They say it is not over until the fat lady sings, and some have attributed this saying to an opera singer, some to a sports commentator. Another expression is “that it is not over until it’s over”
The meaning is clear, do not assume things are set until the final results are in, and yet there is another saying which might be seen to contradict this, which is “The writing’s on the wall” which comes from the events recorded in the Book of Daniel, in the Bible, when Belshazzar’s doom was pronounced by a large finger writing on a wall during the middle of a sacrilegious feast.
To those at the recently reconstituted Entity Affairs Directorate this phrase seems more apt as they witness the entire Sky-Guard Satellite system that detects anyone travelling between parallel universes, such as The Mystical Realms, being destroyed by unknown entities using artificial wormhole generators. Could this be a prelude to an invasion or worse?
+ + +
MI6 Building
London, England
Drake Matthews was singularly focused as he headed for reception and from there the exit, he needed to get to the Entity Affairs Directorate as soon as possible, even if it did mean walking out on a government minister and the chairman of the Security Services Select committee.
(At least he would understand unlike the government minister)
Drake reached the front desk, “I have a driver coming to pick me up” he told the guard on reception, “Has he showed up”
“A number of official drivers and couriers come by sir” the guard replied, “Where is this one coming from”
“I’m sorry” Drake replied bluntly, “You are not permitted to know that, it’s classified. The driver will just tell you he is here for me”
“Yes of course Sir” the guard replied.
It was obvious to Drake that the guard had not taken offence at this, especially as a number of people here had to deal with highly classified material, so secrecy was second nature.
Just then Julie Osborne MP arrived, closely followed by Sir Andrew Kneller MP
“Mr Matthews” Julies complained, “I find this highly irregular and a bit discourteous. Most people I know of switch their mobiles off when they are in a meeting with me”
“I don’t think you understand the gravity of a Red Alpha alert” Drake snapped back.
“Oh my G_d” Sir Andrew replied as the colour drained from his face.
Like Drake he too knew the implications of that alert status
“What?” Julie replied
“I’m afraid minister” Sir Andrew went on in a low voice, “For them this is almost like the equivalent of the American’s Def-Con One”
“Do we need to call out the army?” Julie asked
“I will know that when I get back to you know where” Drake responded, glancing at the security guard, “All they are permitted to do is declare the alert, the nature of it cannot be declared over an unsecure channel”
“Right” Julie replied, “Do you need us to come with you?” Julie then asked
“With all due respect minister” Sir Andrew interrupted, “We would just get in the way”
“Mr Matthews” the guard called out, “Your driver is just outside”
With that Drake went through the door at great speed and was gone.
“What do you think we should be doing Sir Andrew” Julie then asked
“We go back to our offices and wait and pray” Sir Andrew replied.
+ + +
Docklands Light Railway
London
The hooded figure dragged and elderly looking man onto the platform and then onto a train that had come into the station.
This one was headed for the centre of London and seemed quite crowded.
“Not one word” the hooded figure growled to the elderly man and showed him a small black box with his thumb on one of the buttons.
The elderly figure looked at the box in terror and kept silent, there was no way out of what he was being forced to do. The hooded figure placed the black box in his pocket made it clear to the elderly figure that it was very much still in reach.
The train started and the two figures stood in the carriage, as the seats were taken by other passengers.
The two of them did not utter any further words.
“Where are you travelling to” a male voice behind asked after about a minute into the journey.
“Who needs to know?” the hooded figure replied menacingly
“We are collecting passenger data on this service on behalf of
Transport for London” the male voice replied, “To see what improvements can be made”
Slowly the hooded figure turned, still holding onto the elderly figure and looked at the data collector, “We are going to Bank if you must know” he replied
“Er” the Data collector asked nervously, “Do you expect to take any further trains or buses”
“Yes” the hooded figure replied, “My associate and I are travelling on your Underground system to the place known as Goodge Street”
“You will need to change onto the Northern line at Tottenham Court Road” the data collector ventured.
There was something about this hooded figure that seemed unsettling to the data collector, especially the way he held the arm of the elderly man, but given stories he had heard about rail staff being attacked, he just entered the data and moved on to another passenger.
“The sooner this vermin is expunged the better” the hooded figure quietly growled at the elderly figure.
There was an electronic beeping sound from the pocket of the hooded figure, so with his free hand, he pulled out a simple pay as you go mobile phone and looked at it.
A text message had arrived.
“So” the hooded figure muttered, “The Manjura technicians have back traced those who were using the orbital tracking devices and hope to neutralise that threat within the day. Very considerate of them, if somewhat unnecessary, so we shall see”
The elderly figure shook his head slightly, trying not to show distress at what the hooded figure had said, but it was still noticeable by the hooded figure.
Quickly the hooded figure replaced the mobile phone in his pocket and brought out a black box with a number of buttons on it.
“Not one word or they get it, you scum” the hooded figure whispered into the ear of the elderly figure.
The hooded figure then noticed that an elderly woman who was seated was looking at him with a sense of disgust.
“What are you looking at” the hooded figure challenged the woman
“That’s no way to treat an old man” she retorted.
The hooded figure so wanted to kill this woman where she sat, for speaking to him in that disrespectful way, but that would attract unwelcome attention and the mission was far too important. “He has dementia” the hooded figure growled, “We have to be firm with him, if you must pry”
“Well I must say that standards of nursing were a lot more different in my day” the woman replied.
“Well it’s not your day is it” the hooded figure growled at her, “And you know nothing about this patient and so you have no right or place to pass comment on his care”
+ + +
Driving through
South London Traffic
Drake sat in the front passenger seat talking on his mobile as the driver made his way through traffic to the Entity Affair Directorate in South London.
