Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - [Children of Quantum Fire] Finding Balance [1.0]

[Sunstar]

Marina exits her room after switching into a Eufiber that quickly molded into a dark blue bikini set and putting a pair of sandals on. She then heads topside and joins Maia. She waves as she approaches her.

"Heya Sis! Ready for the dive? Guess Cora's still inside changing."

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik listened to Traveler as he cleaned the dishes, but inside he was being taken aback and concerned by these predictions. A relatively imminent, drastic upsurge in power would only heighten the family's attractiveness as targets or people to co-opt for nearly every faction under the sun on Earth. And the concept that for all Darrik's daring in his initial magazine interview, he would not have conceived of being caught in, or going toe to toe with either Caestus Pax or Divis Mal, though admittedly, the latter was more powerful than the first. Also though, a general growth and tainted increase in novas would make a potential mess of baseline-nova relations.

Change of plans... speak with Alexandra posthaste. Discuss all this, and how we are going to navigate these dangerous waters.

Still, there was a certain scale and perspective in power to be considered. "So, when you say most powerful novas, as in the league of Anateus and Caestus Pax, or... higher?" The first would be bad enough, but even higher could trigger massive panic or action from motherhunters if they got wind. Make that speaking with Alexandra right after getting this question answered.

[Maia]

"I'm good to go. She smiled. If I know the rest of the brain-trust, they'll spend the whole day worrying and planning now. Even though no plan survives contact with the enemy, especially where novas are concerned."

She started walking into the surf and turned back. "I think they've all forgotten how to simply have fun, and how important it is."

"How deep are we diving by the way?"

[Karren Gaunt]

Cora's mouth went somewhat dry at the Traveler's explaination. That would mean... Interesting times, for them and every other second-generation Nova the Mother Hunters had missed. She dried her hands and gave Darrik her best 'please prove you're smarter than me again by coming up with something clever' look, before heading out of the room with a preoccupied expression of worry on her face.

The expression was still there was she jogged into sight of Maia and Marina on the beach.

[Quantum Fire]

Sense Darrik's question was very important, Uncle Shen, or Traveler as others knew him, closed his eyes a moment and focused.. "It is...difficult to see.. clearly...the matter is definitely in flux, I see sort clouded, multiple mirror images of how you could change.. I suspect because it is somewhat akin to Eruption.. Focused by personality, desire, and need... However, you would at least be in their league, and having grow up novas, you are likely to have more finesse and natural talent with your capabilities."

[Toby Lupin]

"I see. Thanks, Uncle." Darrik closed his red eyes and reflected upon the piece of information that could potentially damn every member of this family and fellow second-generation novas to a dangerous future. It was privately, a bit thrilling, and much more threatening than imaginable. Then he opened his eyes and gravely nodded.

"I'll... I'll enjoy myself today. Just not now. Hope you guys enjoyed breakfast." With that rich and sultry-sounding farewell, Darrik walked towards the wall, but instead of running into it, he went intangible at the last minute and visibly permeated smoothly through the room, and the next, and so until he reached Alexandra's lab.

She was busy muttering something over some disassembled goggles, as Darrik pulled himself out into a solid form, molecules in the skin feeling the sensation of eufiber clothes once again. "Whatcha working on?"

[Kasheal]

Oz had the decency to stop eating while the traveller spoke, and listened in silence as the conversation proceeded.

He had been enjoying his years on the island. Time to study and research in peace, without having to really worry about all the things his mother had warned him of. Sure there had always been the training and talk about the dangers they could face in the future but that had seemed years and years away.

His mind instantly started thinking about all the things he might be able to do to help, Thoughts of what people with abilities like Caestus Pax could do to his siblings made him think researching how one might put someone back together when all that remains could fall unimpeded through a tennis racket might be worthwhile.

The fact that he was jumping to such outlandish ideas really did show how his brain needed a rest, that thought brought him back to reality only to realise his plate had started a close orbit of him. He looked sheepish for a moment and then quickly grabbed it when it came round again and pushed it back down onto the table.

“Well-I-will-be-going.” He said to no one in particular. He took his one remaining cup of tea with him. He definitely needed that walk he was originally planning, however for his mothers memory he would pick up something from his room first.

[Courier]

Suddenly Warrent wasn't in the mood to rest or enjoy himself. He ignored the gravity ripples he could 'see' from the shifting ocean and toyed with several scenarios, exploring the ways the future could fit together. Apotheosis. This spiral arm. And he really should talk with someone smarter than he was.

