Vatican Ambassador (35 page)

“I’m fine,” she says, then stops. “What should I call you?” she asks.

“What? Here, now?” BC asks her. She nods. “BC is still fine. I prefer it, actually.”

“Okay, then
BC,
” she says with a little emphasis, “You’re certainly not the usual, um,
papal
type, are you?”

“Thanks, I think,” BC says, taking it as a left-handed compliment. “Sorry about the ‘F’ bomb,” he apologizes.

“I’ve heard it before,” she says with a laugh. “Not to worry.” She sits down on the couch behind her.

“Come, sit down, BC,” M’Bekke says warmly. “Welcome back.”

“Thanks,” BC says. He sits down.

“Glad to see you’re not ‘missing’, BC,” M’Bekke says.

“I never was,” BC insists.

“Image control,” Governor Erskine says.

“What?” BC asks.

“You need to work on your image control,” Erskine says to BC. “
You
might want to travel incognito…

but ‘The Pope’ really can’t,” she says. “Can he?”

BC bristles a bit, but takes in what she’s saying. “I
did
… at least for a little while.”

“Fine, you did,” Erskine says, “but then your absence created a news story. You’ve got to manage your image better, be aware that your actions have consequences,” she explains. “You’ve conducted yourself well when you’ve been in the media spotlight. Good image management there. It’s important to present the image of a young, strong, and healthy leader of the New catholic Church. It plays well.”

“I’ve been trying to be good,” BC says. “I bottle up all my incivility until I can unleash it on my friends,”

he jokes.

“Oh,” she says, “am I a friend, then?”

“I didn’t know you were here,” BC says, a bit more coldly than he means to.

“Ouch,” she says. “How long have we known one another? A couple of years, isn’t it?”

“I guess,” BC says. “Sure. And you weren’t one of McEntyre’s lackeys, were you?” BC asks with subtle sarcasm.

“I was not!” Erskine insists. “Not even from the same party. Simply lieutenant governor to his governor,”

she says, “And now, governor.”

“Governor of Lunar Prime,” BC muses. “That position has a checkered past, you know,” he jokes. “I hear the last one left in some disgrace.”

“You enjoyed
that
business, didn’t you,” Erskine accuses BC, playfully.

“Yes. Yes, I did,” BC admits with some glee.

Like I should even pretend to feel otherwise! Nothing to apologize for…

“I thought your God was all about love and forgiveness,” she presses BC.

“Touché,” BC agrees.

“It’s time to move on, anyway,” Erskine says. “McEntyre’s the past. I’m all about the future,” she claims.

“We’ve been pretty lucky here on Lunar Prime. Not so many deaths from the plague. But it has passed through here. People have died. It seems to have started here,” she pauses, clears her throat. “That’s why I’m here, actually,” she admits. “I’ve been told you know something about it,” she says, leveling her gaze at BC.

“About what?” BC plays dumb.

“About the plague!” she says with a touch of exasperation. “About how it started. What caused it and why it started here,” she says, getting in BC’s face, “And I want to know just who and what this

‘Project’ you’re suddenly in charge of is. Here on my Moon!”

“Ah… The Project,” BC says, nodding. He doesn’t say any more.

“Well?” Erskine says, finally, when BC doesn’t continue, exasperated with his silence.

“Where do I begin?” BC asks rhetorically. “M’Bekke, what have you been telling the governor here?”

“Nothing, BC!” M’Bekke protests. “She’s been persistent, yes, but she’s been told nothing you wouldn’t want her to know, BC,” M’Bekke says, shaking his head.

Erskine clears her throat.

“What?” BC asks.

“I’m getting kinda pissed off here, boys!” she says sternly. “I don’t care how ‘holy’ you folks are! Cute is cute. But there is too much shit going on for me to just ignore it. So don’t patronize me!”

“I’m sorry,” BC apologizes. “We need your help, Amanda. We need allies. I’ll tell you what I can, governor. Let me fill you in on a bigger picture than I used to know existed.”

Where to begin? And what to say?

“The Project,” BC begins, “is a UTZ subsidiary. The Project developed the Transpace Drive for the UTZ military. Once the military got to Mars, they left the Project alone. But The Project kept going, first on its base here on the Moon, later out at an undisclosed base in the Asteroids. I’ve just been named CEO of The Project, replacing the recently deceased Van Kilner, who had been in charge of The Project since its inception.”

