"Do you, or does He, have a plan?" Jason asked.
"Yes, actually, basically it involves Gehor not invading you militarily. Our sources tell us that they are making quiet progress politically, so that they may not have to use force. But as you become more successful in persuading America to hold fast to their laws and Constitution, that will change. We're sure of it! They are gaining strength, and we think one of their goals may be the invasion of Earth’s military. Americans are stronger than the people realize. They just have to put God first, and He will help you fight against all enemies, foreign and domestic–and alien, I might add. I could be wrong, but many of us believe that the United States may be the key to our success. Some of us feel strongly that they will be willing to cooperate with us. Some think that maybe the United Kingdom or Asia might be a better guess, but my money is on America, to use an Earth expression."
"Why is the Constitution so important? It is just a piece of paper." Jason asked skeptically.
"Au contraire, mon ami. It is the most important document for governance that was ever written! Following it keeps your people free. Failing to follow it has caused all sorts of problems in your country. I don't want to go into it right now, but I will send you some books to read on the subject. You are being invaded by a superior force, and your only protection is a piece of paper. Ironic, huh?"
"Why should the Thadions worry about that? Why don't they just bomb us into the dark ages?"
Bishop Rhodes ignored his pronunciation error.
"We won't let them, and they know it. They have to use persuasion. They have to make you want to give up and be subservient to them. Believe me, they would love to come with a show of force, but they can't do that until you give in to them. Then, they can maintain their rule by force. And they will."
Bishop Rhodes paused a moment and pondered what to say next.
"Your science fiction stories often have an evil empire from outer space, aliens with multiple arms and legs that shoot deadly death rays out of their eyes, and that have the ability to take over someone's body or mind. What you see here is reality, son. You have a group of off-world Earthlings trying to take over your political systems and decrease your population through initiating mass murder. They wish to raise themselves up as your saviors by restricting your liberties, controlling your economies, and undermining your future. In a way, it isn't fair that we look like you. You would fight gargantuan bug-eyed creatures with ten eyes, octopus arms and blue spots all over them. No problem. But reality isn't fair."
"Hmm. You are sure I'm the man for the job? I'm not a politician, you know."
The Bishop said, "You can't ever trust a politician, Jason. They only think of themselves, for the most part. Some day you may elect a president or other leader who isn’t a career politician. He will have a very hard time, I’m sorry to say. Politicians are quick to compromise wrong for right when it suits their needs. And they don’t like outsiders. Sometimes they have the best of intentions, but the results are always the same. And usually it involves them gaining power. If you are to save your world, you have to be on the outside of the system. We can give you the credibility to do that."
"Credibility?"
"Yes. But that is a topic for the Council. When we get to Enoch, they will explain everything. We are about to place a huge responsibility on your shoulders, Captain Hotson. I hope it isn't more than you can bear." He continued, "Because of the timing and other important obligations, the Council cannot be convened for a few days. So, first, when we get there, how about a few days of sightseeing? You will love Enoch–the city, I mean. It is the capital of Enoch, the planet. Confusing, I know,” the Bishop said proudly.
"When do we arrive?" Jason asked.
"We arrive late tomorrow night. We have been really pushing the limits of the Gilead. We want to get there as soon as possible with all the things that are going on. As your Sherlock Holmes used to say, the game's afoot. You will have a lot to learn, but right now, though, why don't you go to dinner? I know someone who might be waiting at a certain table for you."
"Thank you, Bishop. I don't know why you think I am so special, but you know I will do my best. I cannot guarantee anything, however. I am just one man."
"So were Noah, Moses, and Christ. They seemed to have made a bit of a difference."
"I'm no Moses, sir, or Christ. I'm just a sailor without a ship."
"Like Peter? You know how that turned out."
"I won't win this argument, will I, sir?"
"I'm afraid not, son. Now get to dinner."
"Aye, aye, sir."
Jason stood at attention, saluted, did an about face, and left the room.
Bishop Rhodes smiled and shook his head. That young man will never cease to amaze me, he thought to himself.
–––––––
Jason walked to the mess hall, er, cafeteria with a spring in his step. Sure enough, there was a very pretty girl waiting at his table.
"Are you Vickie-366 or 367. I won't know until I kiss you, I think."
"Jason, I should slap you. If you can't tell us apart, then you are just a cad."
"Well, I am a sailor. One in every port."
'Hmm. Maybe I'm at the wrong table."
She started to get up and as she did, he put his hand on her shoulder. She sat back down.
"Oh, you're the original. Sorry. I get so confused. Space sickness, I think."
"There's no such thing as space sickness, Jason. I'm a doctor, I should know."
"I guess I'm found out. I'm a fraud. There is no Vickie-366. They only go up to 340."
