He looked back to find her biting her lower lip. Her face was scrunched up in thought and he opted to remain silent, allowing her to weigh the options for herself.
"And ... who would be the right husband?" She asked.
Matt gestured at her wine glass and the empty dining room. "Well, given that you've already spent an indecent amount of time in my private company, Miss Zimms, we both know that whatever reputation you might have had before coming on board the Balor is already sullied."
Her eyes narrowed into icy blue slits. "I am not a business contract, Matthew Borden. Hedging me into a marriage via blackmail isn't going to work."
"Blackmail?" He said and grinned. "You certainly know how to flatter a man."
"I call it how I see it," Reesa said.
"Then you do see what your alternative would be?" Matt leaned back in his chair to watch her. "Given the length of time we've been in here, with no monitors running, the Makeem would have all they need to see you put into a Correctional Facility."
"If they didn't just kill me out right, you mean."
"Yes, there is the problem of assassination. I don't know how the two factions go about their spying, but I know they like to do it. They are undoubtedly aware of your presence. There's no telling what else they might know about you, but the Makeem are well known for a 'shoot first, ask later' mentality."
"And you would protect me from that?"
Matthew inclined his head, trying to seem noble.
"Why?" She asked. "What good will I do you?"
She doesn't know she's dying, he thought. His heart twisted at that. What a tragically beautiful woman she was, the last trace of a dead species, and she was infected and she didn't know it. He debated telling her then, but chose not to. She had to suspect that she was, but he would keep the confirmation from her for as long as possible. It was the least he could do.
"Aside from being a remarkably beautiful woman, Miss Zimms," he said, "you have the unique quality of being the only female human I've ever met. What better wife for the single richest bachelor in the Galaxy?"
"Your vanity is a charade and I know it, Matthew Borden."
"Then I would be marrying you for a charade." Matt shrugged. "Wouldn't you be doing the same? Marrying me in an attempt to remain safe is hardly flattering, you know."
She frowned and looked into her wine glass again. For a moment he was afraid she might actually reject him, but then she squared her shoulders and faced him again. "I will do it under one condition."
"Name it."
"You have to save Kate."
Damn, he thought. She would ask for the impossible.
Strumming the table top with his fingers, Matthew battled with her request. Kate was on the Lothogy. He needed the Lothogy destroyed. Destroying the ship was five times easier than a rescue mission, and if Hedric had headed toward the Novo Femina Temple on Mars it would make things even more difficult. Still, Matt took a deep breath and reached for his glass. He lifted his wine in toast to her and waited for her to do the same, watching the cautious frown she gave him as she did so.
"We have an agreement, Miss Zimms."
*
"The Community announced the support of the Organization of the Novo Femina. The small band of women has been known for their works of charity worldwide. Though the Makeem have voiced strong opposition to an all-female organization, the Community has stated that it sees no harm in the organization as a whole as long as it remains non-profit and continues to conform to current religious and societal laws." - A.P. August 3, 2265
Chapter Fifteen
"I do apologize for the way my son has treated you, Miss Woodson." The Priestess led Kate deeper into the Temple.
There was a chaotic blend of marble archways and steel bracings everywhere, but the further they travelled into the structure, the more the practical came into view. Kate was distracted for a moment as they walked across an open balcony. The Lothogy was just below, settled on an alabaster colored landing pad that beamed in the sunlight. All around it was rich brown and vivid purple, so deep and beautiful that they looked alien. And in truth, they were alien, because she was still on Mars, but the sight startled her just the same.
Was this how Reesa dreamt?
The balcony led from the front of the Temple and straight into the mountainside it was built on, and Kate was suddenly pitched from humid sunlight to halogens and musky, cool air. Her little space suite regulated her temperature for the most part, but she felt the change on her face. Shaking her head, she realized that the Priestess was waiting for her to say something, even though the woman hadn't bothered to stop walking.
"Mrs." Kate corrected her. "Mrs. Katherine Woodson. And I would like to get back to my husband and son."
"I am sure you would." The woman sent her a sympathetic smile that Kate immediately distrusted. For a moment Kate's attention caught on the metal pinching into the Priestess's neck. It looked more than uncomfortable; it dug inside, rubbing the skin raw where it was attached. And then the priestess spoke again; "There is nothing quite like motherhood. Children are a part of us, no matter how far away they might be."
"Then you understand why I need to get home."
"I understand why you feel you need to get home, Mrs. Woodson."
Kate frowned, barely noticing that they had passed through something that was likely the dining facility. There was a faint smell of onion to the air and she'd spotted several long benches and tables, but her mind was intent on the Priestess. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Wants versus needs, Mrs. Woodson. You want to be with your son to a degree that it feels necessary to your survival. However, you can and will survive without him, so he is not truly a need, merely a want." Celeocia continued to walk, casual and almost leisurely and were it not for the cold, robotic voice, Kate might have missed the threat before her. "I, on the other hand, find it necessary to keep you."
"Keep me? What for?"
"Did Miss Zimmerman ever share her writing with you? Did she show you her works as they were progressing?"
"Every now and then, yes but ... "
"Did she ever talk about Patient Zero?"
