Either you deal with what is the reality, or you can be sure that the reality is going to deal with you.
-Alex Haley
The realm that the agency control center was on was one of many that the agency had bases built on in this sector and others in this exact location, but as a security measure none of the other bases had levels that went as deep as the residential levels or the other highly top secret levels that were below them. This prevented any travelers from walking or knocking into these levels. As a protector Westal was aware of all the levels of the agency control center even if he had not been allowed into them. If the Agency control center were ever attacked he needed to be aware of what there was to protect. As such the protectors lived on the top residential level, so any attackers had to go through the off duty protectors in order to reach the lower levels. It was considered a last line of defense for the lower levels. In case of attack the Agency control center would switch to emergency status, meaning that all mag lifts would only work going up. Anyone who tried to go down in a mag lift during an attack would find that they would be going down much faster than they anticipated and would not stop till they reached the bottom, which was a long way down. And just as an added security it was not just a free fall, the mag lifts would propel anyone in them down at tremendous speed and crush them against the bottom, so there would be no rappelling down them either. So any attackers had to come down the stairs, fighting the protectors as they went down. Each level of the stairs was a defensive position for the protectors. Each landing had a wall built on it that had to be walked around, it made for a difficult time walking down the stairs but made for a great defensive position on each level; and the ceiling of each landing was designed in such a way that anyone standing behind the wall could not be seen from above and since no one used the stairs except during drills for attacks it was no problem for the population of the Agency control center. Because of all of this the protectors were the only ones who were allowed to have their personal weapons stored in their living quarters, everyone else was required to keep their weapons in the Agency control center armory located on the dispatch level. This made it imperative for Westal to get to his personal living quarters. Without weapons there was no way that he or any of the companions stood a chance of getting out of the Agency control center if it came down to a fight.
Westal came out of the mag lift on his level and headed down the corridor to his suite of rooms. He walked into his quarters and knew instantly that something was wrong; there was a difference that should not have been there. A smell of other bodies filled the air and the temperature was warmer than it should have been. He had the climate controls set to lower the temperature to fifty five degrees as soon as he left the residence, and to come back up to seventy degrees a few minutes after he returned. This was a very effective alarm system that told him if someone was in the residence when he came in. The temperature was warm so he knew that someone was already in here. He dived to the right of the entrance door just as a buzzing filled the air and he felt a tingle on his left shoulder as he dived straight into a book shelf that lined the hallway wall and went right through it into the hidden room behind it. His left shoulder, arm and hand were numb from the stun charge that had grazed him. He rolled into the room and came up to his feet in front of a control panel that he had installed on the wall just inside of the hidden room. He slapped a big red button on the panel and a blast proof door slammed down sealing the room from the rest of the living quarters.
His time was shorter than he had expected, they were not waiting long to round up the companions; he was surprised that it had taken them as long as it had. If not for Tarkin he would not have known and they might have caught him unaware, but fortunately for him that was not the case. He knew that he did not have much time now, if not for his heightened reflexes and his advanced preparations for trouble he would already be a prisoner.
He stepped to the side of the control panel and reached up as far as he could and pressed his hand on the wall in a spot that would not be hit by accident by him or found very easily by anyone else. A click sounded behind him and a door opened in the opposite wall, he turned and went to it and reached into the hidden locker. He took out a suit of a metallic sheen that looked like a form fitting space suit. He slipped out of his clothes and into the suit. It was a high tech suit of armor, the direct descendant of the suits of armor that the knights of old wore into battle. Only this was defense against a wide range of weapons that the knights would never have imagined in their wildest dreams. Next out of the locker was a weapons harness that he slipped his arms into and then fastened the belt around his waist; on the right side of the waist belt was a weapon that looked like a futuristic pistol with several additional buttons on it. In fact it was an energy gun that would only shoot in his hand, he had it specially made for himself in one of the weapon shops on a line that was very highly advanced and played at war the way that some realms played sports. That was where most of his 'personal' equipment came from and was not on anyone's books thus still in his possession and not confiscated like all other weapons were. On his left hip rested a sword that resembled a Japanese Uchigatana, forty six inches in length with a razor sharp blade twenty six inches in length. Sticking up over his shoulders from where they were fastened on the straps of the harness on his back were the handles of two Wakizashi with seventeen inch blades known as companion swords. Next he reached into the locker and pulled out a mesh hood which he pulled over his head, where it fit snugly covering his head and face as he pulled it down and pressed the bottom edge into the collar of his suit. As the hood melded with the suit the whole thing gave off gentle warmth as it came to life and became active; to anyone watching it would appear that Westal had disappeared from sight. The suit mimicked its surroundings, just like a chameleon blending into its world. This made it very hard for anyone trying to cause him harm to be able to do so. He knew that time was running out, when he had activated the blast door it had sealed his living quarters from the outside and trapped his attackers in it and prevented anyone else from entering it. But it would not take them long to break in or out of his quarters and then it was just a matter of time before they started on the blast door. It would take them time to get a cutter down into his quarters to get through the blast door but he still had to get to the rest of the companions if he could. He went back to the control panel and turned the red button two full turns to the right and then one turn back to the left, then pressed in further; there was a click from the back of the room and a hatch opened in the floor. This was his personal escape hatch, which he had hoped that he would never have to use. He went through the hatch and started down a ladder leaving the hatch open above him. A few feet down the ladder he reached into the dark behind his back and hit a switch that looked like one of several bolt heads sticking out of the wall. The hatch above him swung closed, and it also activated a defense system in the room above. Now the only safe way to reenter the hidden room above was through the hatch, anyone entering through the blast door would set off some very nasty surprises.
Westal was on his way now. Since he had joined the Agency and come to the control center he had been a protector and was one of the best they had. He had always believed that the Agency was on the side of right and that he fought to make the realms safer. Today that faith had been shaken and he was unsure of everything that he had been told about the Agency. For the first time in his life Westal was a fugitive.
Khasa Maurie was big but he was far from dumb. Many people made the mistake of thinking that because he was so big that he was not intelligent, others thought that because of his size he was slow. Both of these were reasons that many of the ones who had fought him were no longer counted among the living. And he knew that something had changed in the Agency Control Center since he was last here. People looked at him out of the corner of their eyes when they went by him, and several times he caught their reflections and saw them stop and look at him after they had gone by. He gave this a
lot of thought and he could find nothing in what he had done at the Control Center to cause this behavior in the people of the Agency. So that meant that it was not anything he had done but something that someone else had done. This was not good, since he had no control over what others did, and it meant that he could be in danger for some unknown reason.
