Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-27324808-20160708020658/@comment-27324808-20160817182252

Part Five
Butterflies and Cyclones

Chapter Nineteen

  It took the rest of the afternoon through late evening and a decent amount of cash for the cleaning crews to return Leek Works to a state of repair.  A delegation of Nexus Republic commissaries arrived at 8:30 to take a report on the attack, when the computer room had been set up with new tables and consoles but the spiral hallway was still stained with Maelstrom residue.

  “You can tell me ‘I told you so’,” Prime Minister Overbuild said sourly as he stood in the connector, next to Intrepid Fusion Eclipse, “then I’d like if we can plan our next move, to counter their next move.”

  The younger man folded his arms.  “I have nothing else to say about the past, except that you mentioned protection.”

  “I did.”

  “I want it.”

  Overbuild quickly sent a message telepathically to his phone, and from there elsewhere.  “They will arrive in the hour.  Meanwhile, the council has called another deliberation on allocation of our defensive funding, 9 AM tomorrow morning.”

  “Tell them to put it all on offensive weaponry and evacuation ships, equal distribution.  It’s fight or flight, you just need to figure out who in the population is fighting, and who’s flying.”

  “We want you to be there.”

  “Maybe.  I want to go to sleep.”

  So Overbuild returned by personal transport to Republic Headquarters, while the 35 year old retreated to his office.  At 9:00 the annoying whirr of the Maelstrom vacuums finally turned off, and Intrepid was able to focus better on the files on the desk in front of him.  Instead of sleeping he’d been reading, under the dimmed light of an old fashioned desk lamp, as he perused plaques, data pads, decade old papers, manuscripts…

  An hour passed before his mind recalled a technique that Ryder had taught him.  His eyes began to stop seeing the words in front of him, the print began to blur.  A chilling sensation trickled up his spine, into his head, and then it felt warm.  His neck stopped aching from being tilted down at his desk for so long.  His breathing slowed.  He could feel her presence.

  Then his door slid open and the sensation stopped.  Intrepid blinked at the interruption, then he looked back at his book.  He turned back a page, where had he been?  Meanwhile, a shadow stretched across the floor, silhouetted against the lighted box from the hallway light through the doorframe in the otherwise dark room.  He saw the head of the silhouette on the floor beside him.  He knew who it was, and she was waiting.

  “Yes.” he said sharply.

  “Dad.” his daughter said.  “Overbuild’s agents arrived.  They’re in the entrance room.”

  “Send them my regards.” Intrepid said.

  “You’re not coming?” she questioned.

  “Not this time.  They know what they’re here for.”  Intrepid kept reading, but in the corner of his eye he saw that the shadow didn’t seem to move.  Was she still waiting?  “Red.” he addressed, softening his tone.  “Is there anything more you want to tell me?”

  His daughter’s shadow shifted, as she dipped her head to look at the floor.  “I should have told you-” she started.

  “No,” he cut her off.  “It’s actually… better that you didn’t.  Some things are better not knowing.”

  “Oh.”  There was a pause for a second.  “Okay.  Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Stepping out of the door and allowing it to close, Red looked up from her boots and sighed as the doors sealed her father away for the night with little more than a hiss.  Who knew if she’d even see him tomorrow?  And he’d found out after all, about what she did and who she’d brought, but he wasn’t in the mood to discuss it.  Perhaps he thought it was better, to clam up and hide away… well it wasn’t, not for her.

  She turned away and returned along the outer spiral to the entrance room, where the others were assembled.  They were in the midst of a conversation when they entered, and considering the minifigures involved, Red could already figure out how it was going.  Because she knew these people, and a long time ago she’d asked the same questions.

  “You’re twenty years old?” Intrepid asked, sounding most perplexed.  The black haired fifteen year old stood at the same height and eye level as both the lean, youthful looking brown haired boy and the brown haired girl who stood across the table from him.

  “Yeah, you got a problem with that?” the girl responded with an eye roll.  But she smiled at the question, being a person who enjoyed messing with the ignorant.

  “And you’re also… older?” Intrepid asked the boy.

  “We’re twins,” he responded, “Katie and I.”  He was still facing Intrepid, his back towards the doorway through which Red had entered, when he greeted her, like he had eyes on the back of his head.  Or pressure sensors.  “Hi, Red.” Jay said.

  “But you two don’t look older than, I’m going to guess, thirteen?” Intrepid continued, still flabbergasted.

  Strange Odd Shadow, who sat in a newly added armchair, quipped, “Age and appearance are more independent than you’d think.”

