The Nathan Daniels Saga: Part 1 (11 page)

“
The Kalifet constitution,” the Princess explained.  “In order to inherit the crown, I must be married before my twenty-fourth birthday.  In fact, it goes even further than that, if the heir apparent isn't married by the time she is twenty-four, the legislature is required to pick a new ruling family.  So, not only do I not get to be Empress, my mother stops being Empress as well.”

“
Damn!” Nathan said, paying for the new beers.  “So I am to deliver you to an arranged marriage with a twelve year old prince you have never met.  Are you sure you don't want me to get lost along the way?” Nathan gave her a wink and noticed her mood lighten a little.

“
Not such a good idea.” Remini said.  “Not only would I not be able to face my mother again, she would also put a bounty on your head so large you'd never be safe landing anywhere in known space again!”

“
Yeah, but my guess is that the new Empress would pardon me...  What if we spend the next year looking for Prince Phillip instead?” Nathan offered.  “Marrying him would have to be better than marrying some snot-nosed kid!”

“
Thanks for the offer,” she said, taking one of his hands in hers across the table.  “It means a lot to me that you would be willing to do that.  But, the Saberhagens, with all of the resources of the Kingdom of Rathshelliam, haven't been able to find him in thirty-five years.  I doubt the three of us and the
Nola
have much of a chance.  It's okay, I resigned myself to this fate twelve years ago.  I will do my duty for my family and my Empire.”

“
You're a better man than I am, Princes.” Nathan raised his glass and Remi did the same, clicking them in a toast.  “Of course, Dmitri gets the best woman in the galaxy and isn't even old enough to realize it!”

Several hours later, the pair staggered back to the
Nola
.  Together they made their way up the ramp laughing and giggling as if the world was one long joke, stopping before the door of the passenger cabin.

Remi leaned back against the door.  She grabbed Nathan by the shirt with both hands and pulled him towards her.  He put out a hand, stopping himself just inches from her.

“Why'd you do that?” The Princess whined.  “I know you want to kiss me.  I've seen it in your eyes since that first day in the gym.  I see the constant conflict.  Tonight you don't have to fight it any longer.  Kiss me Nathan!”

He gazed into those enchanting eyes of hers, seeing the depths of her being laid bare, the way only alcohol can.  He could see the tortured soul determined to do her duty, but also wanting to explore a desire which could be more than animal in nature.

“No, Remi,” Nathan said, summoning every ounce of will he could muster, he cut through the beer induced haze in his mind.  “Not tonight, not like this.  Tomorrow, in the light of day and without the beer, we would both regret it, albeit for different reasons.”

Nathan turned away from her and headed towards the ladder that would take him up to his cabin.  He could feel her watching him as he ascended.  He didn't dare look back.

Reaching the top of the ladder, Nathan saw the message light blinking on the console of the control room.  He had taken great pains to ensure that when there was a message waiting, not only was the fact visible from the hall outside his cabin, but also impossible to ignore.

Nathan went to the control room and pressed the button that would play the message recorded by the
Nola
some three hours earlier according to the indicator.

“
Good even captain Daniels,” an old man had appeared on the screen, garbed in the traditional red vestments of a Cardinal.  “I am David Cardinal Simpson.  His Holiness has selected me to act as his agent in this transaction.  I will arrive at 9:00am local time to inspect and authenticate the items you have aboard.  Until that time may the Lord's blessing be upon you and yours.”

Everything had been carefully crated before they left, and Nathan and Remi had spent many hours on the voyage to New Rome editing the video and audio footage from their time on Jesus.  All was ready for the Cardinal's arrival.

Nathan retired to his cabin, setting his alarm for seven am.

* * *

Cardinal Simpson arrived precisely at 9:00.  Nathan and Remi met him at the foot of the ramp.  After exchanging pleasantries, the Cardinal was guided to the ship's gym, where a makeshift theatre was set up.  Here Nathan played the video log of the Passion, including the crew's acquisition of the artifacts.  Nathan saw the Cardinal's eyes begin to tear at various times throughout the presentation.

When the presentation ended, the Cardinal took a few moments to compose himself, then said, “That was a very moving presentation, Captain Daniels.  Either it really occurred or it is a very convincing forgery.  I assume you have a copy of the original footage that I can validate?”

“Of course,” Nathan handed  a data crystal containing a copy of the raw footage from each of the cameras to the Cardinal.  It disappeared beneath his vestments. 

“
Let us now proceed to an examination of the artifacts,” Cardinal Simpson said smiling.  Nathan and Remi escorted the Cardinal to the cargo bay.  Upon arriving, the group gathered around a table upon which a small cargo container had already been placed.  The container had a large 1 stenciled on every side.

“
This contains the first artifact we obtained,” Nathan began.  “The bucket of water by which Jesus' disciples identified the man at who’s house the Last Supper would be held.  If you remember from the video, it is a pail constructed of wooden staves held together by leather with a short length of rope for a handle.”

Nathan unlocked the airtight container and began to open it.  The first thing he noticed as he cracked the seal was the ripe stench of decay.  A look at the faces of Remi and the Cardinal told him they noticed it as well.

He threw back the lid, and received the shock of his life.  Even though the stench had prepared him somewhat.  Gazing into the container, he could see the contents were ruined by decay.  The rotted, misshapen mass looked as though it may have once been the handmade pail they had all expected to see, however it had obviously collapsed under it's own weight, leaving nothing but a pile of detritus.

“
I...  I...  I...  I...  Don't understand,” Nathan stuttered.

