Earth, United Kingdom

Chinese Embassy in London

Li Yuen looked at the piece of paper in his hands, his fingers squeezing it so tight, there was a danger of ripping it apart. The last orders he received were simply insane, and he reread them five times, just to convince himself that his eyes were not playing tricks on him.

He and his men were part of a Chinese black ops team, which had just a day before finished a mission in London. It was a stealth retrieval of some technical plans that a corporate spy had stolen from one of the top Chinese Corporations, with strong ties to the government. They even managed to supplant the original files with doctored ones, ensuring that those who ordered the theft would subsequently lose considerable time and resources while trying to make the technology in question work.

He was looking forward to going home and seeing his wife and children back in China; the team has been stuck on this covert operation in England for the last two months. He knew that his teammates shared the same sentiment. Now, this… insanity, which would in all probability cost them their very lives.

Li Yuen was a student of ancient tactics, so the teachings of Sun Tzu were something he followed closely. Right now, everything was telling him that the games they played elsewhere in the world would not work with the Solarian Union. Those people knew how to apply power with surgical precision, and with their satellites and kinetic weapons, the whole world was their death ground. One only needed to look at the fate of all the terrorists that came into their crosshairs, or even that of the Supreme Leader of North Korea, to know that they did not bluff or allowed attacks on them to go unpunished.

They played by their own rules, so if he was successful in fulfilling these orders, the response Li Yuen and his men could expect would be swift and merciless. Those ignorant idiots in intelligence agencies, which pulled their strings, were still stuck in the past and had a hard time understanding that the world has fundamentally changed in the last year. New rules needed to be invented when dealing with the Solarians.

“They’re sending us to our deaths!” Chang, his second in command hissed when he showed him the paper with their new orders. Other members of his team were not so polite upon seeing those orders and were far more profane.

“If we refuse to obey… you all know the consequences we will have to face,” said Yuen.

“So… what now?” Chang asked with a look of despair in his eyes.

Li Yuen looked at the people he served with for such a long time, making a decision that would cost him his life if even one of them decided to be patriotic and turned him in. Whatever the cost may be, he had made a decision relying on his instincts.

“I have a plan…”

What he proposed was not an order, but the choice they all had to make for themselves. Also, it would have to be unanimous, or the plan would fall apart.

They all agreed, which made him exhale the breath he unconsciously held. Using the skills acquired over the years of hard training, and numerous missions, they started with their preparations.

He looked out the window as the sun was rising over the city of London. He wondered if he would be alive by the end of the day, and shook his head at the absurdity of it all. Today, they will make the biggest gamble of their lives, and he hoped with all his heart that he correctly judged his opposition.

Their very lives and those of their loved ones… depended on it.

****

Earth, United Kingdom

London, Richmond Park

Elizabeth was making an umpteenth trip to Earth, doing the same thing over and over again. Her body was upgraded by Max to work at its utmost efficiency, so her energy reserves were far greater than most of the other volunteers from the S.U., yet even she was starting to bow under impossible strain they were under.

But what was the other option? To slow down could potentially cause a loss of life. Each minute counted, every nano-patch gave a promise of life to those whose time was ticking. Luckily, Max and Ares were there to coordinate the entire operation, since it was far beyond the abilities of mere mortals.

Almost all their transporters were a part of the operation, all doing the same thing, carrying the passengers in an intricate dance of timings and velocities’; making sure there were no delays, no bottlenecks.

Max had managed to tweak the AutoDocs to speed up the procedure to a few minutes only, and that was a godsend.

The hardest things for her were the inflicted babies, so small and fragile and yet they were the promise for the future. Fortunately, on account of their size, several could be placed inside one AutoDoc at the same time, which made their collective processing even faster, and nano-patches worked the best for them on account of their size.

She was again in London, not that she had time for sightseeing, but the transporter she was assigned to had already been to Tel Aviv, Paris, Moscow, and London—numerous times. The biggest irony was that she always wanted to travel and visit those places—but not like this.

She was walking through the camp, as were many of her fellow volunteers, making sure that no one was overlooked, in the chaos of constantly arriving patients. The persistent drizzle of rain made makeshift roads somewhat muddy; the green grass that used to be here had disintegrated by thousands of footsteps.

