Operation: Reality Check is a Sailor Moon fanfic written by Roehl Sybing. For more information, visit http://www.infinitedeferral.com/
Technical Support
An Ah! My Goddess / Infinite Earths Fanfic
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)
Chapter Two
Chris didn't know where he was, but in those first moments in between sleep and consciousness he didn't really care. The pillow was quite soft and the bed was very comfortable, as he lay underneath a very warm comforter. He kept his eyes closed even as he ascertained that he had just woken up. Another hour of sleep, he wished to himself. There probably was some paperwork or a mission briefing waiting for him at Headquarters, but they could afford to wait for him. Chris rolled around in bed, burying his face into the pillow and hoping to go back to sleep. But he was compelled to wake up for good, once his hand brushed against a texture that could only be the leather of his flight jacket...
He threw the comforter aside and shot up, getting his feet on the ground and standing in the middle of a very large room. First, Chris examined himself. He was in his field casuals, the same uniform he wore the night before. At least he assumed it was just one night ago. He tried to piece it all together. He was at the club with his friends, then at dinner...then at the moviegrid...
"Must've been one hell of a night," Chris said to himself. He continued to fill in the holes in his memory, but details of how he got here were sketchy.
Come to think of it, where was he?
The room in which he was standing was luxurious, though not excessive. Sure enough, the bed was grand. The air in the room was neither warm nor cool, but remarkably comfortable nonetheless. The room had all the necessary comforts of home, which softened Chris' defensive stance. A hotel suite? Central Park West, or Tribeca perhaps?
Behind him, a silk veil shrouded the entire wall, a giant window looking out. Chris parted the veil and caught a look of the outside. He wasn't anywhere near Central Park.
"Whoa," he said, gazing out at the vast, pristine landscape, a mix of aesthetically-placed trees and plants and tall, spiraling buildings pointing to the sky but some branching in every other direction. Beyond the immediate vicinity in front of Chris lay even more breathtaking sights. From a distance, the sky was populated with islands of solid marble suspended high in the air, each containing their own miniature city and exotic flora. Underneath all of it, including the ground directly under Chris' window, was nothing. There was no bottom to the backdrop that lay before him, and either the land where he woke up was a precipice of a very tall cliff, or yet another island in a sky of endless height and depth.
Chris clenched his fists. He was in a dream world, but he was quite sure that he was not dreaming. Then he remembered standing in Times Square, as the nighttime sky opened over him and swallowed him whole. The next thing he knew, he was here, wherever here was. Two possibilities entered his mind: rescue, or abduction. But his training led him to be suspicious, and assume the latter until otherwise. Especially as he heard footsteps behind him.
"Good morning," said the voice of a woman.
He turned around, startled at her sudden appearance. Her clothing was just as romantic as the scenery about him, and her outward appearance became exceedingly disarming. "You better be room service. Or housekeeping," he said, trembling. "But I don't need the sheets changed, thanks much."
The woman shook her head. "I'm Peorth. I'm the one who--"
"Stay where you are!" Chris demanded, placing a hand on his belt, "I'm arm--oh, Christ, where's my piece?"
He patted himself, searching for his weapon. Of course, he had left it back at Headquarters when he last went off duty.
"There's no need to be upset," Peorth insisted, "I brought you here. I need your help."
"You...brought me here? You kidnapped me, you almost got me killed, and you want me to help you?"
"I'm sorry. You must trust me, you were never in any--"
"Not another step," Chris said, now holding the nearest object he could get his hands on. In this case, it was the veil behind him. "Or I'll, you know, use these drapes against you."
As he backed himself into the corner of the room, Peorth continued to tiptoe closer, looking with confidence to comfort him. "Please believe me, you are in no danger. My name is Peorth," she said, extending her hand.
Chris looked at Peorth, and then at her hand. He didn't really know what to do. "Christopher," he said, "Christopher Mark Davis. Agent, Federal Reality Commission."
"Yes, I know. We need your help with--"
"Serial number 779201-Foxtrot-Zulu-Echo."
Peorth was confused. "Excuse me?"
"Christopher Mark Davis," he repeated, "Agent, Federal Reality Commission. Serial number 779201-Foxtrot-Zulu-Echo."
"I don't think I understand--"
"Christopher Mark Davis. Agent, Federal Reality Commission. Serial number 779201-Foxtrot-Zulu-Echo."
He continued to repeat the same chant, and by now, the unresponsive Chris was arousing Peorth's anger. She placed her hands on her hips, as the time to be diplomatic had quickly passed.
"Very well," she said, "If you must have it your way!"
With a wave of her hand above her head, Peorth formed an incantation of her own, unbeknownst to Chris that it would do any good for the sole reason that she was no less than a Goddess First Class and capable of many things beyond his imagination. But for now, a strong wind inside the room would do, and it was enough to take Chris off of his feet and through the opening window.
He cried out loud, at first unable to control his own motions, but then hoping that he wouldn't have to, as he was being spirited high off the ground and through the air by a goddess flying beside him.
