[Fiction] Viva Las Vegas! [Warning: Adult Content]

[Doctor Nova Madigan]

Flicker was surprised at how many new novas she could recognize on first sight, given that she'd only seen them before on the OpNet. Wakinyan was unmistakable, of course. She wondered briefly what he'd be like in the sack, then shuddered, imagining herself as a pile of hamburger after he started using his claws and biting. Why on earth did I think of that? she wondered. It's like he's giving off powerful waves of horny or something.

Even though Login had just joined the N! Prime forum a few days before, she was immediately recognizable, and that had to be Dorothy talking to her. (She wondered why Dorothy kept stealing glances in her direction.) It took Flicker a moment to recognize Endeavor, but once she came closer to talk to Wakinyan, her plastic nature became apparent.

Flicker followed along as Neil pointed out novas, and as he pointed out Edison, her expression darkened slightly. I've seen him before, she remembered, the night Michael died.

All of that was forgotten abruptly, with Neil's sudden passionate kiss. Then he had to ruin it by talking.

"I owed you a kiss and besides you make a real pretty man," Neil joked.

A real pretty man? Flicker boggled. Either this is more of his weird humor, or he's bisexual. Sighing happily, she set that thought aside and enjoyed the feeling of being in Neil's arms.

[Slattern]

A midnite black 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 with blood red stripes pulls up to the front of Starlords with a roar and a growl.

The door opens.

A long, shapely leg clad in skintight, black, shiny pvc appears. A boot, with six-inch heels, tied shut with purple satin ribbon gently steps unto the ground.

The woman appears.

Curvaceous. Wanton. Desirable. The pvc crawls up to cover her entire frame, obscuring every square inch of flesh up to the high collar clasped with steel padlock. But instead of hiding it accentuates. Lifts and presents. Displays.

Long, auburn hair spills down her back. Black gloves with the same purple ribbon as her boots reach up to her elbows. Buckles, straps and zippers promise that removing the garment would be a lengthy, involved procedure. Is it worth it?

She smiles and steps up to the valet. She hands him the keys, "It's yours. I don't need it anymore.", and walks toward the door.

As she enters those who see her hush, stare and imagine. Men, women, it doesn't really matter. One brave soul, Assistant Manager of Guest Relations, walks forward and queries, "Ma'am, are you here for the...um...nova party?"

She smiles and purrs, "Why don't you tell me?" and pulls him into her, kissing him hard and deeply. She lets her node ebb just slightly, and dives into his thoughts and memories. She finds his most erotic memory and inserts herself into it. He relives it in seconds, but with her assistance, her expertise. His knees buckle, his body quakes and he experiences a moment of pure ecstasy so vital that with barely any contact he suffers that little death that is so sought after. He drops, barely able to speak, smiling and dizzy.

She looks down, "Oh, never mind, I think I smell them this way.", and leaves.

She enters the room and glances around. New faces. This should be fun.

[Doctor Nova Madigan]

For reasons she could not explain, Flicker felt the need to look to the doorway. There, she saw Slattern, dressed like the artwork of Hajime Sorayama brought to life.

Holy shit, she thought, I think I'm bi now too.

[Singularity]

Countless lights of countless different colors and intensity flood the night sky of Las Vegas, turning the typical field of stars into a glowing mosaic of muted color and leaving almost no shadows behind. True to their design, the two gigantic spotlights of the Luxor and Starlords clearly mark the two locations, giving a clear landmark to anyone walking the strip. Or gliding through the night on feathered wings or pure quantum power.

A large crowd has gathered around the Starlord's entrance, full of people hoping to see which nova will come next and peppered with journalists and paparazzi hoping to score a winning story or invaluable picture. Unsurprisingly, the alert group of baselines sees two figures in the night sky, easily picking out the golden skinned nova as she begins their descent; after all, Samhra wants the baseline crowd to see her make an entrance. Next to her is Singularity, keeping his descent at pace with the slow beating of her golden-brown and creamy-gold falcon wings. He knows his striking partner is, purposefully, drawing the lion's share of the attention and watching how well she's already succeeding brings a small grin to his face.

