chsdbacks [365] 4.86 The Second American Civil War IV
[365] 4.86 The Second American Civil War IV
It’s nearly eleven in the evening when we touch down at a large military complex a short jaunt north of Norfolk, Virginia. Apparently, it was the largest facility near enough to Washington and not under Legion control, making it the best location to prepare for the final battle.Even at this late hour, the hustle and bustle is real. Far from the skeleton crew that I would have expected so close to midnight, there are already dozens of crew members on standby to start bringing the plane in. Chloe’s half asleep, resting her head in my lap from my perch on the plane’s cylindrical body. And I’m not much better. Chloe’s and Alana’s healing spells patched me up well enough, but only a good night’s sleep will truly blunt the fatigue that that level of [Lifecast] brought upon me.
“Hey you two,” an unfamiliar man’s voice says. “Get down here!”
I sigh. I suppose people just really feel like they have both the ability and the authority to boss me around in such a brusque tone. However, I was about to do so anyway, so I oblige him, Chloe having been lifted into a princess carry first.
As soon as we touch down on the ground, two men with large Ethertech rifles point them at me. Really, I do all this for Nicholas and his team and this is the thanks I get? I really hope we’re not going to do this; there’s a chance Chloe will get hurt and that simply wouldn’t do.
“Y– You’re–” For a soldier, he has incredibly poor poise and disposition. Considering he looks no older than I am, I guess that’s understandable. Figured that new recruits were supposed to be put through basic training, but, well, beggars and choosers.
“You’re under… arrest,” he finally says.
I purse my lips. “Now, I’m tired and it’s late, but I want to ask you two questions. First question: Given that I just got here, what did I do that makes you feel you have probable cause to actually arrest me? And secondly— this is the more important one.” I narrow my gaze down upon the young man. “What makes you think that you’re capable of actually carrying that out?”
The man completely freezes, and the movements of soldiers and civilian technical support around us freeze for two full seconds until Nicholas chimes in.
“At ease, Private,” he says even-toned. “She’s working with me.”
“B– But–” the hapless private tries to interject.
“Forgive me, Sir,” another man, this one a bit older. From what I can tell of his attire, he’s an older enlistee, not a junior officer. “But is this not the woman responsible for single-handedly leveling half of Baltimore?”
“I can assure you that though their appearances are nearly identical, this woman is not the one responsible for that act.”
“Are you certain, Sir? We have already witnessed so much devastation at the wrath of that demonic fucker!”
“I’m not her,” I say. “I’m here to fight her. Of course, if you are going to try to lock me up… Well, one, you’ll fail miserably, and two, I’ll leave and take my girlfriend with me.”
“That’s quite enough, Miss Mortensen,” Nicholas says. “You’ve made your point.” He turns to the older enlistee. “Corporal, is General Lachlan available?”
“I do not know, sir.” He turns to the hapless private from before. “Private Milhouse, if you would?”
“Yes, Sir.” He says. His trembling knees suggest that he still doesn’t like the sight of me.
But if that other Seraphina really did wipe out half of Baltimore as he said, though, then I guess it makes sense. I just wish I understood the dichotomy behind the playful girl she presented herself as earlier, and this cold-blooded killer who goes through causing this level of death and destruction. I need to figure that out; she’s still stronger than I am by a long shot even now.
It’s Lindsey who snaps me out of my musing. “C’mon, Sera. Let’s get to our rooms before anyone else has an involuntary bladder leakage.”
“You know, I’m a bit surprised that they’re actually giving us some rather nice accommodations. Figured that after all that, we’d all end up in the barracks to enjoy the pleasures of communal housing or some shit.”
“Well, Sera, unlike some people who will remain nameless, there are individuals with actual brains working at the top levels, and that it’s best to treat a volatile military asset with proper care and consideration.”
“Oh, so I’m a volatile military asset now?” I chuckle. “I mean, I am, yes, but it’s amusing to hear it said flat out like that.”
“Anyway,” Lindsey says. “To change the subject slightly, are you aware of your role in tomorrow’s operation? I’m sure Nicholas already informed you, but I still feel the need to do my own due diligence.”
“We’re going straight for the head of the beast,” Chloe says, rousing from her brief catnap. “While you all fight against the soldiers and irregulars working for the Legion, it’s going to be our task to fight against Renault and the other Seraphina.”
“Do you think the two of you are strong enough?” Lindsey asks.
“Truthfully, no,” I say. “But he’s coming for us whether we want it or not. Figure if tomorrow I’m going to die, then I’m going to do so swinging, with a weapon in hand and my head held high.”
“I believe in you, Sera. You’ve always had that uncanny ability to make the impossible possible. And I don’t think that’s ever going to change. Just, something about you.”
“Are you going to tell her?” Chloe asks. “About you… About us?”
I consider it for a moment, as a gesture of camaraderie. We’re not that close any more, though; a couple months apart after so many grueling challenges means that I don’t feel the same closeness I did back then. Though, I think I need to get it off my own chest, since I’ve not had the time to talk about it with Samantha. Then again, how do you even talk about that sort of thing with a therapist? Like, how in the hells do you even bring it up?
“A little bit, I think, would do me some good.”
