The task of finding the base's chapel turned out to be both easier than expected, and harder than expected at the same time. On the easier side of the equation, the chapel was the only building outside of the flight line on the base that wasn’t built in the fashion of an overbuilt bunker.

On the harder end of that same equation, it had been encased on three sides with the bunker buildings, and situated on the very edge of the base. Luckily, someone had decided to leave a gap in the buildings between the chapel, and the basin, offering a view towards the Halifax basin.

Or rather, what was left of the basin that I remembered.

A wall had been built across the narrows, anchored on MacNabs and Lawlor islands, completely blocking the sea from entering what was once a major harbour. Where water had once been, now apartment blocks rose into the sky, seemingly merging with the wall in places. Undoubtedly, the rest of the basin had probably suffered the same fate as this section, being turned into so much concrete jungle.

It made perfect sense to do this, with the possibility that a sea based hive might set roots down nearby. Better to shorten the amount of coastline you had to protect, then to preserve the view across the basin. And with smaller communities withdrawing towards the bigger cities, better to use that space to house them, than let it sit empty.

Besides, the intercontinental shipping industry had died a mariner's death, once the Antithesis had made it into the oceans. No point in attempting to keep a harbour, when there were no vessels to berth, and space for homes needed.

I sighed, and headed toward the chapel, mentally saddened slightly by the loss of what had been.

The chapel was of wooden construction, with a worn cross placed atop its shingled roof. It was in fairly decent condition, but the signs of slow decay became apparent, as I moved towards the entrance. The steps gave slightly more than they should have, as I walked up them. The trim around the door, showing signs of swelling and discolouration, as I entered.

Inside, there was a nun kneeling in front of the altar, seemingly in prayer. She gave a small twitch as I entered the chapel, then rose from her prayer.

“We are closed.” She angrily began, turning around to face the door of the chapel.

She froze, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming train, as I closed the door behind me. “Saint…ess?” She mumbled, before quickly dropping to her knees, and lowering her head to the floor, arms clasped in front of her.

“Please show mercy, Saintess.” She quickly said, maintaining her posture. “I didn’t mean to offend you with the incorrect honorifics back at the factory.”

“What? Why would I be upset about honorifics, to the point of having to show mercy?” I asked, as I walked up to her, and extended my hand to help her to her feet.

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“Well, you were visibly upset when you entered the chapel.” She replied, as she regained her footing, before continuing. “And you had your weapon with you, so I thought that… Not all Saints, and Saintess care so little about honorifics, Saintess.”

“Sister please, call me Ellis whenever you're allowed to, I’m not really sure about this Saintess thing.” I said, scratching the back of my head, before continuing. “I was just looking for the chaplain, is he around?”

“Unfortunately, Father MacKay is still located in one of the shelters at the cheese factory. He is currently expected back in the morning.” The sister replied, before happiness spread across her face. “I’d be more than happy to assist you with whatever you require though!”

I sighed, before delivering what I assumed would be the bad news. “Wing Commander Shield is no longer with us.”

“Oh.” Just like that, the happiness ran from her face. She nodded her head a couple of times, and sat on one of the pews, before continuing. “Thomas was a good man, always ensuring that any extra MRE’s the base had, would “fall off the truck” next to the main church. It went a good way toward making sure that the homeless were at least fed semi-regularly.”

“It sounds like he was.” I said, taking a seat on the pew beside her. “If you don’t mind me asking, which god were you praying to when I entered the chapel?” I asked, hoping to distract her from her thoughts for a moment or two.

“Oh, I was praying to you, Sain… Ellis.” She replied, looking away sheepishly before continuing. “It had been a day and a half since we landed back at Shearwater. There had been no sign of you coming out of the dropship, so I started to pray, and then as I was finishing up, you walked in the door.”

“Ahmum… If you’ll excuse me for a second sister, I have a quick call to make.” I said, sliding down the pew slightly. “Zorg, how long was Sergeant Harris standing guard for?”

Not a problem Saintess, let me check that for you real quick. It appears that Sergeant Harris didn’t leave his post at all during the day and a half that you were asleep. Very dedicated soldier, that one.

I could hear the teasing in his voice, especially when he said Saintess. I sighed before replying. “Is it possible to ensure that he gets some good food, maybe from the officer’s mess hall?”

Don’t you worry a single hair on your head Saintess. I’ll get right on that.

I was shaking my head at his response when he continued.

I would highly recommend that you spend the time talking with Sister White. Plausible deniability and all of that fun stuff. I’ll let you know when I’m done.

“So, Sister… it turns out that there is something that you can help me with right now. Is there a confessional in this chapel?” I asked, nervously trying not to scratch my head.

“No, the chapel’s a bit too small for that. Generally if someone requests to speak to Father MacKay, he locks the doors once everyone else is outside.” She replied. “I may not be as good as Father MacKay, but I can do my best, if you still want to confess.”

“Yes please, let’s get started right away.” I said, rapidly nodding my head.

After all, when the previously lost AI mentions plausible deniability, going outside seems like a bad idea.

**********************************************************

Sergeant Harris was looking forward to finally getting some sleep.

After the Samurai had finally come out of her dropship, he had headed straight to the mess hall, to get some food after a full day of standing guard. Unfortunately, he had been tapped for gate guard duties before he could make it, and at this point, he had come to the conclusion that he should get some sleep. Before something decided that he didn’t need that, food could wait for the morning.

He had just finished getting settled, when he heard that noise again.

Beep

He rolled over in his bed and froze. There, sticking through the now open window in his room, was the monster’s 75mm cannon. There was a soft thud, as a bag detached from the barrel, landing on his floor. Then as he watched, the barrel faded out of existence, and his window swung closed by itself.

Now laying on the floor of his room, was a takeaway bag from one of the 5 star restaurants, in the high class section of the city. They used real ingredients in their food, and definitely didn’t do takeaway.

Sergeant Harris decided not to look a gift horse in its mouth, and dug in.