Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - [Interlude] Converging Vectors (FIN)

[Karren Gaunt]

Date: May 10th, 2027 8:57 AM Australian Time

Partisipants: Coraline, Zephyr, Starseed, perhaps others to follow

Ayers rock. More properly known as Uluru, the sandstone formation had been a center of events for the continent's natives for thousands of years, a holy place that cursed those who took pieces from it. And today perhaps, a place for new beginings for one Coraline Boehm and whoever came to meet her today. This was risky. Stupid dangerous risky. But things wouldn't get better unless she was prepared to be better herself. And that wouldn't come just from an effort to be polite and hardworking to baselines on her modeling shoots. At least no one had tried to shoot her with anything more dangerous than a camera since her re-emergence.

So she would try more. She circled above the meeting place, eyes peeled for Zephyr or anyone else this morning, dark-skined and blonde-haired. Three minutes to go until she saw if her faith would be rewarded or if she had gotten what seemed like a good man in trouble for following his take on Martial Virtue.

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike

Zephyr came flying up with Arcstrike holding his right hand. He couldn't possibly match his Father's speed (yet), but he could fly. A whitish glow of energy surrounded the boy. The younger nova had been warned that he was in for a shock, and he realized when he saw her that Zephyr hadn't been lying. She was ... beautiful didn't begin to cover it. He hoped his Father would do most of the talking. They pulled up and hovered right over the top of the rock.

When Cora came down within voice difference, Zephyr began to talk.

"Coraline, it is good to see you here."

He gestured to the tongue-tied nova floating next to him.

"This is my Son, Arcstrike. His aura does many things, but right now it allows him to fly. He's not being combative."

He looks around for a second.

"I'm expecting that other nova I told you about. She verified her attendance. Her name is Starseed, and she's ... normal to look upon."

"Arcstrike, do you want to say anything?"

The boy looks confused then manages a wave. He mouths a 'Hi'.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Just as Zephyr mentions Starseed the zip of a passing object can be felt but not seen - perceptive individuals will note a light dust cloud off in the distance, as if an unseen aircraft had been flying nape of the earth over dusty terrain at extremely high speed. Then, a door seems to open out of empty space as the rear hatch of the invisible shuttle opens and the ramp extrudes itself - about twenty feet from the others present.

Off the ramp walks Starseed four for that day, dressed in her normal uniform and carrying a small envelope in her left hand.

"Hello Zephyr, I got your message about the change of venue. Very good, using a classic dead drop and a card in the flowers you had delivered to the regular meeting location. Clever, and nice flowers too - thank you." Star says, as she set foot on the rock.

"Nice to meet you two, I'm Starseed ..." she adds, waving to the other two but staying close to the cloaked shuttle.

[Karren Gaunt]

Heh. Another Shaman was it? So much for her belief Novas were so much more stable than baselines. And a girl with... Hmmm, she couldn't actually read the boneless girl's aura. That was nearly refreshing, nostaligic even. And both of them only a crisis away from being able to turn the world on it's head in whatever way their nodes would allow. Definitely good she came here, but she'd keep an eye out for satelites.

"If you'd feel more comfortable, Arcstrike, I can turn myself down. I don't like to because I'm still getting used to everything I can do even without even meaning to but I'd like all of us to be able to contribute," she offered with a wry smile and an understanding gleam in her eyes.

"But a pleasure to meet both of you," the young metamorph's chorus warmly intoned as she touched down fully on the rock, "I'm Coraline Boehm, and it's good to see two more of us who survived and thrived if that ship of yours is anything to go by, Starseed. Someone I know would probably want the design to play with it. So... What do we start with? I've never actually done something like this on my own before."

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike

Arcstrike cleared his throat, turning so very serious, as young men are want to do. He faces Coraline.

"I apologize. I ... I just wasn't ready for someone like you. Daniel told me, but he was right in the fact that no words do you justice."

Turning to Starseed,

"It is a pleasure to meet you as well. So, are both of you really ... like I am? Born of nova parents and now hunted because if it?"

"Daniel - Father says that they won't stop coming until he finds a way to stop them. I want to help."

He sounds so brave and sure of himself. Too bad Zephyr's made it clear that Arcstrike has no experience in real combat, and has only been training with Teen2morrow for less than a year. Still, at least he has a home of sorts, and a Father.

Zephyr steps up.

"I'm glad to see both of you. Starseed, this is Coraline Boehm, Coraline seems to be quite powerful and that leads me to a question, and one that has troubled me for two years. Coraline, what makes the Second Generation so powerful? Is there a technique that you teach each other, or is it something innate. I ask this because Glory, you know her, right? Glory's advancement throws conventional power curves on their sides. If she is one of you, how did she get into the program and what might be controlling her?"

"Can either of you help me find the answer? I could simply go to her and ask, but that opens a whole new kettle of fish. I'm not sure how well I would do under her influence."

Zephyr's silver eyes flash and his silver skin sparkles as the sun catches him just right.

"As for my information, it is slow but steady going. So far we have a dozen possible cases of newly erupted novas being abducted and vanishing in the system. We still can't put names to actions, but it looks like someone higher up in the food chain than we originally believed. There has to be some manager involved in the Intervention Teams that's figuring out what novas are vulnerable and then gets them out of the system. Then Proteus does whatever it does, and we have another killer on the streets. Check that - a team of killers."

"I hate to say this, but this is going to take time. I need both your helps into figuring out patterns, do data-mining, and in some cases, get on the ground and do some leg work. I have a half-dozen with me. They have billions to hide behind. Billions of dollars, billions of people, and billions of hours to craft their covers."