Strappy, cream leather sandals and bare feet touch down just at the entrance to the casino and into the sea of bodies, cries for attention, and the sound of snapping pictures. With well practiced skill, the two novas pause and pose close together under the assault of rapidly working cameras, Samhra's slight and stunning form enhanced by the golden lacing on the front of her cream, blackless silk dress while gray slacks and a loose, white dress shirt is all that accentuates Singularity's Adonis-like body. And he can't help a bit of humor slip across their link with his thoughts, *I think I'm just your arm candy tonight, love.*

*It's the shoes,* Samhra shoots back lightly, smiling for one more photo, *They always complete the look.* Both of them step forward and towards the casino and the waiting throng of people. Samhra starts to work her way through the waiting reporters and other baselines along the carpet like a true professional, setting an impressive example for each person in turn as Singularity follows and shares his own warm smiles and calm words.

Conscious of the time, the couple keeps a steady but polite pace and find their way inside of the casino relatively quickly. Seeing the still stunned assistant manager on the floor and the path of whispering people leading into the casino, Singularity grins at Samhra and nods forward, "Something tells me the party is this way." He holds out an arm for her to take and they find their way through the casino, arm in arm as their inhumanly attractive appearance draws still more whispers and stares until finding the room filled with old friends and new faces.

[GDP_ST]

The crowd is still reeling from Slattern's presence and Samhra's and Singularity's arrival, the paparazzi so common around any Starlords too dumbfounded and lost in their own carnal daydreams to even take aim and snap a picture of Slattern. A few cameras DID flash, although that was more due to convulsive movements of fingers on buttons than any deliberate act on the part of the photographers. A small scuffle nearly break out as one man overhears a journalist claiming he got a picture and desperately tries to take the camera, but he is restrained by some of his fellows.

Outside any Starlords, it is quite common for nova-watchers to scan the sky, and several exclaim excitedly as they see a golden speck falling from the sky overhead, growing as it plummets earthward. Within seconds, the falling star resolves into the figure of a man, perfectly shaped in face and form. The corona of swirling solar light gives off intermitent flashes of illumination, dazzling 'lens-flares' that catch every eye outside the complex entrance. With regal grace, the flying nova slows, bringing his feet down and under him with a well-practiced ease, and by the time he hits the ground, it looks as graceful as though he had stepped down from a carriage.

"It's Procyon!" the whisper runs through the crowd of inveterate nova-watchers, as the man's eufiber changes from its streamlined flight configuration to a black leather pants and tight white t-shirt look. So awed are they at his presence, such is his magnetism, that not one of the people watching even considers reaching for a phone to call the police or Utopia. They just bask in his radiance as he looks around with a pleasant smile, then walks into the complex.

Inside, Procyon looks around the lobby, noticing a man on the floor being tended to by a harried-looking waitress. He heads over, the woman glancing up as she notices the glow, and abruptly forgetting about the supine Assistant Manager as her eyes fix on the smiling visage looking down at her, her jaw dropping open with almost terrified awe.

"Excuse me, Miss." Procyon's voice seems to echo around her head and heart, the tone so unbearably perfect that she almost weeps when he stops speaking. "I was looking for the private party, the one being thrown by Wakinyan?"

"Errrm... I... It's that w-way, s-sir!" The woman points in the direction of the room, part of her wanting to scream I'm sorry for every bad thought I ever had about you, every report I believed! You're NOT a terrorist. You can't be! "L-let me show you where it is -" She starts to get up, but the young god is already moving past her with a dazzling smile.

"That's alright, Jeanie. You'd better take care of your manager." She watches the man until he disappears from sight. He knew my name. He knew my NAME. How? So dazed was she it wasn't until ten minutes later she realised she had a name badge, like all Starlords staff.

Procyon walks into the large open room, his eyes sweeping over those assembled. He notices he is not the only new arrival, smiling in a friendly fashion to Samhra and nodding with genial politeness to Singularity.

[Silvertalon]

Silvertalon mills about quitely and silently observing the gathered crowed called novas before her. Many scents and sounds assial her senses as her ears flicker back and froth. She keeps to the edges of the crowd not much for large gatherings as she is not used to such.

