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

[SalmonMax]

Juno stays looking at Renee for a moment, still concerned about her outburst. Once she's satisfied that the other girl is recovering though, she nods and goes to join Nathan.

"I'm going."

[Michael Peters]

Michael stands, his face set.

"I am as well."

[Renee Byrnes]

Renee hooks up the laptop, turns it on and has everything ready within minutes. "Ready," she said as the Internet began to flash on the screen.

[Katalyst]

"Alright guys I'll meet you guys over there. I'll have a status report ready for you guys by the time you get over there." Jay takes a second and changes his clothing in a set of BDU's.

Then he pictures the image of the med bay room in his mind and taps into his Q energy focusing on bending space and time to send himself to the Roosevelt.

(3 qp for teleport Dice pool 6 (Perception 5 + 1 TP))+ 3 auto sux for Quantum 3

[Dawn OOC]

Jay pictured the room that Renee had sent directly to his mind. Before anyone could say anything, he popped out of sight to them. To Jay, they were the ones who disappeared to be replaced with the medbay of the Roosevelt - a medbay filled with people concerned about the sudden appearance of a man in their midst. There was one armed marine in particular who seemed really upset by this scenario.

[Teleport roll (1d10=4, 1d10=6, 1d10=8, 1d10=1, 1d10=7, 1d10=10) = 3 sux + 3 auto = 6 sux]

[Katalyst]

Wow that was something. Instant travel, this sure beat's flying. As he scans the room, Jay see the group of sailors are astonished to see him appear out of no where, but who are quickly regaining their senses.

"Whoa, whoa people. Let's all just calm down a bit, and I'll explain everything." Jay eyes the armed Marine, "Look man don't go and do something stupid, I don't want to see anyone get hurt. I'm here as a representative from Aeon. Before he continues he shifts his eufiber to match the sailors around him. "I'm here to get a idea of what kind of help you guys need. Can you take me to the Captain of the ship?"

[Dawn OOC]

"Oh, yeah," the marine said. "You can see the captain. First though, you're going to see the Lance Corporal in the brig."

"Uh, can I see the Captain first?" Jay asked nervously. He would teleport to the bridge if he had to.

"Sorry, you're not seeing the Captain until I'm sure you're not a security risk." The merine seemed adament.

[Katalyst]

I could see why he thinks that with me just 'Blinking' in here and all. "Just get your Captain on the horn. He knows that were are coming, he was talking with one of my colleagues when I left London" he says calmly.

He looks around to room looking for any females. He spots a few nurses and in a loud voice so all in the room can hear him "My friend Renee was just talking to one of you here. Which one of you ladies is that?"

[Dawn OOC]

"At least you're not in my head," a tired voice behind him said with a Manchester accent. Jay turned around to see a woman lying on one of the beds. She was pale and tired and very young; she reminded him of Juno, a little. She had dark hair and eyes, but she wasn't as flat-out hot as Juno. "I'm Whithouse - who are you?"

Jay could see the Marine getting on the phone, presumably calling up to the Captain.

[Katalyst]

Quote:

"I'm Whithouse - who are you?"

"Name's Jay King, glad to meet you. Though I wish it wasn't under such circumstances." He looks over at the Marine to see if can tell who's he talking to.

(OOC: Want to make a awareness(Dice pool 4+5 Perc) roll to see if I can hear what the Marine is talking about on the phone.

After a moment he turns his attention back to Whithouse. "From what Renee told me you've seen something pretty bad. She didn't give us a lot details about the whole thing, and I know this is going to suck, but I need for you to tell me what happened?" he asks tenderly.

(OOC: Using Rapport - Dice 5 + 1 Mega wits)

[Dawn OOC]

The Marine is talking to the Captain, telling him what happened and asking for orders. Jay can't make out every word, but he quickly understands that the Captain wants to see him before they possibly secure him in the brig. There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of trust for the Æon folks.

Whithouse closed her eyes and swallowed. The signs of her recent outburst were still on her face. "I... it was in the water," she said, her eyes still closed. "The boat started to take on water, and when it did, I could hear people screaming. They were... there was this awful smell in the air. It seared my lungs, like when I started smoking. I remember someone throwing up. Then the Roosevelt's helicopters were there, and the skip- Captain Rowlings ordered me to get the crew off. He was putting on a gas mask and preparing to go below last time I saw him." Whithouse looked at him, tears already rising in her eyes. "That's all I know."

