Vatican Ambassador

by Mike Luoma

  BC makes it to an emergency door at the outer limits of the UIN facility after about two hours of jogging through the Martian night.

  Here’s the emergency exit door, right where it’s supposed to be. Nice. BC can’t see the rest of the facility from the door’s vantage point, just the exterior of the emergency door’s airlock.

  There’s a long tunnel connecting this exit to the facility. The rest of the place has gotta be up ahead beyond those rocks. Hope these security codes I got from Wentworth are still good. Don’t know how he gets his hands on things. Probably don’t want to know!

  BC punches in the codes.

  The emergency door pops open. BC steps into the airlock and closes the door shut behind him. He activates the airlock’s controls, feels the air pressure pushing in on him as the airlock fills. The inner door opens automatically when the pressure evens out.

  BC leans out of the airlock cautiously. He looks around the dimly lit tunnel end. No one here. Good.

  He walks into the tunnel, into the UIN facility. The airlock door seals shut behind him with a hiss. Made it inside!

  BC looks around the darkened tunnel.

  This looks a lot like that small outpost. Similar architecture. Must be a part of the old Japanese facility. Very utilitarian.

  What’s that sound?

  A low humming sound hangs in the air.

  The air system?

  BC decides it is just the sound of the air reclamation exchange system keeping the tunnel air circulating.

  There is dust on most every surface, but not as much as BC expected. The tunnel is fairly well swept and kept up.

  BC clips his helmet to his belt and begins to walk down the tunnel.

  They use this tunnel. You can tell. Maybe even a regular way in and out, now, even if it only used to be used for emergencies. Feels lived in. People are in here every day. It’s a good feeling.

  The way in.

  BC stops and listens as he approaches the other end of the tunnel.

  Let’s hope that none of those people who use this tunnel are up at this hour! No real contacts here other than Al-Salid himself, so I’ve got to penetrate right to the core on my first try. Someone’s coming!

  BC ducks into the shadows and flattens himself back against the tunnel wall. A tech comes shuffling into the tunnel, flashlight in hand. BC holds his breath.

  The tech stops, yawns, and stretches. He trains his flashlight beam on the wall opposite BC, lighting up what looks like a control box for the air transfer system. He walks over and plugs a reader into the box. BC can see green light from the reader shining around the silhouetted back of the tech. The tech unplugs the reader and turns, shuffling back the way he came, evidently never seeing BC. Hard to see when you can’t keep your eyes open! Guess that’s working the graveyard shift for you.

  Nothing like a motivated employee, huh?

  BC decides to trail the tech from a few yards back. He follows the disinterested worker out of the tunnel and into the main UIN facility. The tech walks through a maze of corridors, periodically pausing at control boxes and plugging in his reader, taking readings. BC waits each time, hanging back in the shadows, and then follows on as the tech continues on his rounds.

  BC compares the worker’s route to the map of the facility he’s keeping in his mind. They’re winding a slow path through the southern wing of the facility and should be nearing a tech center soon. Atmosphere readings? What’s he checking? Doesn’t really matter, I guess. The facility looks old and a little run down all over, but still well kept. There are lingering traces of the unavoidable orange and red dust in every crack and crevice, giving every gray floor and wall panel a pencil-thin, red outline. Its utilitarian design marks this wing of the UIN facilities as part of the old Japanese Martian holdings. BC knows from the plans that this wing is connected to the central core of the UIN facilities through a system of travel tubes.

  Need to get to those tubes to get into the central core of the UIN administrative section. But first I need some camouflage.

  Don’t want to jump this guy in a public place. C’mon, buddy, take a break. You know you deserve a little time off. Let me help you sleep…

  BC stops short and quickly back off when he turns a corner and almost runs into the back of the tech. The man is stopped outside of a large set of double doors on the corridor’s left hand side. The tech worker stands, waiting. His reader is plugged into an information retriever set into the wall to the left side of the doors.

  Must be spilling out all the information it’s just gathered. Lucky this guy is half asleep or he might have seen me!