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

Alexandra... "...I'll be in the lab. Playing and all that before we all cusp our way into destiny."

Originally Posted By: Darrik

She was busy muttering something over some disassembled goggles, as Darrik pulled himself out into a solid form, molecules in the skin feeling the sensation of eufiber clothes once again. "Whatcha working on?"

Looking like a fried beach bum, Warren wandered into the lab. He said, "Something about discovery I think. Got a few minutes?"

[SalmonMax]

"Quantum energy scanner," Alexandra said shortly, pushing the mess of components away. "Not going so hot."

She rotated her chair to face Warren and Darrick.

"So what's up? Did the mean Mr Traveller scare you with his apocalyptic visions of the future?"

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik smiled slightly at Alexandra's show of flippancy, which didn't mean much subterfuge when Darrik could make any baseline believe what he wanted and see through the best of their lies. Alex wasn't that much better at it, hence he knew she was concerned as well. "Brave show, Alexandra, but you won't fool me. We three are all concerned about what Uncle Shen said, and you haven't heard everything."

He paused, and decided to start with their own predicted evolution. "Let's start with the Apotheosis." Seeing her confused look, he continued, "according to our uncle, in one to two years, we are bound for a 'second eruption' or equivalent, taking us up to the level of Pax, or potentially beyond. That's all ten of us, and the same phenomenon will likely occur to the other second-gen novas in the world. So I sense our upper limits of the window for secrecy has been set, if that. Not to mention the other implications, I shan't need to spell out for you."

[SalmonMax]

Alex shrugged. "The Teragen and Project Utopia both have novas who possess extratemporal senses. The Directive has spy sats that can tell most novas from baselines, from orbit, because novas tend to run hotter than equivalent baselines. Our 'secrecy' has always had an expiration date on it. Still, if he's right, and we do hit another plateau, that means everyone will be that much more motivated to find us."

"We can try to dig in here, but sooner or later we may have to pick a side, just to keep the other players off our backs."

"Of course, ten of us, each as strong as Pax...maybe digging in will work after all."

She glanced at Warren for a second, then back at Darrik.

"What else?"

[Courier]

Warren said softly, "Our isolation works really well right now, but it could work against us too. Boom. Someone nukes us, we're worth it. With some warning I can warp us to the other side of the world, but we could find a nuke waiting for us there too. Or you can sub in 'Killer Nova team' for the word 'nuke'."

Warren continued, "The part that bugs me is we have some trump cards we're not using. If we had somewhere to go, instead of the other side of the world, I could take us to another spiral arm. Even if someone could see that coming they couldn't get there first."

[SalmonMax]

"The real threat is the nova team," Alex explained. "A nuke takes time to reach the target, and it can be intercepted. I've already got an eye watching the sky for sats and any other orbital stuff that seems like it's loitering too long."

She pushed the goggle-pieces. "Still working on something that'll tell us a nova team has arrived. The basic theory is sound...it's the details where it all goes wrong. As for spiral arms...one thing at a time. There's steps that need to be followed."

Alex studied Warren for a moment, then nodded. "Even so, I'll definitely need your help."

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany was surprised at the reactions of the others. It had never occurred to her that the others didn't know what was coming. Sometimes she forgot that she had the knowledge of all those Terat scientists. It was better when she forgot those things.

Epiphany realized that even though she was accustomed to the idea, the others wern't and maybe their initial worry wasn't wrong. After all, there were far too many people out there who either wanted to kill or control them. Once their power increased, she wasn't as worried. They should be able to handle most things they would encounter if they stuck together at that point. But until then, they were still very vulnerable.

Looking at Traveler, "I know it was time, but maybe after a day of fun would have been better. Now they're just going to worry and work all day." Pip sighed, "Is there anything you think we should keep in mind while we scramble to prepare?" As Epiphany talked, she rinsed her tea cup and put it in the dishwasher.

When she was finished here, she would find Warren. Maybe he could get her back to her childhood home. If she remembered right, it might be a great back-up base.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

Alex studied Warren for a moment, then nodded. "Even so, I'll definitely need your help."

Warren nodded and replied, "Name it."

[Toby Lupin]

"Sorry," Darrik broke in, "but depending on events, it's possible we may end up without the luxury of hunkering down or fleeing. Uncle Shen also said there was a moderate to high chance of another Pax vs. Mal battle, including some of us. So we need to consider the possibility outside events may force us into the spotlight, regardless of our choice."

