Adam was still praying as hard as he could when Sam’s voice came over the comm. “She’s all right. We had a little . . . divine intervention, I guess you could say.”
Seth’s sigh of relief was echoed by everyone in the room. “How soon can you get back?”
“Well, that all depends on how long it takes Ruth and Peter to finish swimming with the dolphins. We’ll tell you more about it later. Seth, did Dr. Freeman check the Quentins?”
“Yes, and as far as he can tell with a blood test, they are not carrying anything.”
“From what Ruth pulled out of them, if I’m guessing correctly here,” Sam sighed and continued, “the enemy developed a mutant strain of one of the plagues and injected them in place of the vaccines that they were supposed to get.”
“We’re all ready on that, Sam.” Dr. Freeman elbowed his way through to the communications board. “Hewitt has a man on the ground doing some checking at the clinic.”
“Doctor Sam, I’ve also been checking on arrivals and departures from the Islands three days before and after the date the Quentins got their vaccinations. There are four anomalous travelers and I am tracking them to see if there is any correlation between them and the clinic bombings.” The Computer interjected her comments.
Seth nodded. “Good thinking, Computer. Martin, did you catch that?”
“Got it, Seth. We had a slim lead, we thought with the sale of radiation suits to a corporation that’s owned by a large consortium of off shore companies under the umbrella of a holding company that’s based in Zurich. But the trail goes cold there.” Hewitt’s disembodied voice held a tinge of frustration.
“I can help you with that, Mr. Hewitt. Just upload what you have to me and I’ll have a little walk through their computers.” The Computer said with what Adam could have sworn was interest in the search.
“Uploading now. Any help will be greatly appreciated, Computer. Have you come any closer to choosing a name? It just doesn’t seem very respectful to keep calling you ‘computer’.” Hewitt asked with a laugh that turned choked. “Holy . . . how did you do that?”
“I just . . . asked the right question of the right computer.” This time Adam heard the smug note in her voice.
“Damn, that’s the company that has the contract for the space shuttle’s engines and environmental components. What if they’ve . . . ‘borrowed’ some of the other technology and built a shuttle on the side that’s capable of going to the Moon?” Hewitt asked.
Seth’s eyes looked like shards of green ice. “And what if we were all dead or dying from some ‘unknown’ virus? They could walk in, take over, dump our bodies and declare the Base theirs. With Ruth dead, the Ikiiri would probably deal with whoever presented themselves to them.”
Adam felt the level of anger in the room rise to even higher levels than before while voices raised in competition with one another. He was already fighting to remain on an even keel himself and this wasn’t helping. His fear for Ruth had now translated into a fear for all the souls in this place that he called home. He badly needed to spend some time on his knees in prayer. First to give thanks for Ruth’s continued well being and second to call on God’s protection for this cherished community.
“Guys, we can talk about this later but right now, um, is Father Adam there?”
Adam wiggled through the bodies surrounding the Commander. “I’m here, Sam.”
“How are you at weddings on real short notice?”
“Excuse me?” Adam exchanged a bewildered look with Seth. “I’ve performed a few in my time.”
Jane’s voice over-rode Sam’s. “It’s been suggested that . . . and I’m quoting here, ‘Just to be on the safe side, I’d have that darling Father Adam marry you again so all those dreary legal forms are taken care of,’ unquote. The Shaman of the Malinke who brought Ruth back has an interesting sense of humor. The tribe is going to be a great addition to Moon Base.”
The silence in the control room was profound while they all looked at each other. Adam felt his inner balance quiver while he tried to figure out what was going on. It appeared to him that Seth felt the same way when their eyes met in a puzzled gaze.
“Are you going to just tease us or are you going to tell us who you’re talking about?” David Elliot said tensely.
Sam’s voice had a definite lilt to it. “Peter and Ruth. I’m finally going to get the sister that I always wanted.”
Peter and Ruth? Adam’s thoughts stopped there.
“Thank God.” Joe sighed from the other side of the Commander. “And she’s really all right?”
“I won’t lie to you, Joe, it was bad. Technically, she was dead from the moment she collapsed on the Moon to the moment she . . . came back to us. Jane and I kept up the CPR all the way down which reminds me that we need to have more CPR classes. I want every single person on the Base to be certified.”
