Trinity RPG: Back to the Stars - Clear Minds [John, Marvin, Lien]

[Krul]

The Xiao Dao one of the first completed Jumpships, armed and armored, prepared to depart for the lost human colonies. With the teleporters lost or missing, it had taken a number of years for the Jumpships to be built, and even now, finding the right crews for them. It was still two weeks from departure and several partys now were standing in the docking bay on Luna, prepared to depart for the space station, then to the Jumpship itself.

Ambassador Lien of the Ministry, with her assistant Mai Li, were two of three the telepaths assigned to the ship. The third wasn't under them, but with security, and seemed to be a cold and distant man.

Standing across from the Ambassador's party was John Saxon and Marvin Melrose, as well as the two Jumpship pilots. In time, no doubt the co-Pilot would be assigned to her own ship, but as this was one of the first to depart, Trinity had determined that there should be at least one back-up pilot on the ships.

[z008]

Lien smiled at her new crew mates and stepped forward to bow respectfully. "Hello. I am Ambassador Lien Mai."

Her smile was open and friendly and maybe a touch nervous, but then she seemed a little young to be an ambassador. Her assistant looked about the same age as her and hovered protectively behind her; she did give the men one or two appraising looks, but her expression wasn't open enough to tell if she was being friendly or cautious.

"It is an honor to meet my crewmates," the Ambassador finished.

[Hypothetical]

Marvin nodded and stepped forward, extending a hand. "Same here." he let her know with a small smile. "Marvin Melrose, Security," as he began to charmingly handle the introductions.

Gesturing at John, "John Saxon, Scout & Exploration, and..." Two tilts of the head to acknowledge Aria and Erin behind them "the ladies behind us are Erin Madison and Aria Kerris, the pilots."

"I hope we have a good relationship. The Jumpship's too small for a feud." he finished with a charming smile.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John inclined his head with smile. He looked around, feeling not so much nervous as he was simply aware of every detail. He'd never met a telepath before, or at least not one that he knew was one. He wasn't sure if he should police his thoughts, or try to marshal his feelings, he wasn't even sure if they could sense any of that without trying, or that they weren't trained to specifically not do that. Instead his stood there, smiling, and broadcasting a confused, anxious, jumble that probably would either boggle the mind of the two women or make them laugh.

[z008]

Lien shook Marvin's hand with only the slight hesitation at the that showed it was a foreign custom for her. She likewise bowed and nodded to the others, murmuring back their names in a show that she'd remembered and might actually have clue who they were an hour from now. She seemed entirely unaware of John's inner turmoil, meaning she was either politely minding her own thoughts or an excellent actress; given her position on the ship, either was possible. Her eyes swept over the docking bay, eager for their transport to dock so they could board and finally see the Xiao Dao first-hand.

[Hypothetical]

Marvin smiled back at her, and turned to watch the space in the distance.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

There was a silent, awkward, moment. Marvin shook one of the telepath's hands and things seemed to be going smoothly. John smiled, "Pleased to meet you."

[Hypothetical]

Marvin wondered about what lay ahead. Of course he had not the power to see into the distance of space or time, and so decided to ask someone probably more knowledgable.

"You wouldn't happen to know the finer details of our starting trip, Lien?" he murmurred. "It's been a few weeks since I signed up, but I haven't gotten more than a general concept."

[z008]

"Hmn," she smiled at the charismatic clarisentient, happy to be of assistance, "We'll be starting with the Khantze Lu Ge colony. After that we will be headed to Qinshui, and will most likely have several members of the Qin consulary returning to their home with us. I think the return trip will probably include a fair number of the humans that were stranded on Qinshui, as well. Then to the Karroo Mining Colony and Far Nyumba and finally to Averiguas."

She was quiet for the moments it would take for the others to absorb the list and put it in perspective. "I am quite excited to be visiting the Qin homeworld. Is there anywhere in particular you are looking forward to visiting?"