[Butch_Cole]

Butch left the kitchen and made his way to his room to change into some workout gear. The shorts were long and light, and the black t-shirt had the sleeves cut off; the boxing boots had belonged to his father. They were one of the few things Butch kept after his father was killed. When he was set, Butch made his way to the corner of the Danger Room and his modified gym equipment.

Slowly, he wrapped his hands in tape the way his father had showed him. The risk to his hands was minimal given his natural toughness and healing capabilities, but he did it anyway. For Butch, the action gave him a chance to focus, and after hearing what Uncle Shen had to say, the need for some focus was greater.

Looking down at his hands, Butch thought first about the changes Uncle Shen predicted. Apotheosis, he said. Their powers and abilities would jump in strength. The residents of the island would suddenly become some of the most powerful novas on the planet. Butch flexed his hands, making a fist with each to test the tape job.

He stepped towards the bag and shook himself to get loose. Then, Butch started his workout hitting the bag with regular strength, regular speed hits. Right-right-left, headfake, right, headfake, left, headfake, right-right-left, right, right, headfake.

While he continued his workout, Butch did a mental assessment, an upside/downside routine he liked to do. Ok, so a jump in strength. Upside? More power. Better ways to use that juice, maybe even new ways. Downside? People pay attention to that kind of power. Hell, they already had a target on their backs. This would just make that target bigger. More power might mean they'd be better equipped to handle those gunning for them. But then again there would be even more people gunning for them than usual. This wasn't just one or two novas becoming wildly powerful. It was ten novas becoming...something scary to a lot of folks. The youngsters on the island might have the power of a mid-sized nation's army. That'd make people pretty twitchy...

Butch switched over to a set of quick, lighter jabs and quick feet movements, side-to-side, then knees lifted high in place.

Divis and Pax meeting again. Plus, Uncle Shen said some of the children would be involved. Upside? Butch had seen Gaal and Najarian's footage from the first encounter between the two most powerful novas on the planet. One hell of a fight, that one. No matter how powerful the wards of the Traveler might become, Butch had little desire to duke it out with heavy hitters like Mal and Pax. You involve Mal and Pax, you involve a whole lot of other powerful novas. That just seemed like one big downside...

Butch took a deep breath and started with a series of heavy hits, knockout blows, low and high.

Things would be changing, but they'd be getting a whole lot more dangerous. More people after them made him the least happy. Butch spent most of his childhood on the run from people out to get him and his father. Eventually, they succeeded, killing Butch's Dad.

The hits increased in strength. The bag shook more and more.

For eleven years, all the family Butch had in the world was his dad. Now he had a new family. Brothers and Sisters. An Uncle and Aunt. Anyone messing with them...

Butch hit the bag with one last vicious strike.

...well, God help anyone willing to try.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Darrik

"Sorry," Darrik broke in, "but depending on events, it's possible we may end up without the luxury of hunkering down or fleeing. Uncle Shen also said there was a moderate to high chance of another Pax vs. Mal battle, including some of us. So we need to consider the possibility outside events may force us into the spotlight, regardless of our choice."

Warren nodded. Darrik was right, and worse, there were a lot of poor fits in those potential puzzles.

Warren said in agreement, "Yeah. We might try to hide in plain sight, fake our eruptions or something." From Warren's tone he didn't think that was very workable.

He added, "Or join someone else's faction. But maybe it's just me but... none of them really seem like good choices. DeVries might be workable. I'm open to ideas or if someone wants to pump for a different group."

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik shook his head, and in his rich tones there were... sadness? "DeVries won't work. My father was an Elite, valued by the company, given a lot of help and rewards for good service- and when Proteus decided to bag him two years ago, they did. For all they can offer us, their power has more limits in the end. Besides, no one- be it Utopia, Proteus, the Directive, the Teragen, world governments, no one will accept a international corporation having access to the power of 10 Pax-level novas."

Then his voice got more serious, as he decided to add another unconsidered fact. "I should also point out that we aren't the only second-generation novas out there, and the public knows second-gens exist since this past year. All we need is another second-generation to hit Apotheosis before we do, and the mother-hunter frenzy goes up tenfold, to say the least. They're going to be as much an issue as any other potential foe."

[Maia]

"Hey Cora, what's up?"

She smiled calmly. "Did the doom and Gloom brigade say something to ruin your day?"

It was something that was a blessing and a curse, Maia possessed a carefree and generally happy outlook on life, despite what happened to her parents. The fact she was near indestructible helped.

Not without worry, but determined more to answer with a smile, she pressed on, confident in her family's ability to overcome anything.

