The Nathan Daniels Saga: Part 1 (12 page)

Nathan is about to begin the walk around the Glorious Mysteries when Remi asks him a question.  “How is it you know so much about this?  Are you Catholic?”

“
You could say I just missed it, Nathan replied.  “I spent seven years of my life in an orphanage not more than four blocks from here.  The nuns were good to me and raised me in the traditions of the Church, but I was restless.  Before my confirmation I stowed away on a trading ship.  Luckily for me the captain wasn't the sort of fellow who 'spaced' stowaways.  He let me work off my passage and I became his apprentice.  By the time I was eighteen, I understood things well enough that he loaned me the credits to buy the
Nola
.  I had her paid off before I was your age.”

“
So had you lived your entire life, up to that point, on New Rome?” Remi asked.

“
No,” was his only response, and she could tell by the look on his face that now was not the time to pursue it.

After viewing the Glorious Mysteries the pair returned to the
Nola
, bypassing the stations of the cross, for the same reason they had skipped the Sorrowful Mysteries.  After witnessing the events first hand, they knew that no diorama, however beautifully constructed, could have an impact on them.

* * *

It was several hours later when the incoming alarm woke Nathan from a pleasant dream-laden afternoon nap.  He paused for a moment remembering the dream of he and Remi marooned on a tropical planet...  The alarm buzzed again, demanding his attention.  He made his way to the control room, still feeling, and most likely looking, somewhat rumpled.  Nathan flipped on the view-screen and was greeted by Cardinal Simpson.

“
Captain Daniels,” the Cardinal smiled congenially.  “His holiness wishes to meet with you concerning your cargo.”

“
Of course!” Nathan responded.  “At his convenience.”

“
In that case, please make your way to the Vatican as quickly as possible.  Peace Captain.” The Cardinal's image disappeared from the screen.

Nathan turned to leave, finding Remi in the doorway.  She looked perfect, as usual.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“
The Pope wants to see us.” Nathan replied.

“
Is that good or bad?”

“
I suppose we'll find that out when we get there,” was Nathan's response.  “Are you ready?” Remi nodded.  Nathan unbuckled his gunbelt and instructed Remi to do the same.

“
No weapons?” the Princess asked.

“
No visible ones, at any rate.” Nathan smiled slyly.

It took them about twenty minutes by public transportation to get to the Vatican.  After identifying themselves at the security gate, they were scanned and led into the audience chamber. 

Nathan and Remi entered the room.  The Pope was seated in his throne-like chair at the far end, dressed in full regalia.  Cardinal Simpson stood next to him.  Nathan strode down the long carpet in the room, dropping to one knee at the foot of the dais.  Remi followed suit.

“
Captain Daniels,” His Holiness began.  “Cardinal Simpson informs me that reckoning by our agreement of five years ago, you landed on New Rome with a cargo you believed to be worth 800,000 credits.  Is this correct?”

“
Yes, Sir.”

“
However, upon inspection it was found that the majority of your cargo did not survive the journey from your planet of origin, even though the objects were expertly packed.  Furthermore, of the three items that were intact, two were determined to actually already be the property of the Church.  Reducing the value of your cargo to one eighth of its initial value.”

Nathan sighed.  The Pope had summarized his predicament exactly.  “Unfortunately that is the case, your Eminence.”  Nathan prepared himself for the worst.  He was already working on his options for 100,000 credits.

“As agreed,” the Pope was speaking again.  “You will be paid 100,000 credits for the bowl of Pontius Pilate.” The Pope paused, and Nathan began to rise.  “Cardinal Simpson told you of the mysterious disappearance of the other two items from our most secure vault?”

“
Yes, he did.”

“
I don't suppose he informed you of the 'unofficial' reward that has been in place for those items since the time of their disappearance?”

“
Reward?” Nathan asked.  “No, he did not.” It could be that this trip might turn a profit after all!

“
It seems that one of my predecessors, upon learning that the items were missing, put out word through the clergy that anyone returning the Grail would be entitled to 700,000 credits and return of the Sword of St.  Peter would be worth 300,000 credits.” Nathan caught his breath.  Could this really be true?

“
Although the Cardinal informs me that the items will, most likely, not continue to remain in our possession permanently, you have met the terms of the reward by bringing them here.  You will receive the additional one million credits.”

Nathan was stunned.

“One final order of business.” The Pope announced.  “Cardinal Simpson has reason to believe the planet you recently visited is of a miraculous nature, and as such, its location should remain secret until we have had a chance to study it.  Considering you and your crew are the only individuals who know its location, I am prepared to offer another 900,000 credits for the location to be turned over to the Church, and to ensure your future silence on the matter.”

“
Wouldn't it be cheaper to kill us, and take the location out of
Nola
's databanks?” Remi whispered to Nathan exactly what he was too afraid to voice.

“
That was the Church of two thousand years ago, Princess Remini,” the Pope said with a smile.  “The Church of today is much more enlightened, as well as knowledgeable.  As we both have secrets we would rather not have revealed, do we have a deal?”

Nathan nodded.

“Very well, then.  Tomorrow morning the Cardinal will arrive at your ship, along with some cargo handlers.  He will pay you and remove all of the items, including the ruined ones, from your ship.  Please give him a data crystal with the planet's coordinates at that time.  Once the Cardinal is in possession of all of the items and the crystal, you will receive your two million credits.  Princess Remini, please give my regards to your mother when you see her again, and tell her I hope she doesn't wait until my funeral before visiting New Rome again.”