This got him a fake glare.
"I think I need a doctor," he said holding his ribs.
"No," she said. "You need a psychiatrist."
"A shrink? Quite possibly. I seem to have fallen for a little green alien girl from Mars."
"Well, you'll just have to wait until we get back to Mars before you can see her again."
"My heart will pine."
"Your ribs will break if you keep it up."
"Point taken. How was your day, sawbones?
"Well, my patient lived, which is more than I can say for you if you ever call me sawbones again!"
"Oh, sorry, Dr. Vickie."
"That's better. I had one broken leg, two backaches, and a mole that had to be removed. I've had better."
"It seems strange, I figured on your world they would have gotten rid of most illnesses."
"They have, actually. But accidents happen, people still overdo it, and some moles are just in the way. In this case, it was on her upper lip and was quite unsightly. It didn't seem to matter much until she got interested in some guy."
"I tried to tell her I wasn't interested, but with that mole and crooked-toothed smile, she was irresistible. But I told her no kiss until she did something about that mole."
"That's interesting. I didn't take you for the type to go for a 75 year old women. You should have told me. But I guess there were signs…"
"75? She told me she was only 72!"
Vickie couldn't help herself. She broke out laughing.
"Finally. I won a round."
"You did, handsome. You got me on that one. I'll have to introduce you to Amanda Jayne. But I'll have to tell her I found you first."
"Speaking of finding me, you will have to introduce me to the men who saved my life."
"You’ve already met them. Ben, from the clinic and Cindy, from the engine room."
"Really? They didn't say anything."
"Why should they? They volunteered to go out on the hyper-shuttle and they did. And they brought you back. What should they say? They did volunteer."
"Wow, you people are amazing. I am impressed. They are heroes and don’t even recognize it. I owe them my life."
"No, I owe them your life, and she reached over gave him a peck on the cheek."
When they had eaten, they went back to the observatory. They sat on the long couch that faced the large view window. Jason could see so many sta
rs he began to wonder if he was in a dream. Then he gazed over at Vickie and he knew he was in a dream. He looked closely at her features wondering if they had more than one race on Enoch. Were all the women so beautiful? He hadn't seen many crew members since watching them return from the Mars excursion, but what few he did see were striking. Then Vickie saw him looking at her and blushed.
"Well, Navy man. Like what you see?"
"Very much, my Martian princess. Very much."
She blushed even more.
She said, "I have to admit that I have known you a lot longer than you have known me. Dad showed me your pictures. You looked quite dashing in your Navy white officer's uniform."
"Why do you think I joined the Navy? It was the uniform."
"Of course. It couldn't be because your dad and your grandfather were both in the Navy, could it?"
He was surprised she knew that about him.
"Well, that was part of it. Dad served on a carrier, the Belleau Wood, in the second World War. He was an aviation metalsmith. He patched up the airplanes that the Japanese put holes into. My grandfather marched in John Philip Sousa's band in their military contingent in World War I. He really wanted to go fight the Germans instead, but it was a good thing he didn't. He got sick with a disease that messed up his heart. Had he been overseas, he probably would have died there. Then I wouldn't have my striking features and remarkable humility."
"So that is where your 'humility' comes from? I thought it was part of nearly starving to death and your grey matter loss."
"Grey matter loss?” he sputtered. “You mean, I lost part of my brain?" Jason looked terrified.
"Only the good parts," she said. "You don't use most of it anyway. Few men do."
Jason was still a little skeptical. "Really. Did I actually lose part of my brain?"
"Obviously the part that makes you hard to fool, silly Sailor Boy."
Jason was visibly relieved. "I should report you to the Enoch Medical Society, or whatever it's called. That's patient abuse."
"Oh, we aren't licensed to be doctors. That's silly. You just read a few books, take a multiple choice test, get half of the answers correct, and poof. You're a doctor. None of this medical school nonsense like on Earth. How hard could it be?"
"Now I know you are putting me on." Jason tried to look convinced.
"Maybe," she said. Let's go up to the viewport. I can show you the Alpha Centauries. We are less than a day out."
Jason got up slowly and followed her. He wasn't sure which part was teasing and which part was real. I'm going to have to do some research or she will always have me wondering, he mused. “Women!"
"What did you say?" Vickie asked.
"Oh, nothing." Now Jason wondered, Can she read my mind? Or, did I say that out loud?
"In case you are wondering, I can't read your mind. It's just that the look on your face gave you away. I guess you have a lot to learn about me."
"I have a lot to learn about women!" Jason mumbled.
"Probably. But I won’t help you. I can’t give away our secrets! It’s a sisterhood thing." She tried to look serious. It didn’t work.