Her tone and mannerism indicated that the question was to the group in general and not just to Marvin.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John considered carefully his reply, "I suppose I'm just looking forward to seeing new places, though truly I want to explore new worlds." He considered the Chinese woman, she held a certain plump attractiveness and she seemed friendly enough. Despite himself he relaxed a bit, telepathy aside they were just people, and he started to feel batter about this mission.

[z008]

She gave him a smile of a kindred spirit and nodded, "Perhaps once we've reestablished contact with all the lost colonies and several more jumpships have been constructed to keep us in contact, we might be allowed to explore further out. It would be interesting to see how many more other sentient species there are besides ourselves, the Qin, and the Chromatics."

She crinkled her nose cutely at Marvin, teasing back from his earlier comment about fueds, "We might want a little break from each other by then, though. Five years in an oversized tin can together, even with little vacations, might be a bit much." She grinned, "So, take a month off, then head for outer rim, yes?"

[Krul]

As you all stand there talking with one another, Mai Li reaches out and puts a hand on Lien's shoulder. It was first, a gesture of her support, but it was also a gesture that allowed her to draw Lien's attention to the airlock, which was even now opening, indicating that the ship that was to take everyone to the Leviathon was now here.

[Hypothetical]

"Yes." Marvin replied with a double meaning in his voice as he noted the ship and responded to Lien. He looked it over momentarily, then spoke to the group.

"Shall we?" he queried as he began moving onto the ship.

[z008]

Lien reached up and squeezed Mai Li's hand in thanks, both for the support and the heads up. She nodded at Marvin's question and motioned for the others to go ahead of her if they wished.

As they boarded, her fingers brushed over the cool metal of the airlock. Her pyscial sensitivity had been disorienting, nearly as much as the telepathy, when she'd first emerged from the tank. Now, though, she reveled in it, experiencing even the everyday mundane at a level so much deeper than she had been able to before.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John sat down and immediately buckled the safety restraint. He looked out the viewport to the dark vastness of space that lay beyond the docking girders and the blinking port lights. His expression and his mannerisms may have hinted at anxiety or excitement, it was difficult to tell which. The truth was that it was both. This was only John's second trip in a shuttle and it would be his first view of a Leviathan, let alone the visit itself. He sat back and simply stared out the window, as his thoughts wandered to the question of what lay beyond.

[Krul]

Erin and Aria, who were dressed in outfits that clearly marked them as the Jumpship pilots, smiled and listened in, but had said nothing but simply watched. When the ship arrived to ferry them to the Jumpship, both pilots boarded and took a seat, with a nod to the others.

[Hypothetical]

Marvin laid back with relaxation and excitment. The challenge was obviously to come, worry about it later, his counternance suggested.

[Krul]

Once everyone was aboard, the pilot of this small hybrid spaceship turned and glanced at everyone. "Alright folks, we're off, next stop, the Xiao Dao, please buckle up, just in case. We havn't had any encounters with Abberants in the last few days, but there were a few in the last week." And with that, once the door closed, the ship left, heading for the Leviathan.

[z008]

Lien's lips thinned at the mention of Aberrants; she was Malaysian and had seen the destruction those creatures had wrought on Kuala Lampuur. Mai Li fussed over the ambassador when Lien's musings kept her from buckling her seatbelt quickly enough. Lien tried to wave her off, but it eventually took a firm "Mai Li, I'm fine" to get the other telepath to desist. The gentle feeling of building pressure as the ship built up speed settled over the seating area and Lien tried to follow Marvin's example of laid-back excitement. She stared out the window nearest to her, hoping for an early glimpse of the ship or something else to take her mind of her nerves.

Adventure was great, it was just all the waiting you had to watch out for.

[Hypothetical]

Marvin raised an eyebrow at the mention of Aberrants, but shrugged it off. Mostly. A police officer knew when to be prepared, and he thought a precaution was in order. In the course of a moment, he focused his mind into the surrounds, coming back with a feel of everything around. Just in case.

