A Disturbing Question leads to more disturbing things......

"I guess it's time to ask," Malachi Dronocis asks. "The one question that I've been afraid to ask.....everyone has been afraid to ask."

Every adventurer's head turns to look the Regent's way, they await the one question that had been on each of their minds.

"I've been trying-when I had the time-to find a way to locate the home worlds that you.....ANY of you have come from," Malachi Dronocis sighs, shaking her human form's head. "And I have produce nothing for all my labors. Has ANYONE found anything.....even the slightest clue?"

The grim faces and shakes from the magic users tells the tale, Fred 3 and Astra 3 feel their heart sinking when.....Probe speaks.

"Look," the Golem says, standing and looking directly at Fred 3 and Astra 3. "The Alliance can't do anything for the others, and for that I am truly sorry. However, we can return those from Fred 3's universe to their home, via ship."

"See, since we've visited your home world before......you know this," Inquirer says to the stunned couple. "You should know, since Paladin......Lt. Bristle......prevented Astra 3 from being killed by some gutter punk trash."

The room bursts into a cacophony of questions, and Probe holds his hand up and explains.

"Okay, here's the basics of Alliance trans-dimensional flight," the AI says to a quiet room, even the servants and infants seem to be listening. "Basically, the ship that jumps to a new dimension has no real control with where he lands......in other words, I couldn't get a ship to go to say Dragon Fred's world without having been there before. However, once a ship's been to a new dimension, the 'inter-dimensional coordinates' are stored and given throughout the Alliance Forces......so any other Alliance ship can visit the new dimension."

"And before you ask," Inquirer puts in from the side. "We weren't holding this back. We just figured that.....you folks had a better chance at finding your own ways home. And with all the excitement that has been going on.....we never got a chance to tell you about it until now."

"And that's the full of it," Probe sighs.

"I just wish we could talk to the golems of the Suez Channel," sighs Dr. Vincent, drawing a sharp glance from Probe. "They worked the Transport there for centuries on end.....sending ships and such to different planes of existence. I'm willing to bet that they of all people could tell us how to get everyone home!"

"Thank God that they no longer are transporting now!" Fred 3 mutters. "Else the Phage would be rampant on some new, unsuspecting world!"

"It....probably already is.....with the malfunctioning of the slipgates......." Whispers Astra 3 hoarsely.

Fred 3 turns pale and sits abruptly, sickened by the idea.

"No, it won't," Probe says quietly, throwing caution to the wind. "The golems tell me from past interviews that with the Phage running around, a Bio-filter shield is placed around any and every transportation for.....temporary transits.....or atomizes the transported matter....atomizing any Phage organisms. It's a built in safety feature, they tell me......"

"Crave pardon," Malachi D'Honaire says, piping in before anyone else can ask questions. "Would those filter shields allow....snow in.....and in the process turn it grey and poisonous?"

"What?" Probe blinks, totally at sea here. "No.....the filters won't let ANYTHING in or out. It's like a wall of flame or something. The only way that snow could get into a transported piece of real estate is if......the Phage was already present on that world......"

"And.....that might have explained the flame shield around my Isle......" Carradene 2 murmurs in thought. "My Pack's island had been teleported here....and then must have been teleported away.....leaving me and Sign Vulpine and family behind......"

"And then apparently some type of island that look like it had been bathed in extremely hot fire with all the half melted rocks and burned up vegetation......almost like a dragon had breathed fire on everything or used his magic to engulf the island in a firestorm!"

"That's.....what our Minestus did....." Manbear Synizn says silently. "I watched, through scrying, him torching his island when he learned of Moreau's death. The wyrm had been driven insane by grief and anger......."

"But snow?" Dragon Fred asks. "How could their have been snow in a tropical area? And grey snow at that?!"

"It was grey because it was contaminated by fallout, most likely," Inquirer says, looking thoughtful. "Sir, you don't suppose.......there was another Terra out there......where the same thing with the Lizards bombing it happened....but...."

"They had more luck.....in getting all the cluster bombs to blow up," Probe says, looking angry.

Apparently, on that Terra.....the Phage was still around, but everything else was pretty much suffering from nuclear.....winter.

"We've already met evidence of another Alliance out there....and another Enemy," Inquirer says grimly. "If it come down to it, we'll use Slammers to silence any new Enemy threat.....along with this Enemy. That is, if we get a cure for the Phage......"

"Slammers?" Malachi Dronocis asks, curious despite herself.

"Automated ships that are little more than bombs that slam into a planet at half or more the speed of light." Probe explained. "Right now, defenses around Alliance and Enemy planets are too strong for such tatics as what we presently can use, but once we get enough Tiberium to power enough drone ships......."

"You'll Slam them into oblivion," the Regent says, nodding. "Ah.....what about any human life? Oh, nevermind. I just remember what I found out about what Lizards eat as an appetizer....."

1. Anything human left on those planets would have already been prepared as an appetizer for a Lizard soldier......

Go Back

View Forward Story Tree
View Back Story Tree