This haven may end up serving as the command point for North American operations. See that it is ready.
“Yes, my Guardian.”
Enzo turned to Coen and put a hand on his shoulder.
“This haven is yours. The proximity of this facility makes it a key staging point in the upcoming war. There are a few additions that will be needed. Are you prepared?”
Coen dropped to a knee in reverence.
Enzo beckoned him to follow. They took the elevator from the tower down to the main section of the base. Maintenance crews were still cleaning up the battle of the previous day. Supposedly, a few of the Epsilons still hid within the nooks and crevices, waiting to exact revenge for Vinnick. Poor foolish misguided fanatics, not only had they placed their faith in a false believer, they were now fighting for a lost cause. Their willful foolishness made them unworthy of the Genjix.
This loyalty haven was the largest in the world. It was built more like an underwater city than a base. Designed for up to three thousand inhabitants, the haven was a series of large rectangular layered modules connected to a central vertical shaft known as the spine. The top of the spine was a series of massive hydraulics that moved the four towers twenty meters into the air when in use, and underwater when not needed.
Enzo and Coen walked into the command module on the second layer just off the first radius of the spine. An electronic blueprint of the base on one screen illuminated the delicate balance of the underwater base. From the side, the haven looked like a squat Christmas tree with a pole through its center. A series of green lights displayed the condition of each section, from its operating parameters, to the air levels, to how many living souls were operating in each module.
The modules spread across the lake’s floor like a spider web, crisscrossing intersections at different layered points, dividing the haven into sections, each with a specifically assigned function. The hydroponics farm was engineered to sustain the entire population of the base, while the advanced underwater hydroelectric cylinder could keep the haven powered indefinitely. With only three hundred permanent command staff, a hundred and fifty security forces with overlapping duties, and a hundred of Enzo’s operatives, the entire base was sparsely inhabited. Large sections of the haven earmarked for housing still lay closed off and dormant. Enzo could think of better uses for the space than idiotic dorms for weak-willed vessels.
“Sections six through fourteen and nineteen through twenty-three, and all their adjacent vertical platforms.” Enzo switch the display to highlight the ones he was referring to on the eastern side of the lake. “Convert these facilities to hangars. Vertical takeoff platforms.”
“What about housing, Father?”
Enzo ignored him and continued. From setting up a permanent nerve center for surveillance and clandestine operations, to a resupply depot for land units, to a launching point for bombings, Enzo intended this to be a military base ready for when the war began.
There was currently only one functioning catalyst facility in operation, and three more under construction. There would need to be eight within the hemisphere before the reaction could begin. However, this continent had proven to be the most resistant to the Genjix’s infiltrations. The United States would be the most difficult country to subjugate. Unfortunately for the Genjix, the last battlefield for Quasiform’s success would be here.
Akelatis ran up to him and bowed. “Father, urgent message from the catalyst facility in the northwest United States. It is currently under attack.
Enzo grunted. “By the Prophus? I highly doubt they can -”
“By the IXTF, Father.”
Enzo looked at the messenger, alarmed.
We cannot allow that facility to fall. Work the political channels to suppress the IXTF. Handle their units on the ground by force. The truth of the facility must be buried.
Enzo quickly relayed the instructions, ordering their political resources to suppress and delay any warrants the IXTF might have. The quickest solution would be to wipe out the IXTF forces and then buy government and media silence. It was a risky move, but there were few other options. The fledging multi-government agency had finally grown some claws and was becoming an increasingly annoying thorn in the Genjix’s side.
“Father,” Akelatis said, relaying the message. “The facility begs for support. They do not have enough men to securely wipe out the entire enemy force.”
The cleaning team must be thorough. All IXTF personnel on the ground will have to be eliminated to a man. There can be no survivors. Any leaks, especially when it comes to the deaths of federal agents in this particular government are difficult to wipe.
Enzo quickly considered his options. Pulling in resources from Asia would take too long, not to mention the difficulty of moving large numbers of men through border security. However, losing the facility would be a disaster. Losing that stockpile of catalyst agents was not an option. There was only one way to be sure his interests were secured.
“Send half of my personal guard,” Enzo instructed. “Delay if you can through political channels to buy time for them to arrive. I want the IXTF wiped out.”
Akelatis bowed. “Your will, Father.”
It was risky sending his forces over to defend the facility. However, they would be put to better use there than rotting here at the bottom of this lake. Enzo would have gone himself if he could, but the United States was too volatile for someone of his stature. Soon though, once the war began, he would personally lead his forces and invade the Western hemisphere. Then, once the world was in enough chaos and all the catalyst facilities were ready, Quasiform would begin. By the time humanity figured out what was happening, it would be too late.
38 Reunion
The Prophus took on a new role in the years after what is now known as the Great Betrayal. For more than five hundred years, we had struggled to beat the Genjix. Now, our new directive was to provide safe passage to everyone who was persecuted by either the Genjix or humanity. That was how the Quasing Underground Railroad was born.
A series of safe houses and checkpoints was created to funnel fugitives toward the few countries in the world that had lax security when it came to alien detection. The survival of our species became the Prophus’s new primary objective.
Baji
Jill made a mental note that if she ever got her operation running again, not to spend a nickel on this three-dimensional display Faust was using for the briefing. A notorious early adopter within the commander ranks, Faust always spent a good chunk of his budget on these bleeding-edge toys. Some ended up proving to be extremely useful, but most were crap.
Right now, she was looking at the latter and trying to figure out what it was trying to show. The projection was supposed to be a three-dimensional rendering of the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories, but in its attempt to be detailed, it looked so messy that it reminded her of one of her baking experiments gone wrong.
Faust pointed at the display. “Here’s an image of the center of Great Slave Lake during a routine satellite pass seventy-two days ago.” All she could see was what looked like a large mass of water. “Now, here’s an image of this exact same spot four days ago, when the Keeper gave us clearance to move the satellite over the region,” Faust continued, snapping a picture of the lake and zooming in. It looked exactly the same as the previous image, but now there was a small group of structures rising out of the water. “Based on Tao’s intel and Cameron’s talks with the girl, we’re looking at a Genjix loyalty haven. We left the satellite in place and saw this over the next few days.”