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

[Katalyst]

Jay follows Juno as she breaks off pieces of the sub that have been affected by the same effect as he saw in the Roosevelt. No doubt about it now, the cause has to be here.

He wondered where Juno was leading him and until he heard a tapping noise. He knew what it was, but unfortunately for him they didn't teach that in basic training. Shit I would guess it's a SOS, but for someone to still be alive down here would have to be like me or super lucky. His frown is masked by the darkness as continues to follow Juno.

[Dawn OOC]

Nathan et al:

The medbay was a scene of chaos. There was probably an order to it, but it was frentic and hard for someone unfamilar with the military to see. It took a few moments for the chaos to draw them in, but they were put to work, Nathan preparing to teleport the worst people out, which Michael was being asked to fly Whithouse to Reydarfjördur.

[OOC: I'll post Juno and Jay's part tomorrow.]

[Michael Peters]

Michael listens carefully to the instructions being relayed to him by a medic. Whithouse was in poor health and he would have to take care not to cause further harm to her. He took a travelers case of papers that contained her pertinant medical files and slung it over his shoulder. Tenderly, he lifted the blanket swathed woman and cradled her against his chest.

"All right, I'll be back as quick as I can. Do you need me to bring anything back?"

[Dawn OOC]

Michael:

The medic looked startled but grinned suddenly. "Yeah, can you borrow some thermal blankets from port? I think we have enough, but I'd rather have too many than not enough."

When Michael leaves, he got to see the crew on deck, laying out life rafts. There were hundreds of people up there, and hundreds more below, working up to deck slowly.

Whithouse clung to him, the mask from her small oxygen tank making her look weak and wane. "I've always wanted to fly," she said with a shaky voice, and Michael could tell she was afraid. "Please don't drop me."

Juno and Jay:

The tapping noise was coming from a curved metal hull, mostly buried in the sediment on the bottom of the ocean floor. The lonely tapping was disconcerting enough, but as the two shone their lights on the side of the sub, they saw that the metal was peeling away, each tap loosening the layers of metal as whatever was in the water affected them and they became brittle. The person calling for help was tapping his own doom.

[Katalyst]

Damm I was afraid something like this would happen. Not sure if I can get in there, behind what's left of the hull, and even if I did I don't think that I could get the person out of there.

Jay taps Juno on the shoulder to get her attention. Slowly he brings his hands together into a ball and then takes them apart, hoping that she get's his message that once the hull cracks it will burst open.

[Michael Peters]

Michael smiles reassuringly at the small woman in his arms.

"Don't worry. I've done this before. We'll have you back on land before you know it."

There are murmurs and gasps from the crowd as golden wings appear to unfurl from Michael's back. Everyone stares in wonder as he slowly lifts off the deck and begins moving away. After a few moments of gaining altitude, he begins to pick up speed.

Leaning close, he speaks to Whithouse in a calm steady voice, trying to reassure her.

"I have you. You wont fall. We are going to move much faster now."

Their speed continues to steadily increase.

[SalmonMax]

Juno whirls to look at Jay, then frowns as she tries to puzzle out his gesture. Maybe he was warning her that the chamber was going to burst open like a balloon? Well duh.

She shakes her head and points at Jay, then points at the chamber. Then she tries to work out how to gesture 'teleport,' and finally gives up. Instead she ducks down and uses her finger to scribe into the silt on the sub floor: "TPORT IN - WARN"

[Katalyst]

Jay shakes his head yes after he see Juno's writing. "Let's hope this doesn't kill me." He give Juno the thumbs up and focuses his mind on getting behind the hull.

(Teleport 5 dice + 3auto sux)

Current Qpool 12

[Dawn OOC]

Michael

Whithouse clung to him, her hands shaking. When she opened her mouth, her teeth clattered a little. Michael could easily guess that she didn't care for heights, but she confirmed it when she said, "Thanks for the warning. I joined the Navy so that I wouldn't fly through the air super-fast."

They've been moving for about twenty minutes when she points down. "Boat!" she shouts over the wind. "Should we check on them and warn them away?"

Katalyst

The dark, endless ocean disappeared from Jay's gaze to be replaced by a new vision of darkness - that of the interior of the submarine. His limited nautical knowledge told him that this was the conn. The air was thick and stale, and Katalyst was glad he didn't need to breathe it.

The only light came from the man slumped in a corner, tapping on the curving wall of the sub. He jerked when he saw Katalyst, his dark skin making his eyes and teeth flash by comparison. He wasn't dressed in any nation's uniform, only in a sweater and khakis. Both were stained with blood; a compound fracture of his right arm had been attended to poorly. "Are you real?" he asked with a voice harsh with pain and exhaustion.

