Chapter 0: Beneath the Veil

Arjun’s heart pounded as he flashed his ID and dashed past the two armed security guards into the oppressively large command center of AAM’s Genesis headquarters. The pristine yet unadorned corridors full of various warehouses, offices and other facilities flashed past him as he hurried toward the opposite end of the building. He had been busy doing his supervisors work for him when the tablet he was using suddenly started vibrating and blaring out an awful sound. He was just glad he hadn’t broken it when he reflexively dropped it.

The emergency alert had been cryptic but urgent: ‘Main Conference Room - Immediate Attendance Required’. Arjun had only been on Genesis for a few weeks, he had no idea what to expect. His supervisor, the Lead Engineer, had emphasized that since he was only a Senior Engineer it hadn’t been necessary for him to meet any of the bigwigs when he onboarded.

His heart continued to race in his chest as he jogged down the seemingly unending corridors. ‘Has my cardio gotten this bad? Or am I actually nervous?’. Arjun possessed an extreme confidence in himself. Anyone that put in the time and effort to their craft that he had would. And becoming a senior engineer at AAM before turning 30 was evidence of that dedication.

As he finally finished running down the unnecessarily long hallway he paused to catch his breath before opening one of the giant double doors and letting himself in. The sound of chatter gradually rose to a crescendo.

He took a second to observe the crowded conference room. The room was a lot more frantic than he would have expected. There were already over twenty people inside. He hadn’t seen that many people in the entire time he had been on Genesis. The place was loud enough that it took Arjun a few moments to notice the mumble of a television broadcast in the background. As he finally gathered his bearings he noticed a convenient cluster of empty seats and was about to head that way when he noticed the imposing figure located in the middle of them. Not only were there no people near him, but none of the papers strewn over the rest of the table had managed to approach this end of the table either. Arjun’s eyes to naturally gravitated towards the man.

That was Bert Lyell, one of the celebrities of the new era. He was one of the first people to successfully leverage new dimensional environments in order to surpass human limits. He was also a world-famous businessman known for being able to strike a deal with the USA on even terms. But most of all he was famous for being a true blue psychopath. He was the man who killed his own pregnant wife by infusing her with his own mana.

Despite his unwillingness to become their lapdog along with his PR issues, the USA still understood there was an intrinsic value in a man like him. Most companies still had to hold themselves to higher standards, the public and their own employees were holding them accountable. They were drive into believing that they had some level of accountability to maintain. Combatting local fauna ‘humanely’ and even keeping multiple dimensional shifts active at all times as a ‘safety precaution’. Bert knew better though. The best way to combat local fauna was with poison and the napalm and the best safety precautions were NDAs and undocumented employees. And he was able to surround himself with people that were willing to accommodate these beliefs.

As such it wasn’t much of a surprise that unlike the other panicking people in the room there was not a hint of panic or emotion on his face. Yet despite this lack of emotion he still created the gravity about him that caused others to instinctively give him a wide berth. If he were to show his emotions it would be terrifying.

From an owner of a small mining company to being the majority shareholder and patriarch of AAM, one of the most profitable mining companies in the world. His white hair indicated that he should be far past his prime but his otherworldly body had not yet acknowledged this fact. Resting his muscular forearms on the table with a glass of whiskey in one hand and the remote in the other he stared at the TV screen dominating the opposite wall, completely unfazed by the bustle around him.

Arjun’s eyes instinctively followed Bert’s gaze to the wall directly behind himself. On the right side of the screen all that was currently visible was a dusty haze. It then cut to an overhead wide angle view that looked almost identical, except for some pockets of rubble that were visible where the sunlight was able to penetrate through the thick detritus in the air. The top of the screen had a single word stamped across it.

