Inquisitor's Promise (Act Three, Chapter Seven)
The Holy League had been united, but the Grey Globe continued to move towards Earth. Aeneas and the members of his inner circle knew they had much to do and little time to prepare.
Chapter Seven: The Second Heaven
The Lepanto felt awfully empty to Pep. Just a few weeks ago, it was positively brimming with people. And then Lavinia left, followed by Nikolai and Omaha, and then Aeneas and all the rest. Many of the soldiers left, but their families had remained in the ship.
Family.
The Lektros Archon wondered how his family would receive him as he returned, especially now that he had a new wife in tow. He couldn’t help but think of his earlier class with Monsignor Bartholomew.
“You’re making good progress, Pep,” the priest said, nodding. “I am confident to say that you are definitely my best student. Not only were able to absorb everything I taught you about the Church, but you also did it despite the language barrier. Speaking of which, I also noticed how your spoken grammar is much better now!”
Pep grinned as he heard his interlocutor’s praise. The Monsignor was known for being direct, and that applied with praise as much as criticism.
“Thank you, Monsignor. Though I am curious why I’m still doing this even though I am no longer a catechumen.”
The Monsignor frowned in response. “I only agreed to have you confirmed into the Church so Miss Giulia can have a sacramental marriage. Believe me, I was not happy about the whole thing.”
“You were really mad. The last I saw you that mad was when Aeneas asked for my baptism back in Aloha. You really tore into him, if I recall,” Pep said.
“In all fairness, I agreed to it later,” the priest said defensively. “But a lot of things with you didn’t exactly go by the book. Speaking of a book…”
“You have another lesson, right?”
Monsignor Bartholomew nodded. “If you come to me but will not leave your family, you cannot be my follower.”
And that verse was the basis for Monsignor Bartholomew’s lesson that day. It was a reminder for Pep that he might have to choose his faith over his family.
Pep was not stupid. He knew exactly why his teacher gave him that lesson just as they were going back to the Lektros Dimension. But the Monsignor’s concerns were misplaced. Pep cared little for finesse. If he had to choose between his family and his faith, then his family would have to go by the wayside.
Pep could feel his impatience throughout his lesson with Monsignor Bartholomew. He still felt it at the moment.
Pep knew that he was close to the Moon, he was so close to home. For now, he wanted to see Giulia. She had told him over the brick that she would meet him at the Lepanto’s upper lounge, one with the windows to space; she did not lie. Pep smiled when he saw the petite figure of his wife.
“Fancy seeing you here, Giulia,” Pep greeted.
“My love,” Giulia acknowledged.
The two embraced, with the much taller Pep kissing Giulia’s head.
“Usually, you’d be in the med bay,” Pep said.
Giulia shook her head. “There’s barely any soldiers here left, no one wounded safe for civilian kids scraping their knees.”
Pep chuckled at her joke. Soon, there was a silence between the two as the couple were content with watching the window in front of them.
It was Giulia who broke the silence. “We’ve gone past the Electrosphere, we should reach the Moon in an hour or so.”
“There’s that word, Electropshere,” Pep said. “It confuses me, in honesty,”
Giulia shook her head playfully. “I’m disappointed in you, my love. I thought you to be more studious.”
“I am more concerned about the Third Heaven than the Second,” Pep responded.
“Very well,” Giulia said. She smiled lovingly. “It’s the zone where all of the habitable planets are located, including whatever place the Grey Globe came from.”
Pep nodded. “I know that much. But I have been told that these planets are smaller than Earth itself and but are also numerous. So why can’t we deal with the Grey Globe while it is in the Electrosphere?”
“Because the Electrosphere is a sort of mirror dimension,” Giulia answered.
“Like the Lektros Dimension?”
“Yes,” Giulia said. “And the only way we in Earth space can interact with the Electrosphere is through the Electrosphere portals located all around it.”
“Another question. I have talked to Aeneas about these stars, so called. They are not Electropshere planets, right?”
“No, the Electrosphere bodies are only detectable by the electricity they emitted. The outer planets are different. They are located far beyond the Moon. The Electrosphere is only located in the space between Earth and the Moon,” Giulia explained.
“I see.” Pep nodded. “But the Moon and the Lektros Dimension is connected to the Electropshere, no?”
“It does,” Giulia said.
“This means that there is no life beyond the Moon, right?” Pep asked.
At this point, Giulia began to think deeply. “Not quite. There are machine spirits who can live on those barren planets, space nomads who live on spaceships like the Lepanto, and the macrobes.”
Pep raised his eyes in puzzlement. “Macrobes?”
“It’s a term that the astronomer Luigi Ransom coined,” Giulia answered. “They’re bodiless creatures who supposedly inhabit the planets Beyond the Pale. The space nomads have reported these strange phenomena with no physical evidence. Some of these macrobes seem to be mischievous, others friendly and helpful.”
“They are angels?”
“Could be, but we don’t know much about them.”
Pep was deep in thought as he processed what Giulia had told him. “This makes me want to take a look for myself.”
“You wish to go Beyond the Pale of the Solar System?” Giulia asked incredulously. “You haven’t even finished our existing adventure.”
“Just thinking of what to do after we defeat the Grey Globe, think on it,” Pep said nonchalantly.
Giulia smiled at her husband. In truth, she’d go wherever he’d go. “I’d like to see the outer stars and nebulas, but I don’t recommend seeking out these macrobes.”
Soon enough, the Lepanto landed on the Venetian Lunar colony of Tycho. With the Lepanto safely docked at the space port, Pep made his way to the Lektros Gate. He was ready to investigate what lied behind the troubles between the Holy League and the Lektros people.
Standing in front of the large glowing gate, Pep had with him Giulia and the lyonesse who had been her unofficial bodyguards. An adventure beyond the gate awaited them, just the two of them with their pets. Or so Pep had thought.
“Where do you think you’re going, Mr. Siman?”
Pep looked behind to see the source of the voice. “Monsignor?”
But the priest was not alone. With him were two other men. The first was an older man with a thick moustache and dark but greying thick hair. The other was a younger man with a shaved reddish hair.
“And Admiral Riva and Commander Deere,” Giulia added.
“What’s the Lepanto’s ship captain and chief engineer doing with you, Monsignor?” Pep asked.
It was the ship captain Mario Riva who answered the question. “We’ve discussed this. Since this is a diplomatic mission, it would be best for the Holy League to show their best faces.”
“Indeed,” Chief Engineer Giuseppe Deere chimed in. “I’d also like to see the workings of the alondite.”
“As for me, I’m here to check up on the Lektros Missions. Make sure everyone’s behaving themselves,” Monsignor Bartholomew said.
“Fine,” Pep said warily. Even though he accepted the reasonings of the three men, he had serious reservations about the whole thing. “But be careful, you are entering Lektros Country.”