Aberrant: Infinite Earth - Fiction - Operation: Returning Shadow

[Adrian Moss]

'Our ancestors? Interesting.'

"A wildlife retreat would be interesting. What ecosystem would most interest you. Tundra is nice because it has a great deal of visibility of the native creatures. Temperate forests, while often exploited by mankind, hold some fascinating stories of survival and adaptations. Do these intrigue you?"

"Also, could you be talking about a 'Movie theater' you are talking about? There are a variety of types. I could help you sort through them to find own more to your tastes. As for 'pay-per-view sporting events, they are a form of shared emotional experiences over the medium of a sporting event - essentially a competition for fame, glory, and money. Some events take decades to master, others less so."

"Maybe I could show you an channel - a collection of theoretically like-minded programs - that would better help you understand us humans/novas."

[Silvertalon]

"Yes our ancestors are the creatures that you know on your worlds that have yet become to the state in which I am... This creature you humans call..." Turns the tablet around for him to see the picture of a snow fox. "A vulpes vulpes or fox as it is known, is what I could most likely have been but more so the artic fox verity. Indeed a wildlife retreat would be interesting none the less as it would be a walk down our ancesterial tree line. Even these pictures and information that has been collected are invaulible to us and does answer many questions as well. But that is another subject for another time."

"Movie theater... A very odd name but some how fits oddly enough. I see...." She listens carefully to his explanation and then nods a bit confused by some of what was said. "Interesting, I guess the only form of entertainment you would find on our world would mainly be hunting. But that is a very risky adventure that can result in the preditor becoming prey themsleves if they are unwary. Although there is some forms of gambling as well. But most forms of gambling are out-lawed with in the cities being considered uncivilized for our culture. Going to such places that allow such gambling is not what you would call a walk in the park if I coined that phrase right."

A soft chuckle rises from her throat, "I could watch some type of show on the vid-screen but why would I. It is more fun to actually go out and do something yourself and gain the experince and knowledge in that moment. The possible threat of danger or loss is always such a thrill."

"Anyhow you given me some things to consider and at the moment, I am busy with my studies. I'll consider what you have asked. I will take a look and see could be done and what I am able to do as well. Although its very odd to be asked to be taught how to speak our language but I can see why your interested you have the ability to speak the words.... But you lack the proper edicate that goes within them. The proper feeling that goes into the words, the emotion that flows though the words one would speak thus giving a level of depth and meaning. That is why the translator feels off to me it can not properly protray the emotions one see's and hears with in the speakers voice and body."

[Adrian Moss]

"Movies have many purposes besides pure information. They can transport you with varying degrees of success mentally to another time and place, or give you a perspective of life from another's point of view. They can and often do make choices you would not make, and you get to see the results as the story unwinds. It is like Walking Between Worlds in microcosm. For instance, I can transport you to a world were the dinosaurs never died out, but I can't transport you 250 million years back to the actual Age of the Dinosaurs. Some 'documentaries' use the best forensic evidence available to tell stories about what now extinct creatures looked like and acted."

"Movies can also propel us into a possible future. They are rarely accurate, but the thought behind them can be very intriguing. For instance, one political theory states that a democracy/republic can only expand so far beyond its rapid communication base. As the exterior worlds/provinces/frontiers are left to their own devices, a critical mass is created in which a parliamentary form of government in the center fails and an imperial system takes its place. This is usually called the Roman model, based on the Terrestrial government of Rome circa 500BCE to 476AD. Movies explore that and more."

"Movies can even shape the way we see things that are not 'US'. Movies give shape to man's hopes and fears about what waits for them beyond their limited field of exploration. Some people feel that space is a cruel, unforgiving place filled with things that want to harm us. Others believe that we are on the cusp of a greater Galactic Civilization that would welcome mankind as members. There are movies that run the gambit of thought on the matter."

"Basically, think about a human subject that you are interested in and you will find at least one, if not dozens of movies about it. The trick with movies is that they will often take the same story and come out with different ends. Keep that in mind when exploring."

[Silvertalon]

"Interesting, concept and idea for a way to provide entertainment a possible good idea to explore later indeed. I should investigate this place you call a movie theather soon it should be an interesting new experience. Thank you for sharing with me the general idea behind what the movie theather can offer. Although I must ask you to leave I have things I must attend to shortly that are private in nature." Her ears lay back a little as she puts on a smile.

"It was interesting speaking with you Zephraine I'll be sure to look you up sooner or later and maybe you can teach me more about movie theathers it is indeed an interesting subject."

Story Teller Side note:

Act 2, begins with The Professors next post.

[The Traveler]

The Professor nods to Chris and smiles. "Heh... always a mystery."

"I think I'll head to the bridge and take care of some system diagnostics."

