The quartet met at seven for breakfast. Rather than dine at the hotel, they walked across the street to a café where Hunter was appalled to find out that they did not serve eggs or meat. He was forced to settle for pastries and espresso-based drinks.
“Alright, so where are we at?” Hunter asked Tiyana.
“If he wants to take a nuclear reactor, then he could go for the Cruas, or the Tricastin to the west. Or, it could be the Saint-Alban or the Bugey to the north.
I am also worried about the Cadarache facility to the south, near the decommissioned Marcoule. They are building an experimental fusion reactor there. It will use a lot of new technology that might draw his interest. Also, I didn’t know if I should bring this up, but Ghaelvord is able to declopse using geothermal energy. The Cadarache facility is located on top of the Aix-Durance faultline, which caused France’s worst recorded earthquake. I don’t know if that means anything.”
Tiyana waited for a response, particularly from Virgil. Virgil merely nodded, so she went on.
“Another concern is weapons. The controversial Superphénix fast-breeder reactor was closed in 1997. It produced massive amounts of plutonium that could be made weapons-grade. The fuel rods were removed from the reactor in 2003, but they should be in storage there. If Ghaelvord had a way of processing the plutonium, building warheads, and launching the warheads, then that could be a problem.”
“He told us that he wanted the reactors to generate power. He said that he needed to take over a country that was self-reliant for its energy needs. He even mentioned selling the excess power.” Hunter said.
“I know. I’m just covering the bases. His plans could change, now that we stopped him from tunneling to France, hell, he might stay in Genoa for all we know. That brings me to my next point. He might change his plans. According to the reports, he took Parma. Italy decommissioned all reactors in the late eighties, but Parma is only about thirty five miles from the Caorso reactor on the Po River. Again, I don’t know what he could do there.”
Tiyana threw her hands up into the air.
“It’s okay, dear. We’re just brainstorming.” Hunter reassured.
“Well, Virgil, could he do anything with that?” Tiyana asked.
“I am no scientist madam. I could not tell you.” He responded.
“Well, that’s great. You know about Tesla guns and anti-nuclear weapon boson fields, but not about Ghaelvord’s plans with the reactors.” Tiyana chastised.
Virgil shrugged, “Tiyana, what I can say is that Ghaelvord has an intimate understanding of many Aldenduenum technologies. By the looks of his army, he has been stockpiling Aldenduenum devices for many millennia. Before you awoke him, I did not know that he had the Tesla weapons, or the ghoul armor, or the hoverboards, or whatever device that he is using to create the cloud that hangs over Genoa. I cannot say whether he knows of old, underground Aldenduenum facilities like the one that we found in the Alps and he is getting his tech from them, or whether he has been storing tech up in his own hidden facilities somewhere in Africa. I can say that the Aldenduenum were very advanced. We should not underestimate the capabilities of their technology or someone wielding it.”
“So, he could make use of a decommissioned reactor?” She asked.
“I do not know, but I would not say that it is out of the question.” Virgil answered.
“Great.” Hunter and Tiyana said simultaneously and sarcastically.
“We need to narrow down the ideas. We do not know what he will do, but let us make our best guess and be in that city when it happens.” Hongo said.
“Or, we could go to Genoa.” Hunter added.
“Go to Genoa? Are you crazy?” Tiyana asked.
“We could take the fight to him. We foiled his plan here. He might be trapped there. We should take him before the military gets to him. They will not know what to do with him. They will not know how to contain him. Even if they defeat his army, he will escape.” Hunter said.
“That much is true…” added Virgil, “but I do not believe that he will stay in Genoa. We might have prevented Plan A of his passage to his target, but he most likely has a Plan B. He is a tireless schemer.”
“Also, we can’t just slip by the Allied Forces blockade unnoticed. It’s not like they let civilians just wander in.” Tiyana added.
“Alright, alright, back to Hongo’s idea then.” Hunter surrendered.
Tiyana kept on, “Well, the amount of resources that he would need to make any use of the decommissioned reactors in Italy is staggering. He would need time and engineers, people who could think more freely than those ghouls. Let’s assume that he has a Plan B for getting to France.”
“He will build a ghoul production facility.” Virgil said. “He most certainly planned on starting one with the prisoners that we freed in the Alps. He will need space and secrecy.”
“Okay, but ultimately, he wants to take over the French government and their nuclear facilities. He could start with one reactor and move on from there, or he could attack Paris.” Tiyana said.
“He doesn’t have the troops to attack Paris, not yet anyways.” Hunter said.
“Let’s say that he wants to take over a nuclear reactor. He could use the threat of a Fukushima-style reactor meltdown to keep the Allies away, or at least delay them. If he digs in the way he did in Genoa, with the ray cannons and a cloud, he could make a facility into an impenetrable fortress. Meanwhile, he could get a ghoul production facility up and running. He would need to take prisoners from a nearby city.” Tiyana thought out loud.
“Right,” Hunter said, “which reactors have the most heavily populated surrounding areas?”
“Well, the Saint-Alban Plant is only thirty miles from Lyon. The town of Lyon has a little over four hundred thousand residents, but the surrounding metropolitan area has well over a million residents. It’s the largest urban area in France, outside of Paris.” Tiyana said. She had a mind like a steel-trap. Her memory was not quite eidetic, but close.
“Could he attack such a large area?” Hunter asked.
Everyone looked to Virgil.
“It is possible.” Came the succinct reply. “We would be mistaken to assume limits on his ambition.”
Hunter dipped his croissant into his coffee and took a bite.
“Lyon it is then. At least, for now.” He said.
YOU ARE READING
Dawn of the Epoch
ActionHunter called himself an archaeologist, but he was a modern day treasure hunter. Tiyana was a scientist devoted to her craft. They were passionate people, wholly devoted to their work. Neither of them had time for love. Neither of them could resist...