“
Thank-you.” Nathan was still so shocked he could barely utter the words.  He found himself anxious to leave, lest the dream turn into a nightmare.

“
Peace be with you,” the Pontiff said, and Nathan and Remi were ushered out.

To Nathan it felt like he held his breath until they had left the Vatican.  He kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.  The situation seemed too good to be true.  Once they were several blocks away, Nathan let out a “Whoop!” and twirled Remi around.

“You,” he said with a huge grin on his face.  “Must be my good-luck charm!  I have never had such a disaster turn out so well!  We just made a fortune, and if we play it right, we should be able to double or triple it on our next run!” He was so happy he nearly kissed her, but forced himself to stop short.  Delivering her without any nasty entanglements would make this two million look like chump change.

“
So, what's next, Captain?”

“
Back to
Nola
, where I will wait for the folks from the Vatican.  You, along with Omany will go to the marketplace.  I want you to come back with an opinion on cargo and destination.  I would suggest using the
Nola
's Nav computer first to find out what planets are within our travel radius.” Nathan led the way onto the public transit platform.  “After that, we celebrate!”

*   *   *

It was several hours later when Remi and Omany pushed their way into the tavern.  The  place was packed!  Extra tables had been brought in, along with extra chairs.  Those that were seated had, along with their drink of choice, at least one rectangular card, and a pile of colorful plastic discs.  On the card was a grid that seemed to be filled with a random assortment of numbers.  At the front of the tavern, on the stage, was a rotating cage filled with small balls.  Each ball was imprinted with a number and a letter.  A priest and a barmaid were on the stage as well.  The barmaid would rotate the cage.  When it stopped the priest would reach in and withdraw a ball.  He then stepped to a microphone.

“
N 47,” the priest said.  Many of the seated individuals placed chips on their cards.  Remi and Omany scanned the crowd for Nathan.  They found him in the back, with a beer and at least twelve of the cards in front of him.

“
B 12,” the priest said as the pair came up behind Nathan.

“
What's going on?” Remi asked, squatting down beside the captain.

“
O 99”

“
Hey, my good luck charm is here!” Nathan said, placing chips on two of his cards.  “I

forgot that tonight was BINGO night!”

“I 21” Nathan covered several more squares.

“
BINGO night?  What does that mean?” Remi asked.

“
I 15”

“
It's a form of gambling that originated on Earth in the 20
th
century,” Nathan explained.  “The object is to get five of your chips in a row by covering squares as indicated by the letter and number combinations being called out.”

“
G 67”

“
The game was popular among the populations of several of the nation-states of the time, in most cases because it was the only legally permitted form of gambling.”

“
N 59” Nathan covered squares on two more cards.

“
Catholic parishes were one of the first organized groups to take advantage of the game's popularity, holding weekly 'bingo nights.' For many of those parishes it was their second most profitable enterprise.”

“
O 83”

“
When the Catholics migrated here, they brought the game with them.  All the games here are Church sanctioned with 50% of the profits going to the Church.”

“
B 9”

“
BINGO!” The shout was heard from across the bar.

“
Sounds like we have a winner,” Nathan said as the tavern's staff began the process of verifying the win.  Remi reached for one of Nathan's cards.  “Not yet!” he stopped her.  “We want to wait until it's official.”

“
And we have a winner!” The priest said into the microphone.  “Our next round is a  twenty credit round!  Twenty credits per card.  You can either keep your cards, buy new cards, or go for a combination!”

“
Too rich for my blood!” The man next to Nathan exclaimed as he got up and headed to the door.  Nathan motioned to Remi to sit down in the vacated chair.  He cleared the chips off of his cards and gave half of the cards to Remi.  He put one hundred twenty credits on the table in front of both of them.

“
Ready?” Nathan asked.  “Five chips in a row in any direction is a 'bingo' and wins half of what was collected for this round.  Put a chip on the center square of each card, that's a 'free' space.”

The pair drank and played bingo until the wee hours of the morning, with Omany observing.  When they all finally made their way back to the
Nola
, they had won slightly more than they had spent, due to five bingos by the novice and one by Nathan himself.

The next morning the crew of three gathered in the galley.  Over their breakfast of ample omelets, prepared, as usual, by Omany, Nathan asked Remi how she had fared in the market.

“It took a while, but given our current financial situation, I believe I know what we can lift with.”  She said.  “I know it is not the kind of cargo you usually carry, but I'm pretty sure you don't usually have several million credits to work with, either.”  She grinned as she took a sip of coffee.

“
Well, don't keep me in suspense, princess!  What is it?”

“
I'm sure you've been to the marketplace here numerous times, and have therefore started to view as commonplace many of the more remarkable items for sale here.  I, however, was immediately taken aback by the beauty of the religious art!  I think we should lift with either as much as we can carry, or as much as we can afford.”

“
Interesting choice, princess.” Nathan mulled the idea over.  “I have two concerns.  First, religious art from New Rome is much like fine china from Rhadasia.  Everyone moves it, so it can be a risky proposition.  Second, it can be difficult to unload an entire hold full of art in one place.  However, both of these can be overcome by selecting the proper destination.  Where do you propose we go to sell it?”

Remi was prepared for his objections, and had done rather extensive research on the potential markets for fine religious art.  Her answer was one word.  “Nexus.”