“Van Kilner? The scientist?” Erskine says in surprise, “My God, he must have been a hundred or something! He must have been ancient!”

“He was,” BC admits, “and living in low gravity out in the asteroids.”

“Right,” Erskine says, but she’s shaking her head. “But we haven’t gone past Mars!”

“The Project has. Van Kilner lived in the asteroids, on a secret base. It’s a nice place, I’ve been out there,” BC tells her.

“So… we really have been out past Mars?” she asks him.

“We have,” BC assures her.

“Then how come no one’s heard about it?” she protests.

“They’ve been vewy quiet about it,” BC says, in an Elmer Fudd voice.

“Don’t mock me!” Erskine chastises him.

“I’m sorry,” BC says. “Look, I didn’t learn about all this until just about a week ago. I’m just trying to keep this, um, light, you know?”

“Go on,” she says, calming down.

“Evidently, once The Project developed Transpace ships for the UTZ military to use to get to Mars, the UTZ military left them alone. They stayed under the radar after that, but kept developing the Transpace technology. They headed out to the asteroids to keep working unseen and unmonitored by the UTZ. They’ve been going back out there ever since,” BC says. “Even the UTZ council had lost track of them. When I told the UTZ council about The Project, they had no idea what I was talking about… which I used to my advantage to get them to name
me
the CEO of The Project. They didn’t have much choice,”

BC says with a chuckle.

“Nice,” she says. “Go on.”

“The Project base
was
here on the Moon,” BC says. “But now the asteroid base is their main base of operations. They do still maintain their base here as a small outpost… right under your nose, as a matter of fact. They’re still here,” BC tells her.

“What, The Project?” she asks incredulously.

“Yes, The Project,” BC tells her. “You must know about the UTZ base on the other side of the Moon?”

“That? I didn’t think it was used much, if at all,” she admits. “An old frontier survey lab.”

“They keep a low profile,” BC tells her.

“What? That’s ‘The Project’?”

“Yup,” BC confirms it. “They still work out of there. Have you ever heard of ‘flashers’?” BC asks her.

“Flashers?” she asks. “Sure. Everyone has. Superstition at work! Alien myths, legends…”

“Not exactly,” BC informs her. “Not quite. Those flashers are Project ships. Using adapted alien technology.”

“Alien tech?” She’s taken aback.

“Alien,” BC assures her. “The Project’s been in contact with alien races. Worked with a couple of them. Adapted some of their technology. The Flashers are us.”

“Really? So they’re real?” she asks.

“They’re real,” he insists, reinforcing it. “And I know of at least three alien races we, or The Project, has been in touch with.

“There are The Domo… according to the Project, they’re kind of like Vampires, but they have helped us. Then there’s the Flaze; they look a lot like the classic UFO aliens, but they’re quiet, keep more to themselves than the Domo.

“The Eldred I don’t know that much about,” BC pauses, “well, except that they probably brought the plague to the Moon.”

“What?!” M’Bekke and Erskine both gasp in unison.

“Yup,” BC tells them both, “These aliens called the ‘Eldred’ are more than likely responsible for creating the plague and delivering it here to the Moon during our last peace conference. You asked what I knew about the plague,” BC says, turning to Erskine. “This is it: It looks like we have an alien race to blame for this plague. They’re called the Eldred. I’ve asked them to meet with me… which I’m not entirely convinced is a good idea, necessarily.”

“No?” Erskine says.

“Well, I’ve survived the plague, at least so far. As have both of you,” he gestures at Erskine and M’Bekke. “But Van Kilner had been exposed to it and survived, too. I met with him myself not long ago, just before I, um, well, became pope.

But his people tell me he had a more recent meeting with the Eldred, in the last week or so, and after that he took sick and died. So I’m not positive that The Eldred won’t take advantage of meeting with me and to do the same thing, take me out.”

“You think they might try to take you out?” M’Bekke asks, “And you still want to go?”

“I wouldn’t say I want to. I think I have to,” BC tells him. BC turns to Erskine. “You’re awfully quiet.”

“Wow. You’ve just dumped a ton on me,” Amanda Erskine tells BC. “That’s a lot to digest.”

“I was feeling left out,” M’Bekke jokes, sounded faux dejected.

“Well,” BC tells them, “You’re both all in, now. That’s where we’re at. You now know pretty much everything I do.” He turns to Erskine, “M’Bekke’s just learning all of this now, too. And you’re one of the first to learn of all this outside of The Project and the UTZ hierarchy,” he tells her. “I hope my candidness isn’t lost on you.”