"Ready to go?"

[Karren Gaunt]

"Somewhat, Maia, but mostly a worry for another day while Darrick and Alex work a solution to the problem of a world with more and more tainted Novas, one where we, second generation Novas I mean, will receive a sharp boost in our powers in about a year or two. Just even more negative attention from Baselines and their Slaves focused on us," Coraline explained, chorus voice drifting ever slightly more out of synch due to bubbling upset.

"But yeah," she continued, visibly working to mask her lingering upset, "Ready to go soon as I swim out far enough to shift into something more practical."

On that last sentence, the young metamorph's eufiber flowed out of the form of a sundress and into that of a black one-piece swimsuit. Cora was no exhibitionist at least when she looked human. Exhibitionists got more attention and attention from outsiders in any form was bad as her parents taught her.

[Courier]

Warren grimaced at Darrik's statements and replied, "Sorry about your dad. I really wish I could disagree with any of that."

"Hmm. If we were already that strong then no one could stop us. That raises the question of what we want to do when we're that strong. If we had a better handle on that maybe we'd have natural allies."

[SalmonMax]

"I'm thinking that once the kids they have start erupting again and showing new powers, Utopia's black ops wing will actually be out of the picture. Maybe not right away, but the basics is this: Utopia can't afford to have a bunch of murderers and kidnappers publicly on their payroll. Their clandestine ops branch only has jurisdiction over this as long as it's clandestine. Secret."

Alex shook her head. "Try to keep a bunch of Paxes erupting and wreaking havoc in your containment facility secret. Apotheosis will burst the bubble on them, and force Project Utopia's 'main' branch to come in and clean up the mess. That pretty much takes them out of the running. Even when they get their act together enough to come after us, they'll be doing it the Utopia way...trying to be friends. Trying to...integrate themselves into our lives, so that we need them. They won't be kidnapping and shooting."

"The DOWNside of that is that Apotheosis, when the news hits, will stir the Directive and the Teragen both into insane feeding frenzies. Teragen will practically worship us as proof of the One Race's potential for autoevolution...but only if we drink the Kool-Aid and buy the Divis T-shirts. The Directive will probably see it as a confirmation of their worst nightmares. They'll want us dead. Before we can have little super-DOOPER-babies of our own."

She tapped her chin as she looked back down at the pieces of goggle on the workbench. "And frankly, Pax is a loose cannon. He and Team Tomorrow could get involved in this while their civilian leaders are still trying to cover up the political mess. In fact, he will...he'll have to. The last thing he wants is for Team Tomorrow to become obsolete with last year's model. Plus, he'll still be doing the math for when he and Mal scrape again, and I'm sure the numbers look a lot better to him when there's more novas of his power on HIS side. He'll be friendly at first...but I have this feeling he won't take 'no' for an answer."

[Sunstar]

Marina shakes her head a bit. Sure, she know's she practically better than about..well most baselines. She how ever feels that the mentality that having power means you have a free ticket to walk all over others is wrong.

"I walked away before Uncle Shen could finish. How powerful did he say?" She said fiddling with the water at the shore line a bit.

"On second thought let's hold that till after we dive. Hopefully we'll find something cool while we are down there."

Marina seems eager to go.

[Karren Gaunt]

Cora didn’t need much more inviation than that, the young metamorph running into the waves and smoothly diving into a graceful breaststroke, her eufiber retreating up her hips and reforming into a backless, long-sleeved top. Not that she’d remain indecent for long, her flesh following her clothing into the path of change once she was a good hundred feet out from shore.

Click to reveal..

Well, here we go first die roll of the game. Triggering Bodyshift.

Mega Dice: 3d10.hits(7)=1 So, two

Normal Dice: 9d10.hits(7)=3

Total: 5 Successes spent on the Body Modifications Webbed Hands (1), Swimming Fluke (1), High Pressure Tolerance (1), Rudders (1), and Sonar (1)

Coraline concentrated inward and her visible flesh *softened* where it floated in the gentle waves, the quantum forces constantly fluxing her appearance responding to her will and the spark of power she burned. The young metamorph’s legs lengthened and flowed together into a single, great swimming fluke, part of a general thickening and darkening of her skin as her biochemistry adapted to extract oxygen from the seawater around her. The now-grey skin between her fingers creeped down between her fingertips, thin flexible membranes to propel her through the water like one born, nay, evolved to it. A fleshy rudder bloomed out from her flesh out her upper back, swiftly becoming responsive as nerve and muscle flowed into being from her quantum reserves. Her forehead, jaw, and neck thickened, a dolphin-like series of clicks echoing through the water as she painted the world around her through her new sense.

