Chapter 17

While Christina’s group was with Kathy, Johanna and Conall, several members of Caoilinn’s group gathered on the walkway to the ship’s bridge. They could see that it was just the Captain and two seamen on the bridge. After a few moments, Caoilinn nodded to those with her and they entered.

As the doors opened, the Captain said, “This area is off limits to passengers.”

“Captain, we are not passengers,” said Caoilinn. “We are here to remind you that it is your duty to summon the US Coast Guard. You know that assistance is required to deal with the injured staff member.”

“What? I can’t do that. The home office hasn’t given me permission.”

“Are you not Captain of this ship?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, aren’t you duty bound to contact the US Coast Guard about the injured passenger? Aren’t you also required to notify them about the two women who were crushed against the railing by the lifeboat, before it pushed them overboard?”

The Captain was speechless. He thought, “How could these people know? They said they weren’t passengers. All the passengers were in their cabins when the incident occurred. I can’t go against the owners and put my sisters at risk. Wait, how can they be here if they aren’t passengers? What a fucking mess.”

“Captain,” said Caoilinn, “your sisters and their families are safe.” Her comment caused the Captain to jump and look at them with a strange expression. “Other members of our group are monitoring their safety at this moment. I can assure you that no harm will come to them.”

“What the hell? It’s like I can hear them speaking, but their lips aren’t moving.”

“That’s right, you can hear me. I am talking to you telepathically, and reading your thoughts. You need to call the Coast Guard now. If you don’t, you could be in a worse pickle than the incident BEN Cruises is blackmailing you about. Think about it. If we could arrive on your ship in the middle of the ocean, don’t you think we can protect your sisters and their children? Your sisters’ families are now safer than the President.”

He stared at Caoilinn for a few moments, and then looked at the two with her. Doing as they suggested was what he was required to do, as Captain. It was also what he wanted to do. The risk was enormous, but instinct told him to do as Caoilinn suggested. It was then that the memories of the other incident came flooding back. Things would have turned out much better if he had followed his instincts then. He reached up and flipped the radio to the emergency band.

“Boston Coast Guard, this is BEN Cruises Exotic Night.”

“Exotic Night, we copy.”

“We have an injured passenger who needs medical treatment.”

“What is the injury?”

“His upper right arm was nearly severed when a bulkhead door slammed on it during the storm. Our medical staff thought they could handle it, but he is losing ground.”

“What is your position?”

Just as the Captain gave their position, a seaman pressed the emergency button. A few moments later, several other members of the crew entered the bridge, making it a little crowded.

“We also need to report that two women fell overboard in the storm last night,” continued the Captain.

“Why didn’t you summon us earlier?”

“We should have, but we have been cleaning up after the storm. The two women were crushed against the railing several times by a lifeboat as the ship rolled. By the time we rigged life lines, the lifeboat broke through the railing, carrying the women with it.”

“Who were the women?”

The Captain gave the Coast Guard the names from the passenger list.

After a few moments, the Coast Guard operator said, “We are requesting that you head toward Boston.”

“We are turning now.”

“Enable your emergency beacon and keep someone by the radio. The OIC asks that you secure the womens’ cabin, as they are wanted by the Boston Police.”

The Captain gave the helmsman the heading to turn the ship toward Boston, and told him to make it a gradual turn. He then asked the helmsman, “Why did you push the emergency button?”

“It is on my duty list.”

Turning to the other crew members, he then asked, “How come all of you are up here?”

“Well, we heard all the ‘stewards’ moving about. When we looked to see what was going on, we saw them going up to the theater,” said a seaman. “We didn’t see any of the BEN supervisors. So we thought you might know what is up. Who are these people?”

“Bluntly, here is the deal,” said Aingeal firmly, before the Captain could reply. “BEN Cruises is operating this ship as a place to train people for the sex slave business. Every trainee that leaves this ship for a new assignment is destined to be sold as a sex slave. In addition, the two women who died arranged for three people to be kidnapped and brought on board. For nearly three weeks now, these three people were being conditioned so that they would be compulsive sex addicts. The two dead women were making arrangements to sell them to brothels. Working there would satisfy their addiction until it drove them crazy. Even then, there would be no escape.” The crew members all looked at her in disbelief. “The only thing in your favor is that none of you were directly involved, otherwise you would be accessories to kidnapping and enslavement.

