The Rise of Io Read online

  Shura walked back to her desk, put her hands on the table, and studied the map of the site and of the surrounding city.

  * * *

  Ella, wake up.

  As if on command, Ella opened her eyes and watched as the sleek black plane approached the highway. The top of the sun was climbing in the east, and it glazed the land with just enough morning glow to see the aircraft descend from the sky. In the distance, a line of burning sparklers blocked the road. Thank gods there weren’t any cars on the road at this time.

  The small group had fled east along the Tapi River for the past twenty hours on a small craft Hamilton had obtained. They had hidden under a canopy in the sweltering heat, and through a combination of bribery and luck, had managed to evade the patrols going up and down the river. Dana had also managed to make contact with the Prophus, and an extraction team had been dispatched.

  Now they were hiding in a small grove of trees just south of the river along Highway 16, and waiting for their rescue to pick them up. Ella didn’t know how to take everything in. It was so surreal. She had never even considered leaving Crate Town, let alone India. The future ahead was terrifying.

  “I’m really leaving my home, aren’t I?”

  Yes.

  “What happens now? Will I ever come back?”

  That is up to you. Consider it a fresh start. You can do whatever you choose.

  “All right. Hey, Io? You helped me last night, I probably wouldn’t have made it without you. Thank you.”

  You are welcome.

  “I won’t be in Crate Town anymore. I have a feeling I’m going to need some help moving forward. How about a truce?”

  Our last truce did not last very long. How about a fresh start?

  “Depends. Are you still going to try to join the Genjix?”

  I do not know anymore. Maybe. I can be convinced otherwise. It depends on what our future has in store for us.

  “I’m glad you’re being honest at least. You know I won’t let you.”

  Why not take our relationship one step at a time? You keep my secret. I will keep you alive, and we can try to be on the same side.

  “I’m on the Prophus’s side.”

  No, Ella. You are on your side. I am on mine. Let us be on ours. Just like we were back in Crate Town.

  “All right.”

  Jax appeared a second later. “We have to hurry. I don’t know how long those flares will stop traffic.”

  “I want that transport up in the air in sixty seconds,” Cameron added.

  “Come on,” Dana said, helping her to her feet. Ella groaned as a sharp pain shot up her chest. She looked to either side of her. Lam and Hamilton were supporting Nabin. Jax was helping Cameron to his feet. Bijan and K2 were carrying the gear. Everyone looked positively half-dead.

  Hamilton noticed her looking, and nodded. She nodded back. She still had a lot of making up to do with her auxiliary. Was he still her auxiliary?

  That depends on him. If you end up training at the academy, he will probably roll off to someone else.

  Ella wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but she was pretty sure she’d feel bad. She hoped this wasn’t the last time they’d work together. In the end, she couldn’t have survived without him.

  The group, all eight survivors, left the cover of the forest and hobbled across the mustard field to their ride home. They were greeted halfway by Prophus agents who escorted them to the plane. Ninety seconds later, they were airborne again.

  They were met by an intense-looking Asian man with a disheveled black beard and long graying hair tied up in a samurai bun. He was shorter and barrel-chested, and his wrinkly raisin-face sported a stern demeanor. No, not stern, pissed. He had his arms crossed and eyed each member of the team as they passed.

  He nudged Lam in particular. “You were supposed to take care of him, not let him do dumb shit.”

  “You know how he gets when he’s on one of his kicks. It’s your fault, anyway,” she replied.

  “Hi, Dad,” Cameron said.

  Ella gave a start. “Io, that’s his dad?”

  Roen Tan. Prophus liaison to the allied governments, and husband to Jill Tesser Tan. And Cameron’s dad.

  “It’s like a family business. Shoot, I really could have ransomed Cameron for a lot of money.”

  You blew your big payday.

  “I did raise him, I guess,” Roen conceded. He scowled at Cameron. “You’re supposed to be on vacation.”

  “I’m having a blast,” Cameron said. “Can’t you tell?”