“Excuse me miss, can you help us?” a young Asian woman said, standing in front of the canvas tent. Elizabeth nodded tiredly, and walked towards her; the woman was pointing at the tent’s entrance.

“My husband is unconscious, and I don’t know what to do,” she continued, looking at the ground.

As soon as Elizabeth entered the tent, she realized that something was wrong. There were no sick people inside, only one soldier in British uniform, lying on the cot with duct tape over his mouth and hands.

In the next moment, a shock passed through her, as if hundreds of bees had stung her. Every muscle in her body spasmed, she could not voluntarily move, not even her mouth to call for help. As she was falling towards the floor, the woman caught her in her arms, before her head hit the ground.

The last thing she saw was the woman’s sad eyes and the look of regret in them.

As her consciousness was fading, she thought she heard a quiet “I’m sorry,” and then darkness consumed her.

***

Low Earth Orbit

International Space Station 2

For the last few days, Michael and the team were transporting the sick from Earth to ISS2. The process was streamlined so the patients were passed from one group to the other, into the AutoDocs, and then returned back to Earth as fast as possible. It was akin to a conveyer belt in a factory, where each worker did his part of the job.

Still, from time to time, they were just too late, or the body was so far gone that even miraculous healing properties of the medical nanites were unable to save that life. It was rare, but each time it was like a personal defeat to Michael; a win for those who set this monstrous atrocity into motion. It did not matter that the culprits were all caught, dead, or in custody; their evil deeds were still causing so much death and misery. That was one of the reasons why he gave away his prisoners to be judged by others; he would have simply killed them on sight, eradicating the stain they represented out of humanity’s genetic pool.

“What’s our next destination?” Tyron asked after the last of their patients were transferred into the waiting hands of doctors and nurses that had taken over the station.

“Paris,” he answered lifelessly; they were due to some downtime soon. From the time they went to Russia to catch the first link in the chain that led them to Washington, Iraq, and finally New York—they had no rest. Still, it was for a good cause, and it felt good to help people who were in need, and not solve problems with the muzzle of a gun.

“Michael! Elizabeth has been kidnapped!” Max’s voice cut through him, like a lightning bolt.

“What? Where?” He asked out loud, and without even waiting for an answer, started running towards their transporter.

“London, two minutes ago.” The AI reported. “I’m following her signal,” Max replied, and on Michaels HUD, a small map of London appeared with a glowing point going away from the collection site. It was traveling down one of the roads of Richmond Park.

“How fast can you get us there?” Michael asked while Tyron and the others were strapping themselves into the Transporter’s seats.

“Ten minutes, and you better hold on to something, it is going to be a bumpy ride.”

The Transporter detached from the ISS2 and immediately accelerated towards Earth, increasing its speed with every second and aiming for the British Isles.

Max was not joking about the ride being bumpy; as soon as they hit the thicker layers of the atmosphere, the craft started shaking with almost uncontrollable turbulence.

“Max, should I emphasize that we want to arrive there in one piece!” Al screamed from his seat, holding on to it as if his life depended on it.

Michael disregarded all distractions, his mind was focused on only one thing, getting Elizabeth back, and eradicating those who dared to lay their hands on her. If she was even slightly hurt, he would take his time exacting his revenge, their deaths would be on the opposite end of painless.

He had a flashback of the last time she was in a similar situation, and his brows ominously pulled down. All this time he tried to get a link to her CEI, but it was futile. It was a strange feeling; even while apart, they talked frequently with one another, using implants. Now, her absence felt like part of him was missing.

“What is her condition?” He briskly asked.

“She is fine, but unconscious,” the AI replied. “They used some sort of Taser that knocked her out. She will be fine once she wakes up.”

That brought a semblance of calm to Michael’s mind, but the fires of rage were still burning inside of him.

As the transporter was stabilizing its flight, he saw England below them, and the city of London that grew bigger with every second.

“They have stopped their movement,” Max said. “I tracked them to a small warehouse three miles from the kidnapping site; you better prepare to jump out.”

