by Mike Luoma
VATICAN AMBASSADOR
VATICAN ASSASSIN: PART TWO
Mike Luoma ________________________
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
VATICAN AMBASSADOR: VATICAN ASSASSIN PART TWO.
Copyright 2007 by Mike Luoma. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent of Michael Luoma except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address Michael Luoma at:
[email protected]
ISBN: 978-1-4303-1498-1
FIRST SMASHWORDS EDITION
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Dedicated to my Mom, for all her love and belief.
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1 Luke 21: 25-26
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the turmoil of the ocean and its waves; men fainting away with terror and fear at what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.
Chapter One
The Moon, our bright orb of light in the night sky. On clear nights, you can once again see distant sunlight glint off Lunar Prime’s main dome on the Moon’s surface.
There are clear skies on Earth again, now, through which to see the bright and full moon. And a new dome covers the atrium of the moon’s main city, once again reflecting the sunlight. A haze of smoke, debris and dust filled the atmosphere after the United Islamic Nation’s surprise attacks on Christmas Day, almost three months ago. The Earth suffered nearly two months of worldwide, unnatural clouds and sooty rain. The constant rain dampened the spirits of those on the ground struggling to rebuild their cities.
The people of Lunar Prime struggled to rebuild the settlements on the Moon as well. The original dome and a great deal more of Lunar Prime had been reduced to rubble by the UIN attack. The attack: Surprise gave the attacking UIN fleet an advantage it lacked in technology. Most UIN ships lack Transpace drives.
Transpace drives allow United Trade Zone ships to travel in a flash between Earth and Mars. The UTZ
uses this tech to their commercial and military advantage. It had given them an edge in their ongoing war with the UIN.
However; unknown to the UTZ, the UIN had managed to acquire a few Transpace drives, through theft and the black market. The UIN equipped their largest ships with those drives. Those large ships then became carriers for smaller craft. But most of the UIN fleet relied on the old mag lev propulsion system for travel from Mars to Earth and back.
For their Christmas raids, the UIN used their carriers to ferry fighter-bombers into Earth orbit. Other UIN ships used the old mag-lev highway to travel from Mars to Earth orbit, leaving early to meet up with the carriers.
UIN forces massed and then attacked, splitting off to hit targets on Earth, in orbit, and on the moon. The UIN threw everything they had into the attacks: missiles, small asteroids, and lasers. Everything. The UIN ships did heavy damage to their targets before UTZ ships could engage and destroy them. The surprised UTZ forces retaliated, pushed the UIN fleet back and finally repelled the attacks, but the damage was done.
Besides punishing Lunar Prime, the UIN hit many major cities on Earth: Los Angeles, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Ankara, Moscow, Pretoria, Rome and the Vatican, London, New York, Santiago, and more. They wiped out two of the orbiting stations used by the UTZ as staging platforms, and completely destroyed the private station of Ishmael Takayama, a UTZ CEO Council member. Two and a half months have now passed. The full moon again lights up the night. The sky is once again clear. The Earth has proven resilient once again, cleansing the pollution of war from her skies. Her people have proven resilient as well.
Everyone left alive has been rebuilding: in the cities on Earth, on the stations in orbit, and at Lunar Prime on the moon.
Survivors on the moon faced many challenges: rebuilding airtight tunnels and structures, conserving resources, finding ways to replenish supplies, just keeping themselves alive over the last two and a half months was in itself a challenge.
The Lunar Prime government directed the rebuilding. Work on the dome was its own separate project, the top priority. After the dome, the first major priority was spaceport reconstruction. They rebuilt ship berths as fast as they could, so supply ships could land, dock and unload. After the spaceport came the city’s infrastructure: living quarters, kitchens, and entertainment spaces for the residents and workers doing the hard work and heavy lifting. Rebuilding the living spaces helped life on Lunar Prime slowly get back to “normal”.