He walked into the Center library to begin research for his next scheduled mission. Since he was not exactly inconspicuous there was no reason to try to hide, it was impossible after all, so he might as well get some work done while he waited for whatever was going to happen to happen. He went to the console that was at the back of the library and was the only one that was large enough for him to use, as he set down in the seat he sensed that he was not alone. He looked around him but could see no one else near him, but he had learned long ago that he was never wrong about stuff like this; he would not be alive today if he was.
"Stop looking around and act like you are just doing your research." A voice said beside him. It was a tribute to his nerves that he did not jump, but instead continued to look up his research like nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
"I had a feeling that something was wrong, it must be bad to bring you all the way here like this Westal." Khasa Maurie said. He looked around the library to make sure there was no one else in sight or hearing distance. "What has happened Westal?"
"There is a cover up going on. I do not know if it is the agency or someone else but rumors have already circulated that Clark had a break down and we had to have another traveler come get us." Westal's voice seemed to come from the wall to the left of were Khasa Maurie sat. "When I got back to my rooms after my workout this morning I had a welcoming committee waiting for me. If not for the fact that I am always prepared for trouble they would have had me. I can only assume that they will try to take all of us now to prevent the truth from getting out."
"And what is the truth that they do not want getting out?" Khasa Maurie asked.
"That there is a new kind of traveler that is more powerful than any who has come before. That what the agency has been telling us for thousands of years may not be true. And before you ask no I have don't have any idea who is behind it or what exactly they will do next. All I know for sure is we must gather the companions and escape from the Agency Control Center as soon as possible. It may be too late already; I just assume they came for me first because of my training and that you will be second."
"No Westal I think that you were probably the second one, I attempted to contact Clark earlier and was told by the Agency Control Center system that he was unavailable. When I questioned further I was told that by order of the agency head he was not to be disturbed. I am sure that he has already been taken and is in danger at this time."
"No he is not in danger yet, not until they know for sure what his abilities consist of, and how powerful he is." Westal stated. "But if he turns out to be too powerful and they do not think they can control him then they will dispose of him in a most unpleasant way. Therefore we must find him, and fast.""
Khasa stood and said, "Follow me, I must get to the armory and get my ax."
"I am sorry Khasa but we cannot do that. It would take too much time and I do not think they will just let you walk in and take your weapons. Even if they did it would be very hard to conceal that battle ax of yours. We can go for it after we have secured Clark."
"Very well" Khasa grumbled, "Were to then?"
"Go to the mag lift that is near the mess hall, we can take it down to Clark’s living level and see what we can find. I do not know where else to begin.""
Khasa headed out of the library and down the hall toward the mag lift, he had no idea where Westal was or how he remained invisible to Khasa's eyes. As he neared the mag lift Westal's voice came to him, "Turn left down the next hall." Khasa did as he was told, turning left and continuing to walk down the adjacent hallway. "Did you see those two technicians working on the communication station just past the mag lift?" Westal asked Khasa.
"Yes what about them?" Khasa inquired.
"They were not technicians they were protectors watching the mag lift. I'm afraid they are on the lookout for us, and there is no way that they missed seeing you. You stand out in a crowd anywhere you go. Take the next right and then the first left; there is a maintenance storage room on the left side of the hallway about half way down. Go into it and let them see you going in. I'll be behind them and we will take care of them in there. But let's try not to hurt them; they are just doing their jobs and no telling what they have been told about us."
"I Understand." Khasa murmured under his breath.
Khasa did as he was told and turned right down the next hallway then took the next left, as he came to the maintenance storage room he ducked down and activated the door opening switch on the wall beside the door. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the two protectors round the corner as the door opened, and he slipped through the doorway.
Inside the maintenance storage room there was nowhere for him to hid, maybe a smaller man could find a few hiding spots in there but not someone of his size. He turned to face the door he had just come through and prepared himself, then his two shadows come into the room one after the other; both of the protectors had energy pistols out and pointed at him. "Do not move Khasa," the first of the two said, "we have orders to take you in alive but if you give us any trouble dead will just have to do."
The second protector raised his energy pistol and aimed at Khasa's chest, "Why take any chances?" Before he could pull the trigger his right hand holding the energy pistol suddenly fell from his arm. He looked at the stump of his cleanly cut wrist in shock as a fountain of blood gushed from it. His partner started to turn toward him and his face took on the appearance of a smashed melon as an unseen force connected with the middle of his face. His eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed to the floor, landing in a pool of blood leaking from his partners arm.
The one armed protector's eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed as his life drained from his body.
"So much for not hurting them," Khasa said with a sad shake of his head.
"Quickly we need to get going before it is too late. They would have contacted control before following you in here, we don't have much time."
Inching his way through the narrow tunnel for what seemed like hours was not what Clark had in mind for his day. On more than one occasion he had become stuck and had to force his way beyond the restriction. His cloths ripped and torn, blood soaking his back and knees where the rough stone had been cruel to his flesh.
"What the hell, is this cave never going to end? Damn now I'm talking to myself in the dark! Oh well I already knew I was crazy." The tunnel started to rise and broaden out a bit. In the torch light ahead he could see rock in front of him. "Not exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted it to end. He continued crawling forward and could see the tunnel turned up and became a vertical shaft instead of ending. When he reached the turn he had to roll over onto his back and shine his torch up to look into it. The rock walls of the shaft continued up for approximately ten feet then flared out and disappeared from his site. It appeared that it was opening up into the floor of a cave. Could he be so lucky?
After almost an hour of forcing his body past the tight turn he found himself standing with his arms out stretched above him. Wedging his arms against the rough sides and pulling up he was able to raise his feet a few inches off of the rock bottom. Then he pressed his legs to the sides and stretched out his arms as far as he could and repeated the whole process. In this way he was able to inch his way slowly up the shaft. After several hours he dragged his exhausted bleeding body from the narrow tunnel and lay on the floor of the cave.
Clark lay there breathing deeply and resting. He opened his eyes and shown his electric torch around as he stood up. The light revealed to him an oblong cave large enough that he could breathe in deep breaths without feeling like he was a cork in a bottle, and right now that was all
the mattered. However after a few minutes of deep breathing he decided that maybe there were other things that mattered and he set up and looked around. It looked like a cave, okay it’s good to know that he was still in a cave system and wasn't stuck in that tunnel any more. Standing up he could tell that it really wasn't a chamber in a cave like he thought but a tunnel that was about 20 feet or so across. It disappeared in both directions with neither way appearing to be going up or down, as far as his torch light would shine in both directions it was relatively level with no indication of a slope.
