Chapter 11

November 28, 1963

Washington D.C

8:22 AM

"We actually had a hard time clearing them in the surrounding buildings. Some of the holdouts were tougher than expected. That said, the area has been cleared out despite the casualties and we've managed to begin constructing a barricade around this thing to keep them from surprising us again." the American secretary of defense said, adjusting his glasses as he re-read the report, likely trying to downplay just how bad the fighting in the Dealey Plaza had become before control had been re-established.

The American president, for his part, rubbed his eyes as he looked out the window, painfully aware of the extra security now patrolling the White House grounds, rifles at the ready. The street beyond the White House fence remained empty with the exception of Capitol Police. Each officer wore a stern expression, probably tense despite the deceptively calm morning. He couldn’t blame them.

He turned away and sat behind his desk, eyeing the black and white photographs taken of the… thing standing in the middle of the Dealey Plaza, corpses still visible in some pictures. Most intact, identifiable.

He turned to the well-dressed men in the room with him and spoke as calmly as he could.

"That… thing… Do we have any idea what it is? Aside from the obvious..." he asked, massaging his temples as a headache began to flare once again.

There was a brief silence, the men looking away, standing around as if unsure, like an unprepared kid called to answer a question on the board.

After a moment, one of them spoke up.

"Well, the object is beyond our current scientific understanding, mister president. You can tell from the pictures it… it appears to just be a large rectangular structure with a prism-like reflective surface. It’s not radioactive, it’s not sucking things in or pushing things out, and the amount of room within it is staggering. We shined all sorts of lights from tanks and trucks, and it just goes on for at least a mile, but the structure itself opens in the grass at the center of the Dealey Plaza and then ends before hitting the Peristyles or the street. We’re not entirely sure how this is possible, but it’s what we’re dealing with. We can theorize it’s a portal of some kind, but it’s almost as if someone constructed a tunnel to another world. We aren’t picking up the energy readings we would expect from something like this. At least not with our current level of technology." One of the men said, staring at his papers.

“But it is another world?”

“We can only confirm it once we get to the other end, but given what we have seen thus far; the dragon carcasses, the authentic Roman-style weapons, and armor, the girl with animal ears... it’s the likeliest answer.”

"Instruments seem to work properly around it, too, so whatever it is, it isn't messing with our electronics." another man spoke quickly as if trying to distract from the gravity of the previous statement.

The president sighed.

"Feels like the world is hell-bent on ending during my first term… Can we destroy it?"

"Possibly. We chipped away some pieces of what appeared to be marble and they came off just fine. That said, simply destroying it could cause many problems on its own. Assuming it can be destroyed."

"One of which could be it opening up elsewhere, or worse, in another country. Out of our control." the secretary of defense stated.

The young president sucked in a breath.

He let it out.

"Sir, we don't know how this object works. It-"

"I know, I know… it's our problem, we have to deal with it. What do we know about our attackers?"

All eyes turned to an anthropologist who simply said "Sir, to put it bluntly… they're human. They speak some form of Latin and it seems many of our old translations are fairly spot on. They come from a land beyond the object- portal, and they come from somewhere they call Iberia. They were, apparently, an Imperial party sent to conquer part of the land for slaves and resources as well as make first contact if the wolf girl’s testimony is to be believed. They were the scouting force, and a larger army is allegedly on standby on the other side."

"Oh, slaves and resources? Just that? They have no concept of a peaceful first contact? Is that it?!"

"According to our strange helper, that may be the case. We have some survivor accounts noting that at least one group of these… Iberians… were seen carrying men and women towards the object.”

“Wait... Iberia... like the Peninsula?”

“Unclear at the moment, sir.”

At the exasperated look, he continued.

“One of them says an armed man rescued them, though, and while we can’t confirm too much yet, they say they couldn’t take anyone. The attack appears to truly have been a reconnaissance in force type of operation, hoping to measure how we would react before a larger force came through. So far, that hasn’t materialized."

"Well, that's some good news… but the idea that our citizens would be taken as slaves is still nightmarish. We find out they took anyone, we have to go in immediately and deal with these... Iberians... Iberia, knock-off Rome… whatever. Have they sent anyone to communicate since we repelled their invasion force?"