“
Maybe I can shed some light on the situation,” Cardinal Simpson said as he withdrew a scanning device from his vestments.  He held the device over the remnants of the bucket and read from the display.  “Definitely organic material, as I am sure we all gathered from the odor.  It appears that it has the chemical make-up of wood and leather that has undergone substantial decay.  Preliminary estimates based on the level of decay would indicate...  No, that can't possibly be right...”

“
What can't?” Remi interjected.

“
Hold on,” the Cardinal said, keying a sequence on the device.  “I'm having it carbon dated.” The device whined a little longer and the Cardinal's eyes went wide as he read the results.  “Captain, the contents of this box are over four thousand years old!”

“
That can't be!” Nathan exclaimed.  “I swear I held that pail in my hands only a week ago!”

“
It appears the happenings on the planet Jesus are even more interesting than anyone has believed previously!” The Cardinal intoned.  “How about we check the other items.  Perhaps something inorganic next?”

Nathan crossed the cargo bay to retrieve another container, as Remi resealed the first one and removed it from the table.  She was just setting it on the deck when he returned with the container marked with a two.  He set it on the table and readied to undo the latches.

“This should be the cup used at the Last Supper.  The Holy Grail, if you prefer.” Nathan undid the latches and opened the container.  A small pewter cup was inside, but it was extremely corroded.

The Cardinal scanned the cup with his device and said, “Just as I suspected.  Judging from the level of decay, this cup is over four thousand years old as well!  Structurally, this cup is identical to the original grail.”

“How can you possibly know that?” Remi asked.  “The original Grail vanished long before any electronic scanner would have recorded it!”

“
Not so, young lady, the cardinal confided.  “In fact, the Grail was in the possession of the Church right through the diaspora brought about by the religious wars on Old Earth, disappearing only after the Vatican had been relocated here to New Rome.”

“
Lost in the move, eh?” Nathan remarked.  “I hope you had insurance!”

“
When I said after the move here, I meant it.  An artifact of that importance traveled with His Holiness here, and then was locked away in the most secure vault in the Vatican.  It, along with the sword of Saint Peter, simply vanished one day.  It was impossible to explain and impossible to locate them, as the church could not explain having them after denying it for so long.  However, the events of today do allow for a theory.”

“
They do?” Remi was perplexed.

“
Yes.  I believe if I scan the sword I will find that along with being over four thousand years old, it will prove to be exactly the sword that vanished from here so long ago.  I think we will find, upon opening the remaining containers, that the sundry other artifacts will prove to be equally decayed and ancient.” Nathan's face fell as the cardinal made this prediction.  It was going to be damn tough to turn a profit if that was the case!

“
But why?” Remi asked.

“
It would seem that the Jesus planet is far more miraculous than it seemed at first blush.  Very likely, instead of the events there being a wholly spectacular re-creation of the life of Christ and the early Church, it actually is that time of earth's history, preserved in some type of repeating time loop.  Once these artifacts were removed from that special situation they aged the full number of years that have passed since the actual events.  The Grail and the sword disappeared from the Vatican simply because they could not exist in two places simultaneously!”

“
Meaning the entire cargo is worthless?” Nathan said, unable to determine if he meant it as a question or a statement.

“
Not necessarily, Captain,” the Cardinal replied.  “I must discuss it with His Holiness, but I think we might be able to come to some arrangement.  First, however, let us open the remaining containers so that I can get scans of their contents.”

They went through all of the cargo containers and in every one they found the same thing.  Organic artifacts had decayed to the point of being compost, while the inorganic items showed excessive corrosion.  Scans of every item registered it as being over four thousand years old.

As the Cardinal left the
Nola
, he promised some response in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours.  Nathan was cautiously optimistic, even though this trip suddenly had disaster written all over it.

The next day, as promised, Nathan took Remi to the extraordinary plaza in the center of the city.

“Shouldn't we be at the market instead?” the Princess asked, taking hold of his hand.

“
If everything had gone as intended yesterday, we would be,” Nathan responded.  He enjoyed the feeling of her hand in his perhaps a little too much.  Luckily the religious imagery around them offset any of the more wanton feelings he was having.  “However, seeing as we do not yet know how much we have to spend, looking for cargo would be rather pointless.”

“
I'm certainly not complaining!” the Princess smiled.  “The point of all of this is for me to learn and experience things I haven't before.” Her gaze met his just as they reached the first diorama.

“
Catholic tradition divides the life of Christ into four groups of 'mysteries,' the mysteries being holy events in his life.” Nathan sounded just like a tour guide.  “The first set of mysteries are the joyful mysteries.  These center around his birth and childhood.  The first of these is the annunciation of the Virgin Mary.”

Remi beheld the resplendent diorama.  The figure of the mother of Christ was several times life size, garbed in the blue and white that had become traditional.  The young virgin had a look of total calm in her face, even though she was kneeling before an angel standing a magnificent thirty feet tall.

Remi and Nathan walked farther along, until they reached the next diorama, where they paused again.  This one showed Mary on the porch of a small house.  A second woman was standing in the doorway, obviously pregnant by the bulge in her midsection.

“
This one depicts the 'visitation.' Mary goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is, at the time, pregnant with John the Baptist.  The child in Elizabeth's womb leaps at the sound of Mary’s voice and Elizabeth then recognizes Mary to be the mother of the Christ.

In this manner, the pair continued through the Joyful Mysteries, then continued on to the Luminous Mysteries finally coming to the Sorrowful Mysteries.  “We won't go down that branch and look at the Sorrowful Mysteries.  Those are depictions of the events from the Last Supper to the Crucifixion, the events that we very recently had a font row seat for.”