Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 1: What tales can the dead tell?

[Joani]

Jennifer nodded and apologized, "oh, I didn't mean to imply anything with saying 'was'. But you know yourself, ever since Z-day nothing is like it was."

Jennifer offered to take a little walk through the base and continued, "Miss Summers runs the local nightclub 'Violets'. I can't imagine you haven't heard of her." Common, make a date with her!

Jennifer furrowed her brow I'm about to, for gods sake. You're pathetically desperate, Violet!

"If you haven't I suggest meeting her and see for yourself. I'm sure she has some spare time today once I checked back with her. How does late noon sound?" LATE NOON?!? Don't tell me you plan on letting me wait till noon? Jennifer?

Jennifer smiled at JoAnna and waited for her answer ignoring Violets rambling.

[Courier]

Walking with her JoAnna says,

"We haven't been here very long. Violet's. As in Violet the nova." A look of consideration crosses her face and is gone. JoAnna gives a big smile and says,

"I'd love to. Late Noon is 12:30? At Violet's? And do you want me to suit up and bring some props? How big is this club?"

[Joani]

"Is 1:30 ok? And feel free to suit up and bring some props." JENNIFER! Don't you dare!! Don't you dare letting me wait so long!!! JENNIFERRRR!!

Jennifer saw JoAnnas look in her face and smiled. "And yes, its as in Violet the Nova. The club is large enough for a nice crowd and yet its not too large to suffer the loss of personality. We are still searching for stuff to decorate it but I'm confident it'll do in a few weeks. Are there any more questions I can answer?"

[Courier]

Although JoAnna is trying to keep a professional 'glad to meet you' look on her face Jennifer can tell she's very pleased at where all this is going. JoAnna responds,

"1:30 is perfect. It will give me some time to get ready. I'll see you there."

JoAnna waits to see if Jennifer has anything else to say and then goes back to the SUV to talk to Jillian and James if he's around.

[Joani]

Jennifer nods politely at JoAnna and offers her hand before she says her good byes. Then she turned around and headed back to the men, looking out for James and the Captain. She felt Violet stirring angrily under her skin but she yielded. You're getting your fun soon enough, Violet. Give me a break for a while. I got a life, too!

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan was moderately pissed. He'd spent a good deal of gasoline and a few clips of ammunition on yet another dead-end lead. He pulled the Humvee into one of the empty slots in motorpool for the compound and waved to one of the men on watch.

"Captain Hawkins?"

"Yeah, been out looking for another settlement that was supposed to be west of us. Burned about twenty gallons of gas all in all, some MRE's and at least five clips of ammo for an M4. All i found was what had been a community." The rest didn't need to be said, the missing ammunition was enough for the soldier to understand. "Where is everyone Corporal? I figure I ought to at least report in that it was another bust."

"Sir I think they're all up in the main complex." Dan shrugs. Corporal didn't know and that was fine. He packed his pistols and grabbed the rest of the gear, which amounted to a small armory in and of itself, all but the rifle crammed into a large olive-drab duffle. "I'm going to the barracks first to drop my kit. If it isn't a hassle, see about getting my HV refuled and whatever ammo you can scrounge."

"Sir."

"Good man."

The Marine Corps Captain began walking to the barracks installation and knew he looked a terrible sight. He was covered in caked dirt and looked abit haggard after a few days without sleep or a bath. It had been at least a week since he shaved, and the stubble was starting to grow out. He caught a glimps of himself on one of the windows an shrugged. "Least I ain't bloody or tore up." He got a few looks from some of the people as he walked by. Even though he looked rough, he still walked with the bearing of a rank officer.

[Mr Fox]

Fox smiled and looked knowingly at James understanding. When Priest spoke, "Yeah, that sounds good. I'm thinking James and I will fly and scout the route ahead just to make sure it's clear. The armory isn't that far away, about 50 miles. Last time I was there it was still secure, but we shouldn't have any problems getting in. We'll leave at first light the morning and should be back before dark unless any issues arise. I really don't expect any. Most of the military bases I've been to have been pretty much deserted and unlooted. There's only so much a soldier can carry when they take off, and with the large numbers of soldiers it made for lots of zombies, so the most we are likely to face is the undead."

[Courier]

James adds,

"And worst case isn't that we find zoms. Worst case is we find that group of jerks who took out the compound. That'd be good and bad for obvious reasons."

[Mr Fox]

Fox nods seriously, "True, that would be worse, but given the sheer number of possible military bases, national guard armories, and such there are, it is really pretty unlikely that we'll run into anyone alive."

[Courier]

James nods without commenting and watches the field, seemingly lost in thought. JoAnna is walking towards Jillian and Jennifer is walking towards the novas.