"Well I guess one way is as good as another," he said as he started off down the tunnel. After going for a ways he started noticing a slight bend to the tunnel. It was curving to the left slightly but still not ascending or descending. After walking for what seemed like hours he decided to take a break and set down on the floor with his back to the wall. He laid his torch down on the tunnel floor pointing back in the direction that he has come and massaged his stiff hands. That trip crawling through the small tunnel and climbing up the shaft had really done a number on his hands. The blood had dried and flaked away but they had become stiff and sore. He looked to his left in the direction that he had been traveling and to his surprise it looked like it wasn't completely dark. Although he couldn't be sure with the torch on so he turned it off and allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. Sure enough it was lighter ahead then it was behind.
"Wouldn't you know it; just as I start to get used to being here I find a way out. What the hell, do I have bad timing or what?" shaking his head, ""Yep definitely starting to lose it."
Standing up he didn't bother to turn the electric torch back on, instead using the light from in front of him to see by and gauge how far he had to go. After following the curving tunnel for a few more minutes he came to the end of it. He cautiously approached the end of the tunnel his eyes squinting against the bright light. Well probably not so bright but after being in the darkened tunnel it appeared bright to Clark. He eased up to the edge of the tunnel looking out into what turned out to be another larger tunnel. It looked no different than the one he was in except it was larger, about 50 feet across and there was light coming from the right of his tunnel.
He pressed himself up against the wall on the left so he could see down the connecting tunnel to the right, towards the light. As he inched forward with his back to the wall he revealed the larger tunnel in slow increments. Slowly more of it came into view when suddenly an arm reached in towards him from the left of the opening and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and he found himself flying out into the larger tunnel. He landed flailing in the middle of the floor, a good 20 feet from where he had been standing when he took his unexpected flight.
Scrambling to his feet Clark spun around and crouched to receive the attack he knew was coming at him. To his surprise standing in front of him leaning against the tunnel wall was Khasa and coming from his left he heard laughter, and then as if by magic Westal appeared out of thin air wearing some type of jumpsuit.
"You should have seen the look on your face Clark." Westal laughed. "It was well worth having to run for our lives just to see that."
"Scurrying through the dark like a little rat you're lucky it was us that trapped you," rumbled Khasa.
"What are you two doing here, and what's this you're saying about running for your lives?" Clark said with concern in his voice
"It’s a long story, which it looks like we will have plenty of time to tell you." Westal said as the smile left his face.
"After we escaped from the two protectors it was relatively easy to find a Walker who was willing to get us out. Most Walkers come and go as they please and take a dim view of anyone telling them they can't. Jazlyn Ursini is a close friend of mine, who just happens to be one such Walker, that I have known for years." Westal informed me as we sat around their camp stove drinking coffee. Finally someone who had coffee!
"How did you end up here?" I asked. "It's my understanding that the Agency controls all this area on each realm so no one can sneak in.""
"As it turns out there is a small section of this cave system that intersects with a store room on level 37. It just so happens that our industrious Walker is part of a survey crew that is responsible for monitoring the center for just such things. Fortunately for us she is not too fond of being controlled and kept it her little secret.""
"Don’t forget that she also happens to be sweet on a certain sword welding protector," laughed Khasa. "It never hurts to be sleeping with a smuggler."
"She is not a smuggler! She just expedites imports for a reasonable price."
I shook my head in amazement, "Westal you never cease to surprise me. But what of the others, Were you able to make contact with any of them at all?" I asked.
"Farren could not be found, but I would not worry about him, Dreamers are hard to surprise. Ananga and Antara were not where I could warn them. We can only hope that they have enough friends in high places to protect them. Jazlyn is going to make contact with Orman and try to get him down here. She will be here tonight, if she finds him and if she can she will bring him with her. If not I am not sure what we can do for him. Either way we need to make plans, we can't stay here. We may have to make a hard choice."
"What choices do we have, hard or easy?" Westal looked away as I said this. "What is it Westal, what are you not telling me?"
Westal refused to look at me. Whatever he was thinking was not something he was proud of.
Looking at Westal with a hard stare Khasa said, "Tell him. He of all people has a right to know."
Sighing Westal turned back to me and looked me in the eye. "The Rebels may be our only choice."
"WHAT!!" I exclaimed in dismay. "You and everyone else have been telling me for days that the Rebels were our enemy. That their goal was to destroy the world, Hell they almost caught Farren and me and they attacked us all on the trail. What the hell would we go to them for?"
"It could be we have been misinformed all along. The agency that I know and have worked for would never condone what has happened to us today. We can't be sure if the agency is not what we have been told it is or if it is just a rogue element in center."
"One thing is for sure, we cannot go back to center now. At least not till we determine what is going on." Khasa said. "I will never see my Ax again."
"Don’t cry big fella we'll find you a new one." See I can be compassionate when I want to be.
"Quiet I think I hear something," Westal whispered raising his hand for silence. He stood up slipping his hood on and instantly disappeared from our sight.
Now I could hear it also. Someone was moving in the tunnel towards us, several from the sounds of it. Khasa stood up and signaled me to do the same. We moved in the opposite direction from the sound and entered the tunnel that I had come out of. Khasa reached into his tunic and produced some type of hand weapon. Very futuristic looking and it did not look like it had come from his home realm. It was definitely not something that I had ever seen before.
I could hear voices now as they came closer. There were at least three of them, they weren't making a lot of noise but the acoustics of the tunnel was such that I could hear them well.
"Keep up we are almost there." A female voice said, in an exasperated voice.
"Keeping up is not something I am use to. You walk everywhere by nature, we were born into a realm with personal conveyances so we would not be required to walk."
"Antara ye ha' been on enough missions that walking is not that much of a problem to you. That's the turd time ye ha' complained 'n as many minutes. "
Smiling Khasa stepped out of the side tunnel back into the light as the three rounded the corner from the other side of the camp. Orman and a woman who must be Jazlyn were followed by Antara bringing up the rear. All three were loaded down with packs and carrying extra canvas bags and packs.
"I thought I recognized that brogue." Khasa said smiling at his friends. "I am glad to see you were able to find our friends
Jazlyn."
"It was easy; I did not have to find Orman he found me, as for the little one I just had to follow the whine of his voice to find him. It would have been more impressive if I had not found him! He never stops complaining." Jazlyn said shaking her head sadly.
