Chapter Thirty-Nine
Patriarch Goodwin stayed standing as the other Patriarchs took to their seats on the stone floor. The round room remained silent as he addressed everyone. Gabriel took one last look at Claire, then prepared himself to listen.
“We all know why we are here.” The deep English accent of Patriarch Goodwin filled the room. “TERA is positioning itself in Europe and this is of concern to the council. They are in opposition to our views and threaten our sanctity. Also, a possible threat has emerged in old Kazakhstan.” He paused until each of the other four crimson-robed men agreed with the statement.
Gabriel’s eyes wandered over each of the Patriarchs, studying their expressions as Patriarch Goodwin continued his speech. It was challenging not to despise them. Their beliefs would have put him to death just a short time ago and now here he was, trying to help them. He needed to be calm and leave his emotions out of this discussion. In the end, he reminded himself, all men make mistakes, but not all men learn from them.
“Lastly, we find ourselves becoming united under a common goal with new friends, the Ingenis Pluris. They have chosen to stand with us, against the evil that is growing in this world. An evil that threatens the gift our Lord left to one day save us from our own actions, as he had saved us before. And until his return, we will uphold the righteous and do battle against evil. The decisions before us tonight must be taken into careful consideration. While it is not our way to be aggressive, we will defend ourselves and all the Lord has given us.” Goodwin was quite tall and thin and his robes hung from him like a tent. He sat down at the table.
“It’s what must be done.” Patriarch Laurent leaned forward to look at the other Patriarchs. His thin pointed moustache was trimmed perfectly and his thick hair was slicked back under his crimson cap.
Father Clarence stood up and clicked a small remote in his hands. A 3D image from above cascaded down over the table. He was firm as he spoke, his voice not faltering. “Here is what we know. Most of our churches in North America are currently safe. The area is now considered to be under the complete control of TERA We know they manipulate the government and will set the stage as they see fit so that they can rule.”
Gabriel was shocked as the slide revealed hundreds of locations across North America. There were more offices than he had ever thought TERA could have. Staring at all the dots he thought of Adin. Could one of those be him? The image faded and was replaced with a large map of Europe. Red dots spread out across it, one after another, revealing dozens of new offices and facilities.
“TERA has set up new facilities across Europe within the last 72 hours. While most of these pose no threat to us, their intentions here do. This is considered our number one priority and it cannot be ignored. They will begin to put more pressure on the European Commonwealth to agree to increases in ore usage by all sectors.” The slides started to scroll through 3D images of some of the new manufacturing equipment being released by TERA “If they succeed in their plans, they will have control of all manufacturing in Europe.” Father Clarence sat down and waited for a response.
The room remained silent. Gabriel focused on Father Clarence’s final statement, Adin forgotten.
Patriarch Goodwin stood up and addressed the room again. “Things are beginning to break down in the European government. We still have influence, but we risk not being listened to for much longer if TERA is allowed to expand. They will poison this land and we will not be able to stop it. We are all here to be stewards of the ore and protect what is ours.”
Patriarch Schmidt spoke up, his voice rising. “They must not be allowed any foothold in Europe.” The passion in his voice was unmistakable. He was clean shaven and wore small rounded glasses. He looked more like a man of science than a man of God.
Patriarch Milani’s brows rose. “Risk open warfare with them? Is that what you are willing to gamble?” He was oriental with a very round face and he looked like a toad when he frowned.
Father Clarence stood back up. “We have the resources. Strike them now before they continue to grow!” He slammed his hand against the table, despite Cardinal Vincent’s attempt to hold it back.
Patriarch Milani‘s lip curled. “Your priesthood doesn’t hide your years of war-mongering very well. If we strike, we put ourselves at the edge of the abyss. It could push us into war.”
Patriarch Laurent now stood. “And what kind of power does TERA hold? We have operatives who can confirm they research things in secret and have done so for years. How would we fight that?”