Seth nodded then spoke up, his voice grave. “I agree, Sam. But at the moment, we have a greater problem. Right now, we’re in a fight for our lives and the Base itself. Come back as soon as you can. Tell Peter to run cloaked and open up the sensors to see if there’s anything out there that shouldn’t be.”
“Will do.” His voice faded a bit and Adam faintly heard him call to Jane. “What are they doing? . . . Really? . . . Wow, I didn’t know Peter was that limber.”
Adam blushed beet red and immediately began a prayer of thanksgiving to try and drown out the pictures in his mind.
“Give us another ten minutes and we’ll be on our way, Seth. The dolphins are going to wear them out before then. Hey, is Joshua there?”
“Yo, Sam, what’s up?” Joshua called from over the heads between him and the communications board.
“Peter did the trip in 36.5 minutes - with the gravity on.” Sam’s voice had a chuckle in it.
“Well, damn.” The chagrined tones brought a smile to most of the faces around him and Adam appreciated the lessening of tension in the room.
He retreated into his own mind, carefully not thinking about what Ruth and Peter might or might not be doing. Instead he focused on his prayers to the forgiving God he’d prayed to all his life. Prayers that asked forgiveness for his anger and asked for help in turn for forgiving the men who wanted to kill them. It was hard to overcome the fear that simmered in his heart and soul at the callousness of the attack.
But mostly, he prayed for the safety of their children that they be protected from the evil that seemed to have targeted this brave new world for destruction. His prayers soared with the full concentration of the love he gave to his young charges. When he came back to the control room with a refreshed spirit, he found himself nearly alone.
“Ah, good, you’re back, Father.” Seth straightened to his full height from a bent position over the sensor screens that they’d cobbled together in an odd combination of Ikiiri and Human technology.
“Sorry. I needed to . . . get my balance back.” Adam came over to stand at Jamie’s other shoulder. “What can I do to help?”
“Once they get back, we are going to need a plan of action. At the moment, however, we need someone to go and tell Penelope that there’s been a . . . change in her grandson’s life.” The green eyes looked sympathetically into his.
Oh, God.
“Yes, of course. She . . . might be upset.” Adam sighed and nodded. “I’ll go right away.”
“Thank you, Father. And good luck.”
Adam left the command center and headed for the family quarters. He had a pretty good notion what Penelope’s reaction was going to be. She’d seemed to accept Sam’s choice over time but he knew from some of their conversations that she still had hopes of Peter and Jane getting back together.
Of Peter’s future partner turning out . . . normal . . . at least by her standards.
He blushed to realize that even a few short weeks ago, he would have agreed with her. Until he dropped the blinders that the rigid doctrinal side of his brain had raised, he too had black and white certainties of what should or should not be. But he’d never thought of Ruth as sexless, the way Penelope and some of the others seemed to. As if being Earth’s Avatar had effectively neutered her.
No, to his shame, he’d felt the pull of her femininity all too well. In the depths of her struggle to protect Earth, all the dross had been burned away and left her purely . . . herself. The tingle of holding her in his arms that once in the observatory had never left him. For a brief moment, he’d felt that he held an eternal Spirit in human form. It had taken more nights on his knees than he cared to remember before he found his balance again.
All too soon, he found himself before the door to Penelope’s quarters. Knocking, brought Dakota to the door and he smiled down into her somber face, winning a small smile from her. “May I come in? I have good news for everybody.”
“Please, Father Adam, is it true? Is Ruth all right?” Her voice trembled and he knelt before her quickly.
“Cross my heart, Dakota, Ruth is just fine and on her way back home.” He said gently, accepting a strangling hold as thanks. “It will be all right, little one. It really will.” His eyes found Mary Two Feathers just behind her and he nodded again, watching her face melt into a relieved smile.
“Thank goodness, Father Adam. The announcement was so brief. Can you tell us what happened?” She beckoned him inside and he made a brief negative motion behind Dakota’s back. “Sweetheart, don’t strangle him. Now that you know Ruth’s all right, why don’t you run and tell your friends that she’ll be back soon.”
