Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - [Interlude] Quantum Rapids [FIN]

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Star gets into the raft, and locks her oar. She moves it experimentally, figuring out the dynamics of the mechanical system. Se took cues from Shaman on what to do, hoping that he had a greater knowledge that she.

"Oh, its a beautiful scene here ... Look at the fish, you can see them in that clear spot over there." Thinking the little one might appreciate the sight she pointed it out "Look, over there. Lots of them, some sort of freshwater river fish. Something like trout, but different markings and colours."

Nature was all around them, something Star enjoyed but really wasn't accustomed to.

[Sailor OOC]

Kamiko giggles. "Well... since we're in and set, the waters are calm here, a careful choice for me to get our rhythm down for rowing. These won't do much good in the rapids 50 miles down."

She starts having Dai Kami-sama push off. "And loosen up, everyone, we're trying to have fun."

[Dan Hawkins]

dan nodded. "I'm relaxed this is nothing new to me." He quickly began to use his paddle almost like a rudder, stearing with the gentle current until the others were ready with their own paddles.

[Sailor OOC]

"Good man."

Kamiko handles this like a pro, almost matching Dan's moves in relative logic to help hold position. "Anyone need some pointers, talk to Dan, he's a expert at this stuff. And can break it down pretty simple too... I get things all complicated and haphazard at times."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Star was really enjoying her time on the river, she seemed to take to it pretty well. Her inherent flexibility really began to show though, as she hadn't bothered fixed her form with more solid joints ... she wasn't just flexible ... she occasionally moved as if she had no bones.

She didn't seem to notice though, as the trip on the river had her on memory lane. Father used to take her out to the ocean, and to lakes. They would spend time in the mountains, and at the cottage in British Columbia. In these times he had taught her to flow with subtle currents of quantum power, what other people might consider 'luck', 'fate' or 'destiny'. It had been on hikes through the wilderness, not white water rafting, where she had much of that from him ... and it was water meditation - floating in the waves with eyes closed - that had taught her the skill of using her node, and of mastering attunment. Strangely, traveling down the river with nature's splendor all around really brought her back to those days not too many years ago.

To everyone else, Star was smiling, paddling, but oddly not talking at all. In fact, she seemed to have a very distant look in her eyes.

[Sailor OOC]

Kamiko finally felt... like she was not in control, but going with things.

It was hard for her to keep herself in the moment. Always thinking ahead. In a way it was a survival mechanism for her. As a second generation orphan, she had to plan ahead not only while she had her birth parents, but also afterward, to plan ahead of whatever might be chasing her. It was a dangerous life and she was precious to her birth parents. So, Kamiko's mind has a havit of running away from her, trying to figure and counter every possible hazard to her life, limb, or liberty.

Dan was the first to start helping her keep in the moment, and taught her to be adaptible. So did Doryoku and Long. The problem was she still has that worrywart tendency that her mother and father instilled into her.

But today... she has a crew. A captain should have confidence, not doubt.

"Okay, the first rough patch of water is up ahead! 10 miles out. Can't wait!"

Of course the suit, vest and helmet helped give her confidence a boost.

[Adrian Moss]

'The river.'

'Yeah, we know we are on the river.'

'The river is both placid and wild and it does not care who drowns and who swims. It feeds life and takes it. It does not make judgments. It is.'

'...'

'Let me think on that a moment - having fun.'

'The river moves each of you. Few see it.'

'What does that mean?'

'...'

'Great, no answer.'

'Let's have fun. Today we can have fun.'

Shaman's oar dug deep into the river. His shoulders were not as broad as his Father's, his muscles were certainly not as developed, but Shaman was still very strong by baseline standards. He also had a good understanding of pacing and 'group movement'. Deer moved as a group. A doe moved in relationship to her fawn. Things held a pattern to them if you knew how to work.

"Rapids sound good," Shaman said, voice even. Being in front, no one could see the smile ease from his face. He hadn't respected the river; not til now. He would try not to make that mistake again.

'You never exit the river. Even when you cease being able to hold a form, your energy continues. You can move with the river, you can guide it, you can act as if it doesn't exist. You can pretend that you leave it all behind, but each one of us carry the river inside. We are the current that shapes the river's course, moves the rocks, breaks the dams, and rages during storms. It is not a matter forgetting. For you, it is a matter of hiding from the truth.'

