and believe in the power of our client." Rick ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"Maybe TiPhar can help us. Surely we can convince her and Tao'a'Tell," Kate said hopefully.

"I'll leave the fifty to eighty people to you, TiPhar, and Mother. Father and I will be busy gathering up all the supplies we are going to need. Not just food but other things as well. Right now we need to survey this ship. Eleven bedrooms with two people per room, not including babies. So where else is everyone going to stay?

"And before you think it you and I will be staying on this ship the entire way," Rick insisted. "We have more than one bedroom so we can take a few people as well so we might make it to eighty."

o- [:] -o

TiPhar watched as her best friend's ship landed and waited for the ramp to come down before walking toward them. She was happy they were both home but she had questions. One was why were they back so early?

Just as the ramp touched ground she spotted Kate racing down it then running right for her. The look on her face was one TiPhar couldn't place. A mix of excitement, fear, and at least one other.

"You're with me." Kate took her hand and pulled her toward the ramp. Just as they reached it they meet Rick.

"Mother will be down in a moment to help. I'm going to go meet my father. Good luck." Rick gave Kate a quick kiss and hurried away. Since they didn't really know how long they had they needed to be quick as possible.

"Come with me. I have something I have to show you." Kate pulled TiPhar with her up the ramp, into the ship, and over to the bridge.

Now since it was Kate, TiPhar didn't tell her that she didn't have time for this. She was usually always kept busy with her job. They weren't even the biggest city on this planet but in her eyes they were certainly the prettiest. Who else could say they had spectacular views and had not one but two waterfalls?

o- [:] -o

TiPhar was still standing there gaping at what Lucile had just shown her. She had even recognized a few of the warships in the video and had been shocked to her core as she watched some of them being blown up right in front of her eyes.

Right next to it was the movement of all of the ships. Little blue triangles and little red squares. While some of the red squares had vanished, it was the fact that all of the blue triangles had vanished. They had been wiped out. And then the recording had vanished when the drone recording all this had been destroyed but not before downloading it to somewhere.

TiPhar was still trying to make sense of it all when a new sound hit their ears and they both saw an older woman with fiery red hair materialize.

"Katherine! And you must be TiPhar. You are as lovely as Katherine said you were." Martha hugged TiPhar.

"Rick's mother," Kate mentioned in case she didn't already know.

"Does she know?" Martha questioned Kate.

Kate nodded. "We just finished watching the video you showed us."

"You're still in shock." Martha put an arm around TiPhar. "I know you need time but we may not have time."

TiPhar was still processing and now she looked at Martha for an explanation for that comment.

"Based on the direction they're traveling we believe this planet's next," Kate told her. "We just don't know how much time we have."

TiPhar opened her mouth then closed it. "We have a deal. They will protect us," TiPhar assured them.

Martha proceeded to counter what she was thinking. "Except they just lost, dear. One entire fleet, no less."

"Was that the same fleet that's supposed to come here and protect you? Or a different one? Are they going to send the fleet they have sitting at home to protect you or keep it to protect themselves?" Kate questioned her.

TiPhar's mind was reeling from it all. She had just seen a fleet being destroyed. It was just they didn't have a military. They had a deal.

Kate reached over to TiPhar and touched her arm. "We do have a plan and we need your help."

"Our ship and Katherine's combined can hold at minimum, fifty people. Hopefully eighty people. We need your help in selecting those people. We have a new home to take them all to with us.

"You have a space port full of ships. Your city officials can use those ships or call for support to move even more people somewhere. What we want is everyone that isn't a government official. Contractors, designers, engineers, computer experts, artists. This is where we need your help," Martha said and kept her arm around her.

Martha and Jackson knew that if it was left to the politicians and city officials they would save themselves first and not be able to provide any support in the City Ship. They had no knowledge of skills to help them. They wanted real people. People that did all the work.

"Are you still with us, dear?" Martha gave TiPhar a comforting hug. "I'll stay here with her. You know what to do now, Katherine." They had weeks to talk about this before they even got here.

Kate gave TiPhar's hand a quick squeeze. "Let Martha help you, I'll be back." Kate was already all dressed up for this. She knew this planet. To be taken seriously you needed to look grand and elegant.

o- [:] -o

Martha was sitting next to TiPhar who was using her pad to try and make a list of people. The part that was really starting to get to TiPhar was she was being asked who to select to come with them. So many people were going to be left behind and would possibly die. How did she choose those people?

