The other Nina-the one who claimed to come from a 'parallel' Earth-showed the most emotion when Captain Forest of the Dark Wolves assured that she barely knew Trevor Stone and they had never engaged in any sort of relationship.
Yes, that had elicited a response, Nina remembered.
Nina with twin ponytails had refused to accept the truth, then deteriorated into panic then, later, relief when Stone actually showed.
She chewed on that thought as she walked across the encampment on yet another relentlessly cold January day in Ohio.
Nina paused as an ambulance drove by transporting wounded from the front lines to the camp's infirmary. Apparently the battle to push west raged and it bothered her that General Hoth would not allow the Wolves to participate.
Nina arrived at the mess tent, opened the door, and went inside.
One good thing about all this, Nina realized; those weird dreams have stopped.
Before she could contemplate any connection between the dreams and the ordeal, a new set of thoughts and emotions overwhelmed the Captain. In a corner sat a lonely thirteen year old girl dressed in a heavy coat and drinking a mug of hot chocolate.
Nina stopped in her tracks and eyed her daughter. Her family.
Denise then caught sight of her mother and a smile grabbed control of her face. A big, genuine smile that nearly warmed the countryside. Then the thirteen-year-old attitude managed to stifle the grin and she nonchalantly returned her attention to the mug of hot drink as if ho-hum just another day.
Nina strolled over and sat at the table, saying, 'I heard you were in camp. Sorry, they wouldn't let me out of isolation until now. Standard procedure.'
'Yeah, well, you know, it’s no big deal.'
'Skipping school again?'
Denise did not answer.
'I’ll let you get away with it this time,' mom smiled as she placed an arm on the girl’s shoulder. 'Because I’m glad to see you.'
'Geez, don’t get all mushy.'
Denise tried to sound convincing but she could not even convince her own hands to stop shaking; the mug of hot chocolate shimmied in her grip.
Nina agreed, 'Yeah, you’re right.'
Neither of them could maintain the charade any longer. Denise’s lips trembled, her drink splashed in shaking hands. Nina reached in and moved the cup to the table top.
'I’m okay. I’m back.'
Denise let it rip. She turned and cried and buried her head into Nina’s chest.
'Don’t you ever do that to me! Don’t you ever do that!'
'It’s okay…it’s okay, honey…I’m back.'
Sobs followed; sobs and hugs. Nina squeezed her tight.
She wished she could promise her daughter that this would never happen again. She wished she could promise that she would never be a casualty in this war. She wished she could curl up in Annapolis with Denise and just be a mother, not a soldier-mom.
But she could not. She would fight again soon. As long as this war raged, Nina Forest would risk her life. She could not walk away no matter how strong her maternal instincts called.
For now, she held Denise as tight as she could. The two rocked softly back and forth on the bench seat.
'I was so afraid when I heard,' Denise said with her head still buried in mom’s arms. 'The first thing…the first thing I did was find a way out here. I jumped a train, and then I got a ride with a convoy. I was afraid I’d be too late.'
'You’re pretty brave, to come all the way out here.'
'I got here and they didn’t know what happened to you. They didn’t know.'
'It's okay, sweat heart,' Nina stroked Denise's hair. 'You can calm down now.'
Denise pulled her face out of those loving arms, wiped away a tear, and in a tone that quickly reversed from sad to excited said, 'I met Trevor-I mean, I met the Emperor! He was sitting right here! I didn’t know it, I made such an ass-I mean, such an idiot — of myself. You should have-'
'Wait a sec,' Nina interrupted. 'You saw Trevor Stone here?'
'Yeah, that’s how I knew you were going to make it back.'
'How? How did you know that?'
Denise told her, 'Because he promised me you were coming back. The Emperor told me he was going to get you himself.'
Nina did not know what to say but the obvious question came to mind: Why would the Emperor come all the way out here just for me?
'He promised you’d come home. He promised and he was right.'
– 'What’s the status of the 13 ^ th Brigade?'
Hoth’s aid-a gritty but dignified gray-haired woman-answered, 'Captain Blue’s infantry have secured the intersection at Jamestown. The bulk of his force is proceeding toward Xenia on schedule.'
'Signal Captain Downs to proceed with phase two. Remind him that he’s to have his Brigade across Caesar’s Creek in three hours or the schedule will be thrown off.'
'I understand,' the woman responded.
The aid walked off but Hoth-much to his chagrin-did not stand alone at the map-covered billiards table in the parlor. General Jerry Shepherd hovered at his side.
'Will, I’ve been looking over your rosters and I see you’ve got a couple of extra squads in reserve. I’m thinking I can grab a Blackhawk off Captain Dunston over at Second Tactical Wing and get this search going again.'
'No.'
Shep cocked his head. 'Pardon me, General? I’m not sure I heard correctly.'
Hoth came through loud and clear this time. 'My orders are to quickly pacify the Ohio area. I can no longer spare troops and supplies to continue the search.'
'Your orders come ultimately from Trevor Stone. He’s missing out there, somewhere.'
'I’ve read the reports, General Shepherd, from both aerial reconnaissance and ground teams. I also have heard the eye witness reports of yourself and the Dark Wolves. You clearly state that the structure Trevor Stone entered disappeared without a trace.'
'I reckon you’d better get to the point of this.'
Hoth did. 'The point is that Trevor Stone is not out there to be found. He has been killed or transported to another location. The best way to find out what happened is to insert science teams to evaluate the area. That can not happen until we secure that sector. That’s something I’m working on and because I’m now rushed into this action I need all my assets. With all due respect, this is exactly why I opposed the participation of senior staff in the search effort.'
Shepherd nearly said something he might regret but managed to bite his tongue. Hoth, however, had more to say.
'General Shepherd, I believe you have been recalled to the estate to discuss this matter.'
Shep had, indeed, received orders from Jon Brewer to return to the lakeside mansion to update the key players on the situation. The problem was that Shepherd was not sure of the situation, other than the obvious: they were leaderless. Fortunately, few people knew that yet.
'General Shepherd, leave this operation to my people. We’ve been preparing to push west for some time. Once we take control of the areas around Dayton we’ll be in a better position to analyze what happened. Until then, you’re just getting in my way.'
Shep’s eyes widened. 'Oh, now, we wouldn’t want to have that, now would we?'
Hoth did not respond. Shepherd knew Hoth did not need to respond because Shep figured that everyone in that room knew Hoth was right. Including Jerry.
Shep rubbed his tired eyes. 'I suppose I’ll catch a flight back, then.'
'All three of my Eagle shuttles are committed. You’ll need to take the train.'