'Sigh.'

'Well, I can still have fun!'

"Let's get going! Whose afraid of a little ... a lot of water? Not MMMMMEEEEEE!"

Shaman paddled harder.

[Dan Hawkins]

"You do realize ten miles is over an hour out don't you? Probably closer to two." Dan matched Shaman's pace, if only to keep them fro spinning in circles. Sonja smiled looking around the entire time. This was a new river to her, and as such, had much to see.

[Sailor OOC]

Kamiko laughs, not even bored. "Ten miles... what's that for this journey? When the next two afterward will be excitement and danger sprinkled with periods of calm to catch our breath?"

She smiles confidently. In a way that seems more reassuring than a sign of confidence. Dan's seen it before, when she smiles like that her mind is where it should be.

"So... who knows about the flora and fauna of this river in this location? Since we have Sonja here whatever we know we should share."

[Adrian Moss]

"Well, if anyone gets bored, I an always ask a constrictor to come by and wrestle with you," Shaman jokes.

"As for knowing what's around, I can help with that. I can sense animals out to ten kilometers or so. Sonja, want to see a leopard, or an elephant? I'm afraid the lemurs are asleep right now, but I can conjure up some monkeys. I don't sense any Bonobos close by. Hmmm ... any kind of bird you are interested in seeing?"

'Hi, I'm Shaman.'

'Hi, I'm Olympus.'

'What do you do?'

'I split mountains in half! What do you do?'

'I talk to plants.'

'...'

'Comedy Gold.'

[Dan Hawkins]

Sonja answered in traditional awe struck child fashion. "All of them."

Dan shook his head. "Pick one or two, and not the monkeys."

She looked back at him and pouted but looked to Shaman. "Whatever is easiest for you."

[Sailor OOC]

"Umm... there are Lemurs here? I thought that Lemurs only lived in Madagascar?"

Kamiko scratches under her helmet as the raft moved on.

"And let's not try to take any home with us. More than likely... they got claws and a good portion of what we're wearing or sitting on... doesn't react real well to sharp objects."

[Adrian Moss]

"Lemurs were introduce in the 1960's by the dictator at the time to boost tourism. Somehow, they have survived. I think it is because they move around at night when fewer predators are active."

"Taking one home would be cruel. They have strong family units, so the captive would be terribly lonely, as well as terribly afraid."

'Okay, let's see what I can do.'

'That will work.'

'That too.'

'There's a small group.'

'Commence the summoning.'

The Summons

Summoning a Black-Crested Eagle, an Okapi, and a small herd of forest elephants. -9q (85 left)

Shaman closes his eyes, He keeps paddling, but it is clear his attention is divided.

"Sorry, I can't get you a Mokèlé-mbèmbé, but I think I've found a few other's to do the trick."

Before too long, a largish black bird comes over the river and circles the craft. He looks over at the Major,

"I'm going to stop rowing for a minute or so. I think Sonja would like to see a Long-Crested Eagle up close. He won't bite."

Shaman looked skyward and the eagle called out to the wild. I made as if to get away, but then made a lazy spin in front of them and started back toward the craft. He kept close the the bank. When he was parallel to the rafters he turned in and flew straight at Shaman. Shaman raise his left arm and the eagle landed on it, flapping its wings to slow down.

"Don't worry, Kamiko, he knows not to touch the raft."

The young nova turned as best he could and offered the eagle for Sonja to see up close and touch.

"He's a wild animal, Sonja. Treat him with respect and you will cause you no harm. You may pet him, if you desire. He won't bite."

With a wink to Sonja, he adds,

"He doesn't find us edible. We are far too big and funny looking."

The eagle began ordering the wings on one side while letting its large crest flare up, nearly double the distance from his shoulders to his top."

'Yep, Crested all right.'

Run with it

Up ahead are a Okapi and a herd of Forest Elephants. Feel free to include them in your posts if you feel it is appropriate for them to come up as we float along.

[Sailor OOC]

"Well... we just disrupted the natural order." Kamiko jokingly remarks. "Might be a good place for the Elephants though. I wonder how the repopulation efforts have been coming along elsewhere."