[OOC:

Awareness - (16:54:56) ChatBot: (frank_white) rolls 9d10 and gets 6,1,2,8,9,9,2,10,3.

Rapport - (16:55:39) ChatBot: (frank_white) rolls 5d10 and gets 5,1,9,7,7.

Megadie - (16:56:48) ChatBot: (frank_white) rolls 1d10 and gets 10.]

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mbuto watched Jay blink out of existance and waited for those in the room to finish deciding who was going. He also will allow Nathan to copy his power, if Nathan wishes.

[Katalyst]

Jay locks his eyes to Whithouse "Shhh, take it easy now. Let the nurses here take care of you." He gently places his hand to her face and whispers "I promise that I will do my best to make sure no one else is hurt, you stay strong for me okay."

Jay puts aside his feelings of sadness for the women, and makes his way to the Marine. "Alright then, let's hurry up and go see the Captain. We don't need to waste any more time down here okay."

(OOC: Command roll 2 + 3 Cha)

,,

[Dawn OOC]

The Marine took Jay up to the bridge, leading him straight to the Captain. The man had steel-gray hair and deep-set eyes. "What the hell is going on with people appearing out of nowhere on my ship?" the Captain asked, his eyes narrowing at Jay. "And why is my ship leaking?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Mbuto waited until everyone said they were ready; then he pulled out a phone and made a call. A couple of moments later a young woman hurried into the room and brought him some pictures. Mbuto studied them for a long moment before nodding.

The world shifted; wind tore into the transported novas as the tang of sea air cut into noses accustomed to air conditioning. Immediately the sailors took notice them, pulling back to allow the armed Marines to come forwawrd. "Identify yourselves!" one of the Marines barked.

[SalmonMax]

Juno hugged herself in the chill wind and squinted her eyes against it and the spray.

"We're from Aeon!" she shouts against the roar of waves. "We're here to help! There was a guy who came first, Jay. Where is he?"

[Katalyst]

Quote:

The Marine took Jay up to the bridge, leading him straight to the Captain. The man had steel-gray hair and deep-set eyes. "What the hell is going on with people appearing out of nowhere on my ship?" the Captain asked, his eyes narrowing at Jay. "And why is my ship leaking?"

"Sorry about that Sir, it's just one of the thing's us Novus can do. I expect my friends to be along any second, the same way I did." He frowns as the Captain tells him about the leaking ship. "That's what me and my friends from Aeon are here to figure out. Where is the ship leaking from? If I can get to the leak I might be able to plug it up."

[Renee Byrnes]

Meanwhile, Renee is focusing on her task of researching anything remotely connected to the area, the Roosevelt, and anything else she thought appropriate.

(OOC: Intelligence 5 + Investigation 5 + Research Speciality + Mega-Int 1 = 12 dice in the pool)>

[Michael Peters]

Michael steps forward, careful to keep his footing on the slippery surface they all found themselves.

"We're the rescue group. We're unarmed. Permission to come aboard?"

He smiles into the teeth of the wind at the closest marine, careful to make no sudden movements.

[Dawn OOC]

Albright sighed through his nose. "You mean you guys can just pop in anywhere?" Jay can see the thoughts in his head, the suscispious ones that start to consider what this means for the safety and security of his ship - and his nation. People that can appear anywhere are dangerous.

With clear effort, Albright moved past that. "If it were a simple matter of finding the leak, it'd be found. But I've got the lower levels of my ship flooded, and the only thing keeping us up is the fact that they're sealed off and the pumps are working full speed. I tried to put a SCUBA in the water to find the link, and he damn near drowned when the tank started to leak. I don't suppose any of your people can breathe underwater?" His question was extremely hopeful.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

"We're from Aeon!" she shouts against the roar of waves. "We're here to help! There was a guy who came first, Jay. Where is he?"

Originally Posted By: Michael Peters

"We're the rescue group. We're unarmed. Permission to come aboard?"

The Marine seemed at a loss when a teenaged girl stepped forward and started to talk, so when Michael stepped up, he relaxed. "You're from that super-heroes place? Alright, the Captain wants to see any of you who show up, so please follow me." The Marine spun on his heel and started to walk across the deck; the other marines fell in around and behind them, enclosing the group.

