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Authors: S. Andrew Swann
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language long thought deadâ
âand speaks his vows to God while still smelling gun-smoke and ashesâ
âwhile a student curses him for saying that the European culture of the SEC is as worthy of study as his ownâ
âand she cries over her fatherâs graveâ
âslamming a fist into the display showing the rejection of his paper on Dolbrian scriptâ
âhis heart in his throat as he hears his first confession and realizes the responsibilityâ
âlooking up into the sky of Bulawayo understanding he will never see firsthandâ
âthe audience applauding as she concludes her speechâ
âfacing the Sphinxâ
âteaching his classâ
âkissing her loverâ
âfeeling his ageâ
âstudying his alien scriptâ
âCardinal Andersonâ
âMosasaâs invitationâ
âCrash landingâ
âPANICâ
Dr. Pak sat on the edge of the cots staring into the middle distance. He clenched his hands into fists on top of his thighs and silently rocked back and forth. Mallory watched Dörner try to talk to him, but he remained largely unresponsive. The only signs he wasnât completely catatonic were when he yanked his arm away from her touch, and his answer when she asked if they could do anything for him.
His response was a flat, affectless, âNo.â
Brody sat next to him, and the slow, deliberate nature of his movements showed that Brody was having the toughest recovery from the physical effects of the bio-interface implant. âDo you have any idea what we can do for him?â
I should , Mallory thought. He had been trained in counseling when he had chosen his vocation. A priest was supposed to provide comfort and solace. However, that had never been his strong suit. He suspected that, even though he wasnât the one to sabotage the Eclipse , the fact he had joined Mosasaâs expedition with a falsified identity meant he was not trusted here. Even if Dörner and Brody might accept him for the moment because of their shared trials, the lie stood between Mallory and the survivors of the Eclipse .
Mallory couldnât ask Pak to trust him enough to allow him to help. It would be hard enough for a Jesuit university professor to provide the counseling he needed after being psychically brutalized. Given Malloryâs recent history, he had the uneasy feeling that any help from him would only intensify the trauma.
He looked at Brody and said, âDr. Dörner is doing the only thing we can do.â He watched her talking quietly to the damaged linguist, and he saw in her face a softness that hadnât been there while they were on the Eclipse . Of the three here, she was probably the best choice to comfort him.
âWhy did you do it?â Brody asked.
âDo what?â Was Brody unaware of Nickolaiâs confession? Mallory had just assumed that after Mosasa had violated that sacred confidence the knowledge had spread to the rest of the crew. If it hadnât, Mallory began to wonder if he could, in good conscience, deny his involvement.
But it wasnât what Brody was asking him. âWhy did a priest join the Bakunin Mercenaries Union with a false identity? Why did you join Mosasaâs expedition?â
Mallory remembered Cardinal Anderson showing the intercepted video of a planet close to Xi Virginis, of thousands of black shadows swarming and obscuring the planet, and of the voice quoting Revelation: â Behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.â
After what he had just been though, Mallory had no secrets, so he told Brody. He told him how he had been recruited by Cardinal Jacob Anderson, Bishop of Ostia, Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, Secretary of State of His Holiness the Pope. How he had been given the identity
âand speaks his vows to God while still smelling gun-smoke and ashesâ
âwhile a student curses him for saying that the European culture of the SEC is as worthy of study as his ownâ
âand she cries over her fatherâs graveâ
âslamming a fist into the display showing the rejection of his paper on Dolbrian scriptâ
âhis heart in his throat as he hears his first confession and realizes the responsibilityâ
âlooking up into the sky of Bulawayo understanding he will never see firsthandâ
âthe audience applauding as she concludes her speechâ
âfacing the Sphinxâ
âteaching his classâ
âkissing her loverâ
âfeeling his ageâ
âstudying his alien scriptâ
âCardinal Andersonâ
âMosasaâs invitationâ
âCrash landingâ
âPANICâ
Dr. Pak sat on the edge of the cots staring into the middle distance. He clenched his hands into fists on top of his thighs and silently rocked back and forth. Mallory watched Dörner try to talk to him, but he remained largely unresponsive. The only signs he wasnât completely catatonic were when he yanked his arm away from her touch, and his answer when she asked if they could do anything for him.
His response was a flat, affectless, âNo.â
Brody sat next to him, and the slow, deliberate nature of his movements showed that Brody was having the toughest recovery from the physical effects of the bio-interface implant. âDo you have any idea what we can do for him?â
I should , Mallory thought. He had been trained in counseling when he had chosen his vocation. A priest was supposed to provide comfort and solace. However, that had never been his strong suit. He suspected that, even though he wasnât the one to sabotage the Eclipse , the fact he had joined Mosasaâs expedition with a falsified identity meant he was not trusted here. Even if Dörner and Brody might accept him for the moment because of their shared trials, the lie stood between Mallory and the survivors of the Eclipse .
Mallory couldnât ask Pak to trust him enough to allow him to help. It would be hard enough for a Jesuit university professor to provide the counseling he needed after being psychically brutalized. Given Malloryâs recent history, he had the uneasy feeling that any help from him would only intensify the trauma.
He looked at Brody and said, âDr. Dörner is doing the only thing we can do.â He watched her talking quietly to the damaged linguist, and he saw in her face a softness that hadnât been there while they were on the Eclipse . Of the three here, she was probably the best choice to comfort him.
âWhy did you do it?â Brody asked.
âDo what?â Was Brody unaware of Nickolaiâs confession? Mallory had just assumed that after Mosasa had violated that sacred confidence the knowledge had spread to the rest of the crew. If it hadnât, Mallory began to wonder if he could, in good conscience, deny his involvement.
But it wasnât what Brody was asking him. âWhy did a priest join the Bakunin Mercenaries Union with a false identity? Why did you join Mosasaâs expedition?â
Mallory remembered Cardinal Anderson showing the intercepted video of a planet close to Xi Virginis, of thousands of black shadows swarming and obscuring the planet, and of the voice quoting Revelation: â Behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth.â
After what he had just been though, Mallory had no secrets, so he told Brody. He told him how he had been recruited by Cardinal Jacob Anderson, Bishop of Ostia, Dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals, Secretary of State of His Holiness the Pope. How he had been given the identity
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