[Sticks]

Prologue

Note contains spoilers from previous seasons and tales

This follows on from Tales From and Around the Mystical Realms Volume Four

Spoiler:

…oo00O00oo…

Q. If it was in the interest of national security, would the state, break the law?

In the days following World War Two, many Nazi scientists, who had been responsible for crimes against humanity, were spirited away by the Joint Intelligence Objectives Agency, a branch of the US Government. These scientists were considered far too useful in the Cold War against the soviets that was to follow, to be allowed to stand trial at Nuremberg. In order to get round an injunction by the then US president that those steeped in Nazi war crimes were excluded from relocation to the US; the biographies of these scientists were amended and sanitised.

This operation by the US Government was called Operation Paperclip the name, derived from the paperclips used to attach the scientists’ new political persona to their “US Government Scientist” JIOA personnel files.

They were of course dark and troublesome times back then, and so their crimes were glossed over as they worked for their new masters.

In fact the success of the Apollo programme to land a man on the Moon was down to one of these scientists, one Wernher von Braun

The question is, would a governments today act in such a manner?

There is of course the old Latin saying, Inter arma enim silent leges attributed to Cicero from the first century BCE, which literally says "For among [times of] arms, the laws fall mute," although it is more popularly rendered as "In times of war, the law falls silent."

Would a state once again dispense with justice for the sake of expediency and gaining a military advantage over their enemies?

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Previously in the Mystical Realms Sagas and Tales

Spoiler:

Three years ago
An office over Looking the River Thames
London, England

Instinctively the elderly business man thrust the Shears of Atropos into The Spirit of Lust. She screamed from the shock of the pain and the fire balls just vanished. Then to elderly business man’s surprise, she laughed as she pulled the shears from her body and tossed them on the floor and grabbed the elderly business man and held him in her arms. “You fool” She shouted, “By stabbing me with a magical item, you have just started to spread my essence of lust through out this universe and as I have you, you will be spread through out the cosmos with me and fully aware”
The elderly business man tried to push the Spirit of lust away, but she held on with a vice like grip as the two of them started to glow with white light

“Take cover you fools” Yelled the Spirit of Lust to Samuel and Mark, so Samuel and Mark dived behind the desk in the office. The teenager scrambled round to be right next to him behind the desk.
“I’m Celeste” She told him, “I’m sorry I was involved in the bosses plot to kill you sir, I was wrong”
“I’m glad you failed” Samuel replied
“So am I sir” Celeste told him

Just then there was a massive flash of light and a violent wind emanating from where the Spirit of Lust had been, shattering the thick glass windows and setting alight some of the furniture.

Celeste stood up and saw that the Spirit of Lust and the elderly businessman were gone, but there had been a lot of damage and some items were on fire.

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Spoiler:

Three Years previously in the alternate timeline where Earth had been defeated
A wilderness cave
The Walong Mountains
The Mystical Realms

Colonel Samuel Peters eyed the figure in white, bearing a flaming sword who had approached him

“You may regret what you are about to do mortal” the figure in white said in an intimidating tone, “The rolling back of time has consequences. Are you sure you really want to do this”
“Given what your lot have done to our world” Samuel countered, “I see no other option”

“Remember Mortal” The figure in white growled, “Consequences” he added menacingly. At that he faded away

“What do you think he means by consequences” Celeste nervously asked

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Spoiler:

Three Years ago in the revised timeline
National Naval Medical Center
Bethesda, Maryland USA

Celeste the former spirit of second chances and daughter of the Spirit of Death and Lachesis was lying in a hospital bed whilst Simon Hargreaves, the love of her life sat with her.

Pete Smith came back in with the doctor and the Colonel Samuel Peters. Celeste again tried to sit up, but the doctor would not let her and ordered her to rest as she had had quite a severe concussion.

“When do you want me back at work sir” Celeste asked the Colonel.

The colonel looked up at Pete and then Simon.
“She only came round a moment ago, she doesn’t know” Pete said to the colonel

“Whatever I’ve done wrong I’m sorry” Celeste said in distress, worried that for some reason she had been dismissed.

“You haven’t done anything wrong Celeste” Samuel said quietly. Then he stopped and then spoke up again, “When that hydrogen bomb detonated between our two universes it seems to have some how stopped passage between Earth and the Mystical Realms”
“I tried to stop her” Celeste went on
“You couldn’t have stopped her” the colonel interrupted, “nobody could have, there is no way anyone could have.”
“So what happens now sir?” Celeste asked
“As all the entities from there have left Earth and all the humans with one exception are back here on Earth, it has been decided to shut the IDEC down” the colonel explained.

“I’m going to work for the NSA” Simon suddenly said to Celeste, “Miss Cooper got me a job there”
“Sue-Lim and I will be returning back to England as soon as she’s discharged from here in a week or so time” Pete interrupted.
“And your coming home with me” Simon said gleefully, “Mum and Dad want to meet my new wife”

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Spoiler:

An office building over looking the River Thames
London, England

Some time after the link to the Mystical Realms was severed in the revised timeline

The office building had been abandoned for a long time since the collapse of the empire of the person who once owned it. Suddenly there was a bright flash of light which exploded silently followed by an electrical discharge that crackled all across the room.

Suddenly a man in his fifties and what looked like a woman in her forties or fifties who had been stabbed appeared from nowhere and both were thrown to the floor.

The woman placed her hand over the stab wound and looked up in surprise, “What magic is this” she screeched as she gasped in pain as she started to smoulder

“I’ve no idea” the man replied as he got up off the floor, “But I still have my own thread and now I’m back and this time all the others thought they had defeated me will pay!”

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Spoiler:

The Reflecting Pool
Washington DC
United States of America


(One Month previously)

Kathryn Cooper watched as Brigadier General Samuel Peters walked away after a frosty encounter with her. There had been a lot of water under the bridge since the closing down of Inter Dimensional Entity Control, and relations between the two were not what they once were. She had got a senior position with the National Security Agency. Although Samuel had received a promotion, he had ended up retiring, angry at how some of his former team had been treated.

Kathryn waited until he was out of sight and then pulled out her mobile and turned around and started walking. She dialled a number and started walking

The mobile was answered

“Sorry sir” Kathryn said into the phone, “He didn’t say where the girl is”

Someone responded on the phone

“No sir, I really don’t think she’s a threat to national security.” She said into the phone, “I have experience of former minor spirits of virtue sir, especially with Mazy Schneider and Rebecca Sands. Even your own people have assessed them as minimal risk if that.”

A further reply came over the mobile

“Well if you want to put a tail on the Brigadier General, that of course is your prerogative but I think you are wasting your time, plus I have to point out that whoever you pick has to be damn good. He can spot a tail a mile off.”

A further reply came over the mobile

“Yes sir” the lady replied and closed her phone, shaking her head as she headed for a black sedan that was waiting for her.

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