They are watched closely - not just by the Marines escorting them, but by the sailors around them. Some stare at Juno overly-long; others just look at each person and are disappointed, as if they expected something more.

[Katalyst]

Quote:

"You mean you guys can just pop in anywhere?"

"Yeah, and some of us can even fly. Still amazes me every time I see to. He's right to be scared. No place is really safe if the wrong person want's to cause troble.

Quote:

I don't suppose any of your people can breathe underwater?" His question was extremely hopeful.

Jay smiles "Why yes I can do that, and so can a few of my other buddies. Show me where I can get in there and I'll do my best to seal up the leak. Oh, just so I'm up to speed. What caused the ship to leak in the first place?"

[Dawn OOC]

Albright sighed. "Son, I don't know what to tell you about the leak. Whatever it is, it happened slowly, and then picked up speed. The best we could do was to evac the lower levels and seal it off to keep the ship from filling up. We lost a few more feet after that, but we seem to have stabilized. The lower holds might be full of water now.

"I can tell you what we do the leak isn't," Albright continued. "We didn't hit anything. None of my sailors put a hole in us. We weren't attacked by any conventional weapon." Albright paused, then shook his head. "I'm not sure you can fix the leak, but take a look and see what you and your people can do." He waved over an officer. "Warrent Officer Hulio will show you below. I'll send the rest of your crew down when they arrive."

[SalmonMax]

Juno takes the stares stoically, resisting the urge to make faces at them or blow fart-noises. That, she was fairly sure, wouldn't really paint Aeon in the image they were going for.

She follows the marines to the Captain in this awkward silence.

[Katalyst]

"Sounds good Sir" Jay turns to the Warrant "Lead the way chief, I'd like to get to work as quick as possible."

Hmm I wonder what could punch a hole in the ship, if wasn't attacked. These things are made of some tough stuff."

[Michael Peters]

Michael stoically ignored the stares from the sailors and the marines, keeping a plesantly neutral expression while being scrutinized.

What did they expect? Capes and cowls? If we showed up glowing or shot lasers out of our eyes at the breach they'd be terrified, yet we show up normal and we're disapointing? There's just no pleasing these people.

[Nathan Dayes]

(Nathan does indeed copy Mbunto's power, putting him at 24 q-pool)

Nathan walks along with the group, observing quietly. He was looking forward to talking to the captain face to face. I was talking to him minutes ago and now I'm on the other side of the world. That's pretty cool.

[Dawn OOC]

Jay walked down and down, into the bowels of the ship. They passed through several doors, the last two which were tightly resealed after them. Eventually, the Warrent Chief lead him to a sealed door. "Sir, beyond this door, the water is at least waist deep. Here's where it gets dangerous. Can... I heard that you just appeared in the Medbay. Can you zap to the other side of the door? If we can avoid opening it, it would be for the best."

"Sure, I'll try," Jay said, nodding and looking at the door. "What's it look like on the other side?"

The Chief quickly explained that there were immediately stairs going down, but that there was clear space just beyond the ladder. "Once you transport into the hallway, all you have to worry about is the water. Good luck."

Jay nodded and shifted his eufiber into his preferred costume. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the invisible space beyond the door. The world shifted again, and Jay fell a short distance into water, going completely under. He stood up quickly, spitting foul sea water and standing in the waist-deep fluid, waiting for the water to hurt him. When nothing happened, he looked around the dark hallway.

Many of the lights were out, leaving the illumination dim. All sorts of things floated in the water, and Jay had irrational flashback to every water scene that had ever been filmed. When he moved, he bumped into all sorts of submerged items. The water was black ink save near the few lights, which penetrated a few inches into the water.

This was a lot harder than it had sounded on dry land.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Albright's short, stocky frame confronted them the moment they stepped on the bridge. "Who are you guys?" Albright asked, eyeing them closely. Clearly, their informal garb was throwing him off. One by one, they introduced themselves; when Nathan spoke, the captain relaxed a bit. "Good to meet you - all of you," he added quickly. "Lemme update you, and then I'll send you down after your companion."

Quickly, he told them what he'd told Jay, again emphasizing that he wasn't sure why the boat was leaking. He waved another officer forward, "Chief, show them below."