[OOC: (01:23:26) ChatBot: (katalyst) rolls 5d10 and gets 7,4,7,1,7 + 3 auto = 6 sux]

Juno

Alone in the darkness, Juno stared at nothing, literally. It was too dark to see anything - anything save the soft glow that was just visible over a rise of the seafloor. It had been obscured by the bright flashlight Juno had brought, but now it was easily seen.

[SalmonMax]

Juno squinted in the darkness at something that should not have been possible. The deep sea dark was all around, besides that...so deep and black it was as if she were swimming in a sea of ink instead of water. It had a weight all its own.

But that light. Could it be related to what was happening to the sub?

She glanced at the compartment, but Jay wasn't reappearing...hopefully he was working out some way to rescue that guy. As for herself...she wanted to see this.

Careful not to brush the sub too hard, she swims out towards that glimmer.

[Katalyst]

Well now, getting better at this whole 'blinking' thing. Now to see if I can get someone else with me. Jay quickly takes in the situation that is presented in front of him. The injured man had stopped his tapping which Jay noted was the first good sign.

Quote:

"Are you real?" he asked with a voice harsh with pain and exhaustion.

"Yes sir I am real. Seems like your in a bit of trouble and well, I'm here to get you back topside. I can take a look at your arm for you as well." he says in a calm reassuring tone.

[Dawn OOC]

Katalyst

"You're real... you must be one of those super heroes... Novas. Is that what they're called?"

"Novus, actually," Jay corrected him absentmindedly, bending over to check his arm. The fracture was bad, but the tourniquet had started to slow the bleeding. He needed surgury, Jay could tell; there were too many pieces to just put it back together. He'd likely end up with pins.

He chuckled softly. "Well, I wish I'd become one. It would have saved me a lot of trouble. Maybe I could have saved my ship." There was deep pain in that last sentance.

"You're the captain?" Jay asked.

The man nodded. "I'm Captain Ian Malcolm."

Juno

Juno swam easily through the thick water. It was amazing that she could be down here. The cold, the pressure, the lack of air - none of it mattered to her at all. She kicked harder, enjoying the strength of her body.

It took longer than Juno thought it would, to swim to the top of the ridge. The light was the only frame of reference down here, and it was further than it appeared. Finally, she drifted to the top of the rocks, pulled herself up the last couple of feet and looked over.

She saw what was nestled in the ridge below. She blinked, rubbed her eyes and looked again.

A dome glowed like a jewel in the black rocks, lit from the inside. Through the clear glass, Juno could see people running around. She didn't think they were in distress, but they certainly seemed anxious.

This wasn't want she'd been expecting.

[Katalyst]

"Well despite the circumstances it's a pleasure to meet you, you can call me Katalyst. "We need to get you outta here, but first can you tell me what happened here Captain Malcolm, and where's the rest of the crew?"

(OOC: Finally got my Nova name in! )

[SalmonMax]

Juno floats for a moment, trying to wrap her head around what she's seeing. Underwater city. Atlantis?

Stop being retarded. It's some kind of lab is all.

That put a new spin on this situation. Up til now she'd been assuming this metal-eating water was the doing of a novus. But what if it was good old normal-human know-how mixed with a good sized chunk of good old normal-human stupidity?

She glanced back at the sub. Jay still hadn't come out, but the tapping had stopped. Hopefully that meant he could teleport with someone. If not, she wasn't sure what she could do about it. She couldn't get in without wrecking the wall.

And this was just too COOL to pass up.

She swam down to the dome and peered in to get a better look, then started circling to see if there was a way to get inside.

[Michael Peters]

Michael slowed as he approached the foreign ship. At this distance, it was hard to determine the exact size, but it didn't look like a military ship.

He turned towards it, picking up speed again.

"We'll give them a quick warning, assuming they speak English."

Or French, or Vietnamese. He thought They'll probably just speak Swedish or something. Here's hoping a glowing winged man is enough of a warning.

[Dawn OOC]

Katalyst

Malcolm sagged a bit further, his body slowly relaxing as he allowed himself to stop fighting, to give into shock. "We tried to fix the ship," he said. "They died choking. I was here, working from the bridge, and was sealed in. They died in the aft parts of the ship. My ship." He coughed and gasped as he shifted and jarred his arm. "They're dead," he said hoarsely.

Juno

Eagerly, the young nova peered into the glass of the dome. It was smaller than she had thought, only about ten feet across. But when she pressed her nose to the glass, she could see that the space below extended into the rock.