“If action is taken against TERA, and I do mean ‘if’,” Patriarch Goodwin looked around the room, “it must happen in secret. We cannot openly stand against them unless we have the European Commonwealth behind us.”
Patriarch Romaniski finally spoke in a thick Russian accent. His full beard hid most of his face. “A well placed strike – fast and direct – could slow them for now, but it will take a war to kill the beast.”
“Our way is not war.” Patriarch Milani objected.
“We also do not allow evil to flourish!” Patriarch Romaniski glared at him.
Patriarch Goodwin stood. “Silence!” He slammed the leather case against the great stone table, causing a deafening slap in the stone room. “We will not get anywhere unless we are united in our decision!”
“May I speak?” Dr. Osho raised his hand.
“Of course, Doctor.” The Patriarch bowed, giving Osho the floor, and sat back in his chair.
“The IP has always tried to find the good in the ore, looking past the evil. We believe there are ways to live in balance with the ore, use it to feed our civilization, without damaging what is left of this fragile planet. However, I have personally seen what TERA is capable of back in North America. I am sorry, but if you do not take a stand against them, you will certainly lose. No one will be allowed to live in harmony with TERA Their greed for power will not allow it.”
“We all agree with your heart-felt statement Doctor, but how does one take down an organization as large as TERA?” Patriarch Goodwin shook his head.
“To take down a giant, you need but one well-placed stone. I believe you all know the story?” Osho smiled gently.
Nate stood up beside Osho. “We’ve found a crack in their wall, if you will, in TERA’s operations.” He nodded to Father Clarence to activate a new image over the huge table. A large blue globe with red arrows indicated movements around the world.
“TERA is stretched thin. Too thin. They are over-extending themselves as they push for rapid expansion around the world.” Nate pointed to the many red dots moving across North America, as well as Europe. “They are transporting ore and equipment all over the country. The new manufacturing laws in North America require the use of ore technology. Several new facilities are opening in Europe. They are also integrating several smaller companies into their corporate tree as they assume control of the energy market in North America. This is leaving holes in their security systems.”
Nate motioned the projector off. “ If we hit them now, during the transition, we would be able to attack operations throughout North America, as well as Europe. These ops would target key materials, particularly the ore shipments. If we succeed in collecting enough ore, it would paralyze them for a short period of time forcing them to retreat back to North America and allow us time to fortify our position here.”
“You are asking us to organize a lot in very little time.” Patriarch Goodwin crossed his arms.
“Not necessarily. My teams are already set-up in North America using what is left of the IP’s network. If these positions could be strengthened with additional soldiers, we could attack dozens of areas in a single moment.” Nate faced him.
“And those targets – how would they be chosen?” Patriarch Laurent frowned at Nate.
“The new companies TERA is forcing under their control still have to integrate their computer systems into TERA’s global network. This presents some vulnerability in their networks. W
ith so many new users being put into the system, it will be overloaded. We already have people in place to hack the network and discover their movements. We then simply need to disrupt the signals to all the shipments, sending them off course.” Nate smiled. “Then we wait for them to walk into our traps.”
“Impressive, Mr. Reinhart,” Patriarch Romaniski spoke up. “But what target would be the fulcrum of this attack? What do you plan to do to focus their attention? What would blind them enough to give you the time you needed to succeed? I’m sure reinforcements would arrive quickly.”
“The IP itself,” Dr. Osho volunteered the answer. “If we let them believe they have found what they missed in their raid on us, I guarantee they will put substantial resources into getting it. We have a series of caches hidden by one of our founders. If we combined several of the locations into one single ‘Jackpot’ TERA wouldn’t pass up the opportunity to get their hands on that quantity of ore.”
Patriarch Milani stared at Osho. “If you fail, all you have done is given them more ore.”
“We won’t fail.” Nate stood beside Osho.
Osho removed his glasses. “You will not see another opportunity like this again … and even if we succeed on 60 percent of the targets, we will come out ahead. We will have more ore than they find in the cache.”