  BC waits. The tech finishes his download, unplugs his reader, and then heads through the double doors. BC follows quickly behind, finding himself in a dingy, yellow tile-walled locker room. The tech has made his way through the locker room to a door in the back wall of the room. BC ducks out of sight and watches from the shadows as the tech opens the door on a messy office. The tech sits down behind a paper strewn desk in the office and puts on a pair of virtual gogs, along with ear buds and a stim strip across the back of his neck.

  Guess the Japanese left some of their toys here, too. Wonder what the Koran would say about this guy’s late night hobby? Hey, its fine by me. He’s going off into virtual la la land – and so I can go through the lockers!

  BC tries a few locker doors, finds them locked. On his fifth try he has some luck. Nice, an open empty one.

  BC strips off the atmosphere suit and stuffs it in the locker, all the while keeping an eye on the tech. Guy has a huge smile on his face and a huge swell in his pants. Gotta figure he’s enjoying himself in there!

  BC tries some more lockers until he finds an open one with a tech uniform inside close to his size. He takes off his blue jumpsuit and exchanges it for a red tech uniform.

  Bingo! One Tech uniform! No one notices techs until they need one. This will be perfect. I need some traditional headgear to hide my face, though.

  He tries more lockers, keeping one eye on the tech lounging in virtual reality in the back room. BC

  finally finds a black and red checkered keffiyeh and wraps it around his head and face, leaving just a slit for the eyes.

  He closes the last locker.

  BC looks around.

  The tech in the back is passed out. There’s still no one else around. BC slinks away backwards out through the double doors into the corridor. It’s about three in the morning, Martian time. There’s almost no one out and about in the hallways at this hour.

  BC adjusts the keffiyeh slightly for better vision.

  This works. Now, let’s see. I need to get two floors down so I can catch a travel tube to Mars central and UIN command.

  BC makes his way along the corridor to where the elevators should be located, according to the plans. There is a blank, gray paneled wall instead.

  Okay. Maybe they moved the doors.

  BC consults the map in his head and finds his way around to the other side of the elevator shafts. The three stainless-steel elevator doors waiting there are a welcome sight. Doors! Good. Glad the elevators are still running! Was worried there for a minute. He pushes the button to call an elevator. Clanging and hissing heralds the arrival of the empty elevator car.

  The door slides open with a loud squeal.

  BC steps into the all stainless-steel car and his boots echo off the floor.

  “Clang, clang.”

  Man, can I make any more noise? Maybe it’s just too quiet otherwise. BC pushes the button for B2, two floors below, down where the tubes should be. He rides the elevator down, listening to the sound of the old machinery complaining. Every move I make seems too loud!

  Thankfully, no one else seems to be around. Is everybody sleeping or is everybody dead? I gotta think they’re sleeping, with that tech being so nonchalant and all. The elevator opens onto the travel tube station.

  Travel Tubes! There they are. And another tech station.

  This tube facility is the end of a line
. The only travel option is inward to the central UIN facility. There’s a tube terminus with twin arriving and departing tubes.

  The capsular tubes carry passengers from place to place on Mars through a system of underground tunnels. BC plans to use the tubes to reach the main dome, UIN central command and Ibn Al-Salid. This tube station is small, about twenty feet square. The roof is only slightly higher than six feet. The tube doors and passenger platform dominate the space, spanning the entire twenty-foot length of the wall in front of BC. The tech station takes up the short wall to his left. Doors leading to the rest of the B2 level line the right-hand wall.

  BC walks over to the tech station. He’s startled when another tech suddenly appears. The man says something to BC in Arabic.

  Great. What the fuck is he saying?

  I should have learned Arabic!

  BC shrugs at him. The man shakes his head and goes into the tech center. Maybe if I just sort of wander over to the tube doors.

  The man shouts out some sort of command at BC from the tech center’s open door. BC wanders back over to the tech station cautiously. The man emerges waving a reader at BC. He thrusts it into BC’s hands.

