Aberrant: Infinite Earth - Fiction - Episode 7: The Next Voyage (FIN)

[The Traveler]

The Professor almost felt like everything was returning to the Paradigm she was used to.

Sarah was now the Empress of the entire Earth in the Brittanian Universe. Mary left back for the Phoenix Universe to find herself again. Yomiko, Sakurako's daughter was taking over Sarah's duties with a deft command of the ship. Even Three was enjoying Yomiko's company. After all they grew up together.

Sakurako walked into Chris' quarters. Perhaps this part of her paradigm was the one she enjoyed most.

"Chris-sama! I'm home!" Sakurako said, her tone one of anticipation. Of course she was home... the Hikari Maru always is home. No matter what properties she owns in the Phoenix or Brittanian universes. "We've been working our butts off the past year... up for something I promised you?"

[Mech]

"And what would that be, Sakurako?" Responsibility weighed on him heavily. His power was such that literally nothing was impossible to him. He sat their contemplating the dimensional map, noting just how many were in danger, and how many had already faded to darkness.

He was different than when she'd first met him, very different.

[The Traveler]

"Back on Sanctuary, Endeavor gave me a set of coordinates... those coordinates were, at least by her reckoning, your universe... your home. We've not had time and I promised you that if you assisted me, I would take you there."

She adjusted her labcoat. It has been a while since she could dress casually in a white T-shirt and a pair of khaki cargo shorts and some sturdy hiking boots. Of course the white shirt said "Head Nerd in Charge".

"I think it's time to pay that debt, Chris." She said as she hugged him. "Time to take you home... perhaps awaken something in your memory."

"It's what I owe you."

[Mech]

"You owe me nothing Sakurako, you've given me six children the promise of more, and a happiness that cannot be equaled." He kissed her. "I should be asking what it is you'd like to do."

He smiled. I can show you new frontiers you'd never imagine, never reach alone, but it would mean absenting ourselves from this continuum for some time, longer perhaps than you'd like. There are so many worlds, so many that need help."

[The Traveler]

The Professor looked up. "You... you could do that? Take us... I and you... to places unknown and more foreign than anything in this continuum?"

She looked down. "Perhaps it is Yomi-chan's time. Time for her to carry on in my stead... I can't just stay where I am... I have the power and the ability and with you the capability... I can't just sit idly by. We should tell her, Chris... Tell her of our plan."

[Mech]

He nodded. "Call her in, we won't be gone forever, I have promises to keep, but still, we can go and truly explore."

[The Traveler]

The Professor nodded. "Well... hopefully Yomiko doesn't destroy the ship while I give her the keys."

She adjusts her coat and activates the com-panel. "Yomi... please report to Chris and I's quarters... we have to discuss something."

Sakurako looked to Chris before Yomiko comes in. "Chris, I think you should start first when she arrives. She seems to take sudden news well from you."

Soon after she said that, Yomiko walks in. "You called, Mother, Father?"

[Mech]

"Yomiko, the time has come for your mother and I to leave for awhile. You will be left in charge of the Hikaru Maru, and Three will remain with you. We're going to scout a new way, just us, before we let anyone else come. We're entrusting our mission here to you, and your siblings for the time being." He smiled and she felt his pride in her.

[The Traveler]

Yomiko looked stunned... The Hikari Maru... hers? She wasn't afraid that The Professor and her Father were leaving... He was the type that could do a jump while the Hikari Maru was in transit...

She adjusted her brown vest. "So... Where are you two going?"

She smiled. Her cute face framed by her com-glasses. "I wish you two the best... I'll make sure the lights are on when you return."

The Professor puts her hand on Yomiko's shoulder. "Actually, Yomi-chan... when we say away... that is indefinite... I intend to return, but... it may be years, perhaps more. I know time means nothing for us... but... an entire baseline lifetime could pass before we even are able to return."

She puts her head into Yomiko's chest when she hugs her daughter. "I won't be able to contact you. We will be out of reach of the Stonehenge Gate when we go."

