Aberrant: In the Beginning - Chapter 2- The Firmament of Heaven

[Katalyst]

"Umm thanks sir!" He was a bit confused. He was expecting an ass chewing, not praise. "Don't really know what happend with Magruder, he's not the same Magruder that I met anymore. Some Nova named Ra did something to him that changed him. That Ra guy is who was responible for that stuff in Egypt.

He thought a momnet before he responded again. "Sir, I know it's important that I get back, but I need a few more days here to tie up some loose ends. Is that possible?"

[Michael Peters]

Michael waves to Jay's departing back as he leaves to take the phonecall, as his mouth is too full of stew to say goodbye. After swallowing he turns back to Joe.

"I'm not really sure what my 'style' is... I just learned what the military taught me. I would say its not as refined as a martial art, just a lot of straight punches and holds. I always wanted to learn Vo Thuat, but never could find a decent teacher in the states for any of the styles."

[SalmonMax]

Juno listens to Pax and nods, trying to picture it.

"Will people have to take a test to get in?" she asks. "Seems like we'd have to make sure any nova on the team was pretty powerful. And I guess we'd have to get permission to go to different countries. Seems kind of complicated..."

She scowls briefly as she polishes off her potatoes.

"I guess you guys probably have that all covered though."

[Stargaizer]

Joe shrugs with a smile. "So you just have basic hand to hand military training. Well, I'm pretty sure that I could best that. I don't know much about the Vietnamese martial arts, but I do know some karate. I could teach you if you would be so inclined." He thought for a beat or two before adding, "Of course, with our powers added into the mix, I'm not quite for sure who would come out on top, your military hand to hand or my karate." Joe furrows his brows momentarily. "What are your powers anyway, if you don't mind me asking, I don't recall you saying," Joe added quickly.

[Nathan Dayes]

Nathan nodded to Max. "His journals would be great. Thank you, sir. I'll try to live up to your expectations at this job." He swiveled to face Maxine. "So what's the first order of business, er, boss?"

[Michael Peters]

Michael grins at Joe, a mischevious glint in his eyes.

"Would you like me to tell you, or would you like to find out yourself? You have some time free for a quick bout?"

[Titan]

Katalyst-

You hear the Colonel sigh. Then he mutters into the phone:

"Two days. Wrap it up, King."

The click in his ear announced the end of the conversation.

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

Juno-

Pax seems surprised by the question.

"Well, we haven't covered exactly how the testing will work. We're still figuring out how the team will work. As far as operating in other countries, the consensus is that with a UN charter, which we are working on, any UN member nation will have to allow us to operate within their borders. It's a good question, and it is giving the lawyers headaches, but basically it's legal until some nation proves that it isn't in the World Court. So long as public opinion is going our way, there's no reason that should ever even happen."

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

Nathan-

Maxine straightened up, and looked from her great-grandfather to Nathan, and back again. She firms her shoulders, and sets her jaw.

"Ok. First order of business is to find Grandmother. This is going to be a temporary job. We need to find out everything she's been into, everyone she's talked to, everywhere she's been. At the same time, we must make the U.N. meeting day-after-tomorrow. Without her, I don't know if we can push the Utopia project through, but we have to try. Get me a progress report from each of the divisions, and we'll see where we are."

She glances down at Margaret's- now her- desk, then back up at Nathan.

"Are you still here?"

[Dawn OOC]

April 11, 1998, 10:00 GMT

Just before 10 am in the morning, those novus wishing to attend Pax's meeting began to arrive. Pax himself was already there and, from the materials neatly laid out, he'd been at work for a while already. The conference room was the same one they'd all met in just a few days ago to plan for the assault on Ra.

One by one, the novus began to arrive, each looking to learn what the giant titan would tell them and whether his plans for the future matched their own.

[Katalyst]

This should be an interesting meeting today, Jay thought on his way to pick up Fang. His thoughts still dwelt on their night together, but those plans just got that much more complicated, with the unexpected call for him. Damm, how am I going to break this news to her? I didn't go through all this effort to have it wasted.

A quick knock on her door brings Fang's smile to his face. "Good morning Fang,he says pleasantly. "Your escort has arrived. If your ready, let's head on down to the conference room."

The two arrive with little fanfare, and take their seats, waiting to see who would make their appearance.