Some of the construction on Lunar Prime has gone beyond simple rebuilding. New defensive batteries have been built at strategic points around the city. Anti-ship guns and missile emplacements now blossom like deadly gray flowers, rising up from the network of tunnels, domes and buildings that make up the unconventional city of Lunar Prime.
The Vatican Mission at Lunar Prime is now a small fortress, with its own artillery emplacement and defensive batteries, reinforced walls and security airlocks.
The original Vatican Mission on Lunar Prime was a prime target in the UIN Christmas Raids. Its buildings were leveled; church personnel present at the time were slaughtered. The new Vatican Mission looks like it could stand up to pretty much anything thrown at it, more fortress than mission.
Reconstruction continues underneath the new main dome of Lunar Prime. The government rebuilt the dome’s main structure, replaced the dome itself, and cleared away debris. But the government also monopolized the corps of contractors and workmen available on the moon during the first two months of rebuilding.
In the last two weeks, more and more workers and craftsmen have been freed up to work on other projects. In the last two weeks, some of the merchants who owned and operated the businesses that once circled the atrium on the three floors under the dome have returned. They’ve begun to rebuild and reopen their stores, restaurants, bars and other businesses. There’s construction activity, attempts to get back to normal.
Two restaurants are open with limited menus. One of the clothing stores has managed to restock and reopen. The picture remains incomplete. Some storefronts remain dark. But rebuilding continues. In the center of the atrium, new vegetation has been planted, just starting to grow. The great old trees that looked like “giant green scrub brushes” are gone, lost to space when the dome was breached in the attacks, along with the rest of the vegetation that flourished in and around the atrium’s central pool. The government has planted new trees and bushes, trying again. Scrawny saplings now quiver where the trunks of the old trees once sank their roots.
It’s Saint Patrick’s Day 2110. The leader of the reconstruction, Marc Edwards, the Governor of Lunar Prime, has declared the day a holiday for everyone involved in the rebuilding effort... and there are at least four bars open on the Moon in which to celebrate!
BC smiles and sips his pint of dark ale as he sits by himself at McGrady’s, an “Irish Pub” that opens out onto the atrium under the main dome of Lunar Prime.
McGrady’s was one of the first bars rebuilt out of the wreckage after the Christmas War, one of the first commercial establishments to again make a go of it. The bar opened shortly after the main dome was repressurized, about a month ago.
It’s good to be celebrating something, even if it’s just Saint Patrick’s Day... And what a perfect place to be today… I wonder if the proprietor’s really Irish? Or if he even knows anyone named McGrady… Not that anyone really cares right now!
BC’s table is near the back wall of the pub, a perfect vantage point for pe
ople watching. The bar is crowded. He can see the relief in folks’ faces, sees flashing signs of hope, even happiness, in the eyes of the people in the crowd of drinking revelers.
Everyone needs this! We’ve all been working so hard to rebuild over the last couple of months. So much destroyed… so many dead... so much changed now, forever... I miss The Cardinal, I miss Swan. She was annoying… but that doesn’t mean she deserved to die. Man, two months. Two months can go by before you know it, when you're busy. When all of your time is occupied, there's never enough of it. And it's gone before you know it. That and every year seems to go by faster as I get older…
Huh. I don’t think anybody here is Irish, never mind catholic, heh! Funny thing, guess everybody’s Irish on Saint Patrick’s Day. Even on the moon...
“Ambassador? You ready for another one?” A young guy in his twenties wearing a yarmulke nearly bumps into BC’s chair as he offers to buy him a beer.
Who’s he? Let’s see, Simon something, maybe? Can’t be sure...
“What? No, no thanks, not yet, but thank you!”
BC smiles as he begs off the offer.
“Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, Father!” the man says as he bumps his way back into the crowd, presumably heading for the bar.
Yup, everybody’s Irish today. Happy Saint Patrick’s Day, indeed. Happy Day Off… finally. Stroke of genius on Edwards’ part. Universal day of rest and relaxation well deserved. Governor’s decree.
