“The Prime Minister?” Miles asked, his eyes wide.

“I didn’t stutter, Lieutenant,” Colonel Burke responded. “He’s coming straight here from New York. He wants to talk to them. Personally.”

“Well, sir,” he began. “I don’t know if they’re ready yet.” He scratched his head. “We’re still working out a lot of translation issues between the two languages and–”

“--and you can speak with them well enough to understand. We don’t need them to be giving speeches just yet, Lieutenant. They just have to understand what he has to say to them. That’s where you come in.” He slid a folder across his desk toward Miles. “Read it and sign it.”

Miles picked up the folder and opened it up. There were several pages to read through, but the headline on the first page said it all. He looked up toward the Colonel. “Sir, this is a security clearance form.”

“It is. Level three, enhanced top secret,” he explained.

“But… don’t I need a full screening by CSIS before I can be–” he paused when he noted the way the Colonel was looking at him. Apparently he’d already been screened. He just didn’t realize it.

“Lieutenant, I have a lot to tell you,” Burke said. “But not a lot of patience. Are you going to sign it, or do I need to find someone else for the job?”

Miles knew Burke wasn’t joking, so he sat down at the desk, pulled the pen from his breast pocket and signed the form.

Burke took the folder from him and made a point to check the signature was in place. He then set the contract aside and leaned forward.

“Lieutenant, we’re crossing over,” he explained. “The decision’s been made to take down the barricade and make our way across.”

“I saw the address to the United Nations. We’re going to establish relations with the Embrayyans.”

“No,” Burke corrected. “We’re going to attempt to establish relations with the Embrayyans. With what happened when they first came over, I have my doubts they’ll be willing to listen to us right away. We still have to make sure they’re receptive to communication. We have a plan in place that should ensure little to no casualties on either side, but we’ll need you and one of the Embrayyans to make it happen.”

“One of?”

“The girl,” he explained. “She says she’s what… a noblewoman?”

“Sort of. More accurate to say she’s the Matriarch of a Lesser Clan. The word for her station is literally Clan-Mother,” he explained. “But it was a recent appointment. She has no other family. Her sister died in the process of opening the Shimmer.”

“Well, regardless, the Prime Minister is arranging for the Governor-General to grant her clemency,” he said. “We’ll be assigning her a detail in the meantime, and that’s where you come in.”

“What about Captain Singh? Sub-Lieutenant O’Neill?” he asked.

“I’ll have a talk with Colonel Stamets about Singh,” he said. “And if you want O’Neill, you’ve got him.” He then opened his desk drawer and pulled out another folder. “You’re also going to be working with him.”

Miles opened the folder as it was passed to him. The first thing that stuck out to him was the telltale wreath of the Canadian Special Operations Regiment.

“CSOR?” Miles asked.

“Captain McKinley’s hand-picked,” he said. “He’s highly experienced at dealing with VIP’s. He’s seen active combat more than I have, and he even took part in Strange Egress– he’s actually the one that captured the girl in the first place. He’s a good man, he’ll get you through anything.”

“So we’re going to be her detail for… what, exactly?”

“Facilitating communication, mostly,” he explained. “Defense where necessary. There are a lot of eyes on that portal, Lieutenant. There are a lot of actors out there that might see her as an asset to their own ends. Not to mention regular citizens seeking revenge for lost loved ones during the initial egress.”

Miles found himself nodding in understanding. “What about Casimir and the others?”

“Casimir?”

“Target Charlie.”

“Right. If all goes well, they’ll be returned to Embrayya once we can trade them for any of our own people who might still be alive on the other side.”

“And if it doesn’t go well?”

“That’s a bridge we’ll cross when we get to it,” Burke stated.

“They’ve been cooperative so far. I think it would be best to reward that. None of them have seen the sky since they were quarantined.”

Burke sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “What are you suggesting? Yard time?”

“We’re taking away their only source of leadership,” he explained. “Casimir should be able to keep them in line for the most part, but even among the prisoners there are factions. They’re united under Sizilen, but without her there as a figurehead I’m concerned they’ll start splitting up by Clan loyalty. However, if we grant them certain freedoms, that’ll go a long way in making them more compliant.”

