"Yes, but not many. No one wants children."
Stone’s fatherly instincts shuddered at the thought. "If you’re going to survive you have to have kids. They are the future."
"Trevor, we don’t have a future. No one wants to give birth to a kid today when tomorrow we could all be slaughtered. Would you bring a child into the world when you know that at any moment your people could be wiped out?"
He thought for a moment and then asked, "Did I…do I have a son here?"
Nina’s head tilted as if hearing a strange sound. "No. Why, do you have one back home?"
"Yes."
His answer seemed to surprise her. She said nothing the rest of the trip.
The car came to a stop in front of a wide, long building. Several tall transmission towers sprouted from the roof. A number of armored vehicles parked in a lot next to the complex. Sandbags and a gun turret complimented the sentries at the front door.
"This is the Ops—Operations--Center. We’ll find The Committee here."
They exited the vehicle and approached a big iron door. Nina spoke with the guards who then allowed entry.
Dull gray halls lined the interior with heavy metal beams crisscrossing the ceiling and soffit lights providing patches of illumination although half of them appeared burnt out.
Unlike the rest of Thebes, he saw plenty of people in the Ops Center including guards, couriers, and technicians while a public address system called out messages such as, "Tactical analysis team report to discussion chamber four," "Major Davis contact communications center," and "Northern perimeter Sector G-4 reports scanner malfunction."
Despite the number of people, Trevor noticed a relaxed atmosphere. He saw guards wearing poorly kempt uniforms, couriers stopping to chat, and technicians wandering about with no purpose. The announcements from the P.A. system droned on, but no one appeared to care.
Nina directed them up a short flight of metal stairs and through a set of double doors leading to a large control room with a high ceiling.
Desks and consoles swept across the room on descending half-circle tiers, all facing toward one massive wall with two huge monitors and several smaller ones. Those monitors presented pictures of the perimeter and gates of the city. Doors-probably offices—surrounded the chamber.
"Stay here," Major Forest said and she moved around the room.
As they waited, Trevor overhead conversations as well as radio communications.
"Ah, yeah, Gino you guys are on watch until twenty-two hundred hours so you are going to miss all the fun."
"Shit man, that sucks. I got an extra hundred credits I was going to blow on the table."
"This is G-4 we’ve got a problem with our monitoring equipment here. I’ve been waiting on a tech team for four hours. What is their status?"
"I dunno, G-4. I just got off my break. What’s the problem again?"
Nina returned and summoned, "This way, boys."
She led them across the control room to a set of big double doors guarded by a pair of heavily armed, serious-looking sentries. Trevor appreciated seeing at least a couple of grim faces in the place. From what he observed so far, the attitude of the humans on this world more resembled students in a campus dormitory than a people on the verge of extinction.
The doors opened to a large, oppressive room. On one end stood a raised platform where three men sat at a long table overlooking the chamber like a judge’s bench. Trevor felt the presence of at least three more persons in the room standing in dark corners.
The doors closed behind the newcomers, shutting out the noise from the Ops Center.
Trevor and Johnny followed Nina as she circumvented an oval table to approach the platform and the overlords sitting there.
To his surprise, Trevor did not see an Evan Godfrey doppelganger on The Committee. Instead, he found three middle aged men who in dress and Anglo appearance resembled stereotype Republicans from a bad Hollywood movie.
Major Forest spoke to them. Trevor thought he sensed contempt in her voice.
"If it so honors The Committee, may I introduce Trevor Stone and his associate, the Reverend Johnny."
The first Committeeman stared down and said: "This is Trevor Stone of the alternate world?"
The second: "He looks identical."
The third: "The theories on parallel development have been proven. I suggest we invest additional resources in further studying the applications of this discovery."
"No one has yet proposed any tactical advantages to be gained by this knowledge," spoke the first.
"True. We no longer have access to the assets necessary for traveling to another alternate reality. This operation has been self-terminating," spoke the second.
"Your analysis is correct. We should halt outward bound cross-dimensional research until such time as additional assets are made available," spoke the third.
Major Forest addressed them again. "The operation achieved its objective. Standing before you is Trevor Stone. On his Earth, humanity thrives. He has forged a vast Empire and defeated numerous enemies."
The first Committeeman sounded contrite. "Yes. Your operation was successful and a Trevor Stone stands before us. Despite our position on the matter, Major Forest has succeeded."
The second Committeeman sounded skeptical. "However, Major Forest acted without direct authorization from The Committee. One could construe her actions as insubordination."
The third Committeeman sounded direct. "Agreed. Major Forest’s actions resulted in the death of six members of the Third Legion and two support personnel, not to mention expending vast quantities of fuel and ammunition."
A voice from one of the corners joined the discussion. "Major Forest acted with my approval. I was not aware The Committee forbade the project. Had that been so, the operation never would have proceeded."
That voice moved out of the shadow and into the light; a short man with scruff on his cheeks and a head on the verge of complete baldness. Trevor thought him to be mid-forties, but his eyes seemed somewhat sharper than the rest of the people he had met thus far.