"Your attempt at levity has been noted and dismissed as poor. I have recently returned from a mission and had not been allowed time to rest as required by the Agency’s standard operating policy." Antara stated in his matter of fact voice. "I was accosted by protectors in my quarters for no apparent reason.""
"A story I want to hear all about," said Westal stepping out of the shadows into the light of the camp, "but where is Ananga?"
"I am unaware of the location of Ananga at this time. After returning from the mission we were dismissed to our quarters to rest as per policy. I was in my sleep chamber utilizing it for its intended purpose when I was most unceremoniously set upon by the protectors. I must believe that Ananga was doing the same but did not have Jazlyn to alter the outcome of the protectors attempt to capture him."
Jazlyn smiled, "I was on my way to meet Orman when I passed a group of protectors in the hall with Antara in the middle of them. I had a feeling that it was not a good situation for him to be in so after I passed them I just went between and followed them. When they got to the lift they spread out a little too much and I just came back in next to him and took him for a walk. You should have seen the looks on their faces when they turned back to him and he was gone." She laughed out loud, "You would have thought they had lost the crown jewels by the way they acted."
"I am sure that what was in store for me would not have been pleasant. However I have yet to determine what is the cause of all of these actions. It is highly unusual activity for the agency and I do not have enough information to evaluate the situation. In order to formulate a plan we must rectify this by obtaining more information."
"You sound like a talking machine Antara. What the hell did Ananga have all the personality in the relationship?" Clark asked.
"Ananga has been my partner for many years. We were placed together because of our compatible profiles. In the field we act as one, as a good team should, we trained together for this very reason for many years before we were ever allowed into the field on a mission."
"Relax Ananga we're just razzing you." Clark shook his head at the seriousness of the little man.
"Let’s sit and eat while Jaz and Orman bring us up to date on what happened to them." Westal said as he set down and started doling out stew for everyone.
The smell of the stew was very mouthwatering as it wafted up into the air. They all gathered around and sat down to eat.
"After dropping you two off here I went back to the Agency Center and started looking for signs of Orman. I looked everywhere I could think to look and had given up when I found Antara. After picking him up out of the middle of the protectors we walked between to the armory to get some weapons." As Jaclyn was talking Orman reached into one of the oversized bags he had set down and pulled out a massive ax.
"I thought you might want this for future use." Orman grinned as he handed the battle Ax to Khasa.
"Thank you old friend, I was afraid I would never see it again." Khasa took the ax and caressed it lovingly.
Smiling Jazlyn continued. "We knew that we would be unable to go back and get anything after today, it is just a matter of time till they have a full man hunt started for us, so we took everything we thought we might be able to use from the armory. I was shocked at the amount of advanced hardware that was stored in there. For a sword world Center we have much more projectile and energy weapons then I would have thought reasonable."
"I don't know what you mean by sword world center. I thought this was The Agency control center." I said starting to get that all too familiar feeling of confusion.
"I am beginning to think there is much more going on than we know." Westal stated. "I also thought that the center was the main base of operations for the Agency."
Jaz had a look of embarrassment on her face. "I just thought you knew Westal, what most people think of as The Agency Control Center is only a junction center that missions are carried out from. I have never talked to anyone who has seen or been to the main Agency Center. I'm not even sure where it is or if anyone other than the monitors has ever been to it. I found out about it by accident while doing a little between ease dropping. From what I have been able to gather there are thousands of centers similar to the one we all work out of, but there are others that are for the more technologically advanced realms. That is why I was surprised to find so many advanced weapons there."
I watched Antara closely after Jaz said this to see if he had any reaction. As far as I could tell he was just listening raptly with the rest of us, he gave no indication that anything she said had any meaning to him. "What the hell Antara? Is this true, how much have you monitors not been telling us? I don't like being played for a fool, especially since I'm not even sure if what is going on around me is real anymore. I was just starting to get a handle on things and then I get the rug pulled out from underneath me. How much more is there that you are not telling us?"
Antara looked at each of us in turn, as if weighing his words carefully. "I am a field monitor and am not privy to what most senior monitors have access to. I only know what I am told; I am nothing more than a cog in the machine. However I am starting to believe that there is more to you than I ever knew or guessed Jaz."
Looking back and forth between Antara and Jazlyn it suddenly dawned on me. "You are much more than a smuggler, you have far too much information to be nothing more than a petty criminal. You're a rebel!"
"There is so much that all of you don't know or could even guess at. Yes I am a member of the rebels, but we are not what you have been led to believe. Nor is the agency what they want you to believe." Jazlyn stared straight at Antara as she continued, "You monitors have mislead everyone for far too long. We have known the truth for some time and that is why we have been branded as rebels." She set down her food and reached into her bag lying beside her. Before any of us realized what was happening she had a gun in her hand and was pointing it directly at the monitor. "Don't move monitor, I have no problem ending your sorry life right now if I have to."
"What the hell..? Have you lost your mind Jaz? Antara is one of us!"
"No he is not! Every monitor is our enemy Clark. Just sit back and listen as I fill you in on the truth about the monitors and the Agency." The pistol never wavered from Antara as she talked. "The walkers were independent travelers for thousands of years maybe even longer, no one is sure about when they came about. Knockers came about later and because of the nature of their abilities they were far more dangerous because they could affect whole worlds with their ability to keep Gates open between realms. Certain walkers started noticing that whole realms were changing, one realm started having technologies and trade goods show up that should not have been there. Once it was determined what was happening to the realms some walkers and knockers got together and decided to form a group that would monitor the activities of the travelers. Now remember this happened over hundreds or even thousands of years. As you can imagine it would take a long time for travelers to find out about each other by accident. Eventually they found a highly advanced realm that could develop technologies to detect abilities and locate the people who have them."
Jazlyn stopped and took a drink of water to wet her dry throat.
"What about my abilities? Why am I different?" Clark asked.
"I’ll get to that Clark, bear with me. There are far more abilities then just travelers and the monitors developed the technology to detect and find them all. However they decided that there was no reason for them to work for the travelers; after all it was their advanced technology that discovered most of them. In fact they were able to find most of the travelers before they even developed their abilities. They convinced the travelers that they could develop a training program th
at would teach travelers to develop and use their abilities before they would naturally have to. In this way they were able to start controlling them. Because you see Clark travelers in general have much more ability then they are told or trained in. The induction trainers not only train a traveler to use his ability they also inhibit the traveler from using their ability in any other way then what the monitors want. After the induction training a traveler is either a walker or a knocker and only has the abilities that you have been told about. They are much easier to control and the monitors can use them to do what they want without having to worry about them being too powerful."
