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

[SalmonMax]

The glow from Ashley's skin and eyes faded as she pulled the gifts of her eruption back into her node. She rarely, if ever, just left her powers on; preferring to dorm whenever she didn't have an immediate use for them.

She didn't say anything at first. Just looked up at the pinprick light of the asteroid, then leaned over the railing to look down at the city.

"This isn't going to be over any time soon," the erstwhile soldier said somberly to no one in particular.

[Gregory]

As Gregory watched Squiddy leave, a wave of satisfaction passes through his body. He had trailed him for months and not been discovered. Now that James knew Gregory was there, and could be watching, he would look over his shoulder. It didn't get any better than this.

Once again, his skin blended to match the surroundings. He should probably follow James and see what he was up to. Then again, it might be best to scout for possible threats in the area. He decided the latter would be best, as James might be expecting him to follow.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: 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...

Doug rotated among the link,

*Why do I feel better knowing that he needs to breath and eat? And if he doesn't regen then does anyone have a guess as to how he gets those tendrils?*

[jameson (ST)]

Morning followed night and the sun rose into the crisp clear air spreading out over the city like a wash of yellow-orange ink. Curled up on some rooftop the bright light pierced Gregory's eyelids and brought the young man to consciousness. Though he felt no need for sleep physically it still did wonders for the mind.

Nearby perhaps in a ruined building Ashley too was awoken by the growing eastern glow. The fire she had stoked late last night was now smoldering embers that shed little heat. Wisps of blue smoke trickled upward into the shell of the building. Despite all her new power she was still reduced to a cold ball of muscle and bone huddling beneath stacks of blankets, the cold winter air made it difficult to even think about waking.

In the Tower Courier and KB slept the windows blocked and the light unable to brighten the darkness of their room. Anna meanwhile lay basking in the sunlight as it flooded the floor to ceiling windows in her room. For her the only thing better would have been solid earth beneath her feet, but then she she were at ground level the sun would still be but a warning glow.

Raider was jarred out of sleep to the sound of thumping on his door. Before he could do much more than consider the situation the door was opened. The light streaming past the figure revealed a silhouette that could belong to only one man. James entered quickly, "Brother, wake up, you must come and see! The moon, someone still lives on the moon! Last night an energy beam originating from the moon lanced out at the comet. It's gone, vaporized and scattered like it were not even there!"

*****

Less than an hour later everybody was gathered together in a meeting room. Some munched on food, others simply waited for Raider or James to speak. The monitor at the front of the room flickered to light. "This is the comet last night, about twenty minutes after the impact of the missiles. This is the comet at nearly five am. And this," the image clanged showing a clear star field with only bare hints of dust and particles, "This is five minutes later after this happened."

The still image changes to a vid of the comet. At first it is barely noticeable as a vid, the slow tumble of the comet is barely perceptible, only the smaller fragments ejected after the nuclear strike show significant movement. From the corner of the screen a blue-white beam lances out and dissects the comet. Ice flashes to steam, sublimating and expanding into vacuum nearly instantly. Rock shatters, boils, and scatters under the pressure of the water's expansion. Within a few minutes the entirety of the comet was reduced to rapidly expanding gas and small fragments of rock.

[Courier]

Doug blinked and after a moment said,

"Well, I'm impressed. That's either one heck of a cannon, or one heck of a strong nova."

[SalmonMax]

Ashley inhales to say something...then closes her mouth again. She'd never heard of any human habitation on the moon, but if it had armament like that it was probably military. Would they know about it back home? Maybe deeply classified?

No, too much assumption. Even assuming it was a human settlement. Maintaining a base on the moon when there was no Earth-based spaceflight would be almost impossible. Oxygen. Water. Power. Food. They'd need constant resupply...unless they didn't need any of those things.

So. An aberrant colony on the moon? With some kind of beam that could destroy a huge asteroid from extreme range?

"Can it hit Earth?" Ashley asks.