  “Mom got wind of your spending spree. She’s put a hold on your account, and says we’re both grounded until your fortieth birthday. Somehow, it’s my fault too.” Roen grabbed his son in a rough embrace and the two sat down. “You look awful, by the way. Who kicked your ass this time?”

  “Alex.”

  Roen’s eyes widened and he whistled. “Really? You finally run into her, eh? I take it the reunion didn’t go too well.”

  Cameron pointed at his busted up face. “What do you think?”

  “Did you find what you were looking for?”

  “Yeah, we got the guy who caused Seth and Yang’s death in Greece… a decade ago. By the way, he happened to be a high-ranking deputy minister. Tell Mom she may be getting an official complaint from the Indian embassy any minute now.”

  “Damn it, Cameron. I’m in enough trouble as it is.”

  “Also, we found something else. It’s called the Bio Comm Array facility. We don’t know what it is, but it’s big. I sent Jax to gather intel. We’re uploading to Command now.”

  Roen took a quick headcount. “You’re missing one.”

  Cameron’s face fell. “Lost Dubs in an ambush.”

  “His body?”

  “Stowed in a bath house. Can we retrieve it? He’s got a wife and kid, and five dogs.”

  “Damn it. India’s a tough nut to crack, but we’ll go through diplomatic channels and make it happen somehow.” Roen glanced her way. “Who’s the girl?”

  Cameron smiled. “This is Ella Patel. She’s the one who made everything possible. She took care of my people and helped us nail Surrett. She also saved my life a few times.”

  Roen shook her hand. “You have my thanks. Welcome to the family.”

  “She’s Io’s new host,” Cameron added.

  Roen paused, the meaning of that sinking in. “I see. I’m sorry about Emily.”

  The two continued chatting. Their back-and-forth felt good-natured, and she could hear the love and concern in their voices and words, even as they poked fun at each other.

  It gnawed at Ella a little. This sort of bond was something she had never had, and she found herself yearning for something, anything, remotely like it. She thought about all the people she had left behind, the few that cared about her. “Io, what will happen to my friends, Coach Manish and Aarav, Wiry Madras, and the Fabs?”

  Manish is an ex-agent. He and Aarav will be all right. They will likely just go dormant until called back to duty. The Prophus will send someone to check up on Madras. She still has Dubs. The Prophus do not leave their own. As for the Fabs, they tried to sell the Prophus out. They are on their own.

  Ella decided to leave the father and son alone and made her way to the back of the plane, where makeshift triage had been set up. Just about everyone else was back here, injured in one form or another.

  She found Nabin propped up on a cot. He patted the adjacent cot next to him. “Have a seat.”

  She lay down and looked out the window. “I’ve never been on a plane before. Well, I have, but I was like five and so scared I slept right through it.”

  “Stick with me, kid,” he said. “We’ll introduce you to a bigger world with all sorts of new people who will want to kill you.”

  She laughed, which was a mistake. She clutched her ribs and took several deep breaths. “Stop trying to be funny. It hurts.” She became more somber. “So what happens to me now?”

  “Cameron says he wants to send
you to the training center in Sydney or the one in the States. Are you all right with that?”

  “Train me to become an agent like you guys? I don’t know how I feel about that.”

  “Well,” Nabin said. “It’s up to you. You may have a Quasing in you, but you still get to decide what you want to do with your life. The Prophus will work with you one way or another. Being an agent has its perks.”

  “Io says training takes years and I have to have a roommate and I won’t be able to leave whenever I want. Is that all true?”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Then I don’t know if it’s worth it. I’m my own boss.”

  “Well, Australia is our team’s home base of operations. If you enroll, you’ll get the training you need to fight the Genjix, to avenge your amma and your dog. You get to help a lot of people and protect the world from some bad aliens.”

  “That sounds like a lot of work,” she said.

  “You’ll also get to hang out with me more, I’ll come visit every chance I get.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. “Really? Promise?”

  He grinned and held out his hand. “Maybe.”

