Chương 105: Terms and Conditions

Marcus's group had gathered below. Most of them looked nervous. One guy in the back kept swallowing hard. I understood the feeling. They were about to walk through a portal into another world. Pierre was near his truck talking to Shelly. I could tell from her posture that she was still trying to talk him out of going through the gate, and I could tell from his that it wasn't working. I turned back to Tala.

"He's definitely going."

"He's been excited since yesterday," she said.

"He even promised Shelly he wouldn't leave the soldier's forward camp." Pierre wanted to test whether the champion bond worked across planes, and so did I. The only way to find out was to send him through and see if I could still feel him on the other side. If the bond held across a dimensional barrier, that was genuinely useful information. If it didn't, I'd know not to count on it. Although I wasn't going to say it outloud, I didn't love the idea of Pierre crossing over either.

One reason I'd become a prepper was because I didn't like dealing with uncertainties. I wanted to be prepared for anything. Sometimes this meant that we had to do things we didn't like, such as Pierre going through the gate. However, that was the entirety of the plan. Pierre would stay in the military forward base while Marcus and his followers could do the exploring. Also, Pierre wanted to do this. He'd be able to brag for years about being one of the first people to go through a portal to a new world.

The fact that he could do this and be almost completely safe while doing so gave him the guts to go against Shelly. As for me, Pierre was my champion, not a child, and Shelly was already doing enough worrying for both of us. Actually, I agreed with him. I'd been tempted to go through with him. The military camp had expanded since the last time I saw it. Three days ago, it had looked like a field operation. Now it was starting to look like a permanent checkpoint station.

It reminded me of those "temporary checkpoints" within one hundred miles of the border which had permanent buildings. Yeah, temporary my ass. A soldier stepped in front of us before we reached the perimeter.

"Nobody enters without authorization." I looked at him, and then at the fence around my gate. Then I looked back at him.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding." Obviously, this go was also low on the totem pole. He clearly had no idea who I was. The reason I knew this was because he pointed his gun at me and looked scared. Apparently, he hadn't been briefed on talking animals. I will say this for the young man, though. He recovered quickly.

"No civilians, or animals, are authorized to enter. Orders from command." I was tempted to pick on him, but it looked like he picked on himself enough already, at least according to the pimples he's recently been popping. Marcus's group shifted behind me, obviously unsure what to do.

"Get Sandra," I said. The soldier hesitated, then got on his radio. Sandra came out of one of the larger tents a few minutes later. She looked at our group as she stopped next to the soldier. Through the threads, I could sense Shame. This actually made me rethink what I was about to say. I'd thought she'd decided to double cross me. Apparently, she wasn't happy about the situation, either. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Washington hasn't finalized the access agreement," she said.

"Because of this, I'm not allowed to let you go through yet." I waited to see if she was going to add something. When she didn't, I said, "You built a base and sent your own troops through. So why can't I do the same?"

"You did send a few of your followers through as well," she said.

"You're right. I did. You sent troops through. After that, I was allowed to send my people through. That was the agreement. This is despite the fact that you opened the gate without consulting with me. Now you're blocking my way."

"The decision came from Washington," she said.

"I have to follow orders." I was tempted to say that the Nazi's were following orders too. However, she clearly disagreed with her superiors. I'd give her some slack, at least for now.

"Then get me someone who can," I said. I had no intention of backing down. Once you let a bully push you around, they'd keep on doing it. If I didn't stand up now, they'd keep pushing for more and more. She held my gaze for a moment, then pulled out her phone and stepped away to talk. The call lasted longer than I expected. I could have eavesdropped, but I didn't really care enough to do it. At one point, even without trying, I could hear her arguing for my case. I had to admit, I was impressed.

I hadn't liked Sandra at first, but now she was starting to grow on me. It looked like her words had no effect. I could already tell what she was going to say before she said it.

"No civilian crossings. Those are the final instructions." I took a breath before saying, "That's disappointing. I entered this arrangement because I believed we were partners. If the government can't honor its word, or if someone in Washington changes their mind three days later, that's important information. Because if I can't trust the government to honor agreements, I need to start making different plans." Sandra looked like she needed to pass gas.

"I told them that. Their official order is, 'No civilian crossings.'""Gaia recognizes me as the gate controller," I said.

"You've figured that out by now. You've also figured out that I can close it. Now, I don't want to make it impossible for anyone to go through the gate. I'm sure Washington doesn't want that either." Sandra nodded, but said nothing.

"However, when someone tries to steal something that belongs to me, or lies to me, I get annoyed. I'm a petty, old man who already has trust issues. Does Washington really want to lose my trust completely?"

"I'm sure they don't," Sandra said. I wasn't sure I believed her on this. I bet they didn't care, or only cared because they wanted to keep on taking advantage of me.

"If cooperation isn't going to work, I need to prepare for that possibility. I have followers and allies, as well as responsibilities to both. If the government decides it doesn't want to be my partner in this, I need to know that now so I can plan accordingly." Sandra shrugged, as if she agreed with me but wasn't able to do anything about it.

"Can you try one more time, please convey what I said. If that doesn't change their mind, I'll be so disappointed that I'll have to go home and make a few YouTube videos." I paused her, as if trying to decide what the videos might be about. As for what I'd put in these videos, I had no idea. I couldn't think of a single thing that would change Washington's mind. However, I also didn't doubt for a second that they think of something, though. Sandra actually smiled. Then she nodded and got back on the phone.

A few minutes later, she said, "Command has revised its position. The civilians may cross, on the condition that all participants acknowledge the government assumes no liability for anything that occurs on the other side." Pierre laughed. Marcus looked at me and nodded. He turned to his group and they started moving toward the gate. The soldier who had stopped us at the beginning stepped aside. Sandra fell into step beside me as we walked toward the gate.

"That was well handled," she said quietly.

"I actually had no idea what I'd make the video about," I admitted. I'm glad it worked. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have worked with the government again.

"I know," she said, "and that's why I'm glad it worked." I didn't have a response to that so I let it go. After getting close to the gate, I send a thread of mana into it, causing it to open. Pierre moved forward, clearly intending to be the first civilian to go through the gate. Marcus and the others moved aside and let him since they knew he was my champion. How they knew, I had no idea. I was getting more and more impressed with Marcus. The boy should have been an intelligence officer.

Before walking through, Pierre glanced back at Shelly and waved. Then he stepped through. I felt the bond thin immediately, the same way it had thinned with my animal followers. However, it didn't disappear. In fact, if I concentrated, and used an ungodly amount of mana, I could still sense everything that he did. I didn't do that, though. He wasn't going to be anywhere near the danger, or at least I hoped. Instead, I'd conserve my energy. Marcus went through next, and his group followed one by one.

I just hope each and every one of my new human followers would return.