[Gregory]

The moon have lasers and abbies on it? Gregory's mind was having a hard time understanding how people could live on the moon and not fall off and hit the earth. It was enough to give him a headache. Maybe it was one of those tricky sciency-things that the others understood.

The comet-vaporizing ray, that flew off the moon, was impressive. It only increased his desire to shoot beams from his hands.

[Mr Fox]

Raider stood thoughtfully looking at the video screen not really seeing it long after the video stopped. After a while he looked up at the others, "We need to investigate. That beam could likely hit the earth if they directed it our way. It wouldn't destroy the planet, but it could destroy a city." There was a thoughtfulness to his words that suggested he might be thinking of which city might make a good target. "They knew about the comet, which means they also likely know why it changed course toward them. It would be a shame if they thought we were purposefully targeting them. That could lead to unpleasantness for us. I can take one other with me or if we get Adam we could all go, but protective gear might be necessary. Anyone interested?"

[Courier]

Doug said,

"I don't need protective gear and I can communicate out there, I'll go."

[Gregory]

"I want to go." Gregory blurted out. "I want to see the moon-people and their big laser."

[Joani]

"I'd rather stay here... I don't like the idea of leaving earth.", said Anna with real worry in her eyes. She was too rooted to earth and the thought alone of leaving the planet made her sick in her stomach which in turn was clearly visible as her skin changed into a sickly pale green.

[Courier]

Doug tries his link to KB. If she accepts he sends,

*What do you think of all this?*

[jameson (ST)]

KB turns to Doug, "What the hell should I think? There's something on the moon that was powerful enough to make mincemeat of that comet at a range far beyond what we could even think about doing. Very likely it could be targeted at us, and very likely it hadn't fired sooner because the comet was no threat to the moon until now. Somebody or something up there is massivly powerful and doesn't give a rats ass about anything on earth." She pauses, as much for effect as for a breath, "I think we're pretty much fucked."

[Courier]

Doug frowns and then says,

"Right, they didn't blow it away until it was pointed at them. Nice guys."

[SalmonMax]

"Maybe that was just the first moment it was in range," Ashley points out.

"Anyway, we pretty obviously have to check it out. Sitting around down here making guesses won't do any good. How many people do we have the ability to send?"

[jameson (ST)]

James puts his hands up, "Don't look at me, my rocket operation was wiped out I got nothin'. If you got a warper or a teleporter though you might be able to hit the area. Still hard to know where that base is and a blind teleport or warp could be dangerous."

[SalmonMax]

"You have telescopes, right?" Ashley asks. "Even a good pair of binoculars would work. If there's a base on the moon, it should be visible from Earth. The laser came from the light side, didn't it?"

[Courier]

Doug frowns again as something obviously occurs to him,

"Area, right again. The moon is big. It's not just a matter of going there, we may need to search a big area... and there's not much point of putting people there if they're on foot."

"So we need teleportation and high speed flight in one set of boots. Being able to phase out would be useful too since we're going blind."

Doug looks at Raider, "Ah..."

[SalmonMax]

Ash scowled abruptly and paced away a few steps, then looked back.

"Look, it seems to me like the moon thing needs to wait for a good plan. You guys need to find the base and work out who's going and how you're getting there...and all that. That's fine. But in the meantime, the comet's gone and we're still sitting on a city full of slaves."

"Lets get our shit together on the ground before we start flying off into orbit."

[Courier]

Doug replies,

"Do you think something that could one punch any nova, or even any group of novas, would make that easier?"

[Gregory]

Gregory became excited as Doug's statement helped an idea creep into his mind. It was probably just a repeat of what Doug said, but maybe not. Before the idea could sneak out again, Gregory spoke, his voice a rapid mush of excited syllables.

"We get big comet-blasting laser thingy on moon and we scare them into releasing the slaves. They release slaves or we turn city into uh uh ..whatever a laser-blast does."

