The Deaths of Tao (6 page)

Roen managed to look a little crestfallen, though if anything, it was an act to get the rookies to lower their guards. This exercise was one Tao used to hone Roen’s tactics during fights. Now, it was a game between them to see who could be more creative.

She put on a stern face and glared at the two young guards. “Do you know who I am?”

“Of course ma’am,” the one in the rear said.

“Good. The jerk’s with me. Let us through.”

They exchanged hesitant glances before the one in front stepped aside. Jill thanked them and continued through the entrance. Roen followed dutifully, but as he passed them, he couldn’t help himself. He gestured to the skinny cub and flicked the boy’s trigger hand with his finger.

“Look, if you’re going to point a rifle at someone less than a meter away, keep your damn finger on the trigger.” Then he rounded on the fat one in the back. “And you, who do you think you are, holding yours at your waist? Are you in a Columbian cartel? Listen Che, up here.” Roen snatched the rifle and stuck it at shoulder level. He turned away and muttered. “You two schlubs have no idea how close you were to getting killed just now.”

That will endear you to the troops.
 

“I’m assuming we’re here on a temporary basis, right? We’re contracting this gig.”

Nothing like contracting for free.
 

They passed by the coiling door and entered a large open space teeming with activity. The current Prophus command center looked like someone started unpacking and then left for lunch. Roen’s eyes followed the cable lines that snaked across the floors to the corners and down the room to another that most likely housed the data center. There were half-unpacked crates everywhere and the entire room felt very makeshift.

Dust on the walls and shelves. Weapons all live on racks.
 

“How long have you been here?” he asked.

“Four months,” Jill replied. “All bases are mobile now. We can’t afford to stay in one place for too long these days.”

“Why isn’t that man under guard?” A voice belted over the constant buzzing of the room. A red-faced Stephen approached with his right hand on his holstered sidearm.

“Thirty degree angle left, right arm clothesline?”

It is only Stephen. He has twigs for legs. Go low.
 

Stephen got close and poked a finger into his face. “We don’t take to deserters kindly around here.”

Roen held his ground and gave Stephen an even look, half prepared to defend himself. The two stood still for several moments. In the back of his head, he heard that old Wild West music playing and imagined a tumbleweed rolling past them. Then finally, the end of Stephen’s mouth twitched upward; he grinned. “It’s good to see you again, Roen. I see you haven’t let yourself go.”

“Not all the way,” Roen grinned back. “And I see you still can’t hold a poker face.” Stephen was one of the few people in the organization who Roen would take a bullet for. He thought of the Field Marshal of the Prophus forces as a father figure and, along with Jill and Dylan, he was the only person Roen felt guilty for abandoning.

Stephen turned and motioned for Roen to follow. “So how’s that fact-finding mission of yours coming along?” He was also one of the few to take Roen’s conspiracies seriously.

Roen was more than happy to share the information. “The Genjix are planning something big. We know they are heavily invested in ProGenesis, trying to procreate our kind, but I believe that is only a means to an end. Their research divisions have been sourcing raw materials that have nothing to do with the reproduction process. They recently completed a heavy water refinery in Siberia, and they’ve snapped up every ounce of certain rare metals they can get their hands on in South Africa. It’s a large puzzle. One that I haven’t put together yet. I believe a large part of their refining is done in the States and routed to China.”

Unlike most of Command, Stephen actually seemed interested in Roen’s findings. “We found scattered reports that correlate with what you just said, though our intelligence gathering is only a shadow of what it was a few years ago. You have any theories on what they’re up to?”

Roen shook his head. “Something Sean told me at the Decennial stuck in my mind. It was about not caring if the Quasing return home or not. Then we discovered those mutated algae in that Newfoundland research facility two years ago. I traced the empty chemical barrels to a testing lab in Mongolia. The CO
2
emissions in the fields there were off the charts. It got me thinking...”

They reached a set of double doors. Stephen stopped and turned to him. “You might want to stick around. We have intel you might find interesting. Besides, we can use your gun. Lord knows we’re short on quality men these days. What do you say?”