Kate grimaced. She thought of the boat and the incriminating 3x5 card and all the crazy Lothogy fans and shook her head. "Only in passing and never in detail."
"I was afraid of that." Celeocia sighed, but the sound came out just as metallic as her voice and Kate had to suppress a shudder.
At the far end of a long hall, the Priestess stopped and pulled back a long bit of drapery. Kate stepped through at the woman's inviting gesture, but the little alcove was so dark that she had to blink and get her vision to focus. Celeocia stepped in behind her, letting the drapery fall, shrouding them in black.
"This is a place of prayer, Mrs. Woodson." The Priestess' voice was hushed and reverent, and Kate had the sense that the woman was watching her somehow, even in the dark. "Please kneel."
"I'm sorry?" She preferred to be on her feet so that she could run if she had to.
"Trust me."
Not on your life, Kate thought, but she cautiously lowered herself. Her knees sunk three inches into soft, comfortable cushion. Blindly, she found some sort of altar just in front of her and awkwardly positioned her hands. She went to a Presbyterian church every Easter and Christmas, always promising herself that she'd attend more in the coming year but always falling down on that promise. There were times she felt guilty for that, but then there were times she thought God could understand the daily hassles of family life. She hadn't answered an altar call since she was nine, back when her brother had been in a car accident and she'd nearly lost him.
Kate believed in God, she really did, but even she knew that her knowledge of the Bible was rudimentary and her faith was only of surface value. Oddly enough, she could still hear Ms. Mason, her Sunday school teacher, telling her the importance of the Ten Commandments.
Kneeling as she was, that very first commandment came clear enough; Thou shalt have n
o other gods before me.
Arranging her hands in what she thought was the appropriate manner, Kate closed her eyes and promised God that whatever idol might be in this little prayer alcove, it wasn't her god. And while she was at it, she pleaded for a way home.
Her elbows fit into an odd depression in the carpeted altar; a depression that suddenly dipped down, filling the little space with a low, vibrating hum. Then the floor moved and they were in a stomach-dropping descent. Grabbing hold of the altar, Kate swallowed a scream just as the lights flicked on. Still moving but now in the semi-open, Kate could see that they were in a small elevator surrounded by glass. Beyond the glass, stretching into a shadowed distance was a massive, sprawling subterranean chamber.
There was movement everywhere; women building the frame of what could only be a ship in one section, a group of women training on red floor mats in another section, still another group collected around a series of consoles. It was an army, there was no denying it. The Novo Femina were training for war, and Kate had a sinking suspicion that it was a war she was about to be drug into.
"Oh, God." Kate whispered, her mind flipping through the abduction, Hedric's confusion, even the crazy fan that had shot Jake. "It was you. All along it was you. You did this. You planned all of it."
"Everything I have done has been for the betterment of the female race. Please try to understand, Kate. Even now the Makeem are attempting to pass a law prohibiting women from learning to read." The elevator stopped and the glass wall lifted away. "Every freedom has been stripped from us, right down to what we are allowed to wear. As a Twenty-First Century woman, you must be able to sympathize with my fight."
"So you ... you had Reesa abducted? Why?" Kate slowly got to her feet.
"The original plan wasn't to have Miss Zimmerman abducted. I merely wanted the name of Patient Zero." Celeocia regarded her for a moment.
"But what does Patient Zero give you?"
"Come with me," the woman pivoted on her heel. The movement sent her grand robes swirling in a wide circle that trailed behind her as she walked. Kate frowned and followed, trying her damndest to ignore the feeling of being swallowed whole by the chamber. As seemed her custom, the Priestess continued to speak as she walked, as though she had no time to merely be still. "Understand, if you will, that no one had ever heard of the faction known as the Makeem until the fall of woman. As the death toll increased, the Makeem became the leading advocates for male freedom from women's sin. Because no man could catch the Mavirus, their claims were generally accepted."
"But even those women the Makeem deemed innocent were killed by the virus," Kate kept pace with the woman, impressed with herself for remembering that tidbit.
"That merely made their cries more sensational, stating that God would have nothing to do with any woman, the Almighty was so grievously offended by our vanity and shame." Celeocia stopped in front of a cluster of consoles hanging from the cavernous roof. It looked to Kate like an awkward bit of broccoli, gray and black and steel instead of leafy and green. "The Makeem had been trying to get a foothold into politics from the moment the Mavirus had started, but it wasn't until they came up with the genetically altering vaccine that they were really listened to."
"So you think the Makeem did something?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not. The only person who can answer that question is Reesa Zimms." After several light taps against the milky computer screen, Celeocia drew up an image.
In spite of everything, it took Kate a moment to recognize the cover of Reesa's first book; The Fight for Mars, a Tale of the Lothogy I. "You found a copy of Reesa's book."
"Not a full copy. We could only locate snippets of it." Celeocia waved her hand and the screen flipped to the next page. Only the next page was actually page thirty-seven and Kate began to understand. "We pieced it together as well as we could. Along with all four of her other books, trying to make certain that we had the timeline correct."
Gooseflesh pimpled over Kate's neck and arms as she stared at the screen.