She slows the raft, matching the current. "Just noticed the currents are picking up here. We'll be taking our first ride in 10 minutes..."

The anticipation of the first plunge moves her attention from the wildlife surrounding them. This is what she was waiting for. She makes sure the buckles on her vest were tight enough and makes sure she's got the proper amount of air in it. "Heh... thought the critters and trees rock... this particular spot has become popular lately for whitewater enthusiasts since the river's course was enhanced by rocks and strategic riverbed modifications. Keeps a natural flow but enhances the experience."

"I chose this expressly to see how the equipment performs in a rubble-type environment. Would be important to know in rescues around the aftermath of tsunami-flooded towns."

She moves her oars a bit to make sure they're secure. "Just so everyone knows there's patches on-board. Some in a pouch on my belt and some in the raft's own pouch. I'm fully expecting this raft to get tossed a bit. Part of the business, right?"

[Dan Hawkins]

Sonja reached out to pet the eagle and smiled. "He's very regal." Dan chuckled. "Everywhere Novas are present Kamiko, we alter the natural Order in some way."

He smiled. "okapi are fairly rare. I know she's never seen them before, if you can call to them, That would be best.""

[Sailor OOC]

Dan's logic was impecible. "Yeah... you're right."

She looks at the eagle. "It's odd... in order for the bird to fly he lost his hands and grew wings. What did we lose, Dan?"

"Funny..." She thought to herself. "Never really thought of it like that. I've not lost anything to be honest. I was born like this..."

"Nevermind... I'm overthinking things again." She says with a whistful tone.

[Dan Hawkins]

"Connection to Instinct."

He nodded. "Not a complete loss, but one with vast distance, and increase in complexity."

[Adrian Moss]

Shaman let the eagle fly up into the sky. It took off for parts unknown, most likely returning to whatever task it was performing before its mind crossed with that of the young nova.

"The Okapi will be just on the other side of the first rapids. There seems to be a female leopard with a cub that hunts fish in the pools the rapids make. Her needs are greater than mine, so I let her be. The Okapi were coming this way anyway. They take most of their nourishment from the leaves, dew and all. They come down to the water's edge rarely."

Shaman looks around.

"My biggest worry would be a poucher. It is illegal to kill one, but their tongues and spleens go for high prices to Far Eastern buyers. Sometimes the temptation is too much even for the King's subjects."

Kamiko, some were along the way, trees became lumber, weeds became grain, animals became more than just fur, meat, and milk, rocks became mines, and rivers needed taming. I don't think mankind lost anything. I think we gave it away, piece by piece. Only then did we feel like we'd lost something, as if we weren't to blame. It's not something that can be picked up. It's a way of thinking."

'Did we just lecture her on spiritualism? She's probably been to dozens of shrines. I've been to church once.'

"The Earth isn't thing. We are part of it. We aren't on the outside liking in. We are standing in the center of it, with blinders on."

"And if we don't do something soon, billions of sentients die. Only people with the machines will be left to continue on. Only the people with the tech will decide the future. The rest will live just long enough to realize how cold and cruel the Earth can be."

"Sorry, that was a bit intense. I've been studying things. Things are progressing in a terrible direction."

"It is just that I feel that young novas are the wave of the future, in more ways than you can imagine. If a dozen get together and set their minds to something, it will happen. Old orders will be swept away. Their visions will become the possible tracks for us to follow. The dominant Unity will prevail, making a greater consensus. Things will reach a critical point and then ... I don't know."

Shaman pauses.

"War will come for us. No territory, trade deal, no personal animosity motivates this.. They come to kill the kids. They will see (or do already see) it as having no other way to win - for their life and the control they have over the corporations and countries. "

In deeper, more melodic voice,

"The ignore the course of events. The river is vast and the rocks they make an insufficient damn for the tidal surge that is coming. The surge has begun. Many of you have seen it, though you may not know what it truly is. In the months to follow, the water will wash much of the previous perceptions you hold for the world. The less you carry, the easier it is to navigate the currents."

"If the goal is sustaining life, plan for that fight. Fleeing is an option, but not a good one. In time, they will find you and finish you. It is what they do."

Shaman looks to Starseed,

"They do things like steal other peoples ideas and twist them to their own ends."

