part0008

Precinct One headquarters was housed in a 50-story building that filled an entire city block. Inside the massive edifice, people went about the day-to-day business of keeping the United States sector of Earth safe from threats both external and internal. Overall, it was a very busy place.

"How many beverage stations do you have?" Anne asked as they passed by another one.

"The building is 50-stories tall with a 300-foot by 300-foot footprint. Beverage stations are spaced out at a four-by-four grid, so every 100-feet, or 16-stations per floor, or 800-stations total, give or take. Each is designed to serve a variety of beverages which are non-toxic to all League species, so no bascula tea."

"What's bascula tea?"

"An elven beverage that is intoxicating to humans. Don't want any drunk agents running around packing blasters."

They continued their stroll down the busy corridor.

"Dad, Mom!" a young, uniformed Katalan woman said as she ran up with a young human woman in tow. "We heard about what happened at the warehouse. Are you two OK?"

"Mom, why are you staring at us?" the human woman asked.

"Girls, this isn't your mom. Her name is Priscilla Anne Kitra, and she's from a parallel universe. Anne, these are my daughters." He put his hand on the human woman's shoulder. "This is Saffron." He then moved to the Katalan woman's shoulder. "And this is Rista."

"How do you do?" Anne said as she continued to stare. "You are both daughters of Priscilla and Gabe? "

"Yes, ma'am," Rista said as she and her sister stared back. "You seem bothered by that."

Anne reached into a pocket and withdrew a small device the size of a business card. She tapped it, then handed it to Rista. On it was an image of three young men. "These are my sons. Their father is my universe's version of Gabe."

Rista took the device and showed it to Saffron. "So that's what could have happened," Saffron said as she stared at the three hybrids. She handed the device to Gabe

"I don't understand," Anne said.

Gabe looked at the picture. "Very handsome. We make great kids." He handed the picture back to her. "In this universe, Katalans and humans normally produce offspring that are either Katalan or human. True hybrids with mixed traits are extremely rare."

"So, you're both Katalan and human?" Anne asked.

"Yes. ma'am," Saffron said.

"Again, more unexpected differences," Anne noted.

"So, Dad, are you and Mom OK?" Saffron asked.

"Yeah, we're fine. We'll explain when I get home tonight."

"And she's met Anne already, and yes, she's fine with me escorting her around headquarters."

"Where is she?" Rista asked.

"Conference room 1903. She was talking to Marta and Gloria."

The girls hugged him, then shook Anne's hand before heading off to find their mother.

"They're beautiful. They seem worried about your mate."

"Nah. They just want to gossip. They're both very close to their mother."

"I try. How about you and yours?"

"The same. I miss them and my Gabe."

"We'll figure out a way to get them back. "

They came upon a picture of a figure floating in space while being impaled by a beam of light. "What a lovely painting," Anne said.

"It's not a painting."

"No. A short time before Rista was born, I was involved in an operation to save another parallel universe. That's me floating in space while a nova-powered beam of energy passed through my body. From there, it entered the other universe where it reset it. I was basically fixing a problem created by our Zoe's brother, Josiah.

Anne's face went white as she leaned down and read the caption on the wall next to the photograph. "By the cave spirits of Katala! Your armor was able to survive that much energy flowing through it?"

Gave shrugged. "It's a tough suit."

"Do you realize the implications of what you did? The stress of an unstable universe could have torn the multiverse to shreds in a short time."

"I think Gloria's people estimated we had like a month or something."

"You saved us, all of us."

"I'm a cop. I serve, and I protect, so stop giving me the "Hero" look. I am not a hero by any stretch of the imagination. Any person in this building would have done the exact same thing if given the opportunity. That's how we're wired."

They continued their walk. Anne marveled at the beings she saw. Her eyes went huge when an Alturan walked up. "Hello, Commissioner. Gabe, Klenster's got a birthday next Friday. We were wondering if you would do the cake?"

"Hey, Sam. Sure. Anything special?"

"Sardines. He loves sardines."

"Got it: Sardine cake, next Friday. Anything else? "

"Nope. Thanks." Sam replied. He turned all three eye stalks toward Anne. "Commissioner, your husband is a real keeper."

"Yeah, I plan on it." She watched Sam slide off before asking, "What... Who was that?"

"Detective Sergeant Sam Slathor, Forensic Biologist. He's an Alturan. I take it your universe doesn't have sapient cephalopods?"

"No. Serpents, reptiles, avians, felinoids, hominids, but no invertebrates."

"Are you some sort of genius?"

"No. I only have three doctorates. Real geniuses have at least five, so I'm considered a slacker."

"I barely made it through the police academy. Well, to each their own..."

"Dad! Look who we found?" Rista called out as she and Saffron led (dragged?) Priscilla over to where Gabe and Anne stood.

The hallway went silent as everyone stared at the two Priscillas.

"Don't we all have something to do?" Priscilla asked in her boss-voice.

The crowd moved with a purpose.

"Priscilla, you remind me of a drill sergeant I had back in my Space Marine days," Marta noted. "Anne, Gloria and I have gotten a number of balls rolling, but we won't have results until morning. Will that be a problem?"

"No. No problem. The situation was stable when I left and my people will contact me if that changes. For now, I must wait."

"Good. I talked to my husband and he would like to meet you in person, so you're invited to a small dinner party we're throwing at the residence tonight."

"Residence? That sounds official. "

"My husband is Prince Lucien Irithyl, Ventos Prime's Ambassador at Large. His sister, Losira, Warrior Queen of Ventos Prime, and her husband, General Royce Aymar, EMEF, retired, will also be in attendance."

"Um, sure. I'd love to. Is anyone else going to be there?" she asked while giving Gabe a pointed look.

"No, just us five. Come along. I know a great dress shop."

"Can I join you?" Saffron asked.

"Sure. The more, the merrier."

"Have fun," Gabe said to their retreating backs. "Feel better now?" he asked Pris.

"No, but I am relieved."

"She seems nice," Rista said.

"And I'm not?" Pris asked her offspring.

"Rista, don't you need to go out on patrol?" Gabe quickly asked.

"You're right. Gotta go. Bye," Rista said before giving both parents a quick peck on the cheek. She quickly disappeared down a corridor.

Pris stared at the ceiling while she counted to ten. When she looked down, she found a corridor bereft of personnel except for her husband who had gone to Stryker-1 mode. "Are you trying to give me a subtle hint, Fool?"