Chapter 67: A Startling Revelation

It was late Saturday morning when I got up, leaving Rachel and Lily asleep in the big bed. I noticed that we were still moored alongside the pier on Grand Turks, so after a quick shower, I got dressed and went up to the bridge. There was no one there.

Then I went down two levels to the main deck. Archara was the only one there.

“Where is everyone?” I asked.

“Monique and the five teens are shopping and both Tony and Al are still in bed. I don’t believe either one will feel much like sailing today. They seemed to have had a really good time with all their naval buddies last night and didn’t get back here until almost dawn.”

I looked at her, not understanding.

“They were drunk out of their minds!” she supplied.

“Oh!” I said.

“I doubt they will even be out of bed before noon. We needed some supplies and the girls wanted to go shop, so I told them okay. Sarah went with them and I told them to all stay together,” she said. “Would you like some breakfast?”

“Some toast and fruit, would be fine,” I replied as I sipped my coffee.

“Good. Then you can tell me what Lily was talking about when she said you were a Shepherd Prince.”

After she brought me some toast and fruit, I began to explain.

“Well, it seems that there is this planet where a race of beings they call the ‘Shepherds’ live. Although I had a little trouble separating myth from fact because no one knew where this planet was, and no one had ever visited there. But supposedly, these Shepherds dedicate their entire lives to perfecting their skills and learning how to use their powers.”

“It sounds like the tales of the shaolin monks of ancient China,” Archara speculated.

“Yeah. Except when these Shepherds finally reach some secret level, they are sent out into the universe on a journey of exploration to further their skills by learning how to shepherd others, bringing peace and righting wrongs. These traveling Shepherds are referred to as Princes,” I explained what Lily had told us last night.

“Why does Lily think you are one of these Shepherd Princes?” Archara asked.

“Good question,” I replied. “That’s the same thing I asked her last night. Lily said she thought I was one because of my powers and how I seemed to do so much good. She explained that only the most powerful of Shepherds ever left on a journey of discovery, and I was one of the most powerful shepherds she had ever heard of.”

“So she’s never actually seen one of these shepherds?” Archara asked.

“No. And neither have her parents. But one of her grandparents’ friends claimed to have met one once. Over a thousand years ago. I assume that they are a long-lived race.”

I didn’t tell Archara how Lily’s mother had warned her about losing her heart to one of these Shepherd Princes for they would rarely stick around for long.

“What are you going to do?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” I told her shaking my head.

I made the quick trip to Carina’s clinic in Cannes to get Samantha. Carina wasn’t there, but Samantha was chomping at the bit to get out of there so we were quickly back on the Cécile.

By early afternoon, I had noticed an increase in the air traffic landing at the JAGS McCartney International Airport, less than a mile away. I suspected that they were all the people interested in the ghost ship, and decided that now was a good time for us to disappear. So as soon as the girls returned, they helped me cast off and we set sail from Grand Turks and headed north. I knew that we were supposed to meet the President at Camp David a week from now, which was about 1300 miles away, so we could take our time.

Everyone seemed to scatter at that point, to tend to their various jobs and responsibilities as the Cécile got under way. A few moments later, Captain Tony appeared on the bridge.

“Not so loud!” Captain Tony exclaimed when I welcomed him to the bridge.

I smiled as I walked over to where he was sitting in the captain’s chair and laid my hands on his head.

“What did you do?” he asked moments later. “The pain’s almost gone. Thanks.”

“I’ll take care of Captain Alfred too, when he comes up,” I replied.

“Where should we head?” he asked.

“Why don’t we head north for now. Our destination is the South Annapolis Yacht Center in Annapolis, Maryland,” I told him. “It’s around 1,300 nautical miles and we have to be there by next Friday afternoon. We should keep an eye out for what Hurricane Nolan does, but it looks like it should be well off to our northeast by then.”

“Annapolis?” Captain Tony asked.

“It’s the closest port that can handle a yacht our size,” I replied.

“Closest port? To what?”

“Camp David. We have a presidential invitation to be there Saturday,” I reminded him. “They’re sending a helicopter to pick us up Saturday morning.”

I guess you’ve got it all planned out,” he said.

“Not me, really. Reggie and the White House took care of most of the details. He and Cynthiana are supposed to meet us at the South Annapolis Yacht Center sometime Friday evening.”

“Did Reggie say why they chose that particular marina?” Captain Alfred asked. I hadn’t heard him enter the bridge.

“He said that the South Annapolis Yacht Center was convenient. It’s situated along Spa Creek in the historic part of Annapolis, Maryland. It will handle yachts and vessels up to 135 feet, and their location upriver of the Spa Creek drawbridge is protected, quiet, and less subject to the wakes, currents, and wind associated with being in the harbor. It’s also next door to the Naval Academy which has a place for the president’s copter to land.”

“Do you think the Cécile will be safe there?” Captain Alfred asked.