"No, sir. No one has come out of the object, and since we haven't tried sending anyone in… well, we just don't know if they intend to communicate, sir."

“What about our guests? They have any idea?”

“Those that cooperate are unsure. Our most cooperative guest said they would never send anyone. The way she describes it, they might be planning on fortifying and waiting for an attack from us.”

“She also said this portal cannot be closed.”

The president huffed, asking “Can we trust her word?”

The man with glasses adjusted them before saying “We’re not sure. We’ve been far more interested in her strange biology. It’s... it’s unlike anything we have seen outside of stories.”

“What? Her animal ears?”

“Specifically canine ears.”

“And tail.” Came the awkward addition to the conversation.

“Y-yes... well, the X-rays show she’s human. The tail and ears being the bizarre exceptions and... we’re not sure why. She was allegedly born this way, and if she’s to be trusted there are more like her.”

“Well, Mister Hannity, I know that’s very important to you scientists and all, but right now this is a military operation first and foremost. We were attacked. Too many of our people are dead. If it doesn’t help us solve that situation first, it’s not going to be a high priority.” the secretary of defense sighed.

The president replied “He’s right, we have to focus on the military side of things before we can prioritize others, but her knowledge is going to be vital if we can trust her... Can we trust her?”

“We haven’t proven she’s lied so far, but she is the reason for the attack. She opened the portal and acted as a scout for them if she’s to be believed. Even if she was forced to do so, the attack only happened because of her opening the portal. We can take her word for it, but we’d prefer to proceed with caution.”

The president nodded.

“What exactly is she?”

“A wolf hybrid... or perhaps it’s better to describe her as a human with some wolf-like characteristics?”

No one spoke, waiting for the scientist to continue.

The man’s eyebrow furrowed slightly before he said “It’s the strangest thing. She has wolf ears, a bit higher than where human ears should go, yet she has no human ears, and she’s left her hair long in part to hide the fact. Works alright, I suppose. Her real ears almost blend into it. Her tail is... well... that of a wolf’s. Comes out of her waist with hair dissimilar to that on her head, and it’s... alien to us. Our biology doesn’t just allow for alterations like this. We at first theorized she was some kind of horrible operation, but no. According to her and our prisoners, this other world is full of human hybrids. Demi-Humans they call them.”

“Demi... partial... inferior to a degree... Let me guess, they’re treated as subhuman?”

“According to her, yes. Even amongst each other, the demi-humans will rather stick to their own groups and reject others. Assuming what she said is true, of course.”

“Would make sense if they do, I suppose. One thing that we all have in common. But how on earth does she know English?”

At this, the man said “We’re still trying to confirm things. This story about her being able to open that portal, and see through into our world is admittedly fanciful, but at this point, we’re struggling to doubt her. If true, she was forced to open the doorway for the Iberians to attack Dallas. She picked up our language during her days studying us in secret.”

The president shook his head mumbling “Something’s off there. I can feel it.”

“We’re investigating every angle possible, sir.”

The Secretary of Defense then said “Most importantly is if this portal really is permanent. If it is, a surgical strike on the enemy encampment must be coordinated as soon as possible.”

“Until we find out if so, we strongly advise against such action. If it suddenly closes...” the other scientist replied.

“Of course. But right now, that has to be a priority. We have Patton tanks and M113s lined up with fuel and ammunition in the Dealey Plaza, ready to go in on the president’s orders. We can’t just sit around while the enemy tries cutting its losses or setting up defenses. Especially if they captured American citizens.”

“But we haven’t confirmed anyone was taken yet. In fact, it seems they didn’t get the opportunity.”

“We still need to act. Soon.”

Silence again.

The president said "He’s right about one thing, we have to decide our course of action soon, especially since Ivan is getting itchy and I-"

He paused, glancing at his wristwatch before shaking his head.

"…and I have to be chatting with him in a few minutes. Gentlemen, we will discuss this issue further, so get me some answers, alright?"

The men nodded and with that the president walked out of the Oval Office, trailed by his secret service agents and an aide who was carrying some papers.