“It’s a house of cards, and we’re going to be pulling out the Queen of Hearts,” Burke added..

“It doesn’t have to be much all at once. They just need some sign of hope that they’re going to be okay and they’re not going to die here.”

“All right,” the Colonel said. “I’ll allow it. But it’s provisional. They act out, it gets taken away. And we’ll need to expand the secure perimeter around the facility. Last thing we need is paparazzi drones flying in for a closer look and causing a panic among the prisoners.” He leaned back in his chair and let out a deep sigh. “Then there’s the other thing.”

“Other thing?”

“This Elder Law,” Burke explained. “It’s got a lot of people worried. It’s got other people curious. The type of curiosity that kills cats, if you know what I mean.”

Miles nodded. “I can understand why,” he said. “Some of the things Sizilen told me– if I didn’t see the Shimmer, I’d say it was impossible.”

“Right. We’re told it comes at a cost, but even so. There are plenty of people out their willing to die for their cause– present company included. Thankfully the people of Embrayya are a ways away from learning about atomic reactions, but a modern, educated person with a bone to pick could pose a real threat.”

“There’s no evidence of the Elder Law even existing outside of the tree,” Miles said.

“That we know of. Thing is, we don’t even know how to measure it, let alone what it is we’re measuring. That’s one of many priorities we’re going to have once we cross the threshold. But you’ll have some time before you have to worry about that.”

“What do you mean, sir?”

Burke raised an eyebrow. “You need it spelled out, Lieutenant?”

Miles suddenly understood. The Colonel was assigning him and the others to be part of her detail not just in Canada– but in Embrayya as well. Of course. She was essentially an ambassador for the other side. A diplomat in every sense of the word. And while diplomats were usually protected by the Office of Protocol, this was a… unique situation. One that required unique responsibilities.

Miles’ heart skipped a beat when he realized what was going to happen.

He was going to go to another world.

His mom was going to lose her mind.

“No, sir,” he replied quietly.

“The Prime Minister’s flight arrives in two hours,” Burke explained. “He’ll be taken directly to the holding facility. You best get your team ready. Polish your boots, Lieutenant. Tonight we’ll be sending a drone through the Shimmer. I’ll make sure you’re kept in the loop. Dismissed.”

“Yes, sir,” said Miles. Then he got up and left the office.

Colonel Burke’s field office was in the building that once housed Bishop & Rook Breweries. It was the building closest to the Shimmer, and the new field headquarters for the entire operation.

When he eventually stepped out into the daylight he stopped to look up at the tree. The size of the thing was surreal. It looked like a thick oak, except it towered higher than any oak tree he’d ever seen.

And of course, there was the massive reinforced barrier pressed up against it. He could tell at a distance that it had been hastily constructed, but however quickly it had been hobbled together, it held. The army engineers had earned their pay that week.

Two weeks since the Shimmer had appeared, two weeks since the counter-operation, and two weeks less a day that he had spent translating the High Embrayyan language and learning as much as he could. Thankfully they’d lucked out with Sizilen and Casimir. They were cooperative and encouraged it among their people. They were also learning English quickly. They were already conversational at that point. If they kept at their current rate of learning, especially immersed in an english-speaking culture, they’d be fluent in a few month’s time.

Miles still wasn’t certain what to make of them. There were many facets of their mannerisms he had yet to ascertain. Hugging was a big part of how they communicated with each other. He was surprised to find they had several different words for different kinds of hugs. Their mannerisms during prayer weren’t anything he’d really seen before, which drove home the point that despite them being distant cousins, they were just alien enough to become a spectacle.

Strangely, they didn’t seem to understand the concept of religion, and were surprised to discover that the people on earth had never heard of their gods. They bore only a passing resemblance to the gods of ancient cultures, at least as far as he could tell. Unfortunately, the powers that be weren’t as interested in their religion, but it was an area Miles was personally curious about. Perhaps if he was going to cross over, he’d get the opportunity to learn.

He’d have liked that.