“I’m not sure, but Reggie said that the Navy was too scared of me to risk anything. He seemed to think that we would be okay for the short time we would be at Camp David. Would you like me to take care of that headache?” I asked.

“He’s pretty good. Mine’s nothing more than a minor roar now,” Captain Tony added.

I stayed on the bridge as twilight turned to dark. The Captains didn’t have a lot to say. I’m not sure if it was the hangovers from last nights’ get together with their buds, or if they just weren’t sure what to say to me.

Finally, I left them and said I would be back for the midnight watch, and went to find dinner.

“ ... and that’s all I know or have ever heard of the Shepherd Princes,” Lily said.

We were all crowded into the salon as night fell. We were finally underway, traveling northwest this time, slowly. Captain Tony was back on the bridge and Captain Alfred was sitting with us as Lily related her tale.

“You seem so normal for an alien,” Monique observed. She didn’t mean it bad. I just think that they were all in a state of shock over meeting an honest-to-god alien from another planet. And one that was over two hundred years old to boot!

“Well, I have only lived on earth, so I’m not sure I qualify as a real alien,” Lily replied.

“What do we do now?” Archara asked the group.

No one ventured anything at first. Finally, Captain Alfred spoke.

“I guess the first thing to do is to define the situation we now find ourselves in.

“What do you mean?” Rachel asked.

“I mean we should define exactly where we are, then think about calling in everyone to sit down and discuss where we should go, and how we should get there,” he told her. “Within our families and friends that we can trust, there is much knowledge. Maybe not a lot of experience with dealing with Aliens, but at least some.”

“Some?” Archara asked.

“Yes. Carina, that steward girl, Queen Jeanne, and Rachel have all met the aliens on the pink planet,” Captain Alfred said. “Not to mention Alex.”

“And of course we actually have a real live Alien here with us as well!” Archara added. “Two, if we count Alex.”

As Archara spoke those words, the reality finally hit me! And the questions! Had I always been an alien? Or I had some how become one when I was struck by the lightning that wasn’t really lightning?

Anna went to get pen and paper as everyone else began to think of who we could call on to help. Cynthiana, Reggie, my folks, and the Bouchards were added to the list.

“Should we include Roland?” Archara asked.

“I think I should talk to him first,” I told her.

“What about Anita Dexter?” Monique asked.

“Maybe the General (Santiago Botello)?” Rachel suggested.

The suggestions dwindled over the next hour. Finally, we called a halt and started for bed. We would continue with our list-building in the morning.

“Rachel?” I thought to her.

“I’m getting Lily settled in the cabin with Jana,” Rachel replied. “I’ll be up in a moment.”

Thirty minutes later she found me out on the private cockpit on the owners deck, staring at our wake in the dim moonlight. Softly, she folded herself into my lap.

“A penny for your thoughts,” she whispered.

I looked at her thoughtfully and then taking a deep breath, I began to pour everything out. “Last year, I was a teenager with no greater plans than to figure out how I could get good enough to play golf at a local community college. Then I got struck by something that I thought was a lightning strike and all these weird things began happening. Since then, I have discovered all these impossible talents and have destroyed planes and warships, saved people from drowning, healed people, and had bad people chasing me and trying to kill or injure me and my friends and family.”

“Go on...” she sighed.

“I’ve met all these amazing people, found a wonderful job that pays phenomenally well, talked to the Presidents of two nations, talked to the Prince of England, and rescued the Princess of Spain. I played golf on the Corn Ferry tour and even a round with the highest ranked policeman in Spain. And ... I met the love of my life.”

Rachel just leaned down and kissed my cheek. “But?...”

“But I don’t know who did this to me. Or why. Or what I am supposed to do with everything they have given me,” I replied.

“Do you remember that story that the golf coach in Texas told you about your grandfather?” Rachel asked,

“Sure,” I replied, not knowing where she was going with this.

“Why did your grandfather pick him?” she asked.

“How do I know?” I replied quickly. “Probably because he saw something good in him and figured that he could help him reach his potential.”

“Did the coach know who he was, that day?” she asked.

“Uh ... no,” I replied.

“So this young guy didn’t know who was helping him, or why he was helping him. So what did he do?” she asked me.

“Uh ... the best he could do?” I responded as a question.

Rachel just looked at me, waiting patiently.

I figured out what she was saying but never responded as I became lost in my thoughts. Sometime later, she silently kissed my cheek, slid off my lap and disappeared into the bedroom. I just continued with my brooding.

Sometime in the early morning, long before the sun rose, I stood and slipped on some shorts and a T-shirt, then transferred myself to the dining room in Zurich. I knew it would be after 8:00 am there. I didn’t know if she would be there, but I finally realized that if I couldn’t find out why ‘they’ had selected me to be a Shepard, I could at least ask Cynthiana why she had selected me to follow her.