Looking forward for a few moments,

"Sonja, We will win. All that really matters now is the cost - among us, and among the humans of Earth. The only question then will be how many, if any, will we let live. With so many of us dead, I can not gauge the storm that would follow."

'Maybe we can give her a balloon elephant and it will be all good.'

'Not likely.'

'I see a Major talking to somewhere along the course.'

'And if he gives you a pack of condom?'

'I'll probably pass out.'

[Sailor OOC]

Kamiko steers the raft further... "Speaking of rapids... the fun is about to start!"

All the talk of the future... it sounded like things were becoming more bleak than Kamiko saw it. She saw a way where through her efforts and the efforts of her closest compatriots she could build a truely beter tomorrow. But she needed people she could trust. People with vision like her.

"Shaman... it's one thing to recognise the oncoming rapids, but it's your choise wither to brave them, portage aorund them, or change course."

She leans foreward as the raft's speed increases... "This time... it's better to hang on, hold tight, and let fate decide."

She smiles even wider. "Because I see our future and it's truely rocky."

Indeed it is, as nature provided an answer to man's recreational meddling by moving rocks out of position by a recent storm's deposit of precipitation. Kamiko would need everyone, including even Dai Kami-Sama to move the raft away from the jutting rocks.

"Get ready people... unanticipated hazards!"

Note

There is a few ways we can handle this now...

1: We fast-foreward to the portage camp, and we together work on what happened during the rapids encounter... making it a story event not some encounter to roll against.

2: Each of us take a crack posting what we do in the rapids, and have Krul "grade" us and based on that, we figure out how good of a condition we arrive at the portage point.

3: We let fate decide with appropriate rolls, and we post them in the thread and write a portage arrival based on the results.

We should set up a forum PM with everyone involved to discuss this nest step, or we wait until Tuesday, make a room and hammer this out there, or we simply let Krul choose.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan looked at Shaman with a glare that said "enough" Sonja was only six, and he'd not asked for a doom and gloom dissertation. Sonja actually moved away, further back onto her father's lap. Clearly, Shaman's talk had scared her. He looked to Shaman. "We will talk more later, Shaman." There was enough Ice in his voice to sink the Titanic ten times. "We have more immediate concerns."

[Adrian Moss]

Shaman blinked once at Dan then nodded,

"Of course. Sometimes ..."

'Sometimes I get scared.'

"Kamiko, I don't think we came here to portage."

'I'm not sure anymore. With the little girl along, which course do we take?'

"Realistically, I think the Major should decide. It's his daughter and none of us are experienced rafters."

'Something is seriously wrong here.'

'But what?'

'Nothing is going to happen yet.'

'Point taken.'

'But, why not leave his daughter at home? Why have I gone from having fun with two girls my age going down the river to being watched over by an uber-experienced Elite, who brought his daughter?'

'You said daughter twice.'

'Yeah. That makes me think that Major Dan doesn't think there is any safe place for her outside his own reach.'

'Not a good thought.'

'Yeah.'

'Rapids.'

'Huh?'

'We are in the Rapids!'

Shaman resists the urge to paddle like mad. Instead he concentrates on keeping the raft flowing in the right current, trying to avoid the worse part of the white water.

'This keeps the mind focused.'

'Sorry, busy trying not to get slammed.'

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Star does her part, working the paddle to balance with Shaman on the front end.

Uncharacteristically silent, she seemed in a trance. Even the expression on her face was relaxed, her signature smile turned into a half-sad mask that spoke of nostalgia.

In her mind, Star was sitting with Father. He had been brush painting, and she had been mimicking his work with strokes in the air. Her ephemeral work of light layered upon itself in the air. She was young, just having turned three, and she had been having a tough time with holograms. So Father had been working with her in two dimensions, but keeping things flat and in alignment was its own challenge.

His face, voice, so very gentle. Star hadn't thought back this way in some time. They'd been in China, deep in the yellow mountains. Even with its swelling population, China was a vast land. Her Father had some way of hiding them too, as he had for that trip - but they were alone. The ancient temple they were painting had no monks, it was just stones ... and had been abandoned for a very long time. Father loved coming here though, and it was so peaceful. There was a mountain spring there too, feeding a pool and a fountain as old or older than the ruins.