  The man chastises BC, and manages to sound patronizing even though BC has no idea what he’s saying. He shakes his head, and then shoos off BC, sweeping him off with the backs of his hands. I think he just gave me a job to do!

  BC turns and heads for the travel tubes.

  Hopefully it’s a job I have to use the tubes to get to, or he’s going to be yelling at me again. Let’s see if he tries to stop me...

  BC goes over to the tube doors and calls for a capsule.

  Good. No reaction from him. Must be okay. Nice!

  I have an excuse to be riding the tubes this time of night. I’m on an assignment!

  The empty capsule arrives in the tube and the door opens. BC gets inside the travel tube capsule, a small passenger tube built to hold about ten people with benches lining both sides. He finds the controls. Instructions are in Arabic. BC finds a language toggle and switches the language. Great. Japanese. Don’t know that either. Let’s see.

  BC tries the toggle again. Instructions come up in English.

  Excellent. The location names look like they’re outdated. But central command is still central command, right?

  BC punches in his destination. The tube slides out of the station. With a whoosh he’s off down the tunnel.

  He toggles through the language settings on the reader the tech gave him until its display is in English as well.

  Huh. Looks like there’s an environmental processor broken down in the main dome. Hmm. Not exactly close to where I’m going.

  Guess I’ll deliberately get lost and wander off!

  He pictures the facility map in his mind.

  The tubes’ central hub is located directly underneath the main dome of the UIN facilities, beneath central command.

  BC arrives at the central hub for the travel tubes in about two minutes. He hops out of the tube and looks around. Two techs in red are walking through the station. BC looks down at the reader and tries to look inconspicuous.

  The central tube station is far more spacious than the outlying one. Tubes arrive and leave from the hub. The tubes all empty out into a large, roughly circular central area with a ten foot high ceiling. The circular ends of the travel tubes line the outer wall, broken up by four exit doors to the facility above. BC spots the exit he needs.

  Other passengers pass through the central hub, walk by BC as he makes his way through the tube station.

  There’s more activity here. It’s not bustling, but there are some people around, even at this early hour.

  BC adjusts the keffiyeh and heads up out of the travel tube station amid other techs and early travelers. He goes over the central dome’s plan in his head and orients himself. He needs to get up several levels and then into a secure area in order to see Al-Salid.

  There should be an elevator bank around the corner.

  He finds the nearby elevator bank, presses the up button and calls a car. The doors open. A tech walks out past BC. BC gets in and presses the top button.

  This is great – techs don’t even notice other techs! I feel like I’m invisible!

  BC rides alone up four levels to the civic center, up and out under the main dome. The elevator door will not open when the car arrives at the fourth floor. A shrill “beep” sounds.

  A red security light comes on.

  Security. Of course. But I’m just a tech on a job, officer! Wait a sec, let’s see…

  BC plugs the tech reader into the elevator’s control box. After a brief electronic exchange, the reader’s screen and the elevator security light both turn green, and the elevator door slides open. That worked!? Open Sesame!

  BC pokes his head out of the elevator. The civic center will be bustling in just a few hours, but now at around four in the morning it lays empty and still.

  He walks slowly across the civic plaza, allowing himself one quick glimpse of the domed ceiling. Feeling entirely too conspicuous.

  But I’m in! So why does it feels like I won’t be able to get out again?

  BC walks from the plaza into a wide lane dividing two rows of buildings. The dome arches far overhead, a dimly lit gridwork sky.

  There are lights up there… they’re just not turned on at this hour. It’s not completely dark…

  it’s sort of a state of permanent dusk.

  Central command should be just up this “street”.

  The administrative area of the UIN is made up of several buildings all clustered together under the open domed ceiling above.

  BC looks from building to building and their floor plans flash through his head. He notes an impressive building ahead on the right. The tallest he’s seen, it nearly touches the dome. A large, wide, open flight of stairs leads up and back from the wide lane up to the entrance of the building, ending under a pair of oversize arches at the top.