Click to reveal..

Activating Danger Sense [9/10]

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Finally John breaks the silence; turning from the window he asks to the other passengers, "So have any of you been out to the Leviathan yet? What's it like I wonder. It's hard for me to imagine a bioapp that size?"

[Krul]

Erin turned to him and smiled. "Both Aria and I have been out to see it, and yes, it's a bit strange, the ship is alive, there's something about it.. it's almost like it's on the bare edges of true sentience." She took a deep breath. "Actually, it's beautiful as well, plenty of living space too.. though we'll be seeing a lot of each other, there are even a few gardens and pools inside."

She was about to speak some more, when the pilot spoke up. "Sorry to interrupt ladies and gentlemen, but I'm afraid our Abberant free streak appears to be over.. hang on, and get ready for a wild ride folks."

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John gulped audibly, "Oh man ..." he moaned as he closed his eyes and reached out with his senses. Attunement allowed him to feel the noetic medium in the area, he could sense the brightness of the other psions on the shuttle and out beyond those walls something very wrong. Actually what he sensed was more like a hole, he sensed a lack of psi, a hole burned into the noetic background by the strong taint of the aberrants. "It's ... they aren't that powerful, not like the Colony. I had the chance to feel the residue of his attack, these are much less powerful."

[Hypothetical]

Marvin grimaced as the news of the attack filtered in, but his tone was calming. "Well, if that's so, we've got a better chance. Anyway, I have trust in our pilot, because there's little more than him and fate on the line here."

He too reached out in turn through his attunement, and he felt out his way to the null hole in the distance. "I feel him too. We can outrun this Aberrant."

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John unclipped his harness and stood up, working his way slowly forward toward the cockpit. "Actually there are four of them, close together, they're hiding within each others shadows ... err, taint. Whatever. I'm going to let the pilots know." He moved slowly up the aisle, keeping his hands on the back of the chairs as inertia began to be felt as the pilots started to fly with a little less concern for a smooth ride and more concern for a safe arrival. He got to the cockpit door and pocked his head in, "Hi guys ... umm, oh sorry ladies. Just wanted to let you know there are four of them out there, fairly weak. I'd offer to help fly but I don't yet have my wings." He offered a lopsided grin and waited to see if they wanted to ask him anything.

[z008]

The Malaysian ambassador paled at the confirmation of Aberrants approaching the ship, instinctively curling up on herself and looking out the window to try and see the horror that was approaching. Even weak Aberrants could mean trouble for them. Mai Li put an arm on Lien's shoulder, offering her support, but even the Chinese assistant was pale and thin-lipped.

Despite her appearance of helpless fear, Lien took the unintended advice of the others and extended her own psionic awareness outward, trying to not only feel the presence and position of the Aberrants, but to try to understand why and what they intended to do.

[Krul]

"Hang on folks, and the rest of you, stay in your seats, we're about to take evasive action." He glances at John a moment. "As for you, grab something, and hold on." With that, the hybrid ship they were in did a full spin, and thier pilot increased the speed by a good margin.

As Lien reached out with her mind, she touched the minds of the abberants, just enough to count four minds, but she could get nothing more from them. It wasn't that they didn't have thoughts, it was more a matter of thier thoughts didn't make complete sense. She also felt for a moment, that they almost seemed.. progammed to do what they were doing.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

The pilot pulled the ship into a tight roll, the passengers in the back were forced into their seats and held there by safety webbing, John, his hand each grasping an overhead rung, felt like he was doing a cartwheel. Thankfully the artificial gravity grid held and he wasn't thrown outward by the overwhelming centripetal forge. Instead he maintained his position and closed his eyes casting out his senses first into the noetic totality and then back into the "real" world a hundred meters behind the ship. "I have eyes on the Aberrants pilot. Do you have weapons on board? I can try to help even the odds if you do. Lien can you link me to the pilot? Let him see what I am seeing? I think we could use all the help we can get."