"What is going onnnn-aaaaaaa!?" he said at the top of his voice, but the fury of the wind beneath him easily drowned him out. As far as he could tell while he was twisting and turning in the sky, he and his captor were heading towards the largest and tallest structure on the island. He was not sure if he was going to be entering the building or slamming right into it until a lattice in the top floor opened up and sucked him and Peorth right in.
The place where he landed was devoid of illumination, but Chris rose to his feet and waved his hand all about to feel for any objects.
"Ow!" he said when a hand struck his cheek. "I'm sorry!" he apologized after pressing his hand against Peorth's body, "What am I doing here? What's going on?"
"Shh," whispered Peorth, "Just listen."
For the moment, it was not beneath Chris to cooperate and just do nothing. He stood silent, seeing nothing and hearing only the sound of his rapid breathing. His mind wandered as he waited. There was a pulse in his wrist, so he was alive. There were so many unknowns about his present situation, and he hated not knowing his present fate. Jake and the others must be looking for him, if they knew where to start. Come to think of it, if only he kept his track-and-return device on his arm instead of ditching it at work, he would have been able to...
Suddenly, Chris' mind went blank as he became transfixed on a singular light directly above him. It was not a voluntary action; a state of hypnosis passed over Chris as the light turned into a beam, shining directly into his head. He was overcome with a wave of energy, traveling through his body and exiting through his fingers and toes. His muscles tensed up and he remained frozen in the spot where he stood. His jaw dropped, and moans and grunts came from his mouth.
Yet, Chris was unaware of any of his external movements. Deep in his subconscious, a voice whispered to him, comforting him and soothing him to form a bond of trust and get him to lower his shields. When he resisted, the presence in his mind reassured him, and after a few rounds of this, Chris capitulated completely to the will of the light. But it was neither commanding nor forceful, rather a soothing presence that could only be the one thing in the entire continuum on which Chris could put a name. All his life, he was rather indifferent to whether such a force existed, given all the things that he could explain and rationalize with his vast experience and knowledge. But now he was sure that it was real, and while he could never explain it from that point forward, he was touched by it, and that was good enough for him.
After some time, the beam turned itself off and the voice in Chris' head was gone. The room lit up and he could see Peorth, standing near him the whole time.
"That was...was that...is that...?" he stuttered.
"Uh huh," she replied.
"I feel...happy now," he calmly said, then pointing at her, "You're Peorth, right?"
Peorth nodded her head, looking impressed, as always after the Almighty does the work for her.
"And you're a goddess, and I was told to help you."
She was relieved to hear that. Taking Chris by the hand, she directed him out of the room, saying, "Yes. We all need your help."
"That was so refreshing. I feel content."
"Yes, I know."
"Was I being a bother before? I can't remember."
"No, not at all..."
"Say, do you guys have food? I think I'm hungry."
---
The operations room was alive with activity since long before dawn, as officers scrambled here and there for any number of purposes, but ultimately there was total chaos. Only three of the forty monitoring stations in the Headquarters' nerve center were powered and working, and the level of illumination was at its minimum setting, just bright enough for people to keep from running into each other. Otherwise, it paled in comparison to the situation outside, where the streets were obstructed with overturned transports and impulsive rioters and littered with debris and small fires. The city lay as close to ruin as possible before its buildings were brought down.
The door swung open, and through it, Jake and Kim carried Jackie and her broken foot onto the nearest chair.
"God!" she cried as she was helped onto the seat, "The guy had a knife, what else was I supposed to do, dammit?"
"Jackie, the guy was in a wheelchair," Jake replied, "He could've been a hundred-and-forty."
"And he was trying to mug us, didn't you know? Oh, this hurts! Ran over my foot, that wrinkle! What'd they make that wheelchair out of, cement?"
"Just stay here. We have to get on the com, there must be a way to get you to a hospital."
Jackie nodded, while clutching her leg. Jake navigated his way through all the confusion and flagged down the closest officer, who directed him to the person he believed was in charge at the moment. To his dismay, it only turned out to be Ensign Wright.
"Boss!" Bryan cried.
"Wait a minute," Jake said, "They thought you were in charge?"
"Nobody knows who's in charge! I said it because I needed access to the videocom. It's not working, by the way."
"Just great. Can you tell me what happened?"
"First citywide blackout in twenty-seven years, that's what happened!"
"What, the whole city is out!?"
"Logs reveal an electromagnetic pulse affecting the five boroughs and parts of central New Jersey and Connecticut. Our internal Tokamak is online, but only producing 15% output. They've allocated most of our resources to ventilation of the top floors, but we don't know if air is getting up there, and we have forty-seven teams on away missions right now with no power available to the return gateways."
"Well, that's for senior staff to handle, me and my team have been scrapping on the streets all night long. Hey, you!" Jake shouted, signaling a group of junior officers wearing search and rescue insignia on their uniforms.
Bryan called out, "Yeah, but--"
"Junior Director Jake Tyler," Jake said, "Where are you going?"
The leader of the group replied, "Lieutenant Rich Langalli, Recovery Unit. We came in waiting for orders. You're the Junior Director?"
"Yes."
"Then we're waiting for orders from you, sir."
"What?" Jake said, displaying his shock to Bryan.
