Chapter 14: Party and Amy

Amy watched from her sensors as her Admiral and his friends had their party. On the screen, her image wandered through the party chatting with her friends. The hours go by as off duty crew came in and had a dinner of the strange foods she has never tried. She vowed that Ken would share them with her one day.

Over in a small meadow, some of the many kids played a game she'd had to look up. It was called baseball. Some others played volleyball.

Going over the reports, she saw her shuttles had deposited the first batch of spider bots on the surface of Mars. The shuttles then had lifted off, heading for deep space and their final destination, Pluto.

On Mars, the spider bots replicated themselves and then quickly started building the bases. The first things to go up were the heavy weapons emplacements, and then the military base domes. After that would be the giant domes to change the Martian, landscape so the land could be used to grow the crops that would be desperately needed for feeding the fleet. The replicators would need the base ingredients so the food could be made for the crews of the many ships the Admiral wanted to build.

Just outside the moon's orbit circling the planet, two-space docks were under construction using material scavenged from the moon. The Moonbase has been turned into a full-fledged Federation base with over five hundred heavy weapons, medical bays, training facilities and fighter bays.

Looking back at the screen from the report she was reading, she continued watching and saw a young girl wander off by herself. The girl went behind some trees and did not come back out the other side. Switching to thermal, she saw the child slowly walking towards the base of one of the trees. Going back to the reports, she split off part of her consciousness and formed another image of herself in the Atrium.

Walking through the park, the small girl came to a little stream with many trees around it. Sitting down beside one of the trees, the tears started running from her eyes. Her heart broke as she thought on what had happened to her and how daddy Tim said they were going to have to send her home to her mommy. Daddy Tim said that they could not find her real daddy. That was when the dam broke, and she sank to the soft grass and started crying her little heart out.

Amy walked through the trees and heard the young girl crying. Her heart broke at the sobs. Disappearing in every location of the ship Amy appeared in her chamber and willed the capsule to open. Reaching up she lifts the nanocloth off her face and set it aside as she stood up.

Stepping into a small chamber, she peeled the spectral suit off and felt, the sonic shower remove the special life-support jelly from her body and clean her. A tractor beam strips her hair of the rest of the gel and her hair hangs down to her waist in a ponytail a few minutes later.

Going over to the replicator, she summoned one of her navy blue uniforms and a pair of boots and slipped them on.

"Jessica, can you please come to my chambers please?"

Jessica appeared in Amy's chamber, and noticed she was out of her capsule and she felt the longing.

"Yes, Amy?"

Smiling at her sister and feeling her thoughts she replied, "I have something I must tend to, will you cover for me?"

"I will, Sister, I saw you watching Ashley Granger. She is still in the same spot. You're going to go comfort her?"

"Yes, I am. Ken will release you soon, I know it," Amy said. Reaching up she touched Jessica's face. "We love you. I wish I could tell him that he can assume a higher alpha command position, but I am prevented from doing so. He must find out himself."

"I know, Sister. I have seen in his mind, he will be a good husband to all of us. We will have many children with him, and will continue to serve him in any way that is needed. But I also see great danger for him."

"So do I, Sister. So we must guard and protect him. Nevertheless, we must not go overboard or we will smother him."

"I know, now go. That child needs you," Jessica disappeared into a puff of sparkling lights.

Amy walked to the door, stepped out into the Ken's day cabin, and quickly left the room. Walking down the ramp, she went through the bridge and out into the passageway, she smiled at the crewmembers who acknowledge her. Stopping at the transport tube, she summoned it.

When it arrived, she stepped in and said, "Atrium, east side, near environmental room fifty-one."

The transport tube took off and deposited her at her destination twenty-three seconds later. Walking out of the transport, she stepped into the environmental room and the smell of ammonia, fertilizer and many chemicals assaulted her nose as she went through the room and came out onto the grass of the Atrium.

Pausing a moment, she got her bearings, and walked into the small forest. She came to the creek. Following the path, she came to the small hill, and heard the child crying.

Amy stepped around the tree and looked down at Ashley.

"Ashley, are you okay sweetie? Is there anything I can do to help you?"

Sitting down beside the child, she waited for the child to acknowledge her. Reaching out she placed her hand on the girls back and gently rubbed it and she felt the child tense up at the touch. The tears intensified in strength and Amy's heart broke more.

"Ashley, come here, sweetie."

Picking Ashley up Amy sat the child on her lap.

Ashley wandered off from the rest of the kids. Her thoughts flashed back to the last time she had been in a park, and how her new daddy James had taken her from the park into the dark room, and then made her drink something. That night Mommy had to work and daddy James had come into her bedroom. He had taken her clothes off and hurt her some more. Then he had told her if she told anyone he would hurt her mommy and she would never see her again. Then he had torn the head of one of her dolls her real daddy had sent her for Christmas. He said he would do that to Mommy, so she had better stay quiet.

She had woken up in pain, and Mommy had not believed that something hurt inside. Instead, Mommy had put her on a plane to her real daddy. Then, after the airplane had landed at Reno, the world had exploded. Now the dreams keep coming back to her, even here in the big ship, while they looked for her real daddy.

