The Rebirths of Tao

by Wesley Chu

  This is a distraction we can do without. Do not underestimate our enemies. They have defeated you before.

  “I do not register temporary setbacks as defeats. I can count on one hand how many of these setbacks I’ve had, anyway.”

  All it takes is one more to unravel you.

  “It will not be today, my Guardian.”

  Amanda and Azumi fell in beside him as the alert broadcasted across the entire base. “Amanda, lock down our network and data integrity. Move all important non-combatant vessels to the escape pods for holding.” The entire base became a hive of activity as Enzo’s people, the security unit, and the civilians within the haven readied defensive positions.

  “And the non-blessed and civilians?”

  “Expendable, save for ranking and important personnel. Total strength count?”

  “Five Adonis, twelve standard combat vessels and seventy-seven agents. Haven defense force of eight-three. Ninety-one civilians. The six emergency pods can only fit one hundred forty-four, Father.”

  “Make a list. Shoot anyone else who tries to board.”

  Enzo felt the tingle of the thrill of battle as he mentally organized the resources he had at his fingertips. For him, it was all about control. He was the chess player, and all his forces were pieces executing his will. He didn’t just want to defend the haven, he wanted to obliterate the enemy in the most emphatic way possible, with the highest attrition, and he wanted to do it up-close and personal. Optimally, Enzo should be coordinating all the attacks at the command center. Unfortunately, that room was right next to the spine, and would be one of the first places the enemy attacked. Vinnick’s fool architect did not design the haven to repel enemy attacks, instead relying on their radar cloaks to just keep it hidden.

  Enzo quickly ran through several scenarios. “Coen will lead the security forces and expendable civilians at the insertion point. He will then pull back and hold the command center for as long as he can. Divide the remaining security personnel into units led by vessels. Palos will hold the communication center and Jacob the catalyst stores. Akelatis on life support and Matthew to secure the escape pod routes. Amanda, coordinate the evacuation. Everything goes through me. Have them prepared to move on my mark. Azumi, take one unit and capture the platform. I want their extraction point negated after the initial insertion point is lost. We lure them deeper into the base and then trap them.”

  “Your will, Father,” she nodded.

  This tactic is a risk. The safest course of action would be to block the point of entry.

  “That gives them a chance to escape. It will be much easier to cover up if there are no survivors.”

  Amanda and Azumi got to work relaying the orders while Enzo returned to his quarters. He took his time strapping on his customized armor and loading his weapon magazines, rifle, pistol, and assorted knives. For him, preparing for battle was a divine ritual, a blessing and sacrifice to the Holy Ones. He intended to show his devotion by expunging as many of the enemy as he could. Finally, he strapped on the Honjo Masamune sword.

  When he was ready, Enzo stood up and admired his reflection in the mirror. Before him stood an emperor and prophet, ready to pass final judgment on the unholy Earth and usher forth a new paradise. His standing would be unmatched by any vessel, equal to that of the Gods, and he would stand for eternity alongside the Holy Ones once they ruled over Earth. But first, he had enemies to slaughter.

  He was notified a few minutes later by Coen, running operations from the command center, that the enemy had breached the entrance. In the distance, Enzo could hear the sounds of battle begin to bounce along the metal walls of the haven. He checked himself in the mirror one more time. “Praise to the Holy Ones.”

  It was time for him to wield his will and strength against the enemy.

  * * *

  “Adonis.” Harlen, one of the vessels, approached him, bowing. “The warehouse module is secured. Two exits, one each through the front and rear, each covered by a unit. Third unit holding behind cover right next to the stockpile.”

  Jacob nodded and continued to watch the monitor as the evil Prophus attacked the loyalty haven through the Four Towers. First, several large canisters rolled out from the three main stairwells, then plumes of smoke exploded, rolling through the hallway like an encroaching storm. Then, the silent screen flashed sparks of lightning bursting within clouds of heavy smoke.

