Chapter 769: Clever Beasts
Lan Jue paused. "Why is it bad that there are so many survivors?"
Lan Qing explained in his typical emotionless voice. "Did you think about why there were so many survivors? These creatures are on the top of the food chain, there have any number of ways to extract human genes. No, there"s another reason - to delay us. Once the fight starts I"m sure they"ll find a way to make us watch as they kill any human left. What will we do then? We don"t have a choice, we have to save them. We"ll have to save many people, from many planets, with an army barely large enough to do the job we came here for. How long do you think this rescue will take?"
Lan Jue"s face darkened as he understood what his brother was saying. He"d been focused on whether or not the planets were evolving because it was integral to their plan, but now he saw how tricky things really were. They had been right to a.s.sume the alien home worlds had begun the evolution process, but no one knew how long it would take. If they got bogged down in a ma.s.sive rescue mission the worst case scenario was too dire to contemplate.
"They"re too d.a.m.n clever." Lan Jue shook his head. "But we can"t just leave them there. We"re talking about hundreds of thousands of people! Can"t we find a way to have it both ways?"
A spark flashed in Lan Qing"s eye. "I"ve been thinking about it. I"m going to summon Admiral Kang and Hua Li, then we"ll talk about it. There"s a lot we"ll need to change from the original plan."
Lan Jue"s heart sank. Their situation was getting worse by the hour. If they focus their efforts on saving people they didn"t have enough soldiers to clear the planets of aliens, much less go hunting for the alien home worlds.
After a little while Kang Hui, Hua Li, the Wine Master and the Keeper arrived. They gathered together to discuss the plan. Lan Jue began by sharing what he"d learned, going over everything in detail. The others listened with increasingly deepening scowls.
Lan Qing first swept his attention over to the Keeper. "Your Majesty, have you discovered anything about the infected?" He was likely here for just that reason.
The Keeper, his face dark and imposing, replied. "We"ve only just begun to see what we can learn, their condition is complicated. Simply put they suffer from a sort of disease - a terrible affliction that attacks the victim"s genetics and bodily functions. On the surface the symptoms looks relatively benign; it improved their strengths, extends their life, and releases potential by stimulating their genetic code to an incredible degree. However, at the core of it this disease poisons the victim"s mind. It interrupts and modulates brain-wave patterns, making them h.o.m.ogenous with all the other infected. We believe this is how the aliens control them."
"So you"re saying," Lan Jue cut in, "the aliens are capturing humans, then unlocking their potency in order to use them as their own tools? As a way to better understand our technology?"
The Keeper shook his head. "That was my hypothesis at first, but evidence disproves the theory. This affliction causes human DNA to activate and become more readily definable. This would allow them to see the advantages of our genetic makeup in order to a.s.sist their own evolution."
"Isn"t this what you told us when you came back from the planets? They want to obtain genetic information from our people, which corresponds with my findings."
Lan Jue nodded. "Is there a way we can turn them back? Reduce the number of afflicted?"
The Keeper frowned. "It"s difficult. We"ve never seen anything like this before, and understanding it well enough to develop a cure will take time and effort. This goes beyond any modern medicine we possess. With today"s technology it will take one or two years before we can research a cure."
Lan Jue shrugged. "Perhaps there"s another method? Some scientific process or…"
But the Keeper cut him off with the shake off his head. "There is nothing suitable to be used in this case. This disease directly attacks the genetic code. We can"t simply start destroying the aberrant bonds. At best we return them to a persistent vegetative state which there is no cure for. So far as we"ve been able to tell there is only one option. There may be someone with sufficient willpower and strength to fight off the poison with their own immune system. If we can find anyone who is able to do this we can extract their cells and use them to develop and antidote. However, it is important to realize that the chances of finding someone with resistant genes is very small."
The aliens and their poisons were strong. Indeed it would not be easy to find someone with the innate ability to resist them.
Lan Jue"s eyes flashed. "What if an Adept is infected? Our bodies are stronger than a typical human, would we be able to develop antibodies that could be useful?"
The Keeper balked. "In theory, yes, but the dangers are great. They would likely be enormously powerful, a fact I"m sure the aliens themselves had considered. It may be why they haven"t tried it."
Lan Qing interrupted them. "This problem will have to be put aside for the time being. We must leave it to you to figure out, Arcane Magnate. Right now we need to focus on how to adjust the plan with the information we have at hand."
Even Lan Qing couldn"t help but feel the pang of helplessness gnawing at his chest. Although his brother"s mission had been a success, the information he"d brought back was not what they wanted to hear. Allied forces were now faced with an impossible situation. They were duty-bound to save those people, but it would invariably slow their operation to a crawl. They would be leaving the alien planets to complete their evolutionary process unmolested.
Since no one knew how long it would take for their transformation to complete, the situation was like standing before a ticking time bomb. When it goes off, it truly would mean the end.
Their plans were certainly going to have to change.
