Mission to Muscovy

[Biohazard]

Zubair Shadid, head of the Malachian Order of Aidenn, stood on the corner of a street, in Moscow, Muscovy. A small crowd had gathered around him, listening to him preach the words of Aidenn. "Man, is no more an evil creation than any other beast. He has within him the capacity to commit both wrong, and good. Those that choose to live a life of evil, they are forgotten. Aidenn cares not for them. However, for the man that chooses to live a virtuous life, one of compassion for his fellow men and beasts, great rewards shall come to him!" He boomed, raising his hands up to the sky and looking out into the crowd, taking time to stare directly into the eyes of those listening to him.

 

"Every Aidennist has a duty to Aidenn, to set an example for his fellow man, for even those who do not believe in the prophecy of Aidenn can be admitted through its holiest of gates. The ones who choose to follow a virtuous lifestyle, regardless of color or creed, will be welcomed with loving and open arms when they arrive in Aidenn. For those men who choose to live an evil life, their soul will be cursed, forever bound to this plane. They will not be welcomed in Aidenn." 

 

"But do not fret for your fellow man, for there is hope! There is always hope! Despite their past lives, their past actions, they have, and always will have, the possibility of redemption. Every man, woman, and child has the ability to choose the path they walk, to choose their impact on this earthly world, to choose wrong and right, and for those that turn away from their unjust path, no matter their past evils, they too, shall be welcomed into Aidenn."

 

A smattering of applause rippled throughout the crowd as those that were listening raised their voices. Zubair shook hands with a few of them, smiling jovially. He enjoyed nothing more than bringing the word of Aidenn to people. "God, Allah, Yaweh; all names for the same entity that has blessed us with creation. He has created us, and He has created for us, the glorious garden of Aidenn. He gives us the choice, free will, as to whether or not we are destined to be welcomed there. He has given us free reign over our life, for he is a fair, and just God. He has given us the ability to succeed, to enter the garden, for despite him not interfering with us, he still loves, still adores us. Surely, you can see this?" he asked to the crowd at large. A chorus of voices rose up, some shouting "I can see!" and "Praise Aidenn!" He smiled, gesturing for them to quiet down. 

 

"Look not upon your fellow man with fear, nor distrust, for them being different than yourself, for having different physicalities, for different mentalities, for though we are all different, we are all bound by His oath, His word, to enter Aidenn, and to live harmoniously in blissful paradise for the remainder of eternity!" Once again the crowd roared with approval. "Live by this, and you too will be granted access to Aidenn. I have faith that everyone gathered here, and even those who do not believe, or are not present, will be able to obtain paradise in the garden!"

 

"I will be all over Moscow this week, while I am in Muscovy. To those who wish to further their understanding of Aidenn, I urge you to visit a Bethgan, to make a pilgrimage to Constantinople, or Alexandria, so that you can stand where our forefathers stood, where great decisions that have had implications throughout the centuries have occurred, where our roots are. I hope to see all of you, and many more Muscovites, in the Bethgans when I return to Alexandria!" He stepped down from the makeshift podium he had erected, making his way through the crowd shaking hands, smiling, being patted on the back. He reached the outskirts, crossed the street, and entered his car. Turning it over, he made his way a good distance away from his last preaching site, before parking and stepping out, and starting once again. 

[JEDCJT]

Across from the street where the 'congregation' was taking place, a young man in his late twenties sat in a bus stop, clad in a casual business attire reminiscent of an office worker. 

 

'Boy, this really blows,' Valentin Foma thought glumly to himself as he watched the crowd. 'I finally get a big break....and it's tailing some kooky foreign priest.' Perhaps priest wasn't the right word. If anything else, Zubair Shadid sounded and looked like a cultist leader, from what he could judge from the snippets of words that drifted in the wind in his direction. In Muscovy, cultism was punishable by the death penalty and courts vigorously enforced this, often shooting the victim right where they stood in the courtroom.

 

Foma heaved out a sigh. This wasn't what he had been expecting when he'd joined the Third Department of the His Majesty's Chancery, Muscovy's secret police. Perhaps not travelling around the world, sipping vodka martini, and bedding beautiful exotic women, but Foma had thought he would do something a bit more exciting than mulling around on the streets of Moscow like some stool pigeon.

 

Oh well, he'd have to work with it. At least they didn't make him an intern. Imagine the horrors if that happened.

 

Finally, Foma saw the cult leader priest Shadid begin to walk through the crowd and cross the street. Foma surreptitiously grabbed a newspaper and pretended to read it as Shadid walked past by. When Shadid entered his car, Foma waited until the man drove off before getting up from his seat, walking around the corner, and getting in his waiting vehicle. He then drove in the direction that Shadid went in.

[Biohazard]

Zubair was driving around Moscow in his car, looking for corners where a good crowd could be gathered. He tried to space his preaching out throughout the city so as not to cause too much of a both for the local law enforcement agencies. Not only that, but he wanted to spread the word of Aidenn to as much of Moscow as he could, while visiting the city. 

 

Finding a suitable corner, he parked as close to it as he could and stepped out, locking the door behind him. "Excuse me, sir, ma'am," he began, attempting to speak to people passing on the corner. "Have any of you ever heard of Aidenn? In Christianity, you have no doubt heard of it as the Garden of Eden. Aidenn, exists, and you can reach its blissful gates! Anyone can!" One person turned and stopped, listening, and soon another, and another. He began to preach, enjoying it and loving the way people were captivated by his words.

 

The day wore on, as Zubair traveled from location to location. Perhaps inevitably though, he heard the [i]whoop-whoop[/i] of the sirens, and a cherryberried light show playing on the walls. He couldn't understand the language the two uniformed officers in front of him spoke, and neither understood Egyptian Arabic. "I'm from Alexandria," Zubair said as they questioned him. Understanding that he was about to be arrested, he peacefully allowed the officers to handcuff him and lead him to their squad car. He stared out the window, wondering if there was a way that he could get word to Ioannes, Bishop of Alexandria and leader of the Alexandrian state. 

[JEDCJT]

Zubair would be taken to the imposing and forbidding Lubyanka complex on its namesake square in central Moscow. The city's beautifully-decorated Neo-Baroque facade hid the fact that too many a person had been tortured and executed there in the course of Russian history. Once the Black Maria vehicle arrived at the destination, Zubair would be roughly escorted into the building.

 

"A piece of advice," one of the officers whispered to Zubair in a mocking tone. "Confess whenever they accuse you of something."

 

Before Zubair knew it, he would find himself sitting in a dim basement. Detective Valentin Foma entered the room, removed his suit, rolled his sleeves, and approached Zubair.

 

"What were you up to?" He asked. At that point, two burly guards armed with thick truncheons walked into the room and stood nearby.

Edited June 16, 2014 by JEDCJT

[Biohazard]

TO: MUSCOVITE LEADERSHIP

FROM: ALEXANDRIA

SUBJECT: ZUBAIR SHADID

 

Greetings. I am Ioannes Palaiologos, Bishop and leader of Alexandria. It has come to my attention that a monk of the Malachian Order, a civilian missionary group, has come under arrest in your nation. 

 

Given your permission, I would like to travel to your capitol and speak candidly, about him and about relations between our two nations.

 

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

Signed,

Ioannes Palaiologos,

[i]Bishop of Alexandria[/i]