“I got the alert, have you instituted a strip down alert?” Drake asked into the mobile
The other end of the line answered in the affirmative to let him know that everyone had en mass removed all smocks and coverings, just to prove that they were human and not the feared doppelgangers that once killed a number of people at the old North London IDEC UK facility.
The voice on the end of the phone then wanted to tell Drake the nature of the emergency, but Drake interrupted them.
“Do not tell me over this channel” Drake ordered, “I repeat, do not tell me over this channel, it’s not secure enough”
Drake then hung up.
“Do you know what this is about?” Drake then asked the driver
“No sir, sorry sir” the driver replied, “I was just told to collect you sir”
“Good” Drake retorted, “I’m glad at least someone is up on security protocols”
The car continued on through the traffic as both Drake and the driver maintained a tense silence, after all, who knew who could be observing them with the latest lip reading software?
It seemed to Drake that every light was against them, as it was always the way when trying to get somewhere in an emergency.
At least it got him away from that meddling minister who was more interested that some EAD personnel worked naked than a major satellite had been destroyed by forces unknown, using artificial wormhole technology.
Now if only these pesky traffic lights weren’t always on red
+ + +
The Entity Affairs Directorate
South London, England
Janine and Kevin entered the lift to the surface levels
Immediately the electronic voice in the lift demanded that they identify themselves
“Identify Janine Sedlacek” Janine replied
“Identify Kevin Malcolm” Kevin answered back
“Voice identifications confirmed” the lift voice said in a metallic male voice.
Again Janine felt relieved that the system was not going to kill them with a nerve agent and the lift started to ascend
“I don’t think we should get dressed” Janine told Kevin, “Not much point if we are going back straight back down again”
“But I thought we were going to wait outside for Mr Matthews?” Kevin asked
“We are” Janine replied
“So you want me to wait outside, naked?” Kevin replied with a shocked expression
“Well you can get dressed Kevin if you must” Janine replied, “I’m not, and if the guards see me in the nude, where’s the harm, I don’t begrudge them a look, with the hours and the pay they get, they deserve a treat from time to time”
“Won’t you get cold?” Kevin asked
Janine chose not to answer as the lift doors opened.
“Miss Sedlacek retrieving your locker” came the female electronic voice from somewhere in the ceiling, “Mr Brown retrieving your locker” it continued
“Cancel my locker retrieval at this time” Janine called out, “Authorisation Jay Ess fourteen”
“Miss Sedlacek Locker retrieval cancelled” the female electronic voice called out and then added, “Mr Brown locker retrieval cancelled”
“Oh great” whined Kevin
“Sorry about that Kevin” Janine apologised, “looks like there is a bug that IT needs to have a look at”
“May I have my locker” Kevin called out
“Locker retrieval for Mr Brown cannot be actioned at this time” the female electronic voice replied, “authorisation required from a senior officer for recovery of designated locker”
“Martha” Janine called out, “does both my locker and Mr Brown’s locker have to be retrieved at the same time?”
“Lockers for all personnel entering reception from the lift must be retrieved unless cancellation code is authorised” the female electronic voice replied.
Janine frowned, “Can just one locker be retrieved?” she pressed
“Lockers for all personnel entering reception from the lift must be retrieved unless cancellation code is authorised” the female electronic voice repeated.
Janine shook her head,
she would have to get IT to look at that glitch, especially as it could also happen, should they ever have to escort visitors to and from the EAD
“Well Kevin” it looks like we will both be meeting Mr Mathews in our birthday suits then” Janine teased
Kevin had a look of horror on his face at the thought of going outside
naked. Inside for him was bad enough,
but outside?
Janine gently caressed Kevin’s hairy chest with her right hand, starting at the top and going down to his naval. She noticed the effect this caressing was happening on her male colleague and grinned.
“Well” Janine said with a cheeky grin, “If you worried that the guards will see your, you know what, I know a good place to hide it”
Kevin gulped, it was clear he would go along with having to meet the head of the Entity Affairs Directorate in the altogether, but he was not happy, plus Drake might have a dim view of Janine doing this to him, given how hot he was on the official no touching policy.
A policy if truth be told, that a number of fellow workers often violated on the sly by mutual consent to relieve the sexual tension that sometimes arose from working the way they did either in the nude, or close to it
“Ok” Janine called out, “Retrieve lockers for Miss Sedlacek and Mr Brown authorisation Jay Ess fourteen”
Two small doors opened and the female electronic voice called out, “lockers retrieved”
Kevin eagerly pulled out his clothes and got dressed; Janine pulled out her clothes and reluctantly got dressed. Janine had often fantasised about going outside of reception into the outside world naked to give the security guards an eyeful, and once again, this time due to a programming glitch, it would remain just another fantasy. The other reason for her reluctance over putting her clothes back on at this point was because it seemed so pointless. As soon as Drake arrived she would have to remove them again when they went down to the control centre.
Kevin and Janine went outside into the open air to wait for Drake to arrive.
“He’s not going to be happy that the entire grid is down” Kevin muttered
“That’s an understatement if ever I heard one” Janine replied. After a few seconds added, “Did you know that Drake originally interviewed for head of the old IDEC UK”
“That was run by Mr Blue before the Americans took over?” Kevin asked.
Janine did not reply. Why should she, this had been common knowledge at the EAD especially as there were a few old hands who still felt that Mr Blue got a raw deal and had been let down by the politicians just because a half breed inter-dimensional entity he interrogated personally happened to have a biological father who was some kind of Irish war hero.