“Sorry, sir,” Roen shrugged. “I operate better without that bitch Keeper always yelling at me. By the way, where are you finding these new recruits? The two kids up front, their voices are still cracking.”

“Not much more inexperienced than when Tao found you. Give them time.”

Our need to recruit younger and more inexperienced reminds me of the final year of the Third Reich. They were drafting children off the streets.
 

“And why is Dylan
in China?” Roen asked. “No Prophus should go anywhere close to that continent these days.”

“That’s where the good action is these days,” Stephen shrugged. “The Genjix have free rein there. They consider the States too restrictive. The
Atlanti
s was providing support for him when it was crippled.” He grimaced. “Eighty-three hosts, a hundred and ninety-four crew, not to mention a three billion dollar sub.”

“We didn’t actually pay for it,” Roen said. “We stole it from them.”

“Still a three billion dollar asset lost.”

“What’s the situation now with the
Atlantis
?” Jill asked.

“Still being towed,” Stephen said. “The South Sea Fleet forced the sub to the surface but was unable to cut in. They won’t be able to, short of blowing it up. They’re towing it to the Fuzhou Naval Base. From what I hear, all the maneuvering thrusters on the
Atlantis
are working against the tow. It’ll take them a few days.”

“Why didn’t they just sink her and be done with it?” Roen asked.

Stephen shook his head. “The Genjix, at a very high cost, have been capturing Quasing rather then send them to the Eternal Sea. The ProGenesis experiments demand a lot of host test subjects. Dylan discovered that the Genjix have been stashing all their prisoners in an internment camp in Tibet. It’s the logical place for the prisoners on
Atlantis
to go. We’re going to try to break them out there instead of in China.”

“Is that why Dylan was in China? He was searching for the internment camp?” Roen asked.

Stephen shook his head. “Discovery of the camp was just gravy.” He leaned in close. “You want to know why? He was following up on your intel.” Stephen’s face broke into a wide grin when he saw the shocked look on Roen’s face. “You didn’t actually think that mole you were using to check up on Jill actually worked for you, did you?”

Roen was speechless. “You... were spying on me!”

Stephen laughed. “Let’s say we used you as an unpaid intelligence consultant.”

“Tao, oh my god! I was contracting for free!”

I have always considered Stephen’s Quasing, Camr, my equal. It seemed I have underestimated him.
 

Stephen winked. “Do you want to know what he found?”

Roen nodded.

Stephen opened the double doors. “Follow me.”

The three of them entered a small room with nine people huddled around a large round table. Roen didn’t recognize all of them, but the three he did told him that he was in rare company.

The Keeper looked up from the map they were fussing over and scowled. “Who let that traitor in here? Put him in cuffs right now.”

Two guards as young-looking as the ones Roen had met at the entrance appeared. Immediately, an escape plan involving a pretty rough firefight popped into his head. Unfortunately, the plan entailed taking Stephen hostage and shooting the Keeper. Roen put a hand on his sidearm and the two guards raised their rifles. At least they were holding them right this time.

This is certainly going to be interesting if you draw. And no, you are not allowed to shoot the Keeper. Try being civil.
 

“Technically,” Roen shrugged as casually as a person could with two rifles trained on him, “I’m a deserter, not a traitor, and I’d like to see these kindergartners try.”

Your interpretation of civil needs a bit of work.
 

The Keeper had aged quite a bit since he had last seen her, and she wasn’t that young to begin with. Her host, Meredith Frances, was a distant Astor through marriage. She and the Keeper had been the head of the Prophus longer than anyone could remember.

The Keeper was the only Quasing from the original Grand Council to side with the Prophus, and she had held the honored post of the Historian of the Ship since they first journeyed from Quasar. She was the closest thing the Prophus had to a head of government. Unfortunately for Roen, she hadn’t thought much of him even before he left. Now she thought even less of him. It didn’t bother Roen that much though. He hated the Keeper’s guts.