"London"

The other half of the screen showed shaky footage of large, insect-like creatures flying and attacking anything that moved in an otherwise very normal looking London. The two commentators were in a frenzy, seemingly just making observations with no follow up. “No sign of any planes or other aircrafts…”, “Estimates say two meters…”, “...suspect the USA…”

Arjun slid into an empty chair, completely stunned. ‘Was that dust cloud really London? Wait. Did the USA just bomb it?’ He looked back at the screen for a few moments before pulling out his tablet to pull up the internet. The internet confirmed the broadcast. London was gone. And USA was the prime suspect. AAM was a British company out of London. As he thought about it he was shocked that their computers were still functioning fine.

As Arjun was pulling up his fourth article the man to his right nudged him. “Never seen you before. Didn’t know we hired an Indian kid. You must be the new computer guy, right?”

The man looked like the stereotypical sleazy banking magnate: greasy hair, overweight, dress pants, a button-up shirt with excessive pit stains, suspenders and a big gold watch with several gold rings on each hand. Arjun had heard more than a few stories about the company's CFO, Percy Blevins. If he had realized this was who he was sitting next to he might have opted for one of those enticing empty seats next to Bert…

“Yeah, I am the new senior engineer. You must be the CFO, Mr. Blevins, I have heard a lot about you. My name is Arjun. It is nice to meet you…” Arjun immediately regretted what he had said. He had just obligated himself to a handshake. As he looked down at the man’s giant hands his attention was torn from all the hair on the back of his hands and the custom gold middle-finger cuff links.

Percy looked Arjun dead in the eyes and then looked away and sneered, “Now why would I ever want to shake hands with someone like you?”

Arjun was beginning to like him more already.

***

A few minutes later a tall, slim and forceful beauty came storming into the room, much to Arjun’s delight. She was no stranger, everyone knew her as the true head of the company. Jamie Valentina, Bert’s right hand and one of the world’s most powerful women. As she stood up at the head of the table closest to the entry her voice commanded, demanding attention.

"Everyone! Quiet!” She gave the room a second to focus on her, “Many of us have families in London. I am very sorry for everyone’s losses. The best thing we can do right now is to keep our wits.”

There were more than a few murmurs around the room. Jamie continued though as if she hadn’t heard anything, “I am taking this opportunity to request the votes to seize executive control to expedite the upcoming agenda. Effective until this is resolved.”

She paused to gather herself for a second before continuing, “We will now be holding…”, but was cut-off when Bert’s gravely voice overpowered her own, “Proceed.”

Jamie nodded towards her boss and promptly continued, “Great! With the majority of the votes we will continue. We are still lacking a lot of things before Genesis is completely self-sufficient. We are still currently almost six months out from the planned deadline. As it stands we are still short on some supplies for the reactors and electrolysers as well as a lot of our long-term storage supplies. There is still no official word on how this is going to impact British or foreign operated GATEs, and likely won’t be until it is too late. With that in mind the closure date is being moved forward to the 15th of next month.”

The announcement was instantly met with a few murmurs as well as the protest from Arjun’s supervisor, “Wait right there! My wife’s chemo just started. You can’t do this!”

“Reg..” Jamie attempted to regain control but was quickly cut off again.

“You need me god dammit. I have made this company tril-”

“Shut your fucking mouth before I give you cancer.” Bert finally let his presence be felt.

The pressure Bert emitted was palpable, yet somehow Jamie was able to instantly cut through it. “Reggie, I am sorry. We all feel awful for your wife but almost every single person in this room has lost somebody they care about today. We NEED to move the schedule forward.” Jamie vehemently pointed to the TV screen still showing overhead footage of what little remained of London.

“We will work with you and your wife to do whatever we can to help, but if you don’t fall in line… You are replaceable.” Jamie’s sympathetic expression transformed into one of apathy.

“I am not done talking, people. The new deadline is February 15th. You will have plenty of time to sort your personal affairs before then. But for now we need to stay focussed. We need to stay ahead of this. As such only authorized travel outside of Genesis is permitted.” Jamie looked around, “If you are not part of the solution then you are part of the problem.”

“Continuing on! Isabella, we need that final shipment of zirconium and graphite for the reactors. That is currently the very top of our list.”

