Chapter 19
“Our Deliverer...”
The people
of Onos were struck hard learning of the death of the Transo colonies. They
quietly bowed their heads for several minutes of silence and prayer. It was
obvious to me that without proper defenses, many more lives would be lost if a
battle ensued. If there was any consolation, it would be that the few spheres
that had escaped made their way back to the moon and rescued a handful of
people who made it to the lower shafts beneath the surface.
While the
Onos Advisors determined what their next step would be, we were told to go back
to the Sojourner. We tried to get some sleep that night, but most of us ended
up tossing and turning. The next morning, it felt like I had run a marathon. I swallowed
an energy drink and began to come up with my own ideas of a battle plan. Like
Tom, I believed the Vlancos couldn’t win a battle without some sort of
assertive attack on the Negritee.
I finished
up a pros and cons list on my epad, then started daydreaming about Earth. Shelby
walked up quietly and sat down next to me.
“You look
far away from here,” said Shelby. “Thinking about home?”
“Yeah, I
was.” I set down my epad.
She sighed.
“What do you think their doing back there right now?”
“I don’t
know, Shelby. They’ve probably taken Carol out of stasis by now and are
explaining the circumstances of our demise. You know what’s funny. Here we are
full of life, and within 24 hours we could be dead. And yet, for all they know
on Earth, we already are dead.”
Shelby
stared out the porthole. “What’s frustrating for me is that we’ve had a
wonderful opportunity to visit another culture thousands of miles across the
Galaxy, and we can’t even let our friends on Earth know about it.” She seemed
to pause and search the distant sky for answers. She turned back to me and had
a twinkle came to her eye. “You now know how I feel about these people, and
why. You were there with the Ancients and yet I still don’t understand why you
didn’t—you know.”
I wanted to
roll my eyes. “Pass through? We all have to take the right step at the
right time.” I doodled on my epad. “Do you know what really surprised me on
that trip?”
“What,
Alex?”
“Dale.”
“What about
him?”
“Of all
people, I thought Dale would have been the last person to pass through.”
Shelby tipped
her head. “Why?”
“I don’t
know. I guess I thought you had to be sinless, or more intelligent, or...I
don’t know... better looking for all I know.”
Shelby
chuckled, and faced me square on. “Alex, you have been a great leader for us,
remember that. Also remember I pray for you and the rest of the crew, all the
time. Not because I think you need it, but because it is such a pleasure to
know God and know how he works in our lives.”
“Thanks
Shelby, I see you really mean it.” I gave her a hug right as Dale walked in the
room.
“Hubba,
Hubba. I’m going to tell Carol,” he said, in kindergarten fashion.
I released
Sheby and moved toward him like Frankenstein. “I’m goin’ to give you another
noogie!”
* * *
I convince
the crew to return to the military complex to find out what the Vlancos had
planned for the future. On our way to the complex, we met up with Tooma,
Tammy’s escort during the first week. Tooma was walking with a younger woman.
“Hi Tooma,
how ya doin’,” asked Tammy. “I’m surprised to see you around here. Where are
you and your friend headed?”
“Hello,
Tammy. She smiled briefly. This is Sorfuon my great granddaughter. I am taking
her to the military complex.”
Tammy nodded.
“Well we’re going there too. Why don’t you come with us?”
Sorfuon was breathing
hard and erratically. Something wasn’t normal. Shelby walked up next to Sorfuon,
then rested her hand gently onto shoulder.
Sorfuon grasped
Shelby in a deep embrace and let out a loud groan and burst of anguished tears
of agony.
“Oh man! What
happened! said Tammy.
It was the
first time any of us had seen a Vlanco give out such a display of painful emotion. We stood there desperately
searching for something to say.
“Her family
was killed on Transo,” said Tooma sullenly.
“All of
them? questioned Dale.
Shelby took
Sorfuon to a nearby bench and sat down with her.
Tooma stayed
back with us to explain. “All of her adjacent family members...her father,
mother, sisters, and brothers. She only happened to be here on Onos for further
spiritual training.”
“I see,” I
said. I peered over Tooma’s shoulder to watch Sorfuon bury her head into
Shelby’s shoulder, soaking her shirt with tears of sorrow.
Shelby held
her, rocked her, and stroked her head with empathy, as we looked on.
“I’d be
furious if they killed my family,” said Dale.