[SalmonMax]

Juno, having already had breakfast with Pax, just tags along to the meeting with him. She's down in the front row, doodling idly on some scratch paper as she waits for the presentation to begin.

[Renee Byrnes]

Renee, having breakfasted and reassured her mother everything was all good, arrived in a pair of denim jeans and a Superman t-shirt.

[Stargaizer]

Joe tried to take a rain check as gracefully as he could, stating that he would like to figure out what his own powers were before he sparred with someone else to figure out what their's were.

After 2 more plates of food, Joe said his fairwells, headed to his room, and settled down for the night. Around 10 or so he headed to bed. 10pm was very early for him, but after the hectic day he'd had, it was none too soon.

Joe woke up, around 8 the next morning, rested and ready to go. He showered, shaved, and dressed for his (he hoped) big day. Today was the day that he would be tested by the doctors here, and he would (he hoped) find out what that growing lump in his head would let him do. For such an occasion, Joe picked, basically, the same thing he'd worn yesterday, except that his shirt was a black tee with the Chop House logo on the upper left breast. He paired that with the same set of blue jeans and sneakers, and headed down for a triple sized breakfast.

After breakfast, Joe moseyed around the mansion, killing time before his 10am doctor's appointment.

[Michael Peters]

Michael enters the room and takes a seat next to Juno.

"Good morning everyone." He says with a smile. Whatever was troubling him yesterday seems to have dissapated and Michael seems to be in god spirits.

He checks his watch to make sure he's on time then settles back to watch the presentation.

[z-Wei Fang]

Fang relaxed into her seat, allowing her shoulder to brush Jay's. He was a warm, comforting presence next to her, one which she enjoyed very much. And he wasn't pushy like she'd heard Western men could be; he'd allowed her to set their pace, which she appreciated.

Fang glanced around the room, taking in the various people and materials. Stifling a yawn, she leafed rapidly through the papers, getting her reading done now so that she could concentrate on what Pax was saying, and how he said it.

[Wraith]

Wraith notices the crowd heading for the meeting with Pax. She makes her way to the room and sits down at the end of the table, each chair empty on both sides.

,,

[Jedi]

Colin arrived in his best suit and with briefcase at his side looking forward to the meeting. Seeing the seat next to Michael open he takes it, "Morning Michael, Juno. This should be an eventful morning eh?"

Colin also noticed Wraith sitting by herself at the end of the table. He had a vague notion that she had tried to engage him in conversation yesterday as well but he'd been so busy with contract and legal discussion preparing for this meeting he had hardly noticed the people around him. He'd have to make a point of chatting with her later.

[SalmonMax]

"Hey Colin," Juno greets Jedi as he sits down. Inwardly she scowls when he starts jabbering and diverting Michael's attention away from her. The age thing kind of creeped her, but he didn't LOOK that old. And he kept sitting by her. Did that mean he liked her? Or could he just tell she liked him, and was humoring her? Or maybe he could tell, and he wanted to encourage her?

Shit, why don't I just put a pink dress on and pick petals off a flower? This is getting stupid.

And now everyone wanted to spar. That was actually kind of cool though. She (and Jay, of course, and Jay) had started something with that. It'd be lame to try to claim it, but now every time she saw novus hitting the shit out of each other, she could think 'that was my idea.'

Wait, what did he say?

"Novus," Juno corrects Colin, looking over across Michael at him. "It's novUS. Not nova."

[Jedi]

Colin chuckled, "Yeah, I know. Some of the people in the media have started to use the term Nova. The way it's going I think it's going to inevitably get all mixed up. Even I've started using them interchangeably and I know better." He shrugs.

[Titan]

Pax looks at the clock on the wall, and as the second hand passes the twelve, begins speaking.

"Hi everybody, and welcome. Thank you all for attending on such short notice. Normally, this is an informal planning and strategy session. Today, however, we have some guests. So, I'd like to begin by recapping what we've covered so far. The problem before us is a worldwide epidemic of violence, poverty, disease, hunger, pollution, and corruption. We have the power to effectively end all of these things. The real question is, how? Margaret proposed a 'Project Utopia' to coordinate the social and political aspects of the problem. However, a law enforcement division is also necessary. This enforcement arm will be comprised of some of the toughest, strongest, and most versatile novus on the planet. My hope is that some of you will be part of that team.

