Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - [CoQF] Testing the Waters [2.0]

[Quantum Fire]

Once everyone had decided how to split forces, the groups split into two, one of whom intended to began to meet with groups outside the isle. It they wanted to speak with any of Traveler's contacts, he could connect them with any of them, though for safety's sake, it wouldn't be on the isle, but somewhere in the world.

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik was looking over an OpNet map of the world when the others came in. Even if they only met with Sophia Rousseau- and that said a lot about Uncle Shen's contacts- it wouldn't be practical to meet directly in any populated town or city. Nobody wanted to draw attention or be spotted. Of course, the area needed to be one that also could be easily spotted out in case of trickery, though Darrik felt that such concerns might be unnecessary. In any case, he found a good location, several miles northeast of a little town in north Scotland, and well within his capabilities to take along a pair of siblings through the shadows.

"So," he inquired of the others present, "is it going to be just Sophia Rosseau, or are we going to look for any other factions?"

[Butch_Cole]

"I think Rousseau is a great start," Butch said. "We might want to consider another group after, but maybe not as...divisive as the Teragen for now. I remember my dad mentioning something about a bunch of survivalists down in Antarctica. The Protectors. They might be worth a shout if they're still around and if Uncle Shen's got contacts. If not, we might think about trying to reach them on our own."

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline rolled her eyes at yet another crack about the Teragen but held her tongue, offering softly, "Marina mentioned DeVries, and glorified Slave-makers though they seem to be, they seem unlikely to shoot us on sight or to have sponsored Motherhunters. Future potential product and all that. The plan's good, too. You have a specific location in the area in mind?"

She studied the map intently, mentally marking out the dozen or so isolated corners of the globe where she had grown up with her parents before the Motherhunters caught with them. Then seven years of peace here with her new family. Now planning for war to protect that family. She could sooth ruffled feathers with Pip after doing what she could to help keep them safe.

[Sunstar]

"Hey, it was a suggestion. And frankly, we need all the friends we can get. Anyways, Rousseau sounds like a good idea to go to. As for my suggestion to try out Devries, let's go speak with them after we've got a few contacts established. In case negotiations with them go sour." Marina said looking over the map. "I also think the Protectors might be good idea, if they are still around."

[Quantum Fire]

Traveler spoke up, from the corner he was suddenly sitting in, but hadn't been in a moment before. "I can get in touch with Alicia, Orzaiz, Cyrus, and Thomas.. if you want to take to any of them.. I can also get in touch with a few of the more friendly members of Utopia, though most of them are secretly connected with the Abberants anyway."

[Butch_Cole]

He could get used to a lot of strange things being a nova, but Uncle Shen's popping in and out of places was something that always made him a little jumpy. The amount of contacts that Traveler seemed to have access to was impressive to say the least. Was there anyone this guy didn't know or have access to?

"Wow. I don't quite know what to say Uncle Shen. That's amazing. I'm sure we'll need to talk to them all at some point or other. Good to know you can hook us up with an audience," Butch said.

He took a moment and looked at the map as everyone else had. The spot that Darrik had selected seemed like a good, out-of-the-way location, and Butch was hoping to find out some more info about this place just as Coraline wanted. He looked up and said:

"I'm with Cora here, Darrik. If you have more information about a specific location in that area, I think we can start planning for security for our meet with Madame Rousseau."

Then he said to the group: "Given Uncle Shen's contacts, I think we can also plan at least an order for the next few meetings. I'm for starting with Madame Rousseau and the Aberrants. From there I think we talk to the Protectors. They're out of the way and off enough radars as far as I know. They might be able to help hide some folks who need hiding. We could sound out Devries next, try to keep from getting recruited as the next big moneymakers for Anna Devries, and make some contacts of our own. After Devries, well, I'd say we talk to the Teragen before we talk to anyone still in Utopia. They might be great people to get info from, but I think, friendly or not, they're a dangerous option given their close link to P.U. and its dark side. So, I'm for talking to the Aberrants, Protectors, Devries, Teragen, and friendly Utopians-against-Utopia-in-their-own-special-way last. What do you guys think?"

[Karren Gaunt]

"That works," conceded Coraline vaguely, her chorus of voices unfocussed as she waited for Darrik to answer as to the security question, "With extreme reservations about talking to anyone in Utopia at all until we can do so from a position of strength."