“That is
something that usually comes after the pain, Dale,” said Tooma. “However, I
believe when Sorfuon’s anger surfaces, it will not be misused and will not
cause her to transgress. She was training for guidance as a spiritual leader in
our community, and I believe the Creator has used this event to strengthen
her.”
“Strengthen
her? She’s a blubbering idiot,” said Tammy. “Oh I’m sorry, I just meant...”
“I know what
you meant Tammy, but you are wrong. Strength comes from pain in our lives, not
comfort. Our strongest trees on Onos, live in the most horrendous climates. They
grow from tender seedlings and develop into massive creations. Hurt will either
destroy or strengthen us, and I believe she will be strengthened.”
Tom stepped in between us. “I’d love to
sit here and chat some more, but if we don’t figure out how to respond to the
Negritee‘s advances, the death of those on that moon won’t be the only ones
that’ll be exterminated.”
I spoke
quietly. “I don’t think the planet of Onos is depending on us, Tom. Let’s give
Shelby a few more minutes.”
Shelby and
her new friend were in a deep and lengthy conversation by now. It seemed like
an eternity to the rest of us. Soon Sorufuon regained her composure and they
returned to the group, where we eagerly were waiting to depart.
We
eventually arrived at the military complex. It divided into the terrestrial
multiplex and the celestial multiplex. We said our goodbyes to Tooma and her granddaughter.
They went to the citizen affairs arena, while we split off to alien affairs.
Stron
approached us. “I suppose you have heard about the Transo colony, my friends.”
I bowed my
head in respect. “Yes, we heard. I want to offer my condolences.”
“Thank you
Alex, I appreciate your kindness. Due to the circumstances, we must be
resourceful with our time. Please step into my quarters so we can discuss
this.”
We filed in
like ants, into the room, then sat down.
Stron opened
up the discussion. “Would any of you like
to express comments or concerns at this time?”
Tammy
crossed her arms. “Yes. I would, Stron. I hope you have a better plan than just
hoping those jerks will go away, because it looks like you’re a little out
gunned.”
Stron did
not crack a smile. “Tammy, I appreciate your viewpoint. But unless you had the
opportunity to stay with the rest of your crew with the Ancients, you are the
last one I would entertain a debate on defense. The Negritee technology is very
deep, but their souls are so very shallow.”
He looked at me and said, “You know what I am talking about, do you
not?”
I nodded
reluctantly. “I think so.”
“What? What
did I miss?” Tammy asked nervously.
I shook my
head. “It’s too late to discuss it now, but Dale and Shelby and I have a good
idea what it is all about. In a nut shell, the spirit is stronger than the
sword.”
“You will
have to trust us, Tammy,” said Stron.
Tammy looked
at Tom for help.
Tom backed
up. “Don’t look at me. I haven’t the vaguest idea what their talking about.
Don’t forget that I was with you.”
“Great! Is
that the best you can do? Well I may be naive, but it’s pretty obvious their
sword is their spirit. I can’t believe you guys trust in the Creator anyway. Will
you just sit and wait for him to magically fix things? Well I think he may have
gone fishing, because he didn’t help those people on Transo. So what makes you
think he’s going to help you now. I vote
for getting in the Sojourner and finding our way home before we end up dead, or
worse—slaves.”
Dale raised
an eyebrow. “Or dead slaves?”
Tammy
ignored him. Who’s in agreement?” She raised her hand, hoping others would follow. The
rest of us stood there biting our lips, looking to the sky, or what ever else
we could do to avoid her suggestion.
Tammy dabbed
her eyes with her wrists. “Don’t any of you see what’s happening! Fine! Let’s be heroic and get creamed by
these a-holes!” She stormed out of the room to nowhere in particular.
“Tammy!”
said Tom, “I know how you feel, but unless we have some plan, taking off 25,000
light years from Earth is suicide.”
She didn’t
look back. “And staying here isn’t? Do
what you want!”
“Where would
we go to anyway?” beckoned Tom to Tammy. He turned to me. “Should I go after
her, Alex?”
I watched
Tammy leave the complex. “No, let her be. Nothing would help her at this moment
anyway. In fact, I don’t believe anything can help any of us.”
Stron came
to within a foot of my face. “Alex, I see you do not value your own words. What
you learned from the Ancients, was to prepare you when the Negritee neared the
inner planets. By prepare, I mean communion with the Creator.
