Vatican Abdicator

by Mike Luoma

  BC meets with the colonial representatives the next day, the ‘governors’ of Cat’s Eye, Crankshaft, Rigel Four and ‘Depot’, the name change now official. Amara Schwartz is cordial and diplomatic. And she does not register a formal complaint.

  The press is allowed to cover the beginning of the meeting. BC intends to make it quick. He and the governors smile as they sit and nod at each other, letting the media cameramen get their footage. BC

  then begins with an opening statement for the media.

  “We all appreciate the pioneering spirit of the colonies, humanity’s outposts among the stars,”

  BC says, trying to sound more impressive than he feels. “We are lucky to have Ceres Central as our hub to humanity’s outer reaches. We could agree to meet here at Ceres Central every three months, more often if necessary, to check in with each other and cover any problems and concerns the governors have,” he suggests.

  “I like that idea,” Fari Anslan of Rigel Four says. The other governors nod their agreement.

  “We agree! Well, looks like we’re off to a great start,” BC says for the press’ benefit. “I want to thank the media. The rest of the meeting will be private, for now. Thank you!”

  They switch off the media feed.

  “I hope you all meant that. I did. Every three months, at the least.”

  “Glad you weren’t just acting for the cameras,” Amara Schwartz comments.

  “I know we have a limited agenda today. But next time? I want to talk about repopulation. We’ve got empty space, lots of room. Since the plague,” Fari Anslan says.

  “I’m afraid there is a lot of room everywhere,” Anita responds, speaking up.

  “Governor Capituna is right, I’m afraid,” BC acknowledges.

  No lack of room anywhere.

  “Have you given any thought to abolishing private property?” Governor Ken Grissom of Crankshaft asks. When everyone else simply stares at him, Grissom gets defensive. “What? We’ve talked about it on Crank.”

  “I’m not looking to do anything radical,” BC tells them. “We’ve got a couple of dangerous enemies out there,” he says. “They’re just waiting to hit us again. We don’t know where, when, or even how. So… that’s gotta be our pressing concern. Social engineering, political experiments… we don’t have the luxury of time to mess around with these things. They’ll have to wait until this present danger is over and done with.”

  I think we’ve pressed our luck with the political experiments and social engineering we’ve already been working on! We’re lucky the Eldred are holding back. Lucky Dolomay is out there, not here. But neither situation will last. When will the bough break?

  “Worry about the pressing threat? That seems wise to me,” Su Chien, the governor of Depot says. “First things first.”

  “Is there anything else that needs our immediate attention?” BC asks.

  “Not really,” Amara Schwartz says. The other governors agree.

  “Well, I’m glad we could do this, meet like this,” BC says. “Just trying to protect our endangered species. Thanks again for meeting with me today.”

  “Thanks!”

  “Thank you.”

  The delegates say their thanks and farewells and depart, leaving BC and Anita alone in the conference room.

  “Well, that went well,” BC says.

  “You think so?” Anita asks.

  “You don’t” BC asks her.

  “You haven’t given them any thought at all, have you?” she asks, “not until just now, right? Have you?”

  “Is it that obvious?” BC asks her.

  “Well,” Anita ponders, “I could see it. But I know you better than they do.”

  “And I already told you, I thought they were Project branches, not colonies. So you know I wasn’t paying attention to them!”

  “Touché,” Anita admits. “So, yeah, then, I guess it went okay.”

  Another uneasy silence erupts between them.

  “So, uh,” BC says, “You, uh, still want to do dinner tonight?” he asks Anita.

  “Of course!” she says with an uneasy laugh. “Um, what? See you in about an hour?”

  “About an hour? Sure. Yeah, right,” BC answers awkwardly. “I’ll uh… I’ll see you then.” He almost stammers.

  “See you then,” she says.

  Neither of them move.

  “Well. Uh…” BC starts.

  “I should…” Anita begins at the same time.

  Both stop.

  “I’m, uh… I’m gonna go,” BC says. He ducks quickly out of the conference room. Thoughts race through his head as he walks back to his rooms.