What these old hands failed to remember was how Mr Blue had been secretly in league with a major spirit of vice who insisted on claiming to be the ancient Egyptian god Set, but that was by the bye
After about ten minutes or so, they could see Drake’s car approaching the main front gate. The two watched as the car passed the gate and then through the explosives scanner.
Suddenly a loud klaxon sounded
This was not the same as the one they had had to trigger when it had become clear that all the satellites in the Skyguard system had been destroyed by agents from another universe. This was one that was triggered by the detection of unexpected wormholes appearing in the EAD itself, whether magic or not. As a result, it’s sounding was chilling,
was this the invasion that was to follow the destruction of Sky-Guard?
Drake virtually leapt out of his car and unholstered his nine millimetre automatic and approached Janine and Kevin. There were also the sounds of armed guards approaching the compound.
“What the heck is going on?” Drake shouted above the noise of the alarm.
“That alarm has just gone off sir” Janine replied, “I have no idea what has set it off”
“Is this related to the Red Alpha alert you sent me?” Drake enquired
“I don’t know” Janine answered, “We certainly didn’t trigger that one”
“We sent the Red Alpha alert because” Kevin tried to begin before Drake motioned for him to shut up
“Not out here” Drake growled, “people with long lenses can read lips”
Drake then pushed past them and headed for the main front door of the building.
The doors remained closed and locked shut.
Drake found a door entry system and keypad to the right of the door and with one hand covering the other punched in a secret code.
“Access restricted due to inter dimensional intrusion” the same female electronic voice that had sounded in reception said in an expressionless voice.
“Has diversion protocol three seven five been enacted” Drake interrogated the door entry system.
“Protocols three seven five and four two one have enacted” the electronic voice replied, “Command centre still has not been secured”
“Meaning something got out before the wormhole could be deflected” Drake muttered, “Somebody has messed up, because nothing should have got through”
By now a number of armed guards were also waiting outside the main entrance.
“Can you get a feed down there?” Drake asked one of the guards who was holding a small radio
“Still trying sir” the guard replied and went back to trying to raise someone on the other end.
“Not on my watch” Drake muttered angrily, “Not this time”
Janine guessed that her boss must be referring to the tragedy that befell the previous organisation that dealt with inter dimensional entities, The Facility in North London when scores of people were killed when a lorry bomb exploded in its underground car park, triggered by an authorised incoming wormhole.
Suddenly a reply came over the radio, but Janine could not quite catch it.
Drake punched a code into the door entry system and the doors opened. Drake turned around and pointed at Kevin, “Mr Brown stay topside, Miss Sedlacek with me”
Janine accompanied Drake into the reception followed by four armed guards
“Miss Sedlacek you have locker number seven” came the familiar female electronic voice from somewhere in the ceiling, “Mr Matthews you have locker number five” it went on, “Please remove all items of clothing and jewellery and place them in the designated lockers”
“Anti-IDE measures override authorisation code Gamma Tau Zeta” Drake shouted back as he continued to make his way to the lift.
This was unheard of, Drake was a stickler for the measure to protect the EAD from doppelganger attack, and now he was allowing them to go fully clothed into the command centre.
The door to the lift opened. Drake, Janine and two armed guards entered the lift. Once again all four were required to run through the voice identification protocol to avoid being sprayed with the deadly nerve agent the lift had as another countermeasure against intruders.
“Mr Jeffries” Drake ordered one of the guards as the lift confirmed their identities, “Take Miss Sedlaceks clothes back topside. Also I’ve change my mind, get Mr Brown to come down, standard anti intrusion protocols”
So Drake would not be stripping of, but she still had to.
Janine kicked off her shoes and slipped her coat of pretty fast and then pulled of her top and then pushed her skirt off along with her panties at the same time. Finally she managed to pull remove her bra and she was naked again just as the lift doors opened.
If it were up to her, Janine would stop wearing bras to come to the EAD s they were so fiddly, but Drake insisted all females topside were to be dressed decently and the only time she turned up braless she was almost sent home
The guard tasked with collecting her clothes remained in the lift as Drake and Janine left the lift with the other guard.
But where was Katrina with the smocks
“What happened?” Drake asked a shell shocked man in his forties with a blood stained smock
“Trolls with guns” The man said quietly, “I’m sorry sir but they came out of the wormhole before I was able to divert it’s exit manually to the containment zone”.
“How many?” Drake pressed
“Two, three” the man replied, “They came out firing and shot dead four people before security could respond and take them down”
Janine had a horrible sinking feeling, “Katrina Lee” she interrupted.
The man turned to her and nodded, “She was the first one they killed. Her body is in the cafeteria with the others”
This was like a thunderbolt to Janine, why would anyone harm a sweet person as Katrina
“How could this bl**dy happen” Drake said angrily, “This system is supposed to detect intrusions like this and divert them to the containment zone as soon as any wormhole starts to form”
“I don’t know sir” the man whined, “It managed to get through detection somehow, I had to dial right through the neutrino count rates before our system would recognise it”
“Oh my G_d” Janine uttered, “It’s the same people who took out Sky Guard”
“What did you say Miss Sedlacek?” Drake then turned on Janine.
Janine swallowed and began, “We sent you the alert Sir, because someone has taken down every last Sky-guard satellite. Remember how Kevin found an anomaly on Integral when Sky-Guard Four went down? That pointed to an artificial wormhole generator which had a different Neutrino count rate to what we have seen in the past”
“And” Drake pressed.