The change stopped and Cora visibly stabilized again, smiling at her sisters with still human teeth and blue-on-black eyes that danced with the thrill of a well-crafted change and the sheer feeling of aquatic speed and dexterity her temporary form screamed along every nerve of her body.

[Toby Lupin]

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

"I'm thinking that once the kids they have start erupting again and showing new powers, Utopia's black ops wing will actually be out of the picture. Maybe not right away, but the basics is this: Utopia can't afford to have a bunch of murderers and kidnappers publicly on their payroll. Their clandestine ops branch only has jurisdiction over this as long as it's clandestine. Secret."

Alex shook her head. "Try to keep a bunch of Paxes erupting and wreaking havoc in your containment facility secret. Apotheosis will burst the bubble on them, and force Project Utopia's 'main' branch to come in and clean up the mess. That pretty much takes them out of the running. Even when they get their act together enough to come after us, they'll be doing it the Utopia way...trying to be friends. Trying to...integrate themselves into our lives, so that we need them. They won't be kidnapping and shooting."

"Maybe..." Darrik murmured speculatively, "Maybe not... It's never been conclusively proven, but Proteus was no doubt responsible for 'The Miracle' near-catastrophe, and they were on-site in the effort to neutralize him as a threat. He wasn't Pax, but he was damn close, so they had some kind of way to deal with him. So I wouldn't be so sure that Apotheosis gives us immunity through utter power."

Quote:

"The DOWNside of that is that Apotheosis, when the news hits, will stir the Directive and the Teragen both into insane feeding frenzies. Teragen will practically worship us as proof of the One Race's potential for autoevolution...but only if we drink the Kool-Aid and buy the Divis T-shirts. The Directive will probably see it as a confirmation of their worst nightmares. They'll want us dead. Before we can have little super-DOOPER-babies of our own."

"I won't deny the points about the Directive and the Terats, certainly. Hell, even if we don't, they might sway other second-generations, or have a few kids of their own." Darrik's face expressed a look of how what a headache that would be.

Quote:

She tapped her chin as she looked back down at the pieces of goggle on the workbench. "And frankly, Pax is a loose cannon. He and Team Tomorrow could get involved in this while their civilian leaders are still trying to cover up the political mess. In fact, he will...he'll have to. The last thing he wants is for Team Tomorrow to become obsolete with last year's model. Plus, he'll still be doing the math for when he and Mal scrape again, and I'm sure the numbers look a lot better to him when there's more novas of his power on HIS side. He'll be friendly at first...but I have this feeling he won't take 'no' for an answer."

"And as for Pax... he's isn't going to take no for an answer, with all the subtlety of a hunting dog. Of course, just so we're clear, he's not going to be recruiting us for taking on Mal, though. Numbers and power won't make a fricking difference, because for all that people admire Pax... I know who he is. A self-obsessed jerk, one whose self and public image took a shellacking from the onesided defeat by Mal back in 2010. When he meets Mal again," for there would be no if, "he will take on Mal again, and likely die as a result. Heck, that might interfere with recruiting us potentially. The guy doesn't want anymore people to steal his dimming spotlight."

[iGod]

At that point, Jeffrey came in. "Hey guys!"

"I kinda thought I'd find you all here, and since all of you are kinda the brain trust, I figured I'd run something by you." He took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and launched into his idea.

"I'm pretty sure we couldn't trust Utopia. I don't trust the Teragen either, because they have this whole 'Node uber alles' thing that'll probably end up getting them or everyone next to them killed. I don't think they know what they're doing to themselves. I couldn't see any of the private contractors out there being strong enough to help us. Soo...I'm thinking we need to get a channel open to the Aberrants."

"They're not much, but they're reasonably scared of Utopia, and reasonably leery about the Teragen, and they have some experience with keeping their eyes open, making contacts, and getting things done while working around the big two. Plus, I'm sure a lot of them would be eager to see what their potential offspring look like, and maybe we can rally them as they gather around to help us. Shit, Protect The Future is a hell of a rallying cry for any organization."

"So, whaddaya think?"

[Maia]

Maia dove in, focusing her physical might into parting the waves, mostly so she didn't end up nude from the onset. She stayed at the edge of the light zone, waiting for her sisters. Not needing to breathe or anything else was a boon, but she did have one issue, she couldn't actually see in the pitch black depths of the deeper ocean.