"That's what's I've been trying to tell you," Bryan said, "Best I can tell, you're the ranking officer."
"What the hell? Where's the Senior Director?"
"Uh," he said, going through his papers, "Testifying to Armed Services in Washington. All the maglevs going into the city are down, and all the shuttle routes are blocked."
"The Vice Director, then!"
"She's in labor at St. Vincent's. And the senior staff is on a delegation trip to Sigma 0-1-8. You are in charge right now, sir!"
At that point, the room fell silent once everyone realized that Jake, one of only four Commission officers working out of Headquarters and in charge of an entire department, was in the room.
Jake looked around, realizing that something bad was going to happen to him.
"Aw, sh--"
"Director!" cried one.
"We need you to--!" said another.
"These readings are from--!" a third officer said.
Like an avalanche, the fifty or sixty-odd officers in operations poured over Jake with orders and requests, to which he was unaccustomed to processing. He looked at all of them with wide-eyed disbelief. Not expecting this kind of stress, his heart was pumping and his breathing was short. It took the adrenaline to course through his body to compel him to do something about it. Jake stood up on one of the consoles, and waved everyone off.
"Alright, shut up!" he cried, to which everyone held their raucousness again.
"Everyone," Jake said to them, "The entire city is in a blackout. I don't know for how long. This is a crisis situation. We have teams on Alternate Earths and they cannot get back until we power up the gates again. In addition, we need to account for all personnel on the master roll call and working in this building. Lieutenant Langalli, have your men evacuate the top floors to the emergency bunker. Everything above the seventieth floor."
Langalli replied, "But, sir, that's all of fifty stories, and the elevators are out."
"Then you better take a few more squads with you. Have everyone else stay where they are with rations and water."
"Yes, sir."
"You, over there. Have guards posted at all access points into the building, four-hour shifts. We have the only internal reactor in Manhattan besides City Hall, and we need to conserve energy. We don't need a riot at our door. Turn everyone away including personnel, but make sure they have rations. Now, everyone in this room above Second Lieutenant has just been deputized by the Technical Department. Your responsibility is to work with the techs to restore power to the building and get the gateways open. Everyone else has been ordered into the emergency bunker. Do not go home. The transports are out and it is not safe out there."
The reaction to Jake's orders was anything but lively. Amongst the crowd of officers were murmurs of doubt and fear, and it was clear they were going to need more than instructions.
"Everyone, listen to me," Jake said, "We are in control. The Federal Reality Commission and all of its resources are active. We have to be. This is the most important internal operation in the history of this agency. I know it can be done."
It was the best Jake could do, but the looks on the faces of Jackie and Kim reassured him that it was adequate. The fear among the officers slowly dissipated, and even some confident expressions were traded.
"Alright. I want status reports from all division chiefs in six hours. Dismissed."
To his surprise, the crowd was more orderly and civilized once they heard from him. In a timely manner, some returned to their duties while others filed out of the room. Jake breathed a sigh of relief and got down from the console. He then looked at Jackie, who remained in her chair all this time, unable to stand up or walk on her broken foot.
"What do YOU want?" he asked.
"Dammit, I want you to get me to a doctor or something!" she cried in exasperation, "I'm better cutting off my foot at this rate!"
Jake nodded. "I'll get you there, give me a minute. I'm running an agency, you know!" he joked. His expression turned on a dime, though, when he looked away from Jackie, and his smile turned into a look of frustration. With the present situation, there were a hundred concerns to tackle. But he had not forgotten. What happened to Chris?
---
"Let me get this straight," Chris said, "This...entire system, this...this...alright, one more time, please."
"Yggdrasil," Peorth replied.
"Right. What you just said. It controls the world?"
"Yes."
"The whole world?"
"Yes."
"And now you want me to fix it? This?"
Chris was both amazed and incredulous. He and Peorth stood in the largest, most complex nerve center he had ever seen. Within it were beings capable of things far beyond his imagination. But now they were calling on him for assistance.
"Yes."
Chris nodded his head, not to consent but to display his understanding. "Alright," he said, "Needless to say, this is a lot to take in. Among everything else."
"We summoned you because we need your help, Chris."
"Yeah, you told me. You want me to get rid of the same virus that's been in our computers, right?"
"It's actually called a Hegelas," Peorth explained, "It's a very small creature that's been buried for centuries. A group of humans unearthed it not too long ago, and now it is wreaking havoc all over the world, replicating itself and interfering with our systems. The technology on Earth is still primitive, so the effects there are minimal."
"Not our technology," Chris retorted, "Our network here has been ravaged for two weeks now. I've already been called in four times to patch it up."
"And that's why I need your help."
Peorth watched him parse her words in his head, as he paced back and forth in front of her. She was determined to enlist his aid. Desperate, even, but she tried not to show it, hiding behind a veil of professionalism that came with running Yggdrasil. She didn't mean to be so serious with Chris, but this was an extreme situation. She did not know what it would take to bring him from his world into hers. Now that he was here, Peorth realized that the task of enlisting him would be difficult. But if anyone outside of the order could help them, it would be Chris.
