“You can bet on it.” Bella waited until Khanjar had faded into the smoke before leaving the niche herself. She took the long way back.
Belladonna Blue: Command and Control Center
Bella felt as if she shouldn’t be here. It was not the first time, and probably would not be the last, but never had she felt less prepared and more overwhelmed by her position as CEO of ECHO.
It was three days after the assault on Ultima Thule. Three days since they had almost failed, and been saved at the last moment. The Metisian Mothership was gone, leaving behind Merc and Ramona and a single ship with a couple of highly excitable female pilots who looked like something out of a 1960s Scifi show. So was Khanjar, which as much high-tech Thulian loot as a chopper could carry. There was still so much work to do, it was difficult to fathom where she should even start. So many wounded…too many. She had been working triple shifts, only kept awake now by caffeine and an energy boost from Thea a few minutes earlier.
At the moment she was lined up with generals, colonels, and other military officials, headed by Arthur Chang, who was resplendent in a uniform with more medals and ribbons than Bella had ever seen in person before. And General’s stars. Which, really, did not surprise her. Everyone was run ragged, but all of the uniforms were pressed and clean for this press conference. It was being held aboard the Command and Control plane, with video feeds for the viewers and for the interviewees. She felt horribly out of place, despite several other metahumans scattered among the ranks. There was Natalya, her CCCP dress uniform looking crisp; she had flatly refused any makeup to cover up the cuts and bruises on her face and neck. An…interesting distance away from her was Worker’s Champion; as predicted, his Supernauts had basically refused all orders save for those from Boryets, and had simply rampaged their way through the city. As a result, they’d suffered tremendous losses. Which probably didn’t matter to Boryets; there were more fools to fill the Supernaut suits where the last lot had come from. Ramona Ferrari had placed herself between Bella and Nat; reflecting her position as the intermediary between CCCP and ECHO. The commanders of the metahuman forces from the Chinese and other non-western contingents were also here, but none of them were under the spotlight the way Bella was. She was the CEO of ECHO, and the most visible place to start placing blame. And oh, there would be blame…for starters, blame that the attack had been kept secret, and blame that it hadn’t happened sooner. Never mind the reality of the situation and what had led up to this point.
The monitors lit up, each one originally meant to hold a battlefield situation, a map, or information, and now each one holding a face. Reporters, representatives of government…
The questions started all at once, blaring over the speakers connected to the monitor of the press room back in the USA. The most predictable thing was that many of the reporters were directing their questions to Bella. After all, it had been ECHO that had been holding the line against the Thulians; it had been ECHO that was the focus of the Thulian attacks. And she was the head, the “warleader,” of ECHO; the last offensive that had been mounted, in New Mexico, had been under her command. They naturally assumed she was the one in command here.
It was a cacophony. She could barely make out some of the questions, pitched more shrilly than others. “Why have we only just now heard of this?” “Why did ECHO keep the location of this Thulian city a secret?” “Why wasn’t the city attacked sooner?” “Is this the end of the Thulian threat?” “What is the nature of ECHO’s involvement with this international force?”
The questions felt like an artillery barrage. She kept her head high, even though she half wanted to scream at them all to shut up, and half wanted to slap her hand down on the kill switch. Where was Spin Doctor? Why didn’t Vickie have him murmuring advice in her ear?
Arthur held up a hand; whether it was his presence even through a monitor screen or something else, all of the reporters and varied representatives fell silent. “First, ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to thank you all for taking the time to assemble for this conference. We don’t have much time to speak, since there’s quite a bit of work yet to be done, so I’m going to be as brief as possible while trying to answer the most pertinent questions.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “My name is General Arthur Chang of the United States Marine Corps, leader of the coalition forces here in the Himalayas. Three days ago, at four thirty a.m. local time, a coalition of troops from militaries from every corner of the planet came together and mounted an attack on what we believed to be the heart of the Krieger menace, a city called Ultima Thule. The city was located in a remote stretch of the Himalayan mountains, and was concealed in such a way that it was not able to be located by conventional means. This attack was conducted in secrecy so as not to alert our mutual enemy. The attack was a success. Through the courageous and valiant actions of the best that our world has to offer, we were able to capture the city.” Arthur stopped again, allowing his words to sink in. “To accomplish this task, we enlisted the help of ECHO, the CCCP, the Supernaut Corps, and several other national metahuman organizations. Despite the extraordinary forces we arrayed against the enemy, we suffered significant losses, and are still processing the prisoners that surrendered to our forces. Until we have finished with that, and fully taking control of the city, there are not many details that can be furnished. Now, I believe that the President’s press conference, and those of other national leaders, are going to start soon, so I’m going to sign off. Thank you, and good night.”
Before the assembled body could begin their questions anew, the screens and microphones were switched off. Everyone in the room gradually relaxed, shuffling around and talking quietly amongst each other. Bella felt dizzy with relief, and actually had to put her hand on the back of a chair for a moment to steady herself.
Then, before he got caught up in something else, she crossed the few steps between them, and lightly touched Chang’s elbow. He broke off what he was saying to an aide to turn his attention towards her. “I want to thank you, General. Twice. Both times for pulling my fat out of the fire. Here and now, and when you took over the job of commanding in the first place.”
