The next morning

The next morning the four of them were awake much earlier than they needed to be. After breakfast and cleaning up the suite the Oracle led the four of them in a simple prayer service. Adam tried to concentrate on the familiar words of the service but more than once he found himself watching Winlay as she performed her devotions with sincere belief. Near the midpoint of the service she must have sensed his eyes on her because she turned and met his gaze for a split second before dropping her eyes modestly to the floor. After that he tried not to let his attention linger on her, but over and over again he found himself drawn to her presence.

After the morning worship, the four of them finished changing into their disguises. Mika spent nearly an hour braiding Winlay's dark hair into dozens of thin braids each one ending in a small bead. Adam was impressed that Sister Margaret knew about the seashell beads, not many inhabitants of Pandora knew much at all about the reclusive inhabitants of the Barrington Islands, but Adam did. He had sailed among the Barrington Islands for almost two months a little over two years ago. The way the hard beads on the ends of the braids clicked together when Winlay swung her head and the flowered sarong that barely covered her darkened skin brought back a flood of memories.

The trip had been memorable for many reasons. For one thing it had been his first command as a senior grade Captain, it was his mission to either complete or fail but also because the tranquil lifestyle on these specks of land in the middle of nowhere. His pre-mission research provided some hints; unlike most of the other Landers, the island chain settlers had planned from the very beginning to discard almost all the technological advances of the past five thousand years. Even while still on Ark, the Families - the name the native islanders call themselves - had researched long forgotten skills of handcrafting and sailing huge outrigger canoes, net and spear fishing and small plot agriculture that relied heavily on the genetically modified yams, coconuts and taro root designed to grow in the soils of Pandora.

The most difficult cultural adaptation of the Families Adam had had to contend with was the willingness, even eagerness of the beautiful islanders to have sex freely with visitors. The library had a scholarly paper which discussed this adaptation in terms of maximizing the randomization of gene pools, but he only understood a fraction of the paper. He did know that for hundreds of years sailors who stumbled across these remote islands more by accident then planning had believed they'd landed in paradise. Many of these seamen chose to stay rather than risk the terrific storms that developed in the great ocean surrounding the scattered islands and the Barrington Islands became a half believed rumor. The island's mythical status had changed as larger, faster and safer ships were built that could weather the storms of the great southern ocean and more ships made the perilous voyage.

Over the past twenty years the Families had been plagued by raids by ships from other parts of Pandora; these new bigger and faster ships now carried guns and cannon instead of the hand-to-hand weapons that the islanders were accustomed to. Not only had the weapons of the raiders changed, but more and more often these men had come to the islands for the specific intent of capturing the strong men and beautiful young women of the Families and selling them as slaves.

Adam had been sent to meet with the council of chiefs who in an unprecedented decision had requested aid from the Church of Xelta. He had been horrified when he saw the impact that these raids had on the simple natives. For two months Adam traveled from island to island arming strong young men in each village with heavy crossbows and training them in their use. He had also advised the family elders on tactics with dealing with the raiding parties.

Each time he landed on a new island he had to turn away repeated offers from the exotic island beauties. Both unattached girls and married women offered themselves to him and his men without shame, often it was the women's fathers or husbands who first approached him inviting him to spend the night with the young women. His men, he knew, were far more willing, but he was newly promoted and believed strongly that he should be setting an example in his role as a Templar Captain.

He thought he had succeeded in resisting the many temptations of the flesh, in fact he had until the last night before he and his men left for home. While he was still sleeping he was joined in his hut by the youngest wife of the elder of the island. She took him in her mouth and woke him as he grew hard between her soft lips. She had been beautiful, by far the most attractive of any woman that had shared his bed and he had been unable to resist her warm toned body.

Just like he was too weak to resist Winlay who was even more beautiful than the islander. With the sarong that left her right shoulder and so much of her breasts bare, and her hair in the thin braids she made him ache with need as he remembered both the early morning with the eager islander almost two years ago and the even more passionate encounter with Winlay. He turned from Mika and Winlay angry with himself and spent the next twenty minutes tying his armor and sword into a tight burlap wrapped bundle.

He decided regretfully to leave his boots behind. His the armor and sword would be heavy enough for Mika to carry and the boots although covered in filth were not the footwear of a halfwit beast of burden. The expensive pair were custom-made from fine leather and he'd miss their comfortable fit and fine looks, but no footwear were worth risking their escape over. When everyone was ready, Adam carefully turned the dial to block the flow of steam and swiftly opened the great door to the greenhouse basement. They moved quickly away from the super heated steam and then waited impatiently for Sister Margaret.

As he waited Adam's eyes lingered on Winlay admiring her beaded hair and her now-dark skin, she looked both fantastic and scared. He wanted to hold her and reassure her, but since the painful conversation when he had tried unsuccessfully to explain why he couldn't be with her Winlay had avoided even eye contact with him. He wished he knew what she was thinking as they waited nervously for Sister Margaret to get them.