She starts walking to the bridge, noticing the cameras are acting odd. Seeing that she heads for the engineering console behind the captain's chair and starts doing her low-level maintenance scans. She watches the halls on her security and basically relaxes, sipping on a milkshake she grabs from a nearby replicator. As she does so she receives a call from Sarah.

"Professor? It's Sarah. The security cameras are acting weird... very weird... Is there a odd little glitch with the OS patch you did last week?"

"I'm not sure... stay there at the camera you're at... which one is it?"

"Main hallway, starboard side, camera #22."

Sakurako pulls up that particular camera and sees... no one. "Are you sure? Can you read the engineer reference to a part on the wall or something?"

"Sure let me find the plaque... okay... #12-ESection-Plate4"

"Okay, I should be looking right at you on this screen but nothing is there... how odd. Wait a second..."

Sakurako sees herself running into Shadow a hour ago. "What in the hell?"

That is when the comlink goes dead and the main power goes offline, followed by the comlinks and the security system... as it is... her security wasn't that good compared to what one would expect for a universe-jumping ship but this was completely into the pale. As she starts to run for the main exit, it closes and locks shut. Then she sees the 8th layer of failsafes she put around the main engine was putting off an anomalous reading.

"Dammit... the pressure locks activated thinking there was a hull breach... son of a... I hope that odd reading on the engine failsafe isn't anything serious..."

She grabs her ionic screwdriver and walks over to a access panel on one side of the bridge. "I'd better get to engineering pronto and reboot things." She runs the screwdriver and pops open the cover to what looks like a crawlway. "Thank god I engineered these things." She starts crawling. Hoping like hell this was just a system OS failure.

===

Sarah looks around as best she can in the dark before pulling a penlight from her pants pocket and flicks it on.

"Okay... This is new..." She looks about for a wall intercom as she hears nothing but quiet static on her earset. "Sarah to Bridge... Respond... Sarah to bridge..."

Nothing for a minute. "Damn. What to do... Wait... Most likely The Professor is working her way to engineering itself... I should give her a hand and start the reboot process... that's probably what's going to be needed."

She runs down a corridor and right to the engineering doors. She steps back and looks like she prys the door open with her mind. She rolls through before the doors slam shut again. "Phew... the doors have gone into pressure lock mode... There was no decompression warning?"

She walks to the center of engineering bathed in red emergency lighting when Sarah is surrounded by a greenish field. "What in the?"

Sarah reflexively holds up her penlight only to have it destroyed by the field. "Sh~~ What the hell is going on!"

A cloaked black figure sits in the back of engineering wagging her finger.

===

The Professor struggles out of a tube access point and finds herself near Engineering. She pulls out her ionic screwdriver and using it's ability to magnetically move objects, forces open the doors with a high pitched whistle. She walks through and sees Sarah in the center of the room, surrounded by a field. "What in the..."

She holds out her ionic screwdriver only to have an arrow knock it out of her hand and sending it into a wall, surrounded by what looks like a black gelatanous mass. Soon after she hears her comlink click back to life.

"So... that's where that polymer went I wanted to use for a experiment... Who's responsible for this?!"

When she turns around a black cloaked figure stands a couple steps from her, bow and arrow at the ready.

"Never thought it would be you, Shadow... What's the meaning of this?"

[Silvertalon]

Shadow walker had the bow knocked back fully the display on as her aim was directed clearly towards The Professors head. She stood back far enough to keep out of The Professors melee range to ensure she had the edge in this engagement. Her eyes gleamed a slight color of red behind her hood as a low growl welled from her throat a glint of fangs. If the Professors eye sight was good enough she could clearly see the fierice vissage of a very angry animal staring her down for a few moments.

"You flithy desciever, destoryer.... A harvenger of death!" Her tone of voice was low and threatening seething with anger. The translator had a hard time translating some of the words she was speaking due to the seething anger and growling rising from her throat. "You thought to trick me, this world! What is your mission! Who is your target! Speak quickly or by the maker I end you were you stand!"

The engine room was a complete mess from the looks of it by a really quick glance around. Many of the containers were opened parts on the floor The Professer can see where she got the materials for the cage she built. Many of the latches and panels in verious places were removed. The engine itself was most likely inspected, as well as many other subsystems. Shadow clearly had a good amount of time in the engine room before the professor stumbled upon the security camra feed issues. The question is how much does she know or has seen.......

[The Traveler]

"How about none of the above, Shadow... What do you mean, mission? Target? Something tells me you're are mistaken in your assumptions, Shadow..."

She looks at the field surrounding Sarah, kneels down and takes a small wire and starts to stick it through, seeing it disentegrate on contact. Sarah looks with concern, wondering just what the hell is going on. That's when Sakurako sees some of the defensive technology she had stolen from a incursion of an alien race that had exhibited 5th dimensional properties was part of the build.

"How did you understand how to patch this technology in with the directed phase array shielding for the main reactor? It took me 5 years just to design... wait a second what do you know about the 5th Dimensional invaders?"

