Aberrant: Phoenix Rising - Book 2: Chapter 3: Pulse

[jameson (ST)]

During the past three months the following has occurred:

• Newborough was found to have been buried under almost ten feet of snow. Reports from people who stayed to weather out the storm reported that a woman had flown up into the storm after which it's intensity increased greatly but it appeared to no longer be focused on southern Newborough. After two more days a great thunderclap explosion was heard and a blast of blue white like washed over the town. The storm quickly dissipated after that.
• Calypso has not been heard from or seen since that night.
• In time and with KB's help the town was recovered. The residents were mostly safely evacuated and returned with Adam's help and the kindness of the peoples of Quebec and Goodwood.
• Raider, in secret (you hope), has removed the explosive warhead from the remaining missile. The warhead is ready for use with the codes that you got from James. It currently resides in Raider's subbasement in Newborough.
• Additionally Raider spent a great deal of time exploring the man active satellites remaining in orbit. None of the ones found were weapons but there were a great many GPS, telecom, and scientific satellites still in working order.
• Ashley spends a great deal of her time practicing her abilities by herself and scrounging or hunting for food. Being one of the only novas with a biologic requirement for eating forces her to spend a great deal of time pursuing appetite suppressing munchies.
• Gregory spends much of his time outside the city scouting the surrounding countryside. What he finds are villages burned to the ground, the remains of corpses often littering the weed choked streets. The further he ranges the more he finds that the aberrants of York have apparently conquered and enslaved all surrounding communities for dozens of miles.
• Anna and Doug make every effort to integrate into the society of the city. Contrary to their prior assumptions they find that the only real organization is imposed top down by the strong. There is little sense of a true government instead the city is made up of a massive gang. At the top are a number of apparently seldom seen aberrants.
• Most surprisingly Anna and Doug learn that James is not at the top of the power structure. Based on what they have learned James had been attempting to curry favor with the powers that be and that the backing for his effort to save the planet comes from those above him. Somebody is holding James' strings.
• Not surprising is the fact that many of the smarted aberrants left in York resent James' current position of power.

[jameson (ST)]

The early April night was blessedly cloud free as everybody gathered on the rooftop of the Tower with James. According to Raider's calculations tonight they would see if the missiles hit the comet and if they did if they succeeded in destroying it. James stood apart from the others, bent over a telescope, as he focused on the comet and set up the video monitor so that all could see.

The night was chilly but with very little wind, even at their current elevation, it was bearable. The stars shone brightly but none could compete with the fuzzy and slightly tailed form of Haley's Comet as it tumbled inexorably toward the earth. Just a few more months away from impact the comet loomed in the sky like an evil cataract clouded eye. Courier stood with KB, reunited once more after the near fall of Newborough. The latter did her best to avoid so much as looking at James while the former did so with burning hatred in his eyes, something that hadn't changed in three months. Raider watched James as he went about his work but offered no help, if he really wanted he need only concentrate and he could witness the explosions first hand. Anna stood with Ashley a little apart from the others. Anna was untouched by the cold but felt uncomfortable being so far separated from terra firma. Ashley had come a long way but still distrusted James and was in many ways still uncomfortable with her own nova nature still.

At last the old television monitor lit up, displaying a magnified image of the comet with a few dark spots in the foreground. Nuclear weapons. Once meant to scorch the earth they would now, hopefully, save it. From his perch above the others Gregory's eyes lit up as the glass box suddenly lit up and showed pictures of the comet that seemed real enough to touch. He crouched on one of the air handling ducts ignoring the cold as though it didn't exist. Naked as ever his skin was blue black and speckled with tiny white dots. If it weren't for his eyes, teeth, and hair he might have been invisible against the background of the starry sky.

"Well brother, if your calculations are correct we should see it happen ..." he checks a watch on his still human arm, "In just a couple of minutes." James looks from the monitor to the sky, "I hope this works ..."

[Mr Fox]

Raider nodded. "You and me both brother. Let's hope the threat is averted. If not then we are going to have a lot of work to do."

[Courier]

Doug nodded at the interplay between the brothers and held KB's hand. Then he just... waited. He'd waited 3 months, he could wait a little bit more.

[Joani]

Anna looked up to the comet and stepped closer to Ashley. She didn't like being on the tower. The longer she was disconnect from Gaia the less she felt. It was as if she was diminishing and she didn't like it at all.

"I hope we can leave soon, this place gives me the creeps.", she whispered to Ashley.