"What makes you think that I can help you in the first place?" he asked.
"You hacked into our system," Peorth said, "In fact, you did it twice! I believe you possess an intuition that our brightest minds lack. We need that right now, more than ever."
"What're you talking about? I'm surrounded by...gods and goddesses! You're telling me you can't fix your own problems?"
Peorth didn't have an answer at first. All she could do was shrug her shoulders and smile plainly. She then said, "There are forces that even we don't understand. The progress of the Hegelas into Yggdrasil is devastating. And if we can't maintain the Earth, then all--"
"Alright, you don't have to finish that sentence!" Chris exclaimed. He sighed in frustration, while running his hands through his hair, almost wanting to pull them out of his head. He still did not fully understand what was expected of him, but not acting bore grave consequences. Yet the system that lay before him was far more sophisticated for him to make sense of it all. He would've insisted that, on both occasions, he stumbled upon Yggdrasil by accident, but he was sure that it would not help. Chris' back was against the wall, but then again, so was Peorth's, and as a Reality Jumper, he appreciated that desperate measures were in order.
"I don't even know where to begin," he said, "I wouldn't know how to work the system in the first place."
The goddess' smile widened once she picked up on the notion that Chris was beginning to come around as he spoke, when he nodded his head and gave her a look of intent, as if to show his resolution.
"If I could assign to you someone who could instruct you," she replied, ready to burst, "Will you do it?"
Chris answered quickly, "Perhaps, but that someone would have to--"
"Done!" Peorth said happily, wrapping her arms around him, "I knew you would say yes! I have my absolute faith in you, Christopher!"
"W-well, it-it's Chris, but--" he stammered.
"Oh, you do have a good heart."
"I-I don't really know about...hey, is this how you treat everyone?" he asked as Peorth continued to embrace him as if he were a cute little pet.
"If only you were of this world," she said, "I would've fulfilled your heart's desire!"
"That's really sweet, but...hey, could we...well, stop this now?"
---
Assured that he would be getting an aide to assist him, Chris convinced himself that, until help arrived, he could at least fumble around with the controls and consoles in the room where he was brought by Peorth. After ten minutes he had gained a certain degree of confidence, but only because he could predict the tones that would sound whenever he pressed certain buttons. He wouldn't hazard a guess on what they meant, but in this case, small favors were quite valuable.
Ten minutes after that, Chris had found a crawlspace underneath the console, just large enough for him to lie flat on his back and slide his head, his upper body and his arms inside. This he did without hesitation, once he concluded that electrical current was not what was keeping this technology running, and that he would not be shocked for poking his head into potential trouble.
It took another five minutes of touching the insides of the console and investigating its inner workings for Chris to realize that someone had finally stepped into the room. Delicate footsteps pressed against the floor, but his ears picked up on the motion.
From underneath the console, he called out, "Are you the, uh--?"
"Oh!" a soft voice, that of a young woman, said suddenly, "You startled me!"
Chris felt confused. "But you saw me down here, right?" he asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Yeah. See, I would've thought that it would be the other way around."
"Oh. I didn't want to frighten you."
"Uh-huh," he said, while still inspecting the insides with uncontested curiosity, "So why did they send you?"
"I'm sorry, sir," she replied, "I can tell from your voice that I am inadequate. I will send for someone else.
The voice was delicate and polite, that of someone who was careful and shy. He rolled his eyes, unseen to his visitor.
"No, don't leave!" Chris assured her, "I didn't mean anything by it! I just want to know, why did they send you?"
The voice paused, and actually stuttered a few incoherent syllables before she could form a true sentence. "I've learned everything there is to know about Yggdrasil, sir. I've been training to work in system maintenance."
That really caught Chris' attention. "'Training'!?" he cried, finally inching out of the crawlspace to see his visitor, "What do you mean, 'training'?" When he got to his feet, he had to pause to visually inspect her, for the first glance at her made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. She was a goddess, alright, for she had on her forehead a marking, a symbol of some sort, just like Peorth. Her dress was also just as surreal, an intricate gown of light colors and simple lines and shapes, but pleasing to the eye and well suited to the goddess that wore it. Everything about her, from her light brown hair to her reserved facial expression, displayed that she was a unique creature, while unassuming and unusually quiet, never speaking unless spoken to, never acting but reacting to others, as was the case when she spoke to Chris.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said in response to his outburst, "I was told that I could best help you with our dilemma, but if you would prefer someone else, then--"
"No, no," Chris replied quickly, "That's not what I meant, I apologize. Obviously Peorth sent you for a reason. And you did say that you can teach me how to work Yee-goo--um...this system. Am I right?"
"Yes, sir..."
"Alright, but please don't call me 'sir'," he suggested, "I'm not that old, and I imagine you're just as young as I am."
The goddess-in-training nodded, keeping her eyes to the ground, looking up every so often at Chris.
Chris sighed, "C'mon, look at me."
She did so, revealing her most delicate eyes to Chris. Not that he wasn't already convinced that she was exceedingly shy and timid.
"I'm Chris," he said gently.
It took a moment for the goddess to respond. She bit her lip and gathered the will to speak again, "Metrina."