She watches Wakinyan curiously as he greets the others and causaly talks with those he knows. As she feels very out of place not knowing hardly anyone save a few although she keeps herself from the spot light as much as possible. But all the while raiding the snack bar every chance she gets.

[Ghostwriter]

Samhra returns the friendly smile to Procyon and closes her eyes for a moment.

*How'd I go showing off, sensei?* she asks telepathically in a teasing tone before turning to scan for Wakinyan.

[GDP_ST]

Procyon almost laughs aloud at Samhra's telepathic banter, his eyes sparkling as he restrains the urge to chuckle. Instead, he imagines himself doing a florid and admiring bow to Samhra, hoping his friend and student will catch the image.

Looking around, he spots Wakinyan and moves gracefully across the room to him, intent on greeting his host.

[z-Gu Saori]

Saori is thankful when attention turns from her. She'd much rather stay silent and unseen next to Long and Timeslip. Her eyes are drawn to the woman who enters the room; dazzling beauty and pure sexuality frighten and subdue her, and Saori looks to the floor, and will not look up again.

[Neil Preston]

Neil swings Flicker up in time for Slattern's interest. Catching her hightened heartbeat and shortness of breath, he whispers into her ear,

"Yeah, and to think she isn't even trying to look sexy yet. Good God."

Like Flicker, he is so entranced with the beautiful novas congregating around the room he forgets to let remove his arm from around her waist.

"The bronzed God is Procyon ... one of the 200 ... the first novas."

"The winged nova is Samhra and her lifemate Singularity ... nice people and I'm sure they'd like to meet you if you want. Samhra teleports through the medium of script and verse. Very beautiful manifestation of power ... in my opinion."

"Sing's an ex-elite turned spiritual questor."

[Wakinyan]

Wakinyan senses are in heaven. So many pleasant and interesting scents float through the air.

Login's odd concoction, Stale smoke and booze of Edison, Saori's fear. Slattern as she enters the room he finds her scent is subdued and he sees why. She has bound herself, obviously making a statement or challenge to which he must ponder.

Samhra and Singularity then her new mentor Procyon. Familiar and new faces mingle and mix voices talk and swirl and Wakinyan is in heaven. These are his people and no nasty glare from Sean will deter that.

Wakinyan indulges himself letting power build within his node he let's it cascade out feeling the glorious rebounding ping of the multitude of Nodes around him. There are enough here to begin he thinks to himself happily.

Suddenly his body wraps itself in blue fire and he allows his true form to emerge. Crowding those around him away. The leather pants he wears peel back and then slither beneath his thick fur as it grows thicker. Standing upon his hind legs he towers to his full fifteen feet of glory and massive wingspan unfurls to shadow all around him even the larger of the Novas like Long and Silvertalon.

"Pardon me." His voice cracks like thunder as he drops to all fours and weaves his way around Nova, Neil and others heading for the large stage. The blue flames around him produce no heat but trails behind him on the ground leaving footsteps of blue fire in his wake.

The griffin's wings mantle majestically around him as he takes the stage like a lion king surveying his land and then resumes standing upon on his hind legs.

"Thank you all for coming. It really means a lot to me to see all of you strangers and friends."

He doesn't need the microphone that is slowly rising from the stage with four plates of interactive transparent glass PC tablets. On which the lyrics for the various songs will play across for the singer. Above him the large pods open to reveal state of the art visual and audio gear promising that all will be heard and enjoyed. His voice when he raises it even slightly is enough to be heard over all the chatter in the room. It is little wonder he broke most of the windows in downtown chicago when he chose to truly raise it in anger.

"The bar and food is open so help yourself. I will give you a few minutes to get comfortable and settled in before I kick this thing off!"

With his point made with his awe inspiring and all together frightening form he shrinks once again to a more manageable 7 foot frame of a rippling muscle. His leather pants slither like a snake back into position low on his humanoid griffin hips. He hits a few buttons on the glass plate beside him then hops down from the dais. Getting the attention of one of employees Wakinyan points to a table where he turns a chair and sits down at. The staff immediatly starts stacking booze at the table for him.