They stood in front of the window and Vickie pointed out a star that was definitely larger than the others. It was just below the window's edge, so he couldn't see it from the couch.
"That is Alpha Centauri Proxima. It is closest to us, but it’s also the smallest. Alpha Centauri A is to the left of it. You cannot see Enoch from here, but by tomorrow morning it will be quite visible."
And by the way, you aren’t looking at a real-time image. When we go faster than light, there are no stars. The computer is projecting our position in space via the window.
Jason just looked bewildered.
"Would you like to join me for breakfast? I think I should ask now before I have to worry about waking you up or not," Jason said.
"What about Vickie-366?"
"We broke up. It wasn't to be. I prefer the original."
"I'm glad. I don't do well with competition."
"Well, now that Amanda Jayne is out of the picture, I'm all yours."
"You better be, sweetie. I think we should go steady."
"But I don't have my class ring."
"Then that leaves me a free woman."
"Then, uh, do you have Amanda Jayne's number?"
That got him yet another scornful face.
"Whoa! With that face, I'm going to need a Voodoo doctor."
“Keep it up, Captain, and you will need some serious surgery! I'll call one of my colleagues. There's Sloppy Hands Francine. She'll be perfect. She's what you call a proctologist."
"Uh, I, uh, feel great all of a sudden," Jason said quickly.
"Good. She isn't very good, but she is the only one we have. Remember that!” Vickie said menacingly.
Jason smiled and took her hand. "Let's walk a bit before bedtime. I want to find out more about you. Hmm. No school to be a doctor. I must see your books some time. I might want to be a doctor too, since it's so easy. My doctorate is in Astrophysics. That's nothing to you guys. You know it firsthand. It seems like a silly degree, considering my current circumstance."
She didn't reply to that. She was engrossed in her own thoughts.
As they walked through the hanger bay, she suddenly said, "Jason. Did my dad talk to you about your mission?"
"Actually, he left that to your Council."
"I don't know for sure, but I think it will involve a lot of risk. I don't want to see you hurt."
"I don't worry about getting hurt any more. I have a new doctor."
She didn't smile. "I'm serious, Jason. This could be dangerous."
"Is it more dangerous than sitting on top of a million gallons of high explosives, lighting the fuse, and then blasting off into space, being shanghaied to a flight to Mars that had never been attempted before with equipment that had never been tested, and nearly starving to death?” Jason said all that with one breath, then he had to recover. Finally he said, “Never mind that we nearly died a hundred other ways."
"Well…yes," she said.
"And then falling for a cute Martian girl who is everything a man could dream of? That kind of dangerous?"
Vickie looked at him and tears were in her eyes. She quickly put her arms around him and he could feel her shudder. He just held her until she settled down. She took a handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes and wiped her nose. Then she looked up at him and said,
"Jason. We have something special, don't we? Don't you feel it, too? I know we have only known each other for a few months, but there is something here, isn't there?"
"You know there is, sweetheart. I felt it the first time we kissed. It surprised me in the most pleasant way. Now all I want to do is find excuses to kiss you."
"You don't need an excuse, Jason. Anytime you want. But I get the same privilege."
"Just you–and Amanda Jayne."
"It's a deal," Vickie said. Then she kissed him once more.
And then she poked him in the ribs.
"I've got to wear some body armor, or at least learn to watch what I say."
"Oh I don't think you will watch what you say. It is just too tempting for you. You just need to know how to protect yourself."
"Oh, I'll learn eventually. I hope."
Jason noticed that they were near her cabin door. He looked a bit disappointed.
"Don't look so sad, babe. We'll see each other for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner, if you are up to it."
"Well, I do have to eat."
This time he was able to get his arm in front of his rib cage.
"You're learning, my Captain. Now kiss me good night."
And Jason obliged. And obliged. And obliged…
Chapter 19–A New World
True to her word, by morning they could clearly see the planet Enoch in the side monitors to the big viewport. It was still a quarter of a light-year away, but it was there. The ship would spend a good deal of the day slowing down. Their tremendous speed
required a lot from the engine, and the inertial dampeners got a workout because of the ship’s large size. But Jason was excited. He only briefly got to set foot on Mars, but this was even better. A planet populated with real people from space!
He had gotten up early in order to get the promised view, and now it was time for breakfast with his sweetheart. The view was now real-time from the monitors, since the ship had slowed down below the speed of light. He could not get enough of the view! It's funny, he thought to himself, I didn't go into space to get a girlfriend, but boy, did I hit the jackpot! As he rounded the corner to the cafeteria, he saw Vickie coming down the hallway leading to her office. She welcomed him with a big smile when she saw him.
Enoch's Challenge Page 21