He wore a gray uniform with several colorful emblems on the collar yet his disposition struck Trevor as more a business man than a soldier. Something in the way he walked; a little too rigid, a little too forced, as if he tried to play the role of an officer but was not quite comfortable in the boots.
"Director Snowe," Nina nodded toward the man and he returned the gesture before turning his attention to Trevor. Snowe's eyes studied him as if searching for something. Perhaps Snowe wondered if he had been worth the effort.
Nina spoke to The Committee again, "We have an opportunity to change our situation. If The Committee does not object, I would have Trevor Stone address you directly."
"Only officers of proper rank may address The Committee."
"This man is not even a member of our military hierarchy."
"For him to speak before The Committee would be most improper."
After all he survived, after all he built from the ruins of Armageddon, Trevor Stone did not appreciate a trio of arrogant administrators dismissing him.
To the shock of every one in the room, he interrupted, "Well someone needs to address this Committee because the way I see it you’re all going to be ShellSquid bait by summer."
"Improper!"
"Uncalled for!"
"Disruptive!"
Nina reacted with a grin; Director Snowe stood silent and watched.
"I didn’t ask to come here. Now I understand I can’t get home. So that means I’m stuck on this sinking ship of fools with you. If you don’t want to hear from me then, fine, open the front gate and let me out ‘cause I’d rather take my chances out there than painted in this giant corner you’ve made for yourselves."
"You are out of line!"
"You will be silent!"
"You will be removed!"
Snowe broke in. He spoke in a calm voice. One might even say measured.
"With all due respect to The Committ
ee, it should be noted that this man is, in fact, Emperor Trevor Stone…on his world. I am certain that he is not accustomed to being told he cannot speak. I hope The Committee will take this under consideration."
A silence lasted several long seconds. The Committeemen then whispered to one another before addressing those gathered below.
"Yes. This is an unusual situation."
"Indeed. Some latitude could be granted."
"Agreed. He will be allowed to address The Committee."
Snowe added, "The Committee was presented with the parameters of the mission and while you did not directly approve said mission in the end, those parameters are still applicable. I point out again what Major Forest said; this Trevor Stone has been successful in his war defending his Earth. It is possible that he has knowledge that could be valuable to our efforts."
"Unlikely."
"Possibly."
"Certainly."
Again, silence. Trevor realized after several more seconds of that silence that he had been granted the opportunity to speak.
"Well, um, I do not know much of what has happened on this Earth, only what I’ve seen so far. But I know on my world we adapted alien technology to serve us in a lot of ways. It also seems to me that you’ve got some morale problems. Just on the walk over here I saw, well, a sort of lazy attitude in the guards around here. I mean, you’re The Committee; you’re the guys in charge. The people guarding this building should be ready for anything. Honestly, the security around here is so bad I think a herd of Chew Cows could overrun this place."
Based on their expressions, the people in the room did not recognize the nicknames of the creatures Trevor mentioned. His point came across nonetheless.
"Intriguing. The adaptation of foreign technology to address our supply issues has merit."
"Insightful. Morale among our troops needs to be improved in order to ensure defensive operations."
"Correct. The Committee is the final authority and must be protected at all costs."
Nina suggested, "Perhaps The Committee will grant Trevor Stone an honorary position in the military ranks. He could observe our techniques and resources and tell us how they differ from his own world. He may even have information on enemy forces that we do not have."
The Committee whispered amongst themselves yet again.
"This is acceptable. An honorary position with limited authority."
"We are agreed. He will be given a special command with the Third Legion under Director Snowe."
"It is settled. Major Forest and Director Snowe will oversee Trevor Stone."
The trio of rulers fell silent and turned their attention to the piles of folders and papers on their desk, as if no one else in the room existed anymore.
Nina whispered, "Let's go before they change their mind."
Snowe remained behind while Nina herded Trevor and Johnny from the chamber.
11. Confessions
The sedan retraced its trip across town.
"I seek enlightenment; exactly what just happened?"
Trevor tried to answer Johnny’s question while Nina sat quiet in the front seat.
"I believe I’ve been drafted."
"I see. Could you explain to me how our situation has changed in relation to, I don’t know, thirty minutes ago?"
Nina offered her take: "Trevor has been given a special position in the Third Legion. That’s one of our three combat groups. That will give you a chance to look over our military and our current situation. Maybe you can give us some pointers."
She smiled. Trevor found it nice to see her smile.
No. She’s not Nina. She’s a fraud.
"Look, Major, as far as I know I’m still a prisoner here, I don’t have a way home, and the only thing that’s changed since I got here is that I know for sure that this place is run by incompetent idiots. To be honest, I’m amazed you still have this city left, even."
Nina bit her lower lip and turned forward. The car bounced over a rough spot of pavement.
"You can leave anytime you want," Nina said without facing him. "You’re not a prisoner anymore. I only…I only forced you here to show you the shape we’re in. If you can walk away from us, then I won’t stop you. "
"I fear, Miss Forest, that you offer hollow assurance. Mr. Stone and I have no way to leave. Letting us walk out the front gate would surely be the end of us."