Wakinyan is where he should be..

Wakinyan is happy and it shows....

[Cade]

Cade smiles as Slattern enters, nodding. "Quite an entrance." Then he turns back to Long to see his gaze too had moved to Slattern then back to the nova before him. Long's cold blue pupiless eyes stared back at him. Seizing the initiative, Cade smiles and nods to Long and then to Timeslip and to Saori and moves away to meet the other novas gathered here. Singularity and Samhra's entrance got a smile. Things were shaping up to be quite an interesting night. ALready three Knights were in attendance and by his count five members of the Teragen. "I wonder who else is coming to this party."

At that moment His eyes turn to Wakinyan. After he's made his speech Cade nods, and and makes his way to the bar. A drink in each hand he stakes out a seat at a table to the left side of the room and takes a seat. The scotch in the glasses is one of the best he's tasted and he savors the sensation as he finishes off the first glass.

[Edison]

Edison watches all the etrances of everyone. He didn't show any awe, and for the most part he was completely uneffected by the event. He was here for two reasons:

1. To get some tail

2. To get drunk and get some tail.

He didn't want to sing, and he didn't want to socialize, and he had already decided he would do neither unless there was a completion of either of his two goals involved in the social transaction. He wasn't quite sure where he stood on the first goal though, but he was pretty sure he was halfway to the second goal. He grinned as he sat on the barstool and spun around in circles drinking straight from his bottle of Jack.

[Slattern]

Slattern walks up to the bar and picks up a glass of ice water. She drinks it down looking over Edison, "So...what are you going to sing for us tonight?"

[Conduit]

Conduit had been on the roof of the Starlord for some time. He wanted to wait for more people to show up before he joined. He figured he could go in virtually unnoticed once the beautiful people had made their appearances.

Once he saw Samhra and Singularity enter the building he made his way down the side of the Casino. He jumped off the edge of the building and slowed his descent by making small ramps off the side of the building. He plopped down just outside of the entrance, cameras flashing away trying to catch a glimps of something...anything.

He walked slowly into the room noting and fantasizing (where appropriate) each Nova at the party. He isn't trying to hide the fact that he's arrived, but he isn't exactly trying to be seen.

He nods to the people at the bar and orders a drink, just a bottle of water for now, then looks around for a seat.

[Doctor Nova Madigan]

Tearing her attention away from Slattern and her. . . complicated outfit, Flicker caught the last part of what Neil was saying to her.

"Okay," she said. "Let's meet Samhra and Singularity. Do you know them well?" Flicker had no interest in meeting any elites, as she detested violence, but an ex-elite on a spiritual quest sounded okay.

[Dorothy Roberts]

Not too long after Sean noticed her, Dorothy let go of Wakinyan. She winks at him and says, "I'm gonna mingle." Then she slips away into the growing crowd. So many people here. She'd heard of most of them...or at least seen them when she was reading that OpNet site her father used.

Of course, one person she hadn't heard of, was Silvertalon. Both Neil and Wakinyan had mentioned her, but that's all Dorothy knew about her. And, to look at her, she seemed to be stuck in a form that was a lot like Wakinyan's. Dorothy shrugs. It's a party, why not say hi?

Her attention is caught by a couple of entrances, more people she doesn't know, and some very beautiful ladies at that. Then Wakinyan makes his announcement, and she decides now's a good time to introduce herself, before the singing starts.

Approaching the snack bar, she waves at the other nova and smiles. "Hey, I'm Dorothy. Are you just here for the food, or are you gonna sing later?"

[Neil Preston]

"Know them well? Hmmm ... not really. I don't know that many novas all that well. My work keeps me hopping around a lot. I knew Samhra back when she was Codex and working with Project Utopia. She and WarLady were very close."

As the large copper nova makes his way to the bar,

"And that's Conduit. I sailed with him on Endeavor's vessel a while back. He's pretty down to earth guy. He's in construction and wiring, I think."

Approaching Sing and Samhra,

"Hello you two. I would like to introduce Nova 'Flicker' Madigan. Flicker ... Singularity and Samhra. Flicker has done medivac work out of Cleveland before taking some time off and seeing the wider world."