Kang Hui scowled as he thought. "Admiral Lan, as much as I agree that these unfortunate victims need to be saved, we must consider the facts. We simply don"t have the numbers to do it, and a single misstep could spell our undoing. We may not be the last of humanity"s strength, but this may very well be our last opportunity. You have to choose, which is more important?"
Lan Qing nodded in understanding. Everyone wanted to save whoever they could, but it the effort would break them. It not only interrupted their carefully laid plans, but also risks losing them the war.
Lan Jue chimed in. "We can more or less confirm that the aliens are evolving, or at least preparing to. That means we won"t have to worry about the planets themselves getting involved in a fight. While we can"t be sure about Europa, it"s certain there are many survivors left on the others planets, and even more if we consider the infected. How can we live with ourselves if we leave them to their fate? But even then I believe what Admiral Kang says to be true. If it boils down to having to make a single decision, then attacking the alien menace is the only one to consider. They threatening all of us, all across human s.p.a.ce."
Lan Jue"s heart was in a knot even as he spoke the words. Of course he hoped he could save everyone, but did their situation allow it?
Lan Qing replied. "If we could have it both ways that would be the best, even if it brought considerable risk. But it would all rely on having enough strength to do the job. Let"s put our heads together and see if we can"t figure something out."
Hua Li finally lent his voice to the conversation. "Doing both might be impossible. Admiral, I suggest you make preparations for a full attack. At the very least we"ll be ready to take any opportunity that presents itself, and at best we can make swift changes if a better solution is found. If we can"t find a way to save those people, it won"t detract from our ability to strike when the time is right."
His suggestion was the most sensible, even Kang Hui was conflicted with the dilemma they faced. The death of so many of his countrymen had left him with a deep and painful impression. He desperately wished for some way to save the Westerners from a similar fate.
Lan Qing nodded. At present Hu Li"s suggestion was the most suitable. At least for now, it was the best they could do.
"Very well, we stick to the original goals and make changes to the plan as necessary." Lan Qing said, his voice hard and low.
Lan Jue sat there in silence. He already knew the plan very well, right now his sole focus was finding a way to save those people.
How many souls were left on those seven planets? They had families, spouses, children… now their homes were occupied by evil creatures that were tearing their lives apart. The thought went through Lan Jue"s mind again and again. He could feel their pain, see their hopeless expressions. His character demanded that he take any chance to save them, even if it were one in a million.
But they had another responsibility to the whole human race that was just as important, so a situation that attacked both problems was necessary. In fact saving these people had to rest on the premise of destroying the alien threat. Otherwise, what purpose would saving them serve? If the alien home worlds were allowed to evolve, it would only delay the inevitable.
Chapter 770: A New Plan
How could they save these people while not negatively affecting their main plan? Lan Jue"s mind went over the question, considering every possibility.
The meeting went on for a long time. It had to, since the very thorough planning Lan Qing had done had to be thoroughly changed with the addition of Lan Jue"s information.
"Alright, I"d like everyone to return to their s.h.i.+ps and begin preparing your people. We move out in eight hours." Lan Qing stated. Now that their plan was formulated it was time to act.
"Wait a moment." Lan Jue, who had been silent up to this point, suddenly spoke up. He looked at his brother.
Lan Qing knew his brother"s character, knew what had kept him quiet this whole time. "Did you think of a way?"
He nodded. "Part of the problem in splitting our forces is manpower, and the fact that we"d be fighting a war on many fronts. This would invariably result in a lot of problems. Perhaps in this situation we can aspire not to save everyone, but to give them a chance. I think I know how we can do that that may actually serve our bigger plan."
Lan Qing nodded. "Go on."
He looked around the table. "We kill the progenitors. We go around to each of the seven planets to kill a single target. From everything we"ve seen these progenitors will be strong, at least as strong as the one we faced on Monteux. We also know the alien home worlds are using these progenitors to pump vital energy and human genetic information right to them. If we kill them, this cuts off supply to the planets themselves."
"What"s more, it looks as though the progenitors are needed to infect the humans. With them gone we can stem the rate of infection and keep the victims to a minimum. At the same time we begin the a.s.sault. The aliens outside of the planets will be too busy trying to stop us from pus.h.i.+ng in to get involved in a ground a.s.sault. In this way we can improve the chances of saving as many lives as possible, or at least giving them a shot, while leaving our forces open to do the job they came here to do."
Kang Hui furrowed his brow. "But you say these monsters are strong. They may also have many powerful aliens as defenders. Killing them without military support may be too difficult."
Lan Jue responded. "I"ve already considered that. Precisely because of the reasons you"ve stated, we need to keep our strike team small. We can"t drag our soldiers into it, they have another job to do. If we can do the job with a small team it"d be a benefit on many levels."
His eyes sparkled. Lan Jue"s plan wasn"t impossible, but it hinged on who would comprise this small team.