“Really and truly, Father Adam?” She finished her hug and pulled back far enough to look into his eyes.
“Really and truly, Dakota. Go and tell everybody that she’s coming home and we’re going to have a big party to celebrate.” He grinned and watched her face light up.
“Oh boy, a party! I’ll be back later, Shima.” She called over her shoulder and ran for her best friend’s rooms down the hall.
“Can you tell us now?” Mary asked, shutting the door behind him.
Penelope was seated in her favorite chair, her feet up on the bright yellow footstool the children had made for her. “Yes, Father, what really happened?”
So he sat down and told them of the plot to kill the entire base with plague, Ruth’s healing of the Quentins, her death and resuscitation on a beach in Africa. They didn’t even interrupt him with questions but he could see the same anger in their faces that he’d seen in the control room.
“What next? Not a party but a battle would be my guess.” Penelope said shrewdly. “There’s something you’re not telling us.”
He took a deep breath and said a last quick prayer before speaking. “Yes, I’ve been requested to perform a wedding in the near future to legalize a ceremony performed by the Malinke Shaman. Between Peter and . . . Ruth.”
Mary’s eyes widened and she very carefully rose with a mumbled excuse about watching Dakota before fleeing from the room. Adam watched the frozen mask that Penelope’s face had become. He wondered what she was thinking and if she’d be able to tell him or whether she would keep it inside until it exploded from her.
The tap on the outer door and Running Elk’s entrance were almost simultaneous. He came straight to Penelope’s side and knelt before her, taking her hands in his and with just his presence, breaking through her rigid immobility. Her eyes went to his and Adam saw her eyes melt into sorrow.
“She’s too old for him. She’ll always be a target and now he’ll be one too. She’s asking too much. Isn’t it enough that she’s dragged all of us up here to pursue this . . . this dream of hers?” Tears ran down her cheeks.
“Remember what I said about ‘too’, Penelope? She didn’t ask for him and I’m willing to bet that she was forced to reveal her feelings. As for her being a target, you’re right, she is a target and will continue to be one. And by coming here, we’ve all become targets as well.” He paused and brought one of her hands to his lips, brushing a soft kiss across the wrinkled skin. “But we’re never too old to love, Pen. Can you not be just a little happy for them? I very much doubt that Peter was coerced into this. It sounds more like him pushing ahead than her pulling him from behind.”
She shook her head, unable to speak through the tears and he gathered her close, gently rocking her back and forth in his arms. Over her head, he spoke to Adam quietly. “Father, thank you for coming but I think I can handle it from here. We’ll be down later.”
Adam nodded thankfully and made his escape, shutting the door behind him and almost sagging in relief. Thank God for Running Elk and his compassionate nature. He started back to the meeting hall but had to stop every few feet to answer questions from the inhabitants who kept popping out of their rooms. He really didn’t mind passing on the good news of Ruth’s survival but felt a little shy about saying anything else about her future plans. But it was heartwarming to see the relief on their faces.
He got back to the meeting hall in time to see the airlock doors open to reveal Sam and Jane. Adam sighed silently to see them safe and in one piece. Jane went straight into David’s arms while Sam had to be content with a brief hug from Seth that might be interpreted as affectionate rather than loving to anyone who didn’t know their status. For a moment, he mourned their need for such a subterfuge but then Peter walked out carrying Ruth in his arms and all his thoughts stopped.
They glowed.
For a timeless space, they were outlined in a shining golden light that radiated out from them to flow gently over everyone in the room. Adam closed his eyes and tried to capture it for recalling later but it slipped through him, leaving a blissful spot in his soul. Everything will be fine, so long as we love, it seemed to say. He felt tears well and squeezed his eyes tighter to keep them inside. Why did happiness sometimes lead to tears? He wondered, not for the first time in his pastorate.
The cheer took him by surprise and his eyes popped open to see Ruth gently scolding Peter into putting her down before the laughing crowd. The relief in the room was palpable, replacing the tension that had kept rising earlier. Adam smiled at the look on Peter’s face. He’d put her down but he stayed close behind her, his hands lightly resting on her shoulders in an unconscious declaration of possession.
