/ Duel Universe
/ Author: The Cowboy of Oklahoma
/ Ch 14: Home
/ word count: 2568
Washington Platform:
A bright flash shone through the science deck lab windows, blinding all that was within eye shot. Every camera on that deck went full snow field and static, issuing only an ear screeching white noise.
"Grr! What is going on down on the science deck!? Where'd that light come from!?" Major Bensen demanded.
"Washington, what is going on over there!? We lost all video feeds and where is that light coming from!?" General Marcellus questioned.
"Unknown sir! Something's happened on the science deck! Doctor Malone and Captain Freeman had just entered that deck alone when the light shone." Bensen answered.
"Whatever it is, it is visible on the exterior of the ship!!" Marcellus noted.
And just as sudden as it started, the light died down and the science deck was completely silent.
"All units move in and clear the science deck now!" Bensen ordered.
Doors slid open and all squads moved onto the deck from different entrances and cleared each room until they were done.
"It's all clear sir. There's nothing and no one on the science deck." Sergeant Major Ackles reported.
"What!? But how's that possible!? Where's the Doctor and Captain!?" Sergeant Brier asked.
"Unknown. They're not here, and there's no sign of the creature either." Ackles reported.
"You mean they've been killed." Bensen stated.
"Hey! You can't just say that without proof!" Brier said.
"Don't second guess me Sergeant!" He said with a little malice in his voice.
Some of the command deck's crew looked at the Major over their shoulders, but didn't say a word.
"You're just happy that the Doctor, who was willing to stand up to you, is gone!" Brier accused.
Bensen stared down Brier like she was a small animal on the road he'd be willing to run over. "Sit..down..Sergeant..NOW!!"
Now all eyes were on the Major, his eyes were staring straight at the Sergeant, and he was not about to back down. Unfortunately for him, Brier wasn't a push over, and she will not back down either.
"Major, I don't think you're suited to run this platform or any base for that matter! And I don't think you're even suited to be a leader or have a rank of significance. You're nothing but a sexist and a bully and bullies don't deserve the power they have!!"
"Major Bensen, I think it would be in everyone's best interest if you stand down." Marcellus said over the comms, and was soundly ignored.
Whispers and murmurs began to come from everyone on the command deck. Bensen gritted his teeth and clenched his fist while glaring at Brier.
"If you think I'm just going to let you talk down to me woman, then you have another thing coming!!"
What happened next was quite a spectacle, Bensen, in a fit of rage unbefitting an officer, and quite insane, lunged at Brier and was reaching for her throat, when a bright light emitted from the floor and a shaft of light shot straight up between Brier and Bensen. A hand reached out and clasped around Bensen's wrist, stopping him in place.
Moments Before in Warped Space:
"We should be reaching your fleet in just a few moments." Mystery girl said. "Where would you like to go when we get there?" She asked.
"The Washington." Merideth stated. "We can reach more people from there, besides, that's where we were taken from as well."
"Ah, I see. Any particular part of the ship?"
"The command deck is our best option." I inserted. "That way we don't pop up between soldiers and sailors with itchy trigger fingers. I'll point it out to you when we get there, wouldn't want to miss it by accident." I finished.
"Ah, good point Captain." Merideth noted.
As we got closer, I pointed out the particular bulk of the ship, and said the mid section was where the command deck was tucked away for extra protection.
"Okay, opening a slip into the ship's interior. We'll be entering in a sort of 'no time' zone, as in everything will not be moving for a few seconds before we fully emerge." Mystery girl explained.
"Got it." We said together.
As we began entering the command deck, we saw Bensen lunging for Brier of all people, it almost looked like he was about to tear here apart with his bare hands.
"Well this looks promising." Merideth stated.
"What is that idiot doing now?" I asked.
"We only have a few more seconds till we are fully into their timestream!" Mystery girl stated.
"Let us out. I'll deal with Beavis here." I said.
