Sean finally gained the composure to speak again. “They’re still alive. Some of our spies have video footage of her and my son in the jungle mining camp of Zikf. We haven’t attempted a rescue for that slave camp yet because we don’t have the resources.”
“We are planning an attack within the next year,” Adrian said.
Skip glanced at Sean and could tell that he was annoyed with Adrian’s answer. Sean was about to speak, but Skip beat him to it.
“Who are the Gnols, and why did they attack?”
“About ten years after we arrived, the entire planet was attacked. It was a simultaneous attack. Every major city on Terrest was attacked by ships that looked similar to Mars I and NightHawk.”
“Those were the same kinds of ships we ran into when we came through the wormhole,” Jake said.
“Yes, they were. We didn’t know for the longest time where the Gnols came from, but about seven years ago, one of their top government agents turned to our side. She has been working on our side ever since, giving us valuable information. The Gnols still haven’t discovered that she is working with us. When she turned, she held a private meeting with me and explained the reason behind the attack on Terrest.
“She told me that the Gnols came from a planet called Gnolom. Their planet is in orbit next to Terrest. We estimated that Gnolom is the same distance from Terrest as Mars is from Earth.”
“Amazing,” said Skip, obviously captivated.
Adrian chuckled and said, “You’ll also find this interesting, Skip. Our source also told me that Gnolom is a dying planet. Most of the oceans have dried up. In fact, she showed me pictures and Gnolom is beginning to look a lot like Mars. That’s why they attacked. The Gnols were looking for a new home.”
CHAPTER 7: FIRST ENCOUNTER
Two days later. Rebel Base on Terrest …
Jake stood in front of the mirror of his small room. The room was small but comfortable. There only seemed to be room for a bed, a sink, and a tiny desk. Every member of the Terrest military was given a room such as the one he was in now; some military personnel even had to room with two or three other soldiers because of the overcrowding of the base.
Jake adjusted the black beret that rested on top of his head and admired how he looked in his new Terrestrian military fatigues. For a moment, he let himself become lost in his thoughts. Was this all a dream? He could hardly believe he was on another planet thousands of light years from Earth. And he was even more amazed that his father was the one man who now led the Terrestrian people.
As Jake thought about the respect and loyalty the Terrestrian people had for his father, he couldn’t help feeling that his father was hiding something from him; something his father seemed afraid to tell him. Jake shrugged the thought away, thinking that it was nothing. He admired himself one last time in the mirror and began to walk toward the exit. As soon as he walked into the door’s sensor, it slid open.
Jake was surprised to see his father standing at the door. His father smiled at him and seemed to shift nervously on his feet. “Uh … Hi, Dad. I didn’t know you were standing there,” he said.
Adrian’s smile seemed to turn to a look of concern. “I’ve actually been standing here for a few minutes, trying to figure out how I was going to talk to you.”
Jake gave his father a look of confusion. “What do you mean? We’ve talked plenty, and you never seemed unsure of what to say before.”
“Well, this is different,” said his father.
“How so?”
“Can we speak in here for a few minutes before we meet with Doc and Skip in the conference room?” Adrian asked as he motioned inside Jake’s room.
Jake nodded his head and let his father enter the room.
Adrian walked past him with his head down. He stopped, turned around, and said, “Jake, why don’t you sit down?”
Jake didn’t respond. He could sense the concern and worry his father had and obeyed as he sat on the edge of his bed.
Adrian paced back and forth for a few seconds, then turned and looked directly into Jake’s eyes.
As Jake looked back into his father’s eyes, he noticed such a strength and power behind them, as well as love and sadness.
His father continued. “Jake, there’s a reason why you are here.”
Jake nodded. “Yeah, I know, Dad. I told you already. Skip had a theory about a wormhole, and Uncle Kevin funded a resc—”
Adrian held his hand up to stop Jake. “That’s not what I’m talking about, son.”
Jake cocked his head to one side in confusion. “I don’t understand, Dad. What are you talking about?”
Adrian paced back and forth a few more times, gaining the confidence to speak. He slowly sighed before he began. “Jake, about fifteen years ago, soon after the Gnols attacked Terrest, I had a vision that you would come to this planet.” Adrian paused, as if he wanted Jake to respond.
Jake, sensing his father was waiting for an answer, let out a small giggle. “You mean like a dream, Dad?”
Adrian shook his head. “No … no, son. I mean an actual vision. I was wide awake. It was a few days after the Gnols attacked this planet. I was here in this very base. In fact, I was in the room that is now used for religious services. I—”
Jake held his hand up to stop his father from speaking. “Wait a minute. You have a room for religious services here in the base and on this planet?”
Adrian nodded his head.
Jake then shook his head in confusion. “I … I don’t understand. You mean, you worship Jesus Christ on this planet too?"
Adrian smiled. “Why not? The Atonement of Jesus Christ affects all mankind, even mankind on other planets. It pertains to all of our Father’s creations.”
Jake furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head again. He was confused. It had been so long since he had even believed in God. He questioned a God that would take away the ones he loved so quickly and one that would allow such suffering in the world.