TO BE CONTINUED.
Technical Support
An Ah! My Goddess / Infinite Earths Fanfic
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)
Chapter Two
Chris didn't know where he was, but in those first moments in between sleep and consciousness he didn't really care. The pillow was quite soft and the bed was very comfortable, as he lay underneath a very warm comforter. He kept his eyes closed even as he ascertained that he had just woken up. Another hour of sleep, he wished to himself. There probably was some paperwork or a mission briefing waiting for him at Headquarters, but they could afford to wait for him. Chris rolled around in bed, burying his face into the pillow and hoping to go back to sleep. But he was compelled to wake up for good, once his hand brushed against a texture that could only be the leather of his flight jacket...
He threw the comforter aside and shot up, getting his feet on the ground and standing in the middle of a very large room. First, Chris examined himself. He was in his field casuals, the same uniform he wore the night before. At least he assumed it was just one night ago. He tried to piece it all together. He was at the club with his friends, then at dinner...then at the moviegrid...
"Must've been one hell of a night," Chris said to himself. He continued to fill in the holes in his memory, but details of how he got here were sketchy.
Come to think of it, where was he?
The room in which he was standing was luxurious, though not excessive. Sure enough, the bed was grand. The air in the room was neither warm nor cool, but remarkably comfortable nonetheless. The room had all the necessary comforts of home, which softened Chris' defensive stance. A hotel suite? Central Park West, or Tribeca perhaps?
Behind him, a silk veil shrouded the entire wall, a giant window looking out. Chris parted the veil and caught a look of the outside. He wasn't anywhere near Central Park.
"Whoa," he said, gazing out at the vast, pristine landscape, a mix of aesthetically-placed trees and plants and tall, spiraling buildings pointing to the sky but some branching in every other direction. Beyond the immediate vicinity in front of Chris lay even more breathtaking sights. From a distance, the sky was populated with islands of solid marble suspended high in the air, each containing their own miniature city and exotic flora. Underneath all of it, including the ground directly under Chris' window, was nothing. There was no bottom to the backdrop that lay before him, and either the land where he woke up was a precipice of a very tall cliff, or yet another island in a sky of endless height and depth.
Chris clenched his fists. He was in a dream world, but he was quite sure that he was not dreaming. Then he remembered standing in Times Square, as the nighttime sky opened over him and swallowed him whole. The next thing he knew, he was here, wherever here was. Two possibilities entered his mind: rescue, or abduction. But his training led him to be suspicious, and assume the latter until otherwise. Especially as he heard footsteps behind him.
"Good morning," said the voice of a woman.
He turned around, startled at her sudden appearance. Her clothing was just as romantic as the scenery about him, and her outward appearance became exceedingly disarming. "You better be room service. Or housekeeping," he said, trembling. "But I don't need the sheets changed, thanks much."
The woman shook her head. "I'm Peorth. I'm the one who--"
"Stay where you are!" Chris demanded, placing a hand on his belt, "I'm arm--oh, Christ, where's my piece?"
He patted himself, searching for his weapon. Of course, he had left it back at Headquarters when he last went off duty.
"There's no need to be upset," Peorth insisted, "I brought you here. I need your help."
"You...brought me here? You kidnapped me, you almost got me killed, and you want me to help you?"
"I'm sorry. You must trust me, you were never in any--"
"Not another step," Chris said, now holding the nearest object he could get his hands on. In this case, it was the veil behind him. "Or I'll, you know, use these drapes against you."
As he backed himself into the corner of the room, Peorth continued to tiptoe closer, looking with confidence to comfort him. "Please believe me, you are in no danger. My name is Peorth," she said, extending her hand.
Chris looked at Peorth, and then at her hand. He didn't really know what to do. "Christopher," he said, "Christopher Mark Davis. Agent, Federal Reality Commission."
"Yes, I know. We need your help with--"
"Serial number 779201-Foxtrot-Zulu-Echo."
Peorth was confused. "Excuse me?"
"Christopher Mark Davis," he repeated, "Agent, Federal Reality Commission. Serial number 779201-Foxtrot-Zulu-Echo."
"I don't think I understand--"
"Christopher Mark Davis. Agent, Federal Reality Commission. Serial number 779201-Foxtrot-Zulu-Echo."
He continued to repeat the same chant, and by now, the unresponsive Chris was arousing Peorth's anger. She placed her hands on her hips, as the time to be diplomatic had quickly passed.
"Very well," she said, "If you must have it your way!"
With a wave of her hand above her head, Peorth formed an incantation of her own, unbeknownst to Chris that it would do any good for the sole reason that she was no less than a Goddess First Class and capable of many things beyond his imagination. But for now, a strong wind inside the room would do, and it was enough to take Chris off of his feet and through the opening window.
He cried out loud, at first unable to control his own motions, but then hoping that he wouldn't have to, as he was being spirited high off the ground and through the air by a goddess flying beside him.
"What is going onnnn-aaaaaaa!?" he said at the top of his voice, but the fury of the wind beneath him easily drowned him out. As far as he could tell while he was twisting and turning in the sky, he and his captor were heading towards the largest and tallest structure on the island. He was not sure if he was going to be entering the building or slamming right into it until a lattice in the top floor opened up and sucked him and Peorth right in.