Ruth’s gaze found Adam on the periphery of the crowd and she beckoned him to her with nothing but a glance. The crowd parted good-naturedly for him and her touch was warm when she took his hands in hers. “Father, when this situation has been resolved, I’d like to ask a favor from you.”
“I would be very happy to marry you to the man of your heart.” He didn’t know where the phrasing had come from but for a brief moment, he saw her as the Chinese woman from his dream.
Her lips quirked up and she relaxed against her human back support. “Thank you, Father. But for now, I’d like this room set up for our meeting. We have some very important decisions to make in the next few hours.”
With those few words, she redirected everyone’s energy into planning for their future. Adam helped where he could but stopped for a few moments when he realized that he hadn’t seen Joe in a while. Ruth and Peter were in the control room when he passed down the hall towards his quarters. He met the small man with a dolly on which he’d tipped his dresser.
“Joe, is there something I could do?” He offered gingerly unsure if his offer would be welcome.
“Well, if they don’t need you, I could use a little help.” Joe smiled shyly. “I thought if I moved out my things, we could move Peter’s into my room so they’ll have the suite to themselves.”
Adam returned his smile. “Only you, Joe, would be thinking that far ahead. Of course, I’ll help.”
Companionably, they moved the dresser into the three-bedroom suite where Peter had lived since the beginning. The outer room had a lived in look that Adam admired. They slotted Joe’s dresser against the opposite wall from Peter’s, then carefully edged his six-drawer unit onto the dolly for the trip back to Ruth’s suite of rooms. Joe carefully folded the robe from the foot of the bed and pulled the slippers out from under it to lie atop the dresser.
The trip back to the suite went well and they placed the dresser against the empty wall. Joe’s bed had already been stripped and the only thing left to move was the bookcase full of books. They carefully moved it onto the dolly upon its back so the books wouldn’t fall out. Then they moved down the hall for the last time and set the bookcase against the wall nearest the bed.
“There, that will do for now. I’ll still be close enough to help them out without intruding into their lives.” Joe looked around with a satisfied smile.
“And you will still be a buffer for Sam and Seth.” Adam finished the thought left unsaid. He met Joe’s eyes and they smiled at each other in perfect harmony.
“Please assemble in the meeting hall.” The Computer’s voice echoed from every speaker in the Base.
“Here we go.” Joe led him back to the hall and they took a place against the back wall of the room. “Ah, it looks like I’m going to lose my nickname, the Shadow.”
Adam took a quick look around and estimated that everyone was there. Ruth was still in the white robe and Peter fit behind her like a backdrop, outlining her slender body with his in the loose black flight suit. Seth and Sam stood by them looking grave. Regani, the Ikiiri engineer stood on their other side with the other Ikiiri spaced around the room.
“Thank you all for coming. This last attack struck at the very foundation of this community. We created this base for families who were willing to take a chance on building a better future. Someone is looking to oust us by any means.” Ruth’s voice faltered and Adam watched Peter wrap his arms around her tenderly. “Danger has always been a factor here but this is a full out assault on all of us. We do have a plan to negate them but there is significant risk. The children and elders will be cloistered away from this section of the base, safe behind sealed doors.”
She gestured to Seth to continue. The room was silent except for his voice.
“What we’re going to do is lure them up here with the ‘apparent’ success of their plan. It will mean a few very bad days for the family members we’ve got on Earth. No one but ourselves and a couple of our security team on the planet will know that we are not dying of the plague here within the Base. Some makeup and acting by those of us playing a part for the TV cameras should ensure that our trap brings them to us while Martin Hewitt draws a noose around the people behind this attack back on Earth.” His eyes seemed to search the souls of each one in the room. “It’s dangerous, I won’t tell you it’s not. The Ikiiri will take off in our ships and head for Mars as if they were fleeing the plague. We’re going to have to play possum while the enemy moves into the Base so I’m going to need volunteers to play the part of corpses. I’m not going to order anyone to do this, not even the Marines.”
With almost one motion, the entire crowd was on their feet by the time he finished speaking. Adam saw nothing but a fierce resolve to protect their new home from the predators who threatened it. He closed his eyes for a brief moment to give thanks and ask that his family be protected while they grieved for his supposed death. When he opened his eyes again, the room had quieted and they had resumed their seats. As they had when they first arrived, Seth handed out assignments and people got up to head to their duty posts in different wings of the Base.