Yomiko steps back. "No... you're... you're going to..."

The Professor nods. "Beyond the barrier of this continuum."

Yomiko starts to tear up. "No... not now... I'm not ready for this."

"I am, my Daughter... and so are you." The Professor says with a smile. "You were born for this... you... you are my successor. Professor."

Yomiko looked stunned as Sakurako turned to Chris. "I need to get my belongings and change. You and Yomiko should talk." She says as she walks into her closet to get her things.

[Mech]

When she left Chris smiled. "We have great faith in you Yomiko. Of all our children, this a a task only you are qualified for." He sat down on the bed and allowed for her to join him. "Anything you have to say you should, my preciouse daugter."

[The Traveler]

Yomiko sat down. "I... I'm just shocked this is so soon... I always knew that you and Mother would be leaving... but... I thought there would be a few decades... time to get to know some of the neighborhood before I took the training wheels off... I..."

She sighs. "I don't want you both to leave... but... I'm not sure anymore..."

She sighed. "I would just be holding you back... back from your journey."

[Mech]

He smiled. "I promise Yomiko We will return, and when we do We'll come find you." He smiled and stroked her hair. "You have the best of both your mother and I, I know you'll do well Yomiko. You'll meet allies to help you, as your mother did. I can promise you."

"Trust your heart, you have a great one."

[The Traveler]

Yomiko leaned unto Chris as her mother stepped back out, wearing her typical protective suit, a large hiking-pack sized backpack already on her back, with a couple dufflebags in hand, one for each hand. "I'm ready, Chris."

Yomiko looked up. "Just... just be careful out there..."

"And I have a question... where should I go first, Mother? Father?"

Sakurako looked at Yomiko. "Actually, your first duty should be to notify Brittania you are the new Professor as I have handed the Hikari Maru over to you... Captain."

Yomiko nodded. "After that then?"

"Well, I thought you'd figure that out. Unless your father has any suggestions." Sakurako said with a smile, looking to him.

[Mech]

Chris smiled and pointed out into the infinite of spacetime. "Out there."

He hugged his daughter one last time, as he and Sakurako said goodbye, then they were gone in a flash, leaving the legacy of the Professor to their youngest daughter.

[The Traveler]

Yomiko stood up, stunned.

"T... Three..." She held back her tears. "Open... open a channel to Brittania's Section T. Cardiff Division."

She steps out of what was her parent's room... although she didn't afford herself the thought. "I will be on screen in 2 minutes, prefix the wave with a text message as follows."

"This is the Librarian. She has earned her degree. There is a new Professor."

Three appears on the bridge wearing a naval Seaman's uniform. She had been experimenting with different humaniod forms and became enamored with having pointed ears like an elf. "Understood, Captain."

"Are you in that damn outfit again?"

"Just exploring through my database."

"Ah..."

"I take it that Sakurako and Chris have left on their journey?"

"Affirmative..." Yomiko... The Professor... said with a sigh.

"Message sent, Yomiko."

Yomiko arrived on the bridge a moment or two later as the main viewscreen came online with Captain Jane... or Sir Jane now, on one screen, and Sarah Hideyoshi, now Empress Hideyoshi.

"Your highness, Sir Arrowway..."

"Yomiko! The Professor left?"

"Sakurako did in fact leave, your highness... and... left me the keys to the Hikari Maru... and... I am now the new captain."

"So, Professor Paper... what is your first mission?" Jane said, smiling. "I'm sure the two left you some sort of "Honey Do" list."

"No... they... left me to my own recognizance"

Jane and Sarah had looks on their face like their best friends just died.

"I... will need some time before I decide to pop back at Brittania. I want you to carry on as if Sakurako just left things to me when I'm there."

"I wish you luck in your future endeavors, Sir Yomiko Hino."

Yomiko bowed. "Indeed."

Jane nodded. "Yeah, have a ball. You've got a fully stocked spaceship at your fingers. Send my regards to the others if you see them. Including the fox-woman."

"I will."