"Except for me; what the hell, why am I different?"
"Except for you Clark, that is correct. We were able to erase you from the monitor's database before you came to their attention. It was a long term plan that we have been working on for centuries. When you were born we had someone in the right place to act. All traces of you were destroyed so that you were never identified as a traveler and therefore were not watched. Our agent was captured and killed himself rather than take the risk of the agency finding out who you were and what realm you were on. The monitors have been watching for you ever since, attempting to locate you before you developed your abilities and became a problem. Unfortunately the rebels never knew who you were either, or we would have intervened in your life long ago. Our plan called for us to contact you in adolescence so that when your abilities manifested naturally you would know how to handle them and you could develop fully without the agency interfering."
"So then I could be your pawn instead of the agencies is what you’r really saying," I yelled.
Jaz flinched at the sudden outburst. "No Clark. We only wanted to allow you to make up your own mind. After you had your abilities there would be nothing we could do to keep you on our side other than for you to see the truth."
"Wait a minute;" Westal looked confused, "Clark underwent the induction training. He should be nothing more than a knocker. He may have been able to do more than a normal knocker at first but after that training he should have been limited. But it was after the induction training that we traveled with him, he had far more than the average ability he walked between and opened Gates in fact he did things that no one has ever done before."
"We interfered with his induction training. Once we found out that he had been found and brought here we acted. We had many years to get ready for this, we have an agent in every junction center that we thought he might show up at. But the agency must have suspected we were also waiting because they took him to a sword world junction center rather than a projectile world junction."
"What is a projectile world junction? And you're wrong anyway. They didn't take me anywhere; I traveled to the Agency center on my own by accident. It was when I first started all this craziness."
"Sword, projectile and energy are used to show the stage of development of the realms. And I am sorry Clark but they mislead you there also. You did not just randomly travel to that agency center. Remember the large man that found you?"
"Yeah the Neanderthal, I'll never forget that one." Clark was beginning to feel manipulated badly.
"He was a traveler. He put you into a situation where you would feel in danger to activate your ability. Then he directed the energy to make you travel to the sword junction center that they wanted you at. You were manipulated to believe that your arrival was an accident. You have been under the control of the monitors since they first found you. We were barely able to get here in time to alter your induction training. If not for your unscheduled travels with Farren you would be nothing more than a knocker now and never able to use your full abilities again."
"So Farren is a rebel also. I should have known the way that he led me on that long night of traveling."
"No Farren is not a rebel he is a dreamer just like you were told. The agency had discovered that your induction training had been tampered with and were coming to collect you. Farren detected danger when he dreamed and chose to come to your rescue rather than report it. I don't know if he knew the outcome of his actions or if he dreamed of danger to himself also, but it was the only course of action that would save you. If you had been taken before using your abilities again after the altered induction training they could have reversed it. After you returned it was too late to change but they were determined to find out what we had done and what you were capable of doing."
"You are crazy Walker." Antara had grown tired of listening and decided it was time to defend himself. "She is not to be trusted Clark, she is a rebel and will say anything to confuse you."
Reaching over and wrapping his hand around Antara's upper body Khasa picked him up and held the monitor in front of his face. "Silence little man, we are all through listening to your kind. One more sound from you and I'll crush you like a grape."
Antara suddenly paled at the threat and wisely kept his mouth closed. Khasa glared at him for a few more seconds and realizing that he wasn't going to say anything else dropped him back down. The monitor let out a muffled groan as he hit the ground.
"It was just bad luck that Antara and Ananga were part of the group that Farren had put together. It also shows that he was not aware of the monitors' role in all of this and did not know that they were behind the attempt to take you that night." Westal stated, "When he contacted me about meeting the two of you he said nothing about the monitors or to be wary of them. It was I who actually put together the group of companions. We had no idea that we were including enemies in our group. But now we know how the agency knew where to find us. It’s obvious that either Antara or Ananga made contact with someone and had the brigands attack us. I remember them saying that they were told to take you alive Clark, now it makes sense."
"This war between the rebels and the Agency has been going on for thousands of years and this is the first time since the monitors have taken over the agency that we have had a significant break. This could be the turning point for us; you are the first naturally developed traveler in well over a thousand years. The last of the original travelers all died off long ago. With the agency able to track down all the new travelers we have not stood a chance."
"So all of the rebels are what? Escaped slaves? Are you the Spartacus of the agency?""
"In a sense yes, we are all products of the agencies induction trainers and will never be able to develop further abilities. But we are not all travelers, there are many who are tired of living under the agencies rule and want a change. The agency claims to be watching over the realms to insure that all is well and to prevent us from destroying them. In reality the agency uses the realms for its own advancement. The home realm of the monitors pillages the realms for what they need and want. It is in their best interest to keep them all the realms as low on the technology scale as possible. They are the top of the food chain and don't want to risk any other realm replacing them. The real reason for all of the dead realms is that they were too advanced. Some of them were aware of the travelers and needed to be eliminated to protect the monitors. I'm sure that the first time a Gate was opened into a dead realm it was an accident, however the monitors quickly realized that it was a very cheap and easy way to deal with problematic realms that didn't have the courtesy to destroy themselves with war."
"The agency will stop at nothing to find us now." Westal interjected, ""I'm sure that the rest of the companions have been taken and they will be questioned till the agency has all the information that they can get from them. At that point they will no doubt be killed, and the agency will spend all their resources to get you Clark, you are too powerful and uncontrollable for them to allow you to run free. We have no option but to join the rebels now."
With a loud screech as if metal was being torn apart the tunnel wall to the left of where I was sitting seemed to dissolve and disappear, in its place was a cloud of dust. I jumped to my feet and faced the new opening in the wall where I could see figures coming through the dust. Figures wearing armor that looked like it was out of a s
pace opera, which went perfectly with the advanced looking rifles they all carried. Suddenly there were flashes of light from the weapons and the air between us seemed to distort with the energy being released. Khasa grabbed me by the shoulder as he stood up in front of me and threw me to the ground. I looked on in horror as Khasa seemed to turn inside out; suddenly all of his blood seemed to be on the outside and his body was coming apart and flying off in all directions as the energy blast ripped him apart.
I couldn't see Jaz anywhere but off to the left of the new tunnel opening was Antara screaming, "Take the walker alive she is a rebel, and kill the rest!" Not exactly what I wanted to hear, evidently the Agency had decided that I wasn't worth the trouble any more.