Powerful strokes propelled her through the water, far faster than any human can manage.

[SalmonMax]

"Abberrents are smalltime," Alex said dismissively. "If they had any real muscle, they'd have accomplished something by now. We could help them, but I don't see what they bring to the table."

[iGod]

"Uh, maybe more experience of what's happening out there in the wider world than we have? Safe havens established? Contacts and a network of sympathizers? More general life experience? These aren't bad things, Alex."

Jeffrey hated arguing with Alex; for someone who was a mad thinker, she was where ideas went to die. Hopefully Darrik would kick in with some devil-may-care enthusiasm, because he knew he couldn't carry this argument all by himself, especially when all he had was a good feeling about this idea.

[Courier]

Warren nodded in agreement to Darrik and replied to Jeffrey, "I don't mind the Aberrants or their ideology, but Alex is right, they're a minor player. On the other hand they get points for at least trying to do the right thing."

Warren looked into the distance at the past and what should have been. He said a hair bitterly, "10 of us out of what? Thousands? I'd have more respect for Pax if he brought in a mother hunter occasionally. He wants to be a hero, but not our hero."

Warren added, "And he's crazy if he thinks he can take Mal. Mal was holding back, their fight was a mismatch. And speaking of Mal... every word he said was right, but not for us. We never had baseline chains to shake off. We've won the fight the Teragen is trying to fight and we did it without going all tainty. It's going to piss them off that we didn't need to trade our humanity."

Warren said, "Short term we need to survive long enough to grow into our full power. Long term... it might be that the conflict is between the tainted and the untainted and not between baseline and nova."

[Sunstar]

Marina dives in after the two. For a water elemental like her, breathing underwater came as natural as breathing the air. She swims as quickly as she can to catch up with the other two, motioning them to follow her deeper into the ocean. She makes sure to stay where they can still get light because realistically, her eyesight is just slightly better than normal.

[Maia]

Maia kept pace with them, despite having to do so physically.

"Almost prophetic, looking into the abyss isn't it?"

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline quite literally swims circles around her sisters, a dark grey demi-human blur diving and rising and going off like a pod of dolphins, almost but not quite deliriously happy as she takes in the world above and below her, darting ahead and falling back again.

She had to keep reminding herself to keep going back, that her sisters for all their gifts didn't have the all-consuming awareness she herself took for granted.

'This is wonderful, Marina! I'm so glad you suggested this. You have no idea how good this, the big picture down here without real danger, feels after a night of focusing on the smallest details!' crowed the young metamorph over the link they shared, pulling a loop de loop or three simply because she could, ' And it's not an abyss. This is easy to see.'

[Maia]

"For you perhaps, I'm still limited to my better than average human vision though. I go too deep and it's lights out."

[Sunstar]

Marina slaps her forehead.

"Knew I forgot something. I forgot to bring a light."

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany sighed and started pulling together the things she would need for the picnic lunch. It seemed Traveler didn't have any more words of wisdom for them. So it was on to the pasta salad and ham sandwiches.

As Pip puttered around in the kitchen, she opened the link to Warren. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I had a query. I wondered if you would be able to warp to a place from someone else's memory, even if it is far and surrounded by rock. I think this was discussed before, but I forget if it ever lead anywhere."

[Karren Gaunt]

Cora telepathically chuckled in Marina's head, 'You do about half the time, Sister. Fortunately I think there's a good place within the lighted zone ahead where we can find interesting things to bring back.'

She zipped ahead with a great stroke of her tail and squinted, a smile framing her face along with the last few bubbles of air from her flooding lungs, 'I think I see it. A plateou about twenty miles east. Or was that the other side of the island?'

[Quantum Fire]

There was a sudden flash, and a bag appeared in front of them, to the right of Marina, inside of which were the same sort of chemical lights that the U.S military used. With it, was a note, written on plastic with some sort of crayon, to keep it from being dissolved by the water.

Next time, darlings, be better prepared, I won't always be able to look after you.. With Love - Uncle Shen.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: LydaLynn

As Pip puttered around in the kitchen, she opened the link to Warren. "I hope I'm not disturbing you, but I had a query. I wondered if you would be able to warp to a place from someone else's memory, even if it is far and surrounded by rock. I think this was discussed before, but I forget if it ever lead anywhere."

Warren sent back warmly, 'Those sorts of warps are harder, but probably not too hard... as long as we're talking somewhere on the Earth. What's up Pip? Did you have something specific in mind?'