"I’ll find a way for you to get home, somehow. Or you can stay in your room. I’ll see to it you won’t want for anything."
"How generous of you," Trevor scoffed. "But you know we don’t have any choice. We either join your fight or we die when you die. From the look of things, that won’t be too long."
She looked ready to yell something but held her tongue. It apparently took a great deal of effort.
The taxi arrived at the base of the dormitory. Nina jumped out in a show of anger or frustration. Trevor could see that she was either going to scream or cry or both. This Nina seemed more emotional than the one he knew on his world.
Trevor and Johnny exited the car and waited by the dormitory doors. Nina stood several paces away staring at the empty, dark street.
"Look, Reverend…"
Johnny raised a hand and told Trevor, "Yes. Perhaps you should speak with her alone. I must say I have an intense headache. I believe I will turn in early."
"Can you find your way to our suite?"
"Fear not, Mr. Stone, I left a trail of breadcrumbs."
Stone patted his friend on the shoulder. The Reverend headed inside and faced a moment’s resistance from the interior guard until that man remembered Johnny’s face.
Trevor eyed Nina. She stood with her back to him straddling the line between the darkness and the glow of light emanating from the building's lobby. Despite her leather jacket, she shivered in the frigid air.
The cold got to him, too. The flimsy windbreaker he wore would barely be adequate for a cool autumn day, let alone a cold January night. Still, the cold ranked as the least of his worries.
Trevor walked to her and said, "This must be difficult for you, too."
She exhaled in what sounded like a soft sigh.
"I…well, yes. It is. I mean, I saw you die. I was there."
"So you jumped across a couple of dimensions to bring back a Trevor Stone. That was very brave."
"Very stupid."
"Well, I could tell you all about stupid. I’m a regular expert on the subject these days."
Nina turned and peered into his eyes as if searching for something.
"What? What is it?" He asked.
"Nothing. I mean, since this happened we’ve been kind of moving at breakneck speed. You know? I haven’t had a chance to really think about the fact that you’re him. Or he was you. Or, I dunno…it’s nuts."
"Not as nuts as staying out here in the cold. Let’s go inside before you catch the flu."
She agreed, and led him in and across the lobby to what had once been a small restaurant and bar. Trevor smelled a heavy coating of dust in the dark, empty place.
Rows of round tables and chairs filled the space between a long bar against the inside wall and a glass atrium on the other side. An exterior flood light splashed in, casting a sharp, angled glow across half the room.
"This place is almost like a hotel," he said.
"Yeah, well, it kind of was. Probably five thousand people living here a few years ago."
"Mainly military, even back then?"
"Yeah, this whole city was built for the great cause. It was Trevor’s idea; a new place for our new lives. He didn’t like the decay of the old cities. Thought it might hurt morale to live in those places." She hesitated and then emphasized, "He was big on forgetting about the old and starting everything new."
"I suppose I can see his point."
"Part of it…I mean, I know part of the reason to build this place was just to show that we could. Then, wow, we had resources and things were looking great. Nothing could stop us, you know?"
&nbs
p; He saw fond memories glitter through her eyes as she stared at the light raining in through the atrium.
"Trevor…I mean, the man was not to be stopped. We all admired him for that. He made the hard decisions. He kept everyone focused on the goal."
"I sound like a fun guy."
She looked at him. "You were. You fought hard, you worked hard, you partied hard."
"Tell me something," he selected the newest on his list of many questions. "Who is this Director Snowe? Sounds like he backed your plan to come over and get me."
"He did. Jakob has a bunch of titles these days. That's what happens when you have a nice chunk of your officers killed off. He took over Intelligence when Gordon Knox died."
"Gordon?" Trevor's heart sank. Based on what he knew of Gordon Knox on his home world, finding his doppelganger over here would be a blessing. Of course, he thought, if Gordon still lived over here they probably would not be in this mess.
"Yeah, he was killed and Snowe rose up in the ranks. We lost a lot of soldiers and had to re-constitute the Third Legion. Most of the troops in that formation are leftovers from Intelligence paramilitaries and Special Forces units. Sort of a patchwork of elements. Snowe wears a couple of different hats, so he's got Intel and Third Legion and a couple of other things. Busy guy."
"And he helped you go get me?"
"He worked on the Nyx, getting the transport lined up and all that. Then he sort of looked the other way when I went off so that we could both, well, sort of claim ignorance when The Committee found out."
"Tell me," he changed direction. "On my Earth, we’re facing all kinds of things. Some organized, some not. But I’ve always had the impression that there’s one particularly nasty group pushing it all along. They go by the name of The Order. I think there’s something—I don’t know if it’s a person or what—but something called ‘Voggoth’ behind them."
She cast her eyes toward the ceiling as she thought over her answer.
"I’ve head of them. I’ve heard of that Voggoth. He’s here, too. I don’t think he’s that big of a deal to us. For us it’s been the ‘Chaktaw’. At least that’s what they call themselves. We’ve called them a lot worse, let me tell you."
"Never heard of them. We probably have different names for different things."
Beyond Armageddon: Book 03 - Parallels Page 14