The only
communion I knew was in the Catholic Church service. “We didn’t talk about communion.
The Ancients talked about passing-through. What’s this communing? And
how is it going to help?”
“Communing
with the Creator, coincides with passing-through.”
My shoulders
drooped. “I still don’t understand?”
“As a race, we
people in this star system will commune simultaneously with the Creator. We
believe, the Negritee will use the arm of the flesh, but we will have the arm
of the Spirit.”
I scoffed. “That
sounds like prayer. Do you really think a prayer is going to save your butts?”
“I see you
have heard our words with the Ancients, but still do not understand them. When
we first heard about the possibility of an invasion from the Negritee, the Onos
advisors entertained much dialogue regarding a response to the act. This is
what they have decided.”
“It sounds
odd,” said Tom.
Stron
stepped back to look at all of us. “Are you are in agreement with Tammy?”
“I’m not,”
said Shelby. She turned to me. “The Vlancos have talked with the Creator their
whole life, day in and day out, Alex. They know what God’s will is better than
any of us could possibly know. And they would know if this ‘simultaneous
communion’ would be of help to them—maybe even more than military
technology.”
“I see you
understand us quite well Shelby,” said Stron. “You see, Alex, many of our
prophets and prophetess’ have been given some foresight as to what they
expected to take place. For example, it was revealed to them that Transo would
be devastated, even before it would happen.”
My mouth
dropped open. “You’re kidding” You mean you knew before hand and you did
nothing to stop it?”
“There are many things we know, but few
things we can do. That does not mean we let fate have its way, it meant that
what was to occur, would occur. We are not omnipotent and omnipresent like the
Creator.”
“Well you
could have—” I tried desperately to challenge.
“Please,
Alex!” Stron rubbed his temples. “There is far too much to do than continue a
debate. It has also been revealed that soon the 3rd Premier will be contacting
us again to threaten us, before trying to launch another attack on the Vlanco
people.”
“What do the
prophets say is going to happen when they attack?” asked Dale.
“We don’t
know, Dale. That has not been revealed. But know this. It is expected of us to
commune with the Creator, and we must obey. We have always found that it does
not matter what we know, but rather that we obey. Our life is based on trusting
in Him. It is our nature to trust Him to the end, and we will not change. Are
you willing put your trust in us?
Because if you are not, I suggest you take our previous offer and leave
Onos as soon as possible.”
We all
quietly stood there, distraught and dejected, realizing that our trust in
everything seemed to be getting stretched to its full measure.
Stron tried
to smile. “Step back my friends and think of your situation. Would you have
expected to be where you are now, on Onos, based on the knowledge you had five
years ago?”
“No way,”
said Dale.
The rest of
us nodded in agreement.
“Is the
knowledge that other life exists outside your solar system, not less than
extraordinary?”
“Yes, it
is,” I said.
“Now look at
that and all those exhilarating discoveries of your life, and I can assure you,
there were dramatic events preceding it. That is how the Creator shows his
power and strength and compassion for us. The greater the difficulty, the
greater the joy. That is where we are now, my friends. If you are patient, all
will be revealed in due time. It is our hope there will be a remarkable
result.”
I extended
my hand out to Stron and he shook it. “Okay Stron, we’ll trust you. I don‘t
know if I have the hope you have. But you’ll have to give me some time to
discuss some things with my crew. I’m sure you need to address some issues with
your advisors.”
“Thank you,
Alex. You are correct. I must attend to other affairs, but am available if you
have further questions.”
After Stron
walked back to his colleagues, we sat there mulling over our dilemma. Shortly
after, a low rumbling sound spread throughout the complex. It felt like a
California earthquake, but without the seismic aftereffects. Everyone stood
completely still, silently anticipating devastation, but nothing happened.
“What was
that?” asked Tom, “Did the Negritee blow something up?”
“I don’t
know, Tom.” I moved to the console at the end of the room.
“Querry?”
asked the computer.
“What was
that rumbling that just occurred?” I questioned.
The Onos computer’s
female voice came alive. “Those were spatial harmonics from a variation in the
Tri-Star gravitational field, Sir.”
“So it
wasn’t the Negritee, attacking the planet?”
“No, Sir.”
I breathed a
sigh of relief.
