Their Pacific cruise finished its leg in Manila on the second day and reached Macau on the fourth. They spent two days in port, loading new cargo before chugging back toward Taiwan leisurely. The sun was out, and there was a gentle breeze coming in from the west making the weather perfect for just lounging and drinking copious amounts of alcohol. All in all, this was the best and only vacation Roen had had in years.
And you needed it, Negative Nancy.
“All work and no play…”
And as karma would have it, just as the going got good, bad news had to rain down on their parade. They were a day out from Taiwan when disturbing information from the States came across the Prophus sub-channel. Roen and Hutch were playing tetherball with a punctured soccer ball when Stan came sprinting out onto the deck.
“We’re all needed in the communication room,” he gasped, breathing so hard he barely got the words out.
Roen looked down at his watch. “I’m not on radio duty for another thirty minutes.”
“We’ve just lost the government!” Stan said.
Roen looked puzzled. “What happened to the Keeper?”
“No, the United States!”
This cannot be true!
Roen only thought of Jill as he rushed to the tower, followed closely by the rest of his team. According to bits and pieces from scattered Prophus reports, Washington DC had fallen to the Genjix. The team huddled around the communication array, hitting every back channel they could find. Nine hours later, the Keeper had verified their worst fears. The capital of the United States had fallen to a brazen military coup, and the Genjix were now in firm control of the country.
Roen spent those hours huddled in a ball next to the radio. Some of the information was conflicting, and he didn't know what to believe. It trickled in slowly and in bits, and it only got worse. Senator Thompson was missing. Secretary of Defense Jayloh, Director Sun of the FBI, and Representative Forbeck, a respected nine-term congressman, were all confirmed dead alongside their Quasing. Federal appellate Judge Cole, Secretary Kowal of the Department of Education, and Vice Admiral Andrews were only a few of the growing list of important Prophus figures missing. The number of dead Prophus operatives climbed higher and higher. Initial estimates were fourteen, then forty, and then over a hundred. One bit of data stood out to him though. Senator Wilks had been shot and presumed dead. Scenes of Jill facing a hit squad of Genjix assassins played over and over in his head. His face drained of all color as he clutched his knees, listening for any piece of news that would prove his worst fears false.
I cannot believe they can be so brazen as to risk such an attack.
This was a coordinated attack, one inconceivable a few short years ago. For the Genjix to risk this sort of exposure and cause this kind of public upheaval was beyond any Quasing’s understanding. This went against strict Quasing doctrine both sides had followed for thousands of years.
What the hell are those assholes doing?
Tao kept muttering that phrase over and over. It worried Roen to hear him say that. Tao was incensed to the point of being incoherent. Usually nothing rattled him. This was the alien who had conquered half the world several times.
Are they insane?
During those hours, Tao had retreated into a shell, staying silent for the most part save for a few random angry outbursts. Finally, during the tenth hour into their vigil around the radio, Tao made a disturbing proclamation.
We have lost.
Roen, dozing against the table, snapped his head up, suddenly alert and attentive. He glared at the others huddled in the room in various states of consciousness and snapped. “Who said that?” He climbed to his feet, nostrils flaring. “Which one of you said we’ve lost?” The other guys looked up at him with dull, blank stares.
“No one, Roen,” Ray said. “It must be Tao.”
“Tao would never…” Roen snarled and then stopped.
“Tao, did you say we lost?”
The war is over. Without the United States, the Prophus have lost.
“Come on, that’s bullshit. We’re not giving up.”
There is no longer a path to victory. Without support from a superpower in this world, we have no choice but to capitulate to the Genjix. It will save lives in the long run. We should advise the Keeper to consider the inevitable. Had we kept at least one superpower neutral, we might have been able to hold off the Genjix until we found a long-term solution, but with both China and the United States actively working against us, the war is lost.
Roen suddenly couldn’t breathe. He stormed out of the communication room and barreled past several startled crewman. He sprinted up the stairs and burst out onto the deck. He inhaled the cool night ocean air, taking in the salt and water as he stalked toward the bow of the ship. Between Tao’s shocking concession and his fear that Jill was dead, he couldn't take it anymore.
Roen leaned over the railing and screamed as loud and as long as he could. All he could think about was how he was half a world away from Jill. He should have been by her side. He should have been there to protect her! He rounded on the nearest inanimate victim, which happened to be a rusty ventilation shaft jutting up from the deck, and punched it as hard as he could. He followed up with another punch and then a kick that rang the round tube like a dull church bell.
“Ow.”
Careful. You might need that foot still. We could be on the run for a long time.
Roen was pretty sure his hand wasn’t broken, but he couldn’t say the same of his foot. If he had hurt the ventilation shaft, it didn’t show it. That shaft was a lot sturdier than it looked. Instead, Roen turned his back to it and sat down, leaning on it for support. He rubbed his injured hands and foot as his mind raced. Was Jill lying dead in her office? Maybe in a ditch? Had she been executed by the Genjix? Every thought tore out a little piece of him. Lin’s words echoed again in his head. His wife was probably dead, and he could be soon as well. His son would be an orphan. He should have been there! Roen slammed his fist into the deck.
Get ahold of yourself.
“This is your fault, Tao! I should have been by her side!”
There was a long pause.
You are right. I am sorry, Roen. When this is over, we will find Jill. I promise you. You have done enough for the Prophus. It is time we put your loved ones first.
Roen leaned against the railing. “You mean it?”
I do. Finish this mission, and we will catch the next plane out.
Then Roen saw a smattering of lights in the distance. The lights multiplied and grew larger and larger. A minute later, the outline of the city came into view.
We have reached the southern port of Kaohsiung. Get the men inside the container.
Roen didn’t move. His eyes followed the blinking lights as they got closer and closer. “What’s the point if it's all over?”
Until told otherwise, we still have a mission to carry out. And even if the war is lost, it is not like we can back out now. Prepare for infiltration.
THIRTY-SEVEN