The snow eased slightly with just the occasional flurry passing the stable doorway. Ninurta contemplated Joseph's comment on
Angels and a half-smile played on his lips as he watched the stars began to poke through the storm. The strange creature known
as BIAD busied himself heating water in a ancient bucket over the fire and Tibbs made Mary comfortable near the rickety manger
at the rear of the building.
Angels... guardians that held sway at the gates of Heaven? Winged beings that carried a message of good or noble soldiers of God
that were sometimes wrestled to the ground...? Ninurta, leaning on the doorframe, sighed to himself and scanned the darkness for
any more trouble.
Joseph had finished rubbing the donkey down and now the animal dozed in the glow of the home-made fire. The Carpenter folded
the rough blanket that had doubled as a saddle and ambled over to the tall man. "May I ask if taking the lives of those soldiers
makes you melancholy?" Joseph asked softly.
He was still wary of the figure at the doorway, but he counted himself lucky to have such a fierce warrior on his side.
Ninurta shook his head as if ridding himself of useless thoughts and turned to the man in the dull-green robes.
"I have no worries on that part, fella" he muttered and glanced over at Mary who was smiling at the midwife's advice.
"I go along-to get along unless someone doesn't like it..." he said at the weary-looking man "... then I make that problem
go away" The stoic Gunman treated Joseph to a smile that told the worker of wood that the damned truly did exist.
The Boy In A Dress carried the bucket over to the large bowl that had been 'borrowed' from the Innkeeper and the two men
at the door smiled to each other as the ever-grinning Man-Girl manoeuvred around some stone-hard dung with a serious look
on his eyeless face in his high heels. "Oh my" he muttered to nobody.
The midwife bathed Mary's forehead as the contractions started and asked Tibbs to bring the lantern nearer to the situation,
Tibbs wasn't used to having to take orders, but did as asked without response.
Then the light in the stable improved as if a spotlight had been lit from the sky, Ninurta's hand slid to the knife in his belt and
Joseph sucked in air as the tall man in the home-made garb changed his stance to move low and fast towards the small window
in the stable's left wall.
BIAD put the bucket down and suddenly leapt in the air, grabbing the gnarled beam above the hermaphrodite.
In one movement, the bare-legged creature swung away into the light-pricked darkness of the eaves.
Joseph, Mary, Tibbs and the Midwife looked on in awe at the parry of a possible attack.
Then a chuckle rose from where Ninurta leaned at the window looking up into the night sky.
"It's the star... I don't believe it... it's the star" the chuckling GunMan exclaimed and glanced back into the stable. Joseph nodded
and kneeled down to speak to Mary, "the message is coming to pass my love... you truly are the mother of God".
Mary's husband's tone was serious and the midwife at her side looked on with a dawning realisation.
The woman who had delivered many babies in her time ran then... this was all too much and as she fled, the coins Ninurta had
given her, clinked and spun on the hay-strewn stable floor. Boy In A Dress moved across the room using the roof-supports as
stepping stones.
Moments passed before the watching Gunslinger requested his weird clambering friend to come down quickly and stop showing
unnecessary 'physical attributes' -shall we say?; and this brought a levity to the situation (including some slight shock from Mary)
but the electricity in the air dissipated.
Tibbs got to his feet and leaving the couple talking quietly to each other, the small man ambled over to the Gunman and the now
-descended Man-Girl.
"As you may know, Sages and Men of Note have debated on your planet for centuries on whether this event actually happened
and here we are in a reality... a 'time-pocket' that may or may not be an actual reality" Tibbs placed his lined hand on the doorframe
and looked out into the star-lit snow that glittered around the stable.
Hoping his narrative was getting through, he continued.
"So if the tale is true, we will be having visitors... Mary is about to give birth and it may be a good idea if Joseph is out of the way
for that time" Tibbs nodded to himself and then looked into Ninurta's eyes. "You're an Angel... whether you like it or not..." he warned
his taller friend. "...Take Joseph and and find these visitors... there'll be Kings, Wise-men and the sheep-herders" he also advised.
The rangy man with the big gun on his hip again smiled out into the darkness as Tibbs laid it all out and Boy In A Dress wondered
if his friend would accept the instructions or possibly toss the little Vithian into the dark night without another thought. Tibbs waited
as he looked at the Gunman's pose at the door or 'Gates of Heaven' as Ninurta had pondered on earlier.
The man who had been dragged unwillingly across the universe and had killed without remorse nodded his agreement and BIAD
heard the hiss of relief from Tibbs' tensed lips. "You..." Tibbs snapped with more authority towards BIAD "... you will assist in getting
the kid into this world" Boy In A Dress gulped and the familiar grin faltered for a couple of seconds.