“Yeah. There’s still a lot of things I don’t know, but I’ve learned some more about who and what I am thanks to Chloe’s father. And the ability to ‘make the impossible possible’? It’s a core part about what, exactly, that is.”
“And that’s–”
“Wait,” I say. “Can you check for any signs of wiretapping? Just because we’ve gotten these nice accommodations doesn’t mean they won’t be listening in on us. And I can add some sound-suppression glyphs to the walls to foil more mundane methods of eavesdropping.”
Ten minutes later, the three of us are confident that the room is secure. Chloe lies down on the bed away from the door, while Lindsey dims the light so my girlfriend can start to sleep.
“So, I told you before that I’d been having visions of myself in another time and place.”
“Right. That you were some sort of alien who was reborn on Earth to fight the System.”
“More or less. As it turns out, there’s a little more to the story than that.” I take a moment for myself. “It turns out that I’m not the reincarnation of that Seraphina, but a clone created by Chloe’s father.” I trail off for a second. “And Renault, and another man we already sent to hell.”
“Well… fuck,” Lindsey finally says. “Yeah, I can see how that would be the sort of thing you wouldn’t want the general public to find out about. Or anyone else here.”
“Yeah, and if you could keep my secret, secret, I’d appreciate it.”
“Me as well,” Chloe says.
“Yeah, I–”
“No, I mean that I’m… The same as her.” She sits up a bit. “I’m… I’m going to tell her everything. Just because… I need someone else to hear it too. Yeah, I should have tried to get an appointment with my therapist last week but I thought I was fine and now…”
I take Chloe’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze, letting my warmth, augmented through the [Crimson Heart], flow through our skin and become her own.
“Twenty-two years ago…”
“That’s… a lot to take in,” Lindsey says, completely attentive despite it now being after midnight. She’s probably already acclimated to long nights between her years as a Ranger and now, none of us high-level people need nearly as much sleep on a night-to-night basis. “A secret government project to create genetically-engineered bioweapons… Hard to believe a couple of eighteen year-old girls really have that kind of power. It’d be even harder to believe if I hadn’t already had so much experience seeing it firsthand.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Chloe says. “I believe Nicholas made a comment about what kind of a class gives rise to [Lightspeed Slash]. Now you know.”
“And so I do. So, is that other Seraphina another clone?”
“Hank didn’t seem to think she was,” I say. “At least not in the same way that I was born and grew up as an ordinary human. But I’m confident that she’s got at least some life in her. Um, that is to say, she’s not purely robotic.”
“Should I ask him?”
“Please don’t,” Chloe says. “Not right now, anyway. But, if I can ask you to do one thing for me. Look after him for us. Sera and I both have this feeling he’s going to try to get himself killed in some misguided attempt to atone. And I’d really hate to lose my father the way Sera already lost both her parents.”
“I understand and I will keep an eye out for him. However, I shouldn’t need to tell you that there will be deaths on both sides… It is possible that he may make a heroic sacrifice to save the lives of others, or that he’s killed even despite his and our best efforts. The same goes for the two of you. All of us, really.”
“It’s a bit funny, isn’t it,” I say. “How we go marching into dungeons without fear, and yet, it’s right now that I really feel apprehension.”
“I don’t think it’s weird at all,” Lindsey says. “It’s a lot easier to cope with the unknown danger of hostile environments that might try to kill you rather than human enemies that are actively trying to do so. Not everyone can march straight up into the jaws of death.” She yawns. “It’s something that we have to train soldiers to do.”
“How terrible…” Chloe yawns, mimicking Lindsey. “I may understand it as necessary and I may even be starting to enjoy the fighting itself. Maybe. A little bit.”
“Mayhaps I’m not the only battle junkie in our family, Chloe.”
“Quiet, Sera!” A playful growl of feigned discontent follows.
“But I still don’t have to like the fact that there’s no way to solve these conflicts without violence. It’s one thing when it’s monsters and automatons. But when it’s living, breathing human beings–” Chloe turns to Lindsey and narrows her eyes once more. “How do you deal with it?”
“I think about the friends and family that I’m fighting for. I get it, the politicians and the leaders are a bunch of rich, inconsiderate cocksuckers and I’m not going to dispute that. But, there are people out there who wish us harm. Who have caused harm to many. Caused harm to the two of you now as well. And they have to be stopped, so they can’t continue to cause harm and inflict pain and death on even more people.
“I just focus on that. Focus on what you’re fighting to protect, rather than what you’re fighting to defeat.” Lindsey stands up, heading over to her and Kristil’s room next door. “I know it’s just a trick of the mind, and it doesn’t change what has to happen. But, maybe it’ll make things a little easier for you when you get out there tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Lindsey.” Chloe lies back down and closes her eyes. As Lindsey leaves, closing the door behind her, Chloe curls up and continues her conversation with me mentally. “Sera, promise me that we’ll give quarter and take prisoners. Even to Renault, if he surrenders.”
“Only if it’s possible to do so safely. If he has a Skill like mine that makes him unable to be restrained, we might not be able to do so. And if that happens, I will do what needs to be done.” And I’ll do it myself if I have to, so you won’t have to dirty your hands, Chloe.