  There it is. The administrative center for the UIN Mars holdings. I’m just your average ordinary tech, don’t mind me!

  He heads up the stairs to the front door.

  Locked. Naturally. Let’s see if this thing is worth anything.

  BC plugs his tech reader into the control box outside the locked doors of the administrative offices of the UIN and requests access for repair work. The green light comes on as the doors click open. Beautiful. Deeper and deeper!

  BC ducks inside the doors, easing them shut behind him. He’s in the building’s lobby, empty save for a security guard asleep at a large desk. BC creeps across the lobby and into a dimly lit doorway. A corridor stretches off towards the back of the building.

  If the plans are right, it’s on this floor, back there.

  He walks down the corridor toward the offices of Al-Salid. He puts his repair order on the screen of the reader, and then toggles it back into Arabic as he walks.

  A lone guard sits at a desk outside what should be Al-Salid’s office door. I’m a bored tech. I have a boring job to do in this boring office. You don’t want to be bothered by me at all. I bore you.

  The guard looks up as BC approaches.

  He challenges BC in Arabic. BC nods politely, and holds out the tech reader. The guard nods back. Then he nods toward the door, giving BC the go-ahead.

  BC tries not to hurry as he passes the guard and heads in through the office door. The guard watches him enter, then turns back to something on his desktop.

  Just your average ordinary tech, nothing to see here.

  BC walks through the office suite and heads for the inner sanctum, Al-Salid’s private office. It should be right… here!

  BC looks over the door.

  No nameplate. Nothing to show it’s his office… but why would he need to?

  BC tries the door. It’s unlocked. He opens the door and walks into a spacious corner office with windows on two walls looking back out into the dome. Tapestries hung on the other walls warm the room with gold and r
ed and amber designs.

  This has got to be his office. Unh!

  A sudden pounding at his temples stops BC in his tracks.

  No!

  Stop!

  No headache! Not now!

  This time, though, the headache doesn’t cooperate.

  BC feels the throbbing intensify. Pain chugs like a train through his brain, each chug a devil’s chorus of cacophonous voices shouting different words simultaneously.

  BC falls to his knees, doubled over by the pain.

  Damn!

  Worst in a long time!

  Stop!

  The headache won’t stop. BC crawls over to one of the wall tapestries and uses it to pull himself to his feet. He staggers forward, falling into Al-Salid’s desk. BC pulls himself around the desk and collapses into the chair behind it.

  Then a loud voice echoes in his head.

  WHO IS THAT?! WHO IS THERE?!

  BC hears the words shouted at him, but not aloud. The shouting is all in his head. DO YOU HEAR ME?

  I SEE YOU!

  “No need to shout,” BC mumbles.

  AM I “SHOUTING?” YOU MUST BE PROXIMATE!

  “Who are you?” BC asks out loud.

  LET’S SEE… CAN YOU DEFEND?

  Fuck!

  BC’s head explodes with pain, as if a long spike had just been drilled through his skull from temple to temple.

  He sees red, and then he sees nothing at all, blacking out.

  BC wakes up in a small space, curled up into a fetal ball. Somehow he’s crawled… somewhere. He rubs his eyes.

  Under a desk.

  I must have fallen under Al-Salid’s desk.

  OH, my fucking head!

  BC’s temples are still throbbing with pain.

  I would prefer a hangover. A hangover would be an improvement. That’s how bad this hurts!

  Gotta learn how to put up my “mental” dukes. Somehow raise my mental fists, protect myself. He drilled into my head! Least it felt like it. But now I know that attack. I can see the shape of it; feel the how of it since it was done to me. Maybe I can stop it next time. As he attacked, I could feel how he was thinking… he doesn’t think like us. He’s not like us, not one of us. He really is old… ancient, heh, guess you’d say. Ancient Enemy. It’s gotta be him: Dolomay. It’s gotta be. The Eldred said something about them having greater powers than we do, said we were weaker. What if that motherfucker can read minds? Or blast other minds with pain? That’s what it felt like. Like he was blasting mine!