Trinity Universe: New Guardians

[Heritage]

It was another Monday morning on Absolute Zero. Except it wasn't - Monday, that is, or even morning; a hunk of rock tumbling through the icy depths of space didn't have days or months or seasons, so like most non-planetary outposts in the Solar System, A-Z ran on Greenwich Mean Time, and back on Mother Earth it was a dewy Monday morning in that green and pleasant land. There wasn't much green or pleasant in the Belt, of course, but that didn't keep humanity away - there was gold in them thar rocks, if you were lucky enough to find it, and lived long enough to keep it. Lots of ways to die out in the Belt, too; countless nameless bodies floated out in the black, Earth's contribution to the asteroids, spinning and bumping off the heedless hull of the next prospector's ship.

Back in the hollow world of A-Z, Leah Wagner was not a huge fan of Mondays, even fake ones - sure, she loved her job as regional office administrator at Sunset-Kalkay, and she got along well with all the staff who worked under her, but Monday mornings were rough for a different reason. That was when a new set of transmissions arrived from her boss, eccentric trillionaire Godiva Trask, and they were always torture to go through. As she threaded the cubicles on her way back to her small office, she had a greeting for everyone, trying to push away the grim task that awaited her through the power of cheerfulness alone. But today, shockingly, there was only one simple text message waiting in her deskcomp: "Have coffee and the usual edibles ready in the conference room by 10 am sharp - T" Well, that was certainly doable - no withering comments in Trask's clipped synthetic BBC accent, no condescending sneers from her eternally youthful avatar. Perhaps this Monday wouldn't be too bad after all.

But then her brown eyes scanned the guest list, and she paled and dropped into her leather chair. Psions. Lots of them. They always made her nervous, even though she knew they'd done so much for humanity, basically dragging Earth out of a new Dark Age and shoving it smack into the 22nd century. Even knowing all this, and being a fairly open and outgoing person, Leah still valued her privacy very highly, and psions made her feel exposed, almost naked. But this was her job, and she prided herself on doing it well, so she would face these psions with a smile and a warm handshake, and hope they didn't notice her palms were damp.

She went about straightening her cluttered little office, checking for dust out of habit - how did she accumulate so much stuff? She gave herself a quick once-over in the mirror - her shoulder-length brown hair looked good, framing her face nicely, and the dove-gray jumpsuit and stylish boots accented her supple curves and long killer legs, so at least she was packing some heat of her own.

Take that, Mister Psion! ::sly ::cool ::devil

There was a polite tap at the door.

Boss? Do you want me to get the conference room ready?

Good thing there weren't any witnesses, because Leah went ten kinds of spastic.

D'yah! What? Yeh! Great idea, Ditra, I was just coming over to your cube. ::blush

Smoothing back her hair and working the tension out of her shoulders, Leah slid open the door for her assistant. Ditra was the second-gen synthetic the firm provided to help her get though her day; with hair and skin tinted a light green, upswept features and a graceful figure, she appeared to be modeled on some fairy from A Midsummer Night's Dream, which Leah assumed was supposed to be funny somehow, at least in Ms Trask perverse mind, but the two of them got on rather well, so it really wasn't an issue.

The alien beauty paused in the doorway, one slender eyebrow raised; she wore a gossamer body sheath and an amused expression.

Slight discoloration of the face, elevated body temperature, increased respiration - were you doing some thing silly and/or naughty this morning, boss? ::sly

Leah couldn't help but laugh.

Definitely an 'and/or' sort of morning, Deet ::laugh It's a human thing -

Then they both said in chorus:

"You wouldn't understand." ::biggrin

I compute and comprehend ::wink So, coffee and snacks in the conference room?

Leah nodded vigorously.

Yeh, please get on that - I'll pull myself together somehow, and meet you over there.

On it, boss. ::thumbsup

In a few minutes, Leah is in one of the ten comfortable leather chairs in the conference room (Ms Trask insisted on real leather for all her office furnishings, so these chairs were worth more than some people's homes ::crazy), her minicomp on the long table before her, a cup of strong coffee tightly clutched in her hands, and somehow looking very small. Her assistant makes to leave the room, but Leah calls her back.

Deet! Could you, um, stay in here? To serve the coffee and stuff? ::lookaround

For a moment, Ditra starts to object.

What am I, your servant today? You know, I may be just an android, but I-

Noting once again the signs of agitation, the synthetic manages a surprisingly human sigh.

Sure, boss, I can stay - to serve the coffee and stuff ::smile

She steps into the corner and closes her big green eyes for a moment.

I'm just letting Joan up-front know to send everyone back here.

(OOC: And we're off!) ::cool

[ProfPotts]

Maria stirred & frowned, trying to ignore the dull ‘morning after’ thud which played across the back of her skull. Pushing herself off the muscular chest of her slumbering companion she knelt up & stretched, yawning loudly. Even as she did so the wings followed suit, their eight-foot span fairly filling the small hotel room. From the bedside table a cheroot danced free of its packet & over to the corner of the Latin woman’s mouth, arcing through the air seemingly unaided – one black, reptilian, fingertip glowed brightly as it came up to light the thin cigar. Maria breathed deeply, allowing the aromatic smoke to fill her lungs, before slipping from the bed – dragging the covers with her - & managing to focus her bleary vision on the man who remained there.

As her bed mate stirred himself & moaned softly, groping for covers that were no longer there, Maria tried to recall the previous night. She was pretty sure that he’d tried to pick her up as some sort of bet with his friends – asteroid miners by the look of them, if she recalled correctly – but she’d been in the mood for some relief after the long space flight to the station, & he’d looked pretty cute through a tequila-induced haze… Not so cute this morning, she mused to herself, before deciding that she needed to be alone.

The man in Maria’s bed started awake as if he’d been slapped – in fact he had been slapped, just by a small application of Maria’s telekinesis, rather than by her hand.

“Hey! I…” The miner’s voice trailed off as he caught sight of the woman he’d slept with, his eyes widening. It wasn’t that Maria was unattractive – in fact, her athletic figure, dusky skin, & dark Latin eyes & hair were a pretty potent combination. No, it was the rest of it – the bio-tech wings that sprouted from her back – technically the wings belonged to the small creature which grasped its four slender legs over Maria’s shoulders & under her bust – but the overall effect was quite demonic. Of course, the black talons didn’t help – the paired psi-gauntlets which the woman wore resembled the claws of some dark reptilian beast. But more than that, more even than the tattoo of the Second Legion’s ‘die’ symbol on her left shoulder which proclaimed the woman to be a member of the more mercenary ranks of the psychokinetic order, there was something unnerving & eerie about Maria Santana… ::devil

Unwilling to put up with the guy for any longer Maria spoke up herself, her voice husky & her accent revealing her Spanish speaking origins,

“Salir el muchacho. Get out.”

Getting over his initial bout of surprise, the miner obviously started to remember the wild night of passion the two had shared – the scratches down his back would, no doubt, serve to remind him for a few days yet to come. Leaning back in the bed, he folded his arms behind his head, & blew a pouting kiss in the female Legionnaire’s direction,

“Come-on babe, ya’ know ya’ want some more…” ::wink The guy made no effort to hide the ‘morning glory’ he was sporting.

Maria, however, was not in the mood. With a slight frown she latched a fist’s-worth of psychic force onto the man’s offending member. Instantly his eyes bulged & watered & a tiny yelp escaped his shocked & pained lips ::shocked .

“I’m a level nueve psychic, muchacho – don’t make me squeeze harder…”

Releasing the pressure Maria allowed the man to scramble from the bed & hurry to gather his strewn clothes,

“Bitch! Whore!” ::angry

The Latina shrugged,

“If you want to pay me, then leave your wallet on the side. Otherwise, rápido por favour.” ::sly

The door to the hotel room slammed open, the miner’s ubiquitous-style jumpsuit flying out with just a touch of telekinetic help, his boots following a moment later. Half mad, half panicked, the man lurched out of the room, still trying to pull up his underpants, as he tried to catch his errant attire. As soon as he was clear, the door slammed closed again… In fact, just before he was clear by the loud smack & sounds of yelling which filtered through to the Legionnaire as she headed towards the shower. ::crazy

Maria was, as usual, slightly bothered by the subtle change in weight as she slipped the wingpack from her shoulders & the talons from her hands. Taking some time & care, she knelt to administer the required nutritional pastes & oils to the bio-apps, softly cooing to them in Spanish as she did so, then stood & entered the steaming shower – only at the last moment did she remember to take the lit cheroot from her lips & place it on the side of the washbasin.

