Trevor said, "We were discussing the fact that the hostiles disappearing in the major cities all seem to be from Voggoth’s realm. Is that the case?"
She ran a hand through her hair, sighed, and changed her posture from slouching to stiff. Still, the bags under her eyes suggested a severe lack of sleep.
"As far as we can tell, yes. Um, well, as I’ve detailed before, our analysis of the genetic structure of the various hostiles collected over the years has shown, that, um…oh yes, has shown that this invasion has come from…come from…come from eight different points of origin. We have…we have come to this conclusion by finding…I mean…tracking I guess or measuring the amount of cell damage done by radiation that we think the organisms were subjected to during their travel here."
She glanced nervously around the table, perked again, and spoke in a stronger voice, "Basically, we found that there’s eight different places these things are coming from. Maybe there’s more, we don’t know, but so far we found eight."
Trevor led, "And seven of them…"
"And seven of the different types of creatures, I guess, coming here share a DNA structure almost identical to our own. You could say we share the basic building blocks of life and are, um complex organisms."
Dante said, "Hey, like that goes for both the organized armies and the animals, right?"
"Yes," Gordon Knox answered while Anita nibbled on a finger nail. "We know that the Chaktaw and the Jaw-Wolves and Rat-Things all come from the same place. We know the Plats and Bloodhorns come from another. It’s like if we were to launch an invasion of another planet and take lions, tigers and sheep along with us for the ride."
Trevor’s heart skipped a beat as Gordon's words hit home. On that parallel Earth mankind played invader to a world belonging to the Chaktaw. Not only had human armies come through, but also pigeons and wolves and Grizzly Bears.
One man’s animal is another man’s monster.
Stanton, Jon Brewer, and Dante started a round of cross talk but Anita’s suddenly firm and loud voice silenced the room.
"Listen! I said there were eight different points of origin but only seven are like us. The others…the eighth… their cells aren’t like ours or the Hivvans’ or the Duass’. They aren’t complex organisms, and they don’t even seem to be alive! That’s Voggoth. Wraiths and Mutants come from Voggoth's place! Goat-Walkers and Deadheads. Totally…" her voice trailed. "…totally… different…"
Dante said, "Well wait a sec'. We always called The Orders stuff bio-mechanical. Johnny said the stuff was grown, as if they were one part machine and part organic. How does something grow that isn't alive?"
Anita snapped, "A balloon grows when you fill it with air. Is a balloon alive?"
Knox, his hands clasped on the table top, pushed to the point, "And those are the things that are disappearing. I guess we’re just going to have to tough it out and see where this goes."
"I like them disappearing, man," Dante Jones explained with the edge in his voice he always used when addressing Gordon Knox. "It’s them reappearing that bothers me."
An awkward silence hung in the air for several seconds. Trevor kept his eyes on Anita Nehru who returned her attention to the coffee and the twizzle stick.
"Jon, let’s get through this other stuff," Trevor desired to tackle the real focus of this meeting: California. He knew, however, that to get there they had to climb over other issues first.
Jon examined one of many papers piled on the table.
"Okay, yeah. Um…Hivvans. There are still Hivvan remnants operating in Cuba, Haiti, and a bunch of other islands down there, all the way to Trinidad."
Knox chimed in, "They have some fuel reserves in those areas, that’s why we’re seeing the occasional Screamer raid into Florida and along the Gulf coast."
"I didn’t think their Screamers had that kind of range," Dante said.
Brewer explained, "They’ve developed a longer-range version. Looks to have external tanks and better fuel economy. We think they may be capable of hitting deep into our territory."
That caught Trevor’s attention.
"Oh. So what are we doing about it?"
Brewer answered, "Intelligence is gathering info. After we’re done with the big stuff," everyone knew what Jon meant, "I’m thinking about sending a couple of dreadnoughts down there to finish the job."
Gordon broke in again as he often did when Jon spoke, "But there’s more than the Hivvans to worry about. They might not even be priority number two."
Jon huffed in a way that suggested I’m getting to that, hold on.
Before he could, Trevor asked, "What else? What’s priority number two?"
Jon answered, "Redcoats. Centurians. Whatever you want to call them, Intelligence indicates they’re active south of the Rio Grande." Trevor had heard those reports but Jon presenting them in a formal council meeting suggested the threat grew. "Break it down for me." Gordon, not Brewer, did just that.
"We’ve been trying to map out this whole thing. It's becoming clear that the invasion was well planned. Interrogation of Hivvan prisoners suggest they were told to take most of what was the eastern United States. We haven’t got much more information than that on them." Lori Brewer wondered, "Why not?" Knox answered, "SiSPA." Lori cocked her head and asked, "Huh? Chutzpah?"
Jon corrected, "SiSPA. Sentient Species Protection Act. One of Evan Godfrey’s pet projects. After he toured Red Rock a few years ago he decided to push a law through the Senate keeping us from dissecting anything with any intelligence."
Stanton felt it important to remind every one that, "The whole thing wasn’t just the Senator’s idea. No, now wait, it would not have gone through if it didn’t have backing." Eyes fell on Trevor who defended, "I thought it was the right thing to do." "Sudden change in attitude, if I remember correctly," Gordon Knox threw out his comment and studied Trevor's reaction. Trevor forced himself to keep a straight face but Lori Brewer, on the other hand, nodded in understanding.
Brewer moved the briefing forward. "The Witiko, we think, started in California probably with the hope of expanding. The war they had with the Californians, then the closing of the gateways stopped that cold."
Omar Nehru raised the question, "I am wondering then about the Red Hands and what they were doing around here. I would think the same could be asked of the outposts of The Order that we were finding in the early years."
Trevor presented his thoughts on those two: "I think the Feranites-the Red Hands-are basically cannon fodder. As for Voggoth, I think he does whatever he wants."
Brewer said, "Well, the Redcoats-Centurians-came in to South America. I mean, primarily. Of course, we found a bunch of them up here back that first year."
Remembering what he had learned on an alternate Earth, Trevor told them, "Sometimes the gateways can misfire, sending groups of invaders off-target. The Redcoats we fought at Wilkes-Barre may have been a case of that. But wait a second, let’s boil this down. Whatever is left of the Hivvans is hanging out in the Caribbean. Can they hurt us?"
"Air raids," Brewer answered. "A few here and there. I think they’re holding on by a thread. With the gateways closed, they’re in no position to cause us serious trouble."
"Gordon," Trevor ordered, "I want you to get people on those islands. Complete information. Jon, have your staff put together plans to hit whatever is left of the Hivvans as soon as we get the time. I also want better intel on Mexico. It sounds to me like you’ve got some guesses and hunches but that’s not good enough." Brewer defended, "Most of our resources have been pointed west." "The dreadnoughts were supposed to give us flexibility. I want to flex." Gordon nodded, "We’ll get it done." "Um, one other thing," Jon, given Trevor’s blooming bad mood, hesitated to speak but could not avoid it. "What?" "Red Hands again. You know, Feranites; whatever." Trevor pinched the bridge of his nose. "Go ahead, give it to me." "A bunch of settlers got taken out in Boulder by Red Hands last Saturday. Must’ve been a mess of them." Dante Jones spat, "Why am I just hearing about this now?" Jon told him, "Because Dustin McBride’s cavalry found them." Trevor remembered, "Didn’t we have problems with Red Hands last fall in Colorado?"