The Rebirths of Tao

by Wesley Chu

  A few minutes later, he heard the soft whupping sound he was waiting for and saw a single blinking light coming from the southwest. Eventually, he made out the shape of a transport as it came to hover over the platform and landed on the edge. The wind swirled around him. The force of its blades coupled with the Arctic air cut Enzo’s face like razors.

  The temperature had dropped precipitously over the past few days as a cold front moved in from the north. The planet was still far too cold for the Holy Ones. Quasiform would resolve that. Between the catalyst kicking off and burning the ozone layer, the controlled seismic detonations of major planar fractures, and the chemical reactions purifying the ocean and air, the Heaven of the distant stars would soon exist on Earth.

  Enzo had studied all of the major religions of the world. Almost all had prophecies of eschatology, be it the Rapture or Ragnarok or even that passive-aggressive Buddhist seven suns. Every religion ended humanity, usually citing divine will. That was the one thing that Enzo agreed with them on, except that in this case, it was his divine will that would end the Earth and give birth to the new Holy home world. Right now, though, it was just too damn cold.

  There is no need to show strength to a landing helicopter. Your body probably will appreciate the shivering.

  “I will not show weakness, even to myself.”

  Still, he was grateful when Jacob finally got out of the helicopter and kneeled. “Father, I return, having fulfilled the task you bestowed upon me.”

  Enzo glanced behind Jacob’s shoulder and saw Rin step out of the helicopter. He noted that her arms and legs weren’t bound.

  “Whom does our scientist serve?” he asked.

  “She says the Genjix,” Jacob replied. “Rin claims to have been swept up by traitors and unable to make contact for rescue.”

  “So she wasn’t the one who initiated contact? Who, then?”

  Enzo noticed a second smaller figure climb out of the helicopter, again without binds. She was nothing more than a girl, looking around the platform nervously. She spied Enzo and their eyes met. Recognition filled her face and she ran forward and fell to one knee next to Jacob. “Father,” she breathed, face down to the floor while she held her left hand up.

  Enzo touched it. “Tabs.”

  “Praise to the Holy Ones.”

  Jacob nodded at her. “Tabs was the one who made contact with our emergency channel and left notes for us to follow in the house. She contacted us again a few days later and led us to Rin. She has proven herself worthy.”

  She is Vladimir Mengsk’s daughter. He was high in Vinnick’s circle.

  Enzo beckoned the girl to stand. “Alexandra? Vladimir’s daughter, if I remember correctly. So young, yet so dedicated. An Adonis as well, if I remember your vessel,” The girl’s face flushed red. Enzo put a finger under her chin and lifted it up toward him. “Your standing is raised, Alexandra Mengsk. When we return, your Adonis training will continue.”

  “Thank you, Father.”

  Next came Rin. The scientist approached Enzo and fell to her knee as well. “Praise to the Holy Ones.”

  Enzo and Jacob exchanged glances, and then Enzo had her stand. “I am told you were kidnapped and held against your will.”

  Rin nodded. “Brother Jacob and Chiyva were heroic in returning me so that I may finish my work for the Holy Ones.”

  “Welcome, then, sister, and fulfill your destiny.” Enzo motioned toward the door and watched as the girl and the scientist were led to the elevator.

  Enzo put a hand on Jacob’s elbow. “Put them both in surveyed rooms. I want them under watch twenty-four hours a day. Have you spoken directly with Rin’s Holy One?”

  Jacob shook his head. “I have not had the opportunity.”

  “See to it tonight. Make sure the Holy One and the vessel are aligned. If not, kill her and give Chisq a new vessel.”

  “Your will, Father.”

  Enzo watched Jacob depart just as Coen, the new commander of this loyalty haven, came up from below. “Father, you asked to be informed as soon as possible. It will require five more days before the lift mechanism can be repaired.”

  Enzo nodded absently as he stared out over the calm icy waters of Great Slave Lake. He had made a point to plant one of his operatives in each of the loyalty havens during their construction and administration. Coen was his operative at Great Slave Lake. He was the man on the inside who had raised the platform for him and damaged the lift mechanism in order to make sure the platform could not be lowered while Enzo’s forces were disembarking. For his service, Coen was blessed with a Holy One, the one who had occupied Gates.

  It seemed that Coen had done too good a job sabotaging this base, though. Now, the towers were stuck above water until repair crews could get the mechanisms running again. Until then, the haven was exposed and vulnerable. Luckily, they were in the center of a lake in the middle of the wilderness not too far from the Arctic Circle. Civilization was sparse, and unless someone explicitly knew to search this area, the threat of discovery was minimal. In any case, ending the Russian’s reign was well worth the risk.

  This haven may end up serving as the command point for North American operations. See that it is ready.

  “Yes, my Guardian.”

  Enzo turned to Coen and put a hand on his shoulder.

  “This haven is yours. The proximity of this facility makes it a key staging point in the upcoming war. There are a few additions that will be needed. Are you prepared?”

  Coen dropped to a knee in reverence.