The place where he landed was devoid of illumination, but Chris rose to his feet and waved his hand all about to feel for any objects.
"Ow!" he said when a hand struck his cheek. "I'm sorry!" he apologized after pressing his hand against Peorth's body, "What am I doing here? What's going on?"
"Shh," whispered Peorth, "Just listen."
For the moment, it was not beneath Chris to cooperate and just do nothing. He stood silent, seeing nothing and hearing only the sound of his rapid breathing. His mind wandered as he waited. There was a pulse in his wrist, so he was alive. There were so many unknowns about his present situation, and he hated not knowing his present fate. Jake and the others must be looking for him, if they knew where to start. Come to think of it, if only he kept his track-and-return device on his arm instead of ditching it at work, he would have been able to...
Suddenly, Chris' mind went blank as he became transfixed on a singular light directly above him. It was not a voluntary action; a state of hypnosis passed over Chris as the light turned into a beam, shining directly into his head. He was overcome with a wave of energy, traveling through his body and exiting through his fingers and toes. His muscles tensed up and he remained frozen in the spot where he stood. His jaw dropped, and moans and grunts came from his mouth.
Yet, Chris was unaware of any of his external movements. Deep in his subconscious, a voice whispered to him, comforting him and soothing him to form a bond of trust and get him to lower his shields. When he resisted, the presence in his mind reassured him, and after a few rounds of this, Chris capitulated completely to the will of the light. But it was neither commanding nor forceful, rather a soothing presence that could only be the one thing in the entire continuum on which Chris could put a name. All his life, he was rather indifferent to whether such a force existed, given all the things that he could explain and rationalize with his vast experience and knowledge. But now he was sure that it was real, and while he could never explain it from that point forward, he was touched by it, and that was good enough for him.
After some time, the beam turned itself off and the voice in Chris' head was gone. The room lit up and he could see Peorth, standing near him the whole time.
"That was...was that...is that...?" he stuttered.
"Uh huh," she replied.
"I feel...happy now," he calmly said, then pointing at her, "You're Peorth, right?"
Peorth nodded her head, looking impressed, as always after the Almighty does the work for her.
"And you're a goddess, and I was told to help you."
She was relieved to hear that. Taking Chris by the hand, she directed him out of the room, saying, "Yes. We all need your help."
"That was so refreshing. I feel content."
"Yes, I know."
"Was I being a bother before? I can't remember."
"No, not at all..."
"Say, do you guys have food? I think I'm hungry."
---
The operations room was alive with activity since long before dawn, as officers scrambled here and there for any number of purposes, but ultimately there was total chaos. Only three of the forty monitoring stations in the Headquarters' nerve center were powered and working, and the level of illumination was at its minimum setting, just bright enough for people to keep from running into each other. Otherwise, it paled in comparison to the situation outside, where the streets were obstructed with overturned transports and impulsive rioters and littered with debris and small fires. The city lay as close to ruin as possible before its buildings were brought down.
The door swung open, and through it, Jake and Kim carried Jackie and her broken foot onto the nearest chair.
"God!" she cried as she was helped onto the seat, "The guy had a knife, what else was I supposed to do, dammit?"
"Jackie, the guy was in a wheelchair," Jake replied, "He could've been a hundred-and-forty."
"And he was trying to mug us, didn't you know? Oh, this hurts! Ran over my foot, that wrinkle! What'd they make that wheelchair out of, cement?"
"Just stay here. We have to get on the com, there must be a way to get you to a hospital."
Jackie nodded, while clutching her leg. Jake navigated his way through all the confusion and flagged down the closest officer, who directed him to the person he believed was in charge at the moment. To his dismay, it only turned out to be Ensign Wright.
"Boss!" Bryan cried.
"Wait a minute," Jake said, "They thought you were in charge?"
"Nobody knows who's in charge! I said it because I needed access to the videocom. It's not working, by the way."
"Just great. Can you tell me what happened?"
"First citywide blackout in twenty-seven years, that's what happened!"
"What, the whole city is out!?"
"Logs reveal an electromagnetic pulse affecting the five boroughs and parts of central New Jersey and Connecticut. Our internal Tokamak is online, but only producing 15% output. They've allocated most of our resources to ventilation of the top floors, but we don't know if air is getting up there, and we have forty-seven teams on away missions right now with no power available to the return gateways."
"Well, that's for senior staff to handle, me and my team have been scrapping on the streets all night long. Hey, you!" Jake shouted, signaling a group of junior officers wearing search and rescue insignia on their uniforms.
Bryan called out, "Yeah, but--"
"Junior Director Jake Tyler," Jake said, "Where are you going?"
The leader of the group replied, "Lieutenant Rich Langalli, Recovery Unit. We came in waiting for orders. You're the Junior Director?"
"Yes."
"Then we're waiting for orders from you, sir."
"What?" Jake said, displaying his shock to Bryan.
"That's what's I've been trying to tell you," Bryan said, "Best I can tell, you're the ranking officer."
"What the hell? Where's the Senior Director?"
"Uh," he said, going through his papers, "Testifying to Armed Services in Washington. All the maglevs going into the city are down, and all the shuttle routes are blocked."
"The Vice Director, then!"
"She's in labor at St. Vincent's. And the senior staff is on a delegation trip to Sigma 0-1-8. You are in charge right now, sir!"
At that point, the room fell silent once everyone realized that Jake, one of only four Commission officers working out of Headquarters and in charge of an entire department, was in the room.
Jake looked around, realizing that something bad was going to happen to him.
"Aw, sh--"
"Director!" cried one.
"We need you to--!" said another.
"These readings are from--!" a third officer said.
Like an avalanche, the fifty or sixty-odd officers in operations poured over Jake with orders and requests, to which he was unaccustomed to processing. He looked at all of them with wide-eyed disbelief. Not expecting this kind of stress, his heart was pumping and his breathing was short. It took the adrenaline to course through his body to compel him to do something about it. Jake stood up on one of the consoles, and waved everyone off.
"Alright, shut up!" he cried, to which everyone held their raucousness again.
"Everyone," Jake said to them, "The entire city is in a blackout. I don't know for how long. This is a crisis situation. We have teams on Alternate Earths and they cannot get back until we power up the gates again. In addition, we need to account for all personnel on the master roll call and working in this building. Lieutenant Langalli, have your men evacuate the top floors to the emergency bunker. Everything above the seventieth floor."
Langalli replied, "But, sir, that's all of fifty stories, and the elevators are out."
"Then you better take a few more squads with you. Have everyone else stay where they are with rations and water."
"Yes, sir."
"You, over there. Have guards posted at all access points into the building, four-hour shifts. We have the only internal reactor in Manhattan besides City Hall, and we need to conserve energy. We don't need a riot at our door. Turn everyone away including personnel, but make sure they have rations. Now, everyone in this room above Second Lieutenant has just been deputized by the Technical Department. Your responsibility is to work with the techs to restore power to the building and get the gateways open. Everyone else has been ordered into the emergency bunker. Do not go home. The transports are out and it is not safe out there."
The reaction to Jake's orders was anything but lively. Amongst the crowd of officers were murmurs of doubt and fear, and it was clear they were going to need more than instructions.
"Everyone, listen to me," Jake said, "We are in control. The Federal Reality Commission and all of its resources are active. We have to be. This is the most important internal operation in the history of this agency. I know it can be done."
It was the best Jake could do, but the looks on the faces of Jackie and Kim reassured him that it was adequate. The fear among the officers slowly dissipated, and even some confident expressions were traded.
"Alright. I want status reports from all division chiefs in six hours. Dismissed."
To his surprise, the crowd was more orderly and civilized once they heard from him. In a timely manner, some returned to their duties while others filed out of the room. Jake breathed a sigh of relief and got down from the console. He then looked at Jackie, who remained in her chair all this time, unable to stand up or walk on her broken foot.
"What do YOU want?" he asked.
"Dammit, I want you to get me to a doctor or something!" she cried in exasperation, "I'm better cutting off my foot at this rate!"
Jake nodded. "I'll get you there, give me a minute. I'm running an agency, you know!" he joked. His expression turned on a dime, though, when he looked away from Jackie, and his smile turned into a look of frustration. With the present situation, there were a hundred concerns to tackle. But he had not forgotten. What happened to Chris?
---
"Let me get this straight," Chris said, "This...entire system, this...this...alright, one more time, please."
"Yggdrasil," Peorth replied.
"Right. What you just said. It controls the world?"
"Yes."
"The whole world?"
"Yes."
"And now you want me to fix it? This?"
Chris was both amazed and incredulous. He and Peorth stood in the largest, most complex nerve center he had ever seen. Within it were beings capable of things far beyond his imagination. But now they were calling on him for assistance.
"Yes."
Chris nodded his head, not to consent but to display his understanding. "Alright," he said, "Needless to say, this is a lot to take in. Among everything else."
"We summoned you because we need your help, Chris."
"Yeah, you told me. You want me to get rid of the same virus that's been in our computers, right?"
"It's actually called a Hegelas," Peorth explained, "It's a very small creature that's been buried for centuries. A group of humans unearthed it not too long ago, and now it is wreaking havoc all over the world, replicating itself and interfering with our systems. The technology on Earth is still primitive, so the effects there are minimal."
"Not our technology," Chris retorted, "Our network here has been ravaged for two weeks now. I've already been called in four times to patch it up."
"And that's why I need your help."
Peorth watched him parse her words in his head, as he paced back and forth in front of her. She was determined to enlist his aid. Desperate, even, but she tried not to show it, hiding behind a veil of professionalism that came with running Yggdrasil. She didn't mean to be so serious with Chris, but this was an extreme situation. She did not know what it would take to bring him from his world into hers. Now that he was here, Peorth realized that the task of enlisting him would be difficult. But if anyone outside of the order could help them, it would be Chris.
"What makes you think that I can help you in the first place?" he asked.
"You hacked into our system," Peorth said, "In fact, you did it twice! I believe you possess an intuition that our brightest minds lack. We need that right now, more than ever."
"What're you talking about? I'm surrounded by...gods and goddesses! You're telling me you can't fix your own problems?"
Peorth didn't have an answer at first. All she could do was shrug her shoulders and smile plainly. She then said, "There are forces that even we don't understand. The progress of the Hegelas into Yggdrasil is devastating. And if we can't maintain the Earth, then all--"
"Alright, you don't have to finish that sentence!" Chris exclaimed. He sighed in frustration, while running his hands through his hair, almost wanting to pull them out of his head. He still did not fully understand what was expected of him, but not acting bore grave consequences. Yet the system that lay before him was far more sophisticated for him to make sense of it all. He would've insisted that, on both occasions, he stumbled upon Yggdrasil by accident, but he was sure that it would not help. Chris' back was against the wall, but then again, so was Peorth's, and as a Reality Jumper, he appreciated that desperate measures were in order.
"I don't even know where to begin," he said, "I wouldn't know how to work the system in the first place."
The goddess' smile widened once she picked up on the notion that Chris was beginning to come around as he spoke, when he nodded his head and gave her a look of intent, as if to show his resolution.
"If I could assign to you someone who could instruct you," she replied, ready to burst, "Will you do it?"
Chris answered quickly, "Perhaps, but that someone would have to--"
"Done!" Peorth said happily, wrapping her arms around him, "I knew you would say yes! I have my absolute faith in you, Christopher!"
"W-well, it-it's Chris, but--" he stammered.
"Oh, you do have a good heart."
"I-I don't really know about...hey, is this how you treat everyone?" he asked as Peorth continued to embrace him as if he were a cute little pet.
"If only you were of this world," she said, "I would've fulfilled your heart's desire!"
"That's really sweet, but...hey, could we...well, stop this now?"
---
Assured that he would be getting an aide to assist him, Chris convinced himself that, until help arrived, he could at least fumble around with the controls and consoles in the room where he was brought by Peorth. After ten minutes he had gained a certain degree of confidence, but only because he could predict the tones that would sound whenever he pressed certain buttons. He wouldn't hazard a guess on what they meant, but in this case, small favors were quite valuable.
Ten minutes after that, Chris had found a crawlspace underneath the console, just large enough for him to lie flat on his back and slide his head, his upper body and his arms inside. This he did without hesitation, once he concluded that electrical current was not what was keeping this technology running, and that he would not be shocked for poking his head into potential trouble.
It took another five minutes of touching the insides of the console and investigating its inner workings for Chris to realize that someone had finally stepped into the room. Delicate footsteps pressed against the floor, but his ears picked up on the motion.
From underneath the console, he called out, "Are you the, uh--?"
"Oh!" a soft voice, that of a young woman, said suddenly, "You startled me!"
Chris felt confused. "But you saw me down here, right?" he asked.
"Yes," she said.
"Yeah. See, I would've thought that it would be the other way around."
"Oh. I didn't want to frighten you."
"Uh-huh," he said, while still inspecting the insides with uncontested curiosity, "So why did they send you?"
"I'm sorry, sir," she replied, "I can tell from your voice that I am inadequate. I will send for someone else.
The voice was delicate and polite, that of someone who was careful and shy. He rolled his eyes, unseen to his visitor.
"No, don't leave!" Chris assured her, "I didn't mean anything by it! I just want to know, why did they send you?"
The voice paused, and actually stuttered a few incoherent syllables before she could form a true sentence. "I've learned everything there is to know about Yggdrasil, sir. I've been training to work in system maintenance."
That really caught Chris' attention. "'Training'!?" he cried, finally inching out of the crawlspace to see his visitor, "What do you mean, 'training'?" When he got to his feet, he had to pause to visually inspect her, for the first glance at her made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. She was a goddess, alright, for she had on her forehead a marking, a symbol of some sort, just like Peorth. Her dress was also just as surreal, an intricate gown of light colors and simple lines and shapes, but pleasing to the eye and well suited to the goddess that wore it. Everything about her, from her light brown hair to her reserved facial expression, displayed that she was a unique creature, while unassuming and unusually quiet, never speaking unless spoken to, never acting but reacting to others, as was the case when she spoke to Chris.
"I'm sorry, sir," she said in response to his outburst, "I was told that I could best help you with our dilemma, but if you would prefer someone else, then--"
"No, no," Chris replied quickly, "That's not what I meant, I apologize. Obviously Peorth sent you for a reason. And you did say that you can teach me how to work Yee-goo--um...this system. Am I right?"
"Yes, sir..."
"Alright, but please don't call me 'sir'," he suggested, "I'm not that old, and I imagine you're just as young as I am."
The goddess-in-training nodded, keeping her eyes to the ground, looking up every so often at Chris.
Chris sighed, "C'mon, look at me."
She did so, revealing her most delicate eyes to Chris. Not that he wasn't already convinced that she was exceedingly shy and timid.
"I'm Chris," he said gently.
It took a moment for the goddess to respond. She bit her lip and gathered the will to speak again, "Metrina."
TO BE CONTINUED.