She gave Butch a smile, especially liking the idea of the Protectors from what little she recalled about them. Not a group of Slaves and not reckless with Taint, a very happy medium.

[Kasheal]

“Why-choose-Scotland?-there-is-nothing-in-Scotland-wait-I-think-I-just-answered-my-own-question.” Oz rambled as he looked over the map with the others.

“I-am-all-for-starting-off-with-one-or-two-meetings-to-get-us-used-to-things-and-keep-us-hidden-in-the-meantime-but-eventually-I-would-like-to-meet-as-many-groups-as-possible.-It-would-be-good-to-get-oppinions-of-even-those-some-of-the-group-dissaprove-of-and-its-always-good-to-know-more-about-your-enemies-if-things-do-go-wrong-with-any-meetings.”

Oz personally didn’t have any problem with groups like the Teragen, at least not until he could speak with one and make up his own mind. He felt the more they knew the better and there was only so much you could get by reading other peoples reports.

“Also-what-are-we-going-to-tell-them-when-we-meet-up-that-we-are-super-second-gens?-as-we-probably-wan‘t-to-be-vauge-on-that-if-its-even-possible-but-we-need-to-show-them-something-valuable-we-can-offer-or-why-would-they-talk-to-us?-This-is-more-your-guys-area-and-you-have-probably-thought-about-this-a-thousand-times-already-so-I-am-going-to-stop-talking-now.”

He feared the last statement was redundant but he really wasn’t used to the secret spy stuff. Did you just meet up in dark warehouses with shadowy faces? Or was it more relaxed meetings with tea and cakes but both sides secretly eye each other trying to guess what the opposition are thinking. Oz feared he may simply have read too many odd books.

[Sunstar]

"I don;t have any objections. Hell that seems like the best order to go on with this."

Marina looks over at Oz when he talked. She scratches her head thinking. "Ozzy has a point. We need to get our story straight. Letting them know we all are second gen is a landmine waiting to be stepped on. Butch, Coraline, Darrik. What do you all think?"

[Toby Lupin]

"I'm sure they might be willing to believe that we are simply a group of young but extremely powerful first-generations, they'll like the support either way." Darrik responded. "And I picked Thurso, or specifically, the fields here to the northeast, for a reason. The town is only about several thousand people, all the major local roads run to the cardinal directions other than north and northeast, and it's all open fields where we'll be. Once we've set a time, Cora, Butch and I can arrive a hour ahead and Cora can make sure there isn't any sign of trickery going on. Oh, and why do you think the Protectors would do anything for us? Have you ever considered that they're people who don't want involvement in our global civilization, much less be saddled with rescued people not of their choosing?"

"What do we have to offer them? Unfortunately, this applies to everyone else. As far as I'm concerned, we have to be prepared to offer something, most likely services for a mission. I was thinking we'd have to negotiate with DeVries for under the table freelancing on our terms, but that is tricky. Aberrants, DeVries, Teragen, potential friendly Utopians, in that order." His red eyes flashed. "And we must be prepared to give as well as take."

[Butch_Cole]

"Yeah, good point, Oz. We need to figure out our story. Marina, Darrik's idea might work. We play it that we're a bunch of young guns packing heat, lots of juice. I think that might work for the short term. That's my initial thought."

Butch started to pace.

"Then again, maybe we think about it another way. Do we consider letting certain people know what we are? We go talk to Sophia Rousseau, maybe we should play it straight with her. I get the feeling that we lie to her, she'll see through it. We gotta be careful who we try to b.s. with this story. But I recognize we need to be careful as to who we trust with this type of info. Do we think Madame Rousseau can be trusted with that? Outside of this group...you guys, Traveler, Serenity...we're gonna need people we can trust with that info. Something to think about."

He stopped pacing, stroked his cheek, stubbly and in need of a shave, and continued:

"As for the Protectors, well, like you said, we need to figure out what we have to offer if we're gonna expect reciprocal backscratching. If we don't have anything to offer, then maybe we don't expect them to babysit anyone we need . But I think we can still make contact. If they don't want to be involved, maybe we just try and get some insight about how to build our own Great Society or whatever. That's what they're about, right? They opted out of the world and want to build their own. If our attempts at changing the world fail, isn't our backup plan to play Moses? Lead our people to a new world and build something? Our other half, the brain trust planning to boldly go, might appreciate the contact with a group that's got a head start in building a new society. I'll bet the Protectors can see the writing on the wall same as we can and are planning to abandon the good ship Earth, probably sooner than us if they haven't already. Maybe we just open channels, start a dialogue, say 'hey, how's it going? We might be neighbors out there one day, so let's start out on the right foot here and now.' I don't know. Just trying to talk things through. I still think they're worth a shout."

