24991201 | 0026
ESS Supercarrier Ascendant Prime | Persian Gulf | International Waters
25°15'38.14"N
51°53'23.20"E
“The Whore of Babylon,” Shirley muttered, reading the transcript of the live feed.
“They’ve named you,” le Fay continued. “Demon. Idol. Abomination. Savior. Weapon. Babylon.”
“Pretty mythical,” Illeana remarked.
“Yes, but that hit on you... something doesn’t compute,” le Fay said, “they risked everything for so little gain.”
“Could be a target of opportunity,” Illeana said, “the Church’s been gunning for her for years.”
“Yes, Heaven’s Fall was unprecedented.” Kurt quipped in, “she was left exposed, vulnerable. The Church saw an opening, they took it.”
le Fay was silent.
“Your pardon, Executive,” Mercer interjected, “but I beg to differ.”
le Fay turned to him.
“Let’s hear your assessment,” she said.
“They gain optics,” the admiral said.
“All these, for optics?” le Fay reiterated, not comprehending.
“Considering what we already know of the damage to the Aquifer and Floodzone Cairo,” Mercer continued, “The Church’s only real strategic brand is optics.”
Le Fay was silent.
“Optics?”” Kurt spoke up.
“A PR stunt?” Illeana said, incredulous.
“I’m flattered, Admiral,” Shirley said, “but even I think it was a little excessive just to get to me.”
“Floodzone Cairo accomplished nothing of strategic value” Mercer finished coldly, “killing you was the icing on the cake.”
Shirley considered his words.
Illeana’s grin faded.
Kurt frowned.
le Fay was silent, contemplating.
Mercer leaned back, trusting them to come to the conclusion he already arrived at.
Shirley spoke first.
“You maybe right, Admiral.” She said softly, “I was just the icing.”
“They gain credibility, in times of crises and great suffering, humanity will turn to the one thing that promised them deliverance.”
“Faith, belief.”
“Yes,” Mercer said as he brought up the an old holo feed.
Cathedral Prime.
The Anointment Ritual.
The High Priestess.
The Harbingers.
“We thought the Harbingers were anointed for a coming conflict,” Mercer said, “but now we know they are carrier vessels for the MOSES strain.”
“MOSES,” le Fay said, “the viral strain that shared a name with an ancient prophetic figure.”
“The River Nile turns red,” Mercer said, “Cairo Crimson.”
“An utterly harmless algae,” le Fay continued, “a billion-dollar research for an algar accelerant and a dye.”
“The Ten Plagues of Egypt,” Mercer continued, “from the Abrahamic faith of old.”
An image flickered onto the holo.
“We’ve been monitoring Church’s socials and live sermons,” the admiral continued, “note the language and words they chose to deploy.”
Shirley leaned in to study it.
They considered the algorithm.
The trending buzzwords.
The room fell silent.
“Your assessment may be spot on,” le Fay said. “I will ask Balthazar to look into this possibility.”
Mercer accepted the compliment with a slight nod.
She called to him.
Balthazar, le Fay’s personal AI, joined the meeting.
Voice only.
Silence.
Brief.
Heavy.
“Executive le Fay,” he said in greeting.
“Admiral Mercer, Commander Blade, Miss Frost, Miss Tempess.”
The AI greeted each in turn.
“Balthazar,” le Fay spoke up, “I need you to quantify the vector of our discussion.”
“As you wish, Executive le Fay,” Balthazar replied, “shall we begin?”
le Fay nodded.
A hologram flared to life.
Cairo.
Doha.
Trade routes.
Free Cities.
Orbital overlays.
Church influence maps.
Red zones.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Yellow alerts.
“Global situation remains volatile,” the digitized voice of the AI narrated, “Church rhetoric escalating. Protests in twelve major enclaves. Three assassination attempts on EVECorp assets. Two successful.”
Data panes reconfigured.
“We begin with Heaven’s Fall.”
Red icons expanded across North Africa.
Cairo.
The Nile delta.
Flood markers pulsing in dull crimson.
“Floodzone Cairo.”
Shirley, Illeana and Kurt straightened.
The air in the room shifted.
A satellite composite replaced the blade imagery.
Nighttime infrared overlays.
Large sectors of Cairo submerged in black-blue gradient.
“Barrage gates breach at midnight local,” the AI continued. “Aquifer destabilization cascaded across three subterranean retention systems. Containment failed in sequence.”
A holo frame of the Nile appeared.
Six wireframe rendition of the Hydro Intake Towers.
Each one blinked red, one by one.