Isabella quickly cut in, “About that. Blackwater contacted me at almost the same time the alarm went off…” She sighed knowing his next news would not be welcome, “They say that they are finally able to fulfill the order. Of course a new 40% tariff will be applied. They said that the pertinent legislation will be announced by the White House tonight...”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Percy slammed his fists on the table getting Arjun right in the eyes with some incidental splatter, “There is no way those yankee fucks didn’t have this planned out! We have been trying to do this deal for four months and the day they take down London the feds conveniently approve it.”

Jamie cut the old man off instantly, “Percy, enough. There isn’t anything we can do about it. If anything this is a good thing. It shows us that Blackwater is owned by one of the American titans. They are willingly showing us they have insider knowledge, it fits their personalities perfectly. We need to make sure that whoever we offload Hera to is going to maintain it so we don’t get trapped.”

Arjun’s thoughts ran wild. ‘They are trying to sell Hera? Impossible!’. He had never heard this intel before but the more he thought about it the more sense it made. The best way to truly hide Genesis from the USA was to throw away the key, at least in a figurative manner. His mind quickly spun to the obvious answer though.

“We might even be lucky enough to sell Hera for personal use…” Arjun stopped mumbling as soon as he realized that the entire room was looking in his direction. He had caught Jamie’s attention, meaning he was the center of attention. But she was still just staring at him. She was the one that had to say something to move this situation forward! ‘Dammit lady I am sorry! Just say something…!’

But Jamie had been stumped. ‘Why had I never thought about that?’ But a cursory inspection reminded her why, ‘Because Hera produces 500 pounds of gold and almost as much platinum every single day. It is far too valuable.’ She was curious to see if there was any forethought behind that interjection. When Bert had made the request to get another engineer for Genesis she had found Arjun universally highly recommended by the Hera crew.

“Who would buy it? It holds too much value as a platinum and gold mining base.” Jamie folded her arms in expectation of Arjun’s response.

Arjun immediately regretted his tendency to ignore his surroundings, but then he smiled. He was the youngest person in this room by over a decade, and that was for a reason. “When I first got hired on Hera I assumed you were running this umm shall we say HIGHLY illegal operation because you were actually taking advantage of your extremely valuable, extremely illegal resource, but you are doing the opposite. You are poisoning them and intentionally driving them away. I know that it is to hide the evidence of their existence from any potential spies and investigators but the better answer is almost always to just find the right palms to grease. Especially considering the situation we are currently in.”

"Nobody is going to want to buy a GATE that the USA is most likely going to default on. It will sell at auction for half the price we would get for it on the open market. The only way to avoid that future and make sure the feds don't get Hera is to get somebody with the ability to do so to undercut the feds and that takes more than just above-average returns on profit. It takes something uniquely valuable."

Arjun now felt the wind in his sails, he could see understanding flickering in Jamie’s eyes. “There are plenty of reports of encountering hominids or humanoids or whatever they want us to call them now, but we have HUMANS in Hera. Genetically unique with enough visual distinctions to market as another species, but capable of creating fertile offspring! Hera has also kept a clean slate for over a decade now, it is the last thing anybody would expect tucked away here, making it even more valuable.”

“Slavery has always been highly profitable. And if not for profit there are always rich old men willing to part ways with their fortunes for a forbidden taste… As a cherry on top Hera also has a high abundance of mana. Not enough for the locals to have developed enough magic to be threatening but still enough to be a great health benefit. It would be a great place to raise a family, or maybe a harem.”

“And of course as a nexus point …” Arjun was suddenly elbowed in the ribs by Percy.

Jamie chuckled. “Speaking of highly illegal. You can stop there. We get the point.” She paused for a second and continued, “Percy there are only a handful of people I can think of with the authority to take this from under the USA’s nose. Are any of them going to pay out 4 trillion?”

Percy laughed out loud at the prospect, reminding Jamie the disdain she held for the man.

