As remarkable as it was to see the ruling cabal marching together in somber steps, those missing grabbed the most attention. While few of the watchers wondered about the absence of Gordon Knox or Anita Nehru, the lack of Evan Godfrey fueled much gossip. Especially since most knew that Evan himself had pushed for D.C. to host Stonewall's last journey.
Instead of joining the procession, Evan Godfrey hosted a separate memorial service not too far away in the shadow of the Washington monument. There he stood with his head bowed in respect for the fallen hero, but he would not march with those who, Godfrey told the press, shouldered responsibility for a "needless death."
The casket reached the Capitol and was moved into the rotunda by an honor guard. Velvet ropes would soon mark public lines through the cavernous round chamber, but not until the Emperor and his entourage privately bid their farewells.
For the moment the rotunda belonged to a select few, with guards posted beyond closed doors, K9 sentries inside, and Ray Roos standing a respectful distance from the others.
Trevor's footsteps echoed around the imposing chamber as he drifted to the coffin and placed a hand on its stainless steel surface. "He was a good man." Murmurs of agreement. "I figure he died doin' what he felt called to do," Shepherd added.
Trevor noticed that Dante kept his distance from the others. He cocked an eye and approached his old friend who wore a dark blue Internal Security dress uniform.
A week had passed since Stonewall's death in the last major battle of the California invasion. The war ended without any formal surrender because The Cooperative lacked the leaders to issue such decrees.
Trevor spent the last seven days consolidating the territory and dealing with revised force deployments, all with a growing belly ache of anger born from Internal Security's overzealous efforts on the front lines. That anger received extra fuel from the decision to hold the memorial in D.C., a move Trevor saw as yet another step toward the old world; the types of steps Evan Godfrey liked to take.
"What's wrong, Dante? This man was a hero, don’t you think?"
Lori tried to intercede. Her husband stopped her. The others stood silent as Trevor and Dante's words reverberated around the massive dome. Ashley hurried JB from the chamber in anticipation of the coming explosion. Roos held the door for the mother and son but he remained. "Yeah, he was a hero. Look, Trevor, you got something you want to say to me, say it." Trevor stood directly in front of Dante. Their noses nearly touched. "Okay. What the Hell were your I.S. guys doing so far out on the front line?"
Dante took a hesitant step backward, sighed, then answered, "So that's it? I get bitched at for not having the manpower to do my job and now I'm getting bitched at because we came through? Is that what this is about, Trevor? I think you just don't like I.S."
Trevor lunged without thinking, allowing his anger to get the better of his wisdom: "What is that supposed to mean? I don’t' like I. S? I made I. S, Dante. I made you, too, remember that."
Dante spat, "You made me? What the-"
"So I got to wonder how in Christ's name all the Witiko brass ended up in your hands. You're playing a game and I don't like games."
"Listen to yourself. You don’t trust Internal Security, is that it? Because when you were gone three years ago some of my people thought maybe Evan was right about a few things. Is that it? You need to get over yourself. There's a Senate now, and just because I have to do some things they tell me to do doesn't mean I'm playing some game on you."
Trevor's head cocked to the side and took Dante's words as confirmation.
"So it's true. The Senate told you to be operating so far forward. The Senate told you to pick up the Witiko officers. Maybe you don't know the score but-"
Dante burst and knocked Trevor off balance with his words: "I know the score, Trevor. I know the Sentient Species Protection Act. You know, the one you signed into law? Under the law that you signed it says Internal Security is responsible for the protection of those aliens that aren't supposed to be ripped apart and studied. That's the law you signed after you found out you were playing for the wrong team on some other Earth, right? Tell me something, man, why didn't we ever make that little bit of info public, huh?"
The council had agreed to limit the amount of information revealed to the general population about what Trevor found on that other Earth. As far as the citizens were concerned, the battle to save humanity raged across parallel Earths, making their own struggle seem all the more important. The fact that in those other universes mankind came from Sirius and played the role of an invader was kept secret.
Lori Brewer, despite being held at bay by Jon, called, "You know why we didn't tell anyone about that, Dante. Same reason we kept secret what we found at Cheyenne Mountain. The people didn't need to know what happened to the last President and his staff; it would have been too gruesome. Same with what Trevor found. If people heard we were the bad guys somewhere else, then maybe they'd ask more questions about the war here. If we're going to survive, we can't afford that."
Dante glanced at Lori, listened, and then said, "You mean the Emperor can't afford that."
"Oh, now you sound like you've got something to say, Dante. What is it?"
"Okay then, fuck it. Everyone heard you killed the California Governor and his top people when the war was already won."
Brewer defended, "Taking out command and control is a military tactic."
"Bull. Trevor murdered them because they were making nice with aliens. Maybe they had a better idea, a different idea. Everything around here has to be exactly as Trevor says, right?"
"We pledged an oath," Lori recalled their vow to follow Trevor without question.
"Things have changed," Dante stared at Trevor. "People signed on to kill aliens. And even this California thing, I get it. Sure. But there were a lot of people wondering if there was a better way, but the more they wondered the harder you pushed to do things the way you wanted. You won't listen, Trevor. You can be a real stubborn son of a bitch."
"I negotiated with California for a year. I got a job to do, Dante, you hear?"
"I got a job to do, too. This time the job came from the Senate. They told me to make sure the Witiko people didn't get gunned down or something. They want to hold hearings and shit like that. They want to interview the Witiko."
"Don't be an ass," Trevor said. "This is Evan Godfrey trying to score political points."
"There you go again. Everyone is out to get Trevor, is that it? Not everyone who isn't one-hundred percent with you is against you. Think about it, man. We got a shit load of Witiko officers, they know our language, and they've been on this planet for like ten years. Did it ever occur to you to talk to them? To ask them why? To find out what brought them here? I think the Senate is going to do that. Sounds like a smart idea to me. But hey, what do I know? You made me, right? I'm just your dumb friend, the one you threw a scrap to back when all this started. Maybe that was a mistake."
"I needed you, Dante. You got a good head on your shoulders, most of the time. But you're getting caught up in political games. Don't you see? Evan wants everything to be like it used to be, because that's the only way he can ever be the politician he always wanted to be. I stand in his way. So he's always looking to score points against me. When he does that, he weakens the war effort. Don't you see that? Are you that blind?"
"I'm not blind, buddy. I see a friggin' paranoid egomaniac who can't stand the idea that maybe he's wrong once in a while; that maybe someone like Godfrey or the people in the Senate might just have a good idea now and then. Jesus, Trevor, those people were elected for a reason, but you keep treating them like shit."
"That's out of line."