[SalmonMax]

"The place I can deal with," Ash replies sotto voce. "It's the company that makes me edgy."

She gives James a glare, then forces her gaze up to the comet so she won't have to think about how easy it'd be just to paste his tentacular ass right now, and deal with the consequences afterward.

[Gregory]

So that is the Comet. Gregory said to himself.

His vantage point was a good distance from the glowing picture-box, but he could see very well what was on the screen. Every so often, he looked at the glowing object in the sky, and wondered how the one on the screen was larger. It was probably some teknol-ojikal thing that Doug and Raider understood.

He sat patiently with the others, hoping that the missile thingys would destroy the comet.

[Joani]

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

"The place I can deal with," Ash replies sotto voce. "It's the company that makes me edgy."

She gives James a glare, then forces her gaze up to the comet so she won't have to think about how easy it'd be just to paste his tentacular ass right now, and deal with the consequences afterward.

"We have to deal with him later. He is very dangerous and Raider said he can read minds. I hope the missiles will destroy the comet, else James is going to be our least concern.", Anna looked up and tried to hunch even more as if that could protect her more from the comet.

[jameson (ST)]

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

Raider nodded. "You and me both brother. Let's hope the threat is averted. If not then we are going to have a lot of work to do."

James merely nods, distracted by something on the display. He grabs a pad computer and begins to review telemetry data. He "hmm"s as he reviews the information and taps at the screen with his normal hand. "Uhh, looks like you aim was off brother ..." He turns the pad so that Raider can see and sure enough telemetry shows that the missiles will hit the edge of the comet. Computer projection shows that while some of the mass will be ablated off the rest will only be deflected not destroyed. "Here let me see if I can figure out the new trajectory ..." he begins to tap away on the pad again but a bright flare on the monitor stops him.

Looking to sky there is a brief and faint increase in the glow of the comet. The monitor shows the missiles hitting the edge of the object and bursting into light. Through the telescope a minor shift in the shape and tumble of the object can be detected as the flare from the nukes fade. After a few moments James says, "Well good news and bad news... Good news is it looks like it moved enough to not hit us." He pauses, a relived look on his face, and looks at the others. "The bad news is that it looks like it will hit the moon. I'm running the calculations now but worst case it could glance the moon and still impact earth."

[Courier]

Doug opened his mouth to say something then closed it with a snap.

*Raider, can you verify this? I'd hate to think we're being led astray because someone wants to feel needed.*

[Mr Fox]

Raider smiled. "Well, hitting the side was exactly what I was trying to do. Destroying the comet would be the a last option if deflecting it fails. See the problem is that if you break it up at this range what you get is a shotgun blast spraying the planet with anywhere from a handful of big nasty objects to hundreds of small strikes, to anywhere in between, but any way you look at it, if we blow that thing apart the Earth is going to be hit for sure. This way we have a much better chance of survival. The moon has been a shield for the earth for four billion years. Even if it does hit us after a glancing blow off the moon the velocity will be greatly reduced and it won't likely be an 'end of the world' kind of strike. Would still do some major damage sure, but except for the those at ground zero and a few hundred miles around it wouldn't be deadly. Might be some lean harvests for a few years, but not as bad as after the burn, at least the fallout wouldn't be radioactive this time."

Raider considers the screen for a bit then looks at James, "It'll take a few days of observation to get accurate data and calculate if and where it might strike the moon. Plus, we'll need to observe for a few months after it has past us to make sure we won't be in his target sites next time it comes back around. If we are lucky we might have altered it's path enough that it will never come near earth again, but we won't know that for at least six months after it has passed."

Raider smiled in as friendly a manner as he could muster at James and said, "Now dear brother we need to have a chat. You have mentioned several times that our father has poisoned me against you. This is your chance to prove him wrong. My friends have been doing a great deal of observing here in the city over the last three months and together we've reached some conclusions. Would you like to hear what they are?"

[Gregory]

Gregory only understood that they were trying to stop a giant ball of ice from hitting the earth. What happened on the screen, and in the sky was still a mystery. Raider deflected it into the moon? kept repeating in his mind. He didn't know what would happen if it did, but it couldn't be a good thing.

When Gregory heard Raider tell James about his conclusions, he wondered if Raider inform James about the de-populated towns and villiages surrounding York. It had been quite a shock to see a town with buildings, but no people. He hoped they were all taken as slaves, and not eaten. At least a slave was still alive. Maybe James would tell Raider what had happened.