There was something about water ... but she was so young. It was hard to remember his voice. She missed him so much.

[Dan Hawkins]

"Work together, not against each other." Sonja sat there immobile, trusting in her father and the novas like her with them. Dan had done this before, though usually not with others, and in a kayak. "Part of this is knowing when to go with the flow of the river.."

[Adrian Moss]

'Well that makes sense.'

'And we didn't think of this ourselves?'

'And what was the last team we were on?'

'Considering this one? That would be one.'

'Let's do what the adult says.'

Keeping his eyes on the river,

"Starseed, I'm angling to the right, between those two rocks - the big one that looks like a tooth, and the one that looks like bumpy bald head."

'That looks big enough for us to get through, no problem.'

'And we would know this how?'

'Second guessing me isn't going to help.'

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Still far away in her mind, Star did hear Shaman and replied "OK. Matching your course - tooth and head is the key hole. You take the lead and I'll adjust to follow your course if it changes".

... there was something Father's lessons and the water ... or something about Father and the water ...

[Sailor OOC]

Kamiko carefully watched her compatriots and watched over them as she matched to their needs. When one particularly threatening looking rock looked like it was going to skewer the raft and the occupants that suddenly came up from a blind spot, the young papermaster took action. She commanded her paper golem. "Make safe our passage!" and in one uppercut knocked the danger away. She adeptly maneuvered her oars and kept them to the side when it was better to just ride along with the rapids. Unfortunately her golem had no real mass to her otherwise, and just tried to stay low to be in position for another strike.

"Guys... the roughest part of the bend is ahead, keep the oars close to the body of the raft, and if necessary use them to avoid the more dangerous rocks by pushing off them. Dai Kami-Sama has things handled for emergency maneuvers."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan guided them with a practiced ease,navigating the rapids with aplomb. Working together, the four older novas and one construct kept them all safe, though, no one was really dry after the run through the rapids.

having cleared the first run, Dan nodded. "Well done. One would almost think you've all done this before."

[Adrian Moss]

'Well, there really seems to be something to this all 'Let's work together' shit.'

"That was, well, fun. It certainly is a different experience than body surfing the rapids."

'Of course, all I had to worry about was losing my pack then too. Now, now at least two of these folks are in trouble if I screw up.'

'Yeah Us.'

'If you say 'Full On Friendship', I'm smashing us against the next rock we come across.'

'Perish the thought.'

'Hey ... aren't they?'

'Look at their wet shirts and He'll kill us.'

'Just a peek?'

'Sure, let's find a way to bypass a trained elite's senses and I'm all over that.'

'...'

'Yes?'

'Have you thought of something yet?'

'You're hopeless.'

[Sailor OOC]

Kamiko breathes a sigh of release, leaning back into the raft. "Okay guys... that... was awesome. The type of thing you'd need a cigarettte for."

She smiles looking up at her construct... whose seen better days... half his body's taken damage or is dead sheets floating in the rapids behind them. "Oh Dai Kami-Sama... you poor thing."

Her golem bends down to be comforted by the young papermaster. "Don't worry, I'll get you patched up in no time." She says, pulling out more paper from a airtight pocket on her suit and starts restoring her paper friend's body. "Easist first aid I've ever done. Okay... take a few moments to slow the old braincells down. You'll need them soon..." She says as the roar of the second rapids are barely heard over the first set. "Because we're about to get into it again in about 15 minutes." Last rapids before the portage camp.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

"Its nice to be on the water. We flow with it, sort of like life. We really are up for more rapids ahead. I can't see them quite yet, but from the changes in the water they look big."

[Sailor OOC]

"Yeah... I really should have took a dry run first before we actually took a ride." Kamiko's tone is apologetic, slightly dissapointed in herself. She picks herself up as best she can. "Then again, like I figured, this river is swollen with flash-flood runoff from a recent storm. Plus since those rocks back there from what I heard were randomly tossed in and not carefully considered for interlocking... that created a... interesting hazard." She muses. Actually enjoying some of the danger.

"Riding these rapids has been a blast so far. I do hope everyone is enjoying this. Particularly Sonja." She says, smiling ot Sonja, patting her on her vest. "You're really brave. You're not even shaking yet."