“Our system here at the EAD only looks for the associated gamma ray and neutrino count from any wormhole that might come from IDW01, IDW02 or here on Earth, but just before we lost the final two Sky-Guard satellites we were able to determine that the wormholes that destroyed Sky-Guard did not come from any of those, it was somewhere new. The security system was not looking for that particular place and so it missed it”
“The new settings” Drake then asked the man in front of him, “get them programmed into the security system NOW!”
“Yes sir” the man replied and turned around to go to his station in the command centre.
“And get a new smock” Drake shouted back.
Drake let out a big sigh and walked across the room across the blood stains and shattered glass to another console where a another man sat,
As Janine was in bare feet, she could not follow drake and so could only watch from a distance, but even so Janine could see blood coming from this man’s upper left arm.
“What’s in the containment zone?” Janine heard Drake ask. The man replied but Janine could not hear the reply. Whatever the reply was she could see the look of horror and then relief on Drake’s face. Janine then could make out that Drake was instructing the man at the console to go to the infirmary to get his arm seen to.
Drake then came across to Janine looking physically shaken by what he had just heard, and coming from someone who had once served in Special Forces, that was saying something.
“Thank G_d that containment zone is in that artificial virtual universe you set up” Drake said quietly to Janine.
“Why?” Janine asked
“Because those b*****rds were delivering a bomb” Drake swore, “It detonated in the containment zone. Our servers were only just able to handle it without going down. If it had gone off in the real world this place would have been totalled far worse than what happened at the Facility and a good deal of the surrounding area would have been levelled”
A security guard stepped up to Drake, “Do you want to see the bodies”
Drake shook his head, “No need, just inform the families that their loved ones were killed by some maniac with a gun or something along..”
“No Sir” the security guard interrupted, “Not our people, I meant the bodies of the trolls we killed”
“How?” Janine asked, “Everyone knows that when an IDE dies here on Earth they turn to ash”
“But these haven’t Miss” the security guard replied, “We have the bodies stored in holding. They were very hard to kill even with armour piercing ammo”
+ + +
The Castle Lodinium
(An unknown world)
The man on horseback arrived at the front gate; he had been travelling many leagues.
“Who goes there” a lone sentry challenged as he approached holding his halberd
The man on horseback was irritated by this lowly guard
“Do you not recognise me you oaf” the man on the horse shouted at the sentry, “Are you completely blind or a dolt?”
“I am new to the employ of Lord Samail of the Petros Lands and know you not” the sentry scoffed back, “Now identify yourself” he added with equal robustness.
Just then the man on the horse heard a number of crossbows being made ready from behind some of the castle windows
“I, you peasants” the man on horseback went on, “am Sir Timous of the Zacharan, a noble acquaintance of Lord Samail and I am on an important mission to update his liege on urgent matters that your puny minds could not even begin to fathom”
“I know you not, Sir Timous of the Zacharan” the sentry insisted, “For as I say, I am new to the employ of my liege”
“Then send a message” the man on horseback replied, “Tell his Lordship that our enemies the trolls are on the move and according to a prisoner we have caught and put to the torture they have found another world of men to plunder”
“Now I know you to be a drunkard and a charlatan” the Sentry challenged, “There are no other worlds of men, just ours and the world of the scum of the races that are not of men”
The man on horseback sighed and tossed at the sentry a small black rectangular object made of an unfamiliar material.
The sentry caught the object with his free hand and looked at it.
The object had at its top strange symbols in white and along the bottom what seemed like three buttons. On its front was something like glass but not glass. On the back was just this strange material that felt like metal, but was not cold to the touch like metal.
The sentry pressed one of the buttons and the glass but not glass lit up with strange symbols and writings.
The sentry looked up at the man on horseback with deeper suspicion, “What kind of sorcery is this?”
“It is no sorcery?” the man on horseback said with deep irritation, “It is device we took from the prisoner, and he had taken it from a young maiden on that other world of men that he had slain. Personally for that admission he deserves to be put to the boiling oil, but he is considered to useful Her Grace Sharlarn of Harnshoem. That device, just like the devices of our troll and elven foes is of the forbidden
artificer’s craft”
“How do we know it is not of drow or elven design?” the Sentry asked
“Are you being deliberately dense or were you born that way” the man on horseback shouted back, “That is nothing like the craft of the elves or the drow. They make for their own or their allies the trolls and the orcs. See how that device fits in your grubby little paw. It is designed by men for other men and for maidens alike. It is used by the people on that other world for speaking long distances and for recording images, and after slaughtering an innocent young maiden while he was spying on that other world, our prisoner stole that device, now let me pass you dolt. Lord Samail of the Petros Lands will not take your refusal to let me update him of these events lightly”
The Sentry growled and waved the man on horse to enter the castle gate.
Slowly the man on horseback rode up to the sentry, and then the man on horseback held out his right hand to the sentry, “The device?”
Grudgingly the sentry handed the device back to the man on horseback, and then watched as he went through the castle gates.
+ + +
The Entity Affairs Directorate
South London, England
Drake hung up the phone in his director’s office as Janine stood naked and at attention in front of his table, occasionally glancing back through the shattered glass at the clean-up in the command centre. For the first time she was wearing some flip-flops that Drake had sitting in his office until the clean-up crew managed to clear away the broken glass from the, windows and monitors as well as the blood.
Kevin by now had joined Janine in Drakes office, and in compliance with the rules of the EAD security protocols he too was completely naked, although this time it was not because he had turned down the offer of a smock, but because with the death of Katrina, nobody was offering them, or nobody had been assigned that task.