She quirks an eyebrow. "I see... I'm aware of their tactics... they use agents and spies to ascertain weaknesses in the defenses of a planet before they strike. Not like the Hive but still incredibly militaristic none the less. Look... this technology I stole from a incursion ship I had successfully infiltrated and I might add set the auto destruct on. This field looks useful in stripping their encounter suits off their bodies, no doubt! You... you're incredible, Shadow!"

She honestly and earnestly smiles. "Look... want me to show you I am no friend to them? I got the scars to prove it."

Pulling up her shirt, not only showing a massive wound where she suffered a .50 caliber wound, she also had a fractal-patterned wound where her heart is. "The only reason why I am standing here is because two innocent bystanders were at the wrong place and the wrong time and took the bulk of the energy... there wasn't even enough for a funeral. The blast left this burn scar, I assume you are familiar with the wounds they leave if you are their enemy."

Sarah blushes. "Oh come on... I know you had to give me a sponge bath during my recovery from the Nerani Flu... It's nothing you've not seen before."

The Professor smiles. "Now if you want to play show and tell that's fine, Shadow... But That's the best I got. I am no friend of theirs in fact I would rather see them brought to heel to answer for their crimes to all sentient beings."

[Silvertalon]

"Mistaken in my assumptions..... Amuse me..." Her bow tenses a bit more with more draw as those glowing eyes narrow slightly. "If I am not amused it will be your last."

She carefully watches very move the professor makes as she takes a moment to check on her partners condition. As the professor can see she is safe so long as she doesn't attempt to break though the barrier that has her held at the moment. "The human is fine so long as she doesn't try to force her way out. I am pretty sure she is very well aware of the fields properities already and she is smart enough to stay put. I have no intention in harming a bystander or putting one in danger so she's in a safer place for the moment."

A soft chuckle rises from her as she grins ever so slightly somewhat amused by the professors ruse, "Come now do you think I am some young pup easily distracted. Indeed you are aware of their tactics - you work for them. I dout you could of stolen the reaction chamber manifold out of a class four marauder strike cruiser so easily. Let alone about half the other tech I can't even begin to classify." She evades direct question but seams a bit more curious to hear what the professor has to say next.

"Oh, really now?" Her bows aim steadies itself "Slowly....." She growls low watching the Professor slowly remove her clothing to display the scars upon her body. A few tense moments pass and slowly Shadow's bow is lowered and the arrow unknocked and placed back in its quiver.

"Interesting.... Well since we seem to be on the same page now." She walks casually past the professor as if knowing ever happened. "As part of a exploration program I am one of the few tasked with the identifcation and elimination of our enemy's agents, pawns and sabotours. It was by no accdent I came to this world. A probe not to long ago discovered the engery pattern of a class four marauder manifold with in the warp stream. One in which is used by our enemies given to reliable agents. We tracked the engery pattern to this world and honestly was surprised to say the inhabitants or beings of this world you would call humans thrived in abundance." She removes one of the side pannels from the array she modified and carefully fished around in the wiring.

"We have been unable to communicate with any other intelligent species for some time other then those in our universe. So we kept in the shadows recording, analizing and learning what we could. As well as requiring samples and specimens... so to speak. The discovery of your translator gave me strong suspicions based along with the power readings I obtained. You could possibly be an agent of our enemies. I needed a closer to look to see what I was dealing with how readily you accpected me I suspected you even more so I played along and learned all I could from you all." She chuckles softly working on the field array.

"Although I guess your nature is the type thats too trusting and easily fooled when you are set in your ways. Your PDA... Has all your access codes, schematics and its not protected in any manner not even with a bio-scanner security protocol. Think about it. you possess the most advanced tech known in this universe and you have day care security systems that even a pup of my species could easily turn this ship into their own personal play den." She laughed softly as the field started to flicker and then went off line freeing the professor's partner.

"When I saw the tech your engineering room posessed, the fully inact marauder class manifold and what looks like bio-tech I've never seen before or heard of before attached to your warp systems. Well you could figure out the rest from there. As for your question we are born with the inherant knowledge in operating, repairing and altering any 5th dimentional tech we come across. Even a yearling one rotta old could explain to you the basics of thermaldynamics or interestellar drives. Although some more so than others depending on the speicies your talking with." She simply puts.

[The Traveler]

"So... your universe is actively sending out novas to act as scouts? Fascinating."

Sarah sneers for a moment, quite annoyed. "Really, Professor? After all this you are talking to her like nothing happened!"

"Sarah... Her species is brand new... we shouldn't expect every race we run into to be like us."

She sees the semi-ramshackle state of her engineering room. "You know how to put this stuff back in it's proper place? It would... only be fair to put everything back where you found it..."