Patriarch Goodwin grinned from ear to ear. “What must be done?”
Osho put his glasses back on and smiled at Nate. “Most of the plan has already been put in place, but we need some additional resources. Mainly we need soldiers.”
Nate crossed his arms, nodding. “Our requests are not negotiable. We need them to succeed.”
“Careful of your pride, Mr. Reinhart. We, who are present, may agree, but our missing brothers may not.” Patriarch Goodwin rose, collecting a sealed envelope from one of the monks. He drew a small dagger and slit the seal. He read it and passed it to the other Patriarchs.
“You may have your resources, but this operation will be done from the shadows. Only those involved may know about the attack.” Patriarch Goodwin frowned. “Secrecy is key. We will discuss this more later. Now, what shall be done about the threat in Kazakhstan?” He opened the question to the room.
“Thank you.” Osho bowed at him and sat down with Nate.
“The site is an old weapons factory outside Kazakhstan.” Father Clarence stood, activating the projector. A satellite shot of the compound glowed across the stone table. “Activity there has spiked. Ore shipments are coming in daily, and the facility is being retrofitted for some kind of weaponry assignment. Our latest reports say the time table has been accelerated and the project should be completed within days, not weeks, as we originally expected. Also, a large number of refugees have been moved into the facility. We are still working to find out why they are there. We are gathering more information daily, but if we allow this facility to become fully operational, we will eventually have to face what they are building there.”
“What of the rumors?” Patriarch Milani stood. “Are the weapons designed to use the ore?”
Father Clarence sighed and shook his head. “We don’t know. It has been difficult to find out about all the ore shipments but, yes, we do know they have all types of ore on site. Including black.”
“The Kazakhstan weapon facility could also be assaulted if the European Commonwealth acknowledged it as a national threat. They would allow the Church to handle the situation. If we are seen as preoccupied with it, the attack on TERA would draw less suspicion, hiding our tracks,” Nate pointed out.
Patriarch Romaniski laughed deep in his belly. “You are a soldier, aren’t you! Let’s say you succeed at getting through the security at Kazakhstan. What then? You can’t detonate the store of ore. You don’t even know whose base you’re attacking!”
“With government support, we would be sanctioned to assume control of the compound.” Patriarch Goodwin eyed his counterpart carefully.
“What of reinforcements? We have no idea what to expect if it’s the Horsemen facility. I mean, for all we know it could be a commonwealth facility.” Patriarch Milani joined Patriarch Romaniski’s side.
“No.” Goodwin shook his head. “We know for a fact it is not with the European Commonwealth. They see it as a threat as well and they leave the stewardship of the ore to us.”
“The owners of the facility are the threat, not the technology and ore within,” Patriarch Laurent said slyly.
“You know the laws, Laurent. Anything involving the black ore is sealed away and never disrupted again. That is the reality of our stewardship. We will not be using any weapons we find.” Patriarch Goodwin spoke firmly, forcing the other Patriarch to bow his head in acknowledgement of his mistake.
“The black ore could be destroyed at the –”
. “Destroy the ore!" Patriarch Romaniski was quick to cut off Nate. "You must be joking. There is nothing that can destroy it! Even if you broke it into hundreds of pieces the poison still remains.”
“With all due respect, you are wrong.” Dr. Osho stood up. He poured the contents of an envelope onto the grand table – a simple sand with a light green sheen.
The Patriarchs eyed the substance and stared back at Osho, curious.
“See this? This is a simple crystal of ore void of any energy … any radiation at all.” He picked up the fine dust with his bare hands and sifted it onto the table. “This is all that remains when the black ore is properly destroyed.”
Pandemonium broke out in the room. Mockery, shouts, and questions filled the air as everyone demanded Dr. Osho explain himself. Patriarch Goodwin raised his hand, quieting the room as he spoke, “Why were we not informed of this before?”