  “We were thirteen, actually, when this happened.” Jay said.  “Someone got a rogue process into our systems, which rewrote the process in charge of our outward appearance, and no one bothered to fix it.”

  “Besides, looking like kids has lots of advantages.” Katie jumped in.  “Like, no one ever suspects us of anything, and it’s more consistent with our inner personalities.  We’re still kids at heart.”

  “You are.” Jay corrected.

  Katie gave him a friendly shoulder punch.  “Lighten up, bro.  Channel your inner child.”

  “No.”

  The door to the armory slid open and Skilled Honored Ninja stepped out, decked out in his Rank 3 Space Ranger Gear.  “I’m suited up and ready to rock ‘n roll,” he reported, “while you- eight?  There are eight of you here now? – have been what?  Dancing a waltz?  You couldn’t prepare any slower.”

  “If anything you’re over-prepared,” Shadow said.  “We’re not planning to fight a war.”

  “You can never be too prepared.  And if there is a war, I intend to win it.” Skilled declared, fixing Shadow with a staunch gaze that prompted the Engineer to stand up.

  “You don’t know me, so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt that you might not realize,” Shadow stated, “but I’m always combat ready.”

  “Me too.” the Ninja Space Ranger said.  “I carry a Broom-Mop-Sword-Zipgun-and Arrows Combo Katana Staff that was originally an Energy Spork.”

  “If you’d cut it out,” Kate interrupted, “we could move out now.”  Strange Odd Shadow and Skilled Honored Ninja interrupted their staring contest to glance her way.  She, Allison Ryder, and Ben Mercury stood at the door out, and Intrepid, Jay, Katie, and Red were headed that way as well.

  “This isn’t over.” Shadow whispered.

  “It isn’t.” Skilled agreed.

  So the two went to join the others, and they all exited into the snowy night.  A light flurry had set over Nimbus Station in the past hour, and tiny snowflakes whizzed by, most visible in the glow of the streetlamps immediately outside the alleyway.  Red hunched inside her cloak and walked in front, leading the procession of ten towards the street.

  Intrepid turned his head to count those around him again.  Ben and Allison were at the back.  He slowed down, letting Jay and Katie walk past, so he could say something discreetly to the two Leek Works employees.  “Are you sure you want to be involved?” he asked them again.  “This is risky business.  Your imagination sparks aren’t even unlocked, I doubt, so if you smash…”

  “My dad can take care of himself.” Ben said stoically.

  “He sure can.” Allison repeated.  “And you need our help.  You need Ben’s expertise to work the Ring, and as for me, anything to do with the deceased is my territory… even if I don’t particularly like the job, but hey, I at least get a change in environment.  This place is stuffy and I think I’ve caught a cold.”   She made a face at herself.  "Sorry, what I mean is, I can help you find your family."

  “Okay.” Intrepid nodded.  “You’re in.”

  Meanwhile, Jay caught up to Red.  “I can’t help but think,” he posed, “but Overbuild told us we were here to defend the base from Maelstrom attack.  I don’t think he mentioned any transdimensional expeditions.”

  “Yeah, he didn’t.” Katie said.  “Does Intr- your father, know what we’re doing?”

  Red gave them each an over the shoulder glance, as they neared the end of the alleyway.  She could hear a car engine idling around the corner, and in the time it took for them to reach it, she decided on her answer.  It was hard to phrase in her head, but recalling her father’s words did make it easier to say.  So she told them.

  “He doesn’t know what we’re doing.” Red said at last.  “But trust me, some things are better not knowing.”

````

The car was once an ancient black luxury sedan, but sometime in its 50 year life it'd been graced with a 10 feet stretch.  Now with seats for 10 passengers and a driver, it sat parked in front of Leek Work’s façade, with the engine running, clouds billowing from the exhaust, and interior lights on.  Held down to the car’s roof with nylon straps, ropes, and other tie-down equipment was the Ring in its ten-diameter glory.  The car was already huge, but the Ring stuck out over its sides.

As the group made their way to the car’s doors, Intrepid couldn’t help but stare at the Ring’s precarious perch.  Until someone hacked the personal transdimensional devices, it was their only way back home.  The Ring’s construction impeded backpack transportation, so Intrepid hoped the driver knew what he was doing as he walked along the car’s length to its front passenger seat.  He gripped the door’s chrome handle, almost freezing his fingers trying to open it, and only after he slid into its leather front seat was he able to identify the driver.

  “At your service, favorite nephew!” Tiberius said.