Grabbing what looks like a squirt bottle out of a cabinet, she sprays it on the "goop arrow" that stuck her screwdriver to the wall. The arrow falls and she catches it. "Tri-hydrocarbon adhesive foam... generally used to seal hull breaches. Pretty creative use." She looks at the arrow... "Even managed to put in a small CO2 cartrige into the shaft so it can trigger the foam's expansion and adhesive nature."

She pulls out her ionic screwdriver and starts analyzing the situation. "Hopefully this is the only suprise today."

[Silvertalon]

"Novas... I can not comment on details like that I honestly. All I know is the program has been active for a short time." She shurgs a little closing the pannel to the make shift device. She turned to watch Sarah walk out of the fields affected area once with quite a annoyed expression on her face.

Shadows ears layed back a little "Acutally if you look at the end result of what has taken place nothing really did happen other then a messy engine room and a civivalized discussion." Her ears perked a little as a coy faux like grin played across her muzzle. She turns to look around the engine room for a moment, "Well I only opened a few panels here and there. The place was a mess when I got here, not my fault you can't keep your den clean." Shadow sticks out her tongue at sarah and quickly moves behind the professor using her as a shield before peeking out from behind the professor and looking up at her with big ol cute foxy eyes laying on the cuteness real thick, "I swear the place was a mess when I got here." Only giving the professor a few moments to look over the arrow she held before it was carefully snatched out of hand.

"Mmmm, mostly accurrate you missed the couter balance at the end of the arrow to ensure the overy heavyness of the front end didn't detere the flight projectory or angle thus improving the short ranged accuracy by a small factor and force of the impact." She snapped off the arrow head as the small canister of Co'2 escaped along with the used material. "As long as the shafts are undamaged the arrow can be used again." She reaches into her hip pack on her armor and fishes out a slightly larger arrow head that looked rounded and a small canister of Co'2, Shadow quickly put the arrow together as it snaps in place. "See good as new.. Nothing goes to waste if it can not be helped."

"The shafts are nearly unbreakible and a material not associated with any known human civlization I am aware of. Your ship comes close to the material make up but is much different from what I could analize without drawing attention. Some of the materials in your ships hall is unknown to my kind. Although that being said I couldn't leave any evidence of my passing laying about one fo the arrow shafts survived the encounter with those humans in the city. When I went back to recliam the object another group of humans had it and took it, those few days I was gone if you remember. Was due to I was tracking my properity and was waiting for a good chance to take it back. I did recover none the less, although I think that motorcade as your species calls it will be walking the rest of the way back. I was surprised by the numbers guarding such a small object so fericely."

Casually she placed the arrow back into her quiver into one of the custom nooks as sarah and the professor may have noticed she had a verity of arrows and different configurations as well. "Although I got my hands on some hunter arrows that some human had while in the woods that time, I am pretty sure it left a good amount of confusion after I recovered what belonged to me. I left no trace of my presence either that is the way things are to be done." Shadow casually remark while begining to help clean up the mess in the engine room.

[The Traveler]

The Professor holds Sarah back. "Remember Sarah, she's not human by any measure... as alien as they come. We should give her the benefit of the doubt... she would have killed us otherwise."

She adjusts her clothing as she scans the arrow with her Ionic Screwdriver's scanning function. "The makeup of the shaft suggests a highly refined carbon-vitrium hybrid composite. Very nice... if the computers weren't still rebooting everything would get recorded on the scan... I could do a lot with this molecular compound... Seems it doesn't have the vulnerability to high-sonics that normal vitrium does, although the material is just slightly heavier and not transparent."

After seeing the other arrows Sarah smirks. "At least I didn't take one of those in the knee."

The Professor quirks an eyebrow. "Eh?"

The Professor then remembers some remarks from earlier. "Oh... one thing... this ship and it's equipment was designed to get a group of novas and humans to a new home... security was the least of our concerns outside of viruses and common issues. Those essential subsystems are controlled through my PDA... how the hell did you get in?"

She grabs for her PDA only to notice Shadow left a bit of vitrium in her labcoat. "Why you..."

"I can see this is what happens when trust issues are not sorted out... I'm sorry you made the assumption I was an enemy, Shadow, but this was to excess... if you had questions of me you should have asked."

"I only give second chances once." She says, shooting a glare over her glasses. Sarah's seen her like this... those were the exact words she told the fifth dimensional warlord Q'der before he was stupid enough to launch a stellar fragment at another earth... His ship was the target instead. "Perhaps once the rest of the group and us get together we should just put everything on the table as to any questions anyone has regarding me, or this ship... or anything for that matter..."

She storms over to the field generator Shadow vandalized with the intent of seeing what she can salvage.

[Adrian Moss]

Zephraine walks into his door and goes, "What the Fuck?"

"Oh great, the tech has gone down - again. Okay, were's the emergency panel to open this with?" he says to himself.