It was a while later when Maria emerged from the shower, feeling a lot better now that she didn’t smell of cheap tequila & cheaper sex. The cigar, once again, floated to her lips on instinct &, with some sense of relief, she slipped her bio-apps back on. Maria could well imagine how those Psions who experienced so-called ‘tolerance overload’ felt – to her the wings & gauntlets were a part of her body – Hell, the unique psi-gauntlets had even given her her Legion call sign ‘Black Talon’ – to remove them was like having to remove an arm or a leg. Still, she wasn’t that far gone yet – she could still take them off with just a small effort of will & a twinge of regret – rather than the full-blown mental trauma that those Psions who pushed their tolerance limits too far were said to suffer from.

Wrapped in one of those fluffy white towelling bathrobes that hotels are famous for, Maria laid the small ovoid ceramic-polymer hi-tech box which comprised her minicomp’ on her thigh as she reached down to paint her toenails. The bodynet link initialised in a fraction of a second & Watson materialised in her field of vision – the biotech lenses grafted to her eyes being the last of her formatted arsenal. The well-dressed older man with a brush moustache was, she’d been told, modelled on the assistant of some fictional English detective. When she’d brought the agent – to handle all those annoying business matters which mercenary life demanded dealing with – she’d been offered a version which spoke Spanish as its primary language, but had refused. Somehow the idea of a stuffy, middle-aged, English businessman catering to her every whim & following her ever command had appealed to the Latina – perhaps he reminded her of old clients from before her Legion days? Whatever the reasons for her choice, Watson always did his job well,

“Good morning, madam.” The hologram projected on her grafted Heads Up Display lenses peered around the room with that look of distain he reserved for Maria’s various carnal excesses, “Did madam have a good night? I would ask if she slept well, but I doubt that there was much sleeping going on…” ::sarcasm

Maria grinned,

“You're just jealous because you don’t have any hands with which to grope me yourself…”

The holographic agent rolled his eyes, his tone remaining sarcastic,

“Yes, madam, I’m sure that is probably the case. Will madam be indulging all day, or does she require a reminder of her appointments?” ::rolleyes

“Just the one, Watson – give me the details of the job, por favor.”

“The Sunset-Kalkay commission? Right away, madam…”

*****

Maria Santana is directed through the office to the conference room. The good looking & athletic Latin American woman wears skintight jeans, work boots, a simple black vest top, & a black overcoat. Observant individuals can note spindly claw-like ‘legs’ emerging & gripping over her shoulders & round the side of her chest, up under her bust (in a natural, but uplifting ::blush , manner). The black, scaled, dragon-like claws which appear to be her hands are more obvious at a glance - & scream ‘bio-tech’ to anyone with even a passing familiarity with such things – although the design of the paired units appears to be unique. A tough Steinhardt P-CC minicomp is clipped onto the front of the jeans, which are themselves low enough on her shapely hips that a flash of toned belly can be glimpsed now & again. The small bone-conducting microphone curving down from one ear denotes the presence of an ear-radio. Her raven hair is plaited into a single long braid which falls to the small of her back, outside the overcoat. A lit cheroot cigar sits comfortably at the corner of her lips – almost as if it’s a permanent fixture.

Casting a glance around the room, Maria’s gaze settles on the seated brunette. Briefly removing the cigar from her mouth with two fingers & exhaling a cloud of smoke the Legionnaire nods,

“Buenos dias señorita – Maria Santana, Second Legion.”

[Heritage]

Casting a glance around the room, Maria’s gaze settles on the seated brunette. Briefly removing the cigar from her mouth with two fingers & exhaling a cloud of smoke the Legionnaire nods,

“Buenos dias señorita – Maria Santana, Second Legion.”

Leah looks a little startled by the Legionnaire's appearance at first, but quickly slides it under her professional facade.

A pleasure, señorita.

(Her accent is near perfect.)

I'm Leah Wagner, regional office administrator here on A-Z, and I'm glad you could make it.

She indicates Ditra standing politely in the corner with a nod.

Would you care for some coffee, or a sandwich?

[ProfPotts]

Would you care for some coffee, or a sandwich?

Maria's dark eyes shift to examine the green female figure,

"Un café solo, por favor, y el cenicero." She flicks the ash off the end of the cheroot to emphasise the need for an ashtray.

Glancing back to Miss Wagner she asks,

"Hermoso synth', Leah - type three? You people must have mucho dinero, si? Qué debo hacer - what's the job?"

Small flashes of light pass across Maria's eyes as she has her agent quietly give his professional opinion on the business aspects of the meeting...

[tooho]

Sleepily rubbing her eyes, a toussled red head shuffles quietly into the kitchen. Long red curls sway down her back sliding over the pink silk robe. Large green eyes blink as she stares at the beautiful woman standing similarly attired.

The gleaming wood surfaces of the large kitchen are covered in various foods in the midst of production.

“Morning, beautiful. Sure took you long enough to wake up.” The equally sexy women smile in tandem.

Edana walks over for a quick hug. “Well, sis, the trip was long. I didn’t figure Dorrian would let you up this early. Weren’t you out late?” Grabbing a cold piece of chicken, Edana grabs a seat on a nearby stool, crossing her legs. The fine silk robe parts softly, leaving long, golden legs exposed to the knee.

“Meetings and such.” Quietly turning her back the beautiful and usually flighty Fiona quite obviously does not finish the explanation.

Shaking her head slightly in sadness, Edana lets it pass though she eyes the stiff back. “No, problems at the last stop, Fi, though they are getting a little more accepting when I say I’m not you. Why, the last guy was willing to overlook my identification if I’d come look at his ‘etchings’.” Smiling in a friendly manner, Edana tries unsuccessfully to tease her sister out of her upset. “Atleast I need never worry. If my body doesn’t get ‘em, the face does.” Kissing the frozen Fiona, Edana hugs her for a second before overcome by all the delicious smells.

Eyeing the large repast, Edana seems to stare for a moment. “Who’s the feast for? Don’t tell me, Dorrian’s already in meetings? Jeez, Fiona! You should have warned me. What kind of impression will I make if they come in and see me sitting about in a robe!” Mortified, Edana quickly starts raking her hand through her mane of hair. Pulling the robe tighter together to protect what little modesty she has, she stands to rush back to her room only to run right into a large fleshy wall.

“There’s my beautiful women. Morning, little sister. Its good to see you made the trip safely.” The dark laughter rising from her twin’s husband brings a flush to her cheeks. Standing well over six feet, the ‘black irish’ Dorrian Gannon, looks darkly handsome and devilish. Impecably dressed, his brown eyes sweep lovingly over his smiling wife. It always amazed him how very alike the two women looked, though Edana was the more circumspect of the two oftimes shyer, quieter, calmer, though not of late.

“I’d think with such a big lug assigned to see to my safety, you wouldn’t worry. Kurt would never let anything happen to me, and he’s great eye candy. Men never believe he’s just a driver/bodyguard.”

At the polite cough behind Dorrian, Edana grins gamely and smiles innocently up at Dorrian. “Kurt’s the very best! He’s such a darling and he never lets me do anything that would put me at risk. The poor soul.. struggles by on a pittance of a salary, brother. He deserves so much more for his YEARS of dedicated service. I mean… how does such a golden Adonis have time for any fun of his own when stuck following me across space. He must need a vacation!”

Dorrian, laughing, walks in and rests an arm around his wife while she too cries with laughter. “You know, kiddo. One day, he’s not going to be working for us anymore and he’ll be free to get even for all your smart remarks.”

“Yes, but he’ll be positively ANCIENT by then and I’ll be a mere child at thirty.”

The powerful, blond Kurt stands impressively large in the doorway, blocking Edana’s intended exit. “Plans today, Miss Edana? Don’t you think you need a rest.” A question that wasn’t actually a question. Hmm.. best escape quickly before he loses his cool and those brown eyes flay me alive.

Gliding forward purposefully, Edana stops mere inches before her stoic guard. “Feel fine, Kurt. I’ve a job possibility with Sunset-Kalkay, which I should be making myself beautiful for shortly. If you wouldn’t mind.” Tapping his chest lightly, he immediately backs away. Walking with innate grace, she trails off quietly to prepare for the meeting.

Watching the swish of her robe over round hips, Kurt once again marvels at her innate beauty. With a sense of awe put in mind by the actresses of old once referred to as ‘bombshells’, he drags his eyes away and strides forward marking her progress deeper into the elegant apartment.

“I’ll be out front in thirty.” He says quietly to her back, leaving the laughing couple in the kitchen to themselves.

------

Sliding a soft hand onto Kurt’s arm, Edana smiles at his discomfort as they walk forward into the Sunset-Kalkay office. “I’ll be fine till after the meeting. Why don’t you go for a cup of coffee?” Hips swaying gently as she lengthens her stride to match his, she almost missed his snort at her attempt to lose him for a bit.