It would be yet another thing on Drake’s to-do list, although it would probably not be a high priority
Janine had never really been that conscious before of the vulnerability of being naked at work, as she worked that way most of the time, but now she felt really vulnerable, possibly due to the shock of the death of Katrina Lee, someone she had only a few hours before had complimented on how well her body looked.
It seemed odd, that only Drake was fully clothed, but these were not normal times, especially as the trolls, allegedly Earth’s allies when the Americans ran the old IDEC, had managed to penetrate one of the most secret organisations in Britain, killed four people including Katrina and almost succeeded in destroying the EAD command centre.
“Do we have any kind of back up for Sky-Guard? Drake asked
“Only the astronomy related satellites like Integral and Swift” Kevin replied
“Can we commandeer them?” Drake pressed
“No sir” Janine interrupted, “Some of them are American, others are run by ESA. With the cut in the funding we gave to them I don’t think we can”
“Plus they don’t have the coverage or full capability Sky-Guard had” Kevin chipped in.
“This is a bl***y mess we are in” Drake answered back, “And I don’t just mean out there. We have a new minister who was more interested in what we wear here or more to the point what we don’t”
“I tried sir” Kevin interrupted, “but”
Drake coughed, a sign for Kevin to shut up.
“And we have lost our main defence against IDE’s coming or going at will across the whole of this planet” Drake continued.
“I’ve reconfigured the area of the virtual containment zone” Janine offered, “We never expected it would be required to handle explosions, but it should do now”
“Assuming the deflection protocols kick in” Drake responded
“They should do sir” Kevin interjected, “I ported the data we got from Integral to add to the checks the security systems looks for”
“If the last intrusion was here in London” Janine suggested, “We could try hand held and vehicle mounted patrols”
“But all the buildings here in the capital and the electronic interference” Kevin objected
“It’s better than nothing” Janine retorted
“Well I suppose that is all we have got.” Drake muttered “And I suppose I better change into a smock and get my clothes stored”, Drake added and stood up and began to loosen his tie.
Janine spotted that Kevin was about to speak again, possibly about the fact that nobody was dishing out the smocks or possibly about the problems of interference with the ground based detection equipment. Janine gave Kevin a black look and shook her head. Kevin got the message and refrained from further speaking
The phone went, and Drake swore before tightening his tie again and picking up the phone.
Drake sat down again, obviously more bad news coming over the phone Janine could only conclude.
Drake hung the phone up again.
“It seems” Drake began, “That what has happened here has come to the attention of the minister and she wants to see us at the MOD Main building, with all due haste”
“How?” Kevin asked, “We haven’t said anything”
“But I did” Drake replied, “To Sir Andrew about the intrusion, and he has seen fit to contact the minister”
“Us?” Janine questioned.
“Yes” Drake responded, “In her infinite wisdom she wants to see me and my two best technicians who are on top of the case, which means you two”
Drake got up and headed for the lift. Janine and Kevin following close behind.
Again all three of them identified themselves to the lift security system and the lift ascended to ground level.
Back in reception, only Kevin’s locker was opened.
“Where are mine?” Janine asked, but the computer voice did not respond.
“Obviously the guard has not arranged for them to be stored” Kevin replied as he pulled his clothes out and quickly began to get dressed.
Drake waited at the door not saying anything.
Finally Kevin was dressed, but Janine was still standing there in reception with nothing but her birthday suit.
Outside a car drew up.
Drake opened the door and motioned for Janine and Kevin to come.
“My clothes aren’t here” Janine protested,
“We don’t have time to look” Drake snapped back, “The minister is waiting. Besides, if she is so interested in what we wear or don’t wear at work maybe you can give her a visual demonstration.
Kevin started to undo his jacket in order to take it off to give to Janine, but Drake shouted firmly “No! Keep your jacket on Mr Brown I need to make a point. Get in the car, NOW!”
Kevin hastily did his jacket up while Drake got into the front passenger seat. Kevin and Janine got in the back
“Sorry Janine” Kevin told her over the top of the car.
“Thanks anyway” Janine replied
What was Drake playing at? Making Janine appear in the nude, before a government minister, at the MOD. What kind of point he was trying to make?”
The two both got in the back seat of the car and did their seatbelts up as the car started off for Whitehall.
Suddenly the earlier fantasy about giving the gate guards a thrill became for Janine a nightmare. Janine would just have to use her arms as best as she could to cover her modesty, especially as soon as they hit the London traffic, and hope that the police did not pull them over and have her arrested on indecency charges.
+ + +
Goodge Street London Underground Station
The hooded figure came out of the station, his hand firmly on the arm of the elderly figure. Amongst the crowd of other commuters they blended in perfectly.
“You” the hooded figure growled at the elderly figure “are going to assist us gain access to certain items at a nearby facility”
The elderly figure said nothing, what could he say anyway? This hooded figure held the one device that would wipe out him and his family unless he complied with his plans of genocide.
The hooded figure proceeded to frogmarch the elderly figure through the crowded street.
The elderly figure could not understand why these humans were ignoring his plight, they were all locked up in their own worlds. Nobody in his home community could get away with treating what looked like an elderly person the way he was being treated. The humans here seemed oblivious to him.
After about ten minutes they were outside a building in what the hooded figure said was Kepple Street
“In here is what we need to take the war back to the human scum” the hooded figure growled, “now in”
The elderly figure expected there to be armed guards, given that they were coming here to steal what Padow the Lord High Troll had said would be a super weapon, but there were none.
Inside the front door was a tiled floor with an octagonal design.
The hooded figure moved the elderly figure over to a set of portraits on the wall and pointed to one of them. “Him” the hooded figure ordered the elderly figure
“Now?” the elderly figure asked.
