All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
*
Sleep wasn't anywhere near. Maureen gave up trying, and rose from bed, careful not to wake her sleeping husband. She zipped into her uniform and wandered off into her ship. Everyone was asleep, even the robot had powered down as she walked by its bulk. By her estimate, they should have been over seven-hundred thousand miles away from the Errand by now. But they had stayed. She blinked and saw that she'd meandered from her own ship onto the cursed colony ship.
The lights were dimmed for nighttime on the Errand, too. Maureen resisted the impulse to walk toward Jacob's quarters. Instead, she walked aimlessly. What had he done to her? That hideous penis seemed to have a gravity all its own, and she was caught in the vortex. Her ship's fuel cells were charged. All her crew were aboard. She could run back to her bridge right that moment and get far, far away from that skinny, eighteen-year-old mutant.
She stopped. The sign above the door ahead read
chapel
. Well, of course they'd have one on this ship. They probably had a full church somewhere, too. Curious, Maureen stepped in. It was a small room, with only a few pews. A large cross hung from the wall on the far end. Kneeling in front of the cross was a woman Maureen recognized by her ample curves and long, blond hair. She could hear her murmuring a prayer, but the words were indistinct.
"Help me Lord to spread your word," Mary said in a low whisper. "Lead me out of darkness so that I may guide your flock to the promised land. I will do your work, Lord, and carry your child as you have so plainly commanded with your deeds. Jacob will spread the blessed seed throughout this ship, and our burgeoning new world. All women will accept him and you, Lord. Amen." Mary sensed a presence behind her and turned. She offered her warmest, sweet smile when she saw who it was. "Have you come to pray, Maureen?" She no longer whispered.
"Oh, no." Maureen looked down at the woman. "I'm not religious."
"I wouldn't worry. We all can change." Mary glanced at Maureen's swollen bosom with a look that meant to bolster her claim. It was true, everyone on the Errand was changing day by day. She made sure the other woman caught the look and then turned her attention back to the cross above her.
"I'm not worried." Maureen gave a nervous smile, wondering how to politely leave the chapel as quickly as possible. "I don't want God, Mary."
"Lucky for you, he doesn't much care whether we think we want him or not. He attends to our
needs
." Mary stared up at the cross with deep devotion in her eyes. "Come pray with me."
"Um ... okay." Not knowing what else to do, Maureen kneeled down next to Mary.
"There now, put your hands together and open your heart." Mary glanced at the heathen. "I know what you're going through, feeling the Lord's blessing for the first time. Even heathens and polygamists can hear his call."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Maureen glanced over at the woman, and her eyes were drawn to her slightly, protruding belly. Was ... Mary pregnant?
"You see my belly, but you're too polite to ask." Mary's smile was full of acceptance. "Yes, I have the Lord's blessing in me. I am pregnant." She took one of Maureen's praying hands and placed it on her belly. "Here, feel the future."
"Congratulations," Maureen said with some reservation. It was strange to have her hand pulled to this pious woman's belly. She couldn't feel any movement inside, but it would be too early for that anyway. "How far along are you?"
But Mary didn't get a chance to answer as her husband entered the small chapel. "Mary, dear?"
"Oh, Isaac. I was just telling our friend the good news." She stood and faced her husband. "I'm pregnant. It's quite the little miracle, don't you think?"
Confusion spread over Isaac's face. He and his wife hadn't joined in their union since before they went into cryo. A sudden image of his son came into his mind. It was the last time Jacob had worn his own uniform, before he started wearing Isaac's oversized clothes every day. There was something wrong with his son. Isaac tried to remember. And then it hit him, something large and ominous was squirming up against the tight uniform fabric. Something terrible had crawled aboard their innocent ship.
"Isaac? Snap out of it dear." Mary slapped him across the face.
"What? Oh. I can't seem to remember what I was thinking." Isaac's expression moved from horror back to confusion.
"I'm pregnant, dear." Mary took Maureen's hand again, and held it in her own. "But we have no time to celebrate. It's almost breakfast." Pulling her new friend along with her, they passed Isaac and headed out into the hall.
~~
Dr. Cole rushed down the corridor. The first part of her plan was now complete. It had been tricky, but the religious nuts hadn't had the best security for their computer system. She spotted Maureen and Mrs. Winthrop at the next junction, and Dr. Cole pushed herself up against the wall.