  He switched the views, cycling to a camera behind the makeshift barricade that Coen had ordered set up. The fool had tried to encircle the entire four-column entranceway instead of fortifying one side. Now within the heavy smoke, his lines were too thin, and the odds of hitting their own people were as high as hitting the enemy. Jacob continued to watch as several large rectangular riot shields emerged from the thick clouds, moving forward together like Roman legion shields of old.

  Hela’s experience in the military was always more on the supply side. The new commander, Coen, seems to have little experience in handling such situations.

  “I should be there at the front, not back here on guard duty.” Jacob scowled at the pallets of catalyst containers. It would probably be hours before the Prophus reached these warehouses in the far western end of the haven, assuming they even got this far, which he doubted. And while he realized the importance of these stockpiles, he felt his presence here was beneath his standing as an Adonis.

  Nothing is more important than these catalysts. Have them prepared to be moved in case the conflict worsens.

  “Your will, Chiyva.”

  Jacob gave orders to have all the pallets placed on wheels, then settled in to wait. He could hear the fight far off, the sound of gunfire rattling through the base. If anything, the noise seemed to be getting further away, not closer. Out of boredom, he occupied himself with the monitors, changing channels and searching for the enemy. The Prophus were destroying the cameras they passed, so he was met with static on several views, and most of the ones that were still functioning were either clouded with smoke or quiet. Then he switched over to the command center and saw a phalanx of shielded men batter through the glass walls of the room.

  “Glass walls are a poor choice for the heart of the haven. The placement of the command center near the central hub was poorly conceived as well.”

  Vinnick must have used the same architect who put New York’s Emergency Command Center in the World Trade Center.

  It made for relatively poor television. The Prophus forces took the center easily, which at best was a symbolic victory. Within seconds of the center falling, Enzo had given the order to cut power to the module. Jacob watched through the still-active security camera as the enemy milled around, trying to get any of the systems to work. Then he sat up and ran to the screen. At first, he thought he had hallucinated.

  I saw it too. It is him.

  Jacob couldn’t believe his luck. He had despaired that he wouldn’t ever be able to find Roen Tan again, especially after his wife and child had escaped Jacob’s grasp, and now the man had decided to come to him. Roen, looking just like Jacob last remembered, was speaking with several of the Prophus. Then something happened off-screen, and he ran out of the room.

  It was pretty transparent to Jacob what Enzo was doing, having used the low-standing security forces and non-essential civilians to soak up the initial Prophus attack at the center point of conflict. That would be where the enemy would expend most of their efforts for the entry, and in such cramped quarters, would incur heavy collateral on both sides. If that was the case, the Genjix might as well sacrifice the rabble.

  The way Enzo had organized the front lines, he had purposely drawn the enemy out in what seemed like an easy victory. Now, after they had expended energy and resources, it was time for the trap to close. And in the process, Jacob would have his revenge.

  “Get me a tablet and patch me through to our security camera system,” he said. “It’s time we play a game.”

  Jacob signaled for some of his units to stay with the stockpile and
the others to follow. He left the warehouse and made his way down one of the maintenance shafts. They’d have to go up two levels behind the enemy’s line and hunt. The villain and his kin had escaped him long enough. For this fight, Jacob only had one objective. He intended to draw Roen Tan in and finish him off once and for all.

  42

  The Counter

  For the Prophus, it seems there is no longer a path to victory. This is our twilight hour. We cannot defeat the Genjix. We cannot hold off the humans indefinitely. We are destined for extinction unless something drastic saves us. However, it seems we have burned all our bridges.

  Baji

  * * *

  Jill felt uneasy combing through the wreckage of what looked like the enemy base’s command center. Their attack had broken through the initial defenses too easily. Jill wasn’t a master tactician, but even she felt like something was off. It could be that they had just been lucky. After all, they had caught the base in a moment of weakness, when the enemy had moved vast numbers away to defend the catalyst facility. Maybe the Prophus had finally caught a break. God knows they were long overdue one.