"How much can you two help?"

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Answering both Cora and Arcstrike "Coraline, Arcstrike, definitely a pleasure ... and yes I am like you. My Father was killed, and my Family was torn apart. I'm new to all of this too, though my family did drill me in some extensive security training. Zephry and I have also been hashing some things out, but its early days. Thank you by the way, Coraline. The ships are living energy, but maybe your friend would still like to take a look. The design is, understandably different from terrestrial technology."

"I can help in a number of ways. I can form gates, moving things. I'm working on good cloaks - and I'm pretty much ready for them but I need some basic testing gear to verify the frequency spreads and secondary properties of the cloaks. Been working on it for the last few days. The gear I need to make sure the cloaks work properly: Deep Microwave through x-ray illumination, lasers and masers where possible - but nothing high power. Plus a variable flux magnetometer - handheld geologic grade and some acoustic test gear. Medical and communications grade stuff, maybe fifteen thousand euros or so worth and I only need to borrow it. I made a list." she gives Zephyr and envelope.

"Once I have the ship cloaks tested and stabilized - inside a week probably, they will be wide range and I can do ships like this one for surveillance stints. The advantage is we can mount tripods inside, carry some gear - again, easy stuff for you to get a hold of. Cameras, telephoto, some laptops pre-loaded with bio-metric soft-suites. We can also have multiple people on surveillance teams, as Novas can use their own senses from the ship like having a 'duck blind'. Again, there is a list of suggested gear for use on board. If people have piloting experience I can even rig these babies for manual interface, and they can be piloted - though you are still giving commands in more of a horse and rider scenario ... but they don't spook or anything".

"Also in the envelope is some more information about the attack on my family, but not much. I took Mother and ran, gated for the hills so what I provided for you earlier was most of it. This stuff, I am half-guessing at ... things I remember but might be unreliable due to the circumstance. Like sounds that I heard from outside during the fighting, that sort of thing".

"I have been told about the apotheosis, but I'll let you explain it Coraline. I am guessing you've had yours."

[Karren Gaunt]

"I have, and so have a few other members of the foster family my teacher has gathered. In each case, our apothesizes, call it eruption for second generation novas, came from different things: high emotion, physical danger, prolonged stress, other reasons that may or may not have had me wanting to tear my hair out at at the time, and gave all of us a massive boost in power that explains alot about why Aeon wanted novas sterlized and authorized what Proteus does through Utopia and other otherwise innocent factions," Coraline opened, producing two data drives from a back pocket in her eufiber, expression turning serious, "Glory... If she's the one who defeated the heavy hitters of the Teragen all those times like I read recently, if she's second generation, she'll have benefited from the same effect by now, as will both of you after one of the first few times you're really pushed to your limits. Things become a lot less scary and a lot more complicated after Apothesis. Fear for yourself becomes fear for the world and how to fix things without smashing everything to pieces."

Her answer contained the question how a 2nd generation nova would have wound up recruited by Project Utopia and surviving the actions of Proteus in the bargin, even as she nodded at Starseed and Arcstrike. She held up the two drives, offering one to each of the partners she was here to meet, expression serious.

"These contain copies of some files we are still repaying someone very capable for giving us, detailing the roots of the infertility and motherhunting problem. A little dated, but you said you wanted to get into the how of the problem, Mr. Zephyr. I know I was angry when I first read these. As for what else I can do... Well, I'm post Apothesis and so are other 2nd gens I know. When we do find these monsters, they won't know what hit them, *however* we decide to hit them."

She smiled then, truly smiled, "And if you or anyone you find in our situation ever needs a place to hide and a friendly ear give me a day or two after one of these meetings, and you'll have it. I've been making an effort to be more friendly now that my node has me looking the part, and it's paying off."

The drives contain pages 3 through 24 of A Breed Apart. The fluffy in-character background stuff. Enjoy.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Putting in a quick word, Star asked "Coraline, do you have access to a secure form of communication? Some way of reaching you? One of the trickiest things so far is covert comms." as she takes one of the drives Cora offered.

[Karren Gaunt]

"I do. Something a friend built for me to call to along the comunication system without being traced," Coraline answered, brushing back her hair and revealing an unobtrusive device resting on one ear, a slender cord leading to a transparent voice pick up around her neck, "Long as you don't abuse it or are being actively tracked, it should be okay for emergencies. Prearranged meetings are still better and simpler though."

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike

"I'll need to look at this on a sealed system. I don't want to be pegged as after them this early in the game."

Zephyr looks at the disc in his hand and ponders it.

"Dad?" asks Arcstrike.

"Thinking about something," he says to his Son. "

Coraline, what steps have they taken to counter you now that they know of you and your strengths? It isn't like these creatures to stand idle. How badly have you knocked them back on their heels? What can you tell me about your encounters to date?"

[Karren Gaunt]

"So far? Considering my family and I got pushed back out into the world only this last February, we haven't done a whole lot to them so far, mostly intelligence gathering, ally gathering, and generally proving that they aren't nearly as good as killing child novas as they needed to be. We have had three encounters with Motherhunters so far. The first time we intercepted a five man team trying to kill two children. Wiped them out and rescued the children. The second time we assaulted a proteus stronghold and wiped it off the map along with most of the 50 man force defending it. Rescued three nova girls our age and their mothers from having their minds... reprogramed by their local mindcontroller expert. He fell victim to some anti nova gas they had in the room where they were keeping the oldest girl. Burned off all his juice at once. But both of those efforts were clean far as we knew, no evidence, no witnesses."