  Great. I’m the ruler of the free world and I still can’t deal well with women! Or maybe it’s just Anita?

  BC manages to find his way back to his rooms.

  Everything is so new here. Maybe that makes it the right place for new beginnings. BC refreshes and readies himself for dinner. He meets Anita on schedule and they head together to one of the only restaurants open on Ceres Central. Restaurants seem to be the last commercial businesses to take off on any colony, not really viable until most of the grunt work is done. Most early colonists stick to the commissary for a cheap but healthy diet.

  BC and Anita find they have the restaurant, an Italian place called “Giovanni’s”, just about all to themselves. The restaurant is decorated like an old Italian grotto, a little touch of old Earth on its newest colony on Ceres.

  We try to take Earth with us, wherever we go.

  BC and Anita make small talk until the food arrives, comparing notes on supplies, personnel, ships. Neither says much as they eat.

  “How’s your spaghetti?” Anita asks BC midway through their meal.

  “Good, good… It’s good,” BC answers, trying not to talk with his mouth full of food. “Your lasagna?”

  “Good,” she replies, nodding. “It’s good, too. Wanna try some?”

  “No thanks,” BC begs off. “I’m already almost full on this spaghetti. They serve a pretty healthy portion here, huh?”

  “Yeah,” Anita agrees. “Good size.”

  The conversation sputters out as they return to eating. They continue to eat in silence. You know, I kind of like the quiet…

  “You know, BC… I sort of like this quiet,” Anita says, breaking the silence. Weird!

  “I was just thinking the same thing!” BC says. “I was worried that I wasn’t, I don’t know, coming up with, you know, something witty. Or anything, really. I’m not, like, a stellar conversationalist.”

  “I asked you how your spaghetti was,” Anita says with a hint of self deprecation.

  “Dessert?” the waiter says, suddenly appearing tableside.

  “Just a coffee,” BC orders.

  “Another water,” Anita tells the server. She turns back to BC. “We talk all the time, BC. Sometimes it’s nice just to, um, not talk, you know?”

  They do talk a little over coffee and water.

  “It does feel good to relax a little,” BC muses. “Even though I know they’re out there, hanging over us, biding their time, the Eldred, Dolomay…”

  And Fiza… And ‘fuck you!’ brain for going , now!

  “I know what you mean, it’s nice to relax, but you can’t get too comfortable,” Anita agrees with BC. “But somehow… I’ve got a good feeling, for some reason. I’m not usually superstitious, but I feel like they aren’t going to bother us tonight.”

  “Oh really,” BC teases. “What? Did you strike up some sort of side deal with them or something?”

  “If only!” She laughs. “Nah. It’s just a feeling.”

  The waiter brings the check over. Anita demands that they split the bill. BC starts to protest, and then decides he knows better than to argue with her.

  More awkwardness ensues when it’s time to go.

  “So, um, what are you, uh, doing tonight?” BC asks Anita as they both stand up from the table.

  “What do you mean?” she asks him.

 
Oh, come on! That’s not fair!

  “Do you wanna go get a drink or something somewhere?” he manages.

  “Sure,” she agrees. She smiles a brief, crooked smile at BC. “I know a place we can go.”

  The bars were Ceres Central’s first commercial establishments, thrown together just after the commissary was up and running in the colony’s earliest days. Workers building the new frontier let off steam in their off hours, drinking and enjoying the entertainment in the bars. BC and Anita find a place playfully called “’Roids.” The bar is crowded with Ceres Central colonists. Anita has to put on her best “Governor Capituna” smile and nod as she passes by her constituents on their way through the crowd to an open booth. BC gets off easy. No one seems to notice him.

  Pay no attention to the Prime Representative, please!

  That booth emptied pretty quick for us. For her! Well, governor, rank does have its privileges, doesn’t it?

  Once they’re seated, the crowd leaves them alone. BC and Anita have a couple of drinks and talk about nothing for about an hour, and then decide to call it a night. They settle their tab and get ready to go.