Michael and others did not take off their battle-suits for days, so the only thing they needed to do was take their weapons, which were secured in a locker by the doors.

“We will be above the site in twenty seconds.”

Michael waited, counting down in his head, and was the first to jump out when the hatch in the middle of the transporter opened. He did not feel the impact of his legs hitting the tarmac after the long fall. All his attention was focused on a small warehouse in front of him, which is where the map on his HUD indicated Elizabeth’s signal was coming from.

“Aside from her, my scans show six additional bodies inside,” Max sent through the implant.

Michael and the team approached the building, constantly looking around for any additional threats.

“You think it’s a trap?” Tyron asked.

“It sure looks like one; kidnap one of ours to lure the others here,” Michael replied. “Okay, Tyron and I will break in first, under the full Boost, and the rest of you follow a few seconds behind. If this is a trap—kill them all.”

He felt the first signs of a full Boost, his heart beating impossibly fast, and everything around him getting a sharper edge. Time slowed down as the chemical cocktail, his overactive glands produced, infused him with additional energy, pushing his brain into overdrive.

On a subconscious level, he was aware of Tyron’s position beside him and knew when the right time for springing into action was.

Michael’s boot hit the wooden doors, and they detached from the hinges, flying into the air. In the next split second, he was entering the building, led by the muzzle of his flechette gun.

The sight he saw before him stopped him in his tracks, and the finger that was ready to send a hail of deadly metal fragments into their opposition, paused and relaxed.

Five men and one woman of Asian descent were kneeling on the floor with their hands intertwined behind their necks; it was a standard position of surrender, and absolutely unexpected. Elizabeth was lying on a mattress, twenty feet from their side, and all their weapons’ were neatly placed beside her.

Michael looked at Tyron, but the big man only shrugged his shoulders and waved his head, as confused by this situation as he was.

“Alice, go check on Elizabeth, the rest of you—make sure you keep them in your sights,” he sent through the comms.

“Please don’t shoot, she was not harmed!” The man who was in front of the others shouted. “Just let us explain… we had no choice!”

He didn’t respond since those people were not important at that moment. The situation was somewhat controlled, even if extremely confusing. He left Tyron, Pete, and Al to watch over them, as he moved toward Elizabeth.

Alice has already checked her, but he wanted to make sure of it himself.

She laid there, unconscious and looking as if she was just sleeping; fortunately, without any sign of damage.

Michael thought about the argument they had when they first got the news about the epidemic. She felt that she needed to volunteer and help with the relief effort, and did not want to wear a battle-suit, as it would have scared people. He relented, despite his fears, not wanting her to feel like he was denying her something. Nonetheless, there was a risk involved, and it would have been averted if she was well protected.

“Guard her, if they try anything, your only mission is to protect Elizabeth,” he sent to Alice.

Michael turned around and approached the kneeling group, once again holding his rifle pointed in their direction. Time has resumed its normal flow; the last traces of the Boost were leaving his system.

“Why have you taken her?” He growled as he deactivated his camouflage.

All their eyes grew large as they saw him materializing from the thin air; it was the man who spoke first that visibly composed himself and answered.

“We were ordered to, by our superiors in Beijing. But we knew it was a fool’s errand, so we all decided to defect to the Solarian Union.”

If the man said he was the Easter bunny himself, Michael would not be any less surprised.

“You want to… defect… you do know there is an immigration site online?”

The man nodded. “Yes sir, but if we tried that we would have been executed, and our families would pay a heavy price,” he answered. In his eyes, Michael saw fear, but there was something more there, a fierce resolution of purpose and desperation he was trying to suppress.

“Start from the beginning, you are not making much sense,” Michael ordered, with the barrel of his gun unwaveringly pointing between the man’s eyes.

The man gave a shallow bow, which was quite difficult in his position. “My name is Li Yuen, and we are something similar to your black ops team. Our mission in London was retrieving stolen data from a corporate spy, and we accomplished that. Some idiot in Beijing thought it would be a good idea to kidnap one of your people and extract your technological secrets that way. To them, it seemed like a perfect opportunity since normally there is no way even to reach your citizens in space. We knew it was a stupid decision, but we had no choice. If we refused, our families would have been… imprisoned or worse. That is just how things are done back home. So, we made a plan to defect, and to throw ourselves at your mercy.”

