00062

The sunlight streamed in from between the boards over the glassless windows, showing the red dust particles floating in the air of the room. Since the setting sun's rays didn't provide enough light through the cracks, a few lanterns brightened the old, abandoned cafeteria.

Most of the chairs and tables had been removed when the former quarters for the human miners had been closed, taken either by some department of the government or by the mining operations, or by citizens needing furniture for their homes. The rest of the stuff not picked and chosen had been pushed to the side by the newcomers. Apparently this place was not completely forgotten- at least not at first, until it had been looted. Repeatedly. And just as apparent, these looters seemed not to fear taking contaminated furniture. But that was years ago.

Much of the mildly radioactive fuel ore dust had blown out the drafty structure and harmlessly dispersed into the town over the years, but yet still not enough to make this place a safe, habitable shelter for more than on a short-term basis.

The members of the illegal house church, holed up in this derelict structure, tried to make the best of their situation. Since the start of their protests, the Security Agents hunted for them with more determination. The Agents patrolled all about the city. And it seemed there were more Security Agents as well these days.

At the moment, the “law-breakers” rested here from the recent harassment, assumedly prompted by Gov. Bright. He now hated them more than before, for reminding the public of his policy of stealing away his foes in the middle of the night. And sometimes the kidnappings had occurred a bit less covertly, like in the middle of a public square at noontime. Well, the church people planned to lay low for awhile, at least until the furor over the interruption of the Sparkle City Day ceremonies died down.

...Perhaps in hindsight one might conclude the protests were the wrong choice of strategy to follow, but something needed to be done to put pressure on the Governor regarding the matter of the kidnappings. Perhaps if Earth, and its people, became aware of what went on here on the World of Hope- if they did not already know it... The Governor had caused too much unnecessary suffering and injustice!

Well, too late now, anyway. The members had made their choice to protest, and nothing could change it, but some were starting to regret it.

When the house church community took over the first miners' quarters, there they found, here and there, scattered about, the sparkling rocks of ore, souvenirs the miners had brought back from the mining mountain to their living space. This happened back in the days when the dangers of the cumulative effects of the radiation seemed less problematic, before the miners began to get ill after long months of digging and loading buggies.

These samples inside the building had been gathered up by the new group who now lived inside the barracks, and then they took the rocks and stored them  into a certain room, an old lab from the looks of it. That room also contained a cabinet full of more samples of the ore, the samples being of differing grades. Years ago, the miners and technicians had experimented with the different qualities of the fuel ore that had been found, combining and reconfiguring a host of miscellaneous and diverse elements with the fuel, testing and trying to find what element best increased the output of the fuel ore while also keeping it stable. These special samples had been saved in the shock -resistant cabinet, to keep from having any accidents with the more pure of the samples.

Once the illegal church group finished making the cafeteria somewhat presentable, they gathered there for a solemn but cheerful ceremony. Everybody dressed in his or her finest (despite the fact that most of their clothes needed laundering), and they milled about the couple that stood in the center of the cafeteria.

An elder presided over the ceremony. Before, such a ceremony would have been conducted by Billy Boy, and after his disappearance, by Brother Simon. Now the congregation needed a new officiator. No set shepherd had been chosen yet to replace Bro. Simon, but at some of their meetings Albert Zoeniga substituted and gave a sermon or words of encouragement, although he was unschooled in that sort of thing. (However, he avidly read the Bible and tried to practice it in his life. Plus, he had always attended church since childhood.) This time, though, Albert would be an inappropriate choice to conduct the service, because the ceremony was, in fact, the wedding of Albert Zoeniga and Jane Ashton.

Bro. Edmund read from the book which Simon Kaul used to use for religious occasions.

“Do you, Albert, take Jane to be your wedded wife, to forsake others and love her until death do you part?"

Albert Zoeniga gazed lovingly into Jane's eyes. "I'd be a fool not to!"

"Ahem, that is a yes, then, I take it."

"You bet I do.”

“And do you, Jane, take Albert to be your husband, forsaking all others, to love until death do you part?"

Jane beamed. "I do."

"Um, by the power vested in me- well, since the church picked me to perform the ceremony, although I actually have no other credentials- ahem, in the presence of God, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

As Albert and Jane kissed, Kelli O’Mally and Nina McCleer and the rest of the attendees looked on, smiling for them. Some clapped, some cheered quietly, some tossed rice at them. Bro. Edmund said, "Okay, Al, Jane, you can stop now. Folks, I now present to you Mr. and Mrs.- eh, this is embarrassing- uh, what is your last name again, Albert?"

The people laughed, and Jane pointed out, "It's Zoeniga. Mr. and Mrs. Zoeniga." She leaned her forehead against Albert's, "It's official, Hon- Well, semi-official, because Gov. Bright's Religion Board won't recognize the legitimacy of our house church, nor will they acknowledge our services and ceremonies.”

“Albert Zoeniga pulled her even closer. "Well, we invited God to our wedding, and I believe He came, so it's good enough for me. It's official in my eyes."

Bro. Edmund led the congregation in a blessing prayer for the newlyweds, and then Nina McCleer said, "I have a surprise for Mr. and Mrs Zoeniga. We remembered the cake! Frances ordered it this morning from the nearby bakery, and Kelli and I picked it up this afternoon. I'll go fetch it."

Jane Zoeniga hugged Nina. "Thank you, Mrs. McCleer. Thanks to all of you for coming to our wedding and celebrating the day with us."

Albert Zoeniga cheered on the cake as Nina McCleer left the cafeteria to fetch it. "Yay! There's going to be some cake! Now our wedding's complete!... But I wish my pal Osmo could have made it... Oh, well, that's life. I, too, want to thank all of you great people, our church family, for being here. It makes the day that much more special, when we can share our joy with all our friends."

Meanwhile, Nina opened the door of what was once a pantry store room. The door swung back shut on her, nearly hitting her. “Stupid door. Not again!”

She stepped around some rusty stacked buckets and walked over to the shelf where sat the boxed cake with the message, visible through the cellophane window, "Congratulations, Al and Jane!" As she reached for the box, an overhead scuffling sound drew her attention. She halted, the cake in her hands, and looked up. The noises came from the window above; someone was prying off the boards that had sealed that window! But the window was eight feet off the ground- Who- ??

She gasped, expecting trouble, and almost dropped the cake. Still carrying it, she turned, about to dash back to the cafeteria to warn the others. But, before she began her sprint back, she saw a robot leg kick open the window, and a robot speedily wriggling through the opening.

With astonishment, she recognized this robot.

"X-9! What are you doing here?! And how did you find me, and how did you get-"

X-9 jumped down to the floor and steadied himself upon landing. He experienced robot-amazement. "Mrs. McCleer! Good! I found you! I guessed right, then, in what building to find you- I have come to warn you about what I've overheard. You- and your friends- must leave immediately, because-"

But before X-9 could tell her the rest, a loud voice boomed from the outside, amplified through a bullhorn. "Attention! Attention, you inside the old building! We know you are in there. This is Security Leader Clyden. There is no escape! We finally have you! Give yourselves up peacefully, and you will not be harmed. I assure you, we will see that you are given a fair trial!”

“X-9 fretted, "Oh oh, I see I am too late! I- I had a hard time hot-wiring that car-"

Back in the cafeteria, the festive mood of the wedding vanished like a popped bubble. Someone shouted, "It's a raid!"

Jane Zoeniga shook her head. Unbelievable! She said to Albert, "If Clyden and his Agents are here, chances are then that Osmo is with them! Looks like you got your wish, unfortunately, Dear- I think our good pal Osmo made it to our wedding after all!”

(c) drk 2012