“I’m not thirsty, miss. I’ll await you here.” Perfectly aware that after years watching over Edana, that these little comments were mostly for show, Kurt takes up position to watch the goings on in business. It amused him that she tried to keep her pride by hiding how grateful she was for his protection. Between fortune-hunters, law officers, general lechers, and the enemies of Gannon, any number of people would love to get their hands on the bright Edana. Yet, always the optimist, she joked about her possible abduction or ignored the possibility entirely and carefully buried any connection to her family that she could.

Huffing slightly, Edana concedes, and pauses a moment to run soft hands down the silk of her green sheath of a dress and pat her hair to make sure it was still tamed in a simple chignon. Adjusting her coat more tightly about herself, she momentarily focuses outside her body, attuning to the noetic spectrum. (attunement)

Giving him a small thumbs up as she’s ushered into the back, she beams at the occupants as she sweeps in. “Edana Lyden, is that coffee I smell?” Pausing only for a second, she accepts a cup of joe and immediately slides into a leather chair across from the Latina.

[Heritage]

Maria's dark eyes shift to examine the green female figure,

"Un café solo, por favor, y el cenicero." She flicks the ash off the end of the cheroot to emphasise the need for an ashtray.

Ditra prepares the coffee and provides the needed ashtray.

Glancing back to Miss Wagner she asks,

"Hermoso synth', Leah - type three? You people must have mucho dinero, si? Qué debo hacer - what's the job?"

Leah shakes her head slightly

Ditra's a second-gen, actually, but I've had no complaints - she's the best assistant I've ever had. And yes, Sunset-Kalkay does indeed have very deep pockets, so we should be able to meet or exceed your normal fees.

The attractive brunette steeples her fingers and shrugs.

As far as the details of the job go, I'm not entirely sure - most of that information is down the hall with Mr Temple. He's head of Special Projects, which apparently means he gets a bigger office than me ::rolleyes Once we're all assembled, or at least most of us are here, I'm sure he'll grace us with his presence. ::sly

Giving him a small thumbs up as she’s ushered into the back, she beams at the occupants as she sweeps in. “Edana Lyden, is that coffee I smell?” Pausing only for a second, she accepts a cup of joe and immediately slides into a leather chair across from the Latina.

Leah smiles warmly.

Yes, it is - wow! You look just like...

She slaps herself lightly across the cheek.

Ah, dummy, it's in your file! ::blush Thank you for coming , Ms Lyden. ::biggrin

[ProfPotts]

Once the coffee appears, Maria - frowning just slightly as she watches Leah - takes a seat.

Ditra's a second-gen, actually, but I've had no complaints - she's the best assistant I've ever had. And yes, Sunset-Kalkay does indeed have very deep pockets, so we should be able to meet or exceed your normal fees.

A broad smile breaks across the Latina's face,

"Exceed sounds good, señorita." ::biggrin

As far as the details of the job go, I'm not entirely sure - most of that information is down the hall with Mr Temple. He's head of Special Projects, which apparently means he gets a bigger office than me  Once we're all assembled, or at least most of us are here, I'm sure he'll grace us with his presence.

Smile fading slightly, the Legionnaire nods,

"El trabajo negro... What others do you expect?"

“Edana Lyden, is that coffee I smell?”

Maria nods to the newcommer, gesturing with her cheroot as she does so,

"Hola."

Yes, it is - wow! You look just like... Ah, dummy, it's in your file!  Thank you for coming , Ms Lyden.

The Legionnaire looks confused,

"Qué?" ::confused

[tooho]

Hola

Smiling, Edana immediately puts her hand out to shake. Intrigued by the claws she studies them thoroughly.

Yes, it is - wow! You look just like... Ah, dummy, it's in your file!  Thank you for coming , Ms Lyden.

Edana flushes just a bit but seems to be used to such responses. "Its a minor misconception people have of me. I remind them of someone." ::wink "Its the price of not being unique." ::biggrin Sitting back, mostly so the sheath has less trouble staying in place, Edana sips quietly at her tea. "If I'm interrupting, feel free to just ignore me." ::smile

[Heritage]

A broad smile breaks across the Latina's face,

"Exceed sounds good, señorita."

Leah shares her smile - after all, out in the Belt, everyone loves money ::sly

Smile fading slightly, the Legionnaire nods,

"El trabajo negro... What others do you expect?"

Leah punches a button on her minicomp, and green glowing text scrolls though the air just over the holo-lenses. Her brow furrows and she slowly shakes her head.

It's an odd group, even for one of Temple's jobs - clairsentient, pilot, an historian. I can't begin to think what he has planned for you - maybe some sort of archeological expedition?

Edana flushes just a bit but seems to be used to such responses. "Its a minor misconception people have of me. I remind them of someone. Its the price of not being unique."  Sitting back, mostly so the sheath has less trouble staying in place, Edana sips quietly at her tea. "If I'm interrupting, feel free to just ignore me."

Leah waves a hand.

Not at all - just making business small talk until the others arrive. Unfortunately, I haven't been given enough information to hold up my end of the conversation ::rolleyes

[ProfPotts]

Maria watches Edana with just a touch of amusement as she examines the talons, seemingly happy to indulge the other woman's interest.

It's an odd group, even for one of Temple's jobs - clairsentient, pilot, an historian. I can't begin to think what he has planned for you - maybe some sort of archeological expedition?

Turning to Edana the Legionnaire inquires,

"Which would you be, señorita?" Santana takes a brief moment to look over the glamourous redhead, "Surely una bonita grande like yourself cannot be a common pilot?"

Glancing back towards Leah, Maria inhales a long drag from her thin cigar, savours the flavour, then slowly blows out the smoke, before asking,

"And you, señorita: are you going to explain why I can feel the Taint on you? Or are you going to make me kill you?" ::sly The words are polite & calm enough, but Maria's narrowed eyes promise that no threat she may make is an idle one... ::devil

[Heritage]

Glancing back towards Leah, Maria inhales a long drag from her thin cigar, savours the flavour, then slowly blows out the smoke, before asking,

"And you, señorita: are you going to explain why I can feel the Taint on you? Or are you going to make me kill you?" ::sly The words are polite & calm enough, but Maria's narrowed eyes promise that no threat she may make is an idle one... ::devil 

The S-K administrator looks like she was just smacked across the face with a two by four ::blink - her mouth just hangs there for a moment, then her eyes flick between Maria, Edana and Ditra ::unsure After a few moments, she almost manages to laugh.

My God, you are sensitive - most psions don't get a thing off of me. I guess you're worth the money we're paying. ::sly

She types in a quick command into her minicomp, and suddenly the air in the conference room feels completely inert, and even the sounds of the occupants' breathing seems muffled.

I've activated a muting system on this room - don't worry, the doors aren't locked or anything, so you're free to go if you choose. I suppose I could lie and act all innocent, but where's the fun in that, right? ::biggrin

Leah takes a very deep breath and closes her eyes.

If you must know.....I'm an Aberrant.

Her eyes open slowly, and when she speaks, though her face still appears to be that of a woman in her early thirties, her voice is somehow older - much older.

First generation, in fact, and mad as a hatter if I'm not powered down like I am now. I haven't accessed my power in, what, almost a year? No one else knows, not even Ditra, as you can tell from her flabbergasted expression.

The seeming human chuckles ruefully.

Didn't know they programmed you guys for 'thunderstruck', but it's a nice touch - I like it. ::biggrin

Leah actually does laugh now, and it stops just short of a maniacal giggle.

Goodness, what a load off - "I feel so free!" ::tongue

She turns back to Maria.

So, if you're not going to kill me this instant, can I have one of those smokes, because I could really use one right now. ::devil

[tooho]

"Which would you be, señorita?" Santana takes a brief moment to look over the glamourous redhead, "Surely una bonita grande like yourself cannot be a common pilot?"

::wink "I'd be the clair." Grinning at the compliment, Edana is a little surprised at the mention of taint.

If you must know.....I'm an Aberrant.

Edana sits utterly flabbergasted. "Well, I'm feeling very pathetic. You didn't even make me tingle!"

[ProfPotts]

More than ready - thanks to far too many hours over the last few years spent in the heart of combat (at least some of which involved killing abberants) - Maria reacts to the admission almost before her conscious mind processes the facts of what Leah... or the thing which called itself 'Leah'... has said.

For a brief moment thin streamers of steam emerge through the clenched fists of the black talons Maria wears, as her eyes narrow & her body tenses to move. As ususal, training hammered into her by the Legions floods her mind - the best way to kill an aberrant is as quickly as possible - give it no quarter: if it gets a chance to 'power up', then you're toast. Even as the dark tattoos of the Second Legion flare into view across the Latina's face her arms fly out in front of her, palms open to reveal white-bright heat as twin plasma bolts sear across the room, lancing towards the tainted monstrousity in human form.