  “Walk you back to your rooms?” BC offers.

  “Sure,” Anita says with a little smile.

  They walk together to her rooms and stop outside her door. A passing tech stops, startled.

  “Hello, Governor! Hello, Prime Representative,” she says nervously. She ducks her head and trundles off down the corridor.

  For some reason I feel awkward…

  Anita and BC watch her go. Anita turns to BC.

  “Hurry up and come in,” she chides BC playfully. They step inside her rooms. When the door closes behind them, Anita steps up to BC, puts her arms up around his shoulders, and looks him in the eye.

  “You know, BC. There are times I like being a public figure. I like being in a position where I can help people, do good. All that. But I like to step out of view, too. Get out of the public eye. Don’t you?”

  “Um, yeah,” BC manages. She wrinkles her forehead.

  Oh, that was smooth.

  She plants a kiss on him anyway. He draws her in and they connect with some kind of electricity once again charging the air between them. BC feels supercharged. Anita leans into him, on him. They draw apart after a few minutes.

  “Wow,” BC says, “You know, I…”

  Anita shushes him with a finger to his lips.

  “No more talking,” she says. She takes him by the hand and leads him to the bedroom, pulls him over to her next to her bed. They kiss again, and it slowly transforms into carnal lovemaking. Later, BC watches Anita sleep.

  A Latino angel.

  BC thinks about the first time he saw her – after knocking her out with a hatch cover in a supply room on Lunar Prime, ages ago.

  Even when she was trying to kill me! There was something about her…

  Chapter Seventeen

  BC drifts off into the most peaceful, undisturbed sleep he’s had in years. No headaches, no voices, no visions, no interruptions. The same can’t be said for breakfast. Anita and BC decide to eat breakfast in bed. The com begins ringing early.

  “I’ve got to take this,” Anita says.

  “Go ahead.”

  She takes two more calls as they try to eat breakfast. When the com rings a third time, BC rolls his eyes. Then Anita hands the earpiece over to him.

  “It’s for you,” she says, a little puzzled.

  BC puts on the earpiece, hearing one side of a conversation in progress on the other end. An administrative tech is speaking to someone nearby.

  “…told you he was there! If I was him, I’d a…”

  BC cuts him off.

  “Campion here. What’s up?”

  “Oh! Ahem, uh, hello, sir. The Domo representative has asked to see you immediately. He – is it a he, though? I don’t know, I just meant, well – ‘it’? That doesn’t sound right either. The Domo says it’s urgent, sir, Prime Representative, sir, very important.”

  “Where?” BC asks. “Is he here? On Ceres Central?”

  “He is, sir. He’d like to meet with you as soon as possible this morning,” the tech says.

  “Tell him I’ll meet with him in… an hour and a half,” BC tells the tech.

  “Oh… um, I don’t think he’s gonna like that, sir,” the tech says, sounding nervous. “He’s standing here waiting, next room over. And he kind of freaks me out, sir.”

  “Bear with him, but don’t get too close,” BC warns the tech. “Okay? You know what I mean?”

  “I do, sir. I sent one woman home already, when she began to feel ‘drained’.”

  “Be careful,” BC cautions again. “And tell him I’ll be there as soon as I can, in about half an hour.”

  “Yes sir.”

  BC pulls the earpiece off.

  What now? What do the Domo want?

  About thirty minutes later, BC meets the Domo representative in a conference room. Anita joins him, all business.

  No PDA – Public Displays of Affection – we agreed on that before. Business on the outside, fun on the inside. Now it’s time for serious business.

  “Good Morning, Prime Representative Campion,” the Domo says across the table. “Good Morning to you as well, Governor Capituna.”

  “Good Morning,” BC and Anita respond, nearly in unison. She gives him a quick glance. Too cute. No PDA!

  “We must speak of urgent information,” the Domo tells them.

  The tech was right. The Domo almost seems impatient!

  “Speak, then,” BC encourages the alien.

  “We have, as you know, recently started endeavoring to speak with the Eldred on your behalf.”