Butch shrugged.

"Other than that, I'm prepared to give. I think we're all prepared to give a bit to get a bit. Uncover things about Utopian conspiracies for the Aberrants? Be hired guns for Devries, only if the missions are right, and make them some money? Not sure about the Teragen. Just a few ideas I had right now. Negotiating anything is your strength, right Darrik? I'd leave that to you for when we talk to Devries. Or anyone. P.S. the plan for Thurso sounds good. What do you guys think? About any of it."

[Karren Gaunt]

"I agree with Butch, the Protectors are worth contacting, especially as a model for our plan B. As for what we can offer them..," Coraline visibly hesitated before adding, "There's always the future I might be able to give them and we could channel any 2nd Generation Novas we find their way if they don't want to stand with us. Everyone sane wants a future."

The young metamorph added quickly while looking over the zoomed-in map, "...Hmmm, it's a good place, given a little prep time and a suitable perch from which to keep an eye on the meet and greet, it could do very well if Uncle Shen's trust in Rousseau is well placed as he makes it. Keep it honest, too. Our status as a group of 2nd Generation Novas is part of our 'selling point' as I understand it, at least among those that won't shoot us on sight."

[Toby Lupin]

"Not to the Teragen, we're certainly not. That's a red flag to a bull. Since you do want me to negotiate, I'll have to think on whether or not it will be in our best interest when we talk with Mme Rosseau. And as for the Protectors... we'll have to disagree."

Darrik got up and walked over to Uncle Shen, bringing over the visual of the meeting location. "So Uncle, can you see about contacting Rosseau and setting up a meeting here," Darrik pointed out the fields outside Thurso "as soon as possible?"

[Butch_Cole]

"Just a second there, hoss," Butch said. "I want some things cleared up. I've got a question for Uncle Shen and then some more to say about this potential lying business before we roll out."

He looked at Traveler and said, "So first I want to know if you trust Rousseau, Uncle Shen. Do you think we can approach her and let her know we're 2nd generation novas? You've been around longer than us, and it's clear you've got some pull if you can arrange meetings with powerbrokers like you've mentioned. I'm not asking you to look into the future or anything like that. I just would like to hear your opinion if you've got one."

Then he looked at Darrik and said, "I think that might help out before we go deciding whether or not to keep certain info from potential allies. Plus, I want to hear what the others think on this topic. This is an important issue. We start out with a lie or even just omitting the truth to a potential ally and then down the line they find out , what then? I don't think we can treat everyone out there like that. If no one knows anything about us, then they're relying on our word. Then they find out our word ain't worth shit? I know I wouldn't want to be played like that.

"Of all the potential allies out there, I feel like Rousseau is one we should think twice about lying to. The Aberrants are against the people hunting us. As far as I remember growing up, they helped who they could to get away from Motherhunters when the rest of the world didn't even know things like that went on. They benefit from our existing and staying alive. They have a vested interest in our safety and well-being. I think we need to be worthy of that, and lying or even just omitting the truth to people with a real interest in our safety and well-being...I think that's a slap in their face. Unless they've completely changed their tune in the past few years, I think I'm against lying to Rousseau. What do the rest of you think?"

[Quantum Fire]

"Sophia.. I trust to act in the best interests of nova kind, unlike some of the others, whom I could contact, who would look after their own interests first. Actually, Sophia would be pleased to learn your 2nd generation novas, and would want to help you however she could, the others would also be pleased, but would, as I said, look after their own interests first.. though some of their interests overlap with yours. Cyrus and Thomas are most likely to be sympathetic, but have the least to offer, except for support."

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik listened, then acknowledged Traveler's point. "Fine. If we can trust Sophia Rosseau on that point, then yes, we can be upfront with her about that. Others, we shall see. Now, can you arrange this meeting?"

[LydaLynn]

The psychic network connecting everyone suddenly severed for no discernible reason.

Five minutes later, a light rap on the door preceded Epiphany opening it and sticking her head in. "Sorry," Pip smiled slightly and quickly played out mental tags for the network link she was about to reestablish. If no one denied or resisted the connection, the network hummed back into place with a snap. Anyone who checked would notice Warren was not included in the network.