Amazingly enough Orman was able to get off several arrows at Antara before being blasted apart by the energy weapons, one of the arrows pierced Antara's shoulder causing him to fall to the ground. Westal was on his feet and fighting back, his suit dispersed the majority of the energy that was hitting him but it started to glow red from the small amount it was absorbing from being shot repeatedly by the attackers. There was no time for him to pull up his hood and disappear; if he stopped moving for an instant the results would be fatal despite his suit. He returned fire with his own energy pistol as he made his way over to me. He grabbed me and dragged me behind the large rock that Khasa had been sitting on a few minutes ago. My shirt started to smolder in his hand from the heat of his suit. He was gasping for breath and I could see the agony in his eyes and I realized that the suit was overheating and he was being roasted alive. "Do whatever it is you do and get us out of here NOW!"
The rock we were hiding behind was coming apart before my eyes as the energy blast chipped away at it. We only had a matter of seconds till we had no protection to hide behind. Westal continued to return fire and managed to score several hits. But his pistol did not have the power to do much damage against the hardened battle suits of the attackers. We were out gunned in every way. We didn't stand a chance against the advanced weapons of our attackers. They were veterans and you could tell it as they split apart into three groups. The first stayed in front of us and poured a never ending stream of energy at us, while the other two spread out to both sides to flank us.
I could see Antara using the wall to pull himself up from the ground. Orman's arrow was still protruding from his shoulder, and beside him helping him up was another monitor in a battle suit. It had to be Ananga come to his partners rescue. As Antara leaned against him Ananga raised an energy pistol in his right hand and pointed it directly at me. It looked like I wouldn't have to wait for the attacking goon squad to finish their flanking maneuver to die. Suddenly Jazlyn appeared out of thin air right in front of the monitors, her automatic pistol pointed at Ananga's face from only inches away. Without hesitation she opened fire at the monitors face; repeatedly pulling the trigger directly into his helmeted head. The pistol was no match for the advanced battle armor but it did serve to shock Ananga and cause him to pull back losing his footing and falling down. Jazlyn knew that she had no hope of actually hurting the armored monitor but that did not apply to Antara. She moved her arm to the right swiftly changing her aim to the unarmored head of the injured monitor. Pulling the trigger one more time before disappearing the same way she had arrived, into thin air. The .45 caliber bullet from close range made a real mess of Antara's head, but after all I had learned about him I felt that it was still too good of a way to go for him.
I reached down inside myself and took hold of the power, I felt it rise in me ready to be unleashed and open a Gate. Unfortunately there was no door and I had no idea what to do with it. The other times it was an unconscious act and I had no control over it, this time I was calling the power but beyond that I was lost. Suddenly Jazlyn appeared beside us out of thin air, she placed her right hand on Westal's head, the only part of him uncovered by his suit, then she grabbed my shoulder with her left hand and I felt the power explode outward in a titanic release.
Burning fire enveloped me as the world disappeared. A sensation of falling came over me. It was similar to the time the Neanderthal had hit me. I felt that I was falling backwards with nothing supporting me, no sense of anything around me. I was in my own little world of falling, and like last time I realized I wasn't breathing. Jazlyn had said that the Neanderthal put me into a situation where I felt threatened and then directed my ability to send me to the Agency junction center. It seemed that she was capable of doing the same thing and was using my ability to send us somewhere. Where I had no clue, it was like she had hijacked my ability to take us to a place of her choosing. I could only wait until we arrived and hope that she knew what she was doing. I was beginning to get tired of people using me. Granted she was saving my life but hey it was my life and I can complain about it if I want.
Day two of falling, well at least it felt that way, I had forgotten how long I was in this limbo last time. It seemed to take forever, unending falling without a bottom in sight. I should really start bringing a book to read on these long trips, but then again I can't see anything and as far as I can tell there is no light to read by. I sure wish this would end....."GASP" light floods my eyes; a loud whoosh fills my ears as air rushes into my lungs. THUMP I land on my back and the air goes rushing back out. Damn I need to start being careful what I wish for!
"AAAAARRRR" Peeling the suit from Westal's body brought forth another scream from him as it pulled burnt flesh with it. Somehow Jaz had been able to direct my energy and land us here in a realm that she said was safe, for now.
"Clark you must go on without us, I will get Westal the medical help that he needs here in this realm but you must go to the rebels; it is your only chance." Jaz said.
"Why don't I stay with you till Westal gets help then we can go together to the rebels?" I asked. I wasn't too keen on going to a bunch of rebels alone especially since until a few hours ago I had been lead to believe were the enemy of all mankind. "Or better yet why don't we go to the rebels to get Westal the medical help that he needs?"
"It will be a long time before Westal is well enough to travel and the realm that you need to go to is not advanced enough to offer him the medical treatment that he needs. You don't have the luxury of time to waste, there is so much that you don't know about the Agency, but trust me they will not stop looking for you and their resources are vast. You must get to the rebels before the agency has a chance to kill you, not only for your own safety but for the future of the rebels. Now that the agency knows that you are outside of their control and have full use of your abilities they will stop at nothing to prevent you from joining with the rebels." Jaz handed me a bundle, "Here are cloths that will suit the realm you are going to and a letter of introduction. You will be an adviser for a city that is under siege, they won't question your credentials, and don't worry this realm has one war after another and there are always advisers coming and going. No one will think twice about it and you probably won't even be asked to advise them on anything."
"Probably? What the hell do I know about advising a city under siege? I don't know the first thing about war or sieges other than what I learned in history class, and that was a hell of a long time ago!"
"That is the great thing about history, it doesn't change; what you learned in school still applies. But don't worry you will be fine. All the information you need is in here, including where to go and who to contact when you get there. I'll help you set your destination realm in your mind so that you can open a Gate. After you reach the rebels they can explain things and you will find that there is much more to you and your ability then the Agency ever told you.""
This was getting hard to wrap my head around. Everything that I had been told was suspect and I had no idea what was true and what wasn't anymore. After wiping what remained of Khasa off of me and smelling the burned meat smell of Westal, I had no doubt that the Agency was the bad guy now. I hadn't known Westal, Orman and Khasa for very long but they had all saved my ass on more than one occasion and I
had come to consider them friends. I would take Jazlyn's advice and seek out the rebels. I planned to learn all I could about the rebels, the Agency and my abilities. Once I had a firm grip on the new realities that I was living in I would see about setting things straight.