  “The results have been pretty minimal so far, though, haven’t they?” BC asks.

  “Indeed they have,” the Domo admits, “for the Eldred have seemed unwilling to engage in any form of communication whatsoever.”

  “Indeed,” BC agrees, echoing the alien.

  We haven’t heard diddly from them either…

  “Now,” the Domo continues, “Although the Eldred have not been forthcoming and have not given us any official indication of their disposition, we have received news of the Eldred from some of our unofficial sources among them.” The Domo pauses. “This news is not good, I’m afraid, Prime Representative, Governor.”

  “No?” BC asks. “What’s the bad news?”

  “The Eldred are planning an all-out assault on your original asteroid base, your colonies, and your shipyards. We did not hear of any plans to attack here at Ceres Central, but it could also be a target,”

  the Domo warns. “The Eldred want to curtail your ability to move between the stars. They aim to keep you contained within Mars orbit by destroying the asteroid base, the shipyards, and the colonies.”

  “Mars orbit? What happened to Jupiter? Suddenly they want to knock us back inside the asteroids? When is this supposed to happen? When?” BC presses. “When are they attacking?”

  “We don’t know when,” the Domo admits. “But it will be soon. They are moving many forces into this area, gathering many thousands of ships up above off of the elliptic.”

  Many thousands? Great. But this is what we knew was coming, on some level, didn’t we?

  At least suspected it could happen. We’ve been waiting for this, for the other shoe to drop.

  “Thank you for this information, representative,” BC says to the Domo.

  “You are welcome. We Domo believe this completes our deal in this regard. Good Day,” the alien says, dismissing himself. He leaves the table and quickly exits the conference room. What? The deal is over? I wonder if the Flaze think the deal is over, too?

  We’ve gotta pull our people back from the colonies. Shit. We’ll be easy targets if we’re all spread out. Gotta gather ourselves together. Circle our cosmic wagons. And you know Dolomay will jump in at some point. He could adopt one of the colonies as his base, with us pulled back. Shit.

  It’s like chess. Like fucki
ng chess! Move a piece here, another one moves there, three moves later you realize it was the wrong move, and you lose the game. I hate fucking chess! I’m not into playing games with people’s lives, either.

  Move out of the colonies, and Dolomay moves in. Pull our SAIF ships back, and he’ll attack. And when will the Eldred come thundering down on us? Maybe we can leave some people on each colony, small defensive forces to protect our interests. Volunteer squads. They’d have to be. Could be suicide.

  Anita sighs, and BC snaps out of his thoughts.

  “What are we going to do, BC?” she asks rhetorically.

  “We’re going to fight them, Anita,” BC answers anyway. “We’re going to kick their asses. And they will NOT destroy our bases – I won’t let that happen!” he insists.

  “Good words, BC. Good words. But can you back them up?”

  “I can, with your help,” he tells her.

  She looks him in the eye. Her eyes bore into his. BC feels her measuring him. I wonder if I measure up… and under what standard am I being measured?

  Anita seems to make up her mind. She takes a deep breath.

  “Great,” she says. Her forehead scrunches up as she thinks on her feet. “I think I need to relocate to the Project Base.”

  “Okay,” BC says. “Put someone else in charge here first,” he tells her. “I’ll go with you when you head over there.”

  “You will?” she asks, surprised. “I thought you’d be heading back to Lunar Prime.”

  “I should be where I’m needed. If they’re going to be attacking the Project base, I should be there leading our defense.”

  “Since when?” she gives him an angry, puzzled look. “I don’t think your government, your bureaucracy,” she spits out the word with contempt, “will support your decision. They won’t want you on the front line. And I’m not sure you should be there either.”

  “But you should be?”

  “It’s my job,” she says, glaring at him. “Your concern is sweet, but misplaced!”

  I Can Handle IT!

  BC can hear her unspoken words in his head loud and clear.

  That’s not why I’m going!

  “I’m not trying to insult you,” he tells her. “Look, Anita…”

  Why am I going?