Chapter 18
Falling Petals
HIMS Leo Rugiens, High Orbit of Bellator
Admiral Beck had just begun to cut into the sausage link on his plate when the viewscreen on the bulkhead came to life and the operations officer Kapitän Wei appeared.
"Pardon the interruption, Herr Admiral, but we have an emergency situation."
Admiral Beck set down his silverware and asked the Kapitän, "What is it?"
"Major Yang made contact with Oberleutnant Van Houten at Aix-Clovin. Her attempt to apprehend Oberleutnant Van Houten failed."
"She got away?"
"I am afraid it is worse than that, Herr Admiral. Major Yang intercepted Oberleutnant Van Houten at a cathedral built on the site of the facility housing the planet's Core Unit. This is the footage from the recovery team."
Kapitän Wei switched over to one of the cam feeds. Several men were pulling the mangled body of Major Yang out of the rubble of what had once been the cathedral, while this particular individual was being called elsewhere. And there it was, the containment pod for the Core Unit that had somehow burrowed its way up from hundreds of meters underground. The outer shell had fallen away and the stasis capsule inside lay empty. The Admiral feared the worst.
"Major Yang is currently undergoing reconstruction," Kapitän Wei said. "She briefly regained consciousness during recovery to relay the following message: 'Papillon.'"
So it was the worst case after all.
"Were you able to confirm it?" the Admiral asked.
"The recovery team did retrieve a DNA sample in the vicinity of the containment pod that would appear to indicate that fusion has indeed occurred."
"What's her current location?"
"Unknown, sir. It would seem that she is masking her power signature."
"How long has it been?"
"Major Yang's last radio contact was at 1617 UST. The recovery team was deployed at 1642."
The Admiral glanced at his watch. 1807. She had about a 90-minute headstart, but it would take time to adapt to her new body. There was still a chance.
"Extract our people onsite ASAP," he said. "Then purge a 50-kilometer radius."
"Herr Admiral, we are in the middle of negotiations with these people. It is their capital city. If we were to purge—"
"Do you want to face the consequences of not dealing with the threat immediately?" the Admiral asked sharply. "Our choices are to burn one city now or burn the entire world later. We can find another negotiating partner. Right now we need to put down the Core Unit before it can activate its full power."
"Very well, sir," Kapitän Wei said. "I will pass along the order to position the Fleet so that the purge will commence the moment our personnel on the ground are extracted."
"Make it so."
"Aye-aye, sir," the Kapitän said before ending the transmission. "Wei, out."
Admiral Beck picked up his knife and fork and stabbed at the piece of sausage he had sliced off before he was interrupted. He looked at the sausage for a moment before putting it in his mouth. It was all such a waste, he thought.