Amelia, Worm AU [Complete]

Amelia, Ch 373


Ambassadors from seventeen different countries were shunted over to Avalon. Of those, six got sick after the trip. We waited politely while they, and most of the others, recovered from the experience. Meanwhile, some of our employees got to work handing out the mouthwash and cleaning up the messes that didn't happen on the Yggdrasil.


I stepped forward. "My apologies. The shunt drives aren't as bad as they used to be, but there's still a lot to be desired." That's why we told you not to eat anything for twenty four hours before the trip.


The Swiss ambassador was one of the ones that handled it best. He'd also experienced the trip a few times before and was an astronaut back in the 70s, so there wasn't much surprise. Generally a nice guy, in health that most people half his age would envy, and used to getting his way. His smile may have reminded me a little of Lisa's as he looked at some of his fellows. <Such are the perils of new technology. Speaking of, I hope you don't mind me asking, but news about the attack on Japan's portal earlier today is already circulating. They were saying a number of the attackers managed to get through the portal.>


That didn't take long. Taylor looked at the others, most of them had recovered enough to listen in. "Confidentially, Ambassador Blosch. Yes, at least thirty individuals got through. However, our people hadn't finished aligning the portals when the attack happened. They could be anywhere, or even functionally nowhere. It's certain that they're not on Bet or Nippon." Technically true. They could be anywhere. They are carefully contained on Avalon while their equipment gets looked over by more than half of our Tinkers.


<Please, call me Olivier,> he said with a laugh. It had become something of a running gag of his to get us to refer to him by his first name. We never did. <And while we're talking confidentially... is this like what happened to Earth Khyber?>


He means 'did they get through and block another world off from Bet'. "Sorry, we can't say. Classified information, and not tactical data regarding the Endbringers. I can inform you that Japan has a colony world now, as well as the portal to Avalon. Both are well defended against future attacks of this nature. It won't happen again."


A world. Not a lie, but misleading. The original Khyber portal was switched, why couldn't we do the same for the Nippon portal? Save that we didn't need to.


We led the various individuals to our transport ship. The thing was a masterpiece of high speed design. We could go from the UN shunt locations in Geneva or New York to our research base at our North Pole in a matter of minutes without even feeling the acceleration. Of course, all it could do was fly really really fast, it was not a useful weapon by any standard. The inside was more like a limousine than an airplane, giving us a chance to all face one another and talk.


Ambassador Blosch sighed, perhaps a little theatrically. <So sad that people would go to such lengths instead of cooperating and waiting patiently for their own. Do you have any idea who the attackers were?>


It was a question they already knew the answer to, even if nobody had proof. Or did have proof, we only needed to admit we took captives. That wasn't happening. A shadow war was one thing, but if we pressed it would mean a possible World War with China. Parahuman violence aside, this was a nation that had access to a world we couldn't reach, shunt tech, and nuclear fucking weapons in addition to Tinker WMDs that they'd already proven willing to use. There would be no winners in that war.


PatienceConcentration. Taylor was figuring out her angle of approach, so I kept the conversation going while she waited. "Our people are working on it alongside Japan's security force. It could take weeks before we know anything for certain. For now, we know know that their tactics are similar enough that we're fairly certain it was the same organization responsible for the last two attacks."


Ambassador Blosch shook his head. <A pity. I had hoped that they'd settle for Khyber, and one would think that after they failed to take Kumari they'd stop. The optimist in me would like to believe they've learned their lesson now.>


Taylor decided she was ready, or maybe she just needed that prompt. "They didn't even wait a full week after the Endbringers were defeated before the first attack, I can't imagine they'll stop now. Which brings us to the actual purpose of this visit. We've thoroughly studied the UN's requests for transparency, and for the most part we're willing to capitulate. Full transparency of everything we learn about the weapons, where they come from, and what they're capable of."


A strikingly attractive woman spoke up next. According to my armor's recognition tech, she was Kaitlin Butler, the USA's new representative. I wasn't sure if the woman was there for the purpose of using her looks as a means of political manipulation, but it didn't strike me as a coincidence that the United States selected the young looking leggy brunette bombshell to be their representative to talk to the lesbian couple. "And you're willing to keep a full oversight team on site permanently?"


"As long as they're willing to submit to our lie detection tech and answer a series of background questions," Taylor agreed. "This is sensitive information that we cannot afford to fall into the wrong hands." Or so we like to pretend. The truth is, we hadn't managed to learn anything of real value that we didn't already know.


The ship shuddered as it landed. The only time we even felt movement during the entire trip. I stood as the door slid open, and a gust of cool air rushed into the vessel. I exited first and waited as the others filed out. Taylor would be the last to leave. The various men and women stopped talking to gawk at the ten superweapons that stood in plain view. These things were legendary terrors, though since most didn't even have a chance to do anything, they didn't have the psychological impact the first three would, but they were still Endbringers standing calmly in a row.


