He smiles at the man's sentiments about being clean. Cleanlyness was next to Godlyness. It was necessary, though. "In ancient times, Church was held in the homes of believers. God only asks that we give him our best, not that we are perfect."

The next bit was harder. "Dealing with the loss of friends and loved ones is the most difficult of tasks we are given in this life. Occupying our minds with other things is a very good option, 'Idle hands are the Devil's workshop,' after all. Let me ask you something, my friend. Is it simply that they are gone that troubles you? Or is it the method of their departure? This is a militaey vehicle, death lives with us daily. I believe you were prepared to loose commrades, just not over something so...unsportsmanlike...as this."

Ethan points to the candles. "THose are prayer candles. My guess is that if you light one and pray for the souls of the departed then you may feel a little better. Come back tomorrow and the day after and so on. Tell God how you feel. Tell Him your troubles and sorrows, your hurts and your happyness. Let him listen to you and comfort you. I will pray with you, if you feel better that way."

He noddes, "Right now the hurt is fresh. Give it a little time. You may find tht it fades. It may fade faster is you choose to think of the fun and good times you had with your friends. If you need, I can prescribe something to help you sleep. I find that above all sleep helps heal wounds, both physical and mental."

  The Man lowered his shoulders and nodded his head,Thank you Preacher...i think i will try that.... he got up and moved to the canles, he reached in his pocket and pulled some credit chips out, placing them in the slot of the holder...he knelt and was silent.

 He wouldm be so, for a good  15 minutes, before  getting up, and making his way to the doors, he stops, smiles  slightly, Thank ya , Preacher....

OOC: I thought the credit things were imbedded?

He crosses the man. "Go with God. If you need someone to talk to you can find me here."

This was most distressing. Sure those men were killed for something other than a sporting event. The cheapness of life appauled him.

  for the next few hours, there was not much going on...people on the street passed by, some looked in..kids would wave...but towards  the 'night'.some of the older Civies  stopped by.

  They came in.8 of them...they looked around inside the building,a smaller, older man , who worked the blueprints at the metalshopwhat kinda church ya got here son?

Ethan welcomed them in and showed them around. "The Chapel is for all faithes, though I myself and a Catholic. Did you need something specific?"

  The older  fellow  just shook  his head. A young mother was there, holding  a child  about 5, the other 5 people ran the gambit  from teens to 30's ( or what would look like 30..considering the things in thier  system when the  volunteered to join the Hermes)

 well..it  don'[t matter  much, not too many of us have anything  in our backrounds..most of us go by the Many gods, and the 9 hells...but..well..some of us are looking  for more answers...That Young Lady there, her Husband  was killed in our first action against the Demons...she lives on the same block as us..we sorta...well sorta take care of each other...we were just wondering ..ya  know,,,what we might learn here?

Ethan had to pause a long while. He went over to the woman and placed his hand on her child's head, a silent prayer for the babe, and then he crossed them both. He spoke so that all could hear. "I can offer knowledge of what is called the old way. I can teach you about the one true God and how He has shown himself to his different creations differently. The precepts of this faith are simple: Put others first, serve others, forgive others, and pray for even your enemy that they might find their way to the gates of Heaven. How is this done? It is against our nature as Humans to love others, and put others first. It is done with fiath. I have faith. All of you have it too, even if you do not acknowledge it.

Tonight we celebrate the sacrament of the Lords Supper. I ask you to join me."

  They all look to the OPlder fellow  who nods  and motions them to take thie rplaces in the pres. One of the yonger boys  grins as he says,...I bet you won't  get them pilots  to want to wish them demon folks well!

  an slightly older boy, elbows him and pushes him towards the pews.

He stopped the boy, because this was important. "Loving your enemys and even praying for them does not require passivity. If someone pushes you, you should put your guard up and stand your ground. If they push you again, push back hard. Understand that God expects you to protect yourself, not allowing others to hurt or kill you."

When everyone took seats he went back up front and took a basket of wafers. He took one and passed it around, expecting the others to understand they should take one as well. When it had made its way through the small group he took it back and sat in front of the pews. This was a solomn occassion but not one that required ceremony. He broke the wafer "Christ came to Earth to bring mankind closer to God. On the eve of his arrest and crusifixion he ate the Feast of the Passover with his closest friends. He said 'Do this in rememberance of me.' We break the bread to represent the body of Christ, broken for our transgretions." He ate the bread and then went to a trey of tiny cups of wine. He took one and passed the rest around as before. "We drink the wine to represent the blood of Christ, spilled for our sins." He drank and then let the solomness of the event settle in.

"Thank you all for coming. Though Christ was killed, he rose again after 3 days. That is the hope we carry. He rose and returned to Heaven where we will one day meet Him." He points to the confessional, "I will hear confession now."

He went and took the place of the priest in the confessional.

  Both boys looked up to ethan as he smoke, the  younger one nodded with a slight bit of staisfaction. The  younger one  says,..That's more like  it...I hear some people think we should just give in to the demons...some others  think we should join them..not me... Mr. Kane  was a nice man...he was one of   the Hermes Marines....when i get old enough....i'm gonna be a pilot...and i'm going to take out  whole ship loads of demons, for what they did to him!
  The Older boy simply put  a hand on the yonger one's shoulder...the older lad  was closer to signing up. He had a grim look about him.

