“All your base are belong to us!” ~ Toaplan; Zero Wing
“What do you mean you can’t? I want her gone, and gone now! We can’t just have an unaligned running around with intimate knowledge of this situation.”
Chaz rolled his head back and placed his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose. “I just can’t. Every incursion hits snags, none will punch through, temporal glitches appear—Hell, I’ve already had to organize three more unrelated incursions simply because of the unexpected side effects. Richard’s dealing with one now, something involving Katie and a car accident sometime that would’ve been ten months ago. Zeth, you’re just going to have to square with the fact that Dina is apart of this now.”
Zeth hit the table with his fist. “I’ve had it with this! The rebels, the incursions, the bloody civilians always being caught in the crossfire! And now this? Dina is, I repeat, an unaligned. Sure, she would certainly be an asset to either side, but can you honestly see her siding up? Maybe someone more dubious like Henry, but never Dina.”
He stood from the high backed conference chair, and walked to the exit, he stopped before he left, and turned back to Chaz, who had also risen, more than ready to depart.
“I’m calling in General Goddess and some others. I want you to go to Colonel Shards. I’m bringing an end to all this cloak and dagger idiocy. Tell her that. And also tell her that to make that work, Mercury needs to be in a state of emergency. Everyone is going to be in on this, and they’re going to help, I’m sure of it.”
Chaz shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I will never understand why you are where you are. Each decision you make is stupider than the last one.”
Zeth gave him a sharp look, “And because you don’t understand is why it will still be awhile before you see those Chief Star Marshal marks on your collar.”
The two men left the all glass and metal conference room in the same undisclosed fortress that had previously been host to Dina’s trip through the timeline. It was an impressive enough place, if somewhat claustrophobic in some areas. The entire complex was determinedly high-tech, which is not so unexpected considering the events that took place there. The well lit but strangely still seemingly dark corridors were never crowded, but never seemed to be empty either. Since Dina’s exit the day before, it had become more active, as the officers and troops assigned to Mercury Base of Alt 42 Variant 1 reassumed their duties and tasks. Zeth left Chaz to his orders as he instead walked to his personal quarters at the base. Not that he often used them, as the accommodations that the officers lucky enough to be assigned public work had in Mercury itself were much more comfortable and roomy. Of course, Zeth, Chaz, Piggie, Panic, and Crystal were currently the only ones who had this privilege.
Once in his quarters, he secured the door and went to the far wall with a sparsely worn desk. He sat and opened a line to HQ on the small screen that was a part of the wall behind the desk. A minute later, a woman with long brown hair appeared on the screen, smiling.
“Hey Zeth! Just calling home for a hello? Sorry it took me a moment. It’s leave for some of us here and I was just having a great fencing match with Tara.”
Zeth didn’t return the smile, but replied politely. “I only wish I could be. I’m also sorry your leave is being cut short. I need you and whoever you feel like bringing in a small team to come to Mercury Base. Things are not going well here.”
