New Olympus Saga (Book 3): Apocalypse Dance by C.J. Carella Page A

view the Republic’s power, but I have been assured such power will be wielded wisely, as befits the oldest continuing civilization in human history. The West’s inflated sense of superiority to the contrary, my people know what they’re doing.”
    “For a Legion Council member, you sound a little too much like an ROC propagandist,” Larry snarled back.
    “How dare you...?”
    “Legionnaires!” Artemis broke in, and her commanding voice stilled the argument. “We don’t have time to bicker. If the ROC’s claims are true, then the balance of power favors us. That still doesn’t mean a war won’t unleash untold destruction upon both Chinas and all their neighbors.”
    “Indeed,” Darkling said. “The Empire can deploy some six hundred Celestial Warriors, possibly more, and at least five Type Threes, not counting the Emperor himself. They can lay entire cities, entire countries, to waste, and even if we have, what, sixteen or twenty Type Threes available, they can’t be everywhere at once. We’re talking about megadeaths here.”
    “Once things reach a certain point, there is no turning back,” Xu countered sourly. “The sooner we accept it, the sooner we can ready ourselves to deal with the inevitable.”
    The inevitable. All their findings continued to point directly at the Empire as the source of the initial attack. Even the Dominion, a traditional ally of Imperial China in the United Nations, had voted in favor of the near-unanimous resolution condemning the Dragon Empire. Chastity Baal, one of the few dissenting voices, had gone AWOL when her opinions had been disregarded. Even if the rogue agent discovered the truth, it would likely be too late.
    Larry’s posture sagged slightly, and Artemis knew her husband had surrendered as well. “All right, Xu,” he said tiredly. “If both Chinas are insistent in having it out, I guess we’ll all have to join the dance. If you don’t mind sharing the capabilities of the new Immortals, we and the UN contingent can make final dispositions. I take it you’re not planning on launching a pre-emptive strike, correct?”
    “Of course not,” Xu replied. He used a kinder tone now. Why not? He’d gotten what he wanted. “The Republic would never start a war of aggression. The Empire will make the first move, as it always has. We’ll merely strike the final blow in this war.”
    As the talk of war continued, Artemis made an unexpected decision. Like Chastity Baal, she would go off on her own. There was still one man who could stop all of this.
    She had to speak to the Dragon Emperor.
     

The Humanity Foundation
     
    Aboard the Kamahashi Maru , Near the Cape of Good Hope, Indian Ocean, March 28, 2013
    Mitsuo Fuchida looked at the dying man with a mixture of pity and satisfaction.
    “You did well, Kuo Wei-Fang,” he whispered in Cantonese to the sweating, bleeding figure lying on the cot in one of the ship’s cabins. The Chinese magnate’s condition was worsening rapidly. It appeared that Thaddeus Twist’s warnings had been accurate. The process stolen from Daedalus Smith could grant humans Neolympian-like powers, but the effect was short-lived and ultimately fatal. It was just as well. Had it been otherwise, the temptation to abandon the Cause and join the ranks of the Abominations might have been overwhelming even for the most dedicated members of the Humanity Foundation.
    Kuo Wei-Fang had been a member of their organization for quite some time, and had played a vital role in the coming conflict, knowing full well that he was risking his life. He had undergone the Smith Process to pass himself off as a Celestial, one of the servants of the Dragon Empire, as a precautionary means to escape capture, and also to further implicate the Empire on the attack on Freedom Island. He had managed to perform both tasks admirably, but now he was paying the ultimate price for his success. Kuo’s body was breaking down, poisoned by the very energies that had given him