Opening shots fired, Maria is already leaping for cover, metally throwing up a telekinetic barrier to block any counterattack by the squid...

::squid ::ohcrap

[Heritage]

More than ready - thanks to far too many hours over the last few years spent in the heart of combat (at least some of which involved killing abberants) - Maria reacts to the admission almost before her conscious mind processes the facts of what Leah... or the thing which called itself 'Leah'... has said.

For a brief moment thin streamers of steam emerge through the clenched fists of the black talons Maria wears, as her eyes narrow & her body tenses to move. As ususal, training hammered into her by the Legions floods her mind - the best way to kill an aberrant is as quickly as possible - give it no quarter: if it gets a chance to 'power up', then you're toast.

As Maria's gauntlets start to steam, Leah's eyes narrow for about a milisecond; suddenly two massive tentacles erupt from her back, her hair starts to grow long and thick, her face takes on a strange feral beauty, and she seems to grow at least a foot.

Even as the dark tattoos of the Second Legion flare into view across the Latina's face her arms fly out in front of her, palms open to reveal white-bright heat as twin plasma bolts sear across the room, lancing towards the tainted monstrousity in human form.

Opening shots fired, Maria is already leaping for cover, metally throwing up a telekinetic barrier to block any counterattack by the squid...

The Aberrant screams in pain as the white-hot plasma boils it's flesh - the two tentacles shoot towards the ceiling, rip a wide hole in the ventilation system, and yank the hideous creature into the darkness with blinding speed!

Ditra seems to be going through some kind of system overload, and crumples to the floor, eyes wide with shock. ::shocked

[ProfPotts]

Maria rushes over to the freshly ripped hole - positioning her telekinetic shield over it as she does so - & blasts away with hot plasma if she's in time to catch the retreating (?) aberrant. As she moves the Legionnaire calls over to Edana,

"Santa Maria! Track it señorita - tell me where it's going... & call security!"

[tooho]

Having already activated her senses to track the taintleaking abby, Dowsing, Edana responds as soon as she has a heading. "It's headed for the greater Commercial District, miss. Shit, with all the prostitutes and pickpockets out wrestling with the businessmen and miners anything can happen. I'll grab backup and start heading that way.. Are you going to track it yourself or come with us?" Heading to the door while keeping her senses trained on the escaping aberrant, Edana takes a second to look back to Maria. "I haven't any way of attacking it. The most I can do is keep you aware of where it is and get the authorities." Running out the door, Edana heads straight for Kurt. "Aberrant loose. Its headed towards the greater Commercial district. We need transport and.. a weapon if we can," the last said in a whisper.

Yelling to the receptionist, Edana follows Kurt out the door. "Call the authorities, there's an Abberrant headed from this building to the Commerical District. Tell them a Latina and Edana Lyden, clairsentient, are tracking it, but we'll need backup. When I have a more exact location I'll notify them."

[ProfPotts]

"It's headed for the greater Commercial District, miss. Shit, with all the prostitutes and pickpockets out wrestling with the businessmen and miners anything can happen. I'll grab backup and start heading that way.. Are you going to track it yourself or come with us?"

Maria taps her ear-radio,

"Use channel twenty-four alpha."

Even as she talks, the Legionnaire flings off her overcoat & spreads wide the bio-app wings clasped to her back...

"I haven't any way of attacking it. The most I can do is keep you aware of where it is and get the authorities."

... Maria nods & launches into low flight down the corridors, black talons glowing & steaming, & the disc of her telekinetic shield positioned in front of her flight path, as she follows the aberrant's progress through the ducts (why's it always ducts? ::tongue ::wink ). She attempts to keep pace with the monster - as well as avoid any nasty collisions along the way.

"Watson - give me a map of the station - overlay the duct-work - & track our progress."

To the people in her way she screams for them to get clear - in Spanish, but the meaning is probably pretty universal...

[Heritage]

Running out the door, Edana heads straight for Kurt. "Aberrant loose. Its headed towards the greater Commercial district. We need transport and.. a weapon if we can," the last said in a whisper.

Kurt lifts open his coat and reveals a surprising amount of lethal and semi-lethal hardware in various holsters wrapped around his torso ::shocked His hand wavers over a few of the items, until he selects a hefty Voss 33K laser pistol and presses it into Edana's hand.

Here - this is safer to use in a space station.

Having armed his charge, the massive bodyguard merely steps in front of a heavily-laden cargo mule, his hand upraised, and the driver brings the vehicle to a screeching halt! The miner, wearing a filthy set of coveralls, begins a stream of invective that would sterilize a Legionnaire.

Out of the fvckin' way, ya bleedin' feckhead! I've got to get this god-damn trailer-

Kurt cuts him off with a small shake of his head.

I need your vehicle, and I'm not interested in your problems.

He pulls back his sleeve and rapidly types something into his mini-comp, which then prints up a cashier's check, which he shoves in the miner's face.

You know my employer, so you know he's good for it.

The miner squints at the check, and his eyes go wide.

Yeh, alright, take it! ::blink

Kurt nods crisply.

Thank you.

He reaches around to the back of the mule as the miner snatches the check and makes a beeline for the nearest bar - with a sharp tug, Kurt unlocks the trailer from the back of the ATV-like mule, then swings a leg over the vehicle and firmly grasps the controls. He indicates the seat behind him with a toss of his head and the barest flicker of a smile.

Just tell me where to go ::wink

... Maria nods & launches into low flight down the corridors, black talons glowing & steaming, & the disc of her telekinetic shield positioned in front of her flight path, as she follows the aberrant's progress through the ducts (why's it always ducts? ::tongue ::wink). She attempts to keep pace with the monster - as well as avoid any nasty collisions along the way.

"Watson - give me a map of the station - overlay the duct-work - & track our progress."

To the people in her way she screams for them to get clear - in Spanish, but the meaning is probably pretty universal...

Maria's wings just barely clear the edges of the corridor, but it's wide enough here to allow her passage. The combined impact of the sight of her, the sheer volume of her Spanish cursing, and the TK cow-catcher action indeed cut a swath through the throngs of humanity before her, sending frightened passersby spinning into the walls, only to bounce off and ended up sprawled near-senseless on the ferroconcrete.

Watson, wincing as he 'sees' the non-lethal carnage all around him, nonetheless tries to maintain his cyber-British composure.

Ah...yes. Here's the map you - ooh, how dreadful! The poor fellow will certainly have a concussion... I can extrapolate the creature's destination, based on speed and direction - I believe she's most likely heading for one of the habitat modules. Oh dear, how unfortunate - she looks quite young, too. I also have a message from Miss Ditra at Sunset-Kalkay - apparently she contacted Fuyoushi Security the moment the incident took place, after having recorded the events to her permanent storage file for later use in any legal proceedings. She also related that 'Miss Leah Wagner' maintained a modapt in 'Hab 4', and the creature may well be headed in that direction.

[tooho]

Concentrating on the squiddy's direction, Edana gives precise instructions as she hops into the back of the Mule. Holding the gun down peacefully at her side, she keeps her mind oriented to Leah's location focusing on Kurt only long enough to tell him when to turn left or right. Tuning her minicomp to 24 Alpha, Edana reports quickly to Maria. "Two armed backup on our way. Following Leah's taint signature in a mule. Let me know if there is anything else you need me to do."

[Grizzly]

Absolute Zero, Docking Area. Much earlier

Two men leave a docking tunnel. One of them, an european looking man in his 50ies, wears a grey jumpsuit with company patches. The other one is a slim build african, wearing a blue jumpsuit without markings, with short hair and a trimmed beard. His age is a little bit difficult to guess but he must be somewhere in his 20ies. He wears a big traveller bag hanging from a shoulder strap.

"... and you really want to leave us here, Mr. Akole? This isn´t a good place to quit ones job, even if it had been one that cropped up in kind of emergency like yours with our company. It could be difficult to get a flight back into civilized parts of the system..."

"I thank you for your offer, Captain Morrison, but I have to leave here. I enjoyed my trip with this crew but we both know that it was only a stopgap. Jackson was unlucky to get his fingers caught in that hatch and I needed a way to come to Absolute Zero. Now we are here and Jacksons fingers are now fine again."

Kibwe Akole´s voice is polite but determined.

"As you whish, Mr Akole. I am unhappy to loose a pilot of your abilities but, as you mentioned, I agreed to employ you for this trip only. I´ll tranfer your money to you account. As you know, we will stay here for the next four days. So if you want to change your decision, just ask......"

Captain Morrison types some orders into his notepad to transfer that money.