[Mr Fox]

Raider nodded thoughtfully, then looked around, "I am willing to go scout it out. I will teleport a hundred miles above the surface of the moon or so and have a look to see if I can spot the base. Once I know where it is I'll try and get a little closer to get good coordinates to share with a warper."

[Joani]

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

Ash scowled abruptly and paced away a few steps, then looked back.

"Look, it seems to me like the moon thing needs to wait for a good plan. You guys need to find the base and work out who's going and how you're getting there...and all that. That's fine. But in the meantime, the comet's gone and we're still sitting on a city full of slaves."

"Lets get our shit together on the ground before we start flying off into orbit."

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

Raider nodded thoughtfully, then looked around, "I am willing to go scout it out. I will teleport a hundred miles above the surface of the moon or so and have a look to see if I can spot the base. Once I know where it is I'll try and get a little closer to get good coordinates to share with a warper."

"We can do both - 2 Teams. Raider scouts the moon and we prepare to free the slaves in the city. Anyway, I agree with Ash - we need to do something.", Anna said rising her voice just slightly to make herself heard.

[jameson (ST)]

It didn't take Raider long. He jumped, tearing through space-time like it wasn't there at all, and reappeared on the so called dark side of the moon. Raider knew enough that it was called the dark side because it was never illuminated toward the earth. It saw both sunlight and earth-light just like the opposite hemisphere but a trick of the planetary dance had made it so that never would sunlight strike it and reflect back to earth. As such there was no way for anybody on earth who wasn't a nova or privy to long lost secrets from before the burn to have known what Raider would find. Seconds more as he blurted it out to the others.

He floated there in cold near vacuum and then with a twitch of ephemeral quantum "muscle" he was flung back to earth, back to the very same rooftop that he had so recently been standing on. It all took only seconds, less than one second for the round trip, and fewer than three more for Raider to see the single largest creation of man that existed after the thermonuclear apocalypse of so many years before. A city, perhaps multiple cities, ensconced in domes of glass and steel and rock.

[Mr Fox]

When he was back on the roof he exhaled the breath he'd taken before departing in a rush, "They weren't difficult to find, and they look pretty intimidating."

Raider opens the link to Doug, *I don't want to say this aloud since I still don't trust James or anyone else here for that matter, but intimidating is only one word to describe what I saw... it's massive, and impressive. A huge city of domes, or perhaps more accurately, huge cities covered by many domes. We need to regroup someplace private where we can discuss our options. Ask everyone to gather at the grotto in an hour and we'll get Adam to port us somewhere from there.*

Aloud he adds, "I don't think I want to mess with the people up there. Besides, I think I want to sleep on this for a bit then decide what to do next in the morning."

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Joani Reikspar

"We can do both - 2 Teams. Raider scouts the moon and we prepare to free the slaves in the city. Anyway, I agree with Ash - we need to do something.", Anna said rising her voice just slightly to make herself heard.

Doug nods and says,

"James, how many for-real novas of our power level or greater are around here? Dozens? How many aberrants? Hundreds? More?"

(After Raider gets back)

Doug says mater of factly,

"You sound scared."

(Doug sends back) *Considering your brother is a telepath and some of us aren't shielded, he's going to find out pretty quick anyway.*

*As a gester of 'trust' we should tell him, maybe he'll screw up and start thinking that actually do trust him.*

[Mr Fox]

Raider gave a mental sigh and sent back, *You are probably right, but it is hard to trust, when we know he is likely just using us.*

He looked over at James, "You may or may not be able to answer this, but... How closely do your superiors watch you?

[jameson (ST)]

James thinks for a moment, "Safe to say that they know everything. Well. They know what goes on in the city around me. I don't think they can scan me. Well. I suppose they could but I shudder to think how powerful a Teep they would need to scan me without me knowing."

He looks at Raider and Doug, "Why? Are you worried that they'll find out about the moon city? And yes I was eavesdropping, you have issues trusting me, how do you think I feel?"

