Chapter 21 – You Require More Heroes
"If you sent us after those goons, why are we being kept here now if the stakes are so much higher?" demanded Nova.
"Well" replied Dr. Parker, "first, you ought to meet some new friends."
Nova's eyes narrowed in annoyance as she slowly turned her head toward the doctor.
"In case you forgot, Tyrande found me and…"
"Not you" snapped Parker. "Everyone who isn't you. I was talking to everyone else in the room."
The four additional Heroes received varying receptions, from welcoming (Tyrande/Thrall) to mild dislike (Kael'thas) leading up to outright suspicion (Leoric).
"Betrayed again!" roared the Skeleton King. "I was told that this DRI was the cause to support! And look what that has gotten me!"
"We… We aren't blaming you" said Jaina slowly. "Pious and these two lab techs here were also fooled by the likes of Kyle Wren."
Privately, several Heroes were amused by Leoric, if only because he'd made a big deal out of finding people "who will never betray me" while being teamed up with a whole group that were notorious backstabbers in their respective universes. And now this.
"What's important now" said Parker loudly enough to quiet all other conversation, "is handling that extradimensional invader. You might also know it as a 0-23-5."
"I'm not sure what's weirder" replied Raynor. "That we're fighting something from another dimension, or that you people in a world that supposedly doesn't know anything about the" (he put up finger-quotes) "'supernatural' have a code for it."
The PhD-turned-base-administrator sighed. "We have a code for virtually anything that could happen, because when you work with functional supernatural phenomena it's hard to find something that isn't possible under the right circumstances."
As if to accentuate his point, Parker turned on a holoscreen showing news from CNN.
"For the first time in history, a United States Navy supercarrier has been sunk by hostile action. The last incident of such a ship receiving significant damage was due to munitions exploding from being exposed to heat, not enemy fire, during the Vietnam War."
The narration stopped as video took over, though there wasn't much to see. Since the carrier USS George Washington sank in the shallow waters of its homeport San Diego Bay, the mighty ship came to rest in waters forty feet deep. Drawing thirty-five to ensure clearance in the harbor, this put the supercarrier's bottom at a depth that would normally be associated with maximum load and was thus technically safe had the hull not been torn asunder.
The US Navy closed off the port and cleared out all civilians. There were, of course, no risks of spontaneous reactor explosions, but that didn't stop people from panicking anyway.
"Unlike in movies there is no risk of a reactor meltdown or explosion" said an Admiral at the facility during a press conference. "The carrier is under control."
I wish I could say that for whatever sank it!
"Wait a minute" demanded Raynor. "How did that thing travel so fast? It took Gazlowe and me five hours to travel from Australia to the United States!"
"According to our understanding of this creature, it has one more dimension of movement than we do."
Parker then proceeded to explain the often-used "folded paper" analogy to explain the idea of what would happen were a dimension of movement to be added. Hero heads nodded in understanding—one did not have to have a degree in advanced theoretical physics to visualize what was going on in this situation.
"Given that it easily defeated a US supercarrier, we ought to be considering other options" finished Parker, talking over a CNN analyst who'd replaced shots of the stricken ship. He muted the holoscreen.
"Well, as Valla was fond of pointing out, and through my own experience, we have no fear of death" suggested Jaina.
"But are there enough of you?"
"If you are going to bring the rest of us to your cause, there are some things you should know" began Johanna. "We'll start with the demons…"
For someone sworn to fight demons, her use of the word lacked its usual venom.
The Heroes' warning boiled down to a very simple concept: While the sixteen (Valla was still missing) of them had been properly socialized and acclimated to this strange world, there would not be time to do so with those rolling off the printer now. Thus, all remaining characters were given a "rating" attempting to estimate how difficult it would be to incorporate them into the team.
At one end were the likes of Artanis, Kharazim, and Greymane who would join up without hesitation or argument. At the other were the demons, Illidan, Abathur, and possibly Murky. Finally, the middle contained wildcards such as Tychus, Rexxar, and Lunara. Though to be entirely fair, Leoric fell in the "demon" category but proved himself mostly reasonable—mainly due to the fact that he had been a good person prior to being corrupted by Lazarus acting on behalf of Diablo. That this could flare up into a point of contention despite Diablo's rather harmless nature here was not unnoticed.
"Zagara will obey me" insisted Kerrigan. "If she fails to do so, I will assert my dominance until she learns her place!"
"Tychus has always been at my side when the chips are down" added Raynor.
"Lunara may be rather violent for a dryad, but she cares for the wilds. Which this creature would likely destroy" continued Tyrande. She turned to address Benedict Pious. "Do not think us foolish, human—I know what you did when you spoke to us. Your story had something for everyone to support, and nothing for anyone to oppose. Nevertheless, we shall need that tactic again, and soon."