[Quantum Fire]

"Yes, give me some time, at least 8 hours, I think, Sophia is often involved in a number of different things, and is rather busy, but I know the right things to say to get her to give you all priority.. I suggest you decide what you want to tell her or ask her before you meet her."

[Maia]

Maia was the last to arrive, after pretty much everything. Those who possessed senses beyond the norm could still smell the faint traces of seawater. It was well known that When things didn't suit her she'd go cool off with a swim.

She nodded to the others. "Sorry I'm late."

[Sunstar]

"It's a Ok Pip. Something happen?"

Marina then looks at Maia as she enters.

"Ah, there you are Maia. We're still hammering out the details of who we are going to contact and how to approach them, sis."

[Butch_Cole]

Butch was glad to hear that they wouldn't have to lie to Sophia Rousseau about their status as 2nd generation novas. If Traveler was correct, then hopefully things would go more easily in negotiations with the Aberrants, who apparently would want to help in whatever way they could.

The question now was what exactly they would be asking for help with.

Butch looked at everyone gathered in the room. They were the ambassadors for the group, which was kind of exciting. He wondered how things were going with the home team when Pip came in to reestablish their telepathic link.

"Well, folks, what are we going to say to Rousseau?" Butch asked. "I think we should give her an idea of what we're planning, but where do we go from there. Are we just asking for help in finding some other 2nd gens who can use our help, seeing if they have some info to share? Are we asking for tangible support or just words of encouragement? And if we ask for tangible support, what exactly are we asking for."

[Quantum Fire]

It was a few hours, but Traveler departed, and when he returned, it was with the news that she would meet with them.

"I told her a number of young nova's wanted to speak with her privately, where you wanted to meet her, and that is was important, she agree to meet with you, when you wanted her too.. anything else you want to tell her is up to you."

With that, he left, departing once more as quickly as he came, leaving the young teens with a new task, to get to the location they had chosen, to met with Sophia.. of course, Cora was fast enough to do it quite quickly.. and Darrik could transmit them though the shadows with a bit of effort.. so all of them could get there soon enough.

When they arrived it was easy to tell who they were here to meet, Sophia Rousseau could be felt by the blazing strength of her node, and anyone with any of them with quantum attunement could see the blaze of power, of constantly twisting potentials flowing out of her.. of quantum energies reaching out and touching everything around her.. Secondly, despite how improbable it was, they arrived right next to her, she was waiting for them in just the right spot.

Tall, long dark hair, wearing black silk shirt, and black leather pants, with black boots, she was incredibly lovely, more so then any baseline human could be, her beauty matched that of Maia and Marina.. with a dark edge to it.

[Toby Lupin]

Darrik quirked an eyebrow as they found Sophia Rosseau waiting for the group and before they had. Perfect setup... too perfect, the same way it sometimes felt with Jeffery. *Cora, an eye out around here to make sure no one's watching.* Having mentally asked his 'sister' to stay alert and be the sentinel, Darrik smiled in a fashion that was known to smash marriages, and extended his hand to Mme Rosseau. Interest was growing, in more ways than one. Darrik hadn't been with a female nova yet...

"Mme. Rosseau, a pleasure to meet you. Darrik Reynolds. You seem to be on the ball." And yet for his superhuman guile, the words seemed nothing more than a pleasant greeting.

Click to reveal..

1 QP to activate the Subtle enhancement.

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline jumped slightly as what was supposed to be an hour of prep time for an ambush evaporated into imediate close-quarter confrontation with one of the most powerful women on the planet and whatever back up she had brought. The pale-skinned redhead unwrapped her senses from their normal comforting focus on her ever-warping apperance, bringing the world into almost blinding focus, the edges of the visual spectrum racing downward into the infrared and upward into the ultraviolet with a kiss of quantum, two slight jerks of her head bringing the entire field into her hyper awareness for this, the first of many scans, as she brought her mental shields up as well, just in case...

Just because this woman was supposed to be a friend of the 2nd Generation Novas, didn't mean there might not be complications. She wasn't family after all.

Click to reveal..

Okay, bringing up her Psychic shield, and looking for badguys with a little help from E-M Vision and a mote of Willpower.

Mega Dice

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2972781/ That's 4 Successes

Normal Dice

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/2972783/ That's 5 Successes

So, plus the three for E-M Vision and the one for Willpower, totals out at 13 Successes for Awareness+Perception.

