Dimensional Travels: World at War

The day after the siege ended, Eric and Mia sat together on the couch at their home. Liara sat on Eric’s lap. The house was quiet except for when the baby cooed. Eric stroked his daughters’ ears, looking into her eyes.

"It feels like it was eons ago since I last held you." He said gently, kissing Liara’s forehead.

Mia smiled. "We got through it." She whispered, and Eric shook his head.

"None of that. This week is all about relaxation. We spend time with our daughters; I threaten to kill Liam in various ways, while the old man beats me at poker. Hood Hill and 6-8 can wait for us."

Mia chuckled, resting her head on his shoulder. "You really like that kid, don’t you?"

"I do. At first, I was miffed that he seemed to be getting too close to her because of the whole ’we are both from earth’ mentality, but over time he has shown he truly loves her for her."

Mia nodded. "I am glad you can see it too. They may be kids to us, but at the end of the day they are both adults. We can trust that they know what they’re doing."

Eric sighed, wrapping his arms around Liara and Mia. His phone rang, and he ignored it after seeing it was Milano. "The General can wait." He grumbled.

Liara started crying, and Eric thought the sound was music to his ears.

Later that afternoon, Eric was preparing lunch while Mia fed Liara. He looked up from the pasta to Jessica’s room, sighing. "Teenagers need their beauty sleep, eh?"

"You forget that two years ago she was just a regular girl shopping at the mall with her friends. She hasn’t had ten years of war to get her used to this kind of lifestyle."

"Yeah. You’re right. She’s such a good soldier now that I do get short sighted. Maybe we should take her and Liam to Austin one of these days. I think they earned some alone time."

Mia perked up, laughing. "Oh? The man that threatened his own soldier with a shotgun now talking about dates?"

"The kid has grown on me, dammit." He grumbled, turning back to the pasta.

Eric’s phone rang again, but this time Mia picked it up. "Hello?"

"Mia? Good. This is General Milano. I know that I told your husband that he could take the week off, but could you tell him to check the news when he gets a chance?"

Mia sighed and looked up at Eric. "Yes sir, but may I ask why?"

Milano exhaled, the weariness in his voice apparent as he answered. "The media outlets of our world were able to sneak reporters into the battlefield. There are pictures and videos circulating the internet of what happened during the siege. Now, our country leadership wants to talk to Eric, myself, and General Miher."

Mia paused, looking at the phone in silence. "When do you need him?"

"I set up the meeting for tomorrow at 2000. Tell him to wear dress blues. He’s going to be meeting the president of the United States of America."

After Mia hung up, Eric walked over, setting a plate in front of her. Neither of them woke Jessica up, deciding it was best for the teen if she slept.

"What did the General want?"

"You’re meeting the president of your country tomorrow. He said to remind you to wear your dress blues."

Eric almost dropped his fork. "What?"

Jessica’s door opened, causing Mia and Eric to smile and look up as the teenager emerged from her room. She slumped over the table. "Morning." She grumbled as she rested her head on Mia’s shoulder. "I smell food."

Eric laughed as he grabbed the plate he had held in reserve for Jessica. He slid it over to the young woman, ruffling her hair. "Glad to see you among the living."

"DAD!" She growled as she fixed her hair. "Can you not?"

After lunch, Eric stood in their walk-in closet. He looked at his dress blues, his fingers tracing the racks that held his medals. He looked at the newest addition to the uniform, his Medal of Honor. He thought back to what his father had told him when he was ten years old when his father had received a silver star.

The Texas heat bore down on them while Eric sat down with his mother. He saw his father at the front of his formation, the soldiers dressed in their blues as a General addressed the crowd. Eric looked up at his father, his body swelling with pride knowing that his father was a badass as he stood up front, receiving the award.

At home, Eric sat next to his father, hugging him. "Daddy, why do you seem so sad? You were so cool!"

The man chuckled, ruffling Eric’s hair and kissing Eric on the head. "Son, they don’t give awards away when things go bad. They give awards away when things go crazy bad, and you still make it back home."

At the time, Eric had no clue what the man had meant, but now Eric did. "They give awards away when shit hits the fan, and you survive it, Dad." He whispered, taking one last look at the uniform before closing the closet door behind him and walking back to the living room. Liara was down for a nap, so he and the girls were going to play cards.

Mia groaned as she slammed her cards down. "You guys are vultures!" She hissed, grabbing six cards from the pile. "I can’t believe both of you would gang up on me like that!"

Eric laughed as he looked at the last card in his hand. "Last one! Annnd..." He set his card down. "I’m out. For the third time in the row, I win."

Jessica pouted with Mia. "Seriously, what the fuck. Are you the God of cards or something?"

Eric laughed as he kissed the two women on their heads. "If you ask Kamer, I am the worst card player there is."

Night settled in quickly, with the trio playing cards and spending time sharing stories about stupid things that happened during the siege.

"I swear, Felicity and I had the hardest time with some of those new privates!" Jessica groaned as she held onto her raccoon shaped plushie. "Leroy specifically! He just wanted to keep charging like a maniac! I swear, I kept having to yell at him every time he would shout ’LEEEROY JENKINS!’."

Eric smirked as he patted Jessica’s head. "You sound like an old lady."

"I feel like an old lady! How do you put up with these idiots all day every day?"

"Nicotine, caffeine, and your mom. "

Jessica stared at him while Mia slapped him on the head.

Eric sighed before embracing Jessica. He stroked her hair gently. "If the soldiers are acting stupid, it means they trust and respect you. You did well, leading them during the siege. You saved a lot of people when the missile barrages first started, and I am proud of you."

Jessica began tearing up, clutching his shirt. "I am tired of war, Dad. I don’t want to fight anymore. It feels like we lose too many people every time we go up against the empire. I don’t think I will ever get the images of the platoon from echo as they lay on the ground out of my head."

Mia wrapped her arms around Eric and Jessica, stroking the girl’s head. "I won’t say it is going to be okay, because it isn’t, but just know that every soldier out there knew what they were going into. We are fighting an uphill battle. The only way there can be peace is to fight for it. Be strong just a little longer."

The family embraced in silence, Jessica’s wordless sobbing carrying them into the night.

The next day, Eric and Mia began searching the net for pictures and videos of the battles that took place during the siege. Liam and Jessica took Liara to Kamer so that they could focus on their tasks. Eric had laptop, while Mia was on Eric’s tablet. "I still can’t believe we have signal." Eric muttered as he pulled up a video. "When we first came to this world, I was happy that we would be digital free, but now that shit from our world is crossing over, I guess that isn’t happening."

Mia laughed as he grumbled. She had gotten used to a lot of the technology the earth soldiers showed her, so her fingers flew on the keyboard of the tablet. "As someone who never had this kind of technology, I disagree. It is so much easier to take notes and organize information now. Imagine interrogating someone for twenty hours in the span of three days and having to keep handwritten notes. With a phone, tablet, or computer, I can type it all and file it in one place. Sign me up."

Eric groaned. "Great. My wife became indoctrinated too. Thanks, Earth."

She walked over, kissing his head. "Take a look at this. This reporter was able to get a clear shot of the first missile launches. I’d like to talk to him and see if he was able to get pictures of the empire soldiers. Maybe we can have Ricky and the team run High Value Target retrieval."