As he exited the old Bishop and Rook Brewery, he found his rental car and climbed inside to start the drive toward the holding facility. It was an old juvenile detention facility in Burnaby, just north over the river. It was a short trip. The longest part would have had to be the three checkpoints all those attempting to enter the area around the Shimmer had to come through any time they wanted to come or go.

The security was tight– it had to be. This was an unprecedented event in human history, one that had uncertain origins and uncertain ends. A tree that had grown a passageway into another world. A world where the Elder Law– magic, essentially– wasn’t a myth. It was an everyday reality.

“You’re an idiot! I want to talk to your superior right now,” he heard clearly from his open window. At the outermost checkpoint, a woman yelled from the driver’s seat. She was in her forties, with short-cut blonde hair and tinted glasses. Her outburst had drawn the attention of the guard checking Miles’ identification.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry but that’s not going to happen. You can contact Colonel Burke through the proper–”

“He’s not responding to the proper channels, you halfwit!” she exclaimed.

“Ma’am, he’s very busy, I’m sure he’s just–”

“I’m not leaving from this spot until I see him,” she insisted. “Do you even know who I am?”

“I’m sorry Ma’am, who you are is irrelevant. If you don’t turn your car around, I’ll have no other choice but to arrest you and have your vehicle impounded.”

Miles could see the woman was about to blow her top. He’d seen how that sort of encounter ended before. The MP had given her a lawful order. If she refused it, she would be subject to arrest.

“Hey,” Miles called, getting the attention of both the woman and the guard. He got out of his car and walked to the car. “Is there something I can help with here?”

“Depends, can you get Colonel Burke out here? I need to speak with him. It’s been… two weeks,” the woman said, then started to tear up.

“May I ask what the concern is?”

The woman’s face contorted from one of indignance to one of distress. She sobbed uncontrollably for a moment before responding. “My daughter and my husband,” she said. “They were in there when– when it happened. They told me they were alive, that they went through that– that tree.”

Miles suddenly understood. Before Strange Egress began, they’d captured some footage of Canadian civilians being moved into the Shimmer. They’d managed to identify those who had crossed over in the days after the operation began and notified the families.

“I’m sorry,” Miles said. “I can’t imagine–”

“Oh, spare me your condolences,” she suddenly snapped. After a moment, she began crying again. “I’m sorry. I just… I saw the address on TV, and… I need to be one of the people who go across. I need to find my family.”

Miles remained silent for a moment. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Claire,” she said. “Claire Bishop.”

Miles had heard that Dane Bishop had been one of the ones confirmed to have crossed over, but he hadn’t realized his daughter had as well.

“Claire, my name is Miles Brady,” he said. “Unfortunately I can’t bring Colonel Burke out here, but I can get him a message. I understand your frustration in all of this, but there’s a protocol at play here, and believe me when I say that getting arrested here can only hurt your chances of getting what you want. How about if I promise to get a message to him, you promise to be patient? He’s got a lot of big problems on his plate right now, and I know for a fact that getting your husband and daughter back are a huge priority.”

Claire met Miles’ gaze, then nodded, crying more into her hands.

“Okay,” she said. “I’m sorry, I’m just so– you don’t know what it’s like when your entire world is just taken away from you like that.”

“You’re right, I don’t. And I can’t imagine what it would be like. But we’re going to pull out every stop in getting them back,” Miles said. “All we can do is beg for your patience, and trust that our first priority is getting back the people who were taken.” He pulled a card from his pocket. “Here.”

Claire Bishop took his card and looked at it. It was just a card with his name, rank and email address, but it seemed to satisfy her.

“I want you to email me your contact information. I’ll make sure Colonel Burke gets it, and if he doesn’t get in touch directly, he’ll have someone else do so.”

“Thank you,” she said. “Lieutenant Brady. Thank you.”

With that, Claire Bishop pulled away and left the checkpoint.

“Thanks for that,” the MP said. “I didn’t really want to arrest her.”

“It’s fine,” Miles replied. “We all have a job to do.” He got back into his car and drove out of the checkpoint, making his way to Burnaby. He had a lot to prepare for.