[Mr Fox]

Raider chuckled and gave James a crooked grin, "Touche." He became a bit more serious then, "Brother, to be honest, yes, I am worried about just how thoroughly they keep tabs on you and on what happens here. Now that the crisis is over I think it is time for me to take a little vacation and catch up on my studies and take care of the business that has fallen behind in my absence. Would you care to come along? You are looking a little in need of a vacation yourself." Looking at the others, "In fact, you all look a bit tired, why don't we go someplace and relax for a few days before we tackle the other issues that need to be resolved?"

Sending to Doug, *James, if you can listen in on this, then I would like to go someplace more private and out of earshot of anyone in this city. You are welcome to join us, but I don't want to say more as long as we are here. Doug, please pass along to the others my request to move to a more private venue.*

[jameson (ST)]

James smiles, "Of course. With the comet dealt with we can certainly use a bit of a breather. We can investigate the moon further once we have had a chance to rest and recover."

[Joani]

"Are we going to the moon? I mean we all?", asked Anna a little scared.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Joani Reikspar

"Are we going to the moon? I mean we all?", asked Anna a little scared.

Doug says,

"Probably not."

Doug rotates through the link,

*Raider is thinking that this office might have old fashioned listening devices.*

[Gregory]

Rest. Relaxation. Those are great ideas. Gregory grinned at the prospect of lying down by a fire and eating hot food. He was bored of scrounging for roots and bugs when he wanted to eat.

That they were not going to the moon, made him a little frustrated. Why did they make these plans, then change them. Why did Adam go and them come back so fast. Sometimes, he thought that they played games with him because he was not that smart.

[SalmonMax]

Ash picks herself up off the roof where she'd sat down...then laid down on her back after a bit.

"Rest's good," she says shortly. "Good decisions don't come out of being tired. Where and when are we meeting?"

[Mr Fox]

"I'm all for heading out right now. I could use a good home cooked meal and the stuff they serve around here just doesn't do it for me. What about the rest of you, you need to collect anything before you go?" Raider hoped no one else said anything that might tip off any listeners. Adam could get them home and then they could find someplace that wasn't likely to be bugged.

[Courier]

Doug says,

"Let's see if he's around."

Doug attempts to contact Adam and ask for a gate.

[jameson (ST)]

In nearly no time a portal opened in the space before them revealing dirty, trampled snow. James eyed the doors but after the others began to move through he shrugged and followed them. In less than a minute they were in the ravaged center of Newborough. Snow was piled in drifts fifteen feet high and more. Walkways had been carved through the snow in deep trenches that were often taller than a man. The group stood in a small cleared out area, icy walls arced upwards around them casting dim shadows under the moonlight. Adam closed the warp and turned to them. He was changed, his features having been twisted by the subtle influence of taint. He must have put himself to great strain rescuing the citizens of the town. Where once his eyes had held pupils of fire now they were pits of molten heat. His bald head was now covered in small scales of red, yellow, and orange. A fireball appeared in his hand as soon as he saw James, "What's he doing here?"

[Mr Fox]

"Whoa, take it easy Adam. Things are complicated. James is kinda one of the good guys now, or at least no longer one of the bad guys. Feel free not to trust him, but hold off on blasting him. We've got issues to discuss and we vouched for his safety so long as he behaves." Smiling at Adam at last he adds, "Good to see you again by the way. We solved one crisis while we were gone but we still have at least one to deal with and we're going to need your help so you might as well join us."

Raider points to Anna and Ash, "These two are new friends of ours. The green one is Anna, and the other is Ashley."

[Courier]

Doug sends over the still active link to Adam,

*He's here because we need him. He's annoyingly useful and (also annoyingly) probably part of the solution.*

*There's been a lot of developments, mostly in terms of what we know. The enemy of my enemy and all that... *

[SalmonMax]

Ashley eyes Adam warily, both the fire in his hands and the fire in his eyes. After a second she nods and says in a wry tone, "Ashley Logan. You'll understand if I don't offer to shake hands right away."