She shakes her head, “No, no it’s not. Thank you.” She pauses, mentally digesting all she’s just learned from BC. “Okay. So. What do we do now?”

“I’m not entirely sure,” BC levels with her. “That’s why I came back here, to get away and get a chance to think about it, to try to see the so-called ‘big picture’ and figure out what’s next. If there is a ‘what’s next’. It’s why I asked to meet The Eldred.”

“I see,” she says.

“I wanted to talk to M’Bekke here, too. And I’d planned on speaking to you, to see if you could be brought into the loop. I didn’t think it was going to be the very first thing I did, but there you go. Sometimes the universe works in weird ways.”

“The universe? You’re Pope! Aren’t you supposed to be giving God the credit?” she ribs him. BC smiles good-naturedly. “Thank you for bringing me in,” she says again. “Although, that is a lot to digest.” She rubs her temples. “Is there anything else I should know?”

“No, that’s pretty much it,” BC says. “It’s pretty much an all or nothing thing. You either hear it all or nothing. It all ties together too much. Aliens, ships and bases, oh my,” he jokes.

“I’ve still gotta ask,” Erskine says, “What do we do now? Do you really want to meet with them?” she asks BC.

“Well,” BC starts, and then stops. “I don’t think we have much choice… that
I
have much choice. I have to meet with the Eldred… and try not to die. Of course, I’m open to any other suggestions you might have,” BC trails off.

“I’ve got nothing,” Erskine says. “Not yet, anyway. This isn’t something you can make a snap judgment on, you know.”

“Believe me, I know,” BC assures her.

“Having just learned about all of this, I’d like to take a little time to digest it all, give it some real thought, you know?” she scrunches her forehead. “I think I’ll retreat to my offices and try to sort some of this out. If you’ll excuse me?” She looks from BC to M’Bekke, and then heads for the door.

“I look forward to any new ideas you might have,” BC tells her as she leaves. After the door closes behind her, BC turns to M’Bekke.

“It’s bad, M’Bekke. So many dead! I’m the pope of nothing. The church is decimated. I’m only pope by default! There’s no way I should be pope!”

“Maybe not,” M’Bekke says. “Or maybe you should be. Maybe you, Bernard Campion, are the perfect person to be pope right now, under these extreme circumstances. Maybe God put you here and now to be in the right place at the right time. It doesn’t matter, because you
are
pope, now. So deal with it!”

“Tough love, M’Bekke!” BC says.

M’Bekke shakes his head.

“And what of the UTZ?” M’Bekke asks.

“What of them?” BC asks.

“What are they doing? Are they helping at all?” M’Bekke asks.

“They’re nearly worthless. They put up a good front, but they’re really scared. People have died in record numbers… which is only okay with the UTZ if it’s at
their
hands!”

“Heh,” M’Bekke chuckles and nods in agreement. “But they really made you a CEO? Head of this Project? Put you on the council?” he asks BC.

“They did, can you believe it? I wanted to get control over the Project. None of those other CEOs could have handled it, or would have known what to do with it. So I tried for an ‘honorary CEO’ or something like that. But they went for it! Full membership and CEO of The Project.” BC laughs, “Again, the world
must
be going to hell if I’m getting appointed to the UTZ council!”

“Right,” M’Bekke says, slightly distracted. “Hold on. Something’s… That’s funny,” he says, messing with something on his desktop.

A small private com unit pops up out of the desk. M’Bekke lifts it up off the desktop and hands the private com to BC.

“It’s for you,” he tells him.

BC takes the com and put on the headpiece.

“Hello?” BC asks.

“Campion? Wentworth here. We need to talk. This line is secure. Is your location?”

“It’s secure. I’ve got nothing to hide from anyone here,” BC says, “M’Bekke’s it, and he’s cleared.”

“Okay,” Wentworth says with a slight hesitation. “Fine. Here it is: We want you to take over the chairmanship of the UTZ council.”

What?

BC is stunned.

“What?” he asks.

“The chairman has died. As one of the CEOs on the UTZ council, you
are
eligible for the position. I’m recommending that you be confirmed post haste, so it will happen.”

“But why?” BC asks, “Why me?”

Wentworth clears his throat on the other end of the line. “We need you, Campion. I hate to say it, but it’s true. You’re in a unique position, BC. You know about the Project, the aliens…”