Standing on the battlements looking out over the sea of incoming attacks, I wondered what the hell I was doing here. I came through the Gate into the city of Iompróirbáis two days ago and walked right into a major war. In this world the Roman Empire never suffered its decline; it thrived and now controlled over 80 percent of the known world. Most of it was subdivided by alliance as opposed to geographical boundaries. And the alliances fought constantly. I was told there was never a day that went by that someone wasn't fighting someone else in this realm. This battle had been going on for days now, with wave after wave of Imperial troops smashing themselves to death on the walls of this once beautiful city.
A loud whistling sound filled the air accompanied by yells to run, followed by a horrendous crash and screams. Fifty yards down the wall to my left a stone thrown from one of the dozen or so ballista out on the field had destroyed a wall mounted scorpio and the team of Romans manning it. War was hell is an understatement on this world where the medical treatment still included amputation for any major wounds to the arms and legs. But the alternative was to allow infection to set in, and then it was all over but the crying.
A Magistrate approached me from the direction of the stairs leading down from the top of the wall.
"Lord Clark you should not be up here, with the Vandals attacking it is far too dangerous. My Chancellor would look upon me with great displeasure if anything were to happen to you.""
"How else am I to get a good view of the battle? I can't advise the Council if I don't know what's going on during the battle."
Thunder crashed and rolled across the city, I looked up at the clear skies before looking quizzically at the Magistrate.
"Jovian Thunder," he said with a grin. "Many of our Consuls are calling on the Gods this day. Follow me Lord; the Council is ready to hear you at this time."
There were many ways that people on the different realms used the "energy" that I used to open Gates. And I had found that most of them attributed it to either magic or the gods. It seemed that on this realm it may be a combination of both. I wasn't sure what this Jovian Thunder was but from the sound it generated I would say it was very powerful, I wondered exactly what it was and what the results were. What the hell it had something to do with war and killing, at this point I guess that was all I really needed to know.
Following the Magistrate down the steps and away from the wall it occurred to me that the agency must do things on each realm to keep the people from advancing. I wondered how they managed to keep a lid on all of the scientific discoveries on all the realms. Judging from what I had been told and experienced for myself I imagined it involved a lot of violent death.
Walking into the Council chamber was like walking into a tapestry hall. The banners of all the Consuls covered the walls of the grand chamber. A half a dozen of the consuls sat around the large wooden table which dominated the room, discussing the battle. Each consul was the Chancellor of his own cities, together they formed an alliance where each of them had a say in what went on but the Chancellor of the alliance had the final say. If I understood the information that Jazlyn had given me correctly each consul was free to leave the alliance at any time. It seemed that loyalty was all that kept them together, and my understanding was that loyalty was a big thing on this realm.
".......nothing here for them to take. I cannot believe that they are stupid enough to waste hundreds of thousands of troops on a vendetta against Ceres'."
The elegantly gowned woman at the head of the table raised her hand in a gesture of dismissal. "Dominus Bered, hatred knows neither bounds nor reason. They only want to destroy me, regardless of the cost to the Vandal alliance."
At this time they noticed my entrance and I approached the table. "Greetings Consul’s of Rome, I have finished my inspections of the troops and the walls, and formulated my plan for you."
A grizzled veteran looked me in the eye and sneered, "Lord Clark, I have given over 100 legions of my troops in the defense of this city and have more on the way; as we all do." He said looking around at his fellow consuls, "We have killed ten times that many of the vermin, I don't know why the Admiral brought you here to advise us, but I for one see no reason for it."
"Now, now Warrick "spoke up Salvianus from the right hand of Ceres', "you have done an excellent job of defending the city, no one questions that. But a little outside advice to insure we are, not missing anything, never hurts."
"Warrick" I say with a puzzled look," not a very Roman sounding name is it?"
"It’s not the name I was born with, but it is the name that keeps me alive now. Most of us come from other," he pauses as if considering his next words "...places shall we say. But we are all here now and that is what matters."
At that moment the large double doors to the chamber crashed open and a blood covered legionary rushes into the room. "The walls are breached! All is lost!" he cries.
Everyone jumps up from the table and rushes from the room drawing swords or grabbing up javelin on their way out. Running out into the bright sunlight we all look up to the top of the wall to see Vandals pouring over the battlements onto the walkway. A lone figure faces them swinging a massive double headed ax, massive for him but it was nothing compared to Khasa's, shearing limbs from the unfortunate conscripts in the lead.
"Warrick, Bered and Salvianus go help Vladimiru." Ceres' yelled, “Edmund, Stasio, and Divino come with me." She raced to the other end of the wall to stop them from descending into the city. I stood and watched in awe as, what I thought were nothing more than politicians and counsel room leaders, killed hundreds of Vandals in the confined space on top of the wall. Back and forth the battle went. As the Vandals scaled the walls the Antarac leaders dispatched them with abandon.
Hours later all of the troops were dead other than the consuls. No one was left to defend the city but the handful of leaders on the wall. As hard as they fought, the end was inevitable. The walls were breached in dozens of places and thousands of the enemy poured over the top. The eight leaders besieged on the wall were only alive because the Vandals could only get at them a few at a time. But the long fight was beginning to tell on them and exhaustion was setting in.
Warrick slipped in the blood of his enemies and went to one knee just as a sword flashed in to crash against his helm. He fell and rolled to the side giving Bered room to lunge forward impaling the unlucky trooper on his sword tip. Suddenly a buzzing filled the air; a giant swarm of bees had decided to claim the city as their hive. Everywhere I looked the enemy was falling as if dropped by Mars himself. A female warrior bounded over the wall as if launched from one of the ballista, swinging down with her sword taking the head from the next Vandal in line.
"Come on Warrick, this is no time for sleeping." She smiled as she extended her hand to help him up.
"Thanks Bella, I knew you wouldn't let me down."
From around the corner to my right appeared a thousand skirmishers, slings whirling above their heads, they released in unison and each stone flew true to its mark dropping another enemy soldier. A fan-fair of trumpets filled the air; more reinforcements had arrived, with not a moment to lose. The Irishman, Lord of the Purple throne and more Antaracs than could be written here had arrived.
For three more days the battle raged, twice more the walls were breached. Each time more reinforcements arrived before the Vandals could sack the city. In the end the Antaracs reigned supreme. The Vandals did not withdraw, they fought till the last man dropped; they fought till there were no more troops to send. Mounds of dead covered the plain before the city and the walls were stained with so much blood they would never shine white in the sunlight again.
Once again I stood upon the wall gazing out at the littered plain surrounding the city.
How many millions had died here would never be known for sure. Between the hot sun shining down, and the scavengers feeding on the bloated corpses, it was not a pretty sight to behold. I turned my back on the carnage and descended the steps down into the city as a messenger ran up to me.
