It was a grisly task but one that needed to be done; after wrapping the corpse in a waterproof tarpaulin, Ethan, Natasha and Kieran loaded the body onto the back of the jeep. Duncan played at the other end of the beach, although the boy had somewhat of a fright upon discovering the remains of the woman, he recovered quickly and put the unsettling incident at the back of his mind.

  Natasha could see that the little boy was strong in both mind and spirit; she hoped that this incident would be the last shock for him for the rest of their vacation. She desperately wanted them all to have this time of peace and tranquility, but already the dangers of the universe had once again intruded on their serene holiday. It was almost as if the hand of fate plucked them away from a state of temporary bliss and once again thrust them into a world of peril and dread. But whatever the case, it seemed as if everyone present had experienced it before, as old senses, accustomed to the trade of war and death, began once again to seep into their minds. Ethan, who was a veteran of many wars, worked silently but competently in wrapping the corpse in its watertight seal while Kieran distracted his little brother Duncan enough to make the boy forget about the gravity of the situation. Natasha smiled; she had a deep feeling that whatever perils they faced, her allies combined with her deadly skills and experience would get them through. What concerned her however, was the potential cost.

  As the afternoon wore on, Natasha and Ethan both carefully examined the scarab that they had found in the dead woman's grasp. At first glance it seemed to be nothing more than a palm sized, beetle-shaped amulet. Made of pure gold, it seemed to be quite valuable though both doubted that the reason why the woman was killed was nothing more than a simple case of robbery.

  "What exactly is it?" Natasha asked the old prospector as he was examining the scarab.

  Ethan rubbed at the charm. "It's an ancient Egyptian amulet called a scarab."

  "A scarab? Since you've been a prospector that would mean that you do have a background as far as history and archaeology goes. Does it have a religious significance?"

  "Yes, the Egyptians regarded it as sacred. They considered it a talisman and as a symbol for the soul." Ethan replied.

  "The woman was wearing pieces of a black robe as well." Natasha observed.

  "Yes, I noticed that too. It's possible she might have been part of a religious group. Possibly a high priestess."

  "Are there any religious groups of significance here?"

  "Well, the years that I have been here, due to the religious history of this planet, a few crazy cults pop up every now and then. But I never heard of any of them getting involved in murder before."

  "When you mix mysticism and power, anything is bound to happen." Natasha mused.

  "Yes, I guess you're right. But I've never heard of any problems with these cults and the law until the rise of the Covenant."

  "The Covenant? Who are they?" The Black Widow queried.

  "The Covenant of the Void. A few years ago, they were just another fringe religious group. Then all of a sudden, they gained a new leader who calls himself the Deacon and their movement spread like wildfire all across the planet. A sizable number of the prospectors and miners of this area recently converted into their religion."

  "What sort of religion does this Covenant of the Void espouse?" Natasha asked.

  "A sort of Christian offshoot of Gnosticism. Gnostics believe in not one all-powerful god but rather two. One is considered the false god and the other is considered the true, benevolent god. Both are supposedly equal in power; the false god spreads lies and deceit while the one path to salvation is discovering the one true god. Gnostics were believed to have been wiped out by the Roman Catholic Church during Earth's dark ages." Ethan explained.

  "Hmmm.. A religion of heretical Christians. How did this cult grow so fast as compared to previous ones?"

  "No one really knows. They now seem to have erected temples all over the place. I even heard they plan to send missionaries on to the Inner-Sphere as soon as they get big enough. To supposedly teach us pagans the true path to salvation; whatever that means." Ethan scoffed as he kept fiddling with the scarab.

  "But what is the connection between Gnostics and an Egyptian talisman?" Natasha wondered aloud.

  "Hell if I know." Ethan answered as the scarab he was rubbing made a loud click.

  The old prospector got so surprised that he dropped the amulet. As the scarab dropped to the ground it split in half and a rolled parchment came out. Ethan had apparently opened a secret latch on the talisman that revealed its previously hidden contents.

  Natasha picked up the rolled parchment along with the pieces of the scarab.

   "There was something inside of it." The Black Widow said as a matter of fact.

  "Well I'll be darned. So that was what the dead lady was protecting all along." Ethan added.

  Natasha unrolled the parchment and looked at it. Written on the parchment were strange glyphs that seemed to have been transcribed from some ancient language. There was also a small drawing of a muscular man wrestling a bull. Ethan peered over her shoulder as she tried to fathom what it all meant.

  "I can't seem to read the writings." Natasha said.

  Ethan pointed at the drawing of the man and the bull. "The symbol, I know it. It's the symbol of Mithras."

  "Mithras? Who is that?" Natasha asked.

  "Mithras was worshipped as the god of the sun during the times of the ancient Romans. He later became the symbol of the Gnostic faith. Namely the Albigensians."

  "Is there some way we could translate these writings?" Natasha asked.

  "Well the nearby town has got an archaeological society. We could get into their languages database and try to find out." Ethan answered.

  "Okay, then we better get going. Kieran! Duncan!" Natasha called out.

  It was now a matter of necessity that they venture out into the nearby town. They needed to alert the local authorities about the murder and second, they also needed to get the writings on the parchment translated. Natasha told the others to keep quiet about the contents of the scarab as they put it back together. The Black Widow placed the parchment into her vest pocket as she also put on her hip holster that carried her pistol; her knife was in a boot sheath.

  "Kieran, you and Duncan stay here. Ethan and I should be back by dinner." Natasha told her ward as she slipped into the jeep's driver seat.

  "No problem Nasty. Just don't be gone too long okay?" Kieran said.

  "Don't worry, I don't want us separated for long, but we have to report this." Natasha answered as she started the jeep's ignition.

  "I understand. We ought to be safe here. No one knows about us anyway." Kieran counseled.

  "Nasty, can I ask a favor?" Duncan said as he leaned over to give the Black Widow a kiss.

  "Sure Duncan, what is it?" Natasha asked.

  "Could you get me a can of root beer? We're completely out of it." The little blond boy smiled.

  "No problem, just stay out of trouble okay?" Natasha answered back as Duncan made a sarcastic smile.

  "Don't worry about us Nasty. Get going." Kieran said as he grabbed the little boy's tanned shoulders.

  "See you guys in a bit." Natasha shouted as she shifted to first gear and got the jeep going. Both brothers waved as the Black Widow and Ethan drove along the dirt road and out of sight.