"Reesa Zimms might have thought she was a mere novelist, but in truth, she is the greatest prophet ever to have lived. She foretold everything that has happened. From the technological advances, to the death of the female race, even my son's life." The Priestess faced her now. "And now we have you. Admittedly, I would prefer to have Reesa Zimms here to tell me what comes next, but I think you will have to do. It has become apparent that I cannot depend on my son."
Kate forced herself to look at the robotic woman again. "I can't help you. I'm not a writer. I don't even doodle. You should just send me home."
The smile the Priestess gave her was sardonic and icy, cutting past all pleasantries that might have existed between them. "On the contrary, Mrs. Woodson, you are one of the only two human females alive in the galaxy. I will find a use for you."
Her first instinct was to run, but Kate knew better than to try it. For starters, she wouldn't know how to get back to the surface, not to mention the weapons she'd counted on nearly every Novo Femina around. So when the Priestess passed her off to one of her many followers, Kate just followed. Her mind tried to process all of the exits again, but she couldn't get herself to concentrate.
Stay alert, stay alive, she thought again, but then she frowned. If her old drill sergeants were here, she doubted they could do any better. And even if they could, she didn't give a damn. There were times when it was best to admit defeat and hunt for another means of escape. Or find the resolution to die well when the moment came.
Her room was a mix of lava rock and metal, which she immediately disliked. The eastern and northern walls were rough, bubbled up rock, reminding her that Mount Olympus was really just a great big volcano that had kept erupting and erupting, building on top of itself until it towered over the landscape. Inactive or not, sleeping inside a volcano was about as appealing as space elevators snapping free, wormholes collapsing and death via space asphyxiation all put together.
She heard the door hiss shut and latch, the magnetics sealing her in. With an involuntary shudder, Kate took three steps to the shelf-like bed and sat down. Giving in to the weariness of her body, she laid down and tried to summon Quinn's face back into her memory. She needed the reminder of her own goal. She needed to focus on her husband and her son, her family. But to her despair, she was only greeted by sleep.
***
Celeocia paced the pentice with sharp, even strides. Daylight was gone; the flickering halogens giving her light enough to see Eanmar huddled in the corner. Her assistant waited with calm assurance that Celeocia would figure out what to do. Hedric's actions angered her to a degree she hadn't thought possible. The arrogant man had put Zimmerman in danger, throwing all of her carefully laid plans out the air lock.
She'd sent three teams to fetch the Zimmerman woman, but she highly doubted they would find her. Reports stated that Borden Company ships had already visited the place. Matthew Borden had probably found Zimmerman, he was efficient like that. He left nothing to chance. For all that she knew of Borden, she had to consider Reesa Zimmerman as a lost cause.
But the fight was not over. She had Kate. Perfect little Kate, who was no doubt scouring every inch of the private room she'd been locked into, trying to find an escape route. Celeocia was confident the woman would be safe there. Eventually she'd pass out from exhaustion, Celeocia had seen the strain and fear battling against Kate's willpower. It was odd, she thought, to have finally come face to face with a real human female. The girl didn't seem to fully comprehend that she was, in fact, an extinct species.
"Eanmar," she finally spoke.
"Yes?"
"Schedule a press conference for 0900 hours." Celeocia glared at where the Lothogy remained on the landing platform. "Leak that a miracle has been found."
*
"Outpost 9 is scheduled to receive the first of several transports today. Located at the base of Mount Olympus on Mars, the outpost has been equipped with technologically advanced housing and several years' worth
of food stores. The transports carry the first Martian settlers, not scientists, but civilians whose main purpose is to start farming and cultivating the planet." -A.P. December 8, 2277
Chapter Sixteen
Reesa stared out the Plexiglas and down at the panorama of dapple blue Earth. It spun soundlessly below the ship, imposing and beautiful, and Reesa tried to define the emotions stirring in her. For all her dreaming, she'd never been able to fully grasp what it was like to hang in orbit around a planet. It was humbling, she thought, like standing on the beach with a vast stretch of ocean before you.
And yet, watching the Earth moving on its axis, watching it travel along its path around the sun, she felt a strange empowerment. In her time and place only a select few would ever have the chance to see this in person. Where she stood, in the private meeting room adjacent to Matthew's office, this view was commonplace. She wondered how many people stopped to marvel at it anymore.
Did they really see it? The years of accomplishment that had brought them into regular space travel? Or was it like the freeways on Earth, curving around and through mountains until all that was really seen was the road, until expedience overtook the pleasure of the journey?
"I see why he likes you."
Startled, Reesa turned to find a woman at the doorway. Swathed in fine gray robes that covered her head, the woman stood straight-backed and proud, surveying Reesa with open interest. Her face was uncovered and Reesa knew immediately that she was Carmine Borden, Matthew's mother. Although she'd never written about Carmine, the traits were too similar for her to be anyone else. There was the same smooth curve of bones and fine nose, and both mother and son shared a full, almost sensual mouth.
"Matthew can stand for hours in silence, brooding just as you do." Carmine moved into the room, gliding to the head of the table. "It isn't a reason to marry, but I imagine you will be as secretive about this matter as he is."
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