[Maia]

Maia on the otherhand, didn't seem to be assessing anyone, She was just there. She didn't look like someone who could juggle tanks, she looked like someone who belonged on a fashion runway, or starring in movies, capturing the hearts of the world. There was no mistaking who's daughter she was, and she smiled to Sophia.

While Darrik had supernatural guile, Maia went the other direction, she was honest to a fault.

"It is nice to meet you ma'am."

She wasn't lying, she always gave benefit of the doubt to anyone that hadn't directly threatened her family. She was on guard, and yet managed to seem not the slightest bit menacing.

[Butch_Cole]

Things were moving fast, but Butch was ok with it. He trusted Coraline with checking the area since that was her strength. Darrik would be the one to shmooze with Madame Rousseau because that was what Darrik did. Butch would just be ready if anything went wrong. The kind of life he had growing up before Traveler brought him to the Island, well...Butch was used to things going wrong.

He looked at the gorgeous Rousseau, impressed with being in the presence of one of the most powerful novas on the planet. After the others made their introductions, Butch said to Rousseau, "Pleased to meet you, ma'am. I'm Butch. Thanks so much for meeting with us."

As best he could, Butch remained prepared if anything went wrong.

[Kasheal]

Oz stood at the back of the group still feeling very out of place in this situation. It was all happening quicker then he expected and he really wasn’t sure what to say to the women first, well that was probably best left to Darrik anyway.

“Hi-I-am-Oz-pleasure-to-meet-you.” He managed to say in his usual blur of words.

He quickly went back to being quiet and trying to blend into the background, which wasn’t helped by the fact that every now and again a small pebble or piece of dirt would start to orbit his feet.

[LydaLynn]

Originally Posted By: Abyss Phantasia

"It's a Ok Pip. Something happen?"

Shaking her head, "Nothing particular." Epiphany quickly finished setting up the link and headed back out.



OOC: sorry - just wrapping this up real quick.

[Sunstar]

Marina stands near Maia. At the moment she seems to have blond hair and seems paler than normal. Marina must have figured she'd disguise herself prior to the meeting. Though she is wearing a pair of sun glasses to cover her odd eyes

Click to reveal..

Dropping 1 QP on appearance Alteration

She looks at Rousseau, sizing her up.

[Quantum Fire]

"Smooth, boy, you are smooth, though I've had folks more handsome then you try to seduce me.. I'm flattered by your attention, however, you might be a bit younger then I would usually be willing to go out with, even for a single night..." She smiled back at him, though she didn't entirely seem beyond his ability to charm, she did deflect him a bit.. and her voice was divine, gorgeous, she would be an incredible singer if she chose to be..

Cora didn't find anything unusual, and as she looked around, Sophia turned her gaze to her.. "Don't worry so much girl, it's not like there are going to be folks with bazoka's or spies watching us, I made it.. extremely improbable.. as luck would have it, and yes, I am here alone.. I'm quite capable of taking care of myself.."

Replying to the various greetings she smiled at each of you in turn, turning up the charm a bit, and this woman was superhumanly charming.. "So, Greetings to you all, a pleasure to meet you, Shen said that he had a bunch of young nova's would wanted to talk to me about something very important?"

[Karren Gaunt]

Sophia earned herself a smoldering look from the corner of the young metamorph's blue-on-black eyes and a muttered chorus of 'The day you stop keeping an eye out for trouble is the day trouble catches you' for that admonishment. She didn't like this encounter so far, the way they were all blind-sided. It promised ill for future encounters while they figured out what to do in order to beat the Motherhunters and survive.

[Toby Lupin]

"Cora." Darrik just gave her a tinge of admonishment before settling himself down for discussions. Sophia Rosseau clearly proved herself worthy of these rumors, looking onto his hidden side intentions as swiftly as she did. This would prove an interesting challenge- but it was time to negotiate, so that was neither here nor there.

"Our group here is very interested in working with the Aberrants. We share some rather similar views, and we have some rather extensive talents on our side, if somewhat raw. For instance, I'm sure the protection of other 2nd generation novas are a quite serious area where you would like additional dedicated and able help."