“In several hours, the US Coast Guard will be boarding this ship, along with the Boston Police. We suggest you tell them the truth about everything you have seen. If you do that, you will likely not have any legal problems.”

“Who are you?” asked a seaman.

“We are Órarduine.”

“What?”

“We are the people from the space ship that has been in the news for the last six months. The reason we are here is to help some friends. It will likely be to your benefit to not tell anyone we were here.”

The seaman looked at the three for a few moments, and then shrugged. “Captain, is it alright to hang around up here?”

“Where are the others?”

“Two are down in the engine room and the others are sleeping.”

“Sure, stay here for a while. When the Coast Guard gets close, some of you need to tell the others then go to your duty stations.”

When the helmsman pressed the alarm, the alarm for Exotic Night sounded in the BEN Cruises’ operations center. This was the second time that day it had sounded. One staff member initiated their link to Exotic Night’s security cameras. Another turned up the radio monitoring the US Coast Guard frequencies. It only took them a few minutes to realize that Exotic Night had contacted the Coast Guard, and would be boarded in several hours’ time. Following their instructions, they summoned the owners.

A few minutes later, the two owners came bursting into the room. Both were clearly irritated by being drawn away from their evening’s activities. Their staff immediately began briefing them on the events regarding Exotic Night and the most recent alarm. As soon as the staff mentioned that the Coast Guard had sent two cutters toward Exotic Night, one of the owners began bitching about what this was going to cost their operation. Meanwhile, the other owner reached over and pressed the switch on the console labeled ‘Exotic Night’. Before he could release it, a rumble shook the room as the explosives detonated. All four had only enough time to realize what the rumble was before the blast slammed them against the stone wall, along with the equipment.

Offshore, a passing sailboat saw a bright flash, followed by a loud boom. To those on deck, the spot where the flash occurred seemed to immediately turn into flames. The wind from the blast was strong enough to rock the boat. The boat’s skipper immediately reported their observation on the Coast Guard emergency band.

On a highway not far from the BEN Cruises operations center, a passing truck driver saw the bright flash and heard the explosion. Using the emergency channel on his CB, he alerted the Maine State Patrol of the explosion. Both calls reached the Maine State Patrol dispatcher at almost the same time. Based on the descriptions of the explosion and the common location, he dispatched two patrol cars, along with an ambulance.

Meanwhile, Eryn and Sue Ann of Nicola’s team waited until the dust had settled then moved their scout ship near the house. After initiating their personal cloaking, they entered. They found two people locked in cages which they quietly unlocked, leaving the doors ajar. In the bedrooms, they found several others restrained. Two were hanging limply by their wrists and barely conscious, their bodies covered with multiple lacerations from a recent whipping. Blood oozed from the lacerations, joining with their sweat to trickle down their bodies.

The scout ship AI alerted them of the approaching emergency vehicles. Sue Ann took the phone’s receiver off the hook. After laying it on the table, she dialed 911. She had hardly finished dialing before several people who saw the phone move, apparently on its own, began screaming. The 911 dispatcher responded in textbook fashion to the shrill screams and lack of any response to her questions. She sent several additional patrol cars, and called for an additional medical unit since the screams chilled her to the bone.

Eryn and Sue Ann quickly slipped out of the house and back into their scout ship, they then moved away from the house. They watched the scene for a few moments. The fire in the BEN Cruises operations center was burning brightly, with an occasional belch as something else exploded. On seeing the house exterior steaming, the first patrolman summoned the fire department. Hearing the screams, both patrolmen drew weapons before heading for the house. They slowly entered through the still open door. Eryn and Sue Ann monitored them as they moved through the house. They could tell by the officers’ reactions when they reached the room where the whippings had taken place. The next radio transmission summoned additional ambulances and evidence technicians.