"Lord Clark, Consul Salvianus awaits you at the city gates. They are ready to depart."
"Go tell Lord Salvianus that I am on my way."
I continued walking to my horse as the runner did what he did best and ran off. Salvianus was on his way to the peace talks. This battle had not been the last of the war, but it was the most decisive. The Vandals had asked for peace talks to begin. Our side had lost hundreds of thousands of troops; well over 8000 legions had perished here and it was estimated that the enemy had lost ten times that many. Battles still raged across the land, and would continue to do so until a truce was called, and there would be no truce till an agreement had been reached. This was no ordinary war; there was much bad blood between the two alliances. It was only because of the death toll that peace was being discussed now.
I mounted my horse and rode through the streets to the gate. Reconstruction was already under way on many of the buildings and the defensive wall. I was amazed at the speed with which these Romans could go back to normal life, but then again war was the normal way of life here. I rode up beside Salvianus and we started together out the Merchants Gate in the east wall. This was the first gate cleared of the carnage so that commerce could recommence. Life went on and business was the life blood of the city.
"Thank you for coming along with me on the road Clark, with Bered and the other Consuls gone back to their own cities I was looking at a long empty road and was not relishing the thought of it."
What Salvianus didn't know was that I needed to go in the same direction as him in order to reach the rebels. It looked to be a long and dangerous road and I had no intention of trying to go it on my own. Of course Jazlyn knew this when she sent me here, I also think that she thought it might help to have a powerful alliance on my side if the agency caught up with me.
"No problem Salvianus, I am glad of the company myself. I wanted to talk with you about the upcoming peace talks. If the Antaracs and the Vandals are such bitter enemies how can you trust them? It would seem to me that meeting them on their home ground with no more than a Cohort of Legionaries is rather foolhardy to say the least."
Laughing deeply Salvianus shook his head at me. "You really don't know much about us here in the empire. A Roman trooper starts training at the age of eight. After ten years of training they join the army. After five years of service, if they live that long they are considered a veteran and can become a Legionary, if they are deemed good enough. A Cohort of Legionaries is nothing to take lightly. "Extending his arm to encompass all of the troops surrounding us on the road he continued. “Besides these 480 Legionaries are just for protection from brigands and barbarians on the trip, we don't need to worry about the Vandals. It is dishonorable to attack us on the road; we only have to worry while in our cities. And the same is true when we get to the peace talks. No Roman would dare allow harm to come to anyone, friend or foe, who is in their city and under their protection."
He pulled a wine skin from his pack and after taking a healthy drink passed it to me before continuing. "You must remember a man's worth is not decided by himself but by others. We must all look to others for confirmation of our abilities and identity. A man deemed honorable by his peers is a man who is honorable in all things. Great and noble deeds may be done, but if no one knows of them then what is to be gained? We are only as honorable as others believe us to be. So Lord Petruso will be very sure to keep us safe while we are in his city. But till then we have to depend on ourselves to stay alive."
Passing the wine skin back to him I couldn't help but ask. "So what you are telling me is that a great or honorable deed is only great or honorable if someone else knows about it?" Frowning now as I continued along the same line of thought, "So if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, then it didn't really fall. I am not too sure that I agree with your definition of honor Salvianus."
Reining his horse in he turned to look at me with a stern gaze. With a shout from the Centurion the entire Cohort came to an instant stop, each of the Legionaries facing outward to defend against an incoming attack that did not exist. I stopped also and realized that I may have gone too far with that last remark. I may have inadvertently questioned his honor.
"Lord Clark, every action that you take, you take for a reason. The reason may be to help someone, or it may be to benefit yourself; it may be simply because it seemed like the right thing to do at the time, there are hundreds of possible reasons for every action that you take. Generally no one but you will know what the reason may be. At times even you may not know the reason for your actions. The reason for your actions has nothing to do with honor, and because you know the reason for your action it clouds your sense of judgment in regards to your own actions, therefore it is wholly up to others to determine if there was honor or dishonor in your actions."
He looked at the Centurion and nodded and the Centurion yelled out, "Antaracs MARCH." With clanks of armor the Cohort started into motion again resuming its march to Lord Petruso's city.
Breathing a sigh of relief that I was not going to have to defend myself against any of these seasoned warriors I gathered my courage and spoke again. "So because he is worried about his honor Petruso will see to it that we are not harmed while in his city for the peace talks. Does that concern for honor extend to the negotiation table also?"
"More than likely we will not be dealing directly with the Chancellor till after a tentative agreement has been reached. I believe that we will be talking with one of his Vice Chancellors till such time as we get near an agreement. I would assume that we will be dealing with Markus Düppchen, he is a fare person and I foresee no problems."
We continued down the road in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts, little realizing what problems were in store for us once we reached the peace talks.
Clark stopped typing and slid back from the desk computer. In the last year he had been to more realms then he could remember some of them for only as long as it took to open another Gate. But in the last year he had not been back to his home realm even once. Because of the rebels he had not been discovered by the agency till after his abilities had manifest, he had been deleted from the agency's database so there was no record of his home realm. The fact that the rebels had recruited him prevented him from having access to the agency records to see what realm he was on when the agency eventually discovered him after he had traveled by accident. The end result was he had no idea where his home realm was and he had spent many a sleepless night wondering how to return there. But before he could allow himself the luxury of returning to home for good and starting his life up again, he had to contend with the Agency. In the last year it had become apparent that the rebels were right about the Agency, it might not be evil incarnate but it was the closest that he had seen so far. If the agency was not brought to an end it would surely continue to destroy any realms that threatened it, and to continue to manipulate all the rest for the benefit of the monitors.
Somewhere along the line I had decided that the rebels needed me to bring down the agency. After all it is my natural born abilities that make me best for this. But I will never stop looking for home. If it takes me till the end of time I will never stop. Each night when I go to sleep I dream of finding home. I know that someday in the future I will find it. And until I do I will make it my responsibility to patrol the lines. To do my best to keep the agency in check, I'll fight them at every turn. There is a new sheriff in town. I am the cowboy with the white hat. The last good guy fighting off the bad guys; it is my job to make the world safe for everyone. Ha worlds I guess. There are a lot of them out there and a lot of bad guys to protect them from. It's a tall order but one I will take on gladly. Had I known at the beginning what I wo
uld be up against I probably would have run screaming into the night that first time I traveled. Now I go running into the night chasing the bogey man, and all of his cohorts, and they are the ones screaming. But what the hell......
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