“Four trillion? Not a chance in hell. Fitzpatrick will bite but we will be lucky to get one trillion and he is going to bend us over in the process. It doesn't matter how much it is actually worth to the market or himself, skinning us alive is part of the game to him. He is going to want it all. We are going to have to have Genesis completely isolated before he has the opportunity to look around. He will know exactly how many wind turbines we imported so they will realize almost instantly that over a quarter of what was cataloged going into Hera is missing.”

When Percy finished talking Jamie looked over at Bert as if asking for his approval. In response he gave her a nod as if telepathically communicating. “Ok. If we are going to do that we might as well use OmniCore as our supplier for as much of the miscellaneous stuff we still need as we can. Percy get that deal on the table for some time after the 15th. We need all the resources by the 10th at the latest. This is your top and only priority for now. I give you, Percy Blevins, open authority to leave Genesis to get this accomplished.”

Percy was unhappy to take orders from that egotistical bitch so he was glad use this as an opportunity to excuse himself. Getting up from his seat...

“Where do you think you are going? Sit your happy ass back down. This goes for all of you. Buckle up and shut up, we have a long day ahead of us.” Jamie gave the former banker the blank stare one gives to a troublesome child. “Next topic. We still need to secure…”

***

The meeting had been going for over four hours and had slowly devolved into debating over the best way to stick a square peg through a circular hole when the argument was suddenly interrupted by Bert turning the TV volume up.

The conference room fell silent in anticipation as the television broadcast displayed the White House Press Secretary’s podium. The Press Secretary approached the podium, shuffled their papers, then looked directly at the camera and began to speak. "The United States regretfully takes responsibility for the tragic events that unfolded in London earlier today. It was an awful answer to an awful situation. We wish we could have done anything else, but our hands were tied.”

As soon as he finished speaking the room roared in response. Every reported hoped to get the first question. It was such a bombshell announcement that they had even finished processing the news or a question to ask before their arms and voices shot towards the podium.

“Yes, Mrs. Marsha from CBN.” The Press Secretary made a show of rubbing his eyes before he called on the planted reporter.

“What reason could the USA possibly have for bombing London? Isn’t this clearly an overreaction?”

“Thanks Marsha, great question. Earlier this morning, approximately 6 hours ago now, at least two different alien species emerged from a dimensional shift in the Chelsea district of London. The first species to emerge was a flying species which began immediately causing widespread destruction. In collaboration with British authorities, we assisted in every way that we could to help contain the situation and we were seeing forward progress but then a second, still unidentified, life form came out. The mana levels it was emitting were well beyond anything we have witnessed before."

"As it became evident that this problem was quickly getting out of hand we had to make a decision.” The man looked completely despondent, apparently believing his own bullshit as tears rolled down his cheeks, “We. The USA. We made the difficult decision to intervene decisively. This action was taken with a heavy heart, and our thoughts and prayers are with the great people of the United Kingdom during this devastating time. We are currently doing everything we can to help them recover and ask other countries to do the same."

The broadcast returned to the newsroom anchors after the single question and answer. Signs of distress and confusion painting the ambushed anchors faces. One young lady began stumbling over her words before the screen cut to footage of a man with matted hair dangling well past his feet floating in the sky as Bert turned off the TV. They had heard the only thing that mattered, America had willingly claimed the attack against their best ally in the world.

It was obvious that they would create some amazing story with loads of evidence supporting the necessity to blow London to hell, but that was as likely to be complete bullshit as it was to be a false flag. Who would be willing to trust the USA again after this? Was this monopoly really worth turning the entire planet into their enemies?

Jamie finally spoke back up. "This is a good stopping point. That confirmed our worst worries. The USA didn't start plotting against us today, this means they were prepared for this. The need for confidentiality is at an all time high. If you weren’t specifically named to do a task, find something productive to do."

“And one last time, no unauthorized exiting of Genesis. There will be consequences. Abe I need a word. Everyone else is dismissed.” Jamie finally sat down to catch her breath as people started filtering out of the room.

Abe made no efforts to hide the path of his eyes over her body as he sat down. ‘Another person with bad habits.’ It always bothered Jamie how success seemed to bless the least deserving individuals.