“It felt
like a good size quake, to me.” said Dale.
I continued.
“Why did it occur at all? Is it dangerous?”
“There has
been an increasing amount of magnetic flux in and around the Tri-Star system
for the last decade. Within the last year, activity has increased at an
exponential rate. It has been considered potentially dangerous to Humanoids.
However, it is unknown to what extent the damage will be and when future
episodes will transpire, Sir.
“Based on
the past occurrences, when do you expect the next episode?”
“A
probability of 84% one will occur in the next two days, Sir.”
“And the
magnitude of the episode?”
“Unknown,
Sir.”
“Worse than
the last?”
“Yes, Sir”
I turned to
face the crew. “Remember back in 2030. The high intensity solar flares that
impacted computers and electronic equipment all over the Earth.”
“Yeah. Who doesn’t
remember that,” said Tom. The Earth’s crust took a major shift on the surface
of the land masses and the ocean. Volcanoes in the Pacific rim and the
earthquakes working in tandem devastated highly populated areas. But after we
put safeguards in place, we didn’t have to worry about that again.”
“I wasn’t
even born then,” said Dale, “I just saw it in the history archives. Didn’t
Japan lose about 15% of its people at that time.”
“That’s
right,” confirmed Tom. “And I don’t even want to discuss what happened in
southern California. Now you can understand why it was so important the
Continental Congress was formed. If they hadn’t pooled resources for rescue
resolutions, we’d be in deep trouble.”
“Excuse me
my friends,” Interrupted an aid to the complex advisor. “I have been instructed
to inform you that it is time.”
“Time for
what?” I asked.
The aid
didn’t answer. He turned and left as quickly as he came.
A second
later, a melodic siren wound up and resonated throughout the complex. As if on
cue, Vlancos moved quickly out of the building. We began to follow the crowd
outside, but weren’t sure as to where to go or why. As we walked we saw some Vlancos
weeping; no doubt for the loss of friends and relatives lost on Transo. Most
were calm and orderly, and were headed to distinct destinations.
“Where is
everybody going?” asked Dale.
I watched
the throngs to find a pattern. “I don’t know. Lets find out.” I grabbed a lean
guy hurrying by. “Where are you headed?”
“You must
prepare. Find the Advisor, he will assist you.” He hurried off.
“I know I
must prepare! But...how?” I said, calling to him. I spun around. “Are the
Negritee attacking?”
Tom shook
his head. “You know what the Negritee weapons can do.”
I waved them
to follow. “Let’s try to find Stron.”
We walked
back inside the complex, to look for Stron, but it was vacant. I checked the console to access his
whereabouts, but the computer said he had left the building. Why didn’t he
come back to tell us what to do?
“We can’t
stay at this military complex. We’d be sitting ducks,” said Tom.
Dale was a
little shaky and the rest of us weren’t far behind. Except Shelby. Shelby was
drifting off, away from the group, like she knew exactly where she should be.
She was at the entrance of the facility when I caught her.
“Shelby!” I
called out.
She glanced
back and waved for us to follow her. We
trotted over to her to find out were she was going.
“Where are
you headed?” I questioned.
“To the
Worship Arena of course,” she answered calmly.
“What? Why?”
She sighed.
“For once, be a follower.” She turned and trotted away.
The rest of
us looked at each other like idiots. We followed her. She was the only one that
seemed to know what was happening. A few minutes later, we approached the
Worship Arena.
Shelby
turned to me, as we entered the building. “Do
you remember what Stron said about communing?”
She confidently walked toward the main arena.
I followed. “Right.
What about it? Is that what we’re supposed
to do now?”
“It’s the
only thing that really makes sense, Alex.”
We stopped at
the archway that opened into the center of the arena.
“Well?”
asked Shelby.
I saw no
other option. “Okay, let’s go.”
Hundreds of
Vlancos moved around us to fill the space. Melodic chanting caught my
attention. As we moved closer to the center of the worship arena, I heard the
words.
‘Our Deliver is present, He will
use his mighty power;
Our Deliver is present, His strength
is clear and final;
We must doubt what we see, We must
doubt what we hear,
For our Deliver is present, His
strength is clear and final.
Shelby and
even Dale were joining in on chanting. We were carried into the flow, like a
leaf on the water, dragged by the current the group.