“Dóchas Command Center,” said Eryn, “it looks like the police have BEN Cruises operations center secured. Additional emergency medical services are on the way.”

“Keep monitoring the situation,” said Siobhan. “We want to make sure they look further than just the circumstances of the people they found in the house.”

“Agreed.”

“Security teams on Exotic Night,” said Siobhan, “the Coast Guard is about 10 minutes out. Are you ready for their arrival?”

“Yes,” said Caoilinn. “There are about a dozen stewards who offered to stay and assist the Captain.”

“On their own?”

“Yes. We were a bit surprised. I think our surprise was because of our perspective on how they were duped into being here. In spite of everything, they definitely like working on the ship. They viewed the BEN Cruise supervisors as people they had to deal with. Most of them have been on the ship longer than the others, and were functioning as the trainers for the newest arrivals. What might have happened to them doesn’t appear to be a part of their decision.”

“Are the passengers and BEN Cruise supervisors awake?”

“All are sleeping lightly. The noise of the Coast Guard and Police boarding should wake them.”

“How is the Captain doing?”

“Fine. We told him about the stewards offering to stay. He is trying to work up some contingency plans to take care of the passengers.”

“The Captain has just slowed the ship so that the Coast Guard could come alongside,” said Muriel. “He told the crew to put out the boarding platforms.”

“Captain, we need to leave. We will be around to ensure the Coast Guard and Police find what they need. Once this is sorted, and things settle down, we would like to chat with you a bit.” With that, the group left the ship’s bridge and walked down the passageway. As soon as they were out of sight, they activated their cloaking; effectively disappearing from any human’s view.

Selena and Siobhan watched the events unfold from shuttle Alpha2. A new Sentinel Class Coast Guard cutter pulled alongside Exotic Night on the starboard side, while a coastal patrol boat moved into position on the port side. A rescue helicopter arrived shortly after the two Coast Guard boats. The helicopter lowered medics on to the deck of Exotic Night, where they were met by one of the stewards. She led them to the injured man. While waiting for the victim, the helicopter began transferring Coast Guardsmen and Police from the cutters to the ship.

The Captain was on the rear deck when Blaine, the Coast Guard Commander and Eilidh stepped out of their ride and onto Exotic Night. The Captain introduced himself, and offered to provide any assistance they needed. They quickly agreed to let the stewards show the boarding party the prime areas of interest. As the detectives and Coast Guardsmen came on board, they paired off and were joined by a steward before disappearing inside the ship. Once the transfers were complete, the helicopter left and was shortly replaced by another.

The medics brought the injured man out on deck on a stretcher, and prepared to lift him into the helicopter. Once the medics and injured man were in the helicopter, it left for Boston. With the helicopter gone, Exotic Night continued its journey to Boston, with a Coast Guard vessel on either side. It was 2 AM and they would arrive at the Coast Guard Base at daybreak.

The view on Alpha2’s monitor shifted to the show the ship’s theater. The room was filled with many sleepy people in various stages of dress. At the front stood Eilidh, Blaine, the ship’s Captain and a Coast Guard Commander. “Good morning,” said Eilidh in a chipper voice, eliciting many groans. “My name is Ms. Carroll of the Boston DA’s office. With me are Chief Detective Jackson, the ship’s Captain and the Officer in charge of a Coast Guard detail. There are several Boston detectives and Coast Guardsmen with us.

“You are probably wondering why we brought all of you in here. In short, this ship is a crime scene. Three BCH staff members, who disappeared several weeks ago, were being held on this ship. We know that they have been here ever since they were kidnapped. In fact, they were here until quite recently. Also, there were two women washed overboard during the storm. From what we know about their part in the kidnapping, you could say that justice has been rendered. The two dead women were responsible for the kidnappings and related crimes. Also, we have confirmed since boarding that BEN Cruises staff have been running a slaving operation here. As far as we can tell, the seamen operating the ship were not involved. However, just like them, all of you are material witnesses concerning the activities on this cruise and any other cruises you have taken on it.”