Coraline took a deep breath, "The third time, they attacked my second eldest sister in Lousiana while she was weak after doing something to help her boyfriend. He got her away, and my eldest brother went in and took the motherhunters down before they could escape. So three black eyes to them so far without them knowing who we are."

"The big project, the big problem we're working on now though... A good source of ours says Proteus is about to do something in Angola to destablize King Einherjar's Congo. It's the safest place in the world for 2nd Gens right now that's in the open, so taking him down will give the motherhunters that many more targets and if they wait for those children to apothesize, Congo will be invulnerable to anything short of nuclear war. They can't wait for for that, but we hope to make the plan backfire in their face. Spectacularly," Coraline finished with a grim smile and a nod, arms crossed over her chest.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

She sounds legit. Zephyr is legit, and he's a boy-scout to the bone. He would have checked this woman's story out, verified her somehow. So, without risk there probably isn't any progress ...

"It must feel good to strike back. It is violence ... but its also just. We really have to get things going. If there is any way I can help, I'm in. I have friends who are about to locate a major facility for Nova children in the Congo. I don't know if you've heard of the Den, its based in Japan. I don't suppose I can warn them? King Ein is handling the Den thing through ... the Novas 'Morrigan' and Bombshell ... so maybe they already know?"

"Also, Cora ... I watched your approach from altitude. Can you do space? Can you meet in deep space, for a secure rendezvous?"

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike

Zephyr nods, "I'm willing to bet Coraline can survive in space. From what I've seen, and the speed at which both of us fly, pressures and a lack of atmosphere aren't an issue."

He looks at Cora,

"Of course, I could be wrong."

He didn't say that she could also turn into light. That was a bit of knowledge she would have to share, and wasn't his to give away.

"As for the Congo ... that sounds bad. It also sounds like something T2M will be brought into, probably as dupes for the real agenda. I don't relish a Pax vs. Einherjar fight. Or Gloria vs. Einherjar. Gloria is a rising star and I've heard really incredible things about her."

The Elder Nova ponders for a brief second, his quicksilver intellect reviewing the possibilities.

"Yeah. T2M will intervene if possible, especially if they kill Einherjar and Morrigan ends up in charge. She has very bad PR and that could be spun as a liberation scenario."

He looks to Cora,

"Can you get someone close to ... wait, Bombshell's involved, isn't she? She has to. Her very public child, the death of her lover before the child's birth, and her relocation to the Congo very recently all point to her involvement. If she can stay close to Einherjar, that more than doubles the forces needed to kill him."

"Damn," Zephyr says with a heavy heart. "They have people inside some, of not all, the T2Ms. That is the best way for this scenario to work. T2Ms are based on teamwork. If one teammate gets into trouble, the rest will jump on in, even if the exact situation isn't fully understood. They still won't kill children though. Proteus will need something/one for that. All T2M will do is strip away the protectors."

The old man seems unhappy with his thoughts, but tries to face them honestly.

"This means I'll have to keep my circle of friends involved in this smaller than I would like. I trust them, but it boils down to who they trust as well. Any leaks on this will be ... unfortunate."

"Oh, Starseed," he says looking at the young woman, "I think I have the answer to one of the space problems. Earpieces and throat mics developed for underwater exploration. The earpiece is directly against the eardrum, so transferring vibrations isn't a problem. The throat mic picks up the vibration in the vocal cords and tongue to transmit the words. Synch the sets up, and you can talk in space. They are pressure tested and your body heat should keep them warm enough to function."

Arcstrike seems to be studying each nova in turn. If his eyes linger on Coraline just a little longer than the others, it's patently obviously why. Still, he makes an effort to both take in the words being spoken, and the reactions and emotions to them. Otherwise, he appears uncertain what to say.

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline smiles at Arcstrike, encouraging him to keep up the good work. He'd need the experience filtering out distractions like herself in the circles he'd start moving in post Apothesis.

"Yeah, I'm cappable for space. Which planet would you like to meet around?" the young metamorph offered, sincere and unassuming about her sheer capabilities in the venue of raw speed and manueverability. It was one of the arenas she had absolutely no worries being profiecent in.

Zephyr's speech troubled her, sounding like something doom-and-gloom Alex would come up with if she had as much insight into Utopia as this man. "It won't come to Einherjar being killed," she countered, chorus resonating with fierce loyalty and utter belief in the planning of her family and friends, "We know about the plan. Einherjar knows about the plan. And the plan is aparently months away from being executed as Proteus and Aeon set up back up after back up just in case their first trick fails, cowards that they are, outmatched as they are by people with good intentions and the power and connections to back it up. We are going to win this. The stakes are too high for us to let ourselves risk failing."

She exhaled and relaxed, shaking her head and commenting to Starseed, "Tell us more about this Den. I might want to warn them myself if the good news coming from Japan regarding Motherhunting means anything about their reaction, too."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

In reply to Zephyr's suggestion of space comms she says "Cool. That would be very handy, otherwise we have to find a minimal atmosphere at least. Also, on the note of T2M infiltrators ... you guys and gals use alot of support staff. Thats all they need, is a few well placed functionaries. The rest can be done by presenting false 'evidence' of 'crimes', etc. and you get good people being tricked into pursuing bad ends without even being aware. How many big Utopia S&T raids could have been cover for a smaller mother hunter op.? Impossible to say, but frighteningly plausible. The same goes for any large bureaucratic organization ... how many times has Proteus used a national military as a cover with no one being the wiser? Again, really plausible."