"A very kind offer, Captain Morrison, but I have to decline it. As I said before, it was nice to travel with you and your crew, but I have to leave here and now"

Kibwe Akole offers his hand and Captain Morrison shakes it.

"Good luck then, Mr. Akole. Perhaps we meet again."

"Good luck to you and your crew, too. I believe we will hear from each other now and then. Good bye."

"Good bye."

Kibwe readjusts the belt of his bag at his shoulder, giving the Captain a final nod, and starts to make his way through the docks.

When he´s out of hearing range of the Captain he activates his computer avatar. The familiar sight of Watson appears in his sight.

"Yes, please?"

"Please inform Sunset-Kalkay about my arrival and ask for the time for that meeting, please."

A few moments later...

"I contacted Sunset-Kalkay, Sir. They are pleased to hear that you have managed to arrive in time. The meeting will take place at their lokal office here at 10 am."

"Thank you, Watson. Please search for a free hotel room here. I don´t know how long I will stay here. Better to be prepaired."

"As you wish, Sir. It will take some moments to find an appropiate room for you."

......

[ProfPotts]

"Two armed backup on our way. Following Leah's taint signature in a mule. Let me know if there is anything else you need me to do."

After some Spanish curse words Maria replies,

"It's probably headed for Hab 4 - I'll cut it off before then if I can, but it might be a good idea to know why it wants to get 'home' so badly..."

Indeed - if Maria can cut the squid off before it gets to a high-population area, she will.

[is she keeping pace with the thing, falling behind, or actually faster?]

[ConcreteDragon]

“Thank you, Mr. McGraw.”

As Allawicious Bourdillion Traherne McGraw helps the crippled Asteroid Miner carry her supplies to the door of her dwelling, he smiles beneath his hood and replies, “No Problem, Maria. And please, call me Mississippi. But please, next time, be a little more careful where you go shopping. ”

“I will, I promise. Well, here we are. Are you sure you can’t come in for a cup?”

“No thank you, ma’am. I have a meeting, and I’m almost late.”

“Well, goodbye young man.”

With a tug on his hood Mississippi turns and she shuts the door.

(Flashback)

After leaving the ship, Mississippi makes his way to the meeting through some of the less...clean... areas of A-Z, trying to not be noticed. Unfortunately, as often happens to him, the Great Bird of the Galaxy doesn’t care about what he wants.

There, in front of him, is an old miner (35?). Extending his sense, he can see that she has several old and aggravated injuries, including one deep in her head. The other four are hungry youth, trying to ‘suggest’ she share her provisions.

As he takes several quick and silent strides toward the scene, the dark wraith sub-vocalizes a request. “Baba-Lou, how much time until the meeting with S-K” No problem, Quickstraw, plenty of time. Directing his voice toward Uno, He let’s his presence be known, “You know kids, when you’re out Power Walking, it’s considered polite to not run over the other pedestrians.”

Just as he expectes, Uno gives him the “Mind your own frellen business” speech. He Isn't surprised to see them draw their weapons. What Mississippi doesn't expect is Dos thrusting his knife at the old lady.

The blinding Cartwheel Kick strikes Dos’s arm and crushes his hand on the ground before the others can blink. With a dropping elbow strike to the jaw, he’s down for the count.

Uno, Tres, and Quattro take a step back and start to spread out, but before they can prepare, McGraw jumps up into a sweeping Feint Pirouette Kick to toward their faces. As he lands he pulls the hood back slightly and allows the ‘Face’ to emerge to the surface.

“Ruuun for your life”

After they scatter, Mississippi pulls his hood forward, and takes a minute to re-gather his visage. He then turns to the miner and asks, “Are you ok, ma’am? Can I help you home?”

“Thank you, Sir. And yes please. I was trying to get back to Hab 4 when I got turned around. My name is Maria, what’s yours? ”

(Real Time)

After a few steps down the corridor, Mr. McGraw’s hearing alerts him to a massive disturbance ahead. Years of being pursued triggers an immediate reaction. Multitasking, he casts all of his senses forward, while at the same time s/v ”Baba-Lou, Quick scan...what’s happening?” The screech of multiple frequencies being scanned at the same time rings through his ears. Quickstraw, it seems there is a mucho grande mal hombre (a very great bad man), an Aberrant, and he is coming this waaay. He is just coming through the air vents now, and will be here shortly. He's a big one, that's for sure! ::nervous

edited to change the Ass to Asteroid and add Baba-Lou's comments---thanx, H ::thumbsup

[Heritage]

Maria:

After some Spanish curse words Maria replies,

"It's probably headed for Hab 4 - I'll cut it off before then if I can, but it might be a good idea to know why it wants to get 'home' so badly..."

Indeed - if Maria can cut the squid off before it gets to a high-population area, she will.

Watson has closed his eyes, but occasionally cracks one open for a peek, only to close it just as fast in alarm.

One assumes that she might possess some item or other that she is either trying to protect, or perhaps hopes to use against you, madam; other possibilities might exist, but I believe those to be the most likely scenarios.

[is she keeping pace with the thing, falling behind, or actually faster?]

What! is the average flight velocity of a Legionnaire wearing a winged bioapp?

Is the Legionnaire Sudamerican or Australian?

What? I don't know that - wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!

OOC: Maria is maintaining a good pace, but she's slipping back a little bit - how well does she know AZ to go for a short cut? Wait, that's where Watson comes in... ::blush

Watson risks opening his eyes all the way for a moment.

If you use your psychokinesis to penetrate the HVAC system here-

A small glowing red icon appears.

You should be able to outdistance the foul creature and intercept it near Wagner's apartment here-

A blue dashed line leads to a green icon.

If that is indeed where it is heading.

Edana:

Kurt continues to gun the mule, expertly weaving through the aftermath of Maria's passage as they careen through the more-chaotic-than-usual Commercial Sector.

"It's probably headed for Hab 4 - I'll cut it off before then if I can, but it might be a good idea to know why it wants to get 'home' so badly..."

The massive bodyguard grits his teeth.

Hang on, miss.

He leans into the mule, which lurches forward even faster as the engine whines and the myriad storefronts start to blur.

Kibwe:

Watson is able to find suitable accommodation for his operator at the Travelers' Inn, the closest thing to a quality hotel on A-Z. There is plenty of time for the African pilot to drop off his things and freshen up, but unfortunately fate, or rather the station's antiquated powergrid, intervenes - Kibwe is stranded in a liftshaft for several minutes due to a local power shortage. Watson is able to call ahead to S-K to explain the delay, and the receptionist is more than understanding: "These things do happen out in the Belt!" ::wink

However by the time Kibwe finally makes it to the office, there appears to have been some sort of uproar - broken glass is strewn about the foyer, the receptionist is in a near state of panic, and the black-uniformed Fuyoushi Security Force is present in force. A rather beautiful and exotic green-skinned woman in sandals and a gossamer sheath dress is talking to one of the FSF, nervously twisting a lock of her light green hair - she catches Kibwe out of the corner of her eye, and looks both relieved and concerned to see him.

Excuse me, officer - Mr. Akole! I'm glad to see that you're safe! We're having a bit of a...bad day, I suppose you could say ::blush Thing's are a little crazy, but I do believe we're still going to need you, though I'm not sure who you be answering to, since my boss...well, come on inside. My name is Ditra - can I get you some coffee? ::bigsmile

She takes him by the arm and escorts him through the wreckage into a conference room....that has a massive hole torn in the ceiling. A team of FSF techs in bulky orange coveralls are scanning everything in sight with bizarre-looking equipment - one is probing a pile of danish with some sort of glowing wand, while another is sucking spilled coffee off the table into a syringe. They turn as one to Ditra and Kibwe, eyes unreadable behind enhancement goggles.

Ah...let's see if the smaller conference room is being used, shall we? ::blush

Kibwe's noetic senses also can't help but pick up large amounts of ambient taint throughout the office... ::shocked

[Asbjørn]

The Near Past

"Max!"

Lights flickered to life in the small room. In it's centre stood a jumpsuit-clad figure, his short hair for the moment having the advantage in the never-ending struggle against his tendency to comb it down in a hairstyle a century and a half out of date. His clean shaven features and clear eyes revealed little of the iron will that drove him where nobody had ever gone before so long ago. No frontier was unassailable to this man in life, and he certainly wouldn't yield to a stubborn captain's self-proclaimed need to sleep.

"Captain Kalesnikov!" The hard, military voice rang out in the room.

The man on the cot raised his head from the pillow, grey eyes blinking against the sharp light. His short brown hair was in disarray, and he sat up rubbing his eyes.

"Yuri?"

His deep voice was grating. He cleared his throat and glared at the standing man. ::angry Holding back a yawn he asked

"What time is it? I told you I needed to sleep after last night."