He scrounges around the wall and side panels. Finding it finally,

"Here ya go."

Crank ... crank ... crank ... crank.

"There, that should do it."

With that, he squeezes through the imprisoning door and begins making himself way to the bridge. Tablet (who is ever without one?) in hand, Zephraine moves on his way.

"Captain?" he says into the device. "Captain, there seems to be a serious malfunction going on here. Worse yet, I'm completely out of Green Tea. I'm not sure how you expect me to operate under these beastly conditions."

Of course, he's obviously joking. If the power was really out all over the ship, Green Tea and any possible shortages would be the least of anyone's worries. Levity, on the other hand, was priceless.

[Silvertalon]

"By the same standards I would have to say your not animal either... So.. hows that go.. Whats good for the phoosh is good for the gander?" Shadow scratches behind one ear.. "Or is that goose?" after the professor commented on alien species.

The high pitched sound of the professors device caught shadows attention as she watched what was going on. "Well your quite correct although the bonding process takes a bit longer for the metal material to shape and harden but once its done is a very durable." Shadows attention soon falls upon Sarah once again giving her quite the odd look as one ear droops the other says perked, "eh?.... " Clearly she didn't get the reference. "You such an odd species..." She softly mumbles shaking her head.

It wasn't long before the professor begun to explain why the ships security was very limited in the first place in short but the topic was soon cut off once the PDA was discovered to be missing. Shadow tilted her head slightly as her ears layed back a little with a soft growl. "Rigggghht... Like you would randomly walk up to someone you susspect and ask.. Hey are you an agent with such and such cause you have in your possession this such and such? How well do you think that would go over if they where or where not the implications alone would be devastating. Compared to investigating the information on your pda that was not even protected in any manner. You left it out for anyone to read as if was a book, a file allowed to be viewed at anyones leisure." A slight smirk plays across that vulpine muzzle, "Let alone need I point out how am I to know if accessing such functions and or materials are forbidden to read if they are not protected in some manner. Honestly how would I have known I broke your trust or would of known to be honest if you think about it. The only thing I am guilty of is placing a Vitrium brick in your pocket in place of your pda."

"Although one thing about our species we are more direct, knowing how our potential enemies and allies react gives us greater insight into what we are dealing with and whom we can trust. I trust you now as I saw no hint of dis-truth in your words or in how your body spoke. I know your angry but you might want to think about how far worse it could of been if I was truly an enemy of yours. If I got this far no telling what could of really taken place today professor. It is something you should think about very carefully am I correct?"

Shadow turns to one of the open panels she easily disassembled and beings to quickly reassemble it back in place using her claw tips to screw in the screws with ease. She glanced over towards were the professor as looking at her make shift device and smirked. "Open the left panel, connect the yellow wires together it should re-instate the shielding system back to normal operation. Unhooking those wires and removing the access panel on the right side and re-connecting the blue wires will engage the secondary system which triggers once someone walks though the thresh hold of the door way. As the emitters I used from the boxes are aligned just above the entrance" Shadow points out.

[The Traveler]

The Professor uses her screwdriver to disable the device completely, then manually unplugs the power. "No... this little field could actually be useful I'm going to study this further..." She says, storing it in a empty storage bin. "I gotta head to the bridge, Sarah, stay here with Shadow and make sure she stays to her end of things... if not... give her a case of static cling she won't soon forget."

"Aye aye!" Sarah says, smirking at Shadow. A spark visible from her eye, and the ambient static electricity in the room seems to raise locally around her for a brief period.

"But only if warranted. Otherwise she is still a guest. Everyone is entitled to a mulligan once in a while, Sarah, dear."

"Oh... even better... let Sarah know where the PDA you stole from me is and let her run it to me on the Bridge... that would be a further show of... recalcitrance."

She adjusts her clothes and starts to head over to the bridge. "Now I gotta see what else has happened. I know everyone is of a calm demeanor usually, but a malfunction like that could get people to thinking to head to the escape pods..." She says before heading to the hallways. She notices the turbolift system back online, and it takes a mere moment or two longer before she makes it to the bridge. She sees Zephraine is out and about.

"Zeph! Fancy you meeting here... long story on the malfunction."

[Silvertalon]

"I have no problem in telling you the PDA's in my room on my desk next to my day satchel."

She continues to work rather quickly putting together and reparing the mess she made much faster then one would of taken for sure in what would take hours was taking far less that time. "I should have this engine room back together in thirty minutes or so in your kinds time keeping."

[The Traveler]

Sarah nods in understanding. "Fair enough... I doubt you have more booby traps... once you are done, report to the Bridge. That's where I and the Professor will most likely be."

She heads off to Shadow's quarters and indeed finds the PDA where it should be. She sees an odd, black device on the desk with text in Shadow's language beeping away, fabricating another arrow shaft. "Interesting... what sort of other gadgets does she have..." She looks about and sees Shadow's satchel but decides it best to just leave things where she found them. She spot's The Professor's PDA. She grabs it and runs up to the Bridge as best she can.