Adrian seemed to sense his confusion, “Son, you mentioned earlier that you brought a set of scriptures with you from Earth?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have them with you now?”
Jake nodded his head, slipped off his bed to one knee, and reached under the bed. He pulled out his backpack, unzipped it, and grabbed the scriptures. Then he handed them to his father. Jake resumed his previous position on his bed as his father opened the scriptures and thumbed through them for what he was looking for.
“Ah, here it is,” Adrian said as he handed the scriptures back to Jake. “Jake, I want you to read out loud Moses chapter one, verses one through four.”
Jake was about to question his father, but seeing the look of determination and passion his father had on his face made him nod and read:
“The words of God, which he spake unto Moses at a time when Moses was caught up into an exceedingly high mountain.
“And he saw God face-to-face, and he talked with him, and the glory of God was upon Moses; therefore Moses could endure his presence.
“And God spake unto Moses, saying: Behold, I am the Lord God Almighty, and Endless is my name; for I am without beginning of days or end of years; and is not this endless?
“And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show thee the workmanship of mine hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.”
After Jake read the verses, he looked up at his father with the same confused look on his face. “I still don’t understand, Dad. I’ve read these verses hundreds of times, but I still don’t know what they mean or what you want me to see in them?”
Adrian sat on the bed to the left of Jake. He pointed to verse four. “Read this verse again silently to yourself. But before you begin, ask the Lord for understanding.”
Jake gave his father a questioning look. But, as he continued to notice the fervor in his father’s eyes, he obeyed. He bowed his head and said a silent prayer. After he prayed, he opened his eye
s and read verse four again to himself.
Jake read it once, then twice. He still could not comprehend what his father wanted him to understand. Adrian sat patiently. Jake decided he would read the verse one more time. As he read, one phrase caught his eye. He then read the phrase over and over again. Each time he read, a flood of emotions swept through him like a wave of truth testifying to his soul that the words he read were true.
Jake felt the gentle touch of his father’s hand on his shoulder. Jake looked up. Adrian smiled at him, knowing his son now understood.
“Son, you see,” whispered Adrian. “The Lord says, ‘for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease’. Now, wouldn’t it make sense that if the Lord’s works don’t end and his words never cease, that His gospel would be present on other worlds?”
Before Jake could answer, Adrian continued. “Now, skip down and read verses thirty-three through thirty-nine.”
Jake did as he was asked. He began to read:
“And worlds without number have I created; and I also created them for mine own purpose; and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten.
“And the first man of all men have I called Adam, which is many.
“But only an account of this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, give I unto you. For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them.
“And it came to pass that Moses spake unto the Lord, saying: Be merciful unto thy servant, O God, and tell me concerning this earth, and the inhabitants thereof, and also the heavens, and then my servant will be content.
“And the Lord God spake unto Moses, saying: The heavens, they are many, and they cannot be numbered unto man; but they are numbered unto me for they are mine.
“And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come, and there is no end to my works, neither to my words.
“For behold, this is my work and my glory – to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
When Jake finished reading, he just stared at the pages of his scriptures. Tears began to stream from his face, as he felt a presence in the room that he never felt before – a presence so powerful that he could not deny the existence of his Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ.
With tear-filled eyes, Jake looked at his father and now knew. He knew the actual authority, power, and burden his father carried for the Terrestrian people.
Adrian, with tear-filled eyes as well, smiled. The smile confirmed to Jake that his father knew that he finally understood.
Jake wiped the tears from his face. “Wait. So what you’re saying is that you are the Moses of this world.”
To Jake’s surprise, Adrian shook his head. “No, son. I am more like the John the Baptist of this world, preparing the way for someone greater.”
Jake’s eyes widened. “Me? Dad, it can’t be me.”
Adrian let out a small laugh. “I don’t know, son. But trust me; you are here for a reason. I haven’t spoken with the Lord face-to-face like Moses did. But I have heard his voice so clearly. I have had conversations with the Lord, son. Can you believe it?
“Me, your father … I have been called by God to prepare a way for the Terrestrian people to be free from bondage and to receive the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ. And I knew you and Skip would come. I saw the both of you, fifteen years ago, arrive on this planet just as you arrived a few days ago. How else would I have known to send a Special Forces unit to Talead that day? I knew you and Skip would be there at the temple. You and Skip have very important callings to perform.” Adrian stopped to let the spirit that was so prevalent in the room speak to Jake.
Jake could not help the tears from coming. He now knew without a doubt that Jesus Christ existed. Not only did he exist, but he also knew that the Atonement of his Savior was not only for all the inhabitants of the Earth, but for all the inhabitants of every world that had been or will be created, including the world he was on now, Terrest.
But he still could not understand why he, someone so weak in faith and someone so insignificant, would be called of God.
Adrian continued. “Jake, the Lord has revealed to me that you and Skip play a direct role in freeing the Terrestrian people from the bondage of the Gnols.”
Jake nodded his head. He knew, by the spirit, that what his father told him was true. But his feelings of guilt and inadequacy left some doubt. He wiped the tears away from his face. “Okay, Dad, I understand now, but what I still can’t understand is why the Gnols are here and why they seem to be so much more powerful than us?”
