Missions of the Retrieval Team - A Kilt By Any Other Name

[davedove]

Scene 21

Secret Headquarters of the KLF

“Grant, what are you doing?” Mike asked.

“I think I’ve asked a fair question,” Grant replied. “If he is David, then he should know what David would obviously know.”

“Well?” Grant asked me.

I glanced to my associates, who both nodded.

I turned back to Grant. “I am David,” I told him, “just not the David you knew.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“If you would please lower your weapons, I will try to explain it to you.”

Grant thought a moment and nodded. “Fair enough,” he said, lowering his pistol. “But Greg, you stay ready by the door. If any of them try anything, kill them.”

Grant again sat down and put the pistol on the table in front of him.

“Okay,” he said, “Explain.”

“This isn’t going to be easy to explain, and you’re probably not going to believe it. I’m not the David you knew because I’m not from this world,” I said to him.

“Not from this world?” he exclaimed in disbelief. “What? Are you going to tell me you’re some sort of alien who took David’s form so you could blend in with the denizens of Earth? Give me a break. What kind of idiots do you take us for?”

“No, no,” I tried to explain. “I’m not an alien. I know this is unbelievable. Until a couple of days ago, I wouldn’t have believed it either. I am from Earth.” I gestured to my associates. “We are all from Earth, just not this one.”

“What are you talking about, not this one?”

“We come from another Earth, very similar to this one. There seem to be some significant differences though. For instance, on my Earth the Great Hall of X Marks the Scot still stands. The League of Moderators has many members, but neither you nor I are a part of it. And we are certainly not considered to be terrorists. Plus, on that world both Jamie and I are alive and well.”

Grant shook his head at me, obviously not believing anything I was telling him. “Okay, if you’re from another Earth, what are you doing here? What’s your explanation for that?”

“A scientist on our world was working on a device to transport objects and ultimately people over long distances. Instead, the machine somehow connected to this world. Three days ago, one of our people accidentally fell through the gateway, here to your world. Yesterday, we came through to try to get him back.”

Greg spoke up, “You’re not going to buy this hogwash, are you Grant? He’s obviously a plant of some sort. Maybe the feds took someone who looked similar to David and did some surgery or something to duplicate his appearance.”

Grant turned back to me. “That is a more feasible explanation. Why shouldn’t we kill you as spies right now?”

“Because I think he’s telling the truth,” came a voice from the door.

We all turned to see who had spoken. There at the door stood the Moderator David.

“David,” said Grant, “How can you buy into this nonsense?”

David started walking toward the table.

“Because,” he said, “what he says is theoretically possible; because for the last several days I have been detecting unusual energy fluctuations near the base of the mountain that only last a few seconds; because three days ago some locals reported a kilted man in the area; and because of this.”

He tossed the newspaper that he was carrying onto the table in front of us. The headline read ‘Senior Terrorist Leader Captured’ and under the headline was a picture of David.

“You’re looking for my counterpart aren’t you?” he asked me. “He’s the one who came through the gate first.”

[starbkjrus]

Oh good gravy - the plot thickens!



Anyone have any buns?

[Splash_4]

Anyone have any buns?

My wife says I have them to spare....

[Coemgen]

<dramatic chord>
dum-DUUUUUUUM!
</dramatic chord>

[Wompet]

In a wood-paneled living room in a place that is not quite here, but not quite there, a kilted man reclines in a chair by an unlit fireplace, reading aloud the text on his laptop. As he finishes, he looks across the fireplace at a large, shaggy dog lying on the floor.
"So Grant is a good guy after all."
The dog lifts its head and looks at him. Cocking its head to one side, it replies "Well, we did see that one coming, didn't we?"
The man cocks his head acquiescently in an identical manner. "Alternate realities," he grinningly replies to himself.

[davedove]

Scene 22

Secret Headquarters of the KLF

Grant looked from the paper to David, and then turned to me. “You’re telling the truth; you really are from an alternate Earth?”

“Yes,” I answered, “And our David is the person we came to bring back.”

David sat down at the table with us. “Maybe you should tell us the whole story.”

I told them the whole story of my trip, from the initial activation of the portal, until our capture by the police.

“So,” said Grant. “Jamie, Todd, all the others, they’re still alive on your world?”

“Yes, alive and part of the League of Moderators.”

“Amazing,” David said, “That things should be so similar, yet so different.”

“Speaking of similar and different,” I said, “What happened on this world? How did you get to be known as terrorists? And what is it with kilts?”

“It all started just a few short years ago,” David began. “A company known as Globo-Fashion was a new and growing fashion conglomerate, so much so that it gained international attention. Ivana Rulital, the head of the corporation was invited to all the big events. She was even invited to an event at the White House. It was shortly after that when the President announced the creation of a new Cabinet post, the Department of Aesthetic Affairs, and recommended Ivana for the position.”

“Aesthetic Affairs?” I asked.

“Yes, charged with ensuring that the people of the United States present themselves to the rest of the world in the best way possible. Sounds harmless enough, right?”

“I guess, unless they started requiring uniforms for everyone, or some other nonsense.”

David shook his head lightly. “You’re not far off of what really happened. Shortly after she took her seat, Ivan started recommending bills to the President, and he presented them to Congress. These bills required people to start dressing in certain ways, so that the country could show its unity.”