After walking down through a lot of hallways and stairs, they found another Warrent Chief waiting by a sealed door. "Hey, you buddy is already in there," he said, pointing at the door. "Can you folks pop in there without opening the door? The doors are keeping the pressure stablized, so we dont sink further. So you can see, if we can avoid opening the doors, it would be handy."

[Katalyst]

"Great, should have asked for a freaking light" he says out loud as he slowly moved thru the murky water. He does his best to avoid bumping into anything as he searches for something he can use to light up his way more than the few already lit. Not finding anything worth using a "fuck" slips out from his lips. Crap, I need Michael here with me for this. I'm sure that he could light this place up like the 4th of July.

Guess I keep moving forward, till he water starts getting deeper. That should be my first clue that I'm getting nearer.

(OOC Making a awareness roll to hear/see any danger, or sounds)

[SalmonMax]

"I don't really 'pop,'" Juno demurs. She puts her hand on the door, then looks at the Chief. "But I wouldn't mind getting a look at the bottom of the ship from the outside. Nathan, you can send the rest of us in through the door, right? You want to come for a swim with me, or do your own thing?"

[Nathan Dayes]

"I'm not sure. Mbuto didn't need to see where he was aiming, but I haven't been doing this as long as he has. If you want to, I can try to send you through the door. But this is my first time using his powers so I'm not sure what the risks are."

[Dawn OOC]

"Ma'am, I really don't recommend going outside the boat," the Hispanic Chief who had been waiting at the door said. "We're in motion, so unless you can swim like a dolphin... though for all I know, you can. I'll just be quiet now."

"We can probably open the door to let people through," the other Chief, the blond one said. "We just really need to limit the number of times that door opens. It's what's keeping the boat up, you see."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Katalyst waded for a while, only to be blocked by a pile of debris. He was also becoming aware of a bitter scent in the air, which burned his nose whenever he breathed in. It was simple enough to stop breathing, but he could taste it on his tongue, which burned. And his teeth were starting to ache. He thought of the water he had gotten in his mouth, and wondered what was wrong.

Scowling, he poked at the debris, picking up a length of pipe to do so. He gave the pile a firm poke - and the pipe shattered in his hand. It was like glass, sending shards out into the water, the air and into the glove on his hand. The eufiber mostly stopped them, but Katalyst knew that if his own skin wasn't tough, he'd have bone-deep cuts. What could make a metal pipe shatter like glass?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Renee found an interesting fact about the area: the sea floor in the area is quite mountainous. It is part of the North Atlantic Ridge, which has a deep fissure. This fissure is where the Eurasian Plate and North American Plate touch.

Mbuto remained in the room, in case Renee changes her mind.

[Katalyst]

Hmmm, what the heck is going on down here? The pain from his teeth was annoying, but he could deal with that, as well as the bitter smell. It surely a clue as that something was amiss, but what? He tried to place the smell but nothing sprang to mind, it wasn't that much of a problem anyway since he didn't need to breathe. Thank god for that. Clearing the pile of junk wasn't a problem for him due to his super strength, but if it the debris broke apart like the pipe had it could hurt him.

Just to be on the safe side Jay activated his "Coat of Arms" and started moving the debris out of his way.

(Activating FF 2 + 5 Stam + 2 Mega Stam)

(03:01:07) ChatBot: (katalyst) rolls 7d10 and gets 1,4,6,6,5,6,7. 1 sux

(03:01:56) ChatBot: (katalyst) (Mega Dice)rolls 2d10 and gets 7,6. 2 sux

Current soak 9B/5L with FF 18B/14L

Qpool 26

Qspent 3 for TP, 2 for FF

Current pool 21

[SalmonMax]

Juno frowns.

"Well, at least one of us should take a look outside," she says. "I'm probably the best one to do that, as long as I can get myself to change the right way. And I think you'll be fine sending people in with Mbuto's powers. Just don't overthink it."

She gives the hispanic Chief a look.

"Any chance we could slow down for a second?" Then with a sheepish look she adds, "Uh, and if you wouldn't mind having a change of clothes ready for when I get back, I'd appreciate it."

[Nathan Dayes]

"I can lend you my super-suit. It seems to synchronize with my abilities, no matter whose I copy - so it should work for yours. Though I demand pants first, as a basic human right."

[SalmonMax]

Juno shrugs. "Lets work this out next time. For now, there's a sub to save. We really shouldn't dick around."