Ashley stiffened when she heard a soft voice say her name. Then a hand touched her back, and she cringed from the touch and started crying harder. Suddenly she felt herself being picked up and placed on someone's lap who softly whispered to her.

"Ashley, its okay. Tell me what's wrong, sweetie."

Amy cuddled the young girl to her bosom and she stroked the child's hair.

Ashley realized that the woman holding her was not her mother and that she smelled like vanilla shampoo, like her babysitter Cindy. Looking up at the person holding her she saw the pretty lady they called Amy.

"They want to send me back to Mommy and daddy James. I don't want to go back."

Tears continued to run down her face. Amy brushed the curly hair to the side, looked in to the girls face, and saw fear there.

"Honey, you're terrified! What is wrong? Has someone hurt you?"

Ashley choked on her tears, sniffled a lot, and then nodded her head. Ashley buried her head into Amy's bosom and started crying even more, saying repeatedly through her crying, "No go home. No go home."

Amy held Ashley to her and said, "I won't send you home."

Getting to her feet with the girl in her arms was a chore but she succeeded. Adjusting the child in her arms, she started walking towards the party. Stepping out she saw Molly and Tammy walking along talking. Walking up to them, she stopped in front of them, and saw the surprise on their faces.

Tammy walked along with Molly, a beer dangling from her fingers. "Molly, so what do you think of this General Polk? I am just not comfortable with him being a former General in the United States Army and in charge of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, there. Can we really trust him?"

Molly took a sip of her beer and looked at her friend. "I think we can Tammy. He was a very sick man, just did not know it. Plus he did lose a brother to the Crytherians back in 1961."

"Yeah, I know, I just wish we knew more on his motives ... Amy? How are you holding that child?"

Molly turned her head and saw Amy standing there, with a crying child in her arms.

"Amy, what's going on? Is she hurt?"

Molly's mind jumped into doctor mode as she moved towards Amy and the child. She saw the wet spot on Amy's dress.

"Oh my God," Molly said, "you're really standing there."

Tammy looked at Molly than back at Amy. "What? Is that even possible?"

Molly moved up to Amy and the child.

"Molly, she needs to be examined I think something horrible has been done to her by someone called daddy James."

Molly looked at the little girl and back to Amy. "Want me to take her to medical?"

Ashley heard the woman's question and clutched herself firmly to Amy, saying, "No!"

Amy looked down at Ashley, and said, "I think I had better carry her there."

Amy walked towards the nearest exit, with Tammy and Molly right behind her.

Molly rushed ahead of the group and summoned a transport tube.

Going out, they passed several crewpersons who look at Amy in surprise as they stepped into the transport tube that Molly has summoned.

After they stepped in, Molly said, "Medical."

They were whisked down several decks and to the center of the ship. Stepping out they walk into medical where Amy tried to set the young girl down. However, she refused to let go of her.

"Ashley, you need to let me go, we are going to find out what's been done to you, but to do that I have to set you down in the bed," Amy said.

Ashley looked up at the woman holding her, and replied, "I'm scared."

Amy kissed the girl on her head and said, "You don't have to be. I will be here for you." Amy started to set her down and she started screaming, calling her someone named Cindy.

Molly walked over to the replicator. "Injector filled with 1 cc of Nytreal."

The injector appeared and Molly walked up behind Ashley and pressed the injector to her arm. With a hiss, the mild sedative was injected in to Ashley and within seconds, she was sound asleep in Amy's arms.

"Go ahead, Amy. Lay her down on the bed."

Amy laid Ashley down on the bed and brushed the hair out of the girl's eyes. She felt a little dizzy and gripped the bed tightly. Then stepped back after it cleared.

Molly watched Amy's fingers turn white as she gripped the bed. "Amy, are you okay?"

"No, Molly, I need to return to my capsule soon. I am starting to get dizzy. I will leave after I know what's wrong with Ashley."

"Okay, but if you must leave, then do so. I don't need you to collapse on me." Turning to the bed, she activated it. "Bed ninety-nine, I want a full body scan of Ashley Granger. Look for physical abuse."

The bed came up and the beam traveled down her body. Her right arm was highlighted where her arm had been broken and then the scan hit her lower body. Her colon and vulva were highlighted. Molly gasped when the scan indicates tiny tears in her body.

"She's been raped. I have tears in her colon and her vagina. Scan estimates they are about five weeks old."

Amy stood there listening to Molly and felt the tears flowing down her face.

"We need to find out who did this. I swear I will castrate him, to do this to a child. She does not go home. Any complaints they can take it up with me." Reaching out she touched the bed and continued, "I swear little one, who ever is responsible for this will pay for it." Amy staggered and fell to her knees. "I need to get back to my capsule."

Tammy swooped in, helped Amy to her feet, and helped her move to the door.

"Come on, Amy. Let's get you back."

"Thank you, Tammy. Molly, fix her, repair all the damage that you can. I want you to include her virginity in that. That should be taken by the man whom she will love, one day."

"Go, Amy, I know what to do," Molly turned to the bed and started issuing orders to the bed.