To answer Cora "Mars is really easy for me, so is the belt - and both are secure. Before we all head out we should exchange some times and places to meet at, with contingencies in case of missed meetings. Plus there is no one out there in any regular way ... space is just too big to make patrols useful given the lack of tech - not to mention very little has been done to advance space travel. Most people are focused on earth, front and center."

...

"The Den, or Dragon's Den, is the work of prominent Japanese interests somehow related to Nippontai - but not directly. They already have branches in other places that take in, shelter, and educate young Novas. Apparently it is very established in Japan. Certainly, King Ein and the Den council are cooperating to set up a major facility in the Congo. If you approached Bombshell or the Morrigan they would have direct contact with the leaders of the Den. They are both helping out."

"The one thing I gather from the Congo. They are very confident in their ability to keep things safe. I thought a bit overconfident, myself."

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike

"Purpose, Planning, Power. That's what I teach my kids. They have a Purpose - the extermination of all nova children. They have their Planning, probably years in the making. What they seem to lack is the overall Power, or at least on a scale that we understand. If they know about the power of the post-Apothesis novas and are still moving along with their plan ... what does that tell us?"

"Do they think that a failure on the scale of such destructive force will alter world opinion is permanently? Frankly, I don't know. Coraline, can you check with your Sphinx on the very off chance that hasn't occurred to them? It is just that if they see novas as disposable assets, their power isn't as important as their impact."

Zephyr shakes his head.

Arcstrike looks at his father and touches his arm.

"Didn't you tell me: 'Why borrow trouble?'"

Zephyr snorts. "Good enough."

"I admit that real space travel is beyond me. A few years back a researcher told me that by focusing my flight, I might be able to bend space around me, but I never attempted it. There always seemed to be more important things to do. I'm glad that the two of you can get together though. Any group is stronger than its elements. You two are proof of that."

He looks down at the discs then over to his Son. His gaze then drifts over Cora and Starseed.

"I have some homework to do, and people to contact. The more we can help you get ahead of Proteus, the sooner lives can be saved and justice done. I don't mean to sound melodramatic. It's the way I really feel. We first gens have let you kids down. We have a lot of lost ground to make up. One day I hope you will see us for the good we did, as well as the bad."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

"When we meet I can get you there Zephyr. If its pre-arranged times we are going with then I just open a gate to a pre-arranged location. It stays open for thirty secs and if you step through you are in. Plus we need your help with intel. Utopia is all wraped up in this and your insight is invaluable in that regard."

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline looked satisfied at the way the meeting was going, nodding at Zephyr's question. So different from the Proteus ambush she feared it might have been. She might even bring it up to the others and see if they wanted in on the next meeting.

"You're the second 1st generation Nova to apoligize to me for the state of the world, Mr. Zephyr. But it's not your fault. Aeon knew we were coming before we happened thanks to a time traveler named Max Mercer if my teacher is to be believed and planned for us better than anyone had a reason to have to counter. Utopia is just as much a victim as any member of my generation, just bigger," she added into the conversational gap, geniunely understanding for the duped employees of Utopia if not it's knowing leaders, "And I know at least two of you who want to help solve the problem so your beliefs are not all propaganda."

She grinned again, "So. We agree that Proteus needs to be rooted out and stopped. That we can do that better together than apart. That Congo and King Einherjar needs to be protected from harm in as clean a fashion as possible. That this isn't going to be easy. That Mars would make a scenic sight for our next meeting. And that we aren't going to lose. I miss anything on that list?"

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike

"Dark side of Mars is better. If we are being paranoid, then lets go all out."

"As for what's left ... I would like to see Project Utopia survive in some form. Leadership has to be totally transformed and that almost certainly means bringing in outsiders to clean house once Proteus is gone. Project Utopia is still the largest gathering of novas on the planet. Most of them do good work. They have great plans for nova-human advancement - terraforming, colonizing new worlds, creating viable Warp technology. That frees up novas for so many other projects. At some level - a level I've only recently begun to tap - the entire Universe will be open to us."

"Project Utopia can still good, if it is only allowed to."

"I'm not sure what to do about the Directive? They are involved somehow, but they are definitely anti-nova. They would love to see PU fall. They also have the largest organization dedicated ferreting out conspiracies. They could be useful."

"The Teragen are a larger problem. The certainly know. They are the second largest gathering of novas on the planet. The problem is you never know which face of Teras you will get. Whatever that facet it is, it want's to dismantle Project Utopia. I would prefer we leave them out of this as much as possible."

At the mention of Teras, Arcstrike becomes agitated, resolving itself into anger. He looks to Cora,

"Do we 2nd Gen's need Teras? I don't get the feeling that taint isn't a problem, and ..."

Zephyr waves him to silence.

"Time enough to discuss this when we know each other better," says sadly.

To Cora,

"Sometime soon, I would like you to take my Son with you. I'm not sure how long I can keep him safe."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

"Is it acceptable that I inform a close friend of mine, and possibly another? The close friend is Kamiko Hideyoshi,a second gen who I met in connection with the Den. I know she is trustworthy, and there is another ... who I think is trustworthy: The Shaman, son of King Ein. Also a second gen."

... she paused, in thought ...

"I am going to need two things. If you two can come up with come comms gear to lend me, and people like me - otherwise either of your gear isn't much good for us communicating. We should have an inventory of this kind of stuff anyway, for loan to allies as we build our network. Also I would like t meet the rest of your group, Coraline. I'd like to meet as many people like me as possible." she said, with her signature charming smile.