Click to reveal..

Activate Sensory Projection

(17:59:41) ChatBot: (John) rolls 6d10 and gets 2,3,3,8,2,2.

1 sux

-1 Psi

Range is 30m * Psi = 180m

[z008]

She shook her head, still curled in on herself. "No, I am not that skilled yet. I could act as a sort of relay, going back and forth between the two of you, but that would tire me quickly and would likely take too long. Mai? Could you?"

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

Back out in the cold vacuum of space John saw the aberrants split into pairs and move into flanking positions behind the shuttle. He cast his senses back into the ship and heard, "...would tire me quickly and would likely take too long. Mai? Could you?" He looked behind him at the two Chinese women, allowing that for the next several seconds the pilot could keep them all alive. Mai hopefully could give the pilot John's own perceptions, allow the man to see everything rather than only his view out of the cockpit.

[Krul]

"I do not know that technique, I am afraid, my friend." The other telepath responded, with a measure of apology in her voice.

However, there was third mind present, with telepathic capabilities, and one that was much more powerful then one might think. Though the other mind was mostly reacting to Lien's fear, the uncoiling of noetic power could be felt by every psion in the ship.

The minds of everyone in the area were brushed with a momentary telepathic touch, then suddenly it reached out further. A moment later, the attacking abberants suddenly became confused and disoriented, rather then joint or together. Finally, as the mind withdrew, there was a touch upon John and the pilot's mind, allowing each to see what the other was seeing.

With a twisting of the ship the pilot turned them so that he could fire on the abberants, with great ease now that he could see though John's persceptions. The abberants were easy targets now that they were so confused and disoriented, and after a moment or two, the ship continued on toward the Xiao Dao... as the joined perceptions faded after a minute or two.

[z008]

Lien's eyes went wide and she remained curled around her body; after a moment, the shock became a deep blush, adding a rosy tint to her copper-colored skin. "Is..." she swallowed, "Is everyone alright?"

The ambassador looked a bit motion sick herself.

[Special Agent Gary Samson]

John's grip slackened on the rail and he stumbled backwards, falling into the first row of seating, as the mind share ended. "Wow," he breathed, "Who? How?" He turned to the two Chinese women, "I though you both said you couldn't do that, but..." he found himself at a loss for words, "That was incredible." He cast out his perceptions one last time as the shuttle approached the Leviathan and using the freedom he had he explored the ship closely in a way that he'd likely never be able to do in person. Once the shuttle docked he retreated to his own body in time to hear the mechanical hard seals engaging and the airlock cycling up to admit them to their new home.

[z008]

Lien gratefully followed John onto the ship, shaking her head and managing a wan smile at some question Mai Li asked her quietly as the were exiting the shuttle. She didn't know exactly what their reception to the ship was going to be right now; the formal ceremony for the Xiao's disembarking wasn't for another fortnight or so. She rather hoped any reception would be informal at best. Her nerves were still frayed from the ocnfrontation outside the ship, and she was hungry.

You're on duty, Lien Mei. Focus. Her lips twitched at her own mental rebuke, and she pulled herself out of her reverie to take in what was going on around her.

[Hypothetical]

Marvin too was relieved when the fighting was cleared. At that time, he'd remarked that the coast was clear then, so relaxation was good. Of course, that too had disappeared when they arrived at the ship. It was their home and workplace now, so he prepped himself for a good appearance.

That always helped, generally.

[Krul]

Upon their entry to the space ship, they found a small group, a division from the Legions, who appeared to number around 12 waiting for them. There were also about 4 individuals in Ministry style uniforms and dress.

"Welcome Aboard the Xiao Dao, at this point final preparations are being made, and some of the crew has still to board, but we have full gravity and living quarters for everyone. Especially our Pilots and the Ambassador, of course."

<<Continued in Body, Mind, Soul>>