[jameson (ST)]

"I agree, further telemetry will only allow us to be more accurate. With any luck we'll be able to sit back and wait for the moon to just stop it cold. The chances of any particulates raining down on us afterward would be fairly limited, they'd more likely burn up prior to impact."

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

Raider smiled in as friendly a manner as he could muster at James and said, "Now dear brother we need to have a chat. You have mentioned several times that our father has poisoned me against you. This is your chance to prove him wrong. My friends have been doing a great deal of observing here in the city over the last three months and together we've reached some conclusions. Would you like to hear what they are?"

James looked at Raider and then the others sparing a particularly bemused look for Courier. "Well I cannot say I wasn't expecting it. It's really a shame that your powers did not develop in the same manner as my own, then you could just take a look and see for yourself. Fine what do you and your friends want to say?"

[Mr Fox]

Raider sat down on the roof and got comfortable, "When we first encountered you we thought you were behind everything that was going on, and it was easy to believe you were the monster that our father said you were. Your actions did not help they seemed to confirm what he said." As if checking things off a list he spoke, "You stole a space vehicle from us and in the process tried to arrange so that we would kill our father. Your henchman tortured and killed several people from our city when stealing information for your captured space vehicle.. You captured and did terrible things to one of our friends. You did all these things when merely asking would have gotten you all that you wanted."

"That does not speak well for you. However, since we have come here we've learned a few things like I said. First and foremost we've learned that you were not the author of all the evil that is in this place. In fact you are not even among the leaders here you curry favor with them as best you can. Your brand of evil seems to be natural here in this city and among it's novas. The things you did, while terrible are merely symptoms of a deeper problem. Now that the major crisis is past we intend to do something about it."

Raider let James have a second to digest that then finished, "Now you have the chance to prove our father wrong. You can help us bring this place down and build a better future for the people here, nova and normal alike, or you can continue to lick the boots of those who rule here and inform them of our plans to bring them down... or you can join us and help us bring them down. The choice is yours and I won't interfere if you decide to continue being their servant, but if so you will never be welcomed by me or my people and your past crimes against us will not be forgotten."

Before James could respond Raider concluded, "On the one hand you serve Goliath, powerful novas; on the other hand you can join us as an equal and we appear to be far inferior to those we oppose. If you join us you will definitely be joining the underdogs in this fight. Don't underestimate us however, I give you my word that we will change this city one way or another."

[Courier]

Doug holds his tongue and waits to see what James will say about this.

[jameson (ST)]

James smiled a smile that did not touch his eyes. "Brother, what assurances do you give that I will not be summarily executed when you are done with me? Doug seems like the type to kill a man in cold blood. Crush him to death like he was chopping firewood or some other banal task." James gave Doug a look; a look that said, Yeah I know what you did. "I'll admit I've been looking out for my own ass but I've been looking out for the whole damned planet too. I took that aircraft because I needed it and I wasn't going to talk to some scavengers I'd just met about it, you clearly weren't the owners.

"As for trying to get you to kill father ... he's been trying to stop our efforts, MY efforts to deflect the comet since I first discovered it. He's mad, he's convinced that the Burn was the right idea but just didn't quite succeed. I'd have killed him myself were I able, buy he's still my father, I couldn't pull the trigger.

"As for my methods. Question them all you want, indict me how you like but after what he did to that man in the forest," he points an accusatory finger at Doug. "I don't think you have a leg to stand on. I didn't choose the people to get the data recorder from you and I'm not responsible for whatever they did. If I were it still wouldn't change the fact that the situation is bigger than that. What're a few people compared to the entire planet? Possibly to the race?"

He looks Raider in the eyes as he pauses, "You say I should've asked for help. Maybe you are right. But given whom I was ... I AM, working for my options were limited at best and you all were an unknown quantity at the time. Hell you blew up my damned rocket! Six months that set us back." James shakes his head. "Fine maybe I made a mistake, maybe you did, probably we both did. Regardless I have a goal and I mean to reach it. I'll worry about the future once I know we have one."

[Courier]

Doug grumbled then responded,

"A shapeshifter leaving a trail of murdered and tortured victims shouldn't be shocked if he's treated seriously."

*KB, I've never asked, but what was James' role in your capture and treatment?*

[jameson (ST)]

Originally Posted By: Courier

*KB, I've never asked, but what was James' role in your capture and treatment?*

*I'm not entirely sure. The only thing I can remember clearly of him was when he used me as a conduit to get to you. The rest of the time that little parasite was controlling me or I was simply passed out from exhaustion. He had to have known I wasn't willing but beyond that ... I don't know Doug, I'm sorry.*

[Courier]

To James, Doug added,

"OK James, I'll ask. What was your role with regards to KB?"