“What happens now?” asked a woman in a worried voice, from the back of the room.

“That is a good question. We will have a proposal for you to consider, shortly. First, let me tell you how this slaving operation worked, as it is obvious some of you don’t believe me. A few of those in this room know it works, because they have acquired one of the trainees to be their ‘slave’.” With that, Eilidh described how the operation selected its victims, offered them jobs, arranged their disappearance, and then disposed of them, all with little risk. She closed by saying, “it worked well because the former CPS wards were easy prey. We think this was because they lacked an adult mentor, or a family who cared about them.” When she quit speaking, the room was very still. It was so still, all you could hear were people breathing.

A woman stood and said, “Ms. Carroll, I am appalled by what you have said. I am inclined to deny it, and probably would if it was coming from someone other than you or your office. Since I can’t deny it, I feel duped and used. Many of us on this cruise would prefer not to see our names associated with BEN Cruises, or this trip, in the news media. At the same, time I don’t want the possibility of this kind of deception occurring again. Knowing many in this group, I expect most, if not all, feel the same way I do. All of us thought these cruises were great, because we could let our hair down with other consenting adults without worrying about publicity or religious fanatics.”

“Where are all the stewards?” asked a gentleman. “I know there were a lot more around last night.”

“By their choice, they have been relocated to a secure location. Those still here, have volunteered to stay and assist the Captain with your care until we dock.”

“Ms. Carroll,” said another woman, who stood with three others. “We have been talking and would like to offer a solution to the mentoring issue.” She turned to look at the others in the room. “We think we can form a foundation, whose purpose would be to assist young people in entering adult life. We are not sure of the form this assistance should take. It could be mentors. It could be some kind of classes or counseling.”

“I think that is an excellent idea,” replied Eilidh.

“I agree,” said a man.

“We would,” said the woman, “need some assistance. Legal. Money. Help. Etc.”

“Excuse me,” said Blaine. “I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but we have an investigation in progress to deal with at the moment. While we applaud your idea, we need to take care of a few details regarding the BEN Cruise slavery issue. A table is set up in the dining room. Each of you need to go there and ensure that your contact information is correct. While we are not requiring it, we would like a statement from each of you, telling us what you know about BEN Cruises. All we need are facts, not a lot of prose. We know a few passengers acquired trainees for their personal use. At the moment, we don’t know if any of them are currently on board. We do expect to find all of those trainees in excellent health. It would benefit both parties if they contacted Ms. Carroll, to sort out the legalities. As to your proposed foundation, it seems like an endeavor we could support, and you need to discuss it with CPS. Let Eilidh or I know if you have problems.

“We only have one other item to share, then you are free to roam around for the rest of the cruise. We will be docking between 5 and 5:30, at the Coast Guard base. By the way, we do have a passenger list, so seeing the stewards in the dining room is not absolutely necessary. However, by seeing them will ensure that we have the correct contact information for you. This could avoid an embarrassing situation later.”

“How will we meet our rides?” asked a man, with a worried look.

“BEN Cruises,” said the Captain, “will have motor coaches at the dock when we arrive. They will take you to a location where your limos will be waiting. We haven’t decided where the buses and limos will meet, yet. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.”

“Well,” said Selena to Siobhan, “it looks like everything on the ship went as planned.”

“Pretty much. If you’re tired, you could take a nap, as we will be here for a little while yet.”

“That’s a good idea, although I think I have dozed off a few times.”

“I won’t tell. The seats in the back recline further than that one does.” Siobhan watched as Selena slowly walked to the back of the shuttle and stretched out on a reclined seat. She was asleep almost as soon as she lay down.

One of the security team hung a curtain around Selena which blocked some of the noise in the cabin.

“Caoilinn, are all the BEN staff accounted for?”

“Yes.”

“We should pull back just before they enter the harbor.”

“Agreed.”

