Dimensional Travels: World at War-Chapter 73: Austin

As Michael and Eric began to issue orders to the soldiers, Eric’s phone began to buzz. He pulled the device out of his pocket and saw that it was General Milano.

"Sir?"

"Dryer, go to the Capitol. Texas legislature is holding a meeting. You will be my liasion."

The line went dead.

"I feel like an errand boy again." Eric growled as he turned to Michael. "You got things out here?"

Michael nodded.

"Good."

Eric got in his truck and headed to the Capitol.

As Eric entered the hall, two state troopers nodded to him. "ID please." Eric chuckled inwardly while pulling out his wallet. How long had it been since he had been ID’d? He handed the State trooper on the right his CAC. The trooper scanned with a handheld device. When the screen lit green, the trooper handed it back before nodding. "Master Sergeant Dryer, if you will follow me. You will have to disarm."

Eric followed the Trooper, leaving his side arm with the troopers manning the metal detectors. He took his IOTV off, leaving it at the front as well.

As he entered the chamber, every head sitting on the podiums turned towards the door. Quiet murmurs and whispers followed him as the various representatives tracked his steps. Eric held back a smirk as he was lead to the seat of honor. He felt like he was a witness in court.

Eric almost stood when the governor walked in. The man was escorted by four state troopers. Two in front, two in back. Some in the room stood, most didn’t. The governor sat, motioning for those that stood to sit.

The room was quiet as the governor pulled out a folder. He sighed as he turned to Eric.

"Master Sergeant Dryer, it is a pleasure to have you here. General Milano informed me you would be beneficial in explaining the situation and help us understand this..."

He paused, thinking.

"New environment."

Eric smiled as he turned to the Governor. "Yes sir. It is a pleasure to be here. As you all may now know, this is not Earth. You are currently in a world called ’Brishan’... ladies and gentlemen, I will be frank:

This world is at war."

The room erupted into a cacophony of shouts and panicked yelling. Voices blended together as legislators rose from their seats. Some showed panic, others were silent as they looked at Eric stoically. Eric sat back in his chair, his arms crossed as the Governor shared a look with him.

"Lies." A crisp voice echoed from the back. He walked down the aisle in a steady, even pace. "We have all seen the clips from Vegas. How the military wrested control from the government already in place there." He looked at Eric, then to the legislators behind him. "This is an attempt by the military to sieze control in the same manner."

Eric sighed as he stood up. He walked next to the man, his own gait steady and measured. He pulled out his phone, and showed the picture to the senator.

"My daughter was just born yesterday, sir. Nothing on either Earth, nor Brishan is more important to me than the safety of my wife, my newborn, or my eldest daughter. Instead of thinking of factions, power, or control...

We need to work together. Military, politicians, legislature...

If we are to survive this new era:

We must cooperate. If I were here to take control, I would have surrounded Austin with soldiers and vehicles. We are not an invading force. We are citizens, just like you. But, we each have our jobs to do. We will not work for you, but we will work with you."

The Governor spoke. "Senator Forsbeth, please take your seat. We will discuss more about legislature later. For now, let us hear what Master Sergeant Dryer has to say."

Forsbeth nodded, taking one last look at the picture. "You have a beautiful family." He remarked before walking back to his seat.

Eric then stood in the middle of the floor. He grabbed a mic and addressed the room. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize in advance as I do not have a map to show you all. If you wish, I can have one arranged to be sent at a later time. Getting back to the matter at hand, this city currently lies on the Northern most borders of a country called ’Riemskin’. It is one of two countries in the world. The Cartharic Empire lies to the North, on the other side of the mountain range you see out those windows."

A hand raised. "Yes ma’am?" Eric responded, pointing to the woman.

"You said there are only two countries?"

Eric nodded. "From the ocean to our south, and the mountains to our North is Riemskin territory.

Everything else in the world is Cartharic Empire territory."

Pens jotted down notes, and murmurs turned to loud voices. Another man raised his hand.

"Yes sir?"

"Why have you not taken more land back? Our technology surpasses that of pitchforks, bows and arrows, so why not blitz the empire?"

Eric froze as he turned to the man who had asked the question. "Sir, with all due respect, we are not dealing with an empire that solely has ’pitchforks, bows, and arrows.’ The enemy has magic propulsion capabilities, and technology that rivals our own. They have been able to cross-examine and replicate to a lesser extent some aspects of our technology. They control territory larger than any country on Earth, and we’re fighting them with a single battalion.

We wouldn’t be able to hold a single province without being out maneuvered."

Pens dropped as the air stilled. Murmurs and whispers ceased as every legislator in the room looked at Eric in shocked silence.

"You can’t be serious?"

Eric nodded back to the man. "Yes sir, unfortunately I am. The world we are in right now is in that dire of straits. That is why I propose you send a delegation to Riemskin. The rest of Texas will eventually take root here. I advise you to be prepared for that eventuality."

While Eric was sitting with Texas Legislature, Milano sat across the table from the Carrier captain. "Captain Midelgard, welcome to Brishan."

The two men shared a polite chuckle.

"General Milano, our strike group has been placed under your operational control. We still maintain contact with fleet command."

Milano nodded. "Same on our end. Latency has dropped to near real time."

He showed the captain a current map of the world and explained the sit-rep.

Midlegard observed the map. "We’ll integrate ISR and provide Air Support. Tell me where you need pressure applied."

Milano took notes. "Air wing range?"

"Four hundred nautical miles."

Milano nodded once. "You own the skies, I own the ground. We don’t overlap."

The captain smiled, and the two men shook. "Understood."

Once the Captain left Battalion HQ, Milano turned to the radio operator. "Any news of other units?"

The Sergeant shook his head. "No sir."

Milano looked towards the mountains. "I see."

Eric got in his truck and drove the city streets. The usual chaos and music blasting at all hours of the day was absent, causing the atmosphere to feel eerie. He passed by the I-35 bridge where MLK and I-35 met, and noticed a man walking around banging on tents. "God is here! God is here!" The man shouted, spittle coming from his mouth.

Eric shook his head. "Some things never change." He took the turn onto I-35 after the light was green, and had to stop his vehicle.

"Fuck."

Cars were parked on the highway, lines of vehicles left abandoned on the roadway.

"Yep. Some things never change." Eric looked behind him, reversed, and headed back down the way he came.

"Time to go off roading."

At home, Eric tried to sneak his way in. Milano had dismissed him, ordering him to go on leave. "I will call you if I need you. Until that call, stay home with family."

Eric drove home after stopping by the medics. During his "off roading" antics, he hit a rut that shook his vehicle hard enought his head slammed forward. It reopened the gash on his face.

It was dark and quiet in the house. He took off his uniform, and turned...

To a very pissed off wife staring at him. Mia glared at him with her arms folded. Blankets and a pillow sat by her on the couch.

"Hear me out?" He said gently.

"Goodnight, my love." She said with a glare, pecking his gash.

He groaned as he felt the kiss. "You did that on purpose."

She smirked. "I did. Here I was, waiting on a call, but then the call I recieved was from my friend telling me you told her you ’didn’t need stiches’. Well, mister. Because of that, you’ll be making your bed on the couch tonight." She chuckled but hugged him. "And you’re watching Liara tonight. Goodnight!"

Eric grumbled as he watched his wife leave. "You just want to watch that new series in peace."

She turned and stuck her tongue out.

The following month passed in a rare peace neither of them trusted.