Michael took a deep breath and released it slowly.

“But why kidnap her? You could have covertly asked for help,” he asked the kneeling man.

“We couldn’t; on these types of missions, they always sent an independent observer, to make sure the orders were followed. For that reason, we needed to take one of your people, and gamble you would arrive in time. We surveilled all those who came from the Solarian Union, and every time that particular saucer landed, all of her colleagues held her in high regard, which is why we knew she was someone important, and that your response would be fast and decisive.”

“So… what? You think we should simply take you in, no repercussions, and no punishment,” Michael asked, testing the man’s resolve.

Li Yuen shook his head. “No… It was my plan and I deserve any punishment you deem appropriate, but if that is not enough, all of us agreed to willingly submit to your judgment… even if it means death. We only ask one thing in return… save our families.” The man said and bowed as much as he could in his position.

Michael kept silent and saw Li Yuen’s heart rate increase by the small movements of the arteries in his neck. All the readings Max provided, confirmed that he was probably telling the truth.

“How the hell do you think we could do that? Running around China and making door to door pickups will not exactly go unnoticed?”

“We had a contingency plan if a situation like this ever happened,” Li Yuen immediately replied. “This morning we sent a message for them to pack the essentials, and to gather at my grandfather’s farm. It will be noticed so it is only a matter of hours before the Ministry of State Security sends people to arrest them.”

For the first time, Michael truly saw the strain the man was under—his voice trembled at the end.

“So Max, what do you think? This could still be a big ruse to get us into trouble, and remind me to have a chat with the Chinese president when this is over.”

“I think he is legit, and I am going to put them through extra invasive debrief before we allow them to mingle with our population, but I think we should take them in,” The AI replied.

Michael took another deep breath, his anger and rage dissipating; still far from calm but Elizabeth was safe.

“Tyron, Pete, Al, deactivate your camouflage and be prepared to act if something happens; Alice, you take Elizabeth and get her to the Ascension,” Michael commanded.

The kneeling people saw three more people materialize within the small warehouse, and immediately after, saw the unconscious woman being lifted in the air by another invisible person and carried out of the building.

“We will help you,” Michael said to them. “But be prepared for a full debrief, and if you so much say one lie, you are out to fend for yourselves.”

All of them nodded, and their bodies relaxed the muscles that were under tension, caused by the uncertainty of their fates and those of their families.

“I’m returning one empty Transporter,” Max said. “It’s going through sterilization, and should be at your location in ten minutes.”

Ten minutes later, they were all aboard a big transporter and en route to a location in China, Li Yuen provided. There wasn’t much talk among them, the Chinese black ops team members were worried about their families, and were a bit intimidated by the speed at which the transporter was flying. Michael was checking in constantly with Max, about Elizabeth’s condition. Until Max got so irritated and told him to chill out and that he will inform him if anything changed.

The location was a good distance from the nearest city, a small farm surrounded by abundant rice fields. The final count of all extended family members was seventy-five people, including dozens of children. Li Yuen and his team exited the transporter, and after the initial fear at the sight of a flying craft, there was a welcoming scene with a lot of hugging and kissing.

“Michael, you better speed this up, there is a military convoy fifteen minutes away, and it seems they are heading this way with haste,” the AI said after a while.

After he passed along the warning, utter chaos ensued. People were running into the house and dragging suitcases and pillow covers filled with clothes and their possessions.

Michael tried to explain that they will not need most of the things, but one old Chinese lady reproachfully huffed in his direction, when Max translated his words using the suit’s external speakers.

He gave up since the transporter had enough room to accommodate all, even if they were packed like sardines for the trip back to the Ascension.

“I prepared one empty level for them all until they can be processed,” Max said.

The Transporter departed just in time; a few minutes later, the entire place was overrun by the members of the Chinese military, who only found the premises empty with still-warm food on the table.

But then again, Michael did not look in the direction of the planet; his whole attention was focused upwards, where all he cared about was.