A squeaking noise, relatively loud in the water, distracted her. She turned and saw a dolphin hanging in the water, eyeing her curiously. Suddenly, it moved, swimming at her and ramming her with its nose. The impact would have knocked the wind from her, possibly cracked a rib. But to her, it did nothing, which seemed to confuse the mammal.

Michael

He swooped low on the water and was surprised to see that they were waving when they saw him. They even shot off a flare, though it wasn't necessary.

"Mate," the man called in an unmistakable Australian accent, "are we glad to see you! Something's wrong with our motor. Don't suppose you could give us a tow to shore, ay?"

[SalmonMax]

"OOOOF!"

If she hadn't been breathing water, the impact would have knocked the air out of her lungs.

Juno instinctively covers her abdomen where it struck her with her hands, and gives the dolphin a glare.

I thought dolphins were supposed to be NICE.

She swims cautiously away from the apparently irate aquatic mammal and starts looking for some kind of airlock or other way into the dome...all the while keeping an eye on Flipper.

[Michael Peters]

Thank God they speak English. Odd that they aren't astonished at a flying, glowing man...

"I'd love to help you gentlemen." He called out "But I have a woman here in need of medical attention. I'm taking her to Reydarfjördur. I'll inform them that you're in distress."

He then turns to go. If they can't move, then they're not going to come close to the American vessels in distress. Whithouse is his first concern.

[Katalyst]

Damm, I was afraid he was going to say that. He's really taking this bad. I'd better try and get him outta here, but I need to get a few more details first. "So you said that you tried to fix the sub, what caused the damage. What caused you to seal the bridge? I'm sorry if these questions seem rather sudden, but I want to be sure that I got all the facts before getting you out of here" he says trying to be reassuring.

[Dawn OOC]

Juno

Flipper followed her, hovering just out of reach – until she touched the dome. Then it darted in, ramming her hard. This time, Juno felt the scrape of teeth on her skin before it slipped past her. As it moved back into the darkness, Juno caught sight of the band around it’s tail, just above its fin. This dolphin wasn’t as wild as she’d assumed.

Michael

“What if they start sinking?” Whithouse asked. She was pale, but her blue eyes were bright with concern. “I mean, I appreciate your concern but I’d hate for them to get injured.”

“Yeah, mate, listen to the Sheila,” the Aussie said. “We lost our anchor too – the bloody thing just snapped! We’ve been adrift since, and we’ve been hearing weird things over the CB. I don’t mind saying we’re about to piss our pants, right!”

Katalyst

“We were taking on water,” Ian said. “I never found out why. It’s standard to seal the sections of the ship when you start to fill with water. And then we hit bottom, and I heard breaking up through the hull. My ship is dead, isn’t it?” His dark eyes were terribly bloodshot, and his skin had an unhealthy gray tinge. He looked to be joining his ship.

[Katalyst]

(OOC: Dawn I'm going to spend to spend 6xp to get 3 dots of attunement. I forgot that I had some xp left.)

Jay couldn't waste no more time, it was time to take Malcolm to a hospital before he died. "All right Captain, time to go. This won't take long so stay with me. I'm taking you back to the Aeon facility where I know some great doctors." Sending a surge to his node, Jay extends his Q energy to encompass Malcolm. Once that is done, Jay sends out a silent prayer please let this work and in a blink he's gone.

Q spent 3 for TP, 1 for Attune

Current Qpool 8

,,

[Michael Peters]

Michael weighs his options for a moment, before he sighs and nods his assent. He drifts towards the deck and after a moments hesitation, gently lays Whithouse down. His glowing wings flex once more then settle back against him, their radiance dimming.

"Alright. I'll need some rope or rigging that is firmly attached to the bow of the ship, something I can pull."

He examines the crew as he speaks, his eyes cautious. The wounded young woman had awakened his protective nature, and he was hesitant to leave her in the care of these unknown sailors.

[Dawn OOC]

Katalyst

The wreck of the ruined submarine faded around them and was replaced with the warm tones of Aeon's medical facility. The medical technicians were surprised for a moment, but then they recovered and rushed forward, taking Ian away from Jay. "Thank you," the man murmured as he was ushered to a bed.

[OOC: Teleport (1d10=1, 1d10=5, 1d10=2, 1d10=7, 1d10=9) = 2 sux + 3 autos = 5 sux]

Michael

The rope was quickly secured to the boat and the other end passed to Michael. He took off, flying strongly but carefully to the north. Still nervous about the strangers, he kept an eye on Whithouse. They seemed to be treating her well; one was talking to her, keeping her lightly engaged.