I gave them a moment to get their eyeful. "We have others inside the building." I led them in, to the first chamber where we had Khonsu hovering.


Dragon's voice came over the coms. "Our current tests are still mainly on the capabilities of the Endbringers we already know. We're not yet willing to test the unknown Endbringers, for fear of the dangers they might unleash. This location is for studying Khonsu's time warping and teleportation powers, with the hope of learning where the Endbringers hide when dormant. The ultimate goal being to access said location, then capture or kill the Endmakers for the many crimes they're guilty of." And to find a way into Scion's protected dimension. Thus far, the Endbringers haven't proven capable of breaking that barrier.


We went forward to the rocklike Endbringer that we hadn't named yet. "We're calling this one Golem," I stated. "We've determined that it's the most durable new Endbringer, likely even tougher than Behemoth. Our people are testing various energy weapons against him."


Dragon took over my explanation. "The Endbringers are all constructed of a crystal material that gets progressively denser as you go deeper into their bodies. The deepest portions are so dense that they shouldn't be physically possible as we understand the universe. We suspect a trick involving the folding of dimensions, similar but different from what is seen in our shunt tech or the space folding that brought you from Switzerland to the North Pole in a matter of moments. We have observed that certain energy attacks, if set to the right frequency, will do significantly more damage to an Endbringer's body than other attacks."


The American Ambassador smiled. She has a really nice smile. "You're looking for a magic bullet."


JealousTerritorial. "That's our hope. Having mass producible weapons that can actually hurt Endbringers would go a long way to making them less dangerous. A step toward real peace instead of mere fear of reprisal, and a way to deal with any future Endbringers that might be immune to Eidolon's tactic."


Also, maybe, those weapons will work against Scion. His body was made out of something, after all. It would make sense if it was the same stuff as Endbringers. Weapons to hurt them might hurt him.


<It has been over a month since the Endbringers were stopped. Do you still fear there might be more?> I had to use the suit's computer to identify her as well. Lina Koller, Austria's representative.


It was a valid question, one that more people would start asking the longer we went without an Endbringer attack. It wouldn't be long before we faced accusations that we were keeping the Endbringers alive out of a desire to use them as a threat.


Taylor stopped to look back at her. "Dinah Alcott's predictions of the end of the world remain. The odds are lower now than they've ever been, but are still over seventy percent. If not a new Endbringer, what would it be? And if it's not an Endbringer, then having them around to help fight the threat can only help in the long run."


That silenced them, for now at least. It wouldn't last forever. I started the walk to the next section where the rainbow Endbringer was contained. Her body was covered in fragments of machinery that provided a sort of modesty for her.


"This is Quetzalcoatl," Dragon pronounced the name better than I could hope to.


<The Tinker Endbringer, correct?> Our Austrian ambassador asked. She seemed to want to be in charge right now.


"Not strictly speaking. As it turns out, she's a Shaker whose power augments technology, not a Tinker. She absorbs machinery into herself and grants it greater abilities than it should otherwise be capable of. As an example, she can use the elements collected from ordinary toasters and microwave ovens to create energy weapons. Cryoweapons from air conditioners. Lasers from flashlights. But once you remove that equipment from her control, it doesn't work anymore. Nor is it possible to get anything useful from reverse engineering. The weapons become nothing more than broken appliances. The same premise applies to Tinker tech."


Taylor took a slow breath. ApprehensionFocus. "Which brings us to our next point of discussion. We're planning to ask the UN for permission to use her to access the original Earth Khyber. We're confident she has the power to do so, and taking that world back from the terrorists would make it clear their plans will fail even if they succeed in the initial invasion, and dissuade others who might imitate them."


Ambassador Butler spoke up, sounding less than happy by the suggestion. Guess she is more than a pretty face. "You're talking about deploying the Endbringers, only a month after having them."


AnnoyanceFrustration. "Only as a transport system to shunt more traditional forces over to the planet." In as much as our weaponry could be called 'traditional' by anyone. "Not to actually use in the fight. We're aware of the significance of what we're asking for. That's why we'll go through the official channels. We will provide a comprehensive list of the entire plan when we finalize our proposition."


<That is still a very serious request,> Blosch cautioned. <I know we are mere representatives and advisors, not policy makers, but I would have to recommend against using them for any less than a world ending threat. To allow mere terrorists to force you to use the Endbringers in any fashion would be a victory for them, regardless of the outcome.>


Taylor deflated a little. "You're probably right. We can't justify this against a simple terrorist organization. We'll hold off until we have a stronger argument."


Everyone here already knows it's not terrorists responsible for these attacks. It won't take long for China to hear rumors of what we plan to do.


I started walking again, leading them deeper into the facility. We had so many things to show them, like where the oversight members would live and our security measures. Not that we needed much security. We had indirect command of fifteen Endbringers. They were the security.


================


A/N- first of many time skips that'll be happening in quick succession, here. Guess I'll update that timeline now.