  Ella laid her hand over his. “OK, fine. Now, let’s talk about my stipend. The Prophus were paying me…”

  * * *

  The plane was halfway across the Indian Ocean before Tao opened Cameron’s eyes. After nearly three decades of wear and tear, thousands of hours of combat, and dozens of injuries, the guy needed beauty rest.

  The two of them had been in bad positions before, and this ranked up there with the worst of them. Stranded in enemy territory with the ocean to their back and a blockade in front. Cut off from the Prophus and facing not only the local military but heavy Genjix presence. Toss in another Adonis vessel – Alexandra Mengsk, of all people – and this was as dicey a situation as he could remember Cameron being in.

  Tao looked over at the sleeping Roen slumped next to his son, and realized that Cameron was reaching the age that Roen had been when Tao first joined with him. Roen was probably pissed as hell, but oh well. Some things had to be done, and killing Surrett and discovering this strange Bio Comm Array facility were two of them. Something about the shape of the main building, the dome top and the curvature of the supporting threads nagged his memory. It was from something in the distant past, not a moment from his time on Earth.

  In any case, Cameron had made it out in one piece; that was what was important. Jax and Ella nailing Surrett meant a lot to Cameron personally, but uncovering this Bio Comm Array facility was the real score. Surrett’s death delaying India from joining the Genjix alliance was an added bonus.

  There was just one more thing that had to be cleared up. Tao glanced over at Ella, or at her Quasing, specifically. Their paths had only recently crossed when she had joined with Emily. That wasn’t unusual though. The world was a big place, and the Quasing were scattered. Io’s situation was unique in that she had arrived to the game late, having not occupied her first human until the eleventh century. By that time, Tao had already occupied hundreds of humans.

  A thousand years wasn’t a lot of time for a Quasing to become adept at working with a human. They were complex creatures. Guiding them to achieve greatness required skill, guile and intelligence. And patience. Lots of patience. With every successful host, a Quasing likely had experienced hundreds of failures.

  Some, like Io, were still waiting for their first taste. Tao had spent some time looking through Io’s record before they had come to India. She was one of the few Quasing who had somehow blundered her way through history without ever leaving a mark, and still survived. She had always been a peripheral player in the Prophus’s war with the Genjix. Until now. It was time for answers.

  “Io.”

  Ella’s eyes fluttered open. She sat up. “Tao.”

  “Come with me.” Tao got up and moved to the front of the plane. He looked back to check if Io was following, and whether she was armed. She was, incidentally. The girl was never far from her knife. That was one of the things he liked about Ella.

  They entered the arms locker in the middle of the plane. Tao closed the heavy gate behind him. He faced Io and folded his arms. “I know you are the leak. You are trying to defect to the Genjix.”

  “How can you say such a thing?” Io said. “I have lost as much as anyone. I have been with the Prophus for over a thousand years, and with Emily and her father for over a quarter of a century.”

  “Much to their misfortune.”

  Io contorted Ella’s face. “Not all of us can be the great Tao with his bloody footprint burned across history like Sherman across the South. How much good has your mark done for this planet? I wager my ineffectiveness has done less damage than all your empire-building and razing. Or do you consider creating mystical slow-motion fighting a benefit to humanity?”

  Io was baiting him. “Hamilton told me how Ella was uncooperative in regards to your surveillance efforts. He went out and recorded his own footage. I compared it to the reports you uploaded to Command. The discrepancy and intent between them is obvious. You tried to wash the data. If there was an available team in the region, they would have swept you out weeks ago. However, I believe you are acting alone. The girl is innocent.”

  “Did Hamilton also tell you how he stood there and did nothing while Emily was killed by a squad of Genjix?”

  Tao nodded. “He admitted that too. Once this mission is over, I will have him transferred out of the auxiliary corps and moved to an administrative position.”

  “That’s it? He lets Cameron’s best friend die and gets moved to a desk job, yet I am accused of treason when my host is killed on a mission? I, who have done everything in my power to try to take us home?”