He smiled. “Don’t thank me just yet, ma’am. We’re not done yet. Still have a meeting to attend, and I have a feeling that this one will not be nearly as quick or pleasant as the press conference.” Arthur swept an arm out in front of himself. “Will you accompany me, ma’am?”
“‘Once more unto the breach,’” she said dryly.
He shook his head. “No, don’t quote Boudicca. She ultimately lost.”
Bella raised an eyebrow. “I thought I was quoting Henry the Fifth. All right then. ‘Damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead.’”
The entire group was slowly shuffling out of the cramped C and C plane, and when Bella ducked out of the fuselage door, she saw they were heading towards another one of the same sort of inflatable shelters that the medic units were in. Well, at least they wouldn’t be elbow-to-ear in there. The warmth once they got inside was very welcome; it probably wasn’t more than a degree or two above freezing out in the open.
The setup resembled the auxiliary command center—now a heap of smoking stone and corrugated tin, and only quick thinking by everyone concerned had gotten all but a couple of staff out before one of the Thulian Spheres had blasted it. There were several concentric rings of seats and desks, networked laptops on each, and a name plate. She spotted hers and headed for it, wincing as she sat down. She hadn’t realized she had strained so many muscles.…
She noticed as she sat down that there was one other thing on the desk. A little light, currently off, but with a button beside it. She smiled to herself. Well, that was one way to handle what was likely to be another barrage of questions. Whether or not Boryets and Nat would consider themselves required to use the light, however, rather than just shouting over the top of anyone who was trying to speak, was another thing altogether.
Arthur Chang took his place at the center seat, looked around t
o be sure that everyone had at least gotten to the right desk, and sat down. “All right. We have…a lot of business to deal with. Does anyone—”
Having already recognized what the little light was for, Bella had already slapped her button before he finished the sentence. She thought she saw a hint of amusement in his eye as he acknowledged her. “ECHO Lead Parker, go ahead.”
“Prisoners,” she said succinctly. “There are…thousands. We didn’t make any plans for them, since we’ve never had Kriegers actually surrender before, and we can’t exactly turn them loose. Hell, we don’t even know what they eat. What are we going to do with them?”
At the far end of the room the representative for the Chinese Red Army metahuman team, a diminutive man wearing a face wrap and dark shades pressed the button at his desk, the small light coming on. Arthur nodded to him.
“Is simple. They are still the enemy. They signed no Geneva Convention. Many are not even human, and those that are, are clearly in compact with the enemy. So, we deal with them like traitors; line them up and shoot them. Simple.”
The room immediately erupted into roaring argument. Bella thought about trying to interject something into it, then thought better of the idea. Boryets and Nat seemed to be in almost-perfect agreement with the Chinese, with one little difference, they both wanted to torture a few dozen just to see if anything useful about the wrecked tech of the city could be gotten out of them. Bella only wished that Murdock was here; he’d managed to get some sense into Nat’s head—
Hmm. Murdock gambit.…
“Overwatch,” she murmured. “Open Red Saviour private. Nat. Boryets is trying to goad you into looking like a barbarian. Five minutes more he’ll ramp up your temper and then and he’ll abandon the position of torture and execution, leaving you standing there holding the baby. Remember what Murdock said about torture when we interrogated Bad Bowie. Beat Boryets at his own game.”
The Commissar shot a glance over to Bella, looking more annoyed than anything. Instead of using the light on her desk to signal her desire to speak, Natalya charged her fist with energy and brought it down—lightly for her—with a clang against the metal desk. Everyone in the room turned to look at her, some of the closer military officials visibly startled.
“Perhaps summary execution after…enhanced interrogation is too quick for these dogs. There is being much to learn from them, if time is taken. Catching more flies with sugar, da? There may being other cells of fascista still scattered out in world, waiting to launch attacks anew. Then, there is matter of the…hybrids. The Thulian-human mixes. How such thing is even being possible…may be good to question them on it.” She shrugged. “Nuremberg is being working once, and the world will be wanting to see these dogs face justice.”
Worker’s Champion looked at the Commissar coolly, and was about to speak before Arthur cut him and everyone else in the room off.
“The United States military already has a system in place for processing prisoners of war. I assure all of you that any intelligence that we might be able to gleam from the detainees will be shared—equally, I might add—with everyone’s intelligence services and governments. At the same time, we are extremely visible right now; we’re on the world stage, and any mistreatment of these prisoners will echo through history, tainting what we’ve accomplished here. It’s not our job to determine their ultimate fate; our job is to make sure that there are no more threats out there, and to handle any that are. After all, as the Commissar rightly pointed out, their predecessors faced justice at Nuremberg, and there is no reason why such trials cannot take place again. In fact, there is every reason that they should. Agreed?” Before he was half finished, Red Saviour was nodding vigorously, and the more she nodded, the more Worker’s Champion glowered.