Adam waited for his name to be called while he thought about the motivation behind these attacks. What kind of mind could even think of something so despicable? He looked down at the man by his side. “Joe, who could be behind something like this?”
He leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets and his eyes on Ruth. “The mind that thought of this is minus something in his psyche. Something so basic to our personalities that we find it hard to believe that it could be missing. And what’s missing is . . . empathy. I’d say in his mind, he is the center of the universe and everything pivots about him. His needs and wants and desires must come first, last and always. We don’t really exist for him. We’re just something to brush out of the way so he can continue on with some grand plan he’s concocted.”
“Warped desires and wants if he must murder to get them.” Adam shivered.
“Not to him, Father. And I do think it’s a ‘him’. The plan is practical to a fault but I’ve yet to meet the woman who would infect children with a deadly disease as part of her weapon.” Joe shook his head, a crooked smile on his face. “That’s pure male, I think. He has no idea what he’s stirred up here. It will be beyond his comprehension that we might actually fight back. Not to mention, fight back successfully.”
“Father Adam. Joe.” The call came from the front of the room and they left their place and threaded their way through the dispersing crowd.
Adam noticed right away that Ruth was leaning against Peter. His arm seemed to be the only thing keeping her on her feet. Her skin had that translucency he associated with low energy reserves. “Joe, I would like you to coordinate with the Computer. She is having trouble understanding how humans could do this to other humans.”
“I’d be glad to give her a quick course in psychology.” He nodded.
“I’ve already read your books, Joe.” The subdued voice came from the speaker overhead. “But it just doesn’t make sense to kill someone because you want what he has.”
“I know, Computer.” Joe’s voice was gentle. “But every once in a while, something goes wrong in a human brain and the unthinkable becomes easy. I’ll try to explain it better. You’ll be able to find me later in Peter’s old room. I’m already moved in.”
“Oh, Joe.” Ruth smiled at him and held out her hand. “You’re always thinking ahead.”
“Not a problem, my lady.” He took her hand in both of his. “I wish you both all the happiness in the universe.”
“Thank you, Joe. I . . . appreciate your forethought.” Peter’s ears went slightly pink and Adam hid a smile at his almost bashful reaction to Joe’s news.
“Ruth.” Penelope’s voice came from behind Adam and he felt the tension in the group heighten.
“Penelope, I’m sorry we couldn’t tell you ourselves.” Ruth ceased to lean against Peter but he refused to let her go.
“Grandmother, there are some things I need to tell you. But the most important one is . . . I love Ruth. She is my wife in the best sense of the word and I hope you will welcome her to the Hamilton clan.” His voice was even and his stance protective as they waited for her answer.
“This was who you meant when you said he was too young and too beautiful?” She asked Ruth, ignoring the others around them.
“Yes, it was always him from the moment we met inside a dream. He is the . . . blessing I never expected to find, let alone have.” The look of wondering disbelief on her face when she looked up at Peter made Adam want to drop his eyes. It seemed too intimate a glimpse into her soul.
“Well then,” Penelope sighed, “welcome to the family, Ruth. Perhaps once we repel the enemy, we can sit down and I’ll tell you the secret to handling the Hamilton men. Eli’s mother passed it to me when I married him and I passed it on to Julie when she married my Edward. It looks like I’ll be adding another generation to the list.”
A single tear trickled down Ruth’s cheek and she met Penelope’s hand with her own. A whisper was all the voice she had left. “Thank you.”
Peter added his hand on top of theirs and Sam joined them with an arm around his grandmother’s shoulders. Adam had to blink rather rapidly to not disgrace himself. Seth drew him away from the small family grouping with a tilt of his head.
“Father, I’d like you to liaison with David and Jane. You’re going to be our voice to the world until you succumb to the plague. Very few on Earth know that you’ve had a change of heart about the Base so I’d like you to give a few sermons about Sodom and Gomorra.”
Adam sighed and nodded. He’d be spending more time on his knees before this play was over. If the enemy was deceived and the Base won. If.
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End chapter 38