She walks in, nodding to The Professor and Zephraine. Handing the PDA to The Professor. She blushes a little before taking a seat at navigation. "So... Shadow wagers it should take... 30 minutes or so to repair what happened in Engineering. Everything alright, everyone?"

[Adrian Moss]

"Shadow? Engineering? Is there something I need to know about? I mean, if Shadow shut down the ship ... you know, was it an accident, or predetermined action?"

His voice is calm, even jovial, but the joy doesn't quite reach his eyes. Smashing up a crucial part of the ship doesn't sound like the sanest action, and if Shadow is dangerously unstable ... that's something the rest of them need to know. Maybe him more than others, seeing that he plans to learn from her about herself and her people.

[The Traveler]

"More like a mistaken notion. She was thinking I was some sort of race that has been at war with her people... They are clever... I've had a tangle or two with them so I don't blame her actually. No real damage was done I believe."

Something pops into her mind... as if she had forgotten something. "Oh golly... Chris... Sarah!"

"Already on it." Sarah sighs. "I'd better be getting extra pool time after this."

"Sorry... At least the turbolifts and what not are functioning again. I got systems to double-check up here. Use lift #3, that is the one with the highest probability Chris would be using, down the main starboard spinal hall."

Sarah scratches her head. "Sarah, I figure you will either run into him in route to the Bridge on this deck or down below."

Sarah nots and leaves the Bridge to Zephraine and The Professor.

"Something that has to be noted about Shadow. She's brilliant... She managed to make a temporal cage field out of scraps... She... is a genius."

[Mech]

In traditional fashion, Chris had not moved, he'd simply sat down and waited. Very few things he did wouldn't have caused unneeded damage to the ship which he might survive but h was fairly sure others wouldn't. "They'll come when it's over, be patient."

He seemed almost to be asleep then waiting patiently for someone to retrieve him.

[The Traveler]

Sarah finds Chris and rouses him.

"Umm... Chris... are you okay?"

"Oh wow... He's upgraded indeed..."

"The Professor is waiting for us on the Bridge. Shadow will be there shortly as well. Long story, but everything worked out."

She looks practically stunned as she starts undressing him with her eyes.

[Mech]

Chris looked at Sarah and smiled. "I was wondering what happened." He rose up to his full two meter height and she could see the true perfection of his body, and he nodded. "Thanks for coming to get me."

For Sarah it was as if A God stood before her, he was tall, handsome and totally perfect, with an easy smile and a quiet confidence.

[Silvertalon]

The clean up didn't take as long as she originally thought as it was far easier putting the panels back together then it was taking it apart. The only thing that took a bit longer was cleaning up all the bits and pieces that litter the floor when she rummaged though the spare parts. It was when she was in the middle of locking down the last container she heard a soft whrrrr'n sound of the engine starting to come online. "I guess she got the subroutine going." She shrugged thinking nothing of it, it only took her a few more moments to secure the last box in place. As she looked around the engine room one last time ensuring everything was in place. Shadow noticed a few lights on the manifolds primary display console started to light up indicating intintial activity was taking place in the hyper drive systems. "Testing the hyper drive system before the ship is fully powered? Very odd."

She left the engine room and started to casually make her way to the bridge in no hurry what so ever she had a good twenty minutes to enjoy her walk if desired......

Note

Quickness and Muliti-tasking putting everything back together and back in place.

[The Traveler]

Sarah stammers, seeing the two meter Adonis standing before her.

"Umm... I think the... Professor is waiting for us..."

Meanwhile...

The PRofessor looks over her screens and engineering readouts and sees the D-Drive and the jump system preparing for warp.

"What... I don't remember inputting any..."

She runs over to her PDA and starts paging through it's history. "Emergency Dimensional Shift? Must of happened when the ship's systems were offline."

She hooks the PDA into a slot on the engineering console and starts scanning it. "Well looks like we're going somewhere. Hope you didn't have plans, Zeph."

She activates the ship's intercom. "Everyone, this is The Professor, we're in emergency jump mode due to the glitch. Not sure where we're headed, and it is going to take a while. I will fill everyone in on the Bridge."

Back in the hall...

Sarah hears The Professor's message. "Gonna be one of those interesting days again. She didn't sound panicked... usually if she is that's usually a sign of something bad happening."

She gets close to Chris. "But... you'd protect me, right?" She says with a grin.

[Mech]

He nods, and she can hear the carbon nanoweave groan slightly straining against his massive frame. "Of course. I owe you and the professor alot, you did save me after all." He was calm and reassuring. "Lead on. Probably best to see where we're going to end up from the bridge anyway."