  “Do not play stupid,” Tao replied. “Nobody faults a Quasing for their host’s death unless it is intentional. You know, once I return to Command, I will get to the bottom of this. It will not be difficult for me to request a full audit of your movements and communications. The truth will come out.”

  Io remained silent and looked away. That was all the answer Tao needed. The guilt was palpable, but there was something else. Something redeemable, possibly. It was an opening at least.

  “Io, when the Quasing split into two factions during the Spanish Inquisition, why did you join the Prophus? We were the smaller, weaker, marginalized faction. We all knew what we were signing up for when we turned our backs on our people. Our side was terrorized and imprisoned for hundreds of years before we were able to recover and coordinate. Why did you join us?”

  Io shrugged. “I believed in the cause. I have been around as much as any Quasing. I have seen the destruction the Conflict Doctrine had done to humanity. I too have lost those I cherish as our species pushed humans into constant war in the name of innovation and evolution. It was the right thing to do at the time.”

  “Is it the right thing now?”

  Io nodded.

  “Do you really want to join the Genjix, Io?”

  There was a long pause. “No. I am unsure.”

  “Then why would you betray us? I know you care little for wealth or power. You suffered alongside the rest of the Prophus in our darkest times. You fought alongside us when we were constantly on the cusp of total collapse. Now, for the first time in over five hundred years, we are nearly equal in strength with the Genjix. Of all those times, why do you desire to switch sides now?”

  Io froze. She stayed in place for so long that Tao thought Io might have retreated deeper into the body. He waited patiently, keeping an eye on the girl’s hands. It did not reach for a blade. That would be a terrible mistake on Io’s part.

  Finally, Io looked him in the eye. “Did you know that back on Quasar, I was a Receiver?”

  Tao was so stunned by this revelation that he nearly lost control of Cameron. The body tipped to the side and would have fallen over if it weren’t for the armory’s mesh wall. A titled Quasing meant Io was formerly one with extraordinarily high standing.

 
Tao had never paid much attention to the time before, and most Quasing records did not survive the crash. Back on the home world, Tao was an insignificant drop, one of the trillions of Quasing who lived in the Eternal Sea, with little purpose except to serve as a conduit and move with the masses when the collective will required something from them.

  “You were one of the voices in the black?” he asked.

  “The strands that bind all empire.” There was a great deal of pride in Io’s voice. “We were the part of the collective that formed and administered the communication arrays between all our planets. My counterparts and I kept the Quasing as one. I was the Receiver assigned to our Carryall.”

  It all became clear. Titles were not easily achieved among their kind. Io must have worked hard to become a Receiver. She was formerly high in standing, a leader among the millions of their kind on that ill-fated ship, and it must have been difficult to have it all swept away. Now, cut off from the collective, the Quasing trapped here were forced to build a new hierarchy and find their own voice. Some, like Tao, had blossomed, while others, like Io, had struggled.

  “On Earth,” Io continued, “I struggle to make any mark. The hosts I inhabit have always been forgotten. They are only remembered through me. The few remembered are ridiculed. I’m tired of failure, Tao. I’m tired of being nothing.”

  The failure must be a bitter pill. Pride and ambition were uncommon traits among Quasing, but it was not unheard of. That may be because Tao himself, back on the home world, had nothing to be prideful about. He had never even thought to attempt to become something more. One needed pride and ambition to achieve standing and title. He was content to be one among the trillions and bask within the Eternal Sea. He just happened to be the portion of the Eternal Sea willed on board the Carryall, one of the millions of filler, conduits, and building block used to adapt and suit the needs of the collective.

  However, Tao did strive for more once he came to this planet. Maybe he had found pride and ambition in humanity, and they bled those traits into him, but he did become something greater and found his own voice once he was here on Earth. Tao imagined how he would feel if he returned to the Eternal Sea again and lost everything he had found on this planet: his individualism, the knowledge he had obtained, the memories and achievements, his friendships. He thought about Cameron and his father, Roen, and then back to the thousands of his hosts he had shared a connection with before. To lose all of them would be equally shattering to him as it was Io. Interesting how the tables had turned.