Civil War

The room was dark. Slowly my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I thought I saw a shape move in the inky blackness.

“Is there anyone there?” I asked, hearing my voice echo off the walls.

I heard scurrying across the floor, but no voice. Someone else was there. Was it the person the Federated Earth Government had sent me to meet? I wasn’t sure. I cursed myself for trusting the government again. You would think I would know by now. I had been a government liaison for the last three years. I knew that they played by their own rules.

“Are you ....Triana?”

A clear voice reached me. It had a slight accent that I couldn’t quite place.

“Yes.”

“You... may call me.... Smith” the voice said sounding more sure of itself. “I was told you would be able to help me. My home...... is being attacked. Your country has offered to help me. “

“Could I put my light on?” I asked

“I would rather you not, I would prefer that you not see my face.”

In my job I had met refugees, so I understood his hesitation. Especially if his government already had hostile forces in place.

“How can I help?”

Actually, I have something I would like you to keep safe. I felt him approaching me. I felt the warmth of him and what felt like a fur coat. He took my hand in his and placed something cold in my palm.

"Please hold this for me. I will return in two weeks. Do you understand?"

I replied “ I understand.”

“It is very important.”

“ You will contact me in two weeks and I give this back to you, No problem.”

“Thank you for your help Triana.”

I wondered what he had given me? It felt cool, and smooth to the touch about the size of a nickel. Was it metal? I couldn’t tell in this light. I heard scuffling and more than one voice whispering in the darkness. There was a large flash of light that nearly blinded me. I was alone in the dark warehouse.

I wandered out of the warehouse and back towards my scooter. I held the object in my hand. The sun had gone down while I was inside. I looked at what Smith had given me under the street light. It was a gold locket that glowed under the lamp. I stuck it in my pocket and wondered what was so important about a gold locket?

I started walking to my scooter when all of the sudden a meteorite fell from the sky and headed straight for it. I watched in amazement as the small rock hit my red scooter. As the rock struck, the scooter burst into flames and exploded. What were the odds of something like that happening? I don’t believe in coincidences.

I looked around and headed towards a hotel I knew. The Interstellar Hotel was a hotel with a large atrium. I should be able to see if anyone is following me. I walked through the door greeting the door robot. I went to the glass elevator and got off at the second floor so I could watch the door. I watched as two suspicious people came in wearing hoods and large rain coats. Were they following me? Why were they following me? They entered the hotel looking around.

They were definitely following me. I took the locket out of my pocket and hurriedly hid it under the fake flowers in the flower box by room 202. I went to the stairs and ran down one flight, then I walked out the side door.

I heard a voice in the shadows outside the door.

“Triana, That was very impressive.”

“Who are you?”

“You can call me Mr. Thor.”

“Seriously, the god of thunder? are you kidding.”

“I guess I am more the god of explosions.”

He held his hand up and I saw a flame beginning in his palm. then he tightened his fist to extinguish it. The shadows it threw on his face made his face look blue, hairy and large. Then it was too dark to see him.

“You have something I want. Do you have the locket?”

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Didn’t you meet with my brother Smith, this evening?”

“Yes.”

“He gave you something?”

“No, he didn’t give me anything. He just said he would be in touch then he disappeared. He said people were trying to kill him. “

“Not kill him just unseat him from power.”

“He was really twitchy, I didn’t trust him.”

Hmm .... He said looking me over trying to size me up. “You are right not to trust him. He is creating misery for our people. All he cares about is himself. ”

I was pretty sure this guy had blown up my scooter. My anger got the best of me. I didn’t trust him or his brother. He wasn’t getting anything from me until I figured out what was going on.

“If he contacts you please let me know.” The two hooded figures came out of the hotel and stood by his side. “This is where I can reach me. He handed me a small holographic card with a name Jones and the number 999-433-8833

I will let you know I told him. I went back into the hotel and took a room knowing they were watching me. Thor had blown up my scooter, I didn’t want him and his thugs at my house.

A girl with rainbow hair, at the hotel counter, gave me a key to room 204. I went up the elevator again. I pretended to look at the flowers and check for the guards. They were down there. I took the locket from it’s hiding place while waving to my new guardians. They would know exactly where I was, which was fine with me.