“Surely Congress wouldn’t take these bills seriously? What about freedom of expression?”

“That’s what most people thought. They figured that the members of Congress would just throw the bills out as frivolous, or perhaps lose them in committee. But Ivana began having meetings with key members and soon they were all supporting her bills. They all passed easily.”

“Didn’t the courts overturn the laws? Or did Ivana get to them as well?”

He nodded. “The first of the laws did go before the courts, but Ivana pled the case herself. The judges agreed with her and the laws stood. Oddly enough, even the attorney who represented the opposition agreed with her. Shortly after that, she began introducing bills that expanded her influence. Anyone not wearing what her department deemed as appropriate was charged with creating a public disturbance. And appropriate dress changed every year. If someone does not wear this year’s, or at the most last year’s fashion, they are arrested. Those without the resources to get the latest fashion are placed in work details until they work off the cost of the new wardrobe. Of course, the next year they still cannot afford the change, so they go right back to the details.”

“What kind of work?”

“That’s the beauty of Ivana’s system. Those forced to work are placed in factories that make clothes. Those poor souls are making the instruments of their own imprisonment.”

“What about the people? Didn’t they stand up to this?”

“Some of us did. We here at X Marks led a campaign to overturn the laws. We went among the people to get them to stand up to this restriction of their freedom.”

“What happened?”

“We were labeled a subversive organization. Our activities were declared illegal. And since we wore kilts as our symbol, kilts were declared to be the symbol of our subversive organization.”

“So you went underground and worked from the shadows.”

“We had to. Every law enforcement agency in the country was after us. And since our message wasn’t getting across, we had to take more direct actions. We started freeing those who had been arrested under the fashion laws. It was then that we were labeled a terrorist organization.”

“And laws were passed to remove the rights of suspected terrorists,” I said, remembering my experience with the sheriff.

“Exactly, we had very little space to work. All of our actions were declared illegal and we couldn’t even dress as we wanted in public. So we did the only thing we could. We had to continue the fight, so we formed the Kilted Liberation Front.”

“The KLF, so you could continue your operations under cover. What happened to the Great Hall?”

“We destroyed it.”

[Arlen]

They destroyed the Great Hall????!!!!
Oh man, what great stories.
I love how they are all connected!

[SexyButler]

Scene 22


“The KLF, so you could continue your operations under cover. What happened to the Great Hall?”

“We destroyed it.”

I didn't touch ANYTHING!

[davedove]

Scene 23

Secret Headquarters of the KLF

“You destroyed it!” I said in disbelief. “I thought maybe the law did in a raid or something.”

“Oh, I’m sure they would have eventually,” David continued. “We knew they were getting close to finding our location. That’s when your double and I designed this underground complex. We used the natural caverns under the Hall and built new facilities for our operations. We received word that the feds were about to raid the Hall, so we destroyed it ourselves. The feds spun it so that it looked like we destroyed our own headquarters in desperation. What they didn’t know is that our operations would continue from the same location, just from a few hundred feet underground.”

“So you had to destroy the Hall to keep them from finding you.”

“But it hasn’t helped much. Every month it seems we lose more people. And every year it seems more people fall under Ivana’s influence. And other nations as well; just shortly after your double was taken, the Canadian Parliament passed laws similar to those of the United States. And next month, Ivana is set to visit the officials in several European nations.”

“My god, she’s trying to gain complete control.”

“Yes, but only over what she is interested in. For instance, she seems to have no desire to meddle with national defense, except for what uniforms they wear. But enough of this, it’s our problem. It’s late, or rather early and we’re all tired.”

“About that,” I said, “Where am I going to sleep? Diane is making her room ready for me, but I obviously can’t stay there. I have to ask, what kind of relationship did my double have with her?”

“Oh yeah, Diane,” said Mike. “That’s going to be a touchy one. Dave, you had more than just a relationship with her, or rather your double did. They were married.”

“Married?”

“Yes, but there’s more. They had only been married for a week when the police caught your double. Within a month, your double had been sped through the mockery of a trial and executed. So you see, her husband was taken so quickly it’s really going to hit her hard that he isn’t really back.”

“She’s going to be crushed,” I said, “But you can see why I can’t share a room with her; it wouldn’t be right.”

David shook his head. “Now I know for certain you’re not the man we knew,” he said. “Your double would have had no problem being in your situation. He would have taken advantage of her mistake to satisfy his own less than noble desires.”

“Really?” I asked in disbelief. “That’s below dispicable.”

“That was our Dave. He was a good combat leader, but some of his personal habits were less than honorable.”

“But you can see why I need a different room?”

“Of course,” said David, “But we are short of rooms. However, we do have two available. If your companions wouldn’t mind sharing, we can put you in those.” As he looked from my companions to me, he acted as if he wanted to take back the offer. “Unless, you all want the same room, that is?”

My associates smiled at his discomfort and I chuckled a bit. “No, the two rooms will be fine. They are my working associates and my friends, but not what you’re thinking..”

“Great,” he said in relief. “Mike, why don’t you show them the rooms. I will try to explain the situation to Diane.”

[Freedomlover]

So. Legal Fashion police headed for world dominance.

When does the fiction part start?