Her viewscreen goes back to the view of the jump-vortex as the Empress and Jane turn off their comlinks.

"Three?"

"Yes Ma'am?"

"Set a course to 16:84:11 mark 26... I noticed some quantum energy there. We can refuel off the ambient quantum energy there."

"Understood."

Suddenly there is a shutter as the ship is rocked and it lists to the side. "What's going on?!"

Three appears near the conn as she looks like she's rezed a life jacket. "We've gone off course, the D-Drive is failing."

"Son of a... which universe are we landing on?"

"Uncharted."

"Damn..." Yomiko says, struggling to her captain's seat. "What's the failure code?"

She sees red lights appearing on the engineering console.

"Condition Yellow on the D-Drive, we're losing cohesion on the jump bubble, we have to re-enter a universe."

"Is this a abandon ship scenario?"

"Negative, but you should get into your seat, Captain."

Yomiko gets into the chair that once was her mother, and straps deploy around her and airbags inflate around the chair, encasing her in a bubble-like coocoon.

"We are making planetfall... Hold on..."

The landing was rough, it seemed the Hikari Maru skidded and rocked and spun.

After everything settled, Yomiko deactivated the crash protection restraints, and stood up.

"Three... out our surroundings on screen..."

What is seen is a blasted landscape. Like a nuclear war or something happened. "Son of a... was that us?"

"Negative... based on the quantum radiation this was already present before our arrival."

"Okay... I'm heading out."

Yomiko puts on a encounter suit after stepping off the bridge, more for her own peace of mind than anything, and steps out through the airlock.

"Okay... what have I gotten myself into..."

-To Be Continued... soon.

[Hotstreak]

Daniel had his own issues He and Sonja had another fight, and this one made him think he just needed some time away. Mooning over her wouldn't help either of them, even with his new tricks. He was wandering the badlands of New Mexico, an old nuke testing facility. Here at least he knew he would be alone, until some weird "Lifeboat" crashed out of the night sky. Then someothing humanoid emerged from it, and he watched carefully.

Satisfied it wasn't an immediate threat, he walked up to it. "Umm, you need a hand?"

Standing there, he was an impressive figure, the epitome of "Hot" in so many respects. "Don't see many aliens around here, unless you believe the tabloids.."

[The Traveler]

Yomiko blinked... she wagered he couldn't see her face with the front visor covered by a reflective material. Noting that the radiation levels were nominal and that the microbial life there was not of any consequence, she takes the head-covering off.

"H... Hello. I'm... Yomiko. Yomiko Hino."

She smiled and held out her gloved hand. "What happened here? Was there some sort of war?"

Yomiko looked concerned. She didn't feel as of yet she should reveal the nature of the Hikari Maru... not just yet.

[Hotstreak]

"Not recently no, this is just an old nuclear testing site. Where I go to be alone honestly. IIt's been over fifty years since it was used last."

[The Traveler]

"That... would explain the residual radiation."

She smiles, adjusting her glasses after taking her gloves off. There is a bit of a hiss as the internal envelope of the suit was pressurized.

"This suit's an encounter suit... mom taught me the basics of Xeno-exploration. Since this is a universe with an Earth similar to the one I was recently on, this shouldn't be an issue."

She unlatches an air-hose and unzips the suit. Stripping the rest of the garment off, revealing the the almost librarian-like mode of dress she had. The long black pleated skirt, brown vest, white shirt with a cute bow-tie, and a pair of what looked like glasses but it looked like they had a HUD built into them.

"I... never got your name, Sir."

[Hotstreak]

Daniel looked at her and his eyes narrowed. She was an offworlder, like him, a very human offworlder from another dimension, like him. "My name's Daniel, Daniel Allard." He smiled. "It's nice to meet you Miss Hino. I take it you ran into some difficulties with your ship?"

[The Traveler]

"Quite..." Yomiko said in English. She sounded like she came from London. "So, I take it civilization is alive and well here, Daniel?"