You did get her heir killed.
 

“On a mission. She tried to have me arrested for disobeying orders.”

You did disobey orders.
 

“I was a hundred meters away from the entire Genjix Council. It was worth the risk.”

That I agree with.
 

“So why are you arguing with me?”

I am not. Just reminding you that you disobeyed a direct order and Hubert died for it. He was her favorite nephew after all.
 

Roen took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and counted down from fourteen. He opened them and looked straight at the Keeper. He could tell from his peripheral vision that the guards were a little trigger-happy. “Look, I’m here to help. I owe Dylan more times than I can count. If you want me on board, my gun is yours. If not, you can try to arrest me.”

Jill just rolled her eyes while Stephen tried to defuse the situation. “Put the guns down,” he snapped at the guards. He turned to the Keeper and Roen. “Meredith, now is not the time. Roen, grow up. We have bigger issues at stake here. Hundreds of our people’s lives are forfeit unless we act. If you’re with us, obey orders like everyone else. If not, you know where the door is. Understood?”

Roen nodded.

“Good.” Stephen looked down at the map. “The parts are already moving. The bulk of our forces will enter Tibet via commercial transport over the course of a week. Our infrastructure in Nepal fortunately remains intact and will supply us from across the border. That entire region hasn’t seen much action from either side in over forty years or the Genjix probably wouldn’t have built the internment camp there.

“What’s our troop count?” Roen asked.

“Stripping available personnel without crippling world operations, a shade under two thousand,” Stephen answered. “This will be largest direct operation we’ve had since World War II. Advance scouts already on the ground estimate nearly fourteen to twenty-two hundred prisoners. With the
Atlantis
added to those numbers, that’s far too many Prophus to leave in Genjix hands.

“I’ll need to clear time off with Wilks,” Jill said.

“You’re not going,” the Keeper said. “Through attrition, you’re moving up the food chain here at the capital. Adam’s dropped the ball around here. In the past six months, we’ve lost nineteen political operatives. You have an important job on the Hill and I want you to focus on our initiatives there. No more off-the-program work for you. I’m assigning an agent to your protective detail as well. This city’s gotten too dangerous, and we can’t afford to lose any more, especially a key legislative operative such as yourself.”

“You’re taking me off the line?” she gasped.

“More like we’re narrowing your focus. As much as I hate to say it,” the Keeper sniffed toward Roen’s direction, “he might have been on to something. The Genjix have been applying pressure in Congress to loosen trade resolutions with China. There are a few bills in particular that seem to be part of a larger initiative. Until we find out exactly what they’re after, we need you to shut them down.”

Stephen looked at Roen. “That’s where you come in. Dylan was following leads from your intel in China and it pointed him to the island of Taiwan. The
Atlantis
was taking him there when it was attacked. Last communication we got from Abrams was that he got away in an escape pod. We don’t know if he made it or not. I want you to pick up where he left off, find what he’s looking for and, if possible, bring him safely back as well.”

“Who’s going to protect Jill then?” Roen asked.

“Aw, I didn’t know you still cared, Roen,” Jill said. “Now, if you only cared enough to not leave me and our child...”

“Can we not do this in front of our friends and alien colleagues?” he said.

Stephen wagged his finger at both Jill and Roen. “And that’s why it’s a standing policy to not let agents in a relationship, or whatever you two are right now, work together. People get emotional. People get killed. The Keeper has it covered.”

“Covered like last night?” Roen spat. “Forget it. She’d be on her way to that camp right now if it weren’t for me.”

“I know about last night’s fiasco. As far as I’m concerned, the only operation Adams is managing from now on is the annual Christmas party,” the Keeper said dryly. “I’m taking him off operations in Washington and transferring him to the Midwest.” She pointed at the map. “Trust me when I say Jill is an important asset. We are slowly losing the United States. We’re bringing someone with a proven track record to stem the tide of Genjix influence in the States, and we’re going to need Jill. We need someone she can depend on to protect her.”