  “Look at this,” Marco said, tossing a book to her. “Loyalty Haven Operating Manual.”

  It only took a few seconds of flipping through the pages to figure out what this place was for. She tossed it over to Roen, who did the same. Jill looked down at all the powered-down systems and screens, and watched as one of the engineers tore open a side panel to look for hard drives to salvage. Everything was going according to plan. They had taken this center area, and the Genjix hadn’t tried to mount a counterattack yet.

  “Baji, what do you make of this? I am surprised the Genjix are taking such humane steps to ensure their vessels’ survival during Quasiform.”

  Same. All the intelligence we have on their leader Enzo runs counter to what we’re seeing with these loyalty havens. Perhaps not all Genjix are on board with Quasiform. It might be something we can exploit in the future.

  “Teams two to six, report,” Marco said.

  A smattering of coordinates filtered through the short-range comm tablets all the commanders were using. It was the only way they could keep track of each other scattered around the underwater base. Currently, dozens of small squads were navigating the maze-like facility, pushing back the enemy while searching for Rin. Surprisingly, they’d encountered very little resistance. Hopefully, their luck would hold. She prayed it was just as quiet at the extraction point.

  “Cameron, how’s it looking topside?” Roen spoke, reading her mind. He held up seven fingers to her. She switched over to channel seven and stayed silent. She was still angry with both of them and knew that Cameron would hesitate to be honest if he knew she was listening in.

  “It’s boring up here, Dad. And cold, but mostly just boring.”

  “Welcome to the life of a secret agent, son.” Roen grinned. “Hurry up and wait and then get so damn bored you wish something would happen, until something does. Then you can only pray to be bored out of your mind again. I call it being perpetually unhappy.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Tao’s already told me. He also told me about the time you fell asleep keeping watch at that grocery store and Mom just left you there.”

  “Well, you and Tao were supposed to wake me up.”

  “I was four and fell asleep. Tao didn’t want to wake me.”

  Jill smiled as she listened to them. Roen and Cameron shared a bond that she could never understand, not that she really wanted to. Baji was more than enough for her, though their relationship was very different from the one Tao had with Roen and Cameron. It was moments like this that reminded her how good her family had had it over the past few years, and how bad things really had been before they had founded the operation at the farmhouse. Were they fated to go back to those dark times? She didn’t know if she could handle it again.

  “Well, Cam,” Roen chuckled. “A good soldier always sleeps –”

  In the background, Jill heard a smattering of gunfire on the channel. Alarmed, she switched to channel five and pulled up the platform commander. “Gwenda, report in. Gwenda!” There was no response. Jill’s heart began to skip beats. Every fiber in her ordered her to charge up one of those towers and check on Cameron.

  Roen appeared next to her. “I’ll check on him.”

  “Hurry,” she whispered. He kissed her and sped off.

  All the channels lit up and the other leads – Faust, Dylan, Marco – began to bark out orders. She switched back to channel four and heard chaos as all of her teams were suddenly swarmed by Genjix. She checked their locations on her tablet. They were spread too far apart. Some of the teams manning areas already thought secured were under attack as well.

  Jill exchanged looks with Dylan and Marco, and they began to flag hand signals while issuing orders in rapid succession on the comm, pulling the over-extended teams back and reinforcing others. However, the trap was sprung, and the Prophus attack force was besieged on all sides.

  A hail of bullets ripped through the remnants of the glass wall, sending everyone scurrying behind the rows of consoles. Jill dove just under a stream of bullets, sliding along the floor next to Marco.

  “Jill, I have a team pinned down from the northeast on the second level sixty meters directly south. Can you do anything for them?”

  Jill nodded. “I can recall two groups. We’ll hit them from both sides.”

