Earth Awakens (The First Formic War 3)

"Which cities?" asked Wit.

"Every city in southeast China, including the big ones. Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan. Many of these had already been evacuated, but there are millions of people who hadn't left. Other transports are hitting villages and cities as far north as Linwu County. I can't imagine what the casualty estimates might be." He took a water bottle and downed half of it. Then he wiped his mouth and said, "That's not all. I also got word on the attacks Sima coordinated against the landers."

"The drill-sledge teams?" asked Mazer.

"They failed," said Shenzu. "The sledges waited too long. The underside of the landers were shielded when the teams arrived. Formics wiped out the two teams and destroyed the drill sledges."

"So the landers still stand," said Wit. "And the Formic army is larger and more aggressive than it ever was before. Do you have any good news?"

"I wish I did."

Wit sighed and thought for a moment. "If the convoy at Lianzhou was taken out, then the science team is lost. That means no one is working on stopping the gas. That should be our priority."

"We're not scientists," said Shenzu. "We can't develop a counteragent."

"No, but we can take goo guns to scientists who can."

"Who?" said Shenzu. "China had assembled its strongest team. How will we find replacements? The best universities and research facilities are south along the coast where the death squads are attacking. Those people will be scattered."

"We don't look in China," said Wit. "We take the goo guns to New Delhi. There's a bioengineer there. A man named Pavar Gadhavi, the world's leading authority on defining the folding mechanisms of protein structures. MOPs have used him before to counter bioweapons. He knows me. If anyone can decipher the liquid it's Gadhavi."

"You're proposing we take an alien bioweapon across the border into India?" said Shenzu. "China would never allow this. India either."

"We can't bring Gadhavi to us," said Wit. "It's not safe. Even if we had a second Chinese team, I'd suggest moving them out of country. Besides, we don't have the eq

uipment Gadhavi will need. We have to go to him."

"You speak as if the military and government have no say in the matter," said Shenzu.

"They don't," said Wit. "Not as far as I'm concerned. Mazer and I were under General Sima's command. That command structure has broken. If you want to help, I could certainly use it. We need your expertise, but I'm not waiting for the CMC or Politburo to debate the matter. They would never approve it anyway. Are you in or out?"

"How do you propose getting to New Delhi? Even if the HERC could fly, it would never make that distance. New Delhi is over thirty-five hundred kilometers away."

"We'll find another aircraft. Airports will have abandoned planes."

Shenzu scoffed. "So you'll steal one."

"'Commandeer' is a more polite term," said Wit.

"What about fuel?" asked Shenzu.

"This is why I need you," said Wit. "You're already making a list of everything we'll require."

"If you try to cross the border illegally, India will shoot you down. They're extremely protective of the border because of the war."

"They won't shoot us down," said Wit. "That would release the Formic gas into their country."

"They won't know you have Formic gas," said Shenzu.

"They will because I'll tell them. Once I do that, whatever fighters they scramble to shoot us down will be ordered to escort us wherever we need to go."

"You've thought this out, haven't you?"

"Actually no, we're making it up together, but it's a beginning. Is there an airfield near here?"

Shenzu was quiet a moment. "They'll arrest you the moment you land in India."

"We've been arrested before. It didn't stick. And anyway Dr. Gadhavi will vouch for us."