She adjusts her outfit as she grabs the bag she set outside and manages to pack her gear. She also had some spare equipment in it.

"I'm going to be marooned here for a while... perhaps a week. The Hikari Maru's Dimensional Drive has gone all wibbly and my internal systems are in a recovery mode."

She smiles. "I hope... I won't be too much of a bother while I'm on your Earth. I'm... a inter-universal explorer. To put it to words what I do."

[Hotstreak]

"Quite Well, Novas are generally very popular and well taken care of. Still things don't always go as well as we'd like."

"You won't be a bother, though I'd certainly not be that open with what you are, or this ship. Most of the people here are totally unaware of other worlds out there."

He gave her a knowing smile. "I am sure something can be arranged to put you up while you're here."

[The Traveler]

Yomiko pulls a remote from her vest pocket and hits a button. It lets off a sound that sounds like a car's security system.

"Alright..." She hits another button and it seems as if the ship wasn't there... but it was. "There. Activated the perception filter. Should keep it invisible to prying eyes. Although you'll see it out of the corner of your eye if you pay attention."

"As for it's appearance it's stuck in that form from when it was my Mother's ship... The computer that controls it's outer form is glitched to high-heaven and stuck making it look like a life raft."

She brushes out some dust and wrinkles on her skirt. "So... what do you have in mind?" She says, slinging her bag over a shoulder.

[Hotstreak]

He smiled. "Ever been to Louisiana?" He opened a warpgate. "IT's my home."

[The Traveler]

"Well... always a first time for anything, Daniel."

Yomiko smiled. "Knowing how these work, I'll have to go first... I just hope this isn't a trans-universal warp... I sort of don't want to get separated."

Being daring... she decides to walk through despite her misgivings. Next thing she knew she was standing on the french quarter.

"Well... better than I expected."

[Hotstreak]

"No, it just sends you to my home in New Orleans." He emerged behind her and it closed. The house they emerged in front of was large, the house of a wealthy family if nothing else. He nodded. "Come on inside. Mom and Dad aren't home, they still have their day jobs." He chuckled. "Can't all do what I do. Investments had come through for him, his pay from the jobs he'd done had proven fruitful.

[The Traveler]

Yomiko looks around the mansion. "Nice... when will your parents be back, Daniel?"

She smiled, looking bashful.

"That and... you have a library in here?"

[Hotstreak]

"It will be several hours yet, and yes we do have one, though it's far from extensive. Mostly medical journals, or books on teaching, along with the classics."

He led her inside and to the library. "Make yourself at home. Would you like something to drink or eat?"

[The Traveler]

Yomiko humms to herself. "Hmm, Actually you can't eat books... I think I'll just tag along to the kitchen. If there is one thing I got right now, is time, Daniel."

She smiled, stretching out a little. "So outside of your gate ability, what can you do as a Nova?"

She liked Daniel already. He reminded her a lot of a couple of her siblings.

[Hotstreak]

"I control heat and flame, better than anyone else." He smiled. "Mostly I use my powers to put out what ever fires get sparked in the world, Though I've honed them to ofther purposes as well."

His abilities had grown geometrically in this world, and he knew if he and Sonja went home, they'd be top tier Mutants.

"What about you, Yomiko? What did Quantum gift you with?"

[The Traveler]

She brushed off her outfit as she holds out her hand, and it starts to form into a origami butterfly that starts flapping it's wings. She controls it with her mind for a little bit before releasing her control and it glides back down to the floor.

"That's just a little power I have. I'm also mostly mentally endowed. A gift from my mother. I'm also fully capable of defending myself as well."

She stretches out. "I'm not sure how tough I am but I can survive being in space unprotected if that is any hint of my stamina."

She looks at Daniel. "Of course... I was wearing that encounter suit for our benefit. I so I didn't bring anything foreign into the environment here, and to be protected in case there were any foreign bodies my body could pick up and take elsewhere. Luckily the suit has a library of microbes that are common among the universes that are known that aren't and are a threat, and this universe is a relatively safe one to visit."