Hmmm.... speaking of Edwards… He should be here soon. Poor guy could probably use a drink. He needs to let off some steam. I’m sure he regrets calling for a new election, now. He thought he’d have their support after all this…
It’s as if he wanted to be legit, to be really elected governor. Ironic… and crazy. Crazier still, he’s proven he can do the job. Just look around!
We’ve done okay rebuilding this city in space. The main dome was open and functional faster than I thought would be possible. We’re okay… so long as this ceasefire holds. We haven't done too badly.
Amazing what you can accomplish when you set your body and mind to something. There's more to do, sure. But look at what we've done! The crews who helped me rebuild the Vatican mission worked endless hours and made it come together incredibly fast…
Simon, that’s that guy’s name! I remember now! It was Simon! He was the head of the electricians, I remember… “Workin’ for the ambassador”… that was him! He always said that when he saw me coming. Simon wanted to buy the “Ambassador” a beer! Nice…
Some ambassador...
Ambassador by default.
“Campion? You still alive? Good. Anyone else? No? Okay, then, you’re the ambassador. Rebuild the mission; let us know how it goes. Bye, now.”
Or something like that.
Suddenly, Pope Linus makes me ambassador. Then he leaves me on my own. No word yet, to this very day.
Although… it has been nice to be able to build the Vatican Mission to my own specs. No one from the Vatican to tell me what to do… I just do it!
Edwards has helped a lot. The mission is more fortified than it used to be. There's a hell of a lot more security now. We should be able to withstand attacks, maybe defend ourselves. I hope. Sure, there’s a ceasefire now, but how long can that last? Probably just until each side builds enough new ships to do it all over again.
So much destroyed. So many killed. So much changed. Hell, I’m saying Mass on Sunday these days… said Mass this morning. For the "Holy Day." And here I am drinking with the good folks of Lunar Prime this afternoon. The governor's stopping by later... I've become pretty respectable for a former assassin!
I don't know for sure about the "former" part. That's my assumption. But Peter's dead. The OPO was his baby. I don’t know if “Linus” is aware of all of our nefarious activities…
I’m not sure I really care to continue with them, anyway. I used to be able to do my job because the people who died deserved to die. Lately, a lot of people who don’t deserve to die are dying… all around me!
That ain’t right.
I’m beginning to think it all started with Meredith McEntyre.
Somehow, she didn’t deserve to die.
Now we’re all paying for it.
But it’s not my fault!
That was an assignment!
But, somehow… everything since then has gone wrong.
BC drains his pint glass.
Guess I could use another pint.. . no real hurry, though. The bar looks pretty crowded at the moment.
BC looks away from the bar, past the crowd, out through the pub’s windows into the atrium. The main dome is brightly lit, brighter than it used to be.
The old trees used to take the harsh angles off the light and cast shadows, but they’re all gone, now.
The new growth is just beginning to blossom and thrive. The new saplings don’t yet cast the shadows the old growth once did.
I can’t believe they had the atrium open a month ago. Just a month and a half, that’s it! That’s how long it took them to rebuild. That’s determination!
“I can’t believe it’s already March!” Governor Marc Edwards says, pulling up a chair at the table across from BC.
“I didn’t see you come in,” BC says. “March is already half gone. You’ve gotta catch up, Marc!” he says, giving Edwards a hard time.
The governor gives him a humorously cold stare. BC laughs. He raises his empty glass to the governor.
“Good holiday!”
“Thanks. It was one of my aides’ ideas, but it seemed like a good one,” he admits, smiling. He looks tired, but happy.
“I like it. People need something to help them relax. Step back from the work,” BC says, looking around the barroom.
“Yeah. It’s good to have an excuse to take a day off. We have got a lot done,” Edwards concedes. He notices BC’s empty pint glass, “You need another one?”
Guess I look parched...
“Sure,” BC agrees.
Edwards gets up and heads for the bar. BC watches people part around the governor, as they realize he’s among them.