Each failures led to another.
Numbers populated the screen.
Balthazar narrated coldly.
“Estimated flood volume discharge: 4.8 billion cubic meters within the first six hours.”
Mercer’s expression tightened.
“Urban submergence footprint?” Shirley asked.
The AI replied.
“Forty-two percent of greater Cairo experienced structural inundation exceeding two meters.”
Illeana let out a low whistle.
“Fatalities?” Kurt asked.
“Preliminary confirmed: 18,600.”
Balthazar continued with missing a beat.
“Projected once full accounting completes: 32,000 to 45,000.”
The room absorbed that without dramatics.
“Displaced civilians,” the AI continued. “Approximately 2.3 million.”
Holo markers pulsed outward from Cairo into desert regions.
“Critical infrastructure damage: 61% of power substations offline. Primary hospital networks compromised in central districts. Water sanitation collapse in three sectors.”
Mercer leaned forward.
“And response?”
Le Fay’s intervened then.
“EVECorp 5th Fleet and 3rd Fleet were diverted immediately.”
Two fleet icons lit up over the Mediterranean.
“5th Fleet deployed high-capacity airlift and modular desalination platforms.”
“3rd Fleet currently conducting active SAR operations across Nile-adjacent districts.”
Visuals shifted.
Black-and-white drone feeds.
People lifted from rooftops.
Portable bridges extending.
Medical triage tents assembling under floodlights.
“We have extracted 187,000 civilians in the last thirty-six hours,” le Fay said.
Illeana folded her arms tighter.
“Not bad.”
“Insufficient, truth be told.” Mercer said quietly.
“Agreed,” le Fay replied. “But we are escalating.”
She shifted the display again.
Convoys en route from Red Sea corridors.
“I had mobilized all EVECorp medical assets within immediate operational radius.”
A list scrolled.
Abu Dhabi.
Jeddah.
Istanbul.
Athens.
“Thirty-seven mobile surgical units. Twelve trauma ships. Six orbital med-supply drops en route.”
Shirley glanced at le Fay briefly.
“You’re pulling hard.”
“Yes,” le Fay said. “This is not discretionary.”
The map zoomed outward.
Mediterranean coastline.
Monaco highlighted in gold.
Le Fay continued:
“I have been in contact with Crown Prince Soren Fehr.”
Shirley’s gaze shifted subtly.
“He had offered Monaco as a staging ground for EVE SAR coordination.”
Mercer nodded approvingly.
“Logistically sound.”
Le Fay continued.
“He is arranging expedited maritime clearance for relief vessels transiting the Mediterranean.”
“Additionally,” she added, “he is negotiating with Egyptian authorities for establishment of a humanitarian corridor.”
The map shifted again.
Proposed route.
Monaco → Malta → Alexandria → Cairo perimeter.
“Infrastructure cooperation currently in progress,” le Fay said. “We anticipate limited staging access inside Egyptian territory within seventy-two hours.”
Illeana smirked slightly.
“Free Cities showing up.”
“They are,” le Fay confirmed, “they are united on this front, at least.”
She paused for a moment.
Le Fay’s voice came through, smooth as ever.
“Shirley.”
Shirley looked toward the ceiling speaker.
“Yes?”
“I was in contact with Crown Prince Soren Fehr.”
Shirley didn’t move.
“He inquired about you.”
A pause.
“Despite your public exposure.”
Shirley’s lips curved faintly.
“He expressed… concern.”
“He seems partial to enigmatic women,” she said nonchalantly.
Le Fay snorted lightly through the channel.
“He sounds like a genuine gentleman. Perhaps you should ditch your obsession with billionaire playboys and settle for someone with a little more class.”
Kurt reached for his mug of coffee.
Shirley tilted her head slightly.
“Sounds like you’re more interested.”
Illeana’s grin widened.
Le Fay didn’t miss a beat.
“Your infatuations with playboys and fast cars have never ceased to amaze me.”
Gunpowder.
Mercer adjusted his collar.
Shirley leaned back in her chair.
“I like fast rides,” she said calmly.
Tinderbox.
“The thrill of the chase.”
le Fay was deathly silent.
“The kind that leaves me panting.”
Mercer closed his eyes for half a second.
le Fay let the silence stretch just long enough.
“You are incorrigible.”
“I am complicated,” Shirley corrected.
Illeana finally cut in, flat and unimpressed:
“Should you two be discussing this now?”
Both women turned towards her.
Illeana fell silent.
Then—
Le Fay’s composure snapped back into place instantly.