She adjusts her vest. "It interfaces with my ship, pretty much to analyse data."

She smiled. "I should show you the ship once it's repair cycle is complete."

[Hotstreak]

He nodded. "Very Cool. I was never particularly big on the science aspects of things, though I've grown there as of late. It helps when you can understand how you can do what you can do."

"I'd very much like to see a ship that can cross dimensions. It sounds to me like you believe in being prepared for anything and everything."

He poured them both glasses of tea, and set about making some peanut butter sandwiches. "With Jelly, or not?"

[The Traveler]

"Jelly, please... beats the rations in my bag." She says with a smile. "The replicators are down too."

She watched Daniel. "The Hikari Maru, was originally designed to take the legacy of an entire universe with it, as a Ark. A enemy known as The Hive caused the home universe of my Mother to go into Heat-Death. Pretty much by stealing the quantum energy of that universe for itself. My Mother escaped and wandered the contunuum until she came to find my Father. A man who seemed to grow in exponential power.

At some point My Mother and My Father fought The Hive's main fleet and their Queen in my Mother's universe. My father took the energy of the Hive and force-feedbacked it through their collective and destroyed them. In the process it revived my Mother's home."

"At some point, My Father and Mother decided that... decided it was time to explore what their power allowed... what was beyond our continuum."

She sighed.

"I don't know how much you can believe my story... but perhaps it was for the better... my Mother and Father reached the power of Gods..."

She looked down. "I'm not sure... if I will see them again in my long lifetime."

[Hotstreak]

"They're your parents. I know they'll find you if nothing else. In my expereince parents always love their children, Though they may have gone off, they'd not have done so if the didn't feel you were up to being on your own. They left their legacy with yuo, and if it helps, your life is a legacy of theirs in it's own right."

"They sound really powerful, to be able to reignite a dead universe."

[The Traveler]

"Actually.. My Father was... quite powerful in fact."

She sat down at a chair. "My Mother was no slouch but... I don't think the power interested her. Neither does it for me."

She scratched her head. "I like exploring and getting into the occasional trouble it brings."

[Hotstreak]

He set the sandwiches, with jelly before her, and a glass of sweet tea, as he took his without and sat. "I wasn't always as powerful as I am now, now I pretty much hide exacctly how powerful I am. I know my ex-girlfriend is in much the same boat." The fact a man like him was single was impressive, that it clearly wasn't him who broke it off was a sore spot.

He wasn't quite to her father's level of attractiveness, but far beyond any of her siblings.

[The Traveler]

Yomiko sat down and started to eat. "So... What's your opinion here... I mean here I am literally falling out of the sky in what looks like a life raft for work in the North Sea, I step out wearing something akin to a space suit and I tell you this tale of epic trouble and adventure and now I'm curious... what do you think of all this?"

She smiled. "I wonder if it was like this when my Mother met the future empress of Brittania..."

She giggled, continuing to eat.

[Hotstreak]

He shrugged. "All things are possible through quantum, moreso than I ever imagined. It's a fantastic tale, but I cna tell you're not lying to me. You have no real reason to lie anyway, without knowledge of this world."

He smiled. "It sounds like you're leading an interesting life."

[The Traveler]

"Actually it just started to get interesting. My life before has all been about school, survival training, the occasional rescue, and saying goodbye... a lot."

"First time I've ever said hello... feels good for a change."

"All I've had for company has been the AI of the ship, a curious, semi-innocent sentient program named Three. It's just that with the uncanny valley in play with a artificial intelligence and it's representation of itself, I can't just hold conversations that feel like I'm talking to a person... AIs... have different interests that a Human being or Nova finds... alien."

She smiles. "I really should see of sooner or later I can look up some of my Mother's old friends. They'll recognize the Hikari Maru in a instant."

She looks to Daniel. "You know... I've not offered, so I will... Come with me."

[Hotstreak]

"I was hoping you'd offer. I've been hear nearly two years now, and getting away seems like it's what I need to do."

"I'd be happy to accompany you."