  “Perfect, love. My boys appreciate it.” He looked over the edge and returned fire. Then he broke into a grin. “Just like old times, eh?”

  “You’re one twisted bastard,” she said, pulling up the GPS on the tablet. “Team nine, back forty meters left and help out team fourteen at junction. Seven, hold that intersection. We are entrenching. Two, you are over-extended. Sixteen, you’re not moving. Sixteen?”

  On the other side of the room, Jill saw Dylan creep closer along the wall toward the shattered windows. “Give them something pretty to look at,” he yelled.

  Marco stood up and strafed the opposite direction. With the enemy’s attention focused on Marco, Dylan broke a window and sent down barrages with his combat shotgun. By the time he pulled back, enemy fire had noticeably lessened.

  Faust dove by next to Jill and pulled her to her feet. “My guys east said they found a couple of civvies and maybe our scientist. And one of my teams in the south says there’re at least three sets of shitheads heading this way. Come on, get going.”

  Marco and Dylan had finished off their attackers. The small group at the command center ran out and made its way east, their heavy footsteps clattering on the grating. The lime green hallways were a mess of bodies and lingering smoke. On the ceilings, the row of harsh fluorescent lights flickered and sparked over the double-wide main corridors.

  “Jill, we have a concentration incoming from two levels below,” Dylan said. “Pull support from the south side. My guys up there say it’s still relatively quiet. Also, get word from the platform. We need to keep that egress route open.”

  “You got it,” she answered. “Keep communications open while we move. Faust, I need a group to help squad nine flush out a nest at the intersection. Can you assist?”

  The four of them headed down the hallway, continuing to direct their forces as best they could while on the run. Around them, Marco’s scout team tried to keep them protected, but the entire operation had deteriorated into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Jill looked back at the four metal columns further west down the hall. That’s where Roen and Cameron were. She prayed her family was all right.

  * * *

  The first half-hour guarding the platform was peaceful and boring. The agents guarding the Chinooks – Ms Gwenda’s team of four, three pilots, and Cameron – were assigned two to each stair, one at the elevator, and one watching the skies. Cameron unfortunately had drawn the short straw and was watching the damn night sky and seeing nothing. It was pitch black outside. He took his job seriously, though, and walked a big circle around the triangle that the three
helicopters formed.

  “This job sucks ass, Tao. This isn’t what I signed up for.”

  Oh, I am sorry. You were expecting to be entertained? Clandestine agent work is filled with a lot of tedium. Ask your father sometime. You should be used to this by now. The two of you have gone on missions several times already.

  “That was different. Hunting or tracking isn’t the same as guard duty. I never want to do this again.”

  Ha. Boy, did you pick the wrong profession. Next thing you know, you will tell me you think fighting is bad.

  “Well, now that you mention it –”

  I swear if you say the p-word, I will throw you over a balcony while you sleep just to get a new host.

  “Punctual? Predictable? Pedagogical?”

  Too bad you didn’t embark on a career as a professional spelling bee competitor.

  “Oh, lighten up. Come on, entertain me. Be my shiny bauble.”

  There was a long pause before Tao finally spoke. Right there, you remind me so much of your father. I miss him. My time with him was far too short.

  “Well, if something happens to me, you guys can meet up and date again.”

  Hush. Do not say things like that.

  “I’m just kidding.”

  I am not.

  Roen calling temporarily broke up his boredom. He could hear the chatter in the background down wherever his father was, and it all sounded so much more interesting than what he was doing now. In typical Roen fashion, his dad began to spoon-feed him advice that Tao had already given him a hundred times before.

  The sound of automatic fire on the southeast corner punctured the otherwise quiet and calming sound of waves breaking against the columns. One of the guards yelled something and more gunfire blended with the waves and screams into a cacophonic mess. Cameron got off the comm and ran to that corner, just in time to see four Genjix rush out of the stairwell. One of the guards was lying face-down, while the other was on his back, writhing in pain and trying to return fire.