The crewman stood at parade rest, his unblinking eyes meeting the captain's.

"It's 09:47, Max. I've been in contact with Kip Akole's agent and informed him that you will meet him at Sunset-Kalkay."

He made a point of looking at the archaic wristwatch before adding

"Your appointment is now in twelve minutes."

The man on the cot flung his blanket aside and slowly got to his feet.

"Yeah, yeah... They can wait. Just make sure there's coffee ready, will you?"

"There is. And breakfast, although you don't have time for it."

"Stop nagging me, Yuri. No wonder they sent you out on your own back then... ::sly Now get out so I can get dressed. You're crowding me." A wave of his hand almost hit the other man in the face.

Without a word the hologram disappeared, leaving behind only a brief momentary flicker in the air.

"That's better...", the still half asleep man muttered to himself once he was alone in the room.

Ignoring the pile of workclothes on the floor he quickly dressed in the first decent set of clothes he could find before he headed out through the kitchen. He grabbed his normal cup of steaming hot coffee and continued through the door to the workshop. He scanned the room quicly while draining his cup. Shaking his head at the mess he called out

"Yuri? Clean this mess up. Where is everybody?"

The agent's non-corporeal voice replied

"I sent MJ shopping. You did suggest she needed more contact with the physical world. José and Alphonse have not returned yet. They both seem to have found what they went looking for last night."

Grabbing a jacket from an early 21st century coatrack on the wall Max stopped on his way towards the exit.

"What exactly do you mean, Yuri? Is José ok? He's not in jail, is he?"

"No. They both drank excessive amounts of alcohol and found sexual partners according to their tastes. Both are physically fine, but will likely experience aftereffects of their intoxication when they wake up."

Shaking his head and chuckling to himself Max left the room and made for the exit, shrugging into his jacket.

"Have them back here by 1200 hours, Yuri. And clean this mess up."

"I heard you the first time. Oh, and Max?"

Stopping again in front of the door opening to the bustling dock area outside, Max cocked an ear to listen.

"You're late."

Cursing under his breath, the captain of the Gagarin left his ship and hurried to reach his appointment.

The Present

Not a man to command undue attention in any way, Maksimilian Alexeievich Kalesnikov makes his way past the security officers and approaches the reception desk.

"Miss...? Er... miss? I'm Max Kalesnikov, I have an appointment...?"

After trying a few times to catch the near hysterical receptionist's attention he turns to look around the room, raising an eyebrow and rubbing his bearded chin at the commotion. ::huh ::unsure

[ConcreteDragon]

Quickstraw, it seems there is a mucho grande mal hombre (a very great bad man), an Aberrant, and he is coming this waaay. He is just coming through the air vents now, and will be here shortly. He's a big one, that's for sure! ::nervous 

Instinct takes over...

First,extend (Acute)Spacial and Life senses (5 meter range) into the ducting in the direction indicated by Baba-Lou.

Second, blend in to the surroundings (stealth {+bonus Item after 30 seconds}).

Last, draw one Electric Eel and the Flash Ball(armed), and wait ::lookaround

[Prince of Boredom]

The Near Past - Again

(in medias res) ... having downloaded all of the information he needed from Ms. Yamashita's bodycomp, Kaze headed back to his room at the Traveler's Inn.

*Hmm, she sure is definately more attractive than the lst one I had to work with...*

Getting back to his room, Kaze takes off his more professional looking attire, and puts on his 'work' clothes. Having pulled on his urban camo pants, he starts lacing his overly priced combat boots and slips them on. Completing the ensemble is a black t-shirt with the word 'Kamikaze' written in Nipponese Kanji.

Grabbing his black leather jacket, he heads out towards his meeting at S-K.

The Present

The extremely average-looking Nipponese-American hacker steps over some glass littering the floor in front of the S-K Office, and finds the nearest apparent employee, "Uhm, I'm not sure if I'm in the right place... I have an appointment with a Mrs. Leah Wagner?"

[Asbjørn]

"Uhm, I'm not sure if I'm in the right place... I have an appointment with a Mrs. Leah Wagner?"

The tall man beside him smiles at the newcomer's confusion.

"It's the right place, all right, but it looks like we both came at the wrong time..."

He extends his hand to the young man.

"Maksimilian Alexeievich Kalesnikov. I've got an appointment with Ms Wagner too. At least I think it was her. And you are...?"

[Prince of Boredom]

The tall man beside him smiles at the newcomer's confusion.

"It's the right place, all right, but it looks like we both came at the wrong time..."

He extends his hand to the young man.

"Maksimilian Alexeievich Kalesnikov. I've got an appointment with Ms Wagner too. At least I think it was her. And you are...?"

Standing at only 1.8 meters, the young Nipponese-American looks up at the Russian and takes his hand, "Call me Kaze (Kah-ze). Have any idea what this is all about?"

[Heritage]

The Battle-scarred Offices of Sunset-Kalkay:

Not a man to command undue attention in any way, Maksimilian Alexeievich Kalesnikov makes his way past the security officers and approaches the reception desk.

"Miss...? Er... miss? I'm Max Kalesnikov, I have an appointment...?"

After trying a few times to catch the near hysterical receptionist's attention he turns to look around the room, raising an eyebrow and rubbing his bearded chin at the commotion.

The extremely average-looking Nipponese-American hacker steps over some glass littering the floor in front of the S-K Office, and finds the nearest apparent employee, "Uhm, I'm not sure if I'm in the right place... I have an appointment with a Mrs. Leah Wagner?"

A rather handsome young man with dark curly hair and café au lait skin is sagging against his cubicle, hugging a wastebasket to his chest - staring into space, he looks like he just swallowed a tortoise. At the mention of Leah's name, he turns to the two newcomers with a despairing expression.

I slept with her - I slept with her! Oh God- !

He then retches loudly into the basket ::cry After he finishes, he gestures weakly towards the back of the office.

Ditra took someone in back - she was her assistant, so maybe she... They say she had tentacles - tentacles! Oh God...

He's not the only one who seems to be having trouble coping with recent events - two women are huddled together by a water dispenser, shaking their heads in disbelief.

And she bought Audry that minicomp last month! ::blink

I know! She was always so sweet! She remembered my anniversary, and not even my husband remembers that! ::sneaky2

Well, that should have been our first clue - no human being is that thoughtful. ::sly

Have you seen Gavin?

Oh my God, the poor man!

I thought he was just bragging, but I guess he really did shtup her.... ::shocked

From a doorway near the back of the office, a beautiful green woman with almond eyes and tapered ears ::blink pokes out her head and gestures towards the two men.

Mr. Kalesnikov, Mr. Kaze! Please, this way, if you can make your way through the chaos ::blush

Hab 4:

Mississippi can now sense the Aberrant, and it is indeed a big one - its taint pulses like a beacon, maybe some twenty meters away through the ducts. And it just stopped moving... ::unsure

OOC: Maria can now pop out near Mississippi, if she so chooses - and yes, she can sense the squid has stopped moving as well.

The Mule:

Kurt continues driving the mule, and they have finally made it out of the Commercial Sector and into the primary corridor leading to Habs 1 through 4; the passageways to these habitat modules all radiate from a central hub. Edana can sense that the Aberrant has stopped somewhere in the ducts ahead...

[Asbjørn]

Standing at only 1.8 meters, the young Nipponese-American looks up at the Russian and takes his hand, "Call me Kaze (Kah-ze).  Have any idea what this is all about?"

"I take it you mean this...?", he gestures to the chaos around them. He shrugs.

"I have no idea. Almost sounds like an aberrant situation, but who knows..." His voice trails off as his eyebrows furrow as he takes in the various conversations.

From a doorway near the back of the office, a beautiful green woman with almond eyes and tapered ears ::blink pokes out her head and gestures towards the two men.

Mr. Kalesnikov, Mr. Kaze! Please, this way, if you can make your way through the chaos ::blush

Looking sideways at Kaze, Max starts toward the woman.

"Maybe she can explain a few things..."

Making his way past gossiping and vomiting employees in various states of shock, the russian follows the green woman down the hall. On the way he seems to study her with detached, professional interest.

[Just to be sure, does Max recognize Ditra for what she is...? I mean, she could just be a woman who's dyed her skin green. Stranger things have happened...]

As they - hopefully - enter the 'smaller conference room' Max moves towards one of the chairs before noticing Kip. Standing to face him, he reaches out a work-calloused hand and smiles.

"Kip! Good to see you again, kid. How have you been? This mess isn't because of you, is it...?" ::sly

Looking around for some coffee - and possibly some breakfast - Max helps himself to some if there is and takes his seat before continuing.