The concept is much like that of the Marine Corps. High morale, fighting spirit, and dedication to honorable achievement of objectives. It is imperative that this intervention team be perceived as being of the highest moral and ethical standard. To the average man on the street, this team must seem like the Knights of the round table. Any less, and the trust that is necessary to make this work would not been given to us.

We want to start small. One team, six members, a couple in reserve. With time we build that to 10 or 12, and split into two teams. At that point we no longer need Mbuto, except in the extreme situations. We foresee a time when every continent might have its own team, within the structure of the organization.

The last few days have only emphasized the need for an intervention team like this. As the number of novas grow, the potential for conflict grows exponentially. In addition to nova on nova conflict, the team will deal with natural disasters, military action, organized crime, terrorism, and more.

Of particular importance will be public relations. This team will be more than an intervention unit, they will be the symbol for what novas can do for humanity. Public appearances, publicity tours, charitable works, and every other conceivable opportunity to portray this team and Project Utopia in a positive light will fill the time between disasters.

Let's talk organization. This isn't just the super friends sitting around a table in the Hall of Justice. This team will have a support staff in the thousands, if not tens of thousands. Emergency medical staff. Administrative staff. Telecommunications. The PR corps that I mentioned. Everyone from pilots to janitors will contribute to the success of the mission.

But, how do we find people? The interview process must be rigorous and exhaustive. A complete background check will be performed. Once a candidate has been accepted, he or she will go through an intensive training program, not just in combat, but in subjects ranging from diplomacy to languages to history to cultural studies to quantum physics. When they are done with their training, a member of Team Tomorrow will be absolutely ready for any situation they might possibly encounter.

In addition to the standing team, it will be necessary to have 'floaters'. These will be novas who have completed the training, but who either have pressing business of their own to attend to, or those for whom a spot has not yet been made on the regular team.

Okay, that is a broad overview of the subjects that we have covered so far in our strategy sessions. There have been quite a few more details added to each section, and obviously we still have a lot of work to do, but those are the basics. Comments? Questions? I open the floor to you, fire away."

[SalmonMax]

Juno raises her hand right away, looks around, then lowers it sheepishly and says, "This is a law enforcement team...so what laws are we enforcing? UN laws? Laws in the countries we're going to? Our laws?"

[Titan]

Pax smiles down at the teenager.

"Pretty much just the universal laws, Juno. Thou shalt not blow up thy neighbor's country, Terrorism bad, Gimme those hostages back, No earthquakes allowed, that kind of thing. We're not going to have the kind of time that it would take to deal with your run of the mill thieves and con artists. We'll leave all that to the local law enforcement agencies. A good question, though, and one that Aeon's lawyers are debating daily."

A groan from the strategy team indicates that Pax speaks truth.

[Renee Byrnes]

Renee smiled as Pax spoke. Sounded more like StormWatch than the Superfriends, which was good with her. "I'd imagine that we'd be enforcing all laws," she answered, looking at Juno, then Pax for confirmation.

[z-Wei Fang]

"Impossible," Fang said, her tone extremely flat. "We cannot enforce all the laws, as some of them conflict. And do we wish to enforce unethical ones? What of the laws China has concerning New People? Do we enforce those?"

She kept her tone neutral, but anyone who knew Fang knew that she'd just thrown one of her major concerns out on the table.

[SalmonMax]

"Yeah," Juno agrees with Fang. "There's gonna be all kinds of weird situations coming up."

She thinks, then asks, "Okay...so we have this team. I guess we could handle big disasters too, not just novus, right? Volcanos and earthquakes and stuff.. I dunno about the 'utopia' thing, but Team Tomorrow's kind of cool. I gotta ask though, where's the money for all this coming from? I mean, Aeon's rich, I get that, but this is a whole other level. And it's not like we'll be earning money, so..." she shrugs.

[Michael Peters]

Michael adds his own questions into the mix.

"How much of our time is going to have to be dedicated to this venture? I imagine it will be similar to rescure personnal: on call all the time, but what about personal ventures? If a nova with superhuman intellegence, Fang for example..." he gestures to her to emphasise his point "... wants to spend a large amount of time investing money, controlling assets and so on, can she take that time?"