Jamie made it clear by nodding towards the line of people filing out of the door that she was waiting until everyone left. "Anyone who leaves the portal without authorization… Kill them."

Abe raised an eyebrow and snickered. “My favorite kind of work. Sounds like from what that kid was hinting at though that you might have some new work for me soon though.” A giant smile plastered his face as he finished the thought.

“Keep your imagination to yourself. If you do something and I didn’t authorize it, we will maroon your herpetic ass. Now get out of here, you have work to do for once.”

As Abe was making his way out of the room Bert’s gravely voice called to him, “Reggie is going to sneak out tonight. Don’t go easy on that rat.”

Abe smiled in response, running a finger across his throat before exiting the conference room.

Jamie made her way to her lover's side, “It looks like Arjun is getting ready for another promotion. he is going to be a quick riser.”

“He impressed me. He is willing to take risks but also highly calculative.” Jamie wasn’t sure about promoting somebody so shrewd so quickly but there was not much of an option with Reggie gone.

‘God am I already thinking of him as dead?’ Her own callousnesses shook her a little. Her unwavering faith in Bert was not the only thing that had changed about her over the last twenty years working for AAM.

“He is unencumbered. Hopefully he can stay that way.” Bert saw a different kind of value in Arjun. “Get him a helper that can do all of his routine tasks, I am going to have some other work for him soon.”

“Yes honey, that sounds perfect.” She paused as she ran her hand over Bert’s lofty shoulders, “I was a little shocked when you asked me to find another engineer... It's almost as if you foresaw this situation.” Jamie did her best to tease the old bull before flashing a smile his way. Nothing was as sexy to her as a powerful, capable man, and Bert was the pinnacle of that personification. He rarely took a role in the oversight of his own company but when he did he had a habit of producing shocking results; that turned her on as much as any phallus could.

“It will be interesting to see how he develops under you.” Jamie's daydreaming halted as she felt the muscles in the colossal man begin to tighten, making her realize the mistake she had made. Her heart began to crumple in on itself.

He still had that stoic look on his face but she knew that it was just a mask. He cared deeply for his son. In a narcissistic way that she found hard to understand, but it was love nonetheless. And he had been at the best private academy in London this morning. Now the poor child will always be in that poor academy. She just really hoped that Bert’s heart was not buried there as well.

As Bert regained his composure and relaxed Jamie could see that almost nothing was left of the armrest Bert had been holding on to. Bert had improved in recent years but he had a long standing habit of vaporizing anything unfortunate enough to be in his grip when he let his emotions get the better of him.

“That is a neat magic trick. I hope you don’t treat me that rough.” Jamie seductively smiled at him as he began to pet her with his calloused hands. “I will always be here for you. Whatever you need I have always given it to you. And I always will. Just for you.” She slowly straddled his leg as she let herself into his embrace.

***

“Jasper tells me that you have something for me Percy. This better be good. You know I could give a shit about some shiny rocks.” The voice sounded old and feeble, but Percy knew to show respect.

“Yes Mr. Fitzpatrick, sir, we need to meet in person to discuss this. I am not comfortable talking about it over the phone.” Percy paused for dramatic effect, “It could endanger you.”

“You better have more than this for me. I was in the middle of a meal.”

"Understandable, sir. But what if I told you that your palate would be in for an even greater treat? At least I know that I would be thrilled if I were in your position." Percy’s diabolic intent was unmistakable as he slowly flipped through a few of the photos Abe had provided him.

“You don’t say. So this house call is regarding our shared interest of high-end cuisine?”

A snicker could be heard in Percy’s response. “Yes, of course, sir. A taste that is simply out of this world, if I may say so myself. Yet still refined enough to retain that familiar... Essence. I brought some photos of a few of the menu items for you.”

“You finally have my attention Percy. Don't keep an old man waiting now; set the rest up with Jasper.” The feeble old voice seemed to have suddenly gained some life.