  Enzo beckoned him to follow. They took the elevator from the tower down to the main section of the base. Maintenance crews were still cleaning up the battle of the previous day. Supposedly, a few of the Epsilons still hid within the nooks and crevices, waiting to exact revenge for Vinnick. Poor foolish misguided fanatics, not only had they placed their faith in a false believer, they were now fighting for a lost cause. Their willful foolishness made them unworthy of the Genjix.

  This loyalty haven was the largest in the world. It was built more like an underwater city than a base. Designed for up to three thousand inhabitants, the haven was a series of large rectangular layered modules connected to a central vertical shaft known as the spine. The top of the spine was a series of massive hydraulics that moved the four towers twenty meters into the air when in use, and underwater when not needed.

  Enzo and Coen walked into the command module on the second layer just off the first radius of the spine. An electronic blueprint of the base on one screen illuminated the delicate balance of the underwater base. From the side, the haven looked like a squat Christmas tree with a pole through its center. A series of green lights displayed the condition of each section, from its operating parameters, to the air levels, to how many living souls were operating in each module.

  The modules spread across the lake’s floor like a spider web, crisscrossing intersections at different layered points, dividing the haven into sections, each with a specifically assigned function. The hydroponics farm was engineered to sustain the entire population of the base, while the advanced underwater hydroelectric cylinder could keep the haven powered indefinitely. With only three hundred permanent command staff, a hundred and fifty security forces with overlapping duties, and a hundred of Enzo’s operatives, the entire base was sparsely inhabited. Large sections of the haven earmarked for housing still lay closed off and dormant. Enzo could think of better uses for the space than idiotic dorms for weak-willed vessels.

  “Sections six through fourteen and nineteen through twenty-three, and all their adjacent vertical platforms.” Enzo switch the display to highlight the ones he was referring to on the eastern side of the lake. “Convert these facilities to hangars. Vertical takeoff platforms.”

  “What about housing, Father?”

  Enzo ignored him and continued. From setting up a permanent nerve center for surveillance and clandestine operations, to a resupply depot for land units, to a launching point for bombings, Enzo intended this t
o be a military base ready for when the war began.

  There was currently only one functioning catalyst facility in operation, and three more under construction. There would need to be eight within the hemisphere before the reaction could begin. However, this continent had proven to be the most resistant to the Genjix’s infiltrations. The United States would be the most difficult country to subjugate. Unfortunately for the Genjix, the last battlefield for Quasiform’s success would be here.

  Akelatis ran up to him and bowed. “Father, urgent message from the catalyst facility in the northwest United States. It is currently under attack.

  Enzo grunted. “By the Prophus? I highly doubt they can –”

  “By the IXTF, Father.”

  Enzo looked at the messenger, alarmed.

  We cannot allow that facility to fall. Work the political channels to suppress the IXTF. Handle their units on the ground by force. The truth of the facility must be buried.

  Enzo quickly relayed the instructions, ordering their political resources to suppress and delay any warrants the IXTF might have. The quickest solution would be to wipe out the IXTF forces and then buy government and media silence. It was a risky move, but there were few other options. The fledging multi-government agency had finally grown some claws and was becoming an increasingly annoying thorn in the Genjix’s side.

  “Father,” Akelatis said, relaying the message. “The facility begs for support. They do not have enough men to securely wipe out the entire enemy force.”

  The cleaning team must be thorough. All IXTF personnel on the ground will have to be eliminated to a man. There can be no survivors. Any leaks, especially when it comes to the deaths of federal agents in this particular government are difficult to wipe.

  Enzo quickly considered his options. Pulling in resources from Asia would take too long, not to mention the difficulty of moving large numbers of men through border security. However, losing the facility would be a disaster. Losing that stockpile of catalyst agents was not an option. There was only one way to be sure his interests were secured.

  “Send half of my personal guard,” Enzo instructed. “Delay if you can through political channels to buy time for them to arrive. I want the IXTF wiped out.”

  Akelatis bowed. “Your will, Father.”

  It was risky sending his forces over to defend the facility. However, they would be put to better use there than rotting here at the bottom of this lake. Enzo would have gone himself if he could, but the United States was too volatile for someone of his stature. Soon though, once the war began, he would personally lead his forces and invade the Western hemisphere. Then, once the world was in enough chaos and all the catalyst facilities were ready, Quasiform would begin. By the time humanity figured out what was happening, it would be too late.

  38

  Reunion

  The Prophus took on a new role in the years after what is now known as the Great Betrayal. For more than five hundred years, we had struggled to beat the Genjix. Now, our new directive was to provide safe passage to everyone who was persecuted by either the Genjix or humanity. That was how the Quasing Underground Railroad was born.

  A series of safe houses and checkpoints was created to funnel fugitives toward the few countries in the world that had lax security when it came to alien detection. The survival of our species became the Prophus’s new primary objective.

  Baji

  * * *

  Jill made a mental note that if she ever got her operation running again, not to spend a nickel on this three-dimensional display Faust was using for the briefing. A notorious early adopter within the commander ranks, Faust always spent a good chunk of his budget on these bleeding-edge toys. Some ended up proving to be extremely useful, but most were crap.