* * *
Tammy had
made it back to the Sojourner. She had worked her way through the opposing
current of the crowds, like a fish swimming upstream.
She stormed
into the ship and straight to the control imager. “Bill! prepare for lift off!
I am setting in the coordinates now.”
“It is
customary for Alex to give the order for launch procedures, Tammy. Is he and the rest of the crew incapacitated?”
“Yes, you
could say that, Bill. It’s an emergency, and looks like it’s just you and me,
hon.”
“Wait one,”
said the computer. “My sensors tell me your vital signs prove your truthfulness.”
“Can we
leave now?”
“Affirmative.
Prepare for launch. Sequence will initiate in five minutes.”
Tammy sat down
in Alex’s seat and prepared for lift off. She gritted her teeth and wiped a
tear from her eye.
“T-minus
four minutes and counting,” said the computer. “A physiological analysis
indicates you are experiencing some difficulty, is that correct, Tammy?”
“Don’t worry
about it, Bill. I’m okay,” she said breathing heavy.
“T-minus
three minutes and counting,” said the computer. “This is an unusual request
Tammy. Is there something I should be aware of?” the computer asked calmly.
“Yes! You
could say that! Give me some silence please!”
“Affirmative.”
The computer kept quiet until the next countdown. “T-minus two minutes and
counting,” said the computer.
Tammy sat in
front of the Sojourner’s imager, alone. She drooped her head and started
crying.
“What am I
doing here?” she said, sobbing. “Where am I going to go?”
“Are you
requesting an answer, Tammy?”
“No!” she
said wailing.
At ‘ten,’
the imager brightly displayed the numbers with audio, “10, 9, 8, 7, 6—”
“Stop!” She
said between sobs. She buried her head in her hands.
“Launch
sequence has been terminated, Tammy. Is there any thing else you require of
me?”
“Yeah, go
take a flying leap!”
“Could you
repeat that, Tammy?”
“Never mind,
Bill!” She shouted between intermittent
and anguished sobs.
She wiped
the tears from her eyes and eventually poised herself like a statue. She pulled
up a picture of her and her original and foster family on the imager. She
strummed her fingers on the imager panel control with one hand and leaned her
head against the other hand.
“Bill. Show
me the alien ships—excuse me, the Negritee ships within the Tri-star system.”
A simulated
three dimensional image of the ships and the planets came into view. It was
only a matter of hours before the Negritee would arrive at the heavily
populated planets. She looked back down at a data file on her family. She
scanned her brother’s and sister’s file when they were kids, before they were
separated from her. She had previously dumped all the files on her fiancé,
after he ran off with her best friend, but she had one picture of him at a
family gathering.
“Bill, take
a message.”
Tammy stood,
so the viewer could record her whole self. She summarized the events that
occurred to her on this planet, said her goodbyes to her friends and family,
and encapsulated it a small probe. She went to the launch bay and inserted it
into a missile. She programmed it to send out the media signal every 15th day. Tammy
pressed the launch button and watched as the probe rose up into the atmosphere.
This could be the only trace of her existance. She watched through the porthole
as pobe rocketed out into space in the direction of Earth.
Tammy went
back to the imager in the control room. The Negritee vessels appeared on the
monitor. They were within striking range of the planets, when the secondary imager
lit up the screen.
“Greetings Vlanco
people. I am the 3rd Premier of the Negritee, and would greatly appreciate a
surrender of your system,” he said with a chuckle to the world below him. “Your
Preeminent from Onos is indisposed at the moment, so I will assume any response
by the Assembly of Advisors to be acceptable.”
There was no
response. He turned back to the assistant on his ship. He validated that the
message was transmitted to all of the inhabited planets.
“We are
presenting ourselves to every line of communication. Your lack of response,
will not help your cause. If you do not respond to our conditions, we will attack.
If you are aware of the destruction Transo, I suggest you respond.”
Again no
response. Nothing was more maddening, than for a Negritee to be ignored.
Disguman’s
face turned red. “There will be no more warnings Vlanco Scum! You have no defenses that can match our fleet’s
weaponry. If you do not respond to my conditions of surrender, in a click of
your stars, we will completely eliminate your people from existence! Transmission
terminated.”
* * *
All
inhabitants of Onos and Donos, as well as the outlying planets had made their way
into meditation areas. No communication ports were located in those places. And,
therefore, had no opportunity to hear what Discuman had said.
