Authors: Tracy St. John
Now that they were at the rec room’s door, the Dramok said, “One of us from the clan will collect you after our shift is over.”
Katherine smiled back. “Thank you. And thanks for letting me come here to spend time with my little ones.”
“Did I have a choice?” He winked at her.
Marci’s piping voice rang out. “Sister Katherine!”
Katherine turned to the open doorway, her smile already spreading wide across her face. The younger girls yelled enthusiastic greetings as they raced towards her, only to go quiet and stop short as they approached the guards at the door.
Katherine hurried in to greet them. As she was enveloped in hugs, Simdow consulted with the guards. Katherine hoped he was telling them not to look so grim and forbidding. Dismissing the Kalquorians, she focused on the aspirants and the few nuns who had stepped forward to greet her.
Marci climbed her like a tree to wrap her arms and legs around Katherine’s body. Darci clung to her waist. There were so many smiles and laughter. Katherine was delighted to see how well they all looked. The elder nuns and Kalquorians were taking good care of everyone, it seemed.
The room was redolent with old food and alcohol smells, an ode to crews spending long months in space. Tables and chairs scattered about, with computers, board games, cards, puzzles, and other well-used distractions to while away the time. There were even a couple of guitars and a beaten up electronic drum set at the far end of the room. A few snack containers littered table tops.
Marci squealed right in Katherine’s ear. “We missed you! Are you going to stay with us now?”
“For a few hours, my sweethearts. Are you all okay?”
Darci grinned up at her. “We’re fine, Sister.”
Marci added, “We’re being good. We say our prayers all the time, and I always ask God to look out for you.”
Katherine laughed. “As you can see, your prayers are being answered.”
Dark-haired Brenda’s round face registered confusion as she looked Katherine over. “Sister, why are you wearing an Earth Space Fleet uniform?
Katherine chuckled, trying not to feel self-conscious. “I never got the chance to go back to my cell for a change of clothes. I must say, I feel strange in pants. Tell me, do I look ready to fly a ship now?”
That earned her some laughter. As the girls chattered away about all that had happened since she’d last seen them, Katherine noted that three of the older nuns had turned away from them. It hurt to see their disapproval, but she consoled herself that she was with her youngsters. That was what really mattered.
The absence of Mother Superior concerned her, however. When she asked for her whereabouts, thirteen-year-old Alice said, “She got sick, so they made her go see the doctor. I think it’s a Kalquorian doctor they took her to.”
Katherine checked around for Sister Bernadette, but as before, the second in the convent’s hierarchy was also absent. Sister Cheryl, a youthful-looking 52-year-old with an exuberant temperament, stood nearby as if waiting to greet Katherine.
Katherine asked her, “It’s not serious?”
Cheryl waved her hands as if shooing away flies. “It’s her heart again, Sister. Nothing too bad, just a return of the arrhythmia. By the way, you look good in uniform.” She winked, setting off more laughter.
One of the nuns who had turned away, Sister Ruth, scowled from the corner she’d retreated to. “Why are you speaking to her? She’s been touched by now. Bred.”
The ebullient Cheryl went steely in an instant. She snapped, “Not by choice. I will not hold what cannot be helped against any of them. We are better served seeing to our own souls and tending the children.”
Ruth turned away once more, the lines in her face deepened by her obvious disapproval. The dozen nuns who had not withdrawn from Katherine offered her sympathetic, and best of all, understanding smiles. Katherine’s heart warmed to see the majority didn’t hold her being taken as a clan’s mate against her. Tears prickled her eyes at their kindness.
Marci whispered in her ear, “Why is Sister Ruth mad at you, Sister?”
Katherine kissed her cheek and set her down. “Because she’s scared. War is a confusing and frightening time. It can be difficult to know how to act or what to do when you find yourself in a situation like ours.”
Sixteen-year-old Francine sucked on her lower lip as she regarded the Nobek guards at the door. Simdow had departed and the two men did appear friendlier. Well, at least not quite as grumpy, at any rate.