Jones had given me an idea, Why did Smith give me a gold locket to protect. These brothers had fur on their faces the weren’t from this planet. I was thinking dimensional travel. was that in the locket Smith gave me. Was the locket a dimensional portal?

The Interstellar hotel was comfy. It is a biomimicry hotel which means it adapts and changes. The elevator is in the center the hotel while the rooms rotated around them depending on the time of day. I set the transparent wall function and the room music to wake me at 9:00 am.

The light came in the translucent wall at exactly nine o’clock, soft music began to play. I looked out the wall. I had fallen asleep with the little locket that Smith had given me safely in my pocket. I pulled out the locket. In the sun light I could see the etchings and design on its front. I realized what the flash of light had been in the empty warehouse. It had been an inter-dimensional string.

Mr. Smith was from a different dimension so was his brother. I opened the locket. In the middle of the locket was a raised area. My room was now on the outside wall so there should be space for trans-dimensional travel. I put my finger over the raised area. There was a flash of light and I fell to the ground my hands clutching tight to the locket.

We have heard of strings that could connect different dimensions. I had never used one before. I felt a little woozy. With this device it was real. I was in a room that was lavishly upholstered with tapestries of furry blue and green creatures in armor. In front of me was a large green furred creature who let out a long guttural growl.

“I am here to see Smith” I stuttered before he could pounce on me.

“Who are you?”

“ I am Trianna, he left the locket travel device in my care and I needed to talk to him.”

“You stay.”

I was fine with staying. I sat there on the floor trying to get my bearings. Smith appeared, he had fur that was a bright and vibrant green color. No wonder he hadn’t wanted me to see him in the light.

“You stupid girl, why are you here? ”You were supposed to give Thor the device. Did he not approach you and ask for it?

“You told me to keep it until you contacted me.”

“I see,” he laughed, “I had heard earthlings were not reliable. That was why I gave it to you.”

“You wanted me to give it to him?”

“I wanted him to think I was scared.” You have surprised me.

“Tell me about your world Smith?” The wall to the room opened and I looked out on the alien landscape for the first time. I caught my breath. It was wonderful and awful at the same time. The buildings were tall with rounded tops They literally blended into the landscape. But on the ground large robotic spheres were crushing small furry people in the streets. It looked like balls bouncing on them except they were not getting up again.

“As you can see I spoke the truth, we are at war. My people are being attacked, by me.“

Meteorites like the ones which hit my scooter were landing on the balls and destroying them. There were just so many balls. The bolts of light couldn’t destroy them all. How did this war start? Who was right? Did it matter? How would their civil war impact our world?

“I am the rightful ruler. Why don’t they love me.”

I was angry, This ruler of his people thought is was okay to destroy them because they didn’t like him? I was supposed to spring the trap for Thor. Because Thor was helping his people.

“I need your help Trianna. give Thor the locket. Send him to me.”

I had never been this close to a war before. It seemed wrong, and the innocent just keep dying. I remembered the furry blue creature in the street being hit by the big green ball and the meteor strikes around the city.

Okay, my government wanted me to do it. Somehow I had screwed it up, but I could fix it, I had Thor’s number.

I took the locket out of my pocket. Smith set it to my hotel co-ordinates by pressing a clasp on the side. I disappeared and re-appeared back in my hotel room. The light was changing outside, the room had rotated a quarter turn.

I opened the door and looked over the balcony. The two guards were waiting patiently downstairs.

I went down to talk to them.

What does Thor want?” I asked them.

“He wants Freedom for our people. The people are being destroyed and His brother does not care. He is bent on crushing the resistance regardless of the cost. The brother with the locket controls the future.

I called Thor.

I hoped I was doing the right thing. I could think of no other way. There was a knock on the door. I opened the door and let Thor and his guards in. I told Thor it was a trap as I held it out to him. I showed him the raised area on the locket and together we turned it. He and the two guards went through the string.

They would enter that dimension, but not that location. I could just imagine Smith saying Stupid Human. I had given Thor a fighting chance. Who knew how things would end? My government might disagree, but it was not my job to decide the fate of their dimension. It was up to them.

I looked out on my city as the lights were coming on. I hoped we never had another war. I had done what my government asked of me. I could live with that.