*Well... tick tock, the hands of doom continue to count down. Jennifer is now on speaking terms with JoAnna. Rumor mill connection is now established. No one seems pissed ... although JoAnna's had acting lessons and it's a bit far.*

*OK, they hug, some excitement, what are they? Ah. They're getting out the Box Of Tricks. Two Boxes? I didn't know we... whatever. Shoes and the Suit. I predict lots of last minute practicing and make up. Well... good for her.*

*So... what do I do now? Play it by ear? Tell JoAnna that Violet somehow pumped my power? Or maybe that's not the expression I should use.*

[Joani]

Jennifer saw the men preparing for their mission and increased her pace to reach them before they left.

"Mr. James?! Thank you very much! JoAnna is gorgeous and I'm really looking forward to employ her if Miss Summers approves. But I cannot imagine she won't."

Then she addressed Captain Fox, "Captain Fox, I was asking myself if you'd have the time to join me tonight for a little business-dinner? I would like to talk to you about several requests Miss Summers has considering her club. I hope to hear from you. Shouldn't you find me, just leave a message at the bar.", Jennifer smiled and added, "Good hunting!" You're not going to date him, don't you?

Yes, I will and you got nothing to complain about. I got you a date with JoAnna.

Violet remained silent while Jennifer waved at them men leaving for her quarters.

Once she arrived at her quarters Jennifer felt Violets urge to break free and struggled to remain in control. "Can't you wait...", Jennifer couldn't finish her sentence and saw the telltale signs of her transformation. Her clothes felt tight and then she heard the sound of ripping seams as Violets more dramatic curves and size expanded. Her breaths got deeper and deeper and she felt an overall constriction throughout her body. Trying not to trip Jennifer barely managed to keep herself upright and locked her hands on one of the chairs in her room. Her vision got hazy and Jennifer lost track of time.

Suddenly her perception changed and Violet took over. Violet smiled lustfully and moaned a little as her transformation completed. She walked over the mirror and removed the ripped skirt and blazer. Removing the remains of Jennifers bra she said to the mirror, "Why do you bother even wearing one?"

You could've waited until I was ready. It's extremely difficult to find some decent clothes nowadays and you know that! I wanted to wear that tonight

"I know.", said Violet with a wicked undertone. "I suppose you have to wear something else tonight. Something less tightass. If you want him to notice you, then you have to be more direct. Show him that you are a woman.", Violet undressed completely and went to take a shower her thoughts drifting to her meeting with JoAnna.

[Courier]

James seems happy, and a little apprehensive, to know that JoAnna is going to be going back onto the stage... with Violet.

*I'm missing something here. I thought chicks liked to gossip, but Jen didn't tell her. Did professionalism triumph or... or maybe Violet didn't tell Jennifer it was me? Enough of this worrying crap. How about I leave this complicated double think to other people and go kill some zoms and steal some big guns. Survival comes first, worry about the rest later.*

James refocuses on the here and now and says,

"So the plan is Fox and I fly there over the main roads with Priest and his crew wheeling it? That should work, we'll need to drive this stuff back. Time permitting maybe we'll be able to load up some other stuff too."

[Courier]

Moved to Friday Night Frolic

[Dan Hawkins]

He found his room undisturbed and as he left it, and quickly set about the work of getting cleaned up. It took no more than twenty minutes to get in a good shave and a hot shower. Feeling almost human again, he donned one of his spare sets of fatigues and strapped his weapon back on. He dropped all the dirty fatigues at the base laundromat and smiled to the clerk at the desk. "Where've you been?"

"Same place as everyone else, out on the move looking for supplies and survivors, I just went west."

"I'll have these done in two days."

"That's fine I've got two more sets."

It was uncommon to have more than two sets of fatigues, but Dan had five, mostly from scavenging on his way from Norfolk.

He picked up his radio and tuned it to the General frequency. "Captain Fox, This is Captain Hawkins reporting back, what's your location?"

[Mr Fox]

Fox took the radio from his belt, "Captain Fox here, Welcome back Captain Hawkins. We are in HQ, meet is here. Your expertise will be welcome." Once the other man arrived, Fox makes a proper salute to a fellow Captain and smiles, "Hope your trip was uneventful."

Pointing to the map he says, "We are planing an operation for tomorrow morning. While you were away we discovered there is a rogue military group out there that destroyed a settlement to our north because they were apparently researching something that might have helped against the zombies. That's speculation, btw. We did witness the research facility and whatever they were researching was completely erased. A survivor claims they were researching a cure, but what we saw didn't look like medical equipment, and the person in question was a wife of one of the scientists so we really don't have any first hand knowledge." Looking serious, "Since we are dealing with hostiles instead of just Zoms, I've decided we should beef up the defenses. Are you familiar with the armory outside of Norman? That's where we're going. Should be a day trip, and we're going specifically after some mini guns, but we'll pick up ammo or whatever else might be useful."