"Sorry I missed you earlier. Was up all night working on a Dragonwing I bought off a bankrupt collector on Luna, completely forgot the time... ::rolleyes I haven't had the time lately, you see. Too busy flying the damn ship since Sandy quit. I probably wouldn't even have taken this job if Sosa hadn't told me you'd be in on it too."

Looking at the others in the room, Max seems to realize that they have no idea what he's talking about and clears his throat to explain.

"Er.. I've worked with Kip Akole here before. We were restoring machinery from one of the first mining stations in the belt. It's the kind if thing I do for a living, tracking down or digging up old machines that don't work anymore and putting them back in order. Not just all kinds of mass produced machinery, of course, but collectors' items, things of historical or sentimental value. A modern day cross between a junkman and treasure hunter, that's me. And I've got a feeling it's something like that Sunset-Kalkay needs a hand with, am I right?"

Casting a glance at the door they entered through and picturing the commotion out there, he adds

"Unless there's been a change of plans due to recent events, that is..."

[ProfPotts]

Following Watson's instructions Maria telekinetically penetrates the HVAC system [OOC: I have no idea what that means by the way... ::confused ] & gets to the intercept point. Once there she makes sure to face the way the aberrant is coming, with telekinetic shield interposed, & gets ready to fire...

[OOC: does Maria spot the guy 'blending in to the surroundings'? ::confused ]

[Grizzly]

"Excuse me, officer - Mr. Akole! I'm glad to see that you're safe! We're having a bit of a...bad day, I suppose you could say  Thing's are a little crazy, but I do believe we're still going to need you, though I'm not sure who you be answering to, since my boss...well, come on inside. My name is Ditra - can I get you some coffee?"

"Nice to meet you,hmm,.... Ditra. And yes, some coffee would be nice."

Kips eyes wander around, inspecting that mess around him and over that person in front of him. He had heard about artificial Persons in the past, but this is the first time he sees one and he isn´t quite sure about how to deal with her. ::unsure

"Ah...let's see if the smaller conference room is being used, shall we?"

Kip follows that green lady to that mentioned room, but he is a little bit nervous about all that mess and those security people around him. ::lookaround

Kibwe's noetic senses also can't help but pick up large amounts of ambient taint throughout the office...

As a precaution he concentrates on his psionic senses for a moment, at least something they are useful for, and when he feels all that taint his face gets an uncomfortable expression. ::nervous

"Taint? There is an Aberrant around here? What happened out there and what´s that fuss about Mrs. Leah Wagner,.......?

Kip tries to hide his nervousity by filling one of the cups from the board with some of that coffee by himself, when....

From a doorway near the back of the office, a beautiful green woman with almond eyes and tapered ears  pokes out her head and gestures towards the two men.

"Mr. Kalesnikov, Mr. Kaze! Please, this way, if you can make your way through the chaos"

"Kip! Good to see you again, kid. How have you been? This mess isn't because of you, is it...?"

Kip takes Max´s hand and shakes it.

"Max, nice to see you in person again, ol´pirate: ::biggrin .

I am fine , so far. But I have to dissapoint you: That wasn´t me, out there. ::wink

But perhaps Mrs. Ditra here can tell us what happened out there" Waving into the direction of the other room.

"Er.. I've worked with Kip Akole here before. We were restoring machinery from one of the first mining stations in the belt. It's the kind if thing I do for a living, tracking down or digging up old machines that don't work anymore and putting them back in order. Not just all kinds of mass produced machinery, of course, but collectors' items, things of historical or sentimental value. A modern day cross between a junkman and treasure hunter, that's me. And I've got a feeling it's something like that Sunset-Kalkay needs a hand with, am I right?"

Kip goes over to he second man, the one that must be Mr. Kaze.

"I am Kibwe Akole. Nice to meet you." And offers him his hand.

[Prince of Boredom]

Kip goes over to he second man, the one that must be Mr. Kaze.

"I am Kibwe Akole. Nice to meet you." And offers him his hand.

"Call me Kaze.  So what do you do?"

[Grizzly]

"Call me Kaze.  So what do you do?"

"I am a Pilot, or better said: A transport specialist." ::wink ::biggrin

[Heritage]

Sunset-Kalkay:

Once everyone has been introduced, grabbed some coffee and a bite to eat and found a chair, Ditra takes a seat as well. The synthetic runs a slender hand through her green hair.

I'm so sorry about all this - it's not every day you find out that your boss is, well, an Aberrant.

She shakes her head.

Ms. Wagner had been with us for over a year - all the routine screening tests came back negative, though I suppose there are ways she could have bypassed them. No doubt a whole new set of tests will be run on every current employee. For all I know, I might have to be scrapped...

She stops for a second, head cocked to one side like a dog, her striking eyes unfocused - after a few seconds, she smiles and returns to normal.

I'm sorry, I just received an upload - more information from Mr. Temple, head of Special Projects here at S-K. I'm now prepared to give you your preliminary briefing prior to meeting with him. We have recently acquired a rather curious artifact -

Ditra stops suddenly.

I'm sorry, there's a general alert. What-

A loud klaxon can now be heard blaring in the distance, and suddenly Ditra is thrown to the floor with a shriek as the entire asteroid lurches as though violently struck!

The Corridors near Hab 4:

All psions present suddenly feel a massive taint spike...coming from outside the asteroid! Something fairly large and very tainted has most likely warped into existence just outside of Hab 4, and the more sensitive individuals can tell it's pretty pissed off. All minicomp agents start chattering like crazy, a flood of data so sudden it hits like a wave.

Madam, be careful!

Quickstraw!

There's something-

Mal grande!

Hello down there! Look out, look out!

Something massive slams into the side of A-Z, and the grav crystal grids are knocked out; sudden microgravity sends screaming people spinning through the air, careening off the walls as the lights flicker madly.

And then there is a loud crack, and a sudden rush of air.

Hard vacuum.

And everywhere, the screaming...

Three days later:

The meeting at Sunset-Kalkay was postponed after the Aberrant attack. No doubt there would have been far more casualties if the psions hadn't been present at the exact point the station was breached. The doctors were optimistic about Maria's chances - they dared not remove the bio-apps from her unconscious form. All her bills were being handled by S-K, even though no formal contract had been signed. The company had put up the rest of the team, in whatever accommodations they preferred; all received expert medical treatment as needed, as well as notes explaining that as soon as the station was fully operational, they would be summoned to the S-K offices for the much-delayed briefing.

It's now Thursday morning, and Ditra is in her office, the one that used to belong to her boss. The Aberrant. While Ditra could approximate a state of agitation or concern, contingent upon her programming and the emotional needs of any humans in the area, she was not actually programmed to experience fear. Yet why did she feel the need to run so many self-diagnostics whenever she entered this room…?

Joan called her from the front desk, the call going directly to the synthetic's internal comm link.

Ditra, they're starting to arrive - shall I send them to the conference room?

How odd it must be for Joan, to answer to a synthetic! And yet Mr. Temple had given Leah Wagner's old job to her - he said he knew he could trust her. Of course, that was after she'd been stripped down to her core components and given a complete file scan... ::rolleyes

*That's fine, Joan*, she sent. *I'll meet them there - make sure the coffee and food are ready.*

Right away, Ditra.

She broke the link and found herself sighing as she scanned her files - now that Leah was gone, exactly no one called her 'Deet' anymore. ::sad

Before leaving the office, she decided she should get dressed - when she wasn't dealing with humans, she felt no need for clothing, since propriety, warmth and comfort were all human concepts. She found a simple dress of golden fibers that seemed appropriate and slid easily into it, then added the proper shoes. She adjusted the length and style of her hair, adding a sharp professional edge to her bangs. Her digital makeup cycled through several looks, simulated shades of eyeshadow and lip gloss flickering across her features; when the colors were most harmonious with her garments, she was ready. The whole process had taken thirty-eight point six seconds.

- - - - -

Ditra stood inside the large conference room, adopting a relaxed yet formal posture, waiting for the first of the team to arrive. At the last minute, she softened the lighting by ten lumens and warmed the room by five degrees. Perfect.

(OOC: Any and all PCs can now enter.)

[tooho]

Oh, god the pain. The screams... Balancing herself unconsciously, the clear centers herself and distances herself from the pain radiating from the sick and dying. So many lost.. and missing.

Guiding her senses out away from herself. She focuses on a slight form nearly buried by debri. "Still breathing. Got one 80 meters in that direction. She's knocked out, thank god. Her energy is low. She's a priority folks. I don't know how long she'll last with that much air."

Marking the woman's signature in her head, she sends out her senses as the rescuers around her get busy clearing out building debri to free the injured woman. So many, how will I find them all?

-------

A curvy redhead pokes her head around a large blond hulk of a man. Her green eyes glare up at him momentarily.