"... and it may sound like a strange request, but I was hoping I could borrow some engineering tools. Nothing very exotic, but I've been working with tools that I've made from scratch, salvage from the trash - or that I weave from energy, like my shuttle. This is fine for a vast array of applications, but certain classes of tool will take me too long to make from scratch - too many iterations are required to recreate the complexity of certain electronics, testing gear, etc. in a timely manner. This would be a medium-term loan only, however, as I intend to use these tools to build more custom equipment ... and thus give them back after skipping several generations of required development on my end. Second hand items are fine, and of course I can prepare an inventory. Any help is appreciated."

[Karren Gaunt]

That got Coraline serious again, gaze considering the father and son pair wistfully even as she listened to Starseed's requests.

"Absolutely, Mr. Zephyr. Just give me a day or two to arrange things and we'll keep him safe as can be, much as I hope it won't come to that. We need to be able to start keeping families together if our victories are going to mean anything long term," the young metamorph responded first to the two Utopians.

And then it was Starseed's turn to get her full attention. "Shaman? Smaller world than even my speed makes it seem like at times. I plucked him out of the Pacific Ocean and delivered him to Congo myself. Yeah, he's a solid ally. Bring him in and this Kamiko if you trust her. We need to be careful who we bring in, certainly not the Directive or most Terats at this point, but if we're paranoid, they'll beat us just as surely as if we tell everyone before we're ready."

She nodded then, thinking with one hand on her chin, "I'll see what my family can spare for hardware and which of them want to make themselves directly known to all of you. One or two of them probably will. You have a list of what you need on you, Starseed?"

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike

"Dad!"

Zephyr turned and looked into his Son's eyes. "Arc, I'd send the entire team into safety if I thought I could get away with it. As it is, I have to accept that they volunteered to be Utopians and to be on the team. You didn't. I brought you on to keep you safe. That may soon no longer be an option. If Proteus finds out ... when they find out, they will get suspended and put into some kind of detention. Son, they'll find a way to kill you."

"This makes me feel like a coward. First Mom, then you," Arcstrike said, getting angrier and angrier.

"Arc, if I really thought you were ready for this fight, would I send you away?" Zephyr said calmly.

The boy didn't answer. He turned away instead.

Zephyr turned back to Cora and Starseed.

"I don't have any direct connections to anyone in the Space Sciences Department, but I may be able to finagle some tech through T2M contacts. Let me know what you need and I can quietly ask around. I doubt I'll pry something out of S&T, but we'll see."

"As for telling others, I ask you to be safe with my name. The longer I can stay inside the system, the more use I'll be," then he smiles, "but the two of you already know that."

He looks to Starseed for the list.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

"Great! Shaman knows Kamiko too. Actually, all three of us met at the Den meeting. Though Kami might have known him already, I think. Then the three of us went river rafting. Fun stuff, nice way to relax ... really small world!"

....

"OK. I'll write a list right now, or rather two - extras will be great because my other selves can then do twice the work. ... Oh, I don't think you'll need to go to the science department. Lots of this will be in almost every maintenance department, some in the IT shacks, machine shops, and others in any medical supply. Alot of this stuff is pretty everyday, I've just been doing without. Its very appreciated by the way, and if you include some of the components and info I am writing down I can also put together a few radio consoles that can interface with the comms gear you both have. They'll be much bigger, but I've already got really really good vacume tubes in production, and multiplexing digital signals over a carrier wave is high-school electronics class stuff. I'll use them as radio sets for the big ships."

Star looked at Arcstrike, not knowing exactly what to say ... she knew how hard it could be, not getting to live the life you wanted. She did manage "Arcstrike, once I have my place built out in the asteroid belt you can come and visit me once an a while - it will be very safe. If you ever want a change of scenery ..."

... she says as checking her data band and writing with pencil and paper ...

"... Same goes for everyone, really. Things are coming along rapidly, as my servitors make excellent machine tools or construction equipment when I weave them that way. These tools are really going to accelerate some of the detail work though, stuff that requires micro-miniature circuitry and other small components ... and here you both go."

She hands Cora and Zephyr each a copy of the info.

"On the third page, is a list of places on mars correlated to meeting times ... staggered so that they'll be on the opposite side of earth at those times. All of them are major landmarks, and though the coordinates are pretty rough - as long as you are in the right area, you'll see the landmarks. If for some reason any one of us misses a meeting time, there is another one on the list two days later - and so on for the next twenty days."

[Karren Gaunt]

Not so small a world then if they met through Congo. Novakind needed more safe havens. A visit to this Den was in order... Hopefully her Chinese would be enough to get by if English wasn't standard.

She gave the list a once over, only recognizing about two-thirds of the items on it, and even at that, most of them were from times she sat in watched Alex work while bored. Not that she knew what most of them were for precisely. Still, hopefully Alex would be able to make or spare a few of these. That would be nice to be able to contribute before it became time to act.

"Okay, I'll see what my sister Alex has to say about getting these. You two are going to eiether love or hate one another. I can tell," Coraline volunteered warmly, placing the list in a pocket on her eufiber outfit that hadn't been there before, "So. Any of you have to rush back suddenly, or can we get some of that getting to know one another better under our belts before we next meet? I have a few hours to kill and only a twenty minute flight between here and where I need to be next. Ask anything you want to know. I'll wave you off if you cross a boundary. Of course, the price is I'll ask back with the expectation to be told to back off if I'm prying."

