Chapter 9

The elevator took a surprisingly long time to reach their destination and, though there was no way of knowing what level they started on, Kat was sure that they were now many levels underground. The doors opened onto a pleasant but generic looking lobby, akin to what you would expect from a solicitor's office. The desk marked reception was unmanned and the room, empty. Three doors led from the room, all of them unmarked.

The garishly dressed young man preceded her out of the elevator and indicated that she should follow him through the door behind the receptionist's desk. They entered a hallway that was at least a hundred meters long and whose expanse was dotted with closed, unmarked doors. Kat counted doors as they proceeded and had reached 26 when they stopped.

"This is you!" the red-headed young man said, in a surprisingly deep baritone voice as he turned to face her.

"I am Pan, and I have been assigned as your mentor during your training at the Citadel. This room will be yours for as long as you are with the Agency, even after your training is complete. Should you return for additional training, medical procedures or what have you, this room will still be yours. The doors are keyed to hand and voice prints, so if you will place your hand on the door surface and state your name, we can set the security to recognize you."

Kat complied, placing her palm firmly on the door face and gave her new code name in a clear voice. "Themis."

A pale green light on the door frame flashed briefly, shining through the otherwise unmarked plastic sheath on the frame. The door slid sideways into the frame and Pan gave a sweeping gesture, ushering her through into the room.

Her room was more spacious than she would have supposed. It was more of a suite than a dorm room. The door opened on to a sitting area furnished with a pair of comfortable chairs, a settee and an entertainment center. To the left was a small kitchenette and to the rear, she could see through an open door into a bedroom with a connected fresher. On the left wall was another open door and she could see a bookshelf and desk.

"It is all depressingly generic," Pan said, indicating the decor with a deprecating wave of his hand. "You are free to redecorate as you wish though management would prefer that you not make any major structural changes. The kitchen is not stocked, but a menu of potables is available on your desk comp and you can order whatever you like."

He moved further into the suite and gestured towards the office. "Your study, madam." He began with a grin. "The desk comp is secure and, once you log on and chose an encryption key, is supposedly tamper proof and accessible only by you." Here he gave a little wink, obviously not expecting her to be convinced by his spiel. "There is an outside communications link accessible through your comp. Inter-planetary and inter-system personal calls are frowned on. Not because of charges, we own the company, but because security on the public network is problematical. For secure communications in connection with your work, you have access to the Comm center on a lower level where we have a dedicated FTL pulse link, with a proprietary encryption algorithm, to our headquarters in each sector. A welcome package including a map of the facilities, a training schedule and the obligatory list of rules are on your desk for you to review at your leisure."

He moved to the sleeping quarters and continued. "Your boudoir. Surprisingly comfortable, though bland. There are no restrictions on entertaining visitors, beyond those of operational security, of course."

He perched himself on the arm of a chair in the sitting area and crossed his arms over his chest. "We have reached the 'Welcome Speech' section of our tour." he said with a grin. "This is the Agency Training and Personnel Processing Center, called the Citadel by everyone except, I am sure, the Director. Here we do new agent induction, training, medical processing and so on. We have one of the most advanced medical centers in the Union and a team of Tech wienies that would be the envy of the entire galaxy if anyone knew they existed. This is also the home-away-from-home for all of our agents and auxiliaries, a place they can come and unwind; recover between assignments. As a new agent-in-training, you will be assigned to a mentor," he paused and indicated himself with a thumb, "whose job is to welcome you and help you adjust to the new environment. He or she will be available twenty-four hours a day for counseling." he rolled his eyes, "As a new agent, and in addition to your training duties, you will be expected to stand watches in the crisis center as the Junior Officer of the Watch. Your duties will be explained by the Senior Officer of the Watch on your first shift."

"Ok, enough of the boring stuff!" he said with a grin. "You'll get the whole spiel all over again when they assign you a trainer. Let me give you ¼ credit tour of the facilities and we'll get you over to Minerva. She wants to see you before evening chow. One last thing before we go though." Pan picked up a small, rectangular box from the top of the entertainment center and handed it to Kat. "These will be invaluable while you are here, at least until you learn your way around."

The box contained a small, almost transparent pair of contact lenses, nested in individual circular impressions. Just above each lens was a dimly glowing diode that gave off a weak green light.

"Those lenses are calibrated to allow you to view a very specific wavelength on the ultra-violent end of the spectrum, one not normally visible to the human eye. I am sure you noticed how very utilitarian the facility is? Every room is marked with a paint that is only visible in ultra-violet light, and these lenses will allow you to see those markings. You have worn contacts before, yes?"

Kat rolled her eyes. More cloak and dagger nonsense. She had, indeed, worn contacts on a number of assignments. Disguises were part a parcel of the life of an assassin. Being able to get in and out without being noticed was an important part of the job.