“Because we only discovered that it could be done yesterday.” Osho bowed his head briefly. “The power to destroy the ore lies within this young man.” He rested his hand on Gabriel’s shoulder.
“They are lying!” Patriarch Romaniski barked. “He’s an ore user. Why would he destroy his own power?”
Gabriel glared at the man. “The ore has destroyed my life. I would gladly be rid of it.”
“The ore is our future, we only want to destroy what has been polluted.” Patriarch Milani shook his head.
“This young man wants a reckoning. Why should we trust him with anything?” Patriarch Schmidt’s eyes drilled into him.
“Because by the time we find another option, there won’t be any time left.” Dr. Osho pointed at the table. “The proof is right there. Question it all you like.”
“They are trying to deceive us!” Patriarch Romaniski remained hostile.
One voice rose above the room. Claire ran over to Gabriel and Osho. “It is true!” She faced Patriarch Goodwin. ”I saw it with my own eyes. They are telling the truth.”
Gabriel felt indebted to her. She was standing up for him to the Patriarchs, asking them to trust his strength.
Laurent looked down his nose at her. “Why would we believe an exile?”
“Watch your tongue, Laurent. Ms. Bennett will be counted as a witness.” Goodwin glared at the other Patriarch.
“Then you may also count me.” Cardinal Vincent stood up. “While I was not present for the act – I saw enough to believe their claim.”
The room remained silent for several moments as the Patriarchs whispered amongst themselves. The door the Patriarchs had entered through burst open, and a monk carrying another sealed envelope entered. The monk handed it to Patriarch Goodwin who broke the seal and read the message then passed it to the other Patriarchs for confirmation.
“Our missing brothers of the council are eager for a demonstration.” Patriarch Goodwin stared at Gabriel. “As am I.”
Dr. Osho nodded his head. “Of course, I can prepare a containment room and we can –”
He was cut off by Patriarch Goodwin. “No preparation. We need to see it now. We must know he can do this by command, that it is not a lengthy process.” Nods of agreement came from around the room.
Dr. Osho looked to G
abriel. “You will have to control the blast – surround it completely.”
“I’ll try.” Gabriel nodded.
“No.” Nate looked him in the eyes. “Don't just try. You do. You have to make this work. We do whatever we have to, remember?”
“Right.” He remembered his commitment. Anything to find a way home.
Nate moved several others, including Claire, away from Gabriel as Osho pulled out a silver steel container and placed it on the table.
“I thought they might want to see it, so I came prepared.” He smiled as he placed Gabriel’s hand on the case and stepped away from him.
The container was the same as before. It contained a smaller shard, about the size of his thumb. Relieved, Gabriel removed the clear protective casing from around the sleek black shard. The effect was immediate. He could see everyone in the room looking suddenly drained as the shard was exposed. Bright white gloves formed around both his hands. The room filled with muttering as he tried to stay focused. He picked up the shard, covering the whole thing in both his cupped hands. The Patriarchs whispered amongst one another.
Gabriel started to push energy from his chest into the small black stone, causing his hands to grow brighter and brighter, blinding those who were too close. The reaction was close to complete, the black shard vibrated in his hands. Another globe of white light pulsed into the air, encircling his hands as he added extra protection. He closed his eyes. A muffled bang erupted in the room and Gabriel’s arms absorbed an invisible shock. The thin shield disappeared first then the two gloves retreated from around his hands. He opened them.
A dull blue dust rested in his palms. He poured the grains of bluish sand on the table, covering the green dust left there. He swallowed hard as he tried to control his nerves.
Dr. Osho smiled and leaned over the table. He cupped some of the sand into his palm and then dropped it back onto the table. “Satisfied?”
Amazement marked each of their faces. Some of the Patriarchs lifted the sand into their palms. Others let it sift through their fingers. The room filled with chatter until Patriarch Goodwin raised his hand to silence everyone. He looked at the other Patriarchs who nodded in agreement.
“Contact the Commonwealth. We will need to speak to them.”