After only a few miles, the sky to the west lit up with an orange flare. One of the Aussies stood up on the prow and raised some binoculars to his eyes. "Hey," he called to Michael, "they're in the water! I think their boat went under."

"What's going on out here?" another Aussie asked, looking worried.

[Michael Peters]

Michael focuses his eyes on the horizon, feeling the strange sensation behind his eyes as they focus on the distant glow.

((Activating Mega-Perception extra: Electromagnetic Scan))

[Katalyst]

After ensuring that Malcolm was taken care of Jay makes his way to where he had left Fang and Renee. He was quite eager to see Fang, both to brief her on what was going on and also just to see her face. Being gone for these last few hours me feeling drained. I think that meeting up with Fang will give me a chance to catch a breather. Haven't felt this drained since sparring with Juno. I won't be much good to the others if I'm not one hundred percent.

As he makes his way to find Fang, Jay runs into Maxine as she made her way down to the medical bay. "King, what's going on here?" she demands. "Well, I just rescued the sub Captain, a Mr. Ian Malcolm. Nathan and the others were helping the Roosevelt, and Juno well she's, shit, she's still down with the sub." Maxine nods, and before she tries to speak again Jay cuts her off. "I'd get Renee down here and do a probe of Malcolm, he's not to hot off, but I get the feeling he was holding something back about what happened down there. Have you seen Fang? I want to see her before I head back."

Maxine eyes Jay "Well, I expect a full debriefing when the other get back as well. And I do mean full. Fang was last at the library. So I'd start there." With a curt nod she heads into the med bay. Jay watches her leave and then quickly heads to the library.

[SalmonMax]

Juno is knocked away from the dome and loses her grip on it for a few seconds. She tumbles down...unused to her body being heavier as she breathes water, less buoyant. Fortunately the dolphin's attack isn't sustained, and she manages to get her bearings again.

What I wouldn't give for a tuna net right about now... Wait, what's that?

There, partially hidden at the base of the dome by rocky outcroppings and drifts of sea grass was what looked like a round hatch. A way in?

Dolphin forgotten in the heat of the moment, Juno pushed off the side of the dome and swam around towards the hatch with all speed.

[Dawn OOC]

Michael

He could feel that strange sensation in his eyes, as if he were overfocusing on something. But the boat jumped into focus - or rather the top part of the boat, as the rest of it was under water. There was fishing gear floating on the surface, along with three people.

Juno

As she swam at the hatch, the dolphin came at her again. With flippers and its streamlined body, it was built for this kind of movement. It now used that speed to smash into Juno again, knocking her away with an angry squeal. The mammal paused and then skittered away into the dark water, as if it had heard something she couldn't.

[Michael Peters]

"Aw hell." Michael exclaims blandly, as if seeing something vaguely upsetting.

Working quickly, he removes the rope tether that attached him to the Australian ship and lunges towards the rapidly sinking vessel, his wings flaring. As he nears the floating debris and bodies, he calls out: "Hey! You there!" Hoping to see movement from the three sailors.

[SalmonMax]

God-fucking-damnit! Juno raged inside as she swam back to the hatch.

So help her, next time 'Flipper' came at her, she wouldn't just let it push her around again.

Then it occurs to her that maybe it swam off because something worse was coming. She puts her back to the hatch and tries to see into the darkness of the ocean.

(OOC - If the dolphin attacks again, she'll pull her punch a bit, but she'll fight back. Also, she'll use, unconsciously of course, Shapeshift to gain either bioluminecence to see, or at your discretion she could gain a perception enhancement to otherwise 'see' into the water to look for oncoming danger.)

[z-Wei Fang]

Fang's head was down as she studied books, though part of her mind was elsewhere. It was fascinating, yet another part of her considered, that she could think about so many things at once. But of more value to her was the sheer amount of mental power that she had in her possession.

A noise caught her attention and she looked up. Jay was walking toward her in his outfit and she rose with a smile. "Hello, Jay," she said in her soft voice. "Did you save the ship?"

[Dawn OOC]

Michael

"Hey!" the men in the water call back. "Heeey!" Arms waved at him desperately. "Can you get us out?"

"Our hull cracked open," another shouted. "We thought we were goners!

The boat gave another crack and slid deeper under the water. One man watched it slip away with an agonized expression on his face. His face was wet, but whether it was with sea or tears was difficult to discern.

Juno

The hatch opened into a small room. After fiddling around with the controls, Juno figured out how to close the outer door and open the inner.

She was on a catwalk; below her, a young forest spread out. Lights suspended from the catwalk threw down brilliant yellow light on the verdent growth. A path cut through the trees, and Juno could see someone walking down the path, his or her head bent over something.

