“And your wife’s nephew, the one you detest for being a bumbling simpleton, Captain Lieutenant Masorin. Ah, he has risen in rank quickly. Nothing to do with his aunt’s influence, of course. I believe as of oh-four-hundred this morning, his battleship Martynin had just embarked for the White Sea on a nine-day patrol over concerns of United States submarine incursions in the Arctic Circle. I believe that mission is classified.”
Enzo relished the stunned look on that arrogant Russian’s face as he walked back to the desk. He leaned forward. “You see, Mr President, we Genjix have been running the world for a very, very long time, and we’ve been guiding humans toward what is best for them for almost as long. I encourage you to reconsider our offer. It’s really the best scenario for everyone.”
A little over the top, but effective. I would have held back. It could backfire.
“I am through with these games, Zoras.”
Then Enzo walked away and stopped at the doorway once more. He turned and smiled at Putyatin. “By the way, I am going to do you a favor. Good day, Mr President.” Then he walked out of the door.
That night, the Russian Battleship Martynin sunk under mysterious circumstances. There were no distress calls, signs of battle, or indications of a collision. All hands on deck were lost.
16 Fifteen Candles
My people were explorers. Over the course of millions of years, we colonized planets, moons, and asteroids, expanding our vast civilization to new solar systems. We created a vast network of living planets, each individually unique, yet part of a larger collective.
Earth would not have been an ideal candidate for colonization. Too much would have had to be cleaned and altered for the planet to become suitable. You see, we prefer planets without atmospheres, because we can apply our own onto prospective colonies and eventually grow our red ocean until it covers the entire surface. That is true Quasiforming.
Tao
The three-meter-long spear with the heavy-edged metal point flickered through the air, bending and slashing like a snake’s tongue, its waxwood shaft, soaked in water for weeks, making it malleable, like a heavy whip. Cameron swung and twisted it around his body as if a dance partner, using it as an extension of his arm to skewer, cut or, in the unlikely case of this happening, stop the charge of mounted cavalry. Tao called it the king of weapons, but his mentor was always a bit of a drama queen.
Hey now.
“Considering you named the fighting style you created the Grand Supreme Fist, I think drama queen is a pretty apt description.”
One day, after you have single-handedly defeated the Genjix and are crowned high protector of the Earth and Heavens and all the little furry animals in between, I will not begrudge you such a lofty title. For now, I would say I have earned that title for t’ai chi.
Lower the shoulder. Watch your leg work. Your right leg. Your other damn right leg. How many times do I have to tell you to not dangle your left hand out like that? Keep it closer to your stomach.
The instructions and corrections came fast and furious as Cameron flowed through the form, striking with precision and keeping the long spear a blur as he slipped through the motions as smoothly as water. Many of these moves he had learned when he was barely old enough to walk. Now, they were second nature, and he could do them without thinking.
That was a good thing, because right now, his mental state was a torrential mess. His constant worry about his dad was now a dull pain that lingered just outside his consciousness. Tao had been pushing him extra hard during his training in order to keep his mind off his father. However, Tao regularly red-lined his training anyway, so it was something Cameron was used to. It didn’t help that he wasn’t talking to his mom right now either. Jill was usually his calming influence and his current tantrum – he knew it was misplaced – just made things worse.
You are sloppy.
“I can’t help it. I keep wondering if my dad is dead right now.”
Worrying will not solve anything. Training will.
“It won’t mean squat if he’s dead.”
It will if you have to avenge him, but we are getting ahead of ourselves. Roen means a lot to me as well. He is my friend, too.
“I don’t want to avenge him. I just want him to be okay.”
Cameron’s feelings welled up again. Usually, these forms and exercises calmed him, but Tao was experimenting and didn’t want him to suppress his bubbling emotions. He wanted to keep them on the surface of his thoughts as he ran these forms. It was the opposite of what he had been trained to do all his life. Now, Tao wanted him to wade through his chaotic thoughts while trying to find the calm at the same time. It was very frustrating.
Let go.
Cameron began to run through the form faster and more powerfully than he ever had before. His body reacted differently than he was used to. Then he began to deviate from this form, running through new sets of movements that he had never learned before. Cameron began to observe himself move through his own eyes, feeling detached from his body, as if he was having an out-of-body experience.
Tao had taken over his body.
An image flashed into Cameron’s head of a Chinese man wearing dress-like leather garb weaving through this exact form, kicking up a storm of dust in a circle. He was surrounded by a crowd of rough-looking men studying him. Then another image flashed. This time, he was fighting a skirmish against Mongols surrounding his party. Cameron gasped as the Chinese man took out an entire group of cavalry with those exact same moves.
“What’s going on? What form is this? I don’t recognize it.”
An old one. I have never taught it to anyone before.
“Then how -”
I am accessing your movements directly through your conscious thoughts using a combination of our link and your training. This is extraordinary.
“It’s weird, Tao. Do you have control of my body now forever? Can I even get it back?”
Go ahead. Try to regain it.
Just like that, Cameron was back in control. Immediately, the spear flew out of his hands and thunked into the tree in the middle of the field. The physical exertion that Tao was putting his body through swept over him. A headache came out of nowhere and blindsided Cameron in the back of his brain. He fell to his knees and groaned.
Interesting side effects. I am exhausted as well.
“I feel like I just sprinted a marathon while discovering cold fusion.”
You know how to produce cold fusion? We are going to be rich.
“You know what I mean.”
It seems this process takes a severe mental and physical toll on both the host and the Quasing. We will have to monitor this carefully. Rest a bit.
Alex found Cameron relaxing at the base of the trunk with his arms wrapped around his bent knees. The sunset was bathing everything in a rather angry red glow, which matched the twisted feelings in his guts at the moment. The spear was still stuck into the tree next to his head.
Alex poked the spear with her hands and watched it wiggle back and forth. “Where’s the rest of your phalanx?”
Cameron tried hard not to smile; he was enjoying stewing in his misery, but he couldn’t help it. The edges of his lips curved upward, and the rest of his mouth followed. He looked up at her and tried to say something smart. “Wrong kind of spear,” was all that came out.
Oh dear. We have our work cut out for us.
“Of course,” Alex said, picking up the spear and showing that she knew how to handle it. “This toothpick wouldn’t stop a charging Russian Don. Maybe one of those puny Western ponies.”