A new voice called out, "TiPhar!" That had TiPhar leaving her pad with Martha and was up to hug Tao'a'Tell. TiPhar saw his dad, his four brothers, their mates, and any children right behind him followed by Kate.

"Good luck, Martha." Kate still had work to do and this was just her first stop.

This left Martha to explain to everyone that Kate had managed to bring here and show what TiPhar had recently seen.

o- [:] -o

Martha was no fool. She knew this job was going to be a challenge and she was being proven correct. This group was full of questions. Then came the real challenge. Each person had their own friends who in turn would have friends and they were all going to want to save all of them.

Fortunately neither was Lucile. When the first person tried to leave to warn her friends and get them all in this little ship she found a locked door. Naturally she came back and complained. This was followed by emotional pleas. Logic about numbers be damned.

o- [:] -o

They were all still talking when suddenly more people joined them as well as Kate. She stopped next to Martha. "How's it going?"

"Just as we expected. Everyone wants to save their friends not really caring about just how much space there actually is. I think it's finally starting to sink in, though. How are you doing, dear?" Martha knew Kate was just as emotional about all this.

"I've had weeks to come to terms with it. I'm fine. I'm going to go get round three after I get something to eat." Kate saw TiPhar leave Tao'a'Tell and walk toward her. Kate hugged her since she just had to be hurting. TiPhar even recognized some of the people Kate had just brought.

"How are you doing?" Kate asked her.

"Still in shock. If you and the others are right my home is about to be destroyed," TiPhar replied. "What?" TiPhar saw a really sad look come over Kate's face.

"My planet doesn't even have space flight at all. When they show up there they'll kill everyone. We won't even stand a chance. You have space flight. You can at least try to escape. My planet can't do that." Kate didn't know they were headed for Earth, but they would be one day. Maybe one day soon.

"Oh, Kate." TiPhar hugged her and held her. She was spending all her time worried about her planet and hadn't even thought about Kate. She felt terrible about that.

"I didn't know." Someone had overheard Kate explain and now she was being hugged by someone else. "I'll help. Do you have a pad? I have some names to give you," he asked then walked over to his mate with the pad and together they came up with more names.

o- [:] -o

It took them four whole days. Martha and Jackson hadn't ever seen their ship this full. All eleven bedrooms were full. Just not full like Martha had thought when she had helped select this ship.

Everyone that had babies got a bedroom. Everyone else was going to be sleeping anywhere they could. The main rooms were now full of sheets, comforters, and pillows, along with suitcases full of clothes.

There were a few art pieces stored here and there. Mostly they were all ancient and irreplaceable and revered by everyone.

Kate checked on everyone in their main room on her way to the bridge. It was time to leave. Naturally the word had gotten out and this planet looked like a mass evacuation was underway. Now where they were going they didn't care. At least they were giving themselves a chance.

"Hi, babe." Kate kissed the top of Rick's head and sat down in her chair. "Are they ready?" She meant Martha and Jackson.

"They just left," Rick told her. "They'll meet us there."

"Lucile, the ship is all yours. Set a course for Sur'Kesh." Kate was sure she could do it, but her screens showed that there were ships all over the place and she didn't trust herself not to hit one.

"Moving now. FTL will be in an hour. We need to clear all these ships first," Lucile replied.

"Any sign of them?" Rick asked her.

"Nothing on long range scans. They may not show up for weeks yet. They did take some losses in that fight." She was thinking they would land, make repairs, and maybe get reinforcement before moving on.

"Our cargo bays are almost full. So what are we after at Sur'Kesh?" Kate had spent all her time getting all these people on two ships. They had a total of eighty-four people including babies and not a single politician or city official in sight.

"Stack as many droid kits as we can in a cargo bay. We might need them on the City Ship. It's a bit on the old side," Rick mentioned. "Just not the kits like yours. These guys can manufacture ships, power cores, whole buildings. Along with ones that can make or repair services like sewage, water, and waste systems. Even one that can manufacture armored panels for the ship's surface.