As BIAD's half-hidden features struggle to adjust, Ninurta guffawed at the Man-Girl's concerns.
"You got the easy part BIAD" the Gunslinger quipped with a smile that didn't reach his yes, he stood to his full height and called out
to the fretting husband of the God-child's mother. "Heh... Joseph..." he called "... we've got VIPS's to see to, come on... vamoose!"
With that announcement, Ninurta stepped out into the bright star-lit night.
...........................................
Ninurta and Joseph passed by the noisy Inn without anyone noticing them and made their way along the snow-covered road to the East.
The once-Security Chief of a space travelling Federation, now trudged the highways and byways of Bethlehem on a cold Christmas Eve
and to most folk, the acceptance of such a world-changing event would humble them to tears.
Ninurta simply accepted it as part of his life.
Sometime back -in a firefight with a group of mercenaries, the tall man with the lop-sided grin had pondered his existence and had
wondered why the many responsibilities heaped on those broad scarred shoulders had only ever brought misery to others around
him and left himself with a feeling of accepted emptiness.
That feeling had become an old friend and folk like Joseph would only ever fear him and never know that once he had a family...
a home where he could rest. Ninurta sighed to himself and checked the bullets in his pistol.
There were no Roman soldiers roaming the road and Ninurta wagered that the weather may be making them stay indoors tonight.
"Up ahead... about half-a-mile... incoming" the Gunman rasped and glanced back at the shivering Joseph. The shapes in the night
were tall, probably people on horseback and Ninurta corrected his thoughts with 'camel-back'
The dark-haired Carpenter nodded and straightened his head-dress, he couldn't see what his companion had seen but accepted
that this 'guardian Angel' had seen something.
The stable glowed behind them from the down-coming light and Ninurta had to squint to see the burning star high above.
He realised that the building could be seen from miles around and that may not be a good idea.
That's when the star stopped shining it's beam.
Ninurta chuckled to himself and guessed that the powers-that-be may well of been a good soldier in the past... the lop-sided grin
prompted Joseph to ask what was so humorous. The Gunslinger showed a row of even teeth and said "Our chances of surviving
this night may have just improved" He raised his eyebrows to show that even he could be surprised.
...........................................
(To Be Continued)
Angels and a half-smile played on his lips as he watched the stars began to poke through the storm. The strange creature known
as BIAD busied himself heating water in a ancient bucket over the fire and Tibbs made Mary comfortable near the rickety manger
at the rear of the building.
Angels... guardians that held sway at the gates of Heaven? Winged beings that carried a message of good or noble soldiers of God
that were sometimes wrestled to the ground...? Ninurta, leaning on the doorframe, sighed to himself and scanned the darkness for
any more trouble.
Joseph had finished rubbing the donkey down and now the animal dozed in the glow of the home-made fire. The Carpenter folded
the rough blanket that had doubled as a saddle and ambled over to the tall man. "May I ask if taking the lives of those soldiers
makes you melancholy?" Joseph asked softly.
He was still wary of the figure at the doorway, but he counted himself lucky to have such a fierce warrior on his side.
Ninurta shook his head as if ridding himself of useless thoughts and turned to the man in the dull-green robes.
"I have no worries on that part, fella" he muttered and glanced over at Mary who was smiling at the midwife's advice.
"I go along-to get along unless someone doesn't like it..." he said at the weary-looking man "... then I make that problem
go away" The stoic Gunman treated Joseph to a smile that told the worker of wood that the damned truly did exist.
The Boy In A Dress carried the bucket over to the large bowl that had been 'borrowed' from the Innkeeper and the two men
at the door smiled to each other as the ever-grinning Man-Girl manoeuvred around some stone-hard dung with a serious look
on his eyeless face in his high heels. "Oh my" he muttered to nobody.
The midwife bathed Mary's forehead as the contractions started and asked Tibbs to bring the lantern nearer to the situation,
Tibbs wasn't used to having to take orders, but did as asked without response.
Then the light in the stable improved as if a spotlight had been lit from the sky, Ninurta's hand slid to the knife in his belt and
Joseph sucked in air as the tall man in the home-made garb changed his stance to move low and fast towards the small window
in the stable's left wall.
BIAD put the bucket down and suddenly leapt in the air, grabbing the gnarled beam above the hermaphrodite.
In one movement, the bare-legged creature swung away into the light-pricked darkness of the eaves.
Joseph, Mary, Tibbs and the Midwife looked on in awe at the parry of a possible attack.