As we came out of the warped field, I reached up and grabbed his arm and made sure he stopped where he was.
The command deck went absolutely quiet, and the tension rose when the light emitted from the floor. Brier stared into the light, and saw three shapes come into view. One a man wearing military fatigues, the other a woman wearing a long coat, and the last was inside a long cloak. Then the light began to die down, and their visage became clear. Captain Ka'an Freeman, Doctor Merideth Malone and a mystery person under a white cloak, were standing where the light had once emitted, and they were none too happy about what Bensen was about to do. Nobody saw it coming, and nobody said a word as a fist slammed into Bensen's skull knocking him to the ground unconscious.
"Captain! Doctor!" Brier said excitedly. "What happened to you!? You were just on the science deck and now you're here! Who's that wi.."
Doctor Malone stepped forward and addressed all that could see and hear her.
"Everyone! We have been on a very strange journey, and have been shown a world that which suites all our needs. And that world is where we should head to next!" Malone stated.
"Ma'am, what are you talking about? What world?" Brier asked.
Malone turned to Brier and smiled calmly, and sweet. "Why, Earth of course." Malone said.
"Earth!? But ma'am, have you forgotten that the Earth was destroyed by the goo?" Brier asked.
"Of course not, Sergeant. What we were shown wasn't some miracle and that the Earth is just fine now, but how we can save the Earth!" Malone said.
The comms was still on and for the last few minutes, everyone outside the Washington command deck was listening but nobody had seen what had transpired.
"Washington! Major Bensen!! What the hell is going on over there!!" Marcellus asked. "The cameras are still down and what was all that commotion we just heard!? Where did that new light come from!?"
"General Marcellus, this is Captain Freeman, I'm taking temporary command of the Washington. Major Bensen has been relieved of his duties." I answered.
"Captain!? I thought you had just disappeared from the science deck!"
"That we did, at least for all that are present, it may have been mere moments or even minutes that Doctor Malone and myself disappeared, but as for us, it was hours. And during that time, we were shown how to save the Earth from the goo and how we can go back home!!" I said.
"That's a fantastic story Captain, but just how are we going to go back to Earth? It is lost to us and there's no going back." Marcellus explained.
"It won't be some simple trick or to simply flying back to the planet and it will be fine sir. Well have to take a detour along the way to a world that has what we need to get rid of the goo completely and that will help save the Earth." I explained.
"Captain I don't follow." Marcellus said.
"I completely understand sir, we have more information to share on this possibility, but it has to be shared in person. So I'm asking all heads of all ships, and their first officers, to meet myself, Doctor Malone, and a special guest, on the Oceanica to hear the full explanation in person." I said.
Oceanica Super Transport:
Once on board, and given a view of the ocean before us, it was somewhat serene and peaceful here, as long as one did not think about this as a ship and not an actual ocean. The setting may even help with people not going crazy with what we're about to tell and show them. Every commanding officer and their first officer of their respective ships, and even a few scientists for good measure, almost 70 people were brought onboard and are now sitting or standing in the largest area available on this ship. After everyone got some pleasantries out of the way, and was settling down, Doctor Malone and myself, followed by a figure in a white hooded robe stepped up before everyone.
"Please, everyone, if we may have your attention. We're all aware of the fact that the Earth is not currently suitable or capable of sustaining life." I started. "But recent events have come to light that there may be a way to remove the blight from Earth and slowly we can work to save the planet."
"That is utter nonsense!" The Russian Commander interjected. "Mother Earth is lost forever and can never be returned to her former glory!"
There was a shared sentiment with that statement around the group.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we may have been given a solution. There is something we all know to be somewhat useful in combating the goo. We were introduced to it by three individuals as a last ditch effort to do anything to slow the advance of the goo, and it worked! Everyone of us that watched it live or saw the recording afterwards saw this happen!" I said as I hit a console and a holographic display replayed the event of the duel monsters cards being the only thing to push back the goo.
More murmurs as everyone was unsure as to just what we were getting at.
"We've even used this new found energy to help propel us faster than the speed of light and making a several hundred year trip across the stars into only a few years." Dr. Malone explained.
Murmurs of agreements and some people thinking this may not be a wild goose chase after all.
"Now, just today, an event of something slamming into the Washington and then subsequently making Doctor Malone and myself disappear from the ship's science deck, then reappearing minutes later onto the ship's command deck. We were transported all the way back to Earth in a matter of seconds."
"That's impossible!" A scientist from the China platform said. "No force in this universe has that sort of ability. Not even these new engine components!" He stated.
Merideth stood forward and responded, "very good Doctor, that is true. Nothing in 'this' universe has that capability." She said with emphasis on that one word.
This brought some questioning looks her way and murmurs of lunacy.
"We've been to a world unlike anything our world has seen for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Food plentiful for billions. Enough space for the same. And it exists right alongside ours, in an alternate dimension." She explained. "And what's best is that that world has been aware of our existence for millions of years and they want to help us go back home."
"And just what is this world you speak of?" The Russian Commander asked.
Now it was the mystery person's turn to speak, and when she did, everyone felt, as much as heard her talk.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the world that lives alongside your own, and is very dependent on your world's constant survival, is my world."
Silence was her response, then she removed her robe. Revealing the blue and pink outfit and tall pointed hat.
"My name is the Dark Magician Girl, and I am the ruler of my world."
After some time and explanations of just what has all transpired in the past 24hrs, some of the humans refused to believe anything that was said here and refused to return to Earth for some crazy scheme. Others broke off into groups and discussed quietly what may be true and what may be a trick. Some talked to Dark Magician Girl herself and wanted more proof she was who she said she was. Asking her to conjure things from thin air or to transport bodies to another location. One guy, someone who took the liking of a duel monsters card a little too seriously, asked her for a duel, and if he won, a date with her. She used a female magician stylized deck and he had some sort of female stylized deck, with a single Dark Magician Girl in it. He lost big time. Then she was asked to speak with a few people alone, and they walked up the deck a bit away from the main body of the group. Once everyone had had sufficient time to talk with her and discuss the issue at hand, they all wanted to take a break and return to their ships for a night's sleep. She asked to remain on board the Oceanica to have a look at some of the sea creatures we brought with us. Giving everyone an eye full when she changed her clothes in an instant of magic to a semi-revealing form fitting swim suit of the same color scheme as her previous outfit. Then she went to the waters edge and dived into the vast internal sea. Some of the men tried to get a quick shore leave approved and all were instantly denied. A few at a time left until only the standard crew, myself, Shelly, Merideth and Brier remained.
Wrapping my arms around Shelly's shoulder and pulling her into a loving embrace. "So, what do you think about all this Shelly?" I asked my girlfriend.
"It's all a bit strange to be honest." She rested her head on my shoulder. "But she seems genuine and eager to help us."
"She is." Merideth said. "It's because of our two worlds being in a semi-symbiotic relationship, that if we are unable to get the goo off of our planet, then her world will suffer just as bad a fate as our own."
"Yeah, but they have their magic to resist it don't they?" Brier asked
"Their natural energies and magics are only a temporary setback for the goo. It's no different than when we dropped bombs and chemicals on it just to try and kill it. It stopped for a little while, sure, but shot back up shortly and then just used that same substance as fuel for its advance. If, no, when it becomes used to the duel energy of her world, and it is literally everywhere in her world, it will consume that place quicker than it did Earth." I explained.
Everyone there was silent for a minute before I broke it again.
"Okay, enough talking, I want something else right now."
Shelly turned to ask me what I meant, but was interrupted by my lips meeting hers and my arms pulling her into a strong embrace. We stood there kissing long enough for Merideth and Brier to begin feeling like a third wheel and walked away. Nobody noticed a pair of teal blue/green eyes peeking out of the water through strands of wet blonde hair, looking right at us.