Before Alpha7 turned for its approach to the hangar, Christina had the ship show Dóchas on the monitor. This gave Larissa, Kathy, Conall, Johanna and Brighid their first view of the spaceship. The cabin was very quiet as everyone watched the monitor as they entered the hangar and gently settled into the docking cradle. As soon as the door opened, Gail and Connie entered with several EMTs. Louise made the introductions.

Gail said, “I suspect all of you are a bit tired, but I hope you can hold out a little longer.”

“Gail,” said Kathy, “we have been resting a great deal for the last several days, I think. Brighid may have a better idea of how long. I am hungry for something other than cum flavored mush.”

“Well, in that case,” said Connie, “let’s do this. We will go to the clinic so the autodocs can give you a more thorough physical. Then, while they are analyzing the data, we can go get something to eat.”

“I don’t know that I want to wait that long,” replied Kathy.

“Oh sorry, I left out a small detail. A health scan by our autodocs lasts between 10 and 15 minutes.”

“In that case, let’s do it. Although I find 10 to 15 minutes hard to believe,” replied Kathy, with Johanna and Conall nodding agreement.

Kathy, Johanna, Conall, and Brighid thanked the group with Christina, and gave each of them a hug. Before they left Alpha7, they got assurances from the group that they would see them again.

Larissa watched them leave with a sad look on her face. Christina and Louise saw it, and put their arms around her. Both knew why she was sad, but were waiting for her to mention it.

“Alpha7,” said Casey, “we are ready to depart when everything is ready.”

“It will be about 15 minutes,” came the reply.

Siobhan’s Clan had monitored Christina’s efforts to locate Larissa’s home, while Alpha2 followed Exotic Night and the Coast Guard back to Boston. Selena woke up just as Exotic Night was docking at the Coast Guard Station. The trip back to Boston had been uneventful.

The idea of setting up a foundation to assist former CPS wards in making the transition from foster care to adulthood continued to develop. Several passengers approached the women who proposed the idea with suggestions, and offers of help. By the time they reached Boston, the women had an outline for the foundation, along with sufficient financial commitments to make it a possibility. As they neared Boston, they became more anxious about their proposed foundation.

At Siobhan’s suggestion, Eilidh and Blaine met with the three women. As Eilidh and Blaine chatted with the group, they learned that the women were uncertain about the steps needed to move forward. Eilidh gave them the names of several people to approach for assistance in getting the foundation started. Before the women left, Eilidh assured them that they were welcome to call her, and told them to not let small difficulties overwhelm them.

All the passengers were on deck when Exotic Night approached the Coast Guard dock. Once the ship’s gangway was in place, they immediately disembarked and went to board the waiting buses. Blaine and Eilidh stood with the Captain as he said goodbye to the passengers. As soon as the buses departed, several police cars along with two evidence vans drove onto the dock.

Blaine’s Administrative Assistant was the first to come up the gangway. Seeing Eilidh and Blaine she said, “Here are the warrants. The Feds have agreed that this should be a local matter, but are willing to provide any assistance we need.”

“Excellent,” said Eilidh. She signaled to the officers and evidence technicians to board the ship. When the uniformed officers boarded the ship, one of the detectives led them to the restrained BEN Cruise staff members.

The evidence technicians were the last ones up the gangway. Eilidh said, “There are three areas for you to comb for evidence. One is the cabin where the three BCH kidnapping victims were held. We expect that most of what you find will be DNA and fingerprints, since the kidnap victims weren’t on the ship when we arrived. There are drugs in the cabin which need to be documented, along with anything else you think may be important. Once you are done, seal the cabin.

“Second is the BEN Cruises administrative area used by cruise manager. We expect most of what you find there will be electronic records, but be sure to get fingerprints and DNA off of anything you can. There will probably be drugs in this area as well. Don’t take this wrong, but be sure you document everything.”

The technicians nodded to acknowledge her request.

“The third area is the living quarters of the BEN Cruise supervisors.”

“We may need a different evidence group for some of that,” responded a technician.