[Dan Hawkins]

"Very uneventful beyond the norm. The Base in Northeast New Mexico is a wash, total writeoff. I killed the Zombies there and returned, barely breaking even on ammunition and in need of a tank of fuel."

"The Supply run makes good strategic sense. By Day trip I take iy you mean to run flatbeds overland to recover any gear still there. If its undisturbed, there should be a great deal of ammunition, fuel and if it comes to it MRE's and other necessities."

His face seems to harden and what was the beginnings of a smile disappear quickly. "I don't put much stock in a "cure" beyond killing them now. It sounds lipe a pipedream to give the kids hope. Show me proof , or at least evidence that it's possible and I might be more inclined to believe it."

He cocks his head. "Still That begs the question as to why would a rogue military unit do anything to hinder such research. That benefits everyone, even if it's just a dream."

"So what are you planning to take on this little soujourn?"

[Mr Fox]

Fox frowns at the news that the New Mexico survivors were zombie food. "Damn shame about the people over there. I have reasons to believe the armory will be intact, but we really won't know for sure until we get there, even if it isn't intact we can always pick up useful things."

He shrugged, "As for the research they were doing, I really don't know if it was anything at all to do with the zombies, but some well armed people went to an awful lot of trouble to destroy the facility and steal all the hard drives and leave no witnesses. The two we found were in a basement under a collapsed building. That sounds like it's worth investigating no matter what they were working on. Why they would go to the trouble is a very good question. Haven't decided on what to take yet. I'm planning to take at least two of the miniguns though if we can find them."

"We leave at first light to raid that armory. We will only engage the zoms as they get in our way. Not planning to do any sterilization of the area on this trip. It's going to be a simple get in, get the gear and get out."

[Dan Hawkins]

"Sounds doable to me. My Humvee still has its 50 cal, so that should help if things get dicey. I don't have a huge supply of ammo for it, but it's there if we need it."

A slight smile creases his lips. "So I actually get to sleep in a real bed tonight, thank God for that, Humvees aren't known for creature comforts."

He nods to the other novas present. "Sorry for not introducing myself, I'm Captain Daniel Hawkins, United States Marine Corps."

[Courier]

James nods and says,

"James DeBeer, City Fire Department."

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

"We leave at first light to raid that armory..."

James nods and comments,

"That's fine. Somehow I'd thought we were going right now."

James' considered,

*So... what now? Assuming I don't want to help JoAnna put on make up, I can shoot the breeze with the guys, track down a men's club for Violet's stuff, or try to see what exactly she did to me.*

*So... how does one check for new powers?*

James mentally tried to fly without a Super-Leap without success. Looking around he tried to set fire to a barrel, to make it rain, to send out smoke, and to read Fox's mind, all without success either.

*What does that leave? Hurt myself and see if I heal fast? Screw that. What else can I do? Oh yeah.*

James snaps his fingers and summons...

James said,

"Whooa!... well... that's different.

A blackly glowing and blackly burning blade appeared in James' hand. It's very unlikely that any of the other novas have ever seen this. James took a sample stab at the air.

[Courier]

James gets a smug look on his face and summons and releases the object about a dozen times before commenting,

"It's more defined, not bleeding energy all over the place like it used to. Feels like I could keep it up forever."

He considers, *An interesting choice of words. Sounds like it's time for a field trial. A men's club say. JoAnna can handle her interview by herself I would think.*

"Violet asked me for a favor, I'll out collecting stuff for her for a while."

Assuming no one wants to stop him James goes back to his car, consults a phone book and maps for 20 minutes then leaps away for 3 hours and comes back carrying a stripper pole and a jukebox.

EDIT: 2 hours after that he drops them off at "Violet's".

[Priest]

Cleaning out and compartmentalizing the semi was hard, steady, but tedious and boring work. It would be nice to get a run to add that much more ammo and gear for the team though.

Fox had a good idea for a mini-gun. The team could use one to replace the main flame-thrower. Leo would get the tech-manuals for working the helicopters ... nothing like making herself more useful.

In many ways the team was going out 'naked'. They would have none of their normal survival, or personal gear. They would be needing all the cargo capacity that could be mustered. They had also planned for Bethany and Rhonda to pick up two more trucks/Duece-and-a-Halves/Five-tons filled with goodies as well.

An early afternoon excursion garnered them two more trailers for the SUV and the Hummer. By late afternoon, everyone was topped off and ready to roll. Now all there was needed was the coming dawn.