[The Traveler]

"More than likely... since there's no warning alarms that usually means we've not had a hull breach or..."

Sarah and Chris are rocked by a sudden jolt of the ship. Followed by shortly thereafter by a alarm. "Dammit... should have kept my mouth shut." Sarah mutters. " Sounds like a general quarters alarm..." Another jolt sends Sarah into the air but Chris is still unmoved. He catches her as she falls back down.

"Well... thanks... there's no emergency cushioning on the floors..."

Back on the bridge...

The Professor hurriedly encodes new security patches into the ship's OS as she tries to keep the ship from hitting the very fabric of the universe itself. "Okay this is not bloody possible... not possible!"

She sees the Trans-D coordinates appear on her navigation screen as the jump commencing. "Negative space... no way... I've theorized this but..." She whispers. "But how did the ship get this coordinate..."

[Mech]

Sarha could feel the powerful arm that enfolded her to keep her upright, and he nodded. "Perhaps you'd like to hold onto something steady for the trip."

"I think we should be on our way."

[The Traveler]

"Indeed..." Sarah says after hopping off, she anchors herself by repulsing her body magnetically to keep in position. "Why didn't I think of this before..."

She giggles as she walks next to Chris. Every further shake not an issue.

[Mech]

"SO Sarah, exactly what happened." It was almost impossible not to answer him, he was so amiable, so innocent. "Is there something I can do to help?"

[The Traveler]

"Shadow thought The Professor was an agent of an extra-dimensional enemy that is also an enemy of Shadow's people. Shadow has an... interesting way if figuring out just who is what... hopefully that will be the only time Shadow shows trust issues..."

Sarah quickly grabs a vacuum suit from a wall locker and starts putting it on. "You Novas are lucky... you guys don't need an atmosphere. I... still do."

Once the pair make it to the bridge, Sarah manages over to her position at Navigaiton, and takes over for The Professor.

"Space suit? Really? Don't have faith in my piloting skills?"

Sarah hits a couple of icons on the touch screen and the ride suddenly smooths out. "You didn't switch off the quantum anchor fields."

"Oh... right... silly me leaving the emergency brake on..."

The Professor turns around and sees Chris and her worries, for the moment are assuaged. "Well... Now that we're here and Shadow should be here soon, I have to say we're truly going where no one has gone before... Negative Space... Seems this ship picked up a set of coordinates that leads outside of the bowl you would call our continuum."

"Think of it as every universe is inside that bowl, and we're about to slip outside of it's confines. I theorized it would be possible to see what is beyond trans-universal space but... not like this. Be prepared for anything, everyone. I'm literally flying without a net."

[Mech]

Chris nodded. "Well then, let's go."

[Adrian Moss]

Zeph gives a chortle.

"One complains about the things that can be changed and muddles through the things that can't. Besides 'Never been done before' really means 'Never been attempted by us', doesn't it?"

[The Traveler]

The Professor heads over to the engineering display, then sits in the captain's chair.

"Thing is, all other calculations I have made in regards to this have lead to the inevitible conclusion that any sort of jump beyond the veil would result in the destruction of the ship and any onboard. But... somehow this ship is creating it's own tunnel... Whatever we find on the other side, we will have to be prepared for any suprises that appear."

She looks to Mech and Zephraine, then to Sarah. "I sort of wish Heather was here... she would have loved this. Oddities like this would be up her alley."

[Silvertalon]

Shadow casually continued her way towards the bridge taking a moment to think about everything she learned today. An yet still she felt an odd sensation creeping over her that something was wrong as her instinctive nature made her feel a bit edgy. Then suddenly the ship itself shook for a few moments and then stopped the air around her almost felt a bit dense for a breif moment as well. It took her a moment to shake off the feeling as she quickened her pace quite a bit. It was not long before the doors of the ships command bridge oppened to her and he strode in calmly.

"I felt a distrubance just a few moments ago... Everything alright?" She noticed everyone was here as her eyes landed upon mech she flushed a little and turned her gaze away quickly. Her ears layed back a little hidding the fact she was flushing quite a bit. As her gaze soon landed on the professor and her assistant whom was clad in a space suit. "I.. didn't know these beaches on Brittiana are considered to be hazardous as space. No wounder why some of you humans looked like cook sauages." She ponders the thought for a moment not really getting the concept around sun tanning. "Oh the engineering room is all tidy now."

[The Traveler]

Sarah turns around. "Oh, pretty much everyone here can survive in total vacuum... guess who the odd psychokinetic out is." She says with a smirk. She then returns to her navigator duties as the Professor walks up to shadow from behind.

"Shadow, what do you know of negative space?"

The Professor activates the forward view screen and sees what she's probably seen multiple times in the past. The inter-continuum medium, warping and folding around the ship.

"Because I think we are about to enter it..."

[Adrian Moss]

"Everything alright? Sure. I got to find out that the manual override on the doors really works. That was a fun bit of exercise."

