Quote:Besides claiming we "consort with demons"?
Guys... 1940s, not 1540s. I know we're the enlightened elite here, but c'mon.
And with that in mind, let's get rolling. Send in the clowns!
Somewhere in the foothills outside Calgary, Alberta
Universe 05-0000-0000 (Codename: HOMELINE)
December 1, 2028
The Director of the Interworld Special Weapons and Tactics branch went over his briefing notes again. He took special care in reading the latest dispatch from the incident zone, wincing at the incredibly apologetic tone the last few paragraphs took.
Poor woman, he thought, nobody had any idea that the natives had parachronic sensors, she did everything by the book and yet she'll probably go down in history as The One Who Blew The Secret. Such a shame. The Director made a note; perhaps when the immediate trouble was over Ms. Tange would be interested in a new job.
The desk intercom buzzed. “Sir, Sigma Team is here.”
“Send them in, please.”
In filed one of the ISWAT's best – and more infamous – teams. They hadn't intended the infamy part, not really, but when redacted copies of Sigma Team debriefs found their way to the newly-minted Vice President of Communications (one Derek Bacon by name), well... things happened.
Thrilling Tales of Infinite Adventure, the comic book (soon to be animated series, soon to be live-action movie) Bacon developed based off of Sigma Team's exploits, was the newest Infinity spin-off to hit the shelves in Homeline, and looked like it might beat Mango Spredd in popularity. The general public loved the idea of reading “really, really real adventures of the Infinity Patrol,” giving them a glimpse of the adventure waiting beyond the quantum barriers. The Director had tried to put a stop to the nonsense, but as long as Thrilling Tales sold well, his requests fell on deaf ears.
The Director mused that this mission might be worth a whole year's run of the comic.
“So,” he said. “You've probably heard the barracks rumors about Gernsback-2. Well, whatever you've heard is most likely true. This mission comes straight from the top of the company and the Interworld Council; you're to escort a Paralabs team to the IZ on Gernsback-2, protect them while they try and figure out what happened there, and then stand by for further orders.”
“Sir, what if the locals find us?”
The Director smiled thinly. “If I've trained you properly, they won't.” The group shared a laugh at that. “However,” he went on, “it is possible; they managed to discover the Scout agent-in-place, so they have some sort of parachronic detector. In that event, the Council has authorized full disclosure.”
Dead silence. “Holy shit, sir. They're going to break the Secret?”
The Director nodded. “The logic the Council's using is if they can track parachronic jumps, then they're not all that far behind Homeline, or Centrum for that matter. Better to gain an ally than to add another rival to the war.” Sigma Team nodded en masse; they knew enough politics to know how the game was played. And the weird-tech used by the Gernsbackians would be a huge bonus for Infinity. “Also, the Scout reports that the entire IZ is geared up for a war that might go hot at any point. If it does while you're there, well, breaking up a few pseudo-fascist military formations is good training, nein?
“Allright, the conveyor to Gernsback-2 will depart in eight hours. Dismissed.” Sigma Team saluted and started leaving the office. The Director pointed at three agents. “You three, stay a moment, please.”
The three singled out came back to the Director's desk. “What's the scoop, chief?” asked the first, a stocky, clean-shaven man.
“This is to be between us only,” the Director replied. “You three have alternates on Gernsback-2. These alternates are, shall we say, people that Infinity does not want antagonized.” He fixed all three with a glare. “You will not antagonize them.”
The second agent, the tallest of the three and darkly handsome, tried his best to look innocent. “Who, us? Why sir, I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Don't lie to me,” the Director growled.
“All right, all right,” the third agent, the oldest of the three, graying hair and a figure that went past stocky and into overweight. “We swear that we won't antagonize our weird-science counterparts, no matter the temptation. The Warriors Three keep their word.”
All three nodded solemnly. “Verdamnt book,” the Director said under his breath. “I knew I should have strangled Bacon when I had the chance. All right,” he said out loud, “I expect you to hold to that. Dismissed.”
The Director watched the Warriors Three depart and made some notes. Perhaps he could swap out Wildman, Darkwood and Anderson for Ms. Tange and two new fish. It would be less of a diplomatic nightmare, to be sure.
*dramatic chord!*
Mr. Fnord interdimensional man of mystery
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