Palos bowed and complied. A moment later, it was only Enzo, Newgard, and Palos in the room. Newgard was still standing at attention next to the table while Palos guarded the door. The tension in the air was thick as each waited for someone to back down.
Perhaps it is best to hedge your bets and allow Newgard to maintain official capacity while you operate in the shadows. That way, a loss will not reflect badly upon you, but neither will a victory. However, a refusal to a member of the Council cannot stand. A lesson must be taught. You must act.
A line must be drawn. If not, Vinnick and the rest of the Council would believe he was a lion without claws. He could have Newgard detained, but what would that prove? He could order Palos to beat him. That would be humiliating to a vessel to have a human take him to task in such a matter, but the other vessels would disapprove.
The Blessed Ones would look down upon that and somewhere down the line, it might give humans ideas. If anyone was to do the deed, it had to be Enzo. But would this lesson be clear enough? Strong enough? Would the rest of the Council respect his standing then? Would they fear him? There was only one thing he could do to prove his might and resolve. Without taking his eyes off of Newgard, Enzo took a step back, drew his sidearm, and shot the man through the head.
No! What are you doing? There are lines that you must not cross!
“He insulted you, Zoras! I will not tolerate it!
Madness! Newgard and Zauw are not without rank, and have proven themselves in the past. There will be a reckoning for this.
“So be it. I will not be handicapped by the Council to do what needs to be done.”
You are walking on the edge, vessel. While I agree that the Council plays things too safe, there are other factors to consider.
“Those factors are irrelevant. You even said yourself. Only the final goal is important. The time for half measures is over. Politics should not affect our decisions.”
Your single purpose of mind is noble, but with experience, you will understand there is more to victory than just winning.
Enzo holstered his sidearm and watched as Zauw left Newgard’s body and floated just in front of his face, as if trying to scold him. Enzo averted his eyes respectfully. “I offer you the vessel of my trusted commander,” and gestured to Palos, who stood frozen by this sudden boon. Nearly all Genjix operatives hoped to be a vessel, but this must have come as a shock.
Slowly, Palos knelt. “I serve the Holy Ones,” he said, head lowered.
Zauw passed by Enzo and flitted around Palos, as if inspecting the flesh of a new horse about to be purchased. Then finally, he moved on top of Palos’ head and sank into his body. Enzo closed his eyes and waited while Palos gagged in pain.
When he finally recovered, he bent a knee to Enzo. “Thank you, Father, for this blessing.”
Satisfied, Enzo turned around and nodded. “Good. Let’s get to work. Take an account of all human prisoners. They are expendable. Place them standing three meters apart blindfolded, bound, and gagged along the perimeter fence. Let’s see if the Prophus are willing to shell their own people.”
Newly raised vessel Palos, with adulation now in his eyes, bowed deeper to Enzo than he ever had and hurried away. Enzo watched in satisfaction. He had effectively neutralized Vinnick’s hold on this camp and secured Palos’ loyalty in one move.
Enzo turned back toward the map of the surrounding area and began to familiarize himself with the landscape as he planned his next move.
What is done is done. Now, the first thing needed is a scouting perimeter three klicks out. And then we will need to send engineering crews to clear away the jungle. Next we need to consider supplies for our increased numbers.
For the next two hours, Zoras and Enzo alone planned their next defensive measures against the encroaching Prophus. If the notes that Newgard had were accurate, this could be the largest Prophus force on the ground in nearly a century. If Enzo could deal a crushing blow here, his standing would certainly be assured. He smiled as he listened to Zoras’ plan. This was going to be glorious.
TWENTY-FIVE
TRIP SOUTH
Empires rose and fell under our hands. It wasn’t until just before the birth of the Babylonian Empire, with Hammurabi at its helm, that we began to understand humanity’s potential. The Council observed that with every successive rise and fall of an empire, the primitive man evolved even quicker. Thus, the Conflict Doctrine became our method of developing humanity.
I was a Quasing of low standing during the early years of the Mesopotamian empires. We were still learning to adapt to the higher levels of human cognitive thought. We could not treat these humans as we did the dinosaurs or saber-tooth tigers or primates.
I did not rise to prominence until one day, I inhabited the second son of minor kingdom. His name was Shamshi-Adad.
Tao
The trip to the county of Kaohsiung in the southern tip of Taiwan proved much easier once the team secured financing. Roen didn’t realize it, but it seemed one of Lin’s many hidden talents was financial genius. Supposedly, his master had done so well on the Nikkei that he was a millionaire. When Roen asked what his secret was, Lin shrugged and said he picked stocks that rhymed. The old man was either full of it, or the greatest idiot savant stock broker in the history of trading.
Regardless, for old time’s sake, and after much begging and pleading, Roen left his meeting with Lin three million Taiwanese dollars richer, which was supposed to bankroll the team for a few weeks. He wasn’t sure exactly how much the conversion to US dollars was, but he based his calculations on the fact that an order of stinky tofu at the street market cost forty Taiwanese dollars, so he had roughly seventy-five thousand stinky tofu worth of funds.
They rented vans from the Bamboo Union and stayed off the grid. The Genjix undoubtedly watched for financial transactions. The team never moved in groups of more than two, and made sure to stay away from areas with surveillance. A week later, they had settled into a rental apartment near the port in Kaohsiung. Ray found it in the classifieds from a couple who were studying abroad in South Korea. It didn’t have all the perks that a standard safe house had in the States, but compared to their previous digs, the small two-bedroom condo was a mansion. And it only cost twenty-five thousand Taiwanese dollars a month, or six hundred stinky tofu.
Roen tossed his duffel bag to the corner of the living room and did a quick walkthrough of their new home. They still bunched three to a room, and one on the couch and floor, but it wasn’t too bad. They had just enough time to settle in and get a reconnaissance team going. Having sat on their collective asses for a week, the team was raring to go. He ordered Stan and Ray to get some supplies at the local grocery store, Jim to get a detailed map of the Linhai Industrial Park, and Grant to make dinner. He put Hutch on guard duty and left Faust to his bonding sessions with Ramez.
Roen wouldn’t admit it to the guys, but his concern for Faust was growing. His friend had good and bad days, and was often caught arguing with himself in the corner. Obviously, he hadn’t learned to use his inside voice yet when speaking to the Quasing. Or maybe he just didn’t care. The conversations never sounded pleasant either. That night, Roen watched from inside the condo as Faust spent all of dinner sitting outside on the balcony ranting at the air.
“Maybe you should have a talk with Ramez. See what’s going on.”
That would be rude. Quasing do not tell each other how to deal with their hosts.