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike

The elder nova reviews the list as well. Not much of it made sense to him, but he knew who would know a whole lot more. He too pocketed the list, making sure the packet was secure.

"Oh, this is not so bad. I think I can find most of the things on the list and pawn it off as a class experiment. Starseed, I'll contact you in the usual manner. Cora, you know my morning routine, as well as my work address. If you need to get to me, it won't take you long. If I need you ... I'll figure something out. We need to be heading back soon. I could justify us staying out 'training' for another hour or so, but at this point and time I'm not sure I want to break routine that much."

He grins, "Sucks to have a day job, eh?"

As he turns to leave, Arcstrike gives the girls a strange look. It pretty much sums up his situation. Now he has somebody, or bodies, to share his situation with but he knows that he has to go back to living a lie a while longer.

Zephyr extends his hand out and Arc takes it. Their auras glow with quantum power as they lift off the Rock. With a final nod from both of them, the two turn and speed off toward the horizon.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Star smiles, "Have a great day Zephyr. I think we've made lots of progress. Via the regular messaging, we'll figure out where I am sending the pick up portal. Those times are in your morning jog, so just name somewhere out of view - indoors preferably - and the portal to mars will appear on time. The door will be open for precisely 30 seconds."

"Coraline, Can I call you Cora? ... Satelite arcs will have us covered and likely spotted in about 20 minutes or so ... with a margin of 15 minutes for safety. So we have a bit."

"My history is pretty straight forward. I was raised by my Mother - a physicist working in the California State University system and with Utopia on a part time basis - most academics and researchers do. My Father was a healer, and a philosopher, and they raised me. We thought we were pretty safe, well maybe Father was a little cautious. He always kept me safe, if a bit isolated. We had strong family connections, we were upstanding people. Then, out of the blue, they came for us. Proteus, mother hunters, and Father didn't make it. I saved Mother and I ... but since, it hasn't been the same. I've been on my own. Doing well, but you know ... a person needs other people. I've always been interested in space, so that's where I have been. Building, training, exploring - and more than a bit, laying low."

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline looked up and squinted a little, looking beyond the arch of the sky for a solid ten seconds or so to see what she could see by branching out along the E-M spectrim and comparing relative velocities. Yeah, that time estimate seemed to make sense.

"Cora is fine, Star. I can call you Star, right?" she answered with a wry grin, settling into a midair cross-legged perch now that the serious business was so abruptly over, "Your parents were much more trusting than mine. I spent the first ten years of my life being raised in a series of cabins and bolt holes, running whenever we were discovered. Didn't run fast enough the last time and my parents died to give me enough time to escape and be found by my teacher. He gave me a new family and somewhere safe to learn and grow these last nearly eight years. Then a few months ago, he started pushing us out into world the just in time for us to be ready to Apothesize facing down our inner and outer demons, help others the way we were helped. Lucky in a lot of ways I want to pay forward, but there's nothing constructive I can do yet without knowing more or having more allies. So, for now, I study baselines more closely through my own 'day job'."

She left the obvious statement unsaid, a question hook to draw Starseed further into the exchange if she was interested, as blunt as it was honestly friendly in it's intent.

E-M Vision plus Holographic Awareness for quick skyward sweep

[Adrian Moss]

Zephyr and Arcstrike (away)

"Father, what does this all really mean?"

"Something I have suspected for some time. It was a theory of mine, anyway. In essence, I have been right all along by teaching the students to free their minds from constraints and let their powers grow organically, instead of by thinking 'I can do this, by doing this', and things like that. Power is. Power known is power realized. That doesn't matter to you, Arc. You and the others like you don't need to do that. You are born with that power of understanding."

"It doesn't feel that way."

"Oh, I imagine it doesn't. What I didn't understand or count on was this Apothesis. Apparently you are in a median stage of existence - a transitional stop over on the way to your baseline power level. If you are anything like Cora, that could put you with as much more power than a recently erupted nova by a factor of ten when you are done."

Arcstrike groaned. "I'm not sure I'm ready for this."

"I have a saying for everything."

That didn't earn Zephyr a friendly look. The older nova shrugged.

"The first person you save is yourself. Son, until you wrap your head around what you are and your potential, you are going to be afraid. Fear happens, but being controlled by your fear is something that can be avoided. You are going to be more powerful than anyone else you know. What yo do with that power, and that responsibility is your business. It's a heavy burden. It's a burden too many teenagers are feeling right now. If you do anything, the first thing should be to share that burden with those who will understand you. That's not me. That's not anyone else on the team."

Arcstrike shook his head. He wanted to say that he didn't want to leave the Father he had just met. He was a teenage boy, so he couldn't. As if he was telepathic, Zephyr spoke,

"I don't want send you away. I certainly want to see you whenever I can, but I would much rather know you are alive. I can't let neither you or I get dragged down by my desire to protect you and keep you by my side. We have long and dangerous days ahead of us. It's not going to be safe for either one of us, and you know it."

"So, it's okay for you to risk your life, but not okay for me to risk mine," Arc challenged.

"Yeah, pretty much."

Arc stared at his Father's open hypocrisy. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.

"I could say something dumb like 'you will understand one day', or something in the same vein. I'm not. It isn't going to be some nebulous day in the future. It's going to be one day soon. I've got a feeling."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

"My parents believed in the system. They believed that if they did the right things, and made large enough contributions to society that society would protect them. They were right for a long time, but things change I guess. In the end their connections, their status, their incredible gifts to society didn't matter to whoever sent out the execution squad. Zephyr is helping me look into the whole thing. I want to find the people who did this and find out why. I want to look them in the eye and make them beg for their lives ... I don't actually want to kill them, but I don't know ... I don't trust that justice can be served at their level. I think the system is broken, corrupt."