[SalmonMax]

Juno fanned the hem of her shirt absently, trying to dry it a bit as she walked out onto the catwalk. A bit bemused by the spectacle of a forest deep under the sea, she wondered vaguely how it worked with no sunlight. Maybe those lamps were enough.

On noticing someone below, she leaned over the catwalk's rail and called down, "Hey, you down there! Is there someone in charge I can talk to?"

[Michael Peters]

Michael surveyed the situation, a frown creasing his forehead. He could never carry three men... well, at least he couldn't before. He had to start getting it through his head that he was stronger now. Better then he was before.

"All right, I think I can get you out of here. You'll have to hang on!"

Flying down towards the surface of the water, he pulls the first man out of the water and helps him grip on to Michaels back, his hands around his neck, so he's clinging, piggy-back style. The other two are more awkward. Michael pulls each out of the water by their waist, carrying them like sacks of potatoes. Flying quickly, but carefully, close to the surface of the water just in case one of the men slips, Michael makes his way back to the Australian ship.

[Dawn OOC]

Juno

The person below blinked, looked around and - as some seawater dripped from Juno's shirt - glanced up. Her eyes rounded in shock; then she took off at a run. A moment later, an alarm began to sound.

Apparently, people here weren't that friendly.

Michael

The men help their own rescue as much as possible, even the one clearly suffering from shock and grief. Back on the ship, the Australians help Michael make the new men comfortable and start to warm them up.

But everyone is on edge and nervous. Something is very wrong, and they don't know what, or how to stop it.

[SalmonMax]

"Oh come ON," Juno complains to no one. She then remembers her radio and yanks it off her belt.

"Uh, this is Juno," she says into it. "I was at the submarine and it's completely wrecked, but we found a survivor and I think Jay got him out." She thinks for a second, then goes on. "The bodies in the sub weren't in uniforms which was weird. And there's some kind of base down here. An underwater dome with people inside. And trained watchdolphins. I'm checking it out."

She lets go of the transmit button and as she waits for a reply, jumps off the catwalk down to the floor below. She hits hard, but the impact, while flexing her knees, doesn't hurt at all. She then starts off down the same way that the woman fled, figuring that if they took her 'captive,' then she'd probably get to talk to someone who had answers.

[Michael Peters]

Michael looks at the crew of both ships, some soaking and shivering, others just looking scared. He wants to do something to bolster their confidence.

After a moments consideration, he walks towards the rope he had been using as a tether and again ties it around himself firmly. Slowly, he lets his wings reform and spread to their maximum span.

"I'm truly sorry for your loss. Something is happening out here, something myself and my colleagues are investigating. I promise you, we will find out whats happening."

He floats off the deck, wings beating slowly.

"For now, lets get you all to safety."

Michael resumes towing the vessel, making his best speed towards Reydarfjördur.

[Katalyst]

Fang's soft voice made Jay smile underneath his mask. Quickly he wills his suit back into his Army uniform, which allows Fang to see his bright smile. "Good to see you again Fang, I don't have much time, but I wanted to brief you and what we found before I head back to get Juno." His smile quickly fades as recounts the events of the past few hours.

"So the main thing now is to see what info we can get from this Captain Malcolm. I figured that you might know how to handle that part, so that's the main reason for bringing him here. I suspect that a Novus is involved, but we haven't found any sign of one. Maybe Juno had some luck with that part."

,,

[Dawn OOC]

Juno

Juno followed the woman at a pace as leasuirely as Michael Meyers. The scenery was much nicer than in most horror films; the small trees grew straight and healthy, most with fruit forming on the branches. The section of cherry trees was particularly lovely with soft pink blossoms. It was like Eden, only underwater.

Juno rounded a corner and found herself facing a handful of armored suits - there might be men in there, they might be all metal. A metallic voice ordered, "You are under arrest. Cease and desist all activites, and surrender yourself."

Michael

The water whipped by underneath Michael's glowing wings, while the passengers in the boat made themselves comfortable. As he flew, Michael again speculated on what was happening.

Suddenly, his sharp eyes caught something. Ahead of them, the sea frothed and roiled, as if a giant passed just under the surface, kicking up foam.

[SalmonMax]

Juno just lifted her hands up to shoulder level, apparently unconcerned. She did smile though, rather admiringly.

"Yeah yeah, I surrender. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm just walking here. Those are pretty cool suits, guys. What is all this, anyway?"

[Michael Peters]

Michael doesn't slow his progress or change his course, knowing that whatever just kicked up the water has now moved away.

"Hey!" He calls out, not taking his eyes off the dispersing froth.

"Did anyone else see that?"