[Jedi]

Jedi listens and waits for the perfect opportunity to spring his plan on the others. He smiles at Michael's qustion, "Excellent question Michael." Looking to Pax he adds, "I sit on the board of one company already and plan to start another, will I be allowed to participate in your Team Tomorrow, or will I have to sacrifice my own personal goals for the sake of the Team?"

[Titan]

Pax starts shaking his head before the questions are even out.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. First of all, no, we aren't charging for this, Juno. Secondly, while you say you know that Aeon controls a lot of money, I wonder if you know exactly how much you are talking about. I've been talking with some of these guys, and it is unbelievable how many patents Aeon holds, in pharmaceutacal technology alone. At any rate, with a UN charter, we would be funded by the United Nations. That's why we're working to get that charter."

"Michael, while there would of course be free time, we are talking about a lot of dedication required. This isn't a part-time job. What we are talking about is being the go-to guys for the entire planet. That is going to mandate %100 intensity. Now, the Project Utopia will need novas of every stripe involved, and won't have nearly the time requirement. If you are looking for ways to help, without giving your life to it, then they will find you a place. But this, this is going to be a lifestyle. Like I said, the Marine Corps."

"Jedi, I think I've covered everything, but there is a certain underlying tone to your question that I'm not sure I understand. Noone is required to participate, and no, not everyone will be allowed to participate. In fact many who try very hard to join will be rejected as unsuitable. You don't sacrifice anything, because if you look at it as a sacrifice, then you're wrong for the job."

"Next question."

[Jedi]

Colin chuckled, "The Aeon Society is probably one of the richest organizations on the planet, I will grant you that. The U.N. on the other hand can't pay it's own electric bills. You are right though the Marines are not for me. I would like to do my part with this Utopia though during the time I can afford."

[Titan]

Pax snorted.

"While it is true that the UN budget is around $1.5 billion for core functions, hardly enough to finance the sessions that they do have, the Peacekeeping budget approaches $5 billion. With the intervention team taking most of the burden off of the UN troops, I think that we can find a billion or two for our needs."

"Next question."

[SalmonMax]

"I didn't mean we should charge," Juno says with a scowl. "I was just asking. But okay, if this is all coming from the UN's budget this Team Tomorrow is basically a UN thing, right? Sort of like the Peacekeepers? If I joined it, I'd be working for the UN?"

[Katalyst]

Jay listens as the others toss out their questions. All good ones two he thought. As Pax spoke Jay found himself distracted by his own thoughts. He was still trying to find a way to balance as the offers he had be given.

Christ, this crap is to much. I don't think I could handle this and the Army. It's bad enough that I might lose Fang to this as well, and that is something I don't want to happen.

He stands up, throwing out his own question. "So would be in charge of this 'team' once it gets set up you? Would this team anwser to the UN? Who and how are members chosen?"

[z-Wei Fang]

"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms," Fang said, and it was eerily as if she were reading from a book. Nothing was her her hand, whoever; whatever document this came from, it was in her head.

"Are those the laws, those four articles and the other twenty-six of the University Declaration of Human Rights, created by the UN, that we are going to be upholding? What about enforcing human rights?" Fang asked. "Will that be part of our duty to uphold?" Her voice was very intense, and again, it wasn't hard to guess what she was thinking about.

[Nathan Dayes]

Nathan spent much of the day doing as Maxine had asked, tracking the last known whereabouts of Margaret Mercer, and getting a report together for the various division's readiness. He'd heard about the meeting that Pax & Co. were attending, but had declined to be there. Without a firm grasp of where Margaret Mercer was, the whole thing could be so much smoke.

[Stargaizer]

10:00 came and found Joe in the Doctor's office. He let the receptionist know that he was there for his scheduled appointment and then sat down, trying to find an interesting magazine to read.

[Wraith]

Wraith sits patiently while the others add their opinions.

"I've done the whole cop thing before, I want to do something different, instead of waiting for warrants to search for people.. I can go in un-noticed, I can take down a whole mob by myself If I wanted to, I think your idea of a team is great but I feel like my powers could be used for a lot more than what you want, even if it's not how the law wants us to take down the bad guys, so we should be able to take down anyone, anytime, any way we can...So continue with your business... but this is not what I had in mind."

She says as she stands and starts to head for the door. She takes one last glance at Pax's reaction before she walks out.

