Fromm accepted Trevor’s word.
'We depart today.'
– Trevor had hoped that the mode of transport would be one of the fantastic sea vessels harbored in the dock halls. However, taking the stolen Geryon battleship was, of course, a much better choice. It offered plenty of firepower and could hold the fifty soldiers and dozen Behemoths that formed Fromm’s expeditionary force.
Nonetheless, Trevor caught a glimpse of the sailing vessels as they eased forth from their long-neglected dens and slid out to sea.
Standing on the gondola's command deck with Major Forest and his armed escort at his side, Trevor spared a glance down at that the liberated city as the zeppelin gained altitude and turned north.
He saw the Chaktaw ships escape their confinement. As they cleared their moorings, beautiful golden sales unfurled from the vertical masts and turbine-like engines rose from the deck.
First one, then two, then four moving together in a fleet, their bows set on points south, gaining speed at an impressive yet graceful pace as they carried the Chaktaw crusade of liberation to other points around this Earth.
After several seconds, the sails disappeared from Trevor’s view as the dirigible set its sights to the northeast.
To the Arctic Circle; to the Ring of Ice.
To the way home.
32. Infraction
The massive battleship floated above the ocean traveling north by northeast. The rear rotor provided propulsion but more from a stream of magnetic energy funneled through the prop than from the spinning fans. Trevor did not understand exactly how the system pushed the blimp along, but he appreciated the smooth ride nonetheless.
Inside, metallic panels, thick bulkheads, and grated walkways along tight corridors conveyed a heartless but sturdy feel. This helped Trevor enjoy the flight despite having witnessed two of the things blasted from the air since coming to this Earth.
Given the confines of the halls and rooms, the Behemoths were relegated to the larger landing bays which they shared with a squad of dormant Golems. They fed on slabs of Husker meat and slept in piles of straw shoveled onboard prior to departure. After a few hours in the air, a rather pungent aroma escaped the hangers and gave the ship a barn-like scent.
While not experienced, the bridge crew had trained extensively for this mission, using parts from a downed Geryon blimp to assemble that simulator in Fromm's mountain hideaway. As Trevor and his armies had co-opted Centaurian-or 'Redcoat'-transports, Fromm intended to build a fleet of zeppelin battleships through theft and reverse-engineering.
Trevor and Nina shared a cabin. Despite her experience as a pilot, she suffered bouts of air sickness. Or, perhaps, frayed nerves deserved the blame, considering that if all went well she would return to Sirius soon and if all did not go well she would soon be dead.
The first day and the first night of the voyage passed without incident.
Trevor and Major Forest ate at Fromm’s table in the Captain’s quarters. The two leaders shared stories of their wars although Trevor left out a few details of the Battle of Five Armies.
Fromm had not yet faced the Hivvans. Trevor advised him of the matter-makers and how they had solved much of his people’s supply problems.
Conversely, Fromm warned again of the Witiko. Apparently they were humanoid and rather splendid looking, but were masters of deception and intrigue. Fromm's opinion of the Witiko translated roughly into ‘snobbish princes’ and ‘task masters.’
On the second day they traveled through heavy cloud cover. Swift gusts buffeted the air ship and wind-blown rain splashed against the circular view ports in the halls and cabins. While they had a difficult time seeing what lay below, Fromm informed that they had left behind the northern seas and now flew over land, commencing the final leg of their journey.
– Trevor and Nina lay on a bunk in their dark, windowless cabin. In fact, the only light in the room came from a tiny red dot above the exit door.
She lay in his arms but no romance remained between the two; their relationship had grown far more complex since leaving Thebes.
He whispered in her ear, 'What will happen to you when you go home?'
Either she did not hear his question or she ignored it. Instead, she quickly asked, 'I know I can't make up for what I did, and I know you can't forgive me, but I am sorry, Trevor. I'm sorry for everything.'
At first, he did not respond. How could he? She had tricked, kidnapped, and manipulated him. While others- like Director Snowe-played major parts in the scheme, it had been this Nina Forest who had purposely sought and released that dark spot inside.
Then again, it was his dark spot. And it had been his duplicate who had so beaten and corrupted this woman that she thought the only chance at happiness laid in resurrecting her tormentor. Sick and twisted, yes, but his twin bore responsibility for doing the twisting.
'I don't know, Nina,' eventually he replied. 'I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself. I've done some hard things on my world, all in the name of fighting the invaders. The whole time I told myself that I have a mission and it's a good one, even if some bad things need to be done. I've sort of, I don't know, sort of come to terms that I'm the guy who has to do the nasty stuff now and then. But now I find out that I could just as easily be one of those invaders. Not just because your Trevor was one of the bad guys, but because of how easily I filled his shoes.'
'You thought you were defending your planet.'
'I can tell myself that, sure. Maybe I'll sleep better. On my Earth I've got people to keep me in check; friends. Here…here I was set free to act however I wanted and I took full advantage. Since this invasion began, I've learned I'm capable of a lot of big things, and now I've found out I'm capable of a lot of petty, nasty things, too.'
A soft shimmer carried through the cabin, probably a wind gust buffeting the zeppelin.
She answered his initial question, 'I’m thinking I’ll be the first one of us to ever return home. Like, everyone who came through the gate on our side has never gone back to Sirius.'
'Nina, the important thing is that when you get home, you tell them what's happening here.'
'I'll try.'
He stroked one of her short ponytails. As he did, Trevor felt a pang in the pit of his stomach as he realized this adventure neared an end. Most of him wished it never occurred. What he had done…what he had nearly become…the loss of his friend. At the same time, part of him-a small, tiny fragment but a part nonetheless-did not want it to come to a close.
She was not the woman he loved. But she was so close…so close to being her. An illusion but, as Johnny had warned, sometimes the heart is a fair-weathered friend.
…when it has not been fed the diet it desires…it will coax and coerce.
She said, 'I’m going to miss you.'
'I hope you find a better life when you get home, Nina,' he answered. 'But that’s going to be up to you.'
They lay together in the dark, both fearing the future ahead but knowing they had no choice but to face it.
Alone.
– Steeply angled windows faced forward as well as to either side of the battleship's bridge. Most of those windows included control consoles underneath, no doubt nearly identical to the training simulator back at the Chaktaw base.
A high-backed, elevated Captain's chair sat at the center of the room with a bank of monitors and displays overhead. Of course Fromm manned that particular station.
Trevor and Nina spent the last few hours of their journey on the bridge, watching the dance of the northern