"Enough of that though ... my first step is finding people who also seek justice. Finding people like you, and like Zephyr, who share a common desire to see the world set right again and ...You have a day job? I am guessing you have some sort of a dynamic morphic field - or maybe a holographic effect to disguise yourself?"

[Karren Gaunt]

"Broken and corupt is one way of putting the state of the world. And I can't tell you what to do when you find the people who ordered your family killed. I'm certainly no saint. And some people need killing. Not a lot of them or even the most obvious of them, but *some* of them," Coraline sympathized with the perspective of actually having killed and dealt with the aftereffects among her family.

She lightened up, "And if variable morphic field means what I think it does... I can shapeshift, change myself to have my body do what I need it to be able to do. And give that gift to others since my apothesis. The 'problem' is that I can't stop changing, what I look like when I go to bed at night a far cry from what I looked like waking up in the morning. Only the eyes and the voice and the mind behind them stay the same. A mark of my parent's taint."

A polytonal chuckle, "That's not what I use to stay hidden in plain sight. Having been raised off the grid has some advantages at least until we decide to declare ourselves openly and tell Aeon and Proteus exactly what they can do with themselves. But... While you've been out there, have you taken the time to explore the planets? See what they're like first hand?"

[Doctor Varroxxian]

"That has been the greatest thing about this last year. I've been to every planet dozens if not hundreds of times. I've been out to the Oort cloud, and I spend most of my time in the belt. I've even spent a day in the solar corona. That was very cool, but not in the temperature sense of course."

"I even like going out to the black. High off the ecliptic, actually one of the safest areas because space is so huge. Belt is even safer though, with so much chaos and thermal variation ... and still vast. So vast, but so many simmering objects - like trillions of sapphires. For fun I do geology and build things. Most of it is really simple stuff that I can cast or forge directly from metal I solar-spin refine. But I can work with lots of glasses and ceramics too, so I have many of the comforts of home. I can use very simple processes to do very detailed work, and though I'm not an artist myself I can copy nice things. I particularly proud of the floral drapes I wove from quarter mil chain link. Beautiful stuff, and surprisingly soft. "

"I've also been watching, and visiting earth. Sometimes to salvage things, sometimes to just be with people ... mostly to get on the opnet. The rock collection I have though, whew there are an army of scientists who'd give their left eye for a look. The system is untouched ... natural formations of incredible variety out there - not depleted by eons of human habitation."

[Karren Gaunt]

"We'll see how long that's the case. I have an idea about putting our nodes to work making a gift of a terraformed planet or two to the world, bribe more baselines to leave us alone if not work with us," replied the young metamorph, "It's scarily possible with just the 2nd Gens I know far as I understand, at least getting started on the broad strokes."

"I've only made one trip out myself, spent a week doing it. I have to say Venus and Jupiter were my favorites. Venus because it's one big ride once you hit the atmosphere, and Jupiter because I want to have a house out on one of it's moons someday and watch the Earth rise against the biggest planet in the solar system. Hint: Never dive the great red spot. I nearly got myself killed, and I'm post-Apothesis."

Her expression was rueful and happy, lost in the past before she recovered, "But that's a long time and a lot of victories from now."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

"Wow. Terraforming? I had more short term things in mind, but thats great. You know, I had thought about a place on one of the Saturnian moons. Magnetics are much friendlier and the rings are beautiful. Plus lots and lots of nice water ice. In the end though I am probably going to stay a bit more mobile. Io is very cool too though, talk about hot springs! Actually the molten sulfur feels really good once you get used to it. Stings a bit if you aren't ready though."

"Have a plan for a bare-bones station concept that should work out nicely. It won't be luxurious but it will be safe, even for baselines. The probelm right now is that everything I am doing hinges on me. I weave it all together, keep it renewed ... but the actual physical space habitats I am building now aren't suited for long term habitation. They aren't homes, rather they are more like large life-boats that can keep baseline crews safe and at work if I am not there for a couple of weeks ... I suppose right now one of my space habs could keep a crew going for about a month on their own if they really rationed consumables. The station I am trying to get together would be very spartan, oriented to work not luxury, but would be longer term."

"I move all of my ships and habs through the rift gates I make, and Starline Station will move the same way. ... We've still got seven minutes, would you like to see the inside of the this little fighter-shuttle? She's an all energy weave design ... no technology, or matter for that ... um matter."

[Karren Gaunt]

"Lead on, Star," Coraline responded with genuine good feeling, reminded more and more of her own pre-Apothesis paranoia and thinking of the half dozen ways they could bypass the oncoming satelite if they wanted to. If she wanted to. But better not to show off at a first meeting any more than she had to.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Star stepped to one side of the ramp, and gestured Cora on board with a bit of a bow. "This is a small vessel at five meters, woven for speed, stealth and combat. It has enhanced agility, heavy armor, a force field, but currently no weaponry. Just wasn't in the mission profile. I weave them on an as needed basis. In a way, they are alive. I've modeled them on a combination of single celled creatures and assorted sea life. Sometimes I put in reptilian or avian features, and usually they are a bit brighter ... the armored models tend to be darker, even glassy like this one but I altered the look to keep luminosity down. This one doesn't even generate its own light, but most normally do - for internal and external purposes."