“I don’t know, son. The Lord has not revealed that to me. But to answer your question, I get the feeling that I was somehow responsible for the Gnol’s attack on Terrest.”
**********
Skip was dying of curiosity, mostly about the temple ruins that he and Jake had discovered. However, over the last two days, the only people Skip had had any contact with were Sean and Doc. They helped him control his new cybernetic leg, and now, just a few days since his operation, he was able to control his new leg without even thinking about it. He was able to run, jump, and walk almost better than he had before. He was so grateful to Doc and Sean, but he was also frustrated with them as well. Every time he would ask questions about the temple ruins, Doc and Sean would just shrug their shoulders and tell him that they didn’t know anything. He also got the distinct impression that they were hiding something.
He wrapped his fingers on the conference table, which actually looked like a large wooden picnic table that sat about ten people. He was growing impatient now. Where are they?
He stood up and paced around the conference room. The room was quite large. Not only did the room house the large conference table, it also had two computer terminals at the front of the room with a large viewing screen in the center. A gigantic map of Terrest hung on the wall directly in front of him. He studied the map in more detail. The map was speckled with purple, red, yellow, orange, and bright green dots. The purple dots represented Terrest’s major cities. He was bored so he counted all of them. He stopped at twenty-three. The only city name he recognized was the one marked with a purple star, Talead. He studied the map a little more and deciphered that the red dots represented the Gnol cities and bases. He commenced to count them. There were sixteen in all.
From the scale of the map, Skip estimated that the red star representing the capital city of the Gnols, Chast, was about three hundred miles away from Talead. He then studied the yellow dots. There were only two of them, and they obviously represented the base he was now in and the second base Adrian spoke of before. Skip looked at the scale and discovered that the base he was now in was only about ten miles away from Talead and the temple he was so curious about.
Good, he thought. The temple isn’t that far from here. I wonder if Adrian will let me study the writings in more detail.
He estimated the second yellow dot to be about four hundred miles away from Talead. Skip then studied the orange dots. Some of the dots had slashes through them. He counted them. There were fifty-one orange dots, and twenty of them had slashes through them. He looked at the key. The orange dots represented slave camps. The ones with slashes were slave camps that had been liberated and destroyed. In addition, he discovered that the four bright green dots represented farm and manufacturing bases for the rebellion’s cause.
He then looked toward the back of the room. There was a sink, what looked like a refrigerator, and some refreshments. As he scanned the rest of the room, he noticed that the entire room was made of a silver metal. There wasn’t a window in sight. In fact, he realized he hadn’t seen a window since he had arrived at the base.
The door to the room slid open, and Adrian walked in. He was dressed in the same green fatigues and beret that Skip had seen him in two days ago. Jake followed his father. Jake loo
ked just like his father, dressed in the same green fatigues and a similar beret. He wondered to himself why he hadn’t received a new change of clothing. He was still dressed in a hospital gown and a robe.
That question was quickly answered as Jake tossed him a plastic bag containing green fatigues and a beret.
“There you go, Skip,” Jake said. “We thought you had better have something on that didn’t show your rear-end.”
He gave Jake a sarcastic grin. “Thanks!”
Skip hurried and changed, and then sat down. Just after he sat down, six other people entered the room. Everyone was dressed the same.
Once everyone entered the room, Doc stayed at the front, discussing something with Adrian. Jake sat on Skip’s right; on Skip’s left was Kylee; and on Kylee’s left was Scott Hauler, who had recently returned from the second base. Across the table from Skip was Sean Gibson. Sean sat between two men Skip had never met before.
“All right,” said Adrian as Doc sat down next to one of the men Skip didn’t recognize. “Today, I’ve called this meeting mostly for Jake and Skip. They have some questions that need answers, and I am going to give them positions in the military.”
Skip looked questioningly at Jake.
Adrian continued. “We are also expecting our visitor to arrive shortly. Before we begin, does anyone have any questions?”
Skip raised his hand.
“Yes, Skip, go ahead.”
“This is a trivial question, but my inquiring mind needs to know.”
“And what does your inquiring mind need to know, Skip?”
“Well, I couldn’t help but notice that this place doesn’t have any windows. Why is that?”
“Actually that’s part of our agenda. We need to discuss how the second base is coming along. But, to answer your question, the reason why this place doesn’t have any windows is because it’s completely underground. About four years before the Gnols attacked, King Xuta wanted a secret military base.”
“Why did he want a military base if the entire planet was at peace?” Jake asked.
“Actually, King Xuta was worried about a few rebel groups in the south. As a result, he put Scott here,” Adrian said, pointing to Scott, “in charge of constructing this secret military base. Like I said before, this base is entirely underground, about two hundred yards underground, to be precise. The entire base is made of Omutx, the same metal your leg is made out of, Skip. The base is eighteen thousand square feet; the equivalent of six large five-bedroom homes back on Earth.
Worlds Without End: The Mission (Book 1) Page 12