"See? I told you. Everything is clear. Since when can you see with your two eyes better than me?" Huffing she squeezes around him and straightens her charcoal suit. For a second her eyes close as she takes a deep breath. [Attunement]

Blushing, she grimaces after connectiing to the noetic spectrum. "Just checking."

Slightly pale and tired looking, she smiles anyway as she walks across to Ditra. "Its so good to see a familiar face... or semi-familiar." Placing out a hand to shake, Edana's eyes roam Ditra's form. "Gorgeous. Where did you purchase it?"

Sliding her eyes around the room, Edana seems to process everything quickly, then return her attention to Ditra. "I might have been presumptious but I had worried that Kalkay might have changed its mind about needing us, what with the recent troubles." Gliding over to the refreshments, she makes a cup of tea and sits sipping it slowly in a chair close to Kurt. She momentarily flexes her hands and rotates her shoulders, then settles back to relax into the chair.

[Heritage]

A curvy redhead pokes her head around a large blond hulk of a man. Her green eyes glare up at him momentarily.

"See? I told you. Everything is clear. Since when can you see with your two eyes better than me?" Huffing she squeezes around him and straightens her charcoal suit.

Kurt heaves a great sigh, rolls his eyes 'skyward' and allows Edana to wriggle her way past him into the conference room.

For a second her eyes close as she takes a deep breath. [Attunement]

Blushing, she grimaces after connecting to the noetic spectrum. "Just checking."

Ditra offers her a warm smile, and merely shrugs.

I can't say that I blame you. ::smile

Slightly pale and tired looking, she smiles anyway as she walks across to Ditra. "Its so good to see a familiar face... or semi-familiar." Placing out a hand to shake, Edana's eyes roam Ditra's form. "Gorgeous. Where did you purchase it?"

The lovely synthetic shakes her hand firmly, then looks down at herself.

Oh, do you like it? When they performed my overhaul, they decided to go with a new frame - this one incorporates several new cutting-edge features, and the new software upgrades have made my existence much easier. I'm surprised, most humans don't notice when a synthetic-

She stops suddenly, then smiles with apparent embarrassment as her cheeks turn a slightly darker shade of green.

Oh dear - you were referring to the dress, weren't you? How silly of me! ::blush The dress is made by Louis Duchamp, who has a small boutique on Luna.

Sliding her eyes around the room, Edana seems to process everything quickly, then return her attention to Ditra. "I might have been presumptions but I had worried that Kalkay might have changed its mind about needing us, what with the recent troubles." Gliding over to the refreshments, she makes a cup of tea and sits sipping it slowly in a chair close to Kurt. She momentarily flexes her hands and rotates her shoulders, then settles back to relax into the chair.

Ditra nods knowingly as she moves to a chair across from Edana.

I can certainly understand you concern, but according to my employers, if anything the events of the last few days make his assignment even more important; I only hope than most of the original team is still interested in the job.

The synthetic is about to take a seat when she looks down at her dress again.

You know, if you really like it, I could order one in your size - it wouldn't take a moment. Here, let's see how it looks on you.

Ditra closes her eyes, and suddenly there's a soft humming sound - her contours and dimensions shift slightly, and her skin cycles chromatically from green to yellow and finally to a soft flesh tone. Her hair lengthens, changes texture and takes on a brassy red hue, and when she opens her eyes they're a sparkling green. Her facial features begin to shimmer like water in a pool, and when they settle, Ditra resembles Edana in every visible detail, as though her sister Fiona had decided to drop by the office. Her new twin looks down at herself admiringly, and when she speaks, her tone and inflection are also a perfect match. ::blink

Yes, I think this looks quite good on you, don't you agree? It's amazing what you can do with electro-responsive polymers these days - I've been trying on new looks all day! ::smile

[tooho]

Laughing softly, Edana nods. "Yes, it does look quite smashing. Can't say I can blame you. I'm sure I'd love the ability for a quick switch on hair and color." ::biggrin

Slidding her cup onto the nearest table she leans forward and rests her chin on her hand. "I must say, it speaks well of S-K that they upgraded you and gave you a promotion. It would have been a waist of experience and resources to expell you from your position."

[Heritage]

Laughing softly, Edana nods. "Yes, it does look quite smashing. Can't say I can blame you. I'm sure I'd love the ability for a quick switch on hair and color."  ::biggrin

Ditra smiles, and slides effortlessly into the exotic form of Maria, right down to the dusky skin and long black braid, but not including her bioapps.

Forgive me, señorita - this is what we synthetics referring to as 'demo-ing'.

She takes a seat and languidly stretches out - poor Kurt is having a hard time looking impassive. ::blink

Our designers say it's just diagnostics, but we synths know the truth. We are, despite all appearances, still only children; we can't help but play with a new toy. ::wink

With a sigh, she returns to her own elfin shape and assumes a more professional demeanor.

There we go - playtime is over.

Slidding her cup onto the nearest table she leans forward and rests her chin on her hand. "I must say, it speaks well of S-K that they upgraded you and gave you a promotion. It would have been a waist of experience and resources to expell you from your position."

The green-skinned beauty can only snort.

Well, I think the fact of the matter is you can't get anyone more loyal than a synth - if she disagrees with you, you just send her back to the shop. ::rolleyes

She flushes slightly.

I'm sorry if I seem bitter - which apparently I'm now capable of, after the upgrades - but I know my place in the world. I exist to serve, and I appreciate the fact that I am now more useful than I used to be; a synth's operational lifespan is only as long as it remains versatile and adaptive, so I've bought myself some more time. Or more correctly, someone bought it for me.

Ditra shrugs and laughs.

Oh well - such is the artificial approximation of life.

She looks at a luminous read-out on her wrist, which then winks out of sight, and sighs.

I hate waiting, but it's the proper thing to do.

After a few moments of fidgeting with the empty coffee cup in front of her, Ditra looks at Edana candidly.

May I ask you something? I'd like a human perspective on this.

She hunches forward slightly.

We're all programmed to know that Aberrants are twisted, evil abominations; me literally, you by everything you've learned or read. We all know this to be true. Yet Leah - Ms. Wagner - was always very kind to me. She didn't treat me like a human - she was I suppose, in her own way, too honest for that - but she did treat me with respect.

The synthetic seems lost in thought for a second.

I'm beginning to think it's because...we had something in common. We were both inhuman, in a human world.

She gives Edana a strikingly earnest look.

Does that make sense to you? I'm wasting far too much processing time trying to puzzle this all out.

[Grizzly]

I'm sorry, there's a general alert. What-

"Squid-Warp incomming!" ::ohmy

(ooc: I assume that he can feel that warp forming)

Kip´s face has the impression of someone with an aching tooth when he takes a look around, then....

BANG!

He´s gone in a flash of light.

Unable to reach the point where the squids are in one jump, he hasn´t been there before and he couldn´t see it, he jumps in rapid succession. Praising god for his enhancer that cuts down his needs of psionic power, enabling him in this way to jump that often. He activates his suit and a transparent bubble-helmet encloses his head while he slips his hands in the gloves, sealing it in this way.

A few seconds later he finds a room with intact atmosphere and a window from where he can see the area of the hull breach. His hand hits the emergency button to call for medical aid, but his eyes and mind are allready occupied with the task to find those poor souls that got sucked out in the void. Death in vaccuum isn´t instant, so some of them might survive long enough to get rescued.

Later

A sweating and quite exhausted but somewhat happy Kipwe moves along with the rescue teams when he hears...

"Still breathing. Got one 80 meters in that direction. She's knocked out, thank god. Her energy is low. She's a priority folks. I don't know how long she'll last with that much air."

"Ok, I´ll get her."

Kip makes his way into that pointed direction, trying to locate that woman with his spatial sense. ::unsure

A short moment later he reaches his right hand to the floor and with a flash of light and a loud "bang" a woman appears under his hand.

"Got her. She´s all yours, friends." ::smile

(ooc:This is the first time since he got dunked that he had a good feeling about beeing a Psion, because t enabled him to help these peoples who had surely been dead by now if he hadn´t been able to rescue them.)

Three days later

Kip hears the sound of an ongoing converstion when he reaches the door of the converence room, so he knocks carefully at the doorcasing to announce his presence, trying not to hit it with the injured parts of his hand.

"Hello. Sorry that I am a little bit late, but the nurse wouldn´t let me go before she hadn´t double checked on my hands." ::rolleyes

With an ironic grin he raises his hands a bit. They are covered by a clear, antiseptic film, revealing many deep scratches and cuts from the debris.

"It´s not that bad, but she insisted on it, sorry." ::smile

Then his eyes center on Edana with a questioning look.

"I think, we have met before, but I am not sure about the where and when." ::unsure ::smile