Cora can see that the ship has controls of a sort, but nothing obvious ... more like spaces where controls should be but nodules and recesses that seem they should serve some function. Other items, like handholds in stretageic places, the flight chairs with their organic look and 'webbing' harnesses, or the 'tongue' that was the ramp were more obvious. The rear compartment was also clearly an airlock, maybe two as it seemed they were in some sort of 'stomach' or 'vacuole' that could segment itself.

"They have body temperatures which keeps things nice in environmental terms, and I have been working on the IR portion of the cloak on and off. The nice thing is I have room to endlessly innovate, and its been a hobby of mine for years - seeing what I can weave. They don't need to eat but when I weave a pattern modeled on nature it comes with all sorts of natural structures for eating, digestion ... some of them I use as crew compartments or airlock - managing atmosphere the same way as a creature manages digestive contents. I even do water and atmospheric processing by having it eat and digest - by compression cycles and 'chewing'. I usually weave them with plenty of stone crushing strength for this, but this one wasn't built for that function."

"There is no technology here, though the bigger ones are woven to carry vessels. Those pressure vessels usually have no engines, they aren't even really space stations ... since I don't bother with long term life support. The most I've engineered so far has been a habitat system that provides two to four weeks of life support in case the habitats need to serve as unattended work posts in space. For when I have normal human crews doing astrometric surveys or field testing gear for example. The larger ones could just as easily carry cargo containers or blocks of ice, ore, or what have you. They do too, even mining and managing bulk materials themselves."

"So, now you see some of what I do."

[Karren Gaunt]

"Amazing," replied the young metamorph, running a hand over one wall and looking at the physical as well as quantum forces holding the creature around them together. It was like standing inside one of her familars writ large with the sheer power of Alex's powers backing it up, a third style of matter creation borrowing from both of their styles in a new way. Oh, this was going to be a fun relationship.

"Artistically, I mean, not just in the impressive just by being way everything we do is. When I used to have free time, I worked a bit in art and scupture. Don't have time for it now between everything I do for my family even aside from acting like someone out of an old baseline comic book, but *this* is good work," Coraline further complimented, a wistful smile on her lips and a final pat on the hull, "I'm looking forward to the chance to see more of it, Star. I really am."

[Doctor Varroxxian]

"You know, its interesting you say that. I have to do more with my artistic side. The credit for the beauty in my weaves right now goes nature though. The natural world provides all the curves, forms, and ... unity? for lack of a better term ... maybe synergy. Its come up because I've been doing plenty of thinking on feelings. Feelings and aesthetics, and how the environments I am crafting in space will make crews feel. So I had to do some soul searching in all of that."

... Star looks down at the ground, looking for a way to explain something important ...

"Actually its feeling that made me reach out, try to connect with people. I am really glad I decided to reach out. If I hadn't noticed the ... void ... that I felt I may have just left. I mean, there is so much to see that I could have just left the system entirely, and almost did. I realized it would be running away in so many ways too. I had built up all these walls, natural self dense mechanisms gone crazy from the attack, and more than a bit of dissociation from diving into work."

"So when I say its nice to meet you, I really mean it. Zephyr is nice and all, a great fellow and kind ... and wise ... but he's not like me. He's been baseline human, and I've never been anything but homo sapiens Novus. Like you, and your kin and a few others I've met. I don't want to loose that connection ... again not the right word. It means the only logical thing for me to do is take up arms, because for us the war is already on."

"At least, that is how I feel these last few months, and weeks. The feeling, the reasons ... they get stronger the more I connect. If that makes any sense ..."

[Karren Gaunt]

"I get it. Believe me. Seven years ago, I was in the same place if I'm reading you right. Only child, hidden from the world by my parents, disaster taking everything away, and then... finding the need and the courage to reach out to other people, to believe other people would help me if I asked. Learning to trust and and eventually love them like the family that had been taken from. Know that they'd catch me if I fell," answered Coraline with a sincere and quiet empathy for the younger girl, a remembered melancholy in her white-on-black eyes, "I don't think humans are human without that kind of faith in one another. And it's making me happier than I can say if you're giving me the chance to help you like that."

She offered a hand, the way a smile, full and bright and worthy of a magazine cover, lit up her features when Starseed accepted it making even clearer her words. The sheer passionate sincerity behind them. The young woman that had lost it all and found it again who was eager to help behind the sense of inhuman power and awe.

[Doctor Varroxxian]

Starseed smiled, and was on the verge of crying ... happy tears, but anyway she wasn't about to let herself get out of control like that. Then again, she had very little in the way of tears - her eyes functioning with a minimal to no chemical biology much like the rest of her. Her admission to Cora - a stranger - had been surprising even to herself. She had buried things so deeply, maybe she had buried so much it was just coming out? Maybe it was Cora, with her awesome presence and genuine kindly nature? It was hard to say ...

"I am ... I mean, thank you. I don't even know where that all came from, it just sort of came out. Its so nice to meet friends, I think we can be real friends. Sometime when we have a little more time, at a better location ... we should sit down. I'd like to hear more about you - and I'm sure I'll have questions about the files too. Me, I'm sort of an open book I think. My plans and aspirations are simple, but I'll tell you more about me too."

"Umm, another thing. How many of our generation are there?"

[Karren Gaunt]

"I don't know off the top of my head actually. But I'll have the answer to that question by our next meeting," Coraline answered with an embarassed grin, "Along with however many of these tools you need that I can get. Mind if one of my brother's come along? He's going to love this project of ours once I tell him about it."