Where we had
entered, there was no speaker in the center of the worship arena, as Shelby had
described in her earlier encounter. Many hundreds of Vlancos had taken their seats,
in an orderly manner. The chanting had stopped. It had a very organized and eerie
quietness about it. After everyone entered, they waited, and waited, in quiet to
what seemed like an eternity. Tom and I looked at each other with trepidation. Shelby
sat peacefully, Dale whispering to her.
Finally, ten
gong-like sounds permeated the building. On the tenth gong, everyone moved
forward and sat on their knees. They leaned forward, and bowed there heads and
hands to the ground in prostrate. Tom and I followed suit. I assumed I was
supposed to pray, but I couldn’t help but peek around to see what others were
doing. They were like statues, all crouched down, in still silence.
I didn’t
know at the time that every Vlanco in existence was in this same position,
doing the same thing, at the same time.
A half hour
must have past, and I was starting to fall asleep. Then I heard some whispering
sounds in the crowd. The whispers grew louder and developed into dialogue. The
voices seemed to take on a musical harmonious effect. I couldn’t quite
understand the dialogue, but at the moment it seemed to make sense.
Shelby and
Dale were both deep in prayer, eyes closed yet talking.
The volume
grew and grew, and I felt a tingling sensation throughout my body. It was
almost like electricity was passing through one hand and out the other. I felt
like lifting my hands up from the floor, but something compelled me to stay
put. The tingling sensation pulsated through me like a shock gun. Then, without
warning, everyone simultaneously, and quickly, raised their heads and hands upward
and gave a great shout skyward for several minutes.
I took a
deep breath and tried to stay within the flow of things.
The
electricity I had been feeling, changed into a rumbling, within my body. It
passed through my hands and into the floor, then moved through the building. It
was a smooth series of rumblings that started low and rippled from one end of
the building to the other. The rumbling wave continued so much so that the
whole building rocked and swayed. Everyone was shouting and swaying with one
another, with the building, as if they were one with the event.
After a
minute, it reached a peak then abruptly stopped.
I took a
breath and looked at my hands to see if there was a scar from the jolt.
The Vlancos shouted
joyfully and raised their hands to the sky. They were all smiles.
Tom was in a
daze.
Shelby
turned to us. “Alex, Tom. It is done.”
She was grinning from ear to ear. “I will never forget this as long as I
live.”
“What is
done? Was it an earthquake or what?” asked Tom.
“You’ll
see.” She slapped Tom’s chest. “You’ll see.”
* * *
Tammy
mumbled to herself. “From what I heard about the moon’s destruction, we won’t
survive. But I’d rather die on the ground, than in space alone.”
She walked
out from the ship to get one last glimpse of the blue-green sky, a nearby
planet, and the three stars that hung playfully in place. It was quiet, too
quiet. No animals of any type were heard. The air was clean and fresh. She
inhaled a generous breath of air. Then she felt it.
“What the?”
A rumbling
beneath pulsed through the area slowly. Then again and again, until it reached
crescendo. It almost knocked her over. She clutched the side of the ship to
steady herself. The rumble passed by and moved away from her. Above the land
was a visual distortion. It was like a hot ripple in the air that crossed the
width of the landscape. It rolled farther and farther, until it rose beyond the
eastern horizon. The rippling wave moved up and out to space, and gained size
and strength as it went.
Tammy ran
back into the ship, to the imager. “What was that, Bill?”
“Unkown,”
replied the computer.
She adjusted
the imager to display an enhanced view of the energy wave. The wave moved out
into space and connected with waves from the other planets. Once connected, the
super wave continued to grow. It pushed outward from the center of the Tri-star
system.
Tammy leaned
in to the imager. “Ya know, Bill. It reminds me of the time I was a kid and had
my bubble pump that blew up a huge bubble.”
The computer
responded. “This unknown bubble has a
series of turbulent electromagnetic tunnels in the walls of the spherical
expansion. I have calculated a tremendous power output from the energy field.”
“Man!” Tammy
zoomed in on the hundreds of Negritee ships surrounding the star system. “Oh no!”
Tammy, held her hands to her cheeks.
The
phenomenon progressed out into space and advanced toward Negritee vessels
clustered in a military formation. Within seconds, a brilliant light filled the
viewer with white.
Tammy
shielded her eyes and turned away.