[Dawn OOC]

Jay was thankful for the 'Coat of Arms;' several pieces of debris shattered. As he was moving things, he noticed that only submerged or recently wet items were so fragile. Also, some of the metal wasn't completely compromised; some of the metal fragments in layers.

ChatBot: (Katalyst) rolls 9d10 and gets 7,2,6,4,4,1,8,8,1.

A body popped to the surface suddenly; the sailor's face was twisted into a rictus of pain. In the dim light, Jay could just see the red marks on his throat, as if he'd clawed at his own skin.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Slowing down'd be the Captain's call," Chief Hulio said. "He might be willing to stop long enough for you to take a look down there. And we can get clothes for you ma'am... and pants for you, sir." He was stifling a chuckle at the last bit, though he added, "Would you like a shirt to go with those pants?"

While Hulio remained to help them, if they need it, the other Chief fetched clothes for Nathan and then took Juno upstairs to the Captain.

"I understand you want to stop my ship," Albright said, looking closely at her.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Renee, after some more digging, successfully collects the information from here: http://www.navysite.de/cvn/cvn71.html

[SalmonMax]

"Well, see, I was thinking about going down to take a look underwater," Juno explains, feeling absurdedly like she's trying to make up some excuse to the school principal. "But your engineer says we're moving so I'd have to swim really fast to keep up. I can probably do that, but it would be a huge hassle. We'd only have to stop for a few minutes while I swam around down there. Hell, if you have a flashlight and camera I can use, I'll take pictures so you know where the holes are."

She pauses, then adds, "Oh, and we should get a map that shows where the sub is, so we can blink out there as soon as we make sure you don't sink too."

[Katalyst]

Quote:

A body popped to the surface suddenly; the sailor's face was twisted into a rictus of pain. In the dim light, Jay could just see the red marks on his throat, as if he'd clawed at his own skin.

Well seems like the effect is coming from something in the water. Damm I hope the stuff that got in my mouth doesn't cause me to end up like this poor sailor. Without touching it he took a closer look at the body looking for clues/signs of what may have caused the sailor to die.
(Using Medicine Skill 3 dice)
(23:56:16) ChatBot: (Frank) rolls 3d10 and gets 1,6,8. 1 sux

After looking at the claw marks it looks he probably ran out of oxygen. That smell in the air was probably had something to do with the cause of the asphyxiation, so the flooding must have occured after that seeing as I don't see any signs of water in him. "Hmmm, I need to see if there is an origin point of the brittleness, or if there's any more dead sailors around."

Jay looks around again focusing on finding an area where it is the most brittle.

[Renee Byrnes]

Renee telepathically relayed the information to Jay and the redhead, hoping it would be of some use. There was nothing else she could do except wait for word back.

[Dawn OOC]

Juno:

Albright sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, leading her across the room to a quiet corner. It could have felt pervy and creepy, but it didn't. It felt confidental, as if he were sharing something with her. "I don't want to stop because I'm concerned about us starting again. We barely got going once. Now, I'd be willing to cut one of the screws and let you look at it; it'll slow us down but it don't kill our momentum. It'd be dangerous, but I'm going to pray that you know your limits. What do you think?"

Jay:

The lower he felt on the walls, the more brittle they became. It seemed that length of time submerged had a large factor on their fragility. An unpleasant thought occurred to him: what were the floors made of again?

[Katalyst]

Quote:

The lower he felt on the walls, the more brittle they became. It seemed that length of time submerged had a large factor on their fragility. An unpleasant thought occurred to him: what were the floors made of again?

As the thought of the floor giving way underneath him started to surface, a flood of information suddenly entered his mind. Unlike last time when he was expecting it, this intrusion into him mind caused him to jump. The process lasted only a few seconds and in that time Jay had some data he could work with. As suddenly as it came, Renee was gone leaving behind a memory of rosemary

Damm that power of Renee is a bit freaky. No wonder Whithouse was all shook up. Solid steel shouldn't be this brittle, I wonder if there is a Nova's around?

[Nathan Dayes]

"Ut!" Nathan blinks as Renee telepathically inserts information into his head.

"Ah. Right. Okay. I'm now somewhat familiar with the layout of this boat. I can teleport people through this door. But I'm not sure if I can do it in reverse."