[jameson (ST)]

"Looking for more reason to kill me Doug? I should think you've already made up your mind." James sneers but after a momentary pause he continues, "I informed my superiors that work would move forward faster if the weather were not a concern. Soon after your woman was brought to the camp. Only later did I learn who she was to you. I admit only to using her to contact you and yours. It was needed and at the time I was still unaware of your greater identities."

[SalmonMax]

The revelations, one on the heel of another, threatened to distract; to dissuade. They were siren calls, but Ash steeled herself against them. It didn't matter to her what bad blood was between this guy James and the others. It didn't matter to her what Doug had or hadn't done to some aberrant who might or might not have deserved it. Her eyes were on the prize.

The question was, would James help, like the others here had promised to? Would he keep his nose clean and go elsewhere? Or would he keep serving these 'greater powers' and try to stop her?

Asking would be pointless. Obviously his answer would be whatever he thought would keep him alive. Still, maybe he'd give some useful info in his eagerness to seem helpful.

"So James," Ashley asks, breaking her long silence. "Who're these others that are calling the shots around here? I don't know about the rest of us, but I for one would like to know more about them."

[Mr Fox]

"James, I think the point is that Doug is looking for a reason NOT to kill you, not more of a reason to kill you." He nods toward Ash and the others, "We are very eager to get started. The comet is no longer an issue. It has been deflected. We are going to clean this place up and make it a better place to live. The only question in my mind is whether we start with you, or recruit you. Ash's question for example... you could be a big help to us, or you could be a big pain in our asses."

[Gregory]

Squiddy seemed to be telling them what they wanted, but Gregory was still wary. This abbie had tried to blow him up! Still, there was something appealing about him.

He would give them a few more minutes of trying to get James to tell them what was happening. If not, he would reveal himself to the man, and try to help him open up. For now, he would try to detect if the man was even lying.

((OOC: subterfuge to detect if he's being misleading.)

[Courier]

Doug smiled tightly and said,

"Retrospectively the whole thing stands out as a set up, just not against us."

"KB makes her living bartering her weather abilities. So if you need them and you're seriously rich with lots of things to trade... obviously you torture them out of her. This kind of makes sense if you're cheap and ruthless, but it makes a lot more sense if you want to run the risk of her dropping a hurricane right there."

"Of course if 'that's' what you're up to, you'd choose someone with, oh, say, a nova boyfriend and a nova crew. Handled right maybe he'll put a spearhead through whoever is running the show."

"This doesn't deal with the rock, but it does deal with an up and coming rival, and maybe you have other ways of dealing with the rock."

"This doesn't *have* to be why it was set up this way, it *might* have been a serious of coincidences and screw ups..."

[jameson (ST)]

James just looks at Doug. After a moment he shakes his head, "I wouldn't have given you credit for that idea had anybody else said it and claimed it was yours. Still, anything is possible, I've plenty of enemies and plenty of underlings who don't like my think first crush things in anger later attitude."

He turns to Raider, "What exactly do you intend to do? What do you want from me?"

[Mr Fox]

"We want to remove the threat that this city poses to the people around it and we want to free the slaves inside it. If that means taking out those who are unnecessarily cruel or abuse their power then so be it. If we can convince them to change the that is fine too." Raider made an ironic smile, "I don't believe that they will change just because we ask nicely though. That means we need to make plans to take them down. You could be very helpful in that planning. Some of my friends here are opposed to violence unless absolutely necessary in defense. Some of my friends here would like nothing better to start removing heads and piling them up in front of this building until there are no oppressors left. I fall somewhere in the middle. I have no problem removing those who would enslave and manipulate others in the cruel ways that are common here. I'd rather do it in a Night of Long Knives than one at a time, but that's for tactical reasons. What can you suggest as far as fixing the threat the leaders of this city pose?"

[Joani]

Anna came slowly closer to join the conversation still having an eye on Ashley in case the newly erupted would fathom the idea of attacking now and ask questions later. Anna paid especially attention to the parts about killing and avoiding violence. She knew they had to do something and it would most likely involve fighting but maybe she could contribute her part without having to fight.