[Quantum Fire]

She looked at Darrik raising an eyebrow at the phrasing of his words, then she let her gaze drift over the other present. "Well, that explains a lot, I wondered what Shen was up too with his vanishing act. Where has he been hiding you all, I wonder.. don't answer that, better that I don't know. Several decades ago, when I discovered the secret sterility plot, I turned probability against those behind the plot.. it wasn't perfect, but I could make the effect cover the planet.. " With someone of Darrik's intelligence, that suggested, if she was speaking the truth, that some of the close calls he and his foster siblings had, might have turned out worse for them without her intervention.

"So, you want to help rescue your fellows, well, I do have some ways you can help, and I could definatly use your help, especially if you have places you can hide young 2nd generation novas.. their numbers are increasing now.. I suspect you may be among the oldest living now."

[Sunstar]

Marina doesn't show it, but she's starting to like this woman. She also makes note of the whole 'sterility plot' and then she nods. "So it seems. How did you come across this information. Sorry, I just like to verify sources. Especially in the this age and for something this important" Marina said pushing her sunglasses back. "As for a place to keep them, we might have a few places..." she said as vaguely as possible.

[Butch_Cole]

Rousseau's calm demeanor and charming nature made Butch relax at first. Frankly, it took some conscious thought not to stare at this powerful and beautiful nova standing before him, but then what she said gave him pause.

It would seem that Sophia Rousseau could have been responsible for Butch's existence, but not in a direct biological sense. No, that honor belonged to Johnny Hellfire and whoever Butch's mother was. But for them to meet in the first place? Could Rousseau have been behind that?

For a moment, Butch wasn't sure whether to thank or curse Rousseau. His youth was not easy, and plenty of people, including his father, died along the way to keep him alive. Would things have been worse without Rousseau's "intervention"? Perhaps Butch would not be here, but all of those people who died along the way...would they have been better off without Rousseau's probability alterations? What would his father's life have been like without all of this? It's not the type of thing that he ever asked Johnny Hellfire, but now Butch wondered if his father even wanted a child at that point in his life. Or at all...

Butch exhaled, loudly and through his nostrils, but kept his mouth shut. He was with Shen's foundlings, and that was the important thing. The group wanted to work with Rousseau, and she wanted to work with them. To affect...well, apparently the world, in the way she was implying was impressive and frightening. As far as Butch could tell, having someone as powerful as her on their side was a positive. If she could lead them to other 2nd generation novas, even better.

Keeping his face expressionless, Butch eagerly awaited what Rousseau would have to say in response to Marina's question.

[Toby Lupin]

More food for thought, Darrik considered, and if she indeed was to be believed, Mme. Rosseau was quite powerful indeed. And in all likelihood, more so than they young 2nd generations. And she knew Shen apparently... their uncle was more an enigma now than ever. Immediately, sorting through all this, Darrik sent a mental communique to Alex quickly, preparing to hold a lengthy mental discussion.

Something else to hold in reserve for now, just to be safe. After all, the ability Pip gave everyone to speak from so far, immediately... it was a precious secret for now. "We can certainly supply hiding places. Now as for your stated past experiences Madame, I'm guessing if you did twist chance as you say, how hard is making the information just pop into your hands? I suppose more importantly, you imply you do know who is responsible. Might you share it with us?"

[Krul]

"In answer to your question, I had a few spys working for me, I twist probability in their favor, and in favor of me getting the information I needed.. and wanted. I've found however, that the more I do that kind of thing, the more unintended consequences start popping up.

In any case, the mastermind behind the project is the director of a secretive group calling themselves Project Proteus, they are associated with Utopia, but few within know it... and Proteus is still around, they just have moved to acting a lot more underground then they use to. I also have a pre-cog or two helping me, and not Shen, he's given me bits and pieces now and again, but rarely all that much, I suspect your group is among those select few he gives more too."

[Karren Gaunt]

"Project Proteus," came a polytonal growl from under the breath of Coraline, the young metamorph struggling with the anger the convincing woman's words kicked up as she had a name to go with faceless conspiracy of Motherhunting baseline puppetmasters and Nova slaves who had harried her generation of Novakind both before and after conception. There was the promise of violence in those two words, the anger of a young woman given a target to investigate and destroy after a lifetime of running.

"Who is this director and who else approved?" Cora breathed in question, head still jerking slightly to keep the area covered with her pretnatural senses.

[Maia]

Maia's hand came to rest on Cora, hearing her tone, and not liking it. "Easy." It was easy to see her muscles tightening. A Utopia team killed her father, and She'd long supsected the accident that claimed her mother wasn't.

"We can get to them later, what really matters is protecting other second generation novas."