Knock Knock
Before we could continue speaking, two sharp knocks on the door drew our attention, causing the Commandant to look at me to see if it was alright. I nodded, and he cleared his voice before saying,
"Enter,"
With a swift swoosh, a young man in an Army uniform hurriedly ran in and saluted us in order of rank: The Commandant, then me, and lastly, Piniki.
"Sirs and Ma’am, there is someone outside who wishes to speak with you…"
"And that is important enough to interrupt our conversation. Why, Corporal?" The Commandant questioned, causing the poor guy to flinch and stare off at the wall.
"Sir….it’s the President."
’Oh Shit, here to see lil-ol me, heh, oh, this will be fun.’
"Then what are you waiting for, Corporal? Show him in!" Jumping to his feet and straightening out his uniform, the Commandant demanded, causing the poor guy to scamper off and step aside outside the door.
Soon enough, an African American Man entered the room wearing a pristine navy blue suit. On his right lapel was a small flag, and he walked with grace and authority.
Of course, I knew who this was, as unlike in the 90s when the President was changed, this man claimed the position just as he had in the Origin Timeline.
"Mr. President," Giving a crisp salute, the Commandant waited for President Barack Obama to return his salute before shaking his hand and motioning for him to come over, where Piniki was on her feet and saluting.
Had I been able to move, I too would have saluted, more so out of habit than anything, as POTUS was technically the man in charge of the Free world, and I was but a lowly Major in the Army…well, Nexus was, and I was wearing that mask at the moment.
"As you were Lieutenant. Major Nexus, I am glad to see that you are recovering well. I hear you gave the medical staff quite the scare when you arrived earlier."
"Eh, tis but a flesh wound, Mr. President, nothing my healer Piniki or I couldn’t handle," I said with a weak smile as I quickly scanned through the President’s mind with my Talent.
I mean, come on, there were WAY too many things I wanted to know, if not to appease my own curiosity, then to rub in Brenden’s face later.
And let me tell you, the President was a LITERAL Treasure Trove of top secret info. From spy missions to black operations that "didn’t" happen, all the way down to how much the government knew about returners or hell, even aliens, WHICH THEY KNEW ABOUT!
Hold up, lemmie harp on that one for a minute.
’IT’S ALL REAL, all the conspiracy theorists were RIGHT, the psyops in the 60s, Roswell, teleportation, the Bermuda Triangle, HOLY SHIT, IT’S REEALLL! Well, at least 9/11 wasn’t an inside job; I can put that one to rest at the very least.’ I screamed mentally while holding a casual conversation with the President.
’Damn, Obama’s even met with Aliens before, but these ones are like children compared to the monsters the earth will face…hm, ah…that’s why it’s a nerdy race that’s been conducting universal research on the planet for thousands of years….so the pyramids and all that WERE them, interesting.’ Copying every last memory the President had in his head pertaining to what he’d been informed of since coming into office, I pushed it all into my Imagination Library before focusing on our conversation.
"So what brings you here, Sir? I don’t suppose it was to come and see for your own eyes that I was still living and breathing, hah." Wearing a cheesy smile, I made a slight joke, which made President Obama chuckle.
"Well, partially, yes, I suppose I did come to see that the Hero of America survived that harrowing battle. By the way, I must say that the camera work was fantastic. Had I not known ahead of time that it was all your doing, I would have suspected one of the Major Hollywood Directors was at work."
"But I digress; I have a few reasons for coming over in person; the first is to hand you this." Stepping to my bedside, the President reached into his pocket and retrieved a small metal pin, one with an Eagle holding an olive branch while looking to the left.
"Special Considerations have been made, and I had to rub elbows with a few big wigs, but after what you did out there, I see no reason why we shouldn’t be able to have you skip a rank and all the red tape to be promoted. So I would like to be the first to congratulate you on your Promotion to Colonel." Noticing that I wasn’t able to move my arms due to the mass of bandages and, well, them being completely numb, President Obama leaned over and pinned it to my scrub shirt.
Ah, I forgot to mention that one; well, no hospital gown for me; instead, I was wearing a pair of Camo, military tactical surgical scrubs that had my rank and name tag on it, so technically, I was in a uniform while wearing my Nexus mask.
"Commandant, if you would please, can you go retrieve some new Velcro Tags for the New Colonel." President Obama asked, and without wasting a second, the Commandant gave a salute and "Yes Sir" before rushing off to do as ordered.
"Well, now that hes gone and you’ve been Unofficially/Officially promoted, let’s get on to the true purpose of my being here. Let me start off by saying Thank you for your service and for protecting our country. Had it not been for your strategies and expertise on the battlefield, I’m not sure we could have come out of this fight in one piece, and it wouldn’t have been long before those… zombies overran the country?"
"Undead, but zombie works too," I said with a slight chuckle, causing the President to replicate my laughter.
"Right, Undead it is then, anyway; as I was saying, if you had not been there, things would have taken a turn for the worse, and I truly believe there would have been many lives lost today."
The source of this c𝓸ntent is frёeweɓηovel.coɱ.
"With that in mind, I want you to know that you have the full backing and support of the United States Government and the Blank Check that goes along with such support. So, this organization and the Academies you wish to open, say the word, and you will receive all the funding you require."
END OF ACT 3