Then a chuckle rose from where Ninurta leaned at the window looking up into the night sky.
"It's the star... I don't believe it... it's the star" the chuckling GunMan exclaimed and glanced back into the stable. Joseph nodded
and kneeled down to speak to Mary, "the message is coming to pass my love... you truly are the mother of God".
Mary's husband's tone was serious and the midwife at her side looked on with a dawning realisation.
The woman who had delivered many babies in her time ran then... this was all too much and as she fled, the coins Ninurta had
given her, clinked and spun on the hay-strewn stable floor. Boy In A Dress moved across the room using the roof-supports as
stepping stones.
Moments passed before the watching Gunslinger requested his weird clambering friend to come down quickly and stop showing
unnecessary 'physical attributes' -shall we say?; and this brought a levity to the situation (including some slight shock from Mary)
but the electricity in the air dissipated.
Tibbs got to his feet and leaving the couple talking quietly to each other, the small man ambled over to the Gunman and the now
-descended Man-Girl.
"As you may know, Sages and Men of Note have debated on your planet for centuries on whether this event actually happened
and here we are in a reality... a 'time-pocket' that may or may not be an actual reality" Tibbs placed his lined hand on the doorframe
and looked out into the star-lit snow that glittered around the stable.
Hoping his narrative was getting through, he continued.
"So if the tale is true, we will be having visitors... Mary is about to give birth and it may be a good idea if Joseph is out of the way
for that time" Tibbs nodded to himself and then looked into Ninurta's eyes. "You're an Angel... whether you like it or not..." he warned
his taller friend. "...Take Joseph and and find these visitors... there'll be Kings, Wise-men and the sheep-herders" he also advised.
The rangy man with the big gun on his hip again smiled out into the darkness as Tibbs laid it all out and Boy In A Dress wondered
if his friend would accept the instructions or possibly toss the little Vithian into the dark night without another thought. Tibbs waited
as he looked at the Gunman's pose at the door or 'Gates of Heaven' as Ninurta had pondered on earlier.
The man who had been dragged unwillingly across the universe and had killed without remorse nodded his agreement and BIAD
heard the hiss of relief from Tibbs' tensed lips. "You..." Tibbs snapped with more authority towards BIAD "... you will assist in getting
the kid into this world" Boy In A Dress gulped and the familiar grin faltered for a couple of seconds.
As BIAD's half-hidden features struggle to adjust, Ninurta guffawed at the Man-Girl's concerns.
"You got the easy part BIAD" the Gunslinger quipped with a smile that didn't reach his yes, he stood to his full height and called out
to the fretting husband of the God-child's mother. "Heh... Joseph..." he called "... we've got VIPS's to see to, come on... vamoose!"
With that announcement, Ninurta stepped out into the bright star-lit night.
...........................................
Ninurta and Joseph passed by the noisy Inn without anyone noticing them and made their way along the snow-covered road to the East.
The once-Security Chief of a space travelling Federation, now trudged the highways and byways of Bethlehem on a cold Christmas Eve
and to most folk, the acceptance of such a world-changing event would humble them to tears.
Ninurta simply accepted it as part of his life.
Sometime back -in a firefight with a group of mercenaries, the tall man with the lop-sided grin had pondered his existence and had
wondered why the many responsibilities heaped on those broad scarred shoulders had only ever brought misery to others around
him and left himself with a feeling of accepted emptiness.
That feeling had become an old friend and folk like Joseph would only ever fear him and never know that once he had a family...
a home where he could rest. Ninurta sighed to himself and checked the bullets in his pistol.
There were no Roman soldiers roaming the road and Ninurta wagered that the weather may be making them stay indoors tonight.
"Up ahead... about half-a-mile... incoming" the Gunman rasped and glanced back at the shivering Joseph. The shapes in the night
were tall, probably people on horseback and Ninurta corrected his thoughts with 'camel-back'
The dark-haired Carpenter nodded and straightened his head-dress, he couldn't see what his companion had seen but accepted
that this 'guardian Angel' had seen something.
The stable glowed behind them from the down-coming light and Ninurta had to squint to see the burning star high above.
He realised that the building could be seen from miles around and that may not be a good idea.
That's when the star stopped shining it's beam.
Ninurta chuckled to himself and guessed that the powers-that-be may well of been a good soldier in the past... the lop-sided grin
prompted Joseph to ask what was so humorous. The Gunslinger showed a row of even teeth and said "Our chances of surviving
this night may have just improved" He raised his eyebrows to show that even he could be surprised.
...........................................
(To Be Continued)
Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe.