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Aberrant: The Long March - Chapter 7: A brave new path


Mr Fox

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Dateline September 12th 1935

The world was shocked today with the revelation of two new human subspecies. Homo Sapiens Psionus and Homo Sapiens Novus. According to League spokesman Jonas Hornsby, the League has known about the two subspecies for several months and has been quietly preparing and confirming that all laws on the books currently cover any members of these two new brother species as well. The smooth handling of this potential crisis by the League has garnered a great deal of respect from the around the world.

Historical footnote: The League arranged for world religious leaders from every major faith to meet in conference to discuss the matter. This discussion and it's calm and thoughtful response has ushered in a new era of cooperation and toleration, which has since reduced religious tensions around the world. This council has come to be known as one of the most important events of the 20th Century and a key element in the lasting peace that has prevailed.

Dateline August 12th 1937

President of the EU Ulric Riekspar today announced his plans to resign his office to run for the newly announced position of President of the League, formerly known as the League of Nations. After announcing his candidacy several other potential candidates withdrew themselves for consideration.

Dateline November 20th 1937

During a Town Hall meeting with the only candidate for the League Presidency Ulric Riekspar, United States House Representative Jack Brook stood and made accusations against the character of the candidate saying quote, "That dirty German rat fink is running for office to take over the world, they lost the Great War honestly so now the kraut is trying to take us by trickery!!!" Though the candidate did not stoop to speak to such slurs, he did promise that he would not be sworn into office without being scanned by a telepath to prove his intentions, and challenged the Representative to do the same. Brook is reported to have gone pale in the face but accepted the challenge.

Update January 20th 1938: President Elect Riekspar kept his word and underwent a telepathic scan proving that he had no ambitions for domination or other nefarious purposes. Representative Brook who started the uproar also underwent a scan and was found to be less than the honest politician he claimed to be. Though there is currently no law on the books to bring someone up on charges resulting from a telepathic scan it is fair to say that Mr. Brook will not be serving another term. Since the Reikspar's first announcement a great many politicians have chosen to follow suit and undergo voluntary scans before taking office. In this reporters humble opinion this can only be to the good!

Dateline January 1st 1940

For the first time in history the world is now united under one government. With the ratification of the Colonial Dissolution and Invitation bill last year the final hurdle was passed allowing for the former colonies such as India, Canada, and Vietnam to join the League as full partners. The League President with much help from the Arab President convinced the Colonial powers that under the new system of taxation that it would be more to their benefit to stand side by side with their former subjects as equals rather than bearing the responsibility for their share of the taxes.

Historical footnote: The flat tax combined with changes in business that occurred in the 1950s has lead to a constant surplus in funds for the government right up to the present day. In the early 50's laws were changed to mandate this surplus be maintained. Each year the government is allowed to spend no more than 50% of the taxes it takes in the remaining 50% is invested. This policy though difficult to implement at first has led to the government coffers not only being full, but practically bursting at the seams.

Dateline April 30th 1945

Arab President Omar "The Ziggurat" Khudikias has announced his retirement from politics saying, "My people have made great strides and it is time they stand on their own, they are as strong as the sands that gave them birth!" It is rumored that he plans to join the Paragon's and accept a leadership position within the Eastern branch.

Historical footnote: By 2000 the Paragon's are the worlds only remaining police force. A number of factors have converged to make crime a relatively rare occurrence. Indoctrination, extreme rise in the standard of living, telepaths in the court system, and strict and focused criminal code under the League have all worked together to reduce crime to a very small percentage of the population over the latter half of the century.

Dateline September 23 1947

"One small step for Man, one giant leap for mankind" These were the words of the first man to land on the moon, Captain Robert Smith of the League Air Force. For the first time man is no longer confined to it's planet of origin and has set foot on another world. What was once science fiction is now reality! With this step the League has announced that it will reorg the military leaving only two branches, the Navy and Marines. The Navy will consist of the Navy and the Air(Space) Force. The army and Marines will combine under the heading of the Marines. The command structures will be merged and it has been announced that no one will be discharged as a result of the initiative. President Ulric commented, "It just made sense given how far the military has been scaled back over the last decade. It would have been senseless to maintain multiple separate branches with individual command structures and budgets when they could be combined and streamlined."

Historical footnote: All space vessels are under the jurisdiction of the League Navy and their basic crew compliment is made up of Navy personnel. It was decided by the League in 1955 that too much damage could be done from orbit to the world economy and infrastructure if someone in a space vessel had ill intent.

Dateline May 16th 1949

President of the League Riekspar announced today his intention to retire when his term of office ends at the beginning of next year. The League will miss his strong and able leadership, but the President has offered his assistance to any future administration should his skills be needed in a crisis. In related news Vice President Joel Kettering has announced his candidacy and thanked Riekspar for all the has done for the League and the world assuring voters that he will uphold all that the President and League stand for.

Dateline May 3rd 1950

In what is being billed as the social event of the Century, Former President of the League Ulric Reikspar married Paragon's first member, and the world's darling, Joani Walters in a ceremony to make Cinderella jealous. Estimates suggest that there were over 3000 invited guests and as has been seen on the recordings it was one of the most beautiful ceremonies ever held. Mothers the world over will be imitating the ceremony for years if not decades to come. The First couple as they are often called in the media will likely be trend setters in many ways. The reception is barely over and the curious are already asking when they plan to start a family.

Dateline February 13th 1953

Software giant Advantech announced today a restructuring of the company away from the traditional profit model. Reclusive CEO Steve Courier and company founder announced a new corporate model. Thanks to the recent changes in the tax system to a Flat Tax both on individuals and Corporate institutions Courier said that it no longer makes sense to strive to make ever greater profits for personal gain. In a move that has shocked the world and delighted his employees, he has promised that whatever profits the company makes will be split three ways, 15% to pay the companies yearly taxes, 20% will go directly to the employees as a dividend, and whatever is left over will be reinvested in the company. The stock exchange reacted to this announcement with a slight dip but recovered by the close of business.

Historical footnote to original report: What has come to be called Social Capitalism has indeed changed the paradigm for the business world. Over the decades since this corporate model has proved to be a complete success and it is now the rare exception that does not organize in this way.

Dateline 1955

In the same agreement that prohibited non-navy space vessels, the League legislature passed a measure to create a new branch dedicated to examining new technologies for the public safety.

Dateline Febuary 14th 1960

Paragon's leader Joani Riekspar and her husband former League President Ulric have announced the birth of their latest child Gabriel who weighed in at 10 pounds 3 ounces. This makes their fifth and according to the mother their final child. Their other children include 2 Girls and 2 boys, the first three adopted. Both natural children, Kara and Gabriel show signs of being novas though their abilities are not expected to manifest until they reach puberty. The world joins me in sending the happy couple best wishes on this latest addition to the First Family.

Historical Footnote: For the last 2 decades the birth rate had been somewhat leveling off, but with the example set by the ever popular First Family, the birth rate is on the rise again. Population according to the 2000 census reached 6.1 billion.

Historical Footnote on Nova children: 2nd generation novas seem to be highly resistant to Taint and slightly more powerful than their parents on average. 3rd generation novas seem to be unable to become tainted at all and like their own parents seem to be slightly more powerful than the previous generation. Speculation among experts suggests that the subsequent generations will be comparable to the 3rd. Noted nova medical expert Andrew Murphy co-discoverer of the Murphy-McIntyre Node, suggests that by the 3rd generation novas no longer have a recognizable node. It seems that the node has become completely distributed throughout their body thus avoiding possible side effects of quantum usage. To date, no 3rd generation nova has shown any symptoms of Taint.

Dateline 1965

This year saw the establishment of the first lunar colony officially open. Over the last decade and a half pieces have been put in place to make this a reality and the public has been very enthusiastic about the prospects of vacationing on the Moon. The Helium3 reactor was the final piece that needed to be resolved before this could become a reality and now that it is online the League spokesman says that the colony is open to the public. An aging Albert Einstein was among the first group to arrive. When asked what he thought of it he responded, "I never thought I'd live to see the day such miracles were made manifest." He then stuck his tongue out at the camera and leaped several feet in the air giving a loud Whoop and grinning boyishly from under his bushy white eyebrows.

Historical medical footnote: With the curing of most major illnesses like cancer and heart disease it is believed that lifespans of the youngsters born by the end of the century could reach as much as 110 years on average with the lifespan expected to rise even higher as new technologies become available.

Dateline June 5th 1970

Today marks a milestone in power generation. The world grid has been completed and brought successfully online in what has been dubbed the most 'massively redundant' system ever designed. According to designers there will never be fewer than 50 links active at one time. No matter what natural disaster should occur power generation can not be interrupted. The world grid also has the benefit of shifting energy from the day side to the night side and vice versa depending on the need.

Dateline April 1973

The first manned mission to Mars laid the groundwork for future missions to the red planet, including depositing equipment for power generation and water extraction. Mission lead Harvey Boudreaux was quoted as saying "We did some good work here. I'm sad that we were only staying a short time. As challenging as it was completing a mission like this so far from home, it sure was nice having the support of the Paragons when the we experienced the engine malfunction on take off."

Dateline December 25th 1975

The holidays are a time for giving and this year the world received a gift. The first corporate venture to mine an asteroid has been successful and the first load of precious metals has returned to the Earth. Half the shipment has been donated to Art schools across the globe for use in projects to bring beauty to the masses. Each school awarded a percentage of the material must create works that will grace museums free to the public.

Dateline June 1980

This century has seen its share of wonders including 3 moon bases and the 4 space elevators with their orbiting space stations at the Lagrange points, but today sees the latest of mankind's ventures in space; the final opening of the long awaited Mars colony. Even with the advances in technology the gravity difference makes the colony only a temporary home for us Earthlings, but "that gravity difference does make for some excellent science opportunities" said Murphy prize winner Stephen Hawking.

Dateline 1989

Excerpt from the Journal of Nanotechnology:

"These new advances in biotech proposed by Psion Gemma Walker seem to be the ultimate mesh between our discipline(nano technology) and the life sciences. If we can harness the potential she is suggesting I see no reason we can't accomplish anything we set our minds to. This could be the final break we were looking for to allow for true self replication and programmability. With our skills and her ability to program artificial DNA chains there is nothing stopping us from creating everything from Nano factories to true AI. Mark my words, with this step we are now only one obstacle away from the ability to truly survive on other worlds."

Dateline November 5th 1995

Headline from the cover of Science: Out of tragedy comes triumph!

On page 5 the article begins, At last! The breakthrough we've all been waiting for, true Anti-Gravity has been achieved! Stephen Hawking who had been working on a project for Advantech at it's New York facility was nearly killed in the explosion that rocked complex and nearby town in the early morning hours of October 29th. Three other employees were saved when Mr. Hawking erupted as a Nova. No explanation has yet been given as to the cause of the accident, but the result is that Hawking, who was researching gravity effects of black holes on nearby matter not only saved himself but gained a deep understanding of the mathematics involved with gravity's interaction with matter and energy. He has announced and even created on a small scale artificial gravity in the laboratory through technologically repeatable methods. Hawking was quoted as saying, "This will open all of space to mankind, no longer will we be limited to short duration stays in space. True colonies are now possible.

Historical footnote: As of the year 2000 there are now 5 permanent colonies on the Moon and one on Mars. The orbiting space stations and most space vessels have been retrofitted with AntiGrav allowing for extended habitation with no physiological need to return to Earth.

Dateline December 31 1999

Excerpt from Style magazine:

The tradition of tax rebates given out at the beginning of each decade have given citizens this year a bountiful opportunity to shop and redo those old or outdated styles cluttering their homes. This turn of the millennium is seeing the greatest period of hope for mankind ever! Bright colors and ultra-modern style will be the in thing for this decade according to famed nova fashion forecaster Candice Olstien. So don't be shy about getting out and shopping in the new year, you've got the disposable income, you've got the savings, you might as well have the latest fashions as well!

Historical footnote: The standard of living for even the poorest citizen in 2000 is higher than most western civilizations have ever enjoyed. Social Capitalism has truly put the power in the hands of the people.

Dateline January 1st 2000

Not since Captain Robert Smith's immortal words and first step on the Moon has Mankind been so focused on space. With todays launch of the LJS Enterprise mankind will no longer be confined by his one little corner of space. Psion Gemma Walker explains, "With the introduction of the Jump Ship class vessel, we will be able to go as far as several light years in a matter of seconds. The real key was developing the biotech. Not to be immodest, but the breakthrough I made just over a decade ago has already paid off in ways that the technologies' detractors could never have foreseen. I said that I did not want to be immodest, and I meant that; I really was fortunate to make the discovery and am thankful that I have been allowed to pursue the technology despite what opponents first argued was Dangerous Tech. I would also like to thank Andrew Murphy and his associates on the Technology board for having the confidence in me to allow me to prove it, and Steve Courier and Avantech for funding my research. While some occasionally argue against the technology laws, I only have to point to that huge beautiful ship in Lunar orbit to show that the system really works!"

The Enterprise is scheduled to launch from it's doc in Lunar orbit later today for it's maiden run to Alpha Centauri. The eyes of the world are upon her, and the hopes of all mankind go with our intrepid explorers.

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Thanksgiving 1935 – Andrew hosts a massive celebratory dinner for his close friends. Many of his fellow researchers are present and Andrew uses the opportunity to come out as a Nova.

April 1936 – Andrew and Dr. Herbert McIntyre publish their discovery of the Node structure within the brains of all homo sapiens novus. Andrew notes in the article that he himself is an extraordinary case being that while a sampling of his body tissue will show node specific cells he himself has not proper node structure. He theorizes that the node is humanity’s first step toward controlling the quantum energies that reside at the subatomic level.

August 1937 – While working in his lab Andrew blacks out while working on a new quantum theory. When he awakens he finds that concepts which he had struggled with were now laid clear in front of him. His thought processes begin to challenge Einstein rather than the other way around.

February 1942 – Andrew and Steve found Advantech. Andrew remains a silent partner throughout the company’s history though he works as a researcher for many years.

April 1946 - The Journal of the American Medical Association publishes the findings of continued study by Murphy-McIntyre on the nature of the Nova Node and it's ability to control and manipulate quantum energy. Their findings detail study of novas born to nova parents. These second generation novas are found to have MMN cells throughout their body rather than as a unified organ. The study also indicates that these children are resistant to the mutative affect commonly known as "taint".

December 1949 – Andrew, continuing to push himself and his abilities unlocks “the next level of potential, the next degree quantum control”. While unable to recreate the initial experiment he swears to Steve and Morgan that he was in two places at once within his laboratory. Within months Andrew will find that the side effect of his research is a greater cost than he would have expected when he finds that taint has changed his body in ways that Morgan cannot heal.

June 1950 – Using his income from Advantech and the monies from prior inventions Andrew creates the Murphy Prize. Winners are chosen every five years for the most innovative research during the previous five-year period in a variety of fields from pure chemistry and physics to applied engineering and philosophy. Andrew states in the Murphy Prize’s Charter “In establishing this Prize I hope to encourage the minds and exploratory spirit of humanity, in all its forms, to continue to reach for the unknown, to explore the boundaries of our knowledge and to press further our understanding of ourselves, our world, and each other.”

July 1953 – Andrew, continuing his research into the nature of quantum partially recreates his experiment from four years before. He finds that by imbuing a small amount of his consciousness into it he can separate a small portion of his body and it will become self aware and mobile. Within weeks he has shown the ability to create a small child like homunculus reliably. The process of developing the ability however produces still more taint and Andrew finds that the homunculus (and eventually homunculi) has its own personality similar to that of a child.

January 1954 – Realizing that his experimentation has fueled the steady advance of taint into his body Andrew dedicates himself to begin pursuing deeper medical understanding of the nova condition and the source and effects of taint.

April 1966 - On the 30th anniversary of their ground breaking article Murphy and McIntyre publish their findings on third generation novas theorizing that the quantum regulation process has been subsumed into all cells within the body. The pair proposes that a new mitochondrial body (now commonly known as Q-mitochondria) allows for third generation novas to suffuse their entire body with quantum. They note that no know third generation nova show symptoms of taint and that the integration of Quantum processes into the sub-cellular may make these novas immune to taint entirely.

February 18th, 1968 – Andrew delivers the eulogy at Albert Einstein’s funeral. His closest friend now dead Andrew begins to withdraw socially as he struggles against the growing taint that has begun to change him in ways he cannot control.

October 1970 – Now that power generation is no longer a concern Andrew donates all of the land he had amassed containing fissionable materials to their countries of origin. He does so with the caveat that they become part of the receiving countries national parks systems. His stockpile on the moon is likewise donated to scientific and medical researchers for the betterment of mankind.

May 1975 – Pushing his medical knowledge forward as he researches Taint Andrew finds himself at the forefront of Nova Medicine. In an editorial to the New England Journal of Medicine Dr. Herbert MacIntyre, now sixty-eight year old, states, “I cannot imagine a better mind to be bent to the task of finding a treatment for taint and taint related illnesses than my partner in discovering the Node itself.”

March 1983 - Citing the "creepy feeling" that people seem to get around him Andrew withdraws from public life nearly completely. By the end of the year the only people who maintain regular contact with Andrew are the crew of Lorean and his research associates and partners. Over the next ten years he limits his public appearances more and more reliably appearing only at scientific conferences and public and private events in support of his friends.

July 1992 - Andrew presents his method for generating stem cells from any other human tissue. The process, though expensive because of the specialized equipment and enzymes needed yields an impressive yield of over 98% of the donated cell. With this method the human lifespan is expected to reach nearly 150 years for a baseline.

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New Years Day 2000

The attention of the world is focused on the Lunar space doc and the LJS Enterprise, mankind's first interstellar ship. As launch time approached the world began to tune in on the optnet by the millions.

T -10 minutes:

On the bridge of the Enterprise people still scurried about doing last minute checks and final adjustments on their consoles. In the captain's chair Admiral George Sherman sat calmly watching the activity with a sense of satisfaction. At his side his second in command Commander Gabriel Riekspar stood at ease awaiting orders patiently and confidently. Workers in the space dock released the final moorings. In the control centers on both the moon and on Earth technicians poured over the results of the final system diagnostics.

In the asteroid belt a sometimes lonely sentient space vessel put much of her own observations skills to use monitoring all the activity checking for the smallest of anomalies. In their home in Monaco, Ulric and Joani held hands and worried as only parents can when watching their child embark on a possibly dangerous venture.

T -5 minutes:

All systems checks passed the announcement was made for everyone to take their stations. The somewhat frantic activity of moments before came to a sudden halt as everything fell into place and people focused on their assigned tasks.

T -1 minute:

Regardless of where they are people all over the world respond to beeps of their personal Opnet links and tune in to witness the launch. Around the world and in all the colonies few were the people not focused on this moment.

Launch:

In what was almost anti-climatic the great leviathan of a ship began to ease it's way out of the dock. Even so, the ship was very majestic as it left it's berth for the final time. The ship had already undergone it's 'sea trials' in the previous weeks and had been deemed not only worthy, but the pride of the League navy and the best of any human vessel to date. Media commentators interviewed scientists and anyone else involved with the project to fill time and keep the publics interest in the minutes before the ship made enough distance from the dock to Jump.

T +10 minutes:

On the bridge Admiral Sherman spoke and mankind watched, "My crew informs me that all is in readiness for Jump. So, to quote the immortal words of our first astronaut to land on the moon, 'This is one small step for man, on giant leap for mankind.'" The Admiral looks to the crewman at the helm, "Ensign, initiate Jump."

The view changed to an external one at some distance from the ship but magnified so that it was clearly visible. At the bow of the ship a queasy visual distortion formed which seemed to draw the rest of the ship in and then the ship and the odd distortion were gone. All over human controlled space people held their breaths waiting to see if the jump had been successful. Almost a minute passed before mission control received the communication from the ship that they had arrived successfully at Proxima Centauri. Mankind let out its collective breath and breathed easily again as the reporters and scientists all congratulated each other on a successful Jump. Then the first images from outside the solar system appeared on optnet displays. The trinary system of Proxima Centauri and it's sister stars Alpha Centauri A and B. It was a stunning sight and designed to empress.

T +120 minutes:

On board the Enterprise all appeared to be going according to plan. Scientific instruments all over the ship were making their observations as the ship worked to recharge it's energy enough to Jump home. This first mission was to be as brief as it was impressive.

Unfortunately, on one console on the bridge a red light was blinking. Commander Gabriel Riekspar strode over to investigate. "Crewman, why his the life support systems light showing red?"

The crewman looked up at Riekspar and blinked, "Sir? What do you mean, life support is reporting green?"

Riekspar raised an eyebrow, "Clearly it is not." He pointed at the glaring red light on the console. "Run a full systems check on Life support now." Just then, across the bridge another light went red and went unnoticed at first. Growing worried Gabriel moved from station to station noting with horror that at least half the ships systems were beginning to show malfunctions, despite the crew showing no sign of alarm. Gabriel rushed to the Admiral where he sat in the command chair oblivious to the lights on his own console.

Frowning down at the console and looking up at the Admiral, "Sir, systems all over the ship are about to go critical, but no one seems to be doing anything about it. Don't you see your own console?"

The Admiral looked down at his console intently then looked relieved. "Commander, have you been under some kind of stress you haven't told me about? That console looks just fine, everything is green. If we weren't under a tight schedule I'd send you to the infirmary and have them sedate you. We've served together for 3 years now and I've never known you to react like this under stress." He pursed his lips and tapped a finger to them in thought for a second, "I'll tell you what. You can handle vacuum and we need to do an EVA while we are here as part of the science content. I know you like to do EVAs so why don't you take the duty and take some extra time while you are out there to relax. If you are still having these delusions when you are done we will have a nice chat with the infirmary, how does that sound?" Looking very serious, "You know I will have to report this, it's part of policy, but if you have calmed down when you come back inside I will report it as simply a case of nerves resulting from the Jump. God knows I hope you're not suffering some kind of quantum reaction from the Jump energies."

Gabriel took a deep breath and nodded, "Yes sir. Please though, have everyone run diagnostics just to be safe. Maybe I am suffering some kind of reaction from the Jump, but I have a bad feeling about this. Either way, I will report to the infirmary when I am done with the EVA to have them check me over. I've never been subject to taint before, but then again, no nova has ever made a Jump like this before either." He saluted and headed amidships to get the EVA over with. It had to be him, every single crewman on the bridge was reacting as if everything was status quo, and even the Admiral was looking at him as if he were losing it. Maybe the sense of dread would go away when he was alone with the stars.

On the bridge the Admiral looked thoughtfully around the room but didn't detect anything unusual. For just the briefest moment he thought he saw red on his panel, but when he looked directly at it it was completely green down to the smallest subsystem. Still, Riekspar had never been one for flights of fancy or drama. Pressing the comm button, "This is the Admiral, all stations, triple check your systems and report anything anomalous. This is our maiden voyage and I want a complete report on exactly how she is handling the first Jump before we Jump home. Admiral out."

Entering the airlock Gabriel listened to the announcement and breathed easier. Even if it weren't just him and there was something wrong it would be found and the ship would be safe. With that he hit the release and allowed himself to drift out of the airlock before engaging his flight power to make a circle around the ship recording it for posterity. He began to shoot out away from the ship and turned to get some more images as he headed further away from it. Instead of feeling better the further he moved from the ship the more the dread started to come over him.

His communicator crackled to life in his ear and he heard the Admiral's voice, "Riekspar you were r..."

As he watched the explosions began to cascade through the ship until it cracked open like an egg in seeming slow motion and then fragmented into thousands of pieces as the fireball flared then vanished in the silence of space leaving him alone and light years from home. Over three dozen crewmen had just had their lives snuffed out and there was something sinister behind it. Even with his nova physiology that allowed him to float here; the vacuum of space wouldn't allow the tears to form in his eyes.

T +180 mintues:

Mission control sat expectantly as several minutes passed beyond the appointed time for Enterprise to check in with it's next report. After 15 minutes had passed the senior officer on duty made the call, "Get a warper in here and send a probe through. I want to know what is keeping them, and I want to know asap!"

In the asteroid belt a lonely ship sat monitoring the communications and data flow and noted the call for a warper and made a call of her own. *All, I think we have a situation. The Enterprise is overdue to make it's second check in.*

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Andrew floated in space, the cold barely touching him, the weightlessness oddly comforting, like being in the womb once again. He watched as the new Leviathan pulled out of dock and proceeded to the designated jump coordinates. There were advantages to being a VIP, and a front row seat for these kinds of events was one of them. After over 100 years of life Andrew was still fascinated with spacecraft and as he floated there without so much as tether he watched as the Enterprise prepared to make history once more with a childlike glee.

Spacetime rippled and the ship seemed to flow towards a point of nothingness. A flash of light and the ship was gone, flung lightyears away. For a time Andrew floated alone then he jetted off, spewing some of the stored compressed gases out behind him as propellant. Twenty minutes later he walked into the grav-field outside the airlock and waited for it to cycle open. Soon enough he felt the warm embrace of atmosphere and proceeded to his quarters within the moon colony a little sleep would be nice, maybe he would have goo dreams for once.

****

Nearly three hours later ...

Andrew awoke with a start, the little implant that he had gotten so long ago aboard Lorean chiming in his head.

Originally Posted By: Lorean
*All, I think we have a situation. The Enterprise is overdue to make it's second check in.*

Andrew rubbed his eyes and sat up clicking the lights on. He glanced at the time, Probably nothing, maybe a delay in the communications medium caused by the warp, he though. As he took a moment to compose himself and "dress".

*Lorean, I'm at the moon colony, can you transport me from here?*

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With mixed feelings of anxiety and pride Joani watched the transmission of the Enterprises first interstellar jump. It had taken quite some effort on behalf of Ulric and the Navy to reasure her that the presence of the Paragons was not necessary. Every procedure had been planned and checked and then checked again to everybodies satisfaction before the jump was even considered. It was mankinds next step in making history and she accepted her passive role even if it was an unusual and uncomfortable one.

Kara watched her mothers nervous twitching on her chair and gave her a reasuring smile "Everything is going to be alright, mom. Gabriel has been trained for this and he is one of the best out there. You know that. He can take care of himself." she walked around behind the big rocking chair of her mother and layed her hands on her mothers shoulders.

Joani didn't answer, she just reached with one hand to touch her daughters hand on her shoulder and nodded.

The jump had been almost three hours ago and Joani couldn't stand waiting for an update and decided to go to the kitchen and prepare for dinner when she received Loreans telepathic message

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox
*All, I think we have a situation. The Enterprise is overdue to make it's second check in.*

Instantly she was in the living room staring at the faces of Ulric and her daughter both trying to calm her down.

"Its certainly nothing to be alarmed of..." said Kara, but Joani didn't let her finish.

"Somethings wrong, I can feel it... Gabriel is in danger!", she couldn't explain it with reason, but a mother knew when her child was in danger.

*Emergency meeting on the bridge? I'm ready to go* she send over the link, trying not to sound too desperate.

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In a small, plain house in the city of Oxford someone was making baked beans. Music was playing, though a casual observer probably could not locate a music player. It was the Beatles, in a format that a mere mono-universal listener might not recognize, for indeed the music was from another universe. Literally. The song was "Eight Days a Week," and was playing rather loudly. Any small noise that survived its melodic onslaught was drowned out by the banging of pots and pans in the kitchen, and the off-key voice of Walter singing along.

Originally Posted By: Lorean
*All, I think we have a situation. The Enterprise is overdue to make it's second check in.*

A bowl fell to the floor and shattered. Baked beans splattered everywhere. Walter barely noticed.

Good God.

Walter's mouth went dry, his face gaining ten years in half a second as it withdrew into itself. This...it was probably bad, it looked fucking terrible, but maybe not. Maybe they were alive. Maybe it was some mundane little problem inherent in warps. Maybe-

No. Don't theorize. Get to the bridge.

*I'm at my house in Oxford, Lorean. Can you transport me?*

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Ulric nodded to Joani.

"We should go, but you and Kara may need to make an appearance as Paragons before this is over ... if this is even a situation," he added softly in a moment of uncertainty.

There could be a million problems that could go wrong on a ship the size of Enterprise that could explain their absence, but then there was Joani's intuition. Worse, Ulric knew that the best and brightest in League's Navy were somehow in trouble. They had encountered a situation they couldn't deal with. Ulric didn't trust technology as much as he trusted people and these people aboard Enterprise ...

A deep foreboding overcame him - the sound of artillery, the chatter of machineguns, and the roar in the throats of men. The scent of conflict was all over this. Had Mankind encountered War at the birth of a new millenium?

*Lorean, Joani and I are in San Tropez. Can we get a meeting aboard the bridge, immediately?*

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Lorean responded to the many requests, *I am bringing everyone aboard immediately. Prepare for teleportation.* One by one Lorean assembled the Cabal on the bridge. She did not bring family however, also, notably absent was Michael Donnighal. As if responding to an unspoken question Lorean speaks, "Michael sends his regrets, but feels that he may be needed here to insure calmer heads prevail if the situation should get out of hand. This is the first time in over 50 years that he human race has faced anything outside its perfectly ordered existence."

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It had been a quite day and evening at the Courier household. December had been a quiet month, on this timeline the Y2K bug got nipped back in the 1950's so there never had been anything to fix.

The servants had the holiday off, Amber and Steve had a late night out on Time's Square celebrating the dropping of the ball, and the announcement found them in the subbasement excerise room working out. Some of the weights here reflected decades of use at nova strength weights.

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox
*All, I think we have a situation. The Enterprise is overdue to make it's second check in.*
Originally Posted By: Joani Reikspar
*Emergency meeting on the bridge? I'm ready to go* she send over the link, trying not to sound too desperate.
Steve puts the weight down, puts a towel around his shoulders, and meets his shapely wife's eye as he sends,

*Understood. Lorean, give us a moment to get together and we'll beam up together.*

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Absentmindedly fingering an incident report, Omar watched the events unfolding on the opnet from the entertainment room in Lorien. He frequently came here to escape from the crowds and cameras. He wanted to watch the events in peace, even if it meant being alone. Well Lorien was there, but she was a ship.

The launch went well and everything seemed in order. Omar switched to the news broadcasters for their take on it and to hear thoughts of average people.

Quote:
All, I think we have a situation. The Enterprise is overdue to make it's second check in.

"What do you mean there is a situation!" Omar shouted as he jumped up from his chair. While he ran towards the bridge, he was trying to get as much information from Lorien. "Were you able to record any images or intercept any communications?"

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Shortly after they arrived at the bridge Joanis agitation was clearly visible.

"Lorean - can you patch me a secure line to Kara?"

Assuming that the line is setup she continued,

"Kara, please head to the Paragons HQ and assemble the Team. Paragons Asia will stay here for back up. I'll be with you as soon as I got a sitrep. In case any authorities or the President calls have them patched through to me.", she didn't wait for her daughter to acknowledge.

Waiting impatiently for the others and Loreans sitrep Joani tried to calm down and streamline her thoughts.

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As Andrew materializes on the bridge he notices that Omar is already there. A curt nod to his friend and is already moving toward a computer station to begain reviewing whatever telemetery Lorean has available. "Lorean, give me everything you have at station three," he says taking a seat.

*Lorean, can you be sure to beam up a supply of my dietary supplements before we head out of system as well. I'd hate to be caught unprepared.*

Andrew begins to study the data on the launch and the communications coming out of mission control as the others begins to arrive one by one.

As the last of the others arrive Andrew spins around from the station and looks out at the group, specifically at Ulric and Joani. "It's not good people, I just reviewed all the telemetery and there were no anomolous reading pre-jump. Whatever went down, it did so only after they arrived in the Centauri system."

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Joani looked worried and anxious, while Andrew seemed as professional as ever. He could understand why Joani was feeling the way she was. He had children of his own. If one of them had been his own, he would be climing the walls. She needed to be reassured.

Putting his hand on her shoulder, he gave it a reassuring squeeze, "I'm sure Gabriel is alright. He's a resourceful young man." There was too much to coordinate with the Paragons to comfor Joani any further. Omar knew she would understand.

"I think we need to assemble a team of those Paragons who can withstand the vaccume of space. We can have Slider warp them there. Lorien can follow cloaked, in case backup is needed. I am open to suggestions."

Omar turns to Andrew. "I'm not sure what happened. The LJS Enterprise just stopped communicating. According to Lorien, it didn't check in at it's scheduled time."

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Ulric was keeping his fears to himself. There was no need to add to Joani's burdens.

Responding to Omar,

"I wasn't aware Slider could Warp that far. If she can, by all means assemble the team and I'll get on the line with the President to hasten along the League's request for Paragon support in this matter."

Being Ambassador for all matters unusual and delicate had its advantages.

And, of course, he prayed such help could come in time. Gabriel was more than competant, but he was so far from home. His son ... but Ulric couldn't let himself doubt in the crew still being alive and okay at the moment. He couldn't.

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Lorean's hologram appeared on the bridge with a worried look on her face. "I just intercepted this. It is the first images from the probe they sent through. It doesn't look good, there is a great deal of debris floating there." Lorean's face disappeared replaced by a view of space filled with wreckage. "There is one life sign, but only the tiniest of power signatures. Power levels suggest that the survivor is not wearing a spacesuit. Joani, Ulric, I think it is safe to say that it is Gabriel. From the probe data, I can not determine his condition, only that it has to be him, no one else aboard was capable of survival under those conditions."

As the scene unfolds those directing the probe have obviously noticed the lifesign as well as it pans across the sky and zooms in on a distant figure floating in space. From the distance it is hard to tell what condition he is in, but a mother and father know their child, and it is most definitely Gabriel. As the camera continues to capture the figure, a warp opens next to him and a hand reaches through and pulls him inside then closes leaving the stars and wreckage as the only things to be seen.

Again the scene changes this time into a conference room. Several people are standing in the room, two obviously Marines with their weapons held ready as if they might soon be attacked. A Navy officer and Slider one of the worlds most famous warpers and a member of Joani's own team. The woman creates a warp into blackness and then she reaches through and pulls out Gabriel. "Your mother will be very happy to see you. I..." She is cut off by the officer. "I'm sorry Ms., but Commander Riekspar needs to be debriefed without delay. Greetings will have to wait." Turning to Gabriel who looks somewhat shell shocked, "Sir, if will will accompany these two gentlemen we need to discuss your mission immediately to discover what happened." The three left the room and the officer turns to Slider, "Thank you Ms. Landers, the Paragon's help may be needed further, but until we gather more intel or find out what happened from Commander Riekspar we must wait." He reached out and shook her hand and smiled before turning and leaving the room.

The view from the room changes again following Gabriel from one camera and another until he is led into a room and the image goes blank and is replaced with Lorean. "I'm sorry, but that room doesn't have any electronics so I can't eavesdrop there.

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Ulric went over and hugged Joani tightly. A tear escaped his right eye and rolled down his face.

Their son was still alive ... but the others ...

To the others,

"We had better get ahead of this. I have the sinking feeling this wasn't an accident. If the drive had failed ..."

Ulric shook his head.

"No. This was either an attack or sabotage," he states defiently and holds on tightly to his wife.

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Joani held Ulrics hug and sighed heavily, nonetheless relieved of Gabriels rescue. Then she shrugged off her emotions and tried to keep focused on the situation at hand.

"Lorean - can you provide us with a list of the crew - including all replacements within the last 2 months? We have to consider sabotage in the worst case. I want to know everything down to the last crewmember including the chefs assisstant.", then she looked over to Andrew continuing with her suggestions.

"Andrew - you should hook up with Steve - we have to exclude all the obvious facts and try to break everything down to the possible reasons for the Enterprises overdue report. And can someone tell me what the hell is wrong with the Navy? He is OUR Son!", her outrage booming through the bridge.

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Andrew watches the video in horror, the leviathan class ships were not small. For something to render the Enterprise to little more than debris would take either a massive overload of her reactors or ... or an attack.

Originally Posted By: Courier
"Last transmittion was what, 3 hours ago? Lorean, can we warp 3 light hours away from where they were and see what happened?"

Andrew brightens, "Brilliant idea Steve. Though if I may add, we may want to get some perspective, maybe an hours worth of sensor data from before they warp in. If the watchers or that other alien species is behind this they may have been in the area prior to the accident."

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"If we do go to before the explosion, we should remain cloaked. I also suggest we don't interefere. We will be there to observe."

"Once we gather the information, we return to the moment we left." Omar didn't want to change the history, only gather information.

"I understand your outrage Joani, but he did volunteer for the navy, and it can tell him to do whatever it wants."

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"Yes Steve that is correct. My physical sensors are limited to light speed, some of them are quantum enhanced or rely on quantum medium." She nods, but adds, "I can take us out to 3 light hours but we will basically only be receiving visual information. Any sensors not effected by light speed will still be detecting the relative present."

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"It's still better than nothing unless we are willing to risk time travel, and being that we don't even know what happened for sure that might be a very bad idea." Andrew flops down in a chair, "Either way I'm useless at the moment, until we get more solid data I can't do much more than speculate and twiddle my thumbs."

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Originally Posted By: Andrew Murphy
"It's still better than nothing unless we are willing to risk time travel, and being that we don't even know what happened for sure that might be a very bad idea." Andrew flops down in a chair, "Either way I'm useless at the moment, until we get more solid data I can't do much more than speculate and twiddle my thumbs."



"Then let us jump..." said Joani. "There must be something out there that can explain this accident."

Facing to Omar she nodded to his comment about Gabriels service for the Navy, "He is still my son... no matter what...", she eased her embrace with Ulric a little. "I apologize for my outrage."
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Wanting to calm down Joani, Ulric took her face in his hands and spoke quietly to her.

"Love, he is Our son, but he is also there officer. He has chosen that life for going on two decades and we have to respect that right now."

Without looking away,

"Taking a three light-hour look away is the best course of action. Maybe we can also track any external transmissions from Enterprise when she arrived and see if she was doing something EVA. The radio waves would be traveling slower."

"Joani, I'll talk with some people and see about how soon we can be talking with Gabriel. We got him back and that's more than many families can say today. Let's think about how we avenge them."

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Lorean cleared her holographic throat, "Excuse me, but I should point out that those who go with me will be out of communications for the time we are away. Some of you might well be contacted soon in your official capacities or even informal ones in the case of Ulric."

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Andrew watched the others in silence, he'd done what he could at the moment but until there was more information there was little he could do.

He watched as Joani and Ulric oscillated from despair to joy to frustration and even while he felt sorry for them having to go through his he felt envious. He saw the sympathetic look written on Omar's face, he too had lost somebody he loved deeply. Andrew looked to Steve, but even after all these years he found it hard to read the man.

Andrew frowned, his battle with taint had lead him to live a solitary life, and yet he began to wonder what he had deprived himself of by secluding himself. He had no family, nobody to love and return that love. His friends cared for him as friends do but that was not the same. I seem to have the taint under control, maybe I should have kept trying. Maybe I should have fought to try and find love and start a family. Andrew shakes his head a sad look on his face, Perhaps someday I'll get that chance once more.

Andrew was roused from his thoughts by Lorean, "I'll go, I need to get to work on whatever we find. Besides," he says with a forced chuckle, "There are some benefits to being a recluse."

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Omar addresses Lorien. "I don't think it will matter if we return to this exact time. Won't we receive those communicades anyways." Omar was still not well versed in temporal mechanics. A lot of it was above his head. "Or am I mistaken?"

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Originally Posted By: Mr Fox
Lorean cleared her holographic throat, "Excuse me, but I should point out that those who go with me will be out of communications for the time we are away. Some of you might well be contacted soon in your official capacities or even informal ones in the case of Ulric."


"I suppose that means that Ulric and I are going to stay here?", she was regaining her composure by the minute.

"I don't like the idea of splitting up our resources. On the other hand, maybe the threat we are facing is not only out there", she pointed towards where Lorean displayed the hologram, "but also on earth? Lorean is right, official authorities will contact us sooner or later and it would damage us if they can't reach us. Any objections?", she tried to estimate what the overall state of mind of her peers was.
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Steve answers,

"We aren't going to shift in time, just space. Right now the light generated by the event is spreading out at the speed of light. We can jump about 3 light hours away from the incident and watch it as it happened. Then we can jump back, but we'll be gone during that time."

"It's a holiday, Amber and I can vanish without a problem. Ditto Andrew, ditto Cody. Joani and Ulric, it's going to be odd if you don't show up and play the part of concerned parents."

"Also to be fair, we may be gone for the day. If you can talk to your boy you may learn more about what's going on than we do."

"Omar, I'm not sure if you'd be missed or not."

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Omar responds to Steve.

"I will probably be missed. I did issue the order to mobilize a Crisis Response Teams that is both capable of interstellar travel and can survive in space. I am at the top of that list."

Omar gives the others a nodd, and looks at Joani. "I'm ready to assemble the team to investigate the disaster site. I will need to pick up thruster packs, for those who can't maneuver in space."

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Lorean listens then says, "I will port all except Steve, Cody, and Andrew to whereever you think would be appropriate. I think Morgan should stay behind as well to create warps should that be needed." Morgan nods at the words and adds, "I'll stick with the others then, I'm better than Slider anyway." He gives everyone a grin.

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Originally Posted By: Ziggurat

Omar gives the others a nodd, and looks at Joani. "I'm ready to assemble the team to investigate the disaster site. I will need to pick up thruster packs, for those who can't maneuver in space."


Joani simply nodded, taking in the reason of the facts and suggestions put forth. "Proceed then, Omar. I'll be approving the equipment needed for this mission. In the meantime I'll have to take some time to prepare for the press conference. Please keep me up to date... and be safe.", she looked Omar in the eyes but addressed everyone on the bridge.
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Originally Posted By: Mr Fox
Lorean listens then says, "I will port all except Steve, Cody, and Andrew to whereever you think would be appropriate. I think Morgan should stay behind as well to create warps should that be needed." Morgan nods at the words and adds, "I'll stick with the others then, I'm better than Slider anyway." He gives everyone a grin.


(OOC: I am operating under the assumption that Walter has gradually drifted a bit away from the others as the years have progressed, an assumption that corresponds nicely to my RPing, or lack thereof smile )

Walter nods. "I am, of course, coming along. I will not be missed." He pauses, measuring his words carefully. "I am...sorry for my reticance, but I fully intend to involve myself in this mystery. I hope I am not too unwelcome."
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After hashing out who would go where, Lorean ported Ulric, Joani, Omar and Morgan to the Lunar colony where the staging would be done for the follow up missions. Lorean, Steve, Cody, Walter, and Andrew would stay aboard and jump.

As soon as everyone was situated Lorean made the first long jump in nearly 80 years with the same old queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach as if you'd just fallen several feet unexpectedly. As soon as she was there the screen lit up showing a distant view of the area where the Enterprise was. As you watch only seconds go by before the ship appears from a distorted hole in space. The ship floats there and maneuvers several times, but nothing untoward happens for nearly three hours. Suddenly, the ship is rocked by a number of explosions and cracks open like an egg with one last large blast sending wreckage flying in every direction. There was no sign of any other presence, and at this distance even with Lorean's optics Gabriel was too small to make out.

Lorean's hologram reappears and sighs, "I'm sorry, but I've been using every sensor I've got since we've been here and I don't detect anything in that region of space except the wreckage of Enterprise. No other energy signatures, no other sign that anything or anyone else has ever been there. What would you like me to do next? I can open a warp and contact the others for an update, but it would take nearly as much energy as just returning."

**************

Meanwhile, at the lunar colony no one asked how everyone arrived or even how they knew. The opnet was already buzzing with rumors and speculation. The word has gone out that a problem had occurred with the Enterprise, but no word yet on the situation. Thanks to the phone calls that Kara and Omar had made the equipment was being readied for the follow up mission. Very soon Joani received a call from the League President asking that she and the other members of the Paragons that were space worthy stand ready to be called on to investigate the scene of the Enterprises destruction.

President Ching spoke into Joani's ear through the headset, "Joani, before I say anything else, I want you to know your son Commander Riekspar is safe and well, but that there has been a terrible incident and the rest of the Enterprise crew has been lost. Your son was the sole survivor and is being debriefed now. I am in the meeting myself on the other phone, but I wanted to take a moment to personally reassure you of your son's well being. I would also like for you and the Asian team lead Omar to assemble a team to investigate. Unfortunately, this is a case of hurry up and wait. I do not want to send you through until we know what we are dealing with which will have to wait on the debriefing. We will let you know as soon as we believe it is safe to proceed."

Two and a half hours passed before Gabriel was released and allowed to speak with you. He is still in his eufiber uniform but the recording device is noticeably missing. You are allowed to meet in the conference room where you first saw Slider pull him through from the warp. As soon as he is able Morgan goes to him and lays one glowing hand on the mans shoulder and Gabriel stiffens for a moment but then visibly relaxes looking better than he has since he returned.