"I'd be honest, if I was riding this at your age I would be quite scared."

[Adrian Moss]

"The flow of life through us has both rapids and ..."

'Enough of that!'

'Say something relevant!'

'Like?'

" ... ice cream. One feeds the reflexes, one feeds the soul."

'Seriously?'

'What?'

'Seriously, that was the best you could come up with?'

' ... Yes.'

'Great. Just great.'

'Hey, I was under pressure.'

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan sat there quietly, not relaxed, but not wound as tightly as normal. "You always were one to rush into things head-first Kamiko."

Sonja, meanwhile looked at the other second generation novas with a brilliant smile "That was alot of fun!" She looked up to her father and nodded. "And Daddy and you are here, Kamiko, I know you won't let anything bad happen."

[Sailor OOC]

"I hate to say it, but I think it's a bit of Long talking, Dan... You know how he is. Brash, rash, and a bit rough around the edges. But I love him."

She sits back knowing she has a few minutes before the excitement picks up. "So... with how we handled that I have complete faith in you guys and your raftmanship skills." She says, giggling.

"Once we get past this set of rapids we can row to the shore to the portage point. We'll camp the night, and in the morning set off on the second leg of the trip that'll take us to Kinshasha. It should be a calmer trip at that point."

[Adrian Moss]

{moving things along}

The campfire flickered and popped. Insects swirled around it, daring death and the occasional swooping bat to dance close to the flames. The rations had been consumed with the gusto that any nova would have had given a hard day's work (for most of them anyway). Their sleeping bags had been rolled out, and everyone reclined waiting for sleep to come.

Shaman rolled his head around and scanned the three girls and the elite.

"Anyone want to tell a tale before we crash out? I'd offer to go first, but I don't have any really interesting stories to tell. My life's been rather mundane until a few weeks ago. Anyone?"

[Sailor OOC]

Kamiko feverishly works on patching the raft, to no avail. After hitting a bad set of rocks, the group barely got to the shore and had to go an extra distance. She flops back, still somewhat wet from being a ferry for Sonja and to pull off the gear before it fell out. Dai Kami-Sama sacrificed itself as well to pull everyone to shore.

"I'd be interested in one, but if no one has any ideas..." She sighs, tossing the patching gear back into a bag knowing her mission was futile and the raft was a lost cause. "...I might have a story. I think you'll like it. Bit of an adventure."

Everyone seems to look up at Kamiko.

"If there are no objections..." She says, taking off her vest, using it like a pillow for her head and shoulders as she sits down laying against a tree.

"It's about Something I did a while back. A year ago."

She pulls out a stick of pocky and starts munching on it. "If you don't believe me... Dan can verify the story after I tell it. He taught me a few things I used in this little crisis."

"You guys know of a phenomenon called rogue waves? They're an occurrence of wave resonances caused by the interactions of waves across the sea. Well... I saw a freakier event. Two in one location within an hour period. A statistical anomaly. Thing is you're probably asking why I was witness to this... Let's just say... I had no choice. I couldn't ignore a call for help and let a fishing crew drown out there."

"See... I was doing some practice flying... some acrobatic maneuvers because I was bored from my Mom's yacht in the pacific... out about 30 miles from shore. As I was flying about I heard a call from my radio over the emergency channel. Seems a fishing boat had run into some electrical issues and was adrift. So... being the good person I was I grabbed some tools my Mom kept on the Hikari Maru and flew over. With my Mom's blessing of course."

"I had made it about visual range of the trawler when I saw it rise suddenly... it had to be 30 feet high by my estimate as it slammed into her. Somehow the ship managed not to capsize in the hit but she was in bad shape. I flew in quick, and looked about the deck for any crew and over the sides as well in case anyone went overboard. I shouted out and hoped like hell there was an answer..."

She pauses for a moment, scratching her head and pulling a random twig from her hair.

"Someone indeed shouted... there were a lot of injuries. I was guessing some broken ribs, arms... and one person was unconcious. I ran over and checked him out, and he had no pulse or respiration so I started CPR. The Captain was more worried about where the hell I came from. I... politely advised him that this wasn't time time for checking ID. It's a mariner's duty to help a fellow mariner in need. Once I took care of his most seriously injured crewman I was going to get us all back to Tokyo General."