“Call them. We need them down here now! If you have any difficulty getting assistance, tell me, Blaine, or his assistant immediately. Again, we don’t want any slip-ups.” Eilidh started to say more, but decided she’d better not. “These stewards will show you where the cabins are. They will give you any assistance you need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.”

“Isn’t that a bit unusual?” asked one technician.

“Yes, it is. This is an unusual case. They were nearly victims of the organization behind this.” Blaine and Eilidh watched as two stewards left with the evidence technicians, followed by one of Blaine’s detectives.

When Blaine saw the police officers taking the staff members off the ship, he said, “Eilidh, let’s go talk to the Captain,”. They found him on the bow, and were surprised to see him talking to Caoilinn, Abbie and Sal.

“I’m surprised to see you guys here,” said Blaine to the three Órarduine.

“You know them?” asked the Captain.

“Yes. We’ve been together several times,” replied Blaine.

“They just told me about the demise of the BEN Cruises office. With them no longer around, I think I have my ship back.”

“We didn’t know this was your ship.”

“It’s a long story, but I think a shortened version will cover most of it. The owners of BEN Cruises forced me to sign a perpetual lease. The leverage was threatening to publicize an incident that occurred while I was the captain of another ship. They said they could publicize in such a way that no one would hire me, or use my ship. When I didn’t agree quickly enough, they made it clear that my sisters and their families could disappear, as well. Caoilinn tells me the owners are dead, so that frees me from the lease. She also told me my sisters’ families are safe. So it looks like I have full use of my ship again. Well, that is unless you seize it because of what happened.”

“Captain,” said Eilidh, “from our standpoint I don’t think seizing your ship will be necessary. We do want to keep at least two areas sealed, for the time being anyway. You need to discuss the incidents at sea with the Coast Guard.”

“Oh, I will. Caoilinn was just suggesting I restart the cruises, without the side business.”

“If by side business you mean involuntary slave training, then I don’t see a problem in doing that. There are some groups who would object if they knew about the intimate activities on the cruises. You are going to need new staff.”

“These are to be strictly pleasure cruises only, with an emphasis on pleasure. All social activity will be voluntary. As to staff, the stewards have asked me what would happen next. I told them I wasn’t sure, but that I would like to continue the cruises with some changes. All of them said they would like to work for me, and that they might know some others who would be interested. I told them the pay would not be what they were initially promised but that any sexual activity was voluntary, and strictly their choice. I suspect most, if not all, the seamen will stay.”

“Captain,” said Caoilinn, “we need to be going as it looks like Blaine and Eilidh have everything under control. Good luck. You can contact us through GISS, or I am sure Blaine knows how to reach us. GISS’s contact information is on the Internet, and they can quickly reach us.” With that, they gave the Captain, Eilidh and Blaine a hug, before stepping onto their IPTPs and heading out over the bay. All three watched until they vanished.

“Good people,” said Eilidh. Blaine nodded.

“I agree,” replied the Captain. “I’ve only known them a few hours, and yet feel like I have friends for life. They told me they were from a space ship, but who are they?”

Blaine smiled, as he said, “That is quite typical. They are known as Órarduine.” The Captain gave him a puzzled look. “Their current home is the space ships near Mars, they also have a settlement on Mars. Originally many stories referred to them as Golden Amazons, which I suspect was because of their stature and coloring. Their musical group, Beyond the Stars, sang at the Pavilion about a month ago.”

“Oh. Now I remember, it just didn’t register at first. I like their music, and have several CDs. They are very good.”

“Yes,” replied Eilidh, “they are very good. I don’t know about you two, but I could use some rest.”

“Eilidh, I can give you a ride to your car,” said Blaine.

“You can drop me at a train station, I usually ride the train to and from work.”

“Well then, I will give you a lift home.”

“Thanks, but no. The trip would be over an hour each way, and we are both too tired.”

“Well, in that case, come with me. You can use one of our children’s rooms. They are visiting friends. Selena will like having company. Besides, it is only about 15 minutes from here.”

“I’ll reluctantly accept, provided you let me take both of you out to dinner.”

“That is not necessary, but certainly sounds good. Let’s go.”