"We then join my parents and dock to their ship, allowing people off this ship and onto theirs if they like and head for our next rendezvous which will be the City Ship," Rick briefed Kate.

"Father and I have spent the last four days getting food and various supplies. If we missed something we're just going to have to do without." Rick knew Kate had done her job. He had done his as well.

"Baby stuff? We have a doctor and a couple of nurses." She was betting there would be pregnancies eventually and saw Rick nod.

"Even computers full of everything my father and I could think of." They might be leaving things behind but they were going to have pictures of a lot of it along with how to design and build lots of things.

o- [:] -o

They knew Lucile had taken them into FTL. Right now Kate was in the kitchen with a little help making dinner for everyone on their ship.

"How are you and the others doing?" Kate queried.

"It is difficult to accept. Leaving everything behind because some race wants to destroy you." TiPhar understood but that didn't make it better.

"Things can be replaced. Lives can't be replaced that easily. We saved all the history of your planet that we could. Hopefully all those other people will find someplace safe," Kate told her as she put what she had in the oven and set the timer.

"Yes. It is still hard, though." Her city was beautiful and to think someone was going to destroy it made her sad.

"I may have been born on Earth but that was my home, too. My mate and I had just finished building our home together. Now all that's gone. But I still have him. If I ever lose him I will die." She would be immortal with a broken heart that no one was ever going to fix. "And thank you for the help."

o- [:] -o

Dinner was simple. They didn't have any children on this ship and certainly no babies. Martha had assured her that she would be fine. Her ship had all the children, all the babies, and damn near everything else.

"May we ask where we are going?" Tao'a'Tell inquired as he sat next to TiPhar while they ate. His family was all on the other ship.

Rick began to answer his question. "Sur'Kesh. It's a planet that I know about which specializes in construction of just about anything. We're going to stop there and purchase a few things as well as get any food and supplies that we might need. From there we join everyone else. We'll even dock with the ship allowing everyone to roam between the two ships at will. This is only temporary. So if there's something you want make a list for me and if I can find it, I'll get it for you."

o- [:] -o

Lucile had landed them instead of Kate since she was busy collecting lists from people and listening to any last minute requests. "Here are their lists, babe." Kate handed them over. "Would you believe it's mostly material so they can make things. I think they're bored."

"I'll do what I can. The kits might not show up until tomorrow along with the food and other items," Rick warned her. He kissed her and went down the ramp to go shopping.

o- [:] -o

This time Kate was at the controls as she got clearance to take off and enter orbit. After that she was cleared to leave orbit then finally entered FTL after she put in her destination while avoiding any known obstacles. Next stop was Martha and Jackson's big ship.

Kate plopped down next to TiPhar. "You look bored."

"I was in charge of a Space Dock. Now I have nothing to do. I am uncertain about what I am going to do once we dock with their ship. Or even after we get to this City Ship you talked about." She was here because her best friend asked her to come. She did not want to lose her boyfriend and she did not want to lose her life. But what was she going to do now?

"When we reach the City Ship you won't be bored for long. No one will and that includes me. To make this work I'm betting we'll all have to work." Kate was pretty sure anyway. "Don't move, I need a snack." Kate was up and headed for the kitchen.

"So what did Richard get?" TiPhar queried after Kate was back.

"Well, I have my droid kit to make a small factory to help me make things. Now we have droid kits to make spaceship hulls. Three computers that can be chained together, I'm told, and a whole lot of cloth, thread, scissors, hand sewing needles, sewing machine needles, and a few new sewing machines." Kate indicated the latter items since they were already being put to use.

"We have some spare pads if you want one. Use it to design yourself a new Space Dock maybe. We won't be living on the City Ship forever. The ultimate idea is to find a planet to colonize and live on. What we don't have Rick's parents do in their cargo holds," Kate offered. They had a much bigger ship so they had more items.

"I suppose I could do that," TiPhar murmured and was already thinking of changes to the Space Dock she had been in charge of for this one.

"I'll go get one for Tao'a'Tell also. I'm betting he's just as bored as you are. He doesn't have anything to build yet so maybe he can design something for later." Kate started to get up to do just that but TiPhar stopped her.

"And besides cooking for all of us, what will you do? You could go back to designing for your little shop again. What did you call it? Yule?"

"I suppose I could do that." Kate needed to keep herself busy.