With no translator nearby, Trevor knew he could no longer use words to speak to Fromm. Instead, he gazed at his counter part from another universe and bowed his head. Fromm returned the gesture, no words needed.
He turned to Nina and said, 'It seems I’m always saying goodbye to you.'
There was the slightest hint of water in the corner of her eyes. But she was brave. She was going to have to be brave from now on.
'I’m sorry,' she said it honestly. 'I’m sorry for what I tried to turn you into. I’m glad it didn’t work.'
Trevor pondered, 'It nearly did. But now I know that part of me is in there. Now I can be on guard; control it.'
'Thank you for showing me…giving me…helping…' she struggled but he knew what she tried to say.
'Find that strength inside. The strength I know you have, Nina. Don’t let anyone else tell you who you are. You can’t love someone else until you’ve found a way to love yourself.'
She cast her eyes to the ground and considered for a long moment. The runes beckoned.
'I hope you find her. I hope you get her back. I want you to be happy.'
Happy? Exactly what is that?
Trevor appreciated her wish but shook his head, 'Thank you, but the woman I loved…she doesn’t exist anymore. She’s gone.'
He put his lips to her forehead; she closed her eyes and accepted the tender moment.
Trevor raised his open hand in search of her grasp. She took it and he squeezed tight as their fingers intertwined. They each took a deep breath and walked forward, toward the silent posts leading away from that world where neither of them belonged.
The steps were certain and strong, for each of them left that Earth with much more than they had brought. Deeper understanding, both of the outside and the in.
One long step, then another…their hands held firm…
The man and the woman stepped between the pillars. The atoms of their bodies broke into pieces and then faded from the Chaktaw’s Earth as Trevor Stone and Major Nina Forest continued the journeys of their lives, along separate paths.
33. Where the Heart Is
Nina lay naked and alone on a steel table. It felt cold and sterile.
Darkness surrounded her. She felt no breeze, smelled nothing in the air, heard no sounds. A solitary light hovered above.
A figure walked toward her, taking shape as the patterns of his arms and legs and eyes formed from the fog of darkness. She had the feeling-the impression-he had been standing in that darkness for a long time, watching. Yet she had never taken note of him.
Now she saw the familiar lines of his face. He was the man she loved with all her heart. The balance to the other side of her life’s equation.
Trevor Stone.
He brought a blanket and pulled its fuzzy, soothing fabric over her body comfortably to her chin and pressed gently around the edges to wrap her snugly in the cover. The chill of the table evaporated, replaced with warmth.
Captain Nina Forest felt the burning, salty sting of tears in the corner of her eyes as her heart opened wide. His hand gently caressed her cheek as he offered a reassuring, kind smile. She brought her own hand over his as if to grab on and not let go. She did not want him to recede into the dark again.
'I…I love you,' she told the phantom. 'I miss you.'
'I love you, too. I always will.'
'Where have you been? Why haven’t I seen you before?'
The dream answered, 'I’m always here, even when you don’t see me.'
His hand withdrew. His smile softened to sadness.
'No…no please…don’t go,' she pleaded.
'Someday,' he promised. 'Someday…'
…'Mom, you okay?'
Nina sat up on the couch in her Annapolis apartment. The early evening sun flickered through half-closed blinds. Additional flickers came from the television set in front of Denise who sat on the living room floor.
'You okay?' her thirteen-year-old adopted daughter repeated.
Nina’s head spun as she grabbed hold of her surroundings. Apparently a full day of training while waiting for her next assignment had exhausted her to the point of a nap.
'You were dreaming,' Denise said. 'I think…I think you were crying.'
Nina rubbed under her eyes finding the slightest hint of moisture there.
'I guess I…'
'Must have been a really sad dream,' Denise said although the girl appeared more concerned that mom’s noise had detracted from the TV.
She thought about that and answered, 'No…no I don’t think it was.'
Denise twisted around and said, 'Um, mom, you’re not, like, going through the change or something are you? You know, hot flashes and-'
'Denise! I’m only thirty!'
'Any cute guys in that dream? Huh?' the younger girl goaded.
Nina paused. There had been…there had been someone. She thought…she thought she should remember but could only recall a feeling of warmth.
'I don’t know.'
'Geez, mom, even your dreams are boring. But good thing you're up you DO NOT want to miss this.'
Denise slid aside so her mother could see the images on the television.
'Looks like it’s all going crazy,' Denise said. 'What with Trevor gone and all.'
Nina ignored Denise’s casual toss of the Emperor’s first name and focused on the video. A reporter stood outside the Imperial mansion. Words in the corner of
the screen announced LIVE VIA SATELLITE.
While she knew they had managed to access some communications satellites, someone had gone to a lot of trouble to ensure live coverage of whatever was happening at the lakeside estate.
– Evan Godfrey’s great march had started when hundreds marched out of Washington D.C., then boarded buses as well as cars and horse-drawn carts. Hundreds more joined after a rally in Baltimore, even more after another stop in Wilmington, Delaware.
Between Evan Godfrey and Sharon Parsons, they covered all the talking points, from notes on democracy seemingly taken from Thomas Jefferson's pen to tender vigils in remembrance of New Winnabow. Guest speakers from union organizers to the relatives of dead soldiers excited the crowds with talk of workers' rights, a corrupt justice system, and the need to seek a peaceful solution to the invasion.
Three thousand marchers rode chartered trains that rolled through Philadelphia where, on the steps of Independence Hall, the President of the Senate-Evan Godfrey-gave 'the greatest speech since Armageddon' according to a National Broadcast Network commentator.
That particular speech added one new element to the usual checklist of grievances: Godfrey called for a moment of silence in memory of Trevor Stone. He said that it was for Trevor’s memory that they must march on the mansion and take away power from the military junta who presumed to have the wisdom and leadership of Trevor. That speech turned into an unabashedly glowing tribute to Evan’s ‘good friend’ and attracted hundreds of pro- Emperor sympathizers; people who knew a gaggle of Generals could not replace such a hero.
By that point, the number of Senators and local politicians hopping on the band wagon forced the chartering of luxury coach buses (for those politicians who shared the goal of the mob but preferred not to share accommodations). Of course, Evan's promise of 'live' satellite coverage for the big confrontation at the estate served as additional motivation.