"Mother, it was terrible, I am not sure what happened. Everything was going fine for a while, but as we approached the time for our second check in I noticed that one of the consoles had a red warning light, but the crewman didn't notice it at all even when I pointed it out to him he ignored it. Then another and another went red until nearly every station on the bridge was showing warnings, but I was the only one who could see it. Even Admiral Sherman couldn't see them. He asked me to do an EVA as part of the science content. I think he believed I was having some kind of breakdown, but I heard him order a complete diagnostic run on every system before I left the ship. Then just before the ship blew up I think he saw a problem and was telling me I was right, but the ship exploded." Gabriel had tears in his eyes, but refused to give in to the emotion. "I think the League half believed I caused it somehow with my quantum powers. That is until they saw the footage from my recorder which showed what I saw and clearly indicated that the different systems were going critical. I hope your friend Steve is somewhere close, I think he's going to get grilled over how those systems could fail that way, there were so many safeguards that should have prevented it."

Gabriel suddenly sat heavily in one of the chairs around the conference table and put his head in his hands. With emotion heavy in his voice he says, "I'm sorry, I... this is not like me to..." He trailed off into silent sobs his shoulders shaking with emotion.

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Steve says,

"Amber, please get what you can, we're a bit far away but it's worth a shot. Ideally we'd go in, but the Paragons will be there soon and we don't want to overlap."

"Lorean, after that I think we might as well go back. We'll let the Paragons pick up the ship's flight recorder. Without that and the eye witness we just don't have enough information to work with."

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Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

Meanwhile, at the lunar colony no one asked how everyone arrived or even how they knew. The opnet was already buzzing with rumors and speculation. The word has gone out that a problem had occurred with the Enterprise, but no word yet on the situation. Thanks to the phone calls that Kara and Omar had made the equipment was being readied for the follow up mission. Very soon Joani received a call from the League President asking that she and the other members of the Paragons that were space worthy stand ready to be called on to investigate the scene of the Enterprises destruction.

President Ching spoke into Joani's ear through the headset, "Joani, before I say anything else, I want you to know your son Commander Riekspar is safe and well, but that there has been a terrible incident and the rest of the Enterprise crew has been lost. Your son was the sole survivor and is being debriefed now. I am in the meeting myself on the other phone, but I wanted to take a moment to personally reassure you of your son's well being. I would also like for you and the Asian team lead Omar to assemble a team to investigate. Unfortunately, this is a case of hurry up and wait. I do not want to send you through until we know what we are dealing with which will have to wait on the debriefing. We will let you know as soon as we believe it is safe to proceed."


"I understand, Mr. President, and I thank you for your kind words. It had been especially difficult for my husband and myself to wait, but to hear from you personally is compensation enough for our emotional uproar we've been through. Please forward our condolences to all the families of the Enterprises crew.", she waited a little moment before she continued,
"The Paragons haven't been waiting for your orders and preparations have already been made. All we need is a green light from you and we're good to go.", answered Joani with a calm and thoughtful voice.

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

Two and a half hours passed before Gabriel was released and allowed to speak with you. He is still in his eufiber uniform but the recording device is noticeably missing. You are allowed to meet in the conference room where you first saw Slider pull him through from the warp. As soon as he is able Morgan goes to him and lays one glowing hand on the mans shoulder and Gabriel stiffens for a moment but then visibly relaxes looking better than he has since he returned.

"Mother, it was terrible, I am not sure what happened. Everything was going fine for a while, but as we approached the time for our second check in I noticed that one of the consoles had a red warning light, but the crewman didn't notice it at all even when I pointed it out to him he ignored it. Then another and another went red until nearly every station on the bridge was showing warnings, but I was the only one who could see it. Even Admiral Sherman couldn't see them. He asked me to do an EVA as part of the science content. I think he believed I was having some kind of breakdown, but I heard him order a complete diagnostic run on every system before I left the ship. Then just before the ship blew up I think he saw a problem and was telling me I was right, but the ship exploded." Gabriel had tears in his eyes, but refused to give in to the emotion. "I think the League half believed I caused it somehow with my quantum powers. That is until they saw the footage from my recorder which showed what I saw and clearly indicated that the different systems were going critical. I hope your friend Steve is somewhere close, I think he's going to get grilled over how those systems could fail that way, there were so many safeguards that should have prevented it."

Gabriel suddenly sat heavily in one of the chairs around the conference table and put his head in his hands. With emotion heavy in his voice he says, "I'm sorry, I... this is not like me to..." He trailed off into silent sobs his shoulders shaking with emotion.


Joani felt her sons emotional pain and it cost her all her selfcontrol to not burst into tears herself. Ulric had already offered comfort and she didn't intervene, knowing that Father and Son shared a special bond that she had failed to build up over the years - she was too much involved with the Paragons and for the first time she regret the dedication and energy she had put into it. Her sons near death encounter brought her back to reality - they may have build a near perfect society but life still had its own rules. No one was safe from harm - some just had to learn the hard way.

Adopting a position of self assurance she put all her confidence into her voice, clearing any doubt she had, "No one should ever go through such an emotional trauma, Gabriel. I promise - we will find whatever or whoever caused this accident and bring those responsible for it to justice.", she kept the worst assumption to herself not wanting to spread any more rumors or insecurities. It smelled like sabotage to her - maybe another wake up call, like Steve said right after Carolines trial...
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Omar's eufiber was made into a grey and white suit. A reflective gold strip ran along the edges. He advised those without eufiber, to wear some sort of reflective attachment in case their locator beacons failed to work. Each member wore an air face mask and earpiece, so that they could communicate via radio with each other.

Those who could fly or had their own means of propulsion would use that. Those like Omar who didn't, wore packs with thrusters. Only those members of the Pargons who could survive without an atmosphere were being permitted to go. It was someothing Omar had insisted on. It also meant that several members of the Asian team had to be replaced with personnel from other teams. Those who remained would break into two teams. A small one to remain on Luna, and a larger one on Terra. If need be, they could draw upon members of the Luna team to help.

A search grid was already drawn out, with each Paragon's grid pre-selected. The search started at the location of the ship when it exploded, and spread out. Those Nova, with the fastest modes of travel, would be responsible for the grids the furthes away. It was already assumed that some of the wreckage was travelling at a high rate of speed from the disaster site. The team planned on being there for several days.

"Search team is ready," Omar said over the com system.

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