Francine told Katherine, “The Kalquorians are supposed to be terrible, hellbound people. Instead, they’ve been very kind to us. That’s what confuses me the most. We’ve been praying for them since they’ve treated us so well. Even the mean-looking ones bow and tell us to let them know whatever we require for our comfort.”
Most of the other aspirants nodded, though a few looked disapproving. Katherine saw an opportunity to share a taste of her own experiences.
“It’s no different than people of our own race that we’ve met, is it? We have to remember to judge not by where the person comes from or how he looks, but by his actions. Who remembers the parable of the good Samaritan?”
All of the girls nodded, and a few raised their hands as if they were in the classroom. Darci tugged at Katherine’s shirt. “I know, I know, Sister.”
“Tell us the story, Darci.”
Darci took a step back from Katherine so that everyone could see her. Her bright voice rang out with assurance.
“A man was beaten and robbed and left for dead on the side of the road. A priest of his own people walked by and didn’t help him. A rich man, also of his people, walked by and didn’t help him. But the Samaritan, who was supposed to be an enemy of the beaten man’s race stopped. The Samaritan picked him up and took him to the doctor so he could be made well. And that’s how we’re supposed to be; kind and helpful to even our enemies when they’re in need.”
Katherine nodded her approval. “Very good.”
Brenda asked, “So the Kalquorians are kind of like Samaritans? Even though we’re their enemies and they’ve made us their prisoners, they will be nice to us?”
“I think so, if we don’t make trouble for them. From the ones I’ve spoken to, they are very protective of youngsters and elders. They take your safety and well-being seriously.”
Ashley asked, “What’s going to happen to us, Sister?”
Katherine was glad she had comforting answers for them, answers that were truthful as far as she knew. “There are plans to end the war soon. Whether Earth or Kalquor wins, the Kalquorians are committed to sending you all home as soon as possible.”
Marci clapped her hands. “Home to the convent? Will you be going back too?”
Katherine met Sister Cheryl’s eyes. Her gaze and those of the other nuns who were apparently still friendly to Katherine told her they knew what was at stake. They knew even if she could return to Europa or Earth, she would be executed. Katherine wondered if they knew they faced the same fates. She swallowed a lump in her throat.
Keeping her tone even, Katherine said, “No, sweetheart. I can’t go back to the convent ever.”
The joy drained out of the child’s face. However, tough little Marci didn’t cry. Instead, her jaw tightened and she said with absolute determination, “Then I don’t want to go back either. Can I stay with you?”
Katherine smiled. She adored her girls, but if she could pick only two to keep, it would be this one and her sister.
She told Marci, “I think you’ll probably go home to your grandmother, sweetheart.”
Darci moved close to cling. “Grandma’s sick. She can’t take care of us anymore.”
Marci added, “I love you, Sister. I want to stay with you.”
Katherine blinked against the sting in her eyes. “I love you too. All of you. But it’s just not possible. You have families and lives on Earth. Your place is there.”
Many of the girls looked morose over this news. In most cases, they had ended up on Europa due to parents who couldn’t be bothered with their care, like Brenda’s. Or they had been cloistered because family couldn’t physically mind them, like Darci and Marci’s grandmother. Their worries for what the future held and that Katherine wouldn’t be there to soothe their fears was apparent.
Katherine made herself smile though she could feel tears waiting to be spilled. “No sad faces, not when God loves us so much and we have our lives to be grateful for. Let’s all pray for Mother Superior, and then we can sing or play games. Okay?”
They responded to her, as they always did. Little ones answered eagerly to love, and Katherine felt gratitude she could offer them some small relief from their worries.
She sat down in a chair. Marci cuddled in her lap, as she often did. They all gathered close, seeking warmth and courage as Katherine led them in a prayer.
* * * *
Simdow knew Miv and Vadef had pulled extra shift hours the same as he. He couldn’t help but chuckle when he ran into the pair making their way down the corridor to where the convent younglings were being kept.
“Some timing, huh?” Vadef grinned.
“I hope Katherine hasn’t given up on us,” Miv grouched. “This preparation for invasion stuff is taking entirely too much of my time.”