The hooded figure shook his head in exasperation and pulled the elderly figure into a quiet corridor where nobody was around. “Now” he intoned at the elderly figure.
Quickly the elderly figure started to change shape and morphed into the appearance of the man in the portrait that the hooded had shown him.
“Unfortunately we do not have his voice” the hooded figure then told this now figure from the portrait, “So I will do the talking”
The two of them left the corridor and the hooded figure led the other figure to an information desk.
Instantly the lady on reception recognised the figure who had changed into the appearance of the man in the portrait on the wall, as the person in the portrait and asked how she could be of assistance.
“I’m afraid the professor has lost his voice at the moment” the hooded figure interrupted, “We are working on this” he continued as he handed her a printout.
“We need a viable sample” the hooded figure went on, “We are working on a new treatment and need something to test it on”
The lady looked confused, “I thought you knew” she went on, “all our dangerous pathogens like this were removed to Porton Down last month after the security review you commissioned”
The hooded figure glowered briefly at the lady on the reception desk.
“If you need a sample” the lady went on, “my understanding is that you apply to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory there and they determine if you can work on the pathogen.”
“Oh yes” the hooded figure replied, “I forgot about that. We will see to the appropriate paperwork”
Just then there was another beeping sound on the hooded figure’s mobile phone and so he pulled his prisoner away from the reception desk and towards the exit.
The hooded figure looked at the phone to read the text, “So the trolls have failed, no matter” the hooded figure remarked with disdain. He then thumbed a few buttons to call the number that had sent him the text with his free hand.
The phone was picked up
“Callum” the voice on the phone said with anger in its voice, “Why are you calling”
“Why did you give me bad intelligence and make me look like a fool” the hooded figure countered, “What we seek is not here in London anymore, it is at some other place called Porton Down. We need you to pick us up and get us there if you want this mission to succeed. I am heading to the pickup place now. You had better not mess up like your troll expedition party seems to have done or you will answer to Padow the Lord High Troll himself”
The hooded figure then hung up, and force marched his prisoner out of the building.
+ + +
The Ministry of Defence Building
Whitehall, London
England
Julie Osborne MP, the parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Ministry of Defence sat in her office chair as Drake, entered the room and Julie motioned for him to sit in the solitary chair in front of the desk
“Where is Sir Andrew?” Drake demanded.
“He’s busy Mr Matthews” Julie replied curtly, “He notified me of what has happened and that was why I had you summoned”
Just then Kevin and then Janine followed drake into the room and stood at attention behind Drake.
Janine instinctively wanted to cover her modesty with her hands as best as she could, but resisted, just in case it annoyed Drake. Although Janine was quite comfortable working naked at the EAD, since it helped enforce the strict security against shape-shifting doppelgangers, this was different. At the EAD, there were others who like her chose to not wear the paper smocks and work naked, here at the MOD building, she was the only one. The looks from MOD staff she got as she came from the underground car park made her feel surprisingly small and vulnerable, unlike at the EAD.
Janine was glad that they had prior security clearance so they did not have to fill out for a visitors pass at the front entrance like everyone else. She did not feel like explaining the EAD security policy concerning creatures whose existence was a highly classified secret. Even the permanent secretary to this government minister had briefly had a go at her, all she could mumble was that she did not have the time to track down where her clothes had gone to.
Julie looked at Janine, aghast, “Why have you come here naked?” she demanded to know, “This is not the EAD”
“It wasn’t her idea Minister, but as you felt the need to drag us here so quickly” Drake interrupted before Janine could speak, “instead of letting us deal with the fact, that we have lost four of our people, we didn’t have time to collect her clothes from security where there are most likely being kept, instead of the lockers in our front reception. It was my call because we were so pressed for time that she should come here like this, as we had to come with all due haste”
“That’s plain ridiculous, of course you had ample time to collect her clothes from your security so she could get dressed, instead of making her appear before me naked” Julie snapped back, “This is highly unprofessional”
“That was not the impression your civil servants gave me on the phone” Drake responded, “If I recall they informed me that you needed to see use with all due haste and this was a non-negotiable high priority, because we had to give an account as to why our top secret base was attacked when we have had no opportunity to conduct a formal investigation. As for our professionalism Minister, because Miss Sedlacek has an allergic reaction to the paper smocks we use as I mentioned earlier, she regularly works like this, as does Mr Brown here to a very high degree of performance at the Directorate. Her lack of clothes here will not undermine her professionalism in answering whatever questions you thought could not wait”
“This is a cheap political stunt and you know it Mr Matthews” Julie countered back, “You allowed Mr Brown here, coincidentally a man, to get dressed before coming to see me, but not Miss Sedlacek.”
“But my locker with my clothes was already waiting for me in EAD reception” Kevin blurted out,
obviously trying to be helpful it seemed to Janine
“So why did you not offer your colleague your jacket” Julie turned on Kevin, “That’s the least you could have done!”
“He did” Drake interrupted before Kevin had a chance to answer, “But I vetoed it, because there wasn’t time Minister,
as you needed to see use with all due haste” Drake emphasised before continuing, “and it would not fit Miss Sedlacek anyway”
Janine glanced at Kevin and his jacket that Kevin was now nervously fiddling with. Drake probably had a point about whether it would fit or not, but it had been the thought on Kevin’s part that counted.
It was becoming clear that Drake had not been happy about being summoned so soon after the attack without being able speak to those who were injured or in shock like any leader would have done.