He took a deep breath. "Star Division is adept at scouting and quick strikes. We have already gathered some of the most powerful adepts in the universe. I can handle one progenitor, and if we can arrange Paragons for the others we stand a fighting chance. With what we"ve got here I think we can split in two teams. They move in, kill a progenitor, then quickly move on to the next. Also, I think if we did this before the main a.s.sault…"
Lan Qing suddenly was struck with inspiration. If they could do as Lan Jue suggested and kill the progenitors first, the results would be dramatic. They were important to the alien forces, they knew, and killing them could through their foes into chaos. Whether chasing down their enemies, cutting off supplies to the planets or the situation on the planets" surfaces, everything would be affected.
Ever since the start humans felt like they were being led by the nose, forced to react to alien aggression, always on the back foot. Breaking their cycle of strategic dominance would serve them well.
Lan Qing weighed the option, then nodded. He agreed with Lan Jue"s plan.
Lan Jue went on. "Brother, my plan and the main a.s.sault shouldn"t have any conflict. No one is being pulled away to save lives, it"s a full attack with amended targets. In my estimation it at least gives the innocent men, women and children down there a shot at survival. I"m begging you to let me lead this mission."
Lan Qing looked into the fiery eyes of his brother. He was moved by the pa.s.sion he saw in them. Military planning required cold blood, a calm mind, and dogged focus on the mission. But people were creatures of emotion. Lan Jue"s caring and pa.s.sion were his crutch, but also a great boon. Where it not for these qualities, would he have so many women interested in him?
Hua Li looked at Lan Jue, his eyes bright. "The plan has my support, I"ll go too…"
"Shut up!" Lan Qing and Lan Jue spoke in one voice. Of course he couldn"t go, he had to consider his status. He was one of the leaders of their small alliance and commander of the Poseidon forces. How could they allow him to put himself in danger? The Poseidon Group would never agree.
Hua Li resentfully rubbed his nose. "Since when did you two start agreeing with each other?"
Lan Qing"s ice-cold gaze turned onto Lan Jue. "You have eight hours to formulate a plan."
"Got it!" Lan Jue determinedly nodded his head. Most of it was already settled, it just needed to be perfected.
ζ
The three bastions gathered and began to make preparations. It was the same for the fleets, who transferred crew and practiced maneuvers. After all, this was a joint effort from three factions that had rarely worked together, at a time when unity was paramount. They had to perform like fingers from the same hand if they wanted to have a chance.
Hua Li eventually returned to his bastion. Lan Qing could only be a.s.sured of the Poseidon Group"s full cooperation if he was there to watch them.
In the large conference room where the talks had taken place, now sat humanity"s strongest Talents. At the head of the table was humanity"s mightiest warrior, Jue Di.
On either side of him were seated the Photographer and the Terminator, placed according to their station. Both were Nirvana-level Paragons. Indeed, the Terminator himself was coming for this mission.
Aside from them were other familiar faces – Satan, and the Pontiff!
Yes, the two Western Paragons had also made their way here of their own accord. They had escaped the clutches of the alien planets. However, the enemy had taken Europa, leaving them both homeless and without much support.
They were lucky to have happened upon Tyrannosaurus. They agreed with Lan Jue"s plan and agreed to follow the Terminator into battle.
At present Satan seemed to be faring well enough. He was calm and steadfast in the face of tragedy. The Pontiff, however, was a different matter. The Pontiff"s Citadel was destroyed in a single day, the Paragon"s people lost to the planet"s explosion. Only he and a handful of Archangels managed to survive. The West"s once-marvelous Citadels, a match for Skyfire Avenue, had been wiped from existence. As the leader of one of them, the Pontiff"s pain was deep and abiding.
His hatred for Skyfire Avenue ran deep, but the loathing he bore for the aliens sunk into his bones. He never said a word as he sat among the others - the once-calm religious leader now a volcano ready to erupt.
Besides them, the remainder were representatives from Skyfire Avenue, and the unaffiliated Bize. The only one among them who was not a Paragon was Lan Jue himself. He sat farthest from the place of honor at the opposite end of the oval table.
Within this room sat more than a dozen Paragons, representing the might of humanity. There was enough power gathered here to destroy an entire planet.
"Lan Jue, go on," Jue Di urged.
With Jue Di in attendance, even the unruly Satan didn"t dare interrupt.
Lan Jue rose to his feet and began with a salute to the gathered Paragons. "Thank you, your Majesties, for agreeing to gather here. We"ve called you together because we stand on the precipice of a terrible war. Not long ago my team and I set out on a fact-finding mission…"
He went on to share with them everything they"d learned.
"Without question, our first priority is to end the alien threat and save humanity from destruction. However, there are innocent victims, our brothers and sisters, still alive on those planets that have been taken hostage. I"m sure you all know that we don"t have the forces to save them all. The Wine Master, the Pharmacist, the Driver and I tried, and we could only bring back a few thousand. Ten times… a hundred times more are down there now waiting for death."
"Europa lies in the center of the chaos, and there"s no way we can slip in. Our s.h.i.+ps are numbered and can"t afford to be spread thin to take the outer planets. Besides, they have a war to fight. So the task falls to us, to save as many of our fellow human as we can. We won"t save them all, but we can give most of them a chance to make it through this terrible time."