  Right now, she was looking at the latter and trying to figure out what it was trying to show. The projection was supposed to be a three-dimensional rendering of the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, but in its attempt to be detailed, it looked so messy that it reminded her of one of her baking experiments gone wrong.

  Faust pointed at the display. “Here’s an image of the center of Great Slave Lake during a routine satellite pass seventy-two days ago.” All she could see was what looked like a large mass of water. “Now, here’s an image of this exact same spot four days ago, when the Keeper gave us clearance to move the satellite over the region,” Faust continued, snapping a picture of the lake and zooming in. It looked exactly the same as the previous image, but now there was a small group of structures rising out of the water. “Based on Tao’s intel and Cameron’s talks with the girl, we’re looking at a Genjix loyalty haven. We left the satellite in place and saw this over the next few days.”

  “Is it a giant sub?” she asked. “And if it is, what would it be doing in a lake?”

  It is a landing platform. Chinese design. Used on their newest submersibles.

  “That’s what we thought at first,” Faust continued. He clicked on a remote in his hand. “However, the structures never move.”

  The fast forwarding continued. A few days later, a lone signature flew in from the southwest. There was one heat signature on the structure waiting for it. Then several people departed from the flying signature. Then the group of people on the platform walked into two of the corner columns.

  Faust clicked off the display. “That platform hasn’t moved since that incident two days ago. Yesterday, five more transports came by and picked up what looks like a large group, perhaps a hundred heads, and then they all headed southwest. We’re not sure where, but their trajectory seems to have them headed somewhere in the Pacific Northwest territory.”

  “The platform hasn’t submerged since?” Jill asked, not quite able to shake off a strange feeling about that. Something didn’t seem right.

  Foolish to keep a platform raised if they are trying to hide it. Something must be wrong down there. Best to strike as soon as possible.

  Faust shook his head. “Still sticking out like a sore thumb. Maybe they have a lot of traffic coming in and out. Conserving energy by staying above water.”

  Jill tapped her finger on her chin. “Would be silly to build a secret underwater lair and then have something like that stick out. Something must be preventing them from lowering it.”

  “Regardless,” Faust said. “Here’s our advantage. We’re pretty sure that was Rin they took there. The timestamps are about right. With that large group of people leaving, this might be our only chance to sneak in and get her back.”

  Jill nodded. “We infiltrate with a team of nine, find Rin, and sneak out before those five transports return. I wonder where they went.”

  “I might be able to answer that,” a familiar voice said from behind her. “And instead of sneaking in, let’s just throw the kitchen sink at it.”

  Jill turned around and stared, shocked. In a split second, she launched herself out of her chair and barreled into Roen’s arms. He grunted from the impact as her momentum pushed him back into the wall, but he held onto her just as hard. She kissed his lips, wrapped her arms around his neck, and then kissed him some more. It probably was unprofessional to do so right here in Faust’s command room, but she didn’t care. Neither did Roen, it seemed. The two stood alone in the world for what seemed like hours as they tried to catch up on soothing the pain and fear and worry they had felt for each other. Eventually, someone had to ruin it for them and coughed.

  Perhaps it would be wise to adjourn the meeting. First, ask Roen what he meant and why he is here. He is supposed to be assisting the attack on the catalyst facility, which is supposed to commence tonight.

  Jill was tempted to just ignore Baji and keep on kissing her husband, but the sooner she got the answers Baji needed, the sooner everyone would leave her and Roen alone. She broke their embrace and pulled back. “You’re supposed to be blowing up a catalyst facility right now. Tell me you did not go AWOL, or by God…”

  Roen grinned that beautiful goofy boyish grin. He squeezed her arms.
“Change of plans. We suckered someone else into doing the dirty work for us, so we’re all going to join your party instead.”

  For the first time, Jill noticed Marco and a group of guys standing at the door. He gave a lazy wave and winked. She went up to him and gave him a hug. “Thanks for bringing the lug back to me in one piece.”

  Faust walked to the table and gave Roen what Jill called their bro-hug. The two grown men would throw their arms around each other, but instead of a real hug, they would do this silly chest-bump-single-pat-on-the-back, as if too much physical contact was frowned upon. The two went back a long way and had been scuba diving buddies. Roen was on Faust’s fantasy football league, and Faust came up to the farmhouse for Thanksgiving every year. In fact, it was because of Roen’s prodding that Jill got Faust the promotion to this region.

  “You’re not supposed to be here,” Faust said. “Jill’s right. If you’ve disobeyed a direct order again, I’m going to have to arrest you this time. I can’t tell the Keeper ‘no’ twice.”

  Roen rolled his eyes. “Why does no one believe me when I say I’m on the level?”

  “Because you never are,” Faust grinned. “So what’s going on?”

  Roen explained the situation with the IXTF, and how right at this very moment, the federal government was pitching an old-fashioned siege of the Genjix. As predicted, the Genjix facility was heavily defended, and the IXTF were getting their butts kicked, but it was only a matter of time before they took it, whether within the next few days or the next few months. At the end of the day, not even the Genjix could match the United States government in a heavyweight fight, especially when the government had home-field advantage.

  Jill didn’t quite seem convinced. “Don’t you think the Genjix can buy their way out of this one, like they always do?”