These civil servants he was referring to were obviously trying to capitalise on the tragedy to further their own agenda. She remembered that in some quarters of Whitehall they had queried the setting up of the EAD on the grounds that the route to IDW01 had been severed and that any entities left on Earth were most likely harmless, something Drake hotly disputed. Her being made to appear before the minister stark naked must be his response to those voices in Whitehall who sort to have him called to account so soon, even before he could find out how the EAD could have been penetrated. While it was probably not planned, her inability to get her clothes back as quickly as Kevin did, it showed just how astute and a fast thinker Drake could be. It also showed his ruthless streak to do whatever it took to get the job done, even at the expense of those under him.
“Anyway” Drake continued forcefully, “Miss Sedlacek is quite happy working naked at the directorate, and as you require to have us here instead of back at the directorate, I’m sure she will be only too happy to work here like this, and as a bonus Minister, you will be assured that she is definitely human and not an HIDE47” Drake went on sarcastically. “If you wish minister I can order Mr Brown here to strip off, to give you that assurance too. I do apologise that I did not veto him getting dressed in our reception area, so wasting your more of your valuable time. Next time you summon us Minister, or have your civil servant summon us with all due haste, I will ban anyone getting dressed and we will all come here naked”
“There’s no call for that!” Julie said angrily, “And you know it!”, and then there was an uneasy silence in the room and the atmosphere was so thick, it could be passed off a pea soup.
Drake and the minister seemed to be in staring contest, waiting for the other side to blink first.
It was not Drake who blinked.
Julie pressed a button on her intercom, “Meadows, do the contractors we have in doing the redecoration of the main conference rooms have any spare overalls”
“Is that for the naked female member of the EAD?” came back the reply
“Yes” Julie replied with exasperation
“I took the liberty of calling them Minister as soon as I saw her” the voice over the intercom replied, “They are bringing over a pair as we speak”
“Thank you Meadows” Julie replied, “I’m glad at least someone here is on the ball” she added before hanging up
“And we’re not” Drake retorted
“Well the EAD was penetrated and you’re so called high tech security system failed.” Julie began, “Tell me Mr Matthews, did we shell out two point seven million of tax payers’ money for a system that doesn’t work? That’s what we need to know, especially as the public accounts committee is questioning the part of the defence budget that covers your organisation”
“I thought the Home office took a lion’s share of the cost of the Directorate” Drake retorted
“I thought” Julie continued, “And my colleague in the Home Office has realised, that we need to bring the Entity Affairs Directorate under one government department, to minimise administration costs and overheads. As members of the clean-up squads and special EAD task forces are recruited from Special Forces, including yourself, I felt that the obvious government department was the Ministry of Defence.”
“Just like you were in the treasury and the whips office” Drake said slowly and deliberately, “You just have to have your way, don’t you”.
“I could easily have you removed as head of the EAD for insubordination Mr Matthews” Julie countered, “Your stunt today with your subordinate here would be adequate reason enough for that”
“That’s your prerogative Minister” Drake argued back, “Since you want a yes man at you or your civil servants beck and call, I’m not sure I want to continue at the Directorate. Four people died today and all you care about is what your bean counting chums on the public accounts committee say and the opinion of a particular tabloid newspaper.”
The stony silence was interrupted by the intercom.
Julie answered it with irritation. It was Meadows informing Julie that the overall had arrived. Julie ordered him to send the contractor away come in and pass it to Janine.
About a half a minute later the door opened and the permanent secretary entered the room carrying a clean white overall used by decorators to keep their clothes clean. He offered it to Janine.
Janine nervously looked at Drake and uttered the word “Sir?”
“Miss Sedlacek as Mr Matthews superior, I’m ordering you to put it on” Julie said forcefully, more to overrule what Drake might say, rather than to reprimand Janine.
“Do it” Drake ordered in a reluctant tone of voice..
Quickly Janine got into the overalls and did them up and she felt glad to be wearing something at last. The overall did scratch a bit initially, but it was not as bad as the paper smocks felt when she first tried them on.
“Doesn’t that feel better?” Julie directly asked Janine.
Now it seemed that the minister was trying to make the point that Janine was not really happy appearing before her naked, which happened to be true
“Yes Mam” Julie nodded out and then asked “Will you need me to take this off when we leave?” Janine asked
“No!” Julie replied, “You can wear it when you go back to the EAD, we will just reimburse the contractors out of the EAD budget”
“No need I will have it washed and returned when we get back” Drake interjected
“But I insist you keep it for the next time you feel your staff do not have time to get dressed when we need to see them” Julie answered back.
Drake pulled out his wallet and pulled out about three twenty pound notes, “Take it out of that!” he said angrily as he slammed the money down on Julie’s desk
“If I may remind you, yet again” Drake went on, “It was your staff who told us to come with all due haste, before we could deal with staff who were injured, who are in shock at seeing people they worked with killed in front of their eyes. Before we could even investigate if the contractors who installed our system under your PFI screwed up. You just wanted me here, just so you could rant on further about value for money. Give them that, it will save you money on paper work, if that’s all you bl**dy care about”
Janine put her hand up.
“Yes Miss Sedlacek?” Julie asked
“If I may minister” Julie went on, “I believe I know why our security system let in the troll death squad, if that’s what it was”
“And why was that” Julie asked with a tint of sarcasm in her voice.