[z-Sean McCline]

Required niceties done, Sean cruises the room, looking around at all the pretty people. Most of them are people he doesn't know all that well, and he'd like to avoid the Terats here - well, the violent and fanatic ones, anyway. When he sees Slattern, he does blow her a kiss; it's been years, but there's no reason to be rude and not acknowledge her. Finally, he sees someone that he does want to talk to, and with a bottle of Tequila in one hand, he heads that way.

Halfway across the room, he sees someone else approach Singularity and the woman with him - who has to be Samhra - and Sean smiles. Someone else he wouldn't mind talking to...

Sean waits until Singularity and Neil have exchanged pleasantries before he steps forward with his best non-lecherous smile. "Neil, Singularity, it's good to see you both again," Sean says, offering his free hand to both.

[Emily Williamson]

A pinprick of golden light appears in the night sky, getting bigger by the second, until its shape can be seen clearly. It is a unicorn made of golden light, its body and mane a warm aureate glow, its horn a contrast in moonlight white, as its eyes, which glitter as if stars had been snatched off the tapestry of the night to serve to adorn the beautiful creature. It is on this fantastic being that Emily rides, and she is no less of a fantastic being. Features are sculpted to perfection, her hair, half red, half dark pink, is braided so that the colours are visible as perfect stripes, reaching her knees in length. She wears no dress of conventional fabric, lights sprout from the skin of her chest and slide, flow and fall down her lithe body, evaporating as they reach her feet. The scintillating spectacle of gold and red lights is mostly complete, but at times, especially when she moves, it reveals subtle and tantalizing glimpses of flesh, that last barely seconds.

When the unicorn gallops in the skylight, leaving golden footprints in the air, it goes direct to the congregation of novas, and Emily sits on the creature, both legs to one side. It gallops gently, and she barely moves sitting on its back, unlike a normal horse. It alights with a surprising gentleness on the ground beside Neil and Flicker. She grins at them as golden lights start to sprout from her mount's back and transform into golden butterflies that flutter around her.

"I hope I'm not late, it's a long way from Scotland."

[Timeslip]

Awkward. That was the word that I was looking for to describe this little gathering. A gathering of those of the One Race such as had occurred in Ibiza only a few days before was one thing; an assortment of these Utopian-dubbed "novas" massed together for - of all things - karaoke was quite another.

Still, there are small consolations, little tricks that make this something more than a wasted evening. A touch of power judiciously applied made those who would consider thowing a pass in my direction think again; it wasn't something I had need to use all that often, but in chaotic social situations such as this, it was a useful skill. It also helped that my external evolution hid my eyes better than any pair of sunglasses could hope to do; I could observe people with impunity. There was certainly no shortage of people to observe.

Wakinyan, of course, was obvious; even if I had not meet him a few days earlier at Quanta's gathering, he would have been impossible to miss. As members of the One Race go, he was interesting; his evolution, while beautiful, had proven troubling to him in many ways, and I could only hope that he could resolve some of those issues when he reached Chrysalis.

The other Terats present were also easy enough to spot. Procyon arrived in his customary magnificence, Slattern couldn't be inconspicuous if she tried, and... oh, hell. I should have realized that he would be here, those damned beautiful green-on-black eyes and all. With any luck, he'll at least show the courtesy of staying a good distance away from me.

Of the "nova" crowd, the gleaming copper of Conduit stood out, as did the shining silver of what could only be Singularity. The blinking girl over by Preston's son had to be Flicker; the description of her evolution that she had provided on the OpNet did little justice to seeing the actual effect in person.

There were plenty of others present, and I would do well to watch them all carefully. You never know who might show an interest in the Movement someday, after all, and when they do, it's a good idea to know a little more about them than what you can glean from a profile report.

[Neil Preston]

"Hey Sean," Neil says and he shakes the hand. He surprises the bigger man by pulling him close and giving him a hug as well.

"Sean, this is Flicker," he says, introducing the red-haired nova. "Flicker, this is Sean Cha ... Sean McCline of the WCK."

Neil turns and watches the light display advancing on the crowd he is with and he chuckles softly.

"And that, everyone, is Emily Williamson."

When Emily dismounts, he offers her his hand.

"Emily," he says giving her a hug, "everything's just getting started. By the way, this is Sean, Singularity and Samhra."

He looks around the crowded room, adding,

"Long's around here with his wife ... somewhere."

[Doctor Nova Madigan]

"Hello Singularity, Hello Samhra," Flicker said pleasantly, turning to each. "It's good to meet in person finally." From behind, she noticed Sean McCline's approach, bottle in hand. Who is that? she wondered, and what's his plan for that bottle?

Before she could worry any further, Emily dropped in through the skylight, riding a unicorn of light. Emily alighted next to their growing circle. Nice entrance, she thought, but you're no Elvis.

Flicker turned to the new nova, delighted. "Hi Emily! I'm glad you could make it. Neil was just introducing me to Singularity," she nodded in Singularity's direction, "and Samhra," she said with another nod.

Neil hugged the red-haired stranger with the tequila bottle warmly, which allayed Flicker's brief anxiety. He must be okay, then.

[Long]

Long notices Emily's arrival and smiles. "She certainly hasn't wasted any time in getting out to meet others liker her." He nods to Timeslip.

"That's Emily Williamson, the nova I went to meet the other day. Looks like you'll have an opportunity to meet her after all. I'm going to go and greet her. Would you like to come with me?"

[Timeslip]

Long's question snapped me out of my evaluation of the gathered luminaries, refocusing my attention to one who what literally luminous. "I'd be happy to meet her," I offered, and walked at Long's side over toward her table...and damn it, there was Sean. No avoiding him now, I realized, and thus I would just have to make the best of it.

"Good to see you again, Samhra, and you as well, Singularity," I said in a ghostly voice that was unmistakibly the dead opposite of what one would want at a karaoke party (barring some truly obscure experimental or goth pieces). "Sean," was all I said to my former lover, with a slight nod of the head as punctuation. "And there are some new faces here as well, whom I do not believe I've had the pleasure to meet before. I am Timeslip."

[Long]

Long walks along beside Timeslip. "It is nice to see you both again Singularity and Samhra."

Chaos, got a curt nod of acknowledgement and no more or less. When they came to Emily he smiled. "You're looking well tonight Emily, and yes Timeslip is my wife."

[Emily Williamson]

She's smiling, cheerful. Obviously in one of her better moods. She has one look at Flicker's attire and laughs.

"So Elvis wasn't dead, he just had a sex-change"

To the other two she smiles as well,a nd is halfway through a "pleased to meet you" when Long arrives with his wife. She turns and smiles when she sees Long, although she forgets whatever she was going to say when Timeslip moves into her field of vision. She looks at her, into her, more in fascination than anything else, until she realizes she's staring, at which moment she finishes her greeting.

"I'm Emily, pleased to meet you."

[Wakinyan]

Wakinyan for his part is done with his first Ampwell and is nursing a NovaFlare with a somewhat questioning look on his face over the strange energy drink made for Novas by Novas. His attention has not left the crowd however he notes Conduits entrance with a welcoming wave of the paw like hand.

As he takes another tip of the can he watches Neil and his friend Flicker. Well there was no reason to ask him the question now for sure they hadn't stopped touching much except for when Neil would give one of his friends a welcoming hug.

Slattern had chosen her first target and the poor bastard didn't stand a chance. This caused him a snort of amusement as his eyes continued to scan the surroundings.

Dorothy was approaching Silvertalon, it would be interesting to watch her first social interaction, no need to get involved in that both of them would do fine on their own.

Then the new girl came in from up top. Good entrance, good style for a new kid. Using her power as clothing was creative but hoped she didn't wear herself out and run out of juice halfway through the night. He decided to toy with her some letting some of the red light on her body to appear to break away and form a little winged version of his griffon self that orbited her. If she liked mythical creatures he would help her out.

Long's sister bothered him somewhat. She looked like she was having a terrible time. If it didn't improve in a hour or so he decided he would consult with Slattern on cheering her up somewhat. Surely if Slattern could make someone horny she could do something as simple as cheer them up as well.

With drink in hand Wakinyan went to the buffet line and began collecting morsels of food to snack upon as he drank. He was happy to see the selection was broad and eclectic. Everything from Sushi to Pizza bites lay on large silver trays. He himself scooped some Nigiri and a very large rare steak along with a creme horn from the desert pastries before heading back to his table again.

[Ghostwriter]

Samhra greets and introduces herself to everyone, the opalescence of her glow remaining a cool serene blue. She offers warm smiles to those she is acquainted with and laughs openly at Wakinyan's little griffin form. Her nod to Emily Williamson is speculative - possible Marvel, there - and her eyes are warm when she sees Timeslip for the first time. So that was Chrysalis for you.

[Login]

Login finishes her drink and, as she goes to get something else (not another one of her sugar cocktails, one was enough for now), she surveyed the other novas in the room, reading up whatever information was on the OpNet about them. Mostly to know who to stay away from, she didn't want to get into trouble with some psycho radical Terat or something (although she secretly harbored the idea that, of all the bickering nova factions, the Teragen were probably the ones who had sort of the right idea, even if they were still mostly fixated upon useless philosophy).

She grabbed an AmpWell and sipped it, tentatively, and immeadetly made a face. It was bitter stuff, at least for her tastes. She got a pint glass and used it to mix the drink with gratuitious amounts of Coke and, just in case, took out a little tube of tablets and popped one in to the drink. It fizzed for a few seconds and quickly dissolved. Auto-mixing sweetener tablets, got to love them. The resulting concoction didn't taste quite like her own brew, but it was sweet enough, although still strongly alcoholoic. She was going to have to be careful with this stuff, or she wasn't going to be able to drive anywhere aftwerwards.

She headed back to Wakinyan & Co's table and, passing right beside a dessert tray, couldn't help herself and grabbed the first chocolatey thing that met her hand. It is only when she sits down at the table again she realizes starting your meals with chocolate is a bit strange in, well, about all social circles except the one composed of Login.

"I run on sugar," she says, more by way of explanation than apology, and happens to glance at the griffon-man's beverage. "That's the stuff you were talking to me about? You worked out what it's made of yet?"

[Doctor Nova Madigan]

Flicker could not stop staring at Timeslip, no matter how she tried. Coolest. Aberration. Ever, was all she could think, over and over.

Overawed by the number of novas in the chat circle, she contented herself with listening to others for a moment. They had a longer common history than she did, and had a lot more greetings and stories to exchange as a result.

Besides, she could learn a thing or two.

[Conduit]

Conduit scoped out where he would sit once the Karaoke started. There was a circle forming of people he would consider friends. Long, Timeslip, Samhra, Singularity, he felt he had a good connection with them so he walked over to join in the socializing.

He waves and says, "Hey. It's good to see you all again."

[Singularity]

The virtual assault of old and new faces, nearly all of them enhanced by various amounts of quantum, would certainly overwhelm plenty of people. Fortunately for him, Singularity seems to smile and greet each of them in turn without missing a beat. And, despite the throbbing environment, that odd feeling of calm still rolls off of him.

"Good to see you again, Neil; especially under much more relaxed circumstances."

"And it's good to meet you, Flicker. I've heard about some of the things Neil mentioned about you and it's nice to see another new nova pick a more constructive first career than I did."

"Nice to see you too, Sean. How's the Knights been treating you? I know the cameras didn't show everything until they were taken down."

"I hope your vacation went well, Long and Timeslip. A few people were worried about its sudden nature but we all need to get away sometimes, eh?"

"Don't be too intimidated, Emily. This is quite the unique but incredibly friendly gathering novas."

"I hope some of the chefs here know how to cook the tamales like yours last summer. Unless you know a good restaurant in town..."

[Long]

Long smiled at Flicker and nodded. "Nice outfit."

When Conduit comes up long welcomes him to the circle. "It's good to see you here too man. It just wouldn't be a party without one of the Metal brothers here."

Long then notices Saori still sitting at the table and makes his way over to her. He leans his head down next to her ear and whispers softly. "Sister, are you alright? is there something i can do to make you more comfortable? If you'd rather go home, I understand and will take you back." His eyes show his concern, but they also betray his desire for her to remain there. "I just want you to enjoy yourself."

[Symmetry]

Kevin stood in the crowd outside for a long while. Actually as long as the crowd had been forming outside to see the entrance spectacle of the various beautiful creatures that came for the party. He smiled at those who recognized him but he was not mobbed as he was no winged creature or glowing god to beautiful to behold.

Slattern's entrance entertained him and Conduit's followup impressed him. He decided that the party was really getting underway now and rather than push his way through the mass of people he simply took a small hop and landed near the front door of the Star Lord's and slipped inside with a happy smile.

The crowd was amazing so much pure energy in so many forms. The social nature and interaction was a swelling tide that rose and fell with the chatter and occasional laughter.

He was here to watch tonight. Not to ask questions but always looking for answers. His quest for the nature of taint and aberration would have a good observational base here this evening and all he really had to do was watch.

His attention was drawn to the large biped tiger. Long was here and bent over a chair talking to the person who occupied it. Saori, Long's newfound sister. Hard to believe it but there she was.

Kevin steeled himself and walked toward the feral looking nova circling out wide so Saori and Long both saw him coming.

"It is great to see you again Saori! How have you been?" He looks Long in the eyes and with a honest and respectful voice added. "Honored to meet you Long. You are more impressive in person than any opnet video could do justice."

[Stormwarden]

Stormwarden steps out into the angry clouds and reaches up to the heavens. A lighting bolt rushes up from the ground and takes them away.

High above the lights of Las Vegas, a lighting bolt materializes out of the clear night skies and Stormwarden and company emerge. Looking around, she spots StarLords and makes her way there. Stormwarden looks to her companion and whispers,

"Don't worry. I won't drop you."

[Neil Preston]

Neil manuevers himself so that he stands behind Flicker and she can lean back against him, clearly hoping she likes being part of the circle of friends he's made.

Looking to Singualrity, Neil winks,

"Don't speak too soon. I plan to sing tonight."

"Pleasure to meet you too, TimeSlip", he says to the only nova close by he doesn't know. "I'm Neil Preston and this is Flicker. So, were did you vacation and how did it go ... and I have to say your voice is facinating. I'd love to study it at some time."

Blushing slightly, he clarifies,

"I've made the study of such things a passion of mine."

[Conduit]

"You know Sing, there is a place, but...heh, I'm not sure why I was going to say this. It's in a 'bad' neighborhood. God forbid somebody would try to knife you." Conduit says with heaps of sarcasm.

"Thanks Long. I wish I knew where Ty was. Now that I have a little money I've been asking the fishermen around Tokyo to keep an eye out for him. He's probably on some super secret sexy James Bond kinda mission. Or space, either way it would be nice to see the guy again."

Conduit notices Long talking to his sister. "Sorry to interrupt, I just thought I would introduce myself. My name Conduit. I've known your brother for a little over a year now. I was at the first one of these and I went to his wedding and all that."

[z-Gu Saori]

{OOC: My apologies: when I did Saori's description, I completely spaced that Saori is still hurt and her left arm is in a cast. I know, I suck. Sorry!}

Conduit is very nice, and Saori relaxes a touch. Despite his oddity, he seems ok...

Saori is about to answer her brother when she finally sees a familiar face. "Kevin!" she says excitedly as she stands up and bows, holding her left arm with her right. She straightens and turns to Long, a dazzling smile of relief on her face. "Ryu, this is my friend, Kevin Rong. I met him in Portland many months ago."

She smiles at Kevin again, her eyes sparkling. "I didn't know you would be here! What a pleasant surprise!"

[Long]

Long bows slightly to Kevin. "Thank you for your kind words. I see you have met my sister Saori. I was beginning to worry that she would be forced to be content with my company tonight. I am pleasantly suprised."

When Conduit also walks over and introduces himself to Saori also smiles. Saori this is another old friend of mine. He can vouch for just how much fun the first Karaoke night was." He rubs the small of her back gently with his tail and smiles down at her in a way that suggests happiness and trust.