One by one, everyone gave their assent. It was the combination of the Commissar and Art’s force of personality that ensured the argument ended, and right there. Bella couldn’t help but notice a tiny smirk on the Commissar’s face. She’d won over Worker’s Champion, in front of everyone, and had used the ploy he’d potentially intended to use on her to boot.
That set the tone for the rest of the meeting. Some more ridiculous solutions were proposed, but for the most part Natalya and Arthur remained in agreement…sometimes with some gentle persuasion from Bella for the Commissar. Once more, Bella was overwhelmingly grateful for the Overwatch system. She could rein in Nat without anything overt and potentially embarrassing. The occupation of the city was determined to be a multinational affair with NATO oversight, much to the chagrin of the Indian military who wanted the whole nine yards for themselves. Other important matters such as airlift evacs for wounded to military hospitals, where to house the Krieger detainees, priority of study of the remains of the Thulian city and technology, and so on, were dealt with more expeditiously. Before the city capitulated, it seemed that many of the support personnel and some of the troopers had slagged as much tech and equipment that they could, to keep it from falling into the coalition’s hands. Bella had seen pictures and video feed of some of the wreckage; only guessing at the purpose of some of the machines, she was still unsettled. All sorts of obscure devices and mechanisms, manufacturing centers…even chambers that clearly were meant to hold living beings.
Finally there was a long moment of silence. And when the light at the desk of the German delegate came on, it almost made Bella start. “Just one small operational question,” the officer said, with crisp politeness and not even a trace of an accent. “Why was CCCP fielding Op4s without informing the rest of the coalition?”
All eyes turned towards the Commissar, whose expression froze. Bella decided to bail her out and give her time to think. “ECHO and the CCCP have worked very closely since CCCP headquartered in Atlanta,” she said into the tense silence. “I can tell you that to my certain and very personal knowledge, at least one of the individuals you refer to was certainly not displaying Op4 characteristics until today. As for The Seraphym…” She shrugged eloquently. “I’m not sure what she is. And neither is anyone else, although there’s been plenty of speculation about it. She appeared, working on our side, in the First Invasion and has never officially been with ECHO or the CCCP, although the CCCP accepted her as an ally-combatant when she volunteered. All I know is she’s still on our side.” She lifted an eyebrow at the German. “Of course, if you want to question her yourself…”
The German army representative shifted uncomfortably. The Commissar took this opportunity to interject.
“Metahuman powers have being known to fluctuate, especially in times of stress. We did not willfully withhold information about the capabilities of our comrades; to do so would have been foolish, since planning could take such a factor into account. I assure all of you, however; my people are not being ones that you need to worry about. The situation with the two comrades in question is under control.”
Bella understood the apprehension, and she couldn’t help but feel some herself. There were very, very few Op4’s around, and for good reason. Even someone like Worker’s Champion or Chug, whose superstrength and invulnerability were the stuff of modern legends, only qualified as Op3. Many of the Op4’s still in existence were forces of nature; where they went, things changed. And not necessarily for the better; nearly all of the most powerful metahumans had some sort of mental instability. For the most part, whenever they were used they were channeled as best as was possible, but sometimes…attempts to control them just didn’t work. The incident with the Mountain was still the matter of a lot of controversy back in Atlanta. So far, it didn’t seem as if John and Sera were a danger to anyone; the level of power that they evidenced during the attack was the most frightening aspect of the two of them, not the way they used it. Once they were all back state-side, she hoped she would get the opportunity to talk with both of them again, get a better read on them. Though, really, if she got a chance now…she’d feel a lot more comfortable.
The Commissar was saved from further questioning about the couple.
There was an LCD screen hanging on the wall behind Arthur Chang that had been dark until this moment. Now it came to life. Vickie’s weary face appeared in it. “Permission to speak, sir,” she said into the silence. “I…uh…don’t have a light to flash at you.”
Taken by surprise at the hijacking of his own equipment, Chang turned to stare at Vickie in surprise. “Who—” he began.
Bella interjected smoothly. “One of my electronic intel techs back in Atlanta, sir. You interfaced with her during the battle. She wouldn’t be interrupting if she hadn’t discovered something.”
Chang nodded. “Very well then, please speak, miss—”
“Been going through camera footage, and got this, sir,” Vickie said, not identifying herself as Overwatch, much less as the operator of Overwatch 2. The screen switched to what Bella recognized as the moment right after the Metisian ship appeared. This was a relatively undamaged part of the city, and there was something in the middle of the picture that riveted everyone’s attention.
A metal dragon.
By now, everyone was familiar with the images of the flying fire-breather that Murdock and the The Seraphym had destroyed, and the serpentine troop-devourer that Chug had literally punched his way out of. This was not either one of those.
It was hard to tell for certain, but Bella got the impression that this beast was larger than either of the other two. There were a couple hundred armored Kriegers attached to the sides for transport, as they did with the Death Spheres. The thing had its neck stretched out and its mouth open, and more unarmored Kriegers were running in through the mouth, some with their arms full of equipment or things unidentifiable.
The focus zoomed in. Bella gasped, and so did anyone else who recognized who the two figures running for the dragon were.
Collision: Book Four in the Secret World Chronicle - eARC Page 61