 The widow  of the MArine, still holding her child said,someone  back on earth, had  an old bible....they said somethign  about hating  other people....when that book was written...they did not know about Demons....

 The Older  fellow held  up a hand to quiet everyone,..some say the Angels who were the Keepers of earth, wrote that book...to try and keep law  and oeder on the planet...others think its   just a collection of stoires, for the same reason...the older half of the book, speaks of many wars..with god helping those one his side...they say that was the last of the Angels in power,who aided those who did not  take up  the Demon's  ways....I don't know  about any of that...can't remember more then a few stories passed down by my great great grand mother. But  if there is  a God? The there is a devil..then he grins  at ethan, we already know there are angels and Demons!

After the  small service,  the poeple ask when the next time he will do somethign like this...Only the  widow  and the older man try the coffessional...the woman feels guilty for feeling attracted to one of the young pilots she meets as she works as a waitress...she feels she is dishonoring his husband's memories...The Older man...only confesses a deep hate towards the Demons and  any who side with them...he is eaten away at being too old to fly, and  would not  be accepted for Combat service...even in the ship's gunnery section..at best..he could  only join as a support member...with no fighting , unless the ship was boarded...

Ethan had a lot of work to do. He had his own philosophy about this, but it would take time to compile and write down. "Lets save the theology for later. I have much to teach you if you want. Sunday mornings I will hold what amounts to a service where I teach theology. I will hold this service three times a week and I will be available for confession whenever I am not on other duties."

In the confessional he listens to the woman first. "I understand you feelings of guilt, but God made us all as sexual creaures. You should not feel ashamed for wanting another man. I would caution your rushing that aspect of a relationship, though. It is meant for marriage, so at the very least be sure this is a man you will marry first. Go with God, your sins are absolved."

The man is more difficult. "Listen, hatred is a difficult thing. God made us with the full capability of emotion, but the only manual on its use is the Bible. We are to hate sin but not the sinner. It is a difficult distinction. I would ask you to pray earnestly for God to remove the hate from your heart. Think of it this way, should we be boarded you may be called on to fight. Who fightes better, the man who hates or the one who has a clear mind to think and plan. In any case, I absolve you of your sins. Go with god."

  the oithers  waited  for the older  man and woman, they left together, saying...a very least...they will be there  sunday. The older fellow  points to the marquee on the building,..might what to put up your  hours  and shut there son...some folks walking by, might see it...

Ethan nodes. As they small group leaves he begins working on the marque, getting things as close to normal as possible.

  through the rest of the day,  a few people stop  on the siewalk and eiether write  down  the time postings, or point and speak  about the sign, then move on..none others  approach, though it seems like a few are interested.

With nothing else to do he goes to his own quarters for some sleep.

His quarters are spartan, but he needed little. A bed, a closet, a sink and toilet, bare walls except for a mirror, and a footlocker. He went to the box of supplies and found a wooden wall cross and an "open heart" statue of Jesus. he hung the cross and put the statue beside the sink.

He unpacked his own belongings. He stowed his pistol, deciding it was probably bad form to carry two. He hung his clothing, stored his personal items in the footlocker, and washed up. He looked at the bed. He wasn't really tired. he decided to go and find a drink.

<<REC DECK>>

Exploring this portion of the ship Justin came across this unused portion of the ship. Interesting he thought, meandering through its interior, its apparent use was obvious, however albeit no longer being treated as such. Speculatively he glanced about noting that its dimensions were ideal for a martial arts training facility. Sending a brief test to the bridge requesting status of the room, enquiring whether it could be converted or was to remain the same.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:05, Mon 28 May 2012.

  right  now, the place had been cleaned up, icons  and such put  where they should be, pews   unstacked  and  set up, candle holders  with boxes of  extra canles nearby, some of the candle  holders had lit  candles in.

 The "priest's " quarters were now empty, as the new preacher left to ply his trade on Fuji.

  except for the lit candles, the place looked like it  had not seen much use.

Sending a brief test to the bridge requesting status of the room, enquiring whether it could be converted or was to remain the same.

 Lilly answered,um...i dunno  LT. Ask about the town, she if anyone is using it..if not..contact the  Commander when he gets back from the meeting...

In reply to Justin (msg #35):


Reading the reply form bridge Justin rubbed his chin texting in reply to Lilly's responce Please confirm and resend
This message was last edited by the player at 00:04, Wed 30 May 2012.

Whilst waiting for the bridge to resend their last textcom Justin undertook further exploration of the area uncovered a quantity of capsules, sachets of white powder and a number of medical implements Justin sent word to the nearest aid station requesting an MedTech and Security Personal  to collect the possible contraband. Finishing this request moments before a snippet window popup notified Justin of his associates arrival at Fugi. After being ushered from the dock  and ensconced under ESN intelligence protocols.

  Lilly  said over his Com,..you will have to ask around town, if anyone is using the church...if not..then you will have to ask  the Commnader, if you may use the area...it is sorta grey area..being its in the Civie section and all...

In reply to Justin (msg #38):


Roger that Lilly, it also provides an explanation for what I've just found. I had a mental image of a Priest administering certain substances to his parishioners...