[SalmonMax]

Ashley lounges against the railing, pretty much as she has been all this time. The telltale glow of energy in her eyes and radiant aura burning around her body shows that she's 'undormed' at the moment, but aside from that she doesn't seem like someone who's poised for violence.

Though by now Anna has seen just how fast Ashley can move when her powers are activated.

[jameson (ST)]

James sighs, "The lesser people of the city will need to be put down. Many are little more than rabid dogs. But the leaders are the ones you need to remove. They're hard to get to, I've only ever dealt with them through others. I'm not even sure where they are or who they are. You want my help? Guarantee my safety and I'll consider it."

[Mr Fox]

Raider thinks for a minute then says, "We can guarantee your safety, but there are conditions that come with that. You have to behave yourself. We might have to do things we don't want to do in order to save these people and protect our own, but that doesn't mean we will resort to torture and the horrible things that are done regularly in this city. That means if you want to be one of us you have to act like one of us. Sure we will have to administer some justice along the way, but torture and flaying people alive the way some of your old associates did won't be tolerated. Can you live with that?"

[Courier]

Doug sent to KB,

*You good with this?*

[SalmonMax]

"My priority is to make sure this city's no longer a threat," Ash says tonelessly. "If what he says is true, then I've got no particular beef with him. If he'll help get these people out and take out the aberrant's organization, then fine."

[Gregory]

Listening to Squiddy tell them about his place in the hierarchy of the city, Gregory felt that he was right in assuming he was not that bad of a guy. Still, Gregory had the feeling that James was holding something back. There was something in the way he picked his words.

Gregory drops his camoflage and jumps down in front of Squiddy. "I know you not telling us everything." He says..his voice calm. "What you trying to hide?"

Meanwhile, Gregory prepared to force Squiddy into telling them all that they wanted to know. Feelings of guilt or shame might accomplish it. How to address it to someone as manipulative as James would be the difficult part.

[jameson (ST)]

KB's expression was dark and her reply terse, *No, but what choice do I have?* Her glare toward James was not missed but he clearly chose not to respond to it, not that he had much opportunity. Gregory leapt down from his perch, fully naked and fully visible.

Originally Posted By: Gregory

"I know you not telling us everything." He says..his voice calm. "What you trying to hide?"

James reacts with shock and stumbles backwards, "Who the hell?! ... Jordan, is this another of your friends?"

[Gregory]

He was surprised that Squiddy didn't know of him, and it almost caught him off guard. Could he really not know me?

"I am his friend." He said with a smile. "And I have been watching for a long time," he tried his best to sound like he was intelligent. "My name is Gregory."

[Courier]

Doug spoke up with just a hint of irony,

"Yep, that's Gregory."

Originally Posted By: jameson (ST)

KB's expression was dark and her reply terse, *No, but what choice do I have?*

Doug sent back,

*:Sigh: Same as before I guess. We walk away from this mess and let it fester. Thousands, maybe tens or hundreds of thousands get treated like you were.*

*Some good news by the way, one of the graves we're digging will hold whoever gave the order for you.*

[Joani]

Anna was slowly getting closer to the scene fearing that it could end in a fight. James did seem to push buttons that put everyone around him on alert. As she moved closer Anna didn't realize that she was slowly getting bigger her fear and excitement triggering her growth which always happened when she felt threatened.

Please don't start a fight, were her thoughts and she looked around with worriful eyes.

[jameson (ST)]

KB squeezed Doug's hand, drawing reassurance from his presence. James looked Gregory up and down but said nothing as he straightened himself out and looked between the members of the group. "Hey big green, try not to collapse the roof eh? Not all of us can fly." He looked unsure, for the first time since meeting James the others got the impression that all his confidence and superiority was as much an act as it was the truth, a muddled slurry of the real man and the aberrant he needed to be to survive.

[Courier]

Doug put his arm around KB's waist and said,

"Tell us about your 'so called' superiors."

Doug thought, *Not bad. That was just the right blend of giving him the opportunity to show off, and giving him the chance to show that his puppet master isn't all that superior compared to himself.*

(Activate: Persuader)

[jameson (ST)]

James shook his head, "Maybe in the morning. I don't have a superior stamina and I need to sleep." He shivered, "And maybe something warm to eat would be nice. Find me in the morning, in the meantime I'm sure Jordan can operate the telescope if you all wish to make continued observations." He hands the control to Raider and heads down into the tower leaving the group alone in the cold night. In the sky the comet appears much as it had earlier in the evening, the shift in trajectory imperceptible to the naked eye even for those with nova level senses.