[Jedi]

Inwardly Colin was smiling. This was the perfect opportunity to spring his own option on people. Before Wraith can get too far towards the door he speaks, "Wraith, wait please. There is another option. It is one I believe can work in conjunction with what Pax is proposing, but it can give you and the others that are not willing or suitable for joining the Marines Corps an option for both helping out humanity and satisfying your own goals at the same time. I've discussed this with a few others already and we would like to make the offer to everyone here. If Pax doesn't mind indulging us for a few minutes, Michael can tell everyone a bit more about it."

[Titan]

"Now wait just a minute!" Pax holds up his hands for quiet.

"One thing at a time. First, with a U.N. charter, we would be autonomous. There would be some oversight, but most likely if the results were there, it would be minimal. Choosing slash recruiting members has yet to be determined, remember we are still a long way out. As for who will be in charge, we don't even know who the members will be yet so that is putting the cart waaay in front of the horse, but yes, I will certainly do my best to be chosen, and probably campaign to lead the team. We could do worse."

He looks at Fang for a moment.

"Yes, Fang, basically the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights will form a framework from which we will operate. Did you have a specific reason for pointing out those four articles in particular? We can come back to that..."

"Wraith, I'm sorry to see you go, but if it's not right for you, then it's not right, and I certainly understand. That said, this is the Intervention Team strategy and planning meeting, not some Day Room bull session, Jedi. I find it supremely ironic that you, who chided me yesterday about how well this had been planned out, and who arrived here two days ago, now blithely offer up your 'alternative'. What, did you jot some notes down on a napkin this morning?"

Pax glares at Jedi, and turns his ire on Michael.

"Before you even start, Michael, let me say that if you don't want the summary of our plans so far, and don't want to participate in the future planning of Team Tomorrow's formation and function, then may I suggest that you are in the wrong room? Take your 'alternative suggestion', and find another conference room."

Pax takes a deep breath, and lets it out.

"Now, any more questions? Any comments ON TOPIC?

[SalmonMax]

"I've got one," Juno says quickly.

"For those of us who want to help this idea along, what do you want from us? I mean, right now. Where are you guys, and how soon can we start actually doing something to help?"

[Jedi]

Jedi casually opens the briefcase on and pulls out a three inch thick stack of legal looking documents, "You could say I jotted a few things down I suppose. Sorry that it isn't on a napkin, I can have my people print it out on napkins if it makes you feel better though." He smiles innocently, and looks a sincere apology at Juno for interrupting.

"I really don't want to interfere with your Team idea, I really do share your goals and desire for making this world a better place. From what you said yesterday Pax, I thought these were planning meetings. You've just said that what you are planning here is this Intervention team and that there is a good deal left to do on that. From what you've described I really don't see that as fitting me personally. Well, we do happen to have a suggestion as to what Novus can do. If you don't wish to hear us out then we will hold our own meeting and anyone who wishes to hear of an alternative to the Marine Corps can come join us. We have a pretty solid plan despite it not having your grand total of two weeks of preparation. Or is it that you have had more than two weeks preparation? If so I wonder how that could be since there weren't any novus more than two weeks ago. Anyway you look at it, I would rather be part of something that I and my friends and other Novus have a say in, not something that has been discussed behind close doors and is a done deal before we even get involved." Colin is obviously a bit offended by Pax's tone and also equally obvious that Pax just rubs him the wrong way.

He looks around the room at everyone else, "I do apologize for interrupting. We have an alternative however. One that does not preclude involvement in this project that Pax is discussing. In fact it could even work hand in hand with it, but if Pax doesn't want to hear other ideas, anyone here is welcome to talk with us and we will be happy to share with you our vision for how novus can both satisfy their desires to work for the greater good via this Project as well as pursue their own goals and help out the Novus as a whole. I'll yield the floor back to Pax now, but, if he doesn't want to hear what we propose then you all can meet with us after the meeting to discuss and be heard."

[Katalyst]

Jay quickly and quitely sit's back down. Pax, pretty much summed up what he had expected to hear, and now Colin was throwing out his idea.

He chuckled to himself, as Jedi open his suitcase, and just like the business man he said he was, started speaking his mind. The only thing missing was the little hand wave, Jay was sure that if he'd had done that he would have laughed really hard and loud.

Trying to compose himself, he waits to see what Michael's reply is going to be.