“Because our system was looking for wormholes from only three places, The Mystical Realms, or IDW01, Aurelia or IDW02 and any diverted wormholes from here on Earth, or at least this universe. The wormhole that carried the trolls who attacked us came from somewhere else Minister”
“Any idea where?” Julie asked
“We are not sure of the name Mam” Janine replied, “All we know is that it came from the same place as the devices that took out the Sky-Guard satellites, and they were done by artificial means. Mam these trolls had guns, the trolls on IDW01 were not armed that way. They used swords, axes or cross bows. We are dealing with technological trolls, from somewhere completely different”
Julie sighed, “Are you sure it is not IDW01, I mean according to the briefing I have here, both The Mystical Realms and Aurelia had a different flow rate of time”
“But they got lock stepped to our flow rate of time” Janine answered, “And there is no theoretical reason to believe that since the separation that would have changed”
“So” Julie said addressing all three of them, “If Miss Sedlacek is right, we could be facing a brand new threat”
“Nothing we can’t handle Minister” Drake replied
“But I disagree” Julie retorted, “If we are facing a threat which has taken out a satellite system that we inherited from the Americans, then perhaps, as a matter of courtesy it might be an idea to consult with them and possibly gain their assistance and know how, after all they do have experience of dealing with trolls”
“I hardly think they are more suitably qualified than our lot” Drake objected, “Under the Yanks, the IDEC headquarters in Brent was totalled. Thanks to one of our brave technicians, under fire after four of his colleagues were slaughtered, the enemy wormhole was switched to an artificial universe, set up by Miss Sedlacek here where their device did no damage. Under the Yanks, we lost what was once called The Facility, under my people, we still have the directorate still standing”
“Which by your own admission” Julie responded, “Was a close run thing”
“We do not need the Americans this time” Drake insisted, “We can handle it ourselves”
“Like I said Mr Matthews, I disagree” Julie went on, “I want you to go back to your directorate, conduct whatever investigation you think appropriate, meanwhile, we will be inviting someone from America who has expertise in these matters, because as they say, two heads are better than one, and may choose to review your findings”
Drake glowered at the minister.
“You are dismissed, you can go back to your precious directorate and find Miss Sedlacek’s clothes” Julie then told the three of them.
Drake shook his head as he stood up. Janine and Kevin both could tell that he was furious, and for good reason. Under the Americans, the Facility had been bombed and Earth had fallen, what made them more qualified in dealings with what was in all probability a new threat from yet another parallel universe.
“Oh and by the way” Julie called out, “Miss Sedlacek, does that overall cause you the same irritation as the paper smocks at the EAD?”
Janine thought for a moment, before replying, “No mam, the smocks made me itch and gave me a bit of a rash, this is quite comfy in comparison”
“Good! Why don’t you wear it when you get back to the EAD” Julie smirked, “After all since we have seen you in the altogether, we are definitely sure that you are human. Maybe overalls like these could replace those paper smocks, I’m sure we could squeeze a bit more out of the next public spending round”
+ + +
The Castle Lodinium
(An unknown world)
Lord Samail of the Petros Lands, a man in his fifties with grey hair sat at his writing desk signing death warrants for those who had displeased him.
Beside him attended two young women who, in accordance with the law, were completely naked, as they were single and unmarried. They were there to wait on his every need, even it is were to be of a sexual nature, and chosen from the daughters of some of the nobility as their feudal dues.
“My liege” called Sir Timous of the Zacharan from the door
“Oh yes, Sir Timous” Samail said as he looked up, “How was the wench I gave for your pleasure after your long ride?”
“I had her placed on that wonderful invention you had made” Timous said with a wicked glint in his voice.
“Is that’s the table where the wench is spread-eagled with her arms and legs restrained while you have your way with her?” Samail asked
“Yes my liege” Timous replied, “I especially liked that nice touch of the garrotte you added as well, to spice things up”
“I believe it heightens the sexual pleasure you can cut off their breathing and partly strangle them” Samail laughed, “Did you let her live after you had your way?”
Timous frowned, “Should I have done?”
Samail shook his head, “That was entirely up to you Sir Timous, in fact, she was of no consequence as she was the youngest daughter of a noble who is slow in paying his dues” Samail replied, “It will teach him and the others to pay up on time. How was her death?”
“It was delicious” Timous answered, “After I had climaxed with her, while she screamed behind the anti-spitting gag, it was a joy to see the terror in her eyes as she knew she was about to die and then to see light of her life go from her eyes as I the very life throttled out of her”
At this Sir Timous notice one of the naked attendants gulping in horror, but he decided to let it slide. What Sir Timous really liked about Lord Samail of the Petros Lands knew how to put women in their place.
“Anyway to business” Samail of the Petros Lands went on, “I have reviewed your intelligence on our troll enemies and examined the device you obtained”
“And?” Timous asked
“I think you may have a point Sir Timous” Samail answered back
“How do we counter this?” Timous asked further
“Well if the trolls are going to this other world of humans who use forbidden technologies, or sending their elven agents” Samail went on, “They must be after something more than mere reasure. Like you I believe they are after something particular”
“Like a weapon?” Timous suggested
“Or something else” Samail replied, “Either way, this is something we do not want them to have”
“Certainly not my liege” Timous responded, “That was why I made all due haste to bring this to your attention”
“I am glad you did Sir Timous” Samail answered, “So I propose you travel to this other world of humans, find what they after and destroy it”
“And what of the humans on that world?” Timous asked, “If this is a weapon, those who have a hand in its creation, by their existence could still pose a threat to us”
“Then you have liberty to destroy them as well Sir Timous” Samail smiled, “After all those humans there have contaminated themselves with forbidden technology. If the surfs here found out that you could run a world with technology instead of magics…”
“That is a terrifying thought my liege” Timous interrupted, “Our way of life would be seriously undermined by such knowledge. You can count on me. If I have to eradicate every last human on that world to preserve our order of things”
“Then you will have my backing Sir Timous” Samail replied, “and my blessing”.
To Be Continued