“We’re not even a part of the actual offensive.” Simdow sighed. “What I wouldn’t give to be on destroyer right now, ready to claim some of the glory for ending this war.”
“You’ll get your chance, my Dramok,” Miv smiled. “You are an excellent officer. I have no doubt the way you handled things when Captain Tranis was injured will result in a commendation and the post of your choice.”
Simdow nodded, but he thought it might be a long time before he would get his chance to be part of a glorious battle as the first officer on a destroyer. The war would end within a matter of days one way or the other, and he’d have spent it all skulking about as part of a spyship crew.
The trio reached the rec room. The two Nobeks acting as sentries snapped to attention at Simdow’s approach. In a shocking breach of command etiquette, one guard imperiously motioned to the first officer’s clan to be quiet.
Getting a look into the room that housed the children and elders, Simdow at once understood his subordinate’s breaking of protocol. A number of small cots had been brought into the room, and bodies lay sleeping in the dimmed environs. All but Katherine, who sat in a chair, holding a tiny, dark-skinned child in her arms. Simdow recognized the youngling pixie’s face as the one who had challenged Miv. As Katherine quietly sang to her, the little girl’s eyelids slitted open every few seconds. It was as if the babe was too exhausted to keep herself awake, yet she couldn’t rest for assuring herself of Katherine’s continued presence.
The guard who’d warned them to be silent leaned close to whisper to Simdow. “My apologies, Commander, but the littlest one had a nightmare. She is just now being soothed back to sleep.”
Simdow nodded. “Thank you for warning us.”
Miv smiled as he watched Katherine rock the child. “That’s my little warrior sister,” he told the others, as proud as if the babe had been his actual blood.
Vadef smirked. “Even warriors need comfort now and again.”
Miv pulled a face at the Imdiko, who only grinned bigger. Simdow had to fight to keep from laughing out loud at the pair.
He looked at Katherine again, who had not yet noted their arrival. Her pale face was like a beacon of illumination in the darkened room, seeming to have been lit from some internal source. Her expression was tender with love so absolute it made something in Simdow’s chest and stomach ache.
His Matara looked perfect tending the little girl who had finally succumbed to sleep. And that look on her face … had he ever seen anyone look so adoringly at another person?
I’m taking her away from this. From these little ones she’s devoted to.
Guilt filled Simdow. Katherine had much to give. These children, sent away by their families for whatever reasons, needed that love she offered without hesitation. Simdow knew that kind of need. He’d been sent away by his own fathers at a young age to face the world alone. A kind clan had been his saving grace when they accepted him into their lives as an informally adopted son. He’d gotten the love he needed from their childless Matara who had treated him as the boy she’d not been able to carry.
He was taking that kind of support from these children, these who had been cast aside as he had been. Simdow’s heart cried out against it.
What could he do? He had his orders. He had clanned Katherine, and clanning was for life. Even if that hadn’t been a factor, Simdow was well aware he needed and loved her as the children did.
Simdow had not realized the depth of his feelings for Katherine until this moment. He’d known he loved her, but he hadn’t realized how intense the adoration had become. Not until he’d seen her with that same devotion on her face centered on a needful child.
Simdow’s heart filled even as it broke. Katherine was his, and there was no giving her back even if he could bear to let her go. Yet shame overcame him, shame that he had stolen her from those whose wants exceeded his own. And what of Katherine herself, who would have to leave the babes behind, knowing how hard their lives would become without her care?
I have to make this right. I have to figure out something that will fix this somehow.
For the life of him, Simdow could not see how it would be possible.
Leaving the children and nuns under the watchful eyes of the Kalquorian guards, Katherine returned to the quarters her clan had claimed. Vadef immediately began rooting through the tiny kitchenette’s food options, frowning over the contents of the pantry and cooling unit. Packages of chicken, beef, pasta, fruit, and chopped vegetables left him looking helpless.
Katherine laughed gently at his inability to discern what to do with Earther food. “Let me,” she offered. “I’m no master chef, but I don’t burn water either.”