“Quite right.”
Shirley leaned back into her seat.
Kurt set his mug down.
Mercer sighed.
“Continue, Balthazar.”
“Yes, Executive,” the AI said smoothly, “I would direct your attention to the feed.”
A video screen flicked onto the holo.
A creeping shade of red emerged from the first tower.
Illeana shifted uncomfortably.
“What happened there?” Shirley asked.
“X.” Kurt said, “a drop of his contaminated blood.”
“A drop?” Shirley echoed in disbelief.
Kurt turned to her and nodded.
“I saw the water turned red,” Illeana whispered, she turned to Shirley, “it climbed.”
“I have dredged the footages off surveillance cams from the Hydro Intake Towers.” Balthazar continued.
A series of footages flashed across the holo.
Shirley watched intently.
She saw it.
The water, turning red.
Shirley watched in disbelief as the blood-red water climbed upwards.
“That would be MOSES Prime, Strain I.” Balthazar elaborated.
A digital rendition of a molecular lattice rotated slowly in mid-air.
Red-threaded.
Aggressive.
“Commander Blade, I’m happy to report that EVE Biological Division,” Balthazar said calmly, “has successfully isolated proto-MOSES sample you retrieved from Kowloon.”
Kurt’s expression did not change.
“The lead from your mystery source.” Le Fay quipped.
He still said nothing.
Le Fay chuckled.
“They cross-referenced it with biological residue collected from the Aquifer and Floodzone Cairo.” Balthazar continued.
Three strain signatures materialized side by side.
Subtle mutations.
Branching.
Converging.
“By combining all available genomic fragments,” the AI continued, “we have reconstructed a working model of MOSES Prime.”
The molecular structure expanded.
A branching cascade simulation.
Projected vectors.
Replication curves.
Mercer studied it carefully.
“Weaponized contagion.”
“Not merely,” le Fay said.
She raised a finger.
“Show them, Balthazar.”
The model shifted into symbolic overlay.
Roman numerals appeared beside the strain variations.
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
Illeana frowned.
“That’s not random.”
“No,” le Fay said quietly, “MOSES carried the signature of deliberate and elaborate biological engineering.”
“The deliberation remained in the symbology.” Balthazar added.
A new image filled the holo.
An ancient relief.
Nile waters turned red.
Dead fish floating to the surface.
“This,” she said, “is not subtle.”
She looked at them one by one.
“The Church does not merely wage war.” Shirley spoke up.
“They are staging a spectacle.” Balthazar said.
The holo transitioned.
Biblical references.
The Ten Plagues of Egypt.
Water turned to blood.
Frogs.
Gnats.
Pestilence.
Boils.
Hail.
Locusts.
Darkness.
Death of the firstborn.
Balthazar’s voice remained clinical.
“The first plague — water turned to blood.”
The holo shifted back to Cairo.
Cairo Crimson.
Red water.
Aquifer contamination.
“Floodzone Cairo aligns symbolically with Plague One.”
The table remained silent.
The AI continued.
“Strain variants one through seven correspond to escalating biological expressions.”
The molecular lattice pulsed as each Roman numeral lit.
“Localized ecological collapse.”
“Vector-borne mutation.”
“Dermal necrosis analog.”
“Agricultural contamination models.”
“Livestock destabilization projections.”
Each simulation flickered in red ghost-forms.
Kurt’s jaw tightened slightly.
Illeana’s humor long evaporated.
Shirley watched on dispassionately.
Balthazar paused.
Computing.
A long moment passed.
“Strains eight, nine, and ten.”
The holo displayed blank placeholders.
VIII
IX
X
“Biologically implausible,” Balthazar concluded.
“Elaborate.” le Fay said.
“We cannot compute God.” The AI simply stated.
We cannot compute God.
“That makes no sense, Balthazar.” le Fay pressed.
The AI contemplated before replying.
“Your pardon, Executive le Fay, I am simply stating Plague VII, IX and X cannot be engineered by today’s science.”
The holo flickered to displayed three biblical images.
“The sky rained fire.”
“Total atmospheric darkness.”
“Spontaneous mortality targeting firstborn.”
Balthazar paused, letting the moment sink in.
“Even EVECorp cannot engineer a miracle.”
The statement was not humility.
It was fact.
No one argued.
Shirley’s eyes remained on the model.
“They’re performing theology through bioengineering.”
“Yes.” Balthazar replied.
“They are writing scripture in pathogens.” Le Fay said.
Shirley turned to Mercer then.
“You are right, optics.”