"God it took forever to get the guy breathing and his heart working again. I saw the blood on his lips so I could tell he had a punctured lung. I didn't have time to check for the wound until I got him breathing again, so I started checking him over and found a nice piece of piping run into his chest."

Sonja winces. "Sorry... didn't mean to use such detail, little Sonja... but perhaps you should know that if you see someone with something in their chest like this guy, sure as hell don't pull it out. Worst thing you could do."

Sonja nods.

"Now... this guy blinks as he sees me standing over him wearing nothing more than a sailor collared yachting ensemble and he was so addled he thought I was some sailor from the JMSDF. After reassuring him I didn't come here from a ship, I told his captain to gather his crew that could walk, get splints and a means to carry those that couldn't. I summoned a familiar to act as a mobile litter."

Then the guy I just saved said the words I'll probably never forget even now. "Sweet Jesus... the devil's gotten into the sea."

"By god when I looked behind me I swore for a second I converted to Catholicism. Seems that first wave was the "little brother" of the big one... and I... was about to be it's personal..."

Dan glares at Kamiko. "Sorry... been around my dad too much..."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Waiting so as not to interrupt, picking a few choice stones from the chore as they bring the raft up and set camp ...

... Star adds "I look forward to meeting your Dad Kamiko, hearing more stories - and to seeing you all again for that matter. It seems my time on this trip is about at its end. This particular body needs to get back home, starting to sense it. Its's been very relaxing and lots of fun. Got to see more of the Congo, really amazing place ... full of natural beauty. Even picked up some souvenirs ..." she said, showing that somewhere along the line she'd picked up some smooth river rocks of startlingly bright and interesting mixed colours.

Star offered little Sonja her pick of the stones, a little something special from the trip.

As she speaks, Starseed calls up a stealth shuttle - the door opening and ramp extending from the cloaked vessel like a door into nothing. Star stepped on to the ramp, and with more waves and smiles ... and a few smooth river rocks in hand ... she was on her way home.

[Sailor OOC]

"Sorry you have to go Star." Kamiko says, adjusting her suit as Star starts to get ready to leave.

"Now... where was I... right... Big daddy..."

"So, I'm staring at this monster wave... like... gods... 75 feet? Sucker was hungry too, you could hear the darn thing. Didn't have time to think of a warp so I thought fast. I yelled for everyone to get to me and I did the one thing I could think of. I made a ball around us and rode it out. Worst 30 minutes of my life. Now I know how my clothes feel. We lost Akira... that... was the name of the young man I had saved just a half hour prior."

"I couldn't hold the bubble any longer from the chaos... as soon as it subsided again I fell unconcious. The group had proper gear on, they were prepping to abandon ship anyways, but still..."

She takes a long stare for a second. "The captain used my radio to call in assistance. A Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ship was in the area on a pilot rescue exercise luckily, but... when I came to I heard the sound of two of their smaller RHIBs pulling up to us to fish us out."

"I can tell you with no uncertain terms I was inconsolable for days. Didn't even see it coming."

She leans forward, cradling her head by her knees. Still staring at the flames, glinting off her glasses but with those near her they could see tears."I swore that day I would be stronger... if just for that young man I almost got to safety. Still... doesn't make it feel better."

She burys her head into her legs. "Sorry... didn't think the emotions were still raw."

[Adrian Moss]

As Starseed left,

"Seeya Starseed. Don't be a stranger."

As Kamiko finished her tale,

'That's not were I thought that was going.'

'It means something though.'

'How do you respond?'

"Don't think about the one who died so much, Kamiko. Think about all those lives that would have been loss if you hadn't been there, or hadn't cared."

'I hope that helps.'

'I hope its true.'

[Sailor OOC]

"Maybe you're right, maybe I was strong enough... when needed. Or I wouldn't be here to speak of it."

She lays down looking at the fire some more, resting her head on her vest. "Still... doesn't seem right, saving someone's life only to have them lose it mere minutes later."

"I'm over analysing I think... Anyone else have a story? Since the second leg of the trip is ruined might as well enjoy the camping here tonight before tesseracting out in the morning."

She sighs, looking at her busted raft. "That's going to be a hell of a repair job and simple patches just aren't gonna cut it."