People slap him on the back, shake his hand, and clear the way to the bar for him. “I guess rank has its privileges. Remember to vote, huh,” Edwards says to the laughing crowd around him as they move en masse to the bar.
Nice to see smiles on people’s faces. There’s been so much death. Everyone’s been grim, but determined. To rebuild. To carry on. Not to give up. Try to remember to forgive ourselves for still being alive when so many we know are dead... Don’t let the enemy win, let’s rebuild again, like a mantra these last two months. That’s part of why Edwards called for an election… to keep us real and honest.
The governor returns with two pints.
“Nice to see some smiles on faces for a change, huh, BC?” Edwards asks. He hands BC his glass.
“Certainly is, Marc. Good job putting them there,” BC congratulates him.
“I can’t take all the credit,” Edwards demurs, shaking his head.
“Why not take some!” BC suggests. He raises his glass for a toast. “Cheers! Here’s to rebuilding Lunar Prime!” BC proposes. Edwards raises his pint.
“To rebuilding Lunar Prime,” Edwards agrees.
“Amen!” BC says, and he clinks his glass into Edwards’. They sip from their pints.
“So. You hear anything new?” Edwards asks.
“Nothing,” BC shakes his head. “The OPO may be O-V-E-R.”
“Where does that leave you?”
“I don’t know. Ambassador to Lunar Prime, I guess. I’m here, I’ve got the title. I’ve tried to act like one,” BC tells him.
“Do these new guys… does this ‘Pope Linus’ know you?” Edwards asks him.
“Kinda. I guess so. I mean, they made me ambassador...” BC shrugs.
“Yeah, because you were here,” Edwards says needling him. Then he gets more serious. “And I supported it!” Edwards says with some force.
“And, agai
n, I thank you,” BC says. He takes another sip from his pint of ale. “The last thing they said to me was, ‘Congratulations, you’re the acting ambassador from the Vatican to Lunar Prime. Rebuild the embassy, keep us informed, send back the bodies, thank you ever so much.’ I send in my reports, but I never hear anything back. No new mission, no retaliation, no regrouping, nothing.”
BC shakes his head.
“You’ve done a good job. The Vatican Mission looks good,” Edwards says, trying to encourage BC.
“Thanks. It’s its own little fortress now,” BC laughs.
He changes the subject to what he really wants to talk to Edwards about. “So... how’s your campaign coming?”
“I don’t know. He’s made it close. Polls say he could win,” Edwards says, his eyes casting down, studying the tabletop as if studying poll numbers.
“He’s a nutcase, Marc! And you’ve led the reconstruction!” BC says, throwing up his hands. A few heads turn towards their table. BC draws himself in, picks up his pint and takes a sip. Heads turn back away.
BC leans in towards Edwards across the table. He whispers, “I can’t believe anyone is supporting the psycho!”
“He’s built a lot of support with his neutrality campaign,” Edwards says in a low voice.
“Like you’re not fair and neutral,” BC says with a touch of sarcasm. He leans back. Edwards shakes his head.
“I’m not, BC, and you know it. And they know it,” Edwards says, a sweep of his right arm indicating the general populace of Lunar Prime. “I’d like to be neutral. We tried to be but... the UIN attacked us, plain and simple!”
Edwards eyes grow wider, his voice louder, as he relives the attacks in his mind. “I don’t want Lunar Prime to be neutral... but for some stupid reason they still expect us to be!”
Edwards notices people are leaning in, trying to listen. He calms himself down and takes a sip of his ale. BC is still angry. “I hate the way he’s twisting the truth, making it sound like you caused the UIN to attack Lunar Prime by allying with the UTZ! He’s twisting the whole timetable!” BC insists. “And he’s using me as a symbol of the UTZ’s influence. If not in public, then in private. I’ve heard it back from people I trust,” BC tells Edwards. “I hate to say it, but I’m a liability to you, Marc… at least my friendship and counsel are.”