'Okay, is she a paranoid, selfish idiot, or just a child? A very young child.'

"And 'Hey', we didn't drop into Negative Space without power. Always a plus in my book. So Shadow Walker, what did you did you do when the power went out? It had to be more fun that what I did."

[Silvertalon]

Shadow nodded slightly, "I some times about forget that Sarah as I normally spend much of my time exploreing these days. It's been a while since I last saw the captial city of my home world, I wounder how much has changed in the last decade or so in your earth time. Atlas another story for another time, but I do understand why you wear that, just bulky and inefficent to the suits we use. I guess humans have another fifty or a hundered years to go before...." She stops herself with a slight flush, "Sorry.. Saying a little to much there."

Shadow's ears shift back as they splay catching the foot falls from behind as she turns seeing the professor walking up behind her as she gave her a nod. "Negative space? Why would you...." The view screen goes active and right before her eyes she see's the inter-continumm medium warping around the ship. "Quite a bit, nothing can enter negative space with out being vaporized to the last subatomic partical even with the most advanced shielding and armor couldn't withstand a nano-second. But.. This is oddly stable this state of medium doesn't normaly exist...." Her attention turns to Zeph with a slight concerned look.

"This ship wouldn't surivive coming into contact with negative space or would we in such a medium. The nano-second we would of touched the barriers that define the existance and non-existance of this medium would be our last. Quick, painless efficent way to die and has been used by our kind before. Power or no nothing we have created nore what I have seen could withstand such power. To even think of harnessing such power is theorized to obliterate universes in an instant. A theory that was nearly put into use four hundered years ago." She rubs her muzzle slightly thinking, "There have been records, old ones with in the ancient data cores. These logs of hint of beings able to safely navigate such space. But its only myth, and yet myths did bring our kind from the brink a few times so it could have a basis."

She slightly gave zeph a coy grin one such that was playful and yet disarming, "Oh a little of this and alittle of that. Inspecting some nook and crannies looking for berries while I had a nice converstation with the professor about alloys and elements...." She giggled sticking out her tongue in a playful faux expression.

Info

Zeph is very good with seeing though deception even with her playful nature in how she hid answering him. He could tell easily alot more happened but yet it was hard to tell if it was good or bad. He just had the odd feeling she keeping something from him.

Her eyes soon fixed upon the view screen for some time something about the medium seamed so familar to her it was eating away at her. Slowly her expression turned to surprise as her eyes widen and then she had a slight look of shock. "How did you..." she mumbled.

Her full attention was now fixed upon the profressor, "Cordinates! What are they!" A hint of uncertainty was in her voice and a sense of panic.

[The Traveler]

"Let me see..."

She wonders if Shadow's kind even used the same dimensional coordinate notations as she. Or trans-dimensionals that used technology... then again if she knew of fifth dimensional Trans-U technology...

"-01:233:21:255... Definately within negative space. The closest universe is the Brittanian Universe... This isn't serviced at all by the stonehenge network or any other universe-faring civilization... the Hive, The Fifth Dimensionals, The Triad, the countless second and third generation Novas I've encountered... none."

She adjusts her suit. "You know something I don't, Shadow?"

She can read Shadow like a book. Her body language was quite telling.

[Adrian Moss]

"Hold on. Maybe I can help."

Zephraine stops and concentrates on the computer.

Coherence and Translation

Coherence

Adrian Moss *rolls* 12d10: 9+9+1+1+6+4+5+9+8+4+8+7: 71

Adrian Moss *rolls* 5d10: 6+2+5+3+1: 17

6 successes

Translation:

Adrian Moss *rolls* 12d10: 3+1+7+7+2+5+1+10+5+1+5+5: 52

Adrian Moss *rolls* 5d10: 8+3+6+5+3: 25

5 successes

All the data makes sense now, and everyone can understand it.

-6q / 26 left

For a moment, things don't seem any different. In the next moment, each person believes they've received a new insight, and finally everyone realizes everyone is now seeing and reading the same thing. Perhaps more can be gained by a meeting of all the minds?

[Mech]

Chris sat there and waited patiently, having little else to do.

[Silvertalon]

"Indeed, I am well aware of this place and where we are. We are traveling though the Fang's Rift as our kind calls it...." Shadow's ears splayed back slightly clearly something was bothering her. "You shouldn't be in here. I do not know how you got those coordinates and at this point it doesn't matter, they will know.... You shouldn't be trans-versing the Fangs Rift so carelessly."

She took a deep breath and begun growl a little clearly there was no way to turn the ship around at this point nor the ability to stop with out loosing the ship and their lives in the process. "We can't turn around nor stop. This isn't good not at all, not at all..." She started to pace back and forth much like a caged animal deep in thought in what to do or possibly say. She indeed knew something and that something has her clearly very worried.