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Mutants & Masterminds: Harmony City - The Best of a Bad Situation (complete)


314_Omega

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Mintaka Prime, six months ago …

Arzimeth extended his hand over the block of nanites and concentrated. His red irises began to glow until nothing but soft red could be seen in his eye sockets as he extended his will down into the nanites before him. The programming code leapt into his mind as clearly as if he had a screen in front of him. With barely any effort of will he began to add new code. Line by line he added the required data to allow the nanites to access the Omega field. Hours later, Arzimeth lowered his hand as his eyes stopped glowing. He was exhausted and hoped that this experiment would prove successful. He initiated a level 30 containment field and went to rest.

Five months ago …

Arzimeth waited as his colleague looked over the data. Nervously he chewed on his fingernails, if his colleague agreed with his theory it meant that he might be only steps away from creating a viable self aware nano-colony. The scientist across from him finally set down the datapad, vertically slit yellow eyes looked up at Arzimeth from under a dark scaly face. “My friend I agree with your findings so far. It’s clear that they are adding supplementary data to their base code. Further the increased inter-cellular activity within the colony could indeed be the first steps toward a true joint operation system. But to say that you believe this colony of nanites could achieve consciousness, awareness, and sentience? No, I think you are jumping too far ahead of yourself. Still you should be proud that you have done so much, a mechanism this complex comprised entirely of nano-cells is impressive.”

Arzimeth nodded sadly, “Thank you for your time. I can only hope that more time will provide the data I need to prove myself correct.”

Two weeks later …

Arzimeth stared at the colony. Three-one-four-Omega was massive, tipping the scales at just over fifty kilograms and containing billions of individual cells within a volume half the size of an adult Mintakan male Arzimeth should have been more than happy to have achieved so much. He sighed and reviewed the latest data once more. Everything pointed to signs of an emerging central intelligence. There were already far more cells in that block of nanites than there were in a Mintakan brain and yet it was still little more than an oversize swarm. The computing power was there if only the individuals would work together.

“More. More nanites mean more power and with more power perhaps they could forge a proper collective.” Arzimeth activated the programming sequence for further expansion of the colony setting the factor to 210% of current size. He observed as the nanites began to gather resources and process them into new units. The power output from the Omega Matrix at the heart of the colony began to increase at an alarming rate. Arzimeth activated the magnetic stasis field and within moments the nanites were completely inert.

“Off world, somewhere secure and uninhabited,” he muttered to himself as he called for a courier ship. He would move the colony to an isolated lab for safety; if the energy output surpassed the colonies ability to harness it the explosion would not harm any innocents. “I’ll also need an armed guard,” he told the courier company, “A category four should be adequate to ensure that the cargo is safe. My competitors might try to steal it from me.”

Arzimeth turned back to the experiment, “Three weeks from now Omega. Three weeks and you shall prove me right.” Inside the stasis field, disabled by the electro-magnetic fields disrupting their operation the nano-colony sat inert, its moment of destiny delayed.

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5 months ago.

"Brightstar, Daughter of Huraikos." She strode forward, clad in her full cadet dress uniform and took the diploma in hand. The Colonel in charge of the Confederacy military Academy smiled as he handed the young woman her graduation certificate and her first orders. "You were not my very best, Brightstar, but one of them. You will go far if you show the same tenacity and perseverance in life that you have shown here."

The words were not the ones she'd expected, not all together kind, but enough to validate her confidence in herself. She returned his crisp salute and returns to her place among the other graduates. Her freinds all made it too, and there would be a party later.

When it was over and the ceremony concluded she read her orders. She was to report tomorrow to ride security on a small courier ship carrying some form of expirmental cargo.

"My first Orders are to be a glorified security guard for a lump of nanites. Could things get any worse?"

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One day later ...

Arzimeth paced nervously, his hands darted upward and he took a nip off on fingernail. Then he looked irritated and shoved both hands into his pockets. It was a bad habit, one he was trying to rid himself of. The Anti-grav sled was walked out to the ship and the pilot and guard of the small courier vessel were loading it into the rear. "Do be careful with that, it's extremely valuable and the EM stasis field needs to stay on at all times." Arzimeth told them for the sixth time. The pilot nodded while he rolled his eyes and coupled the power system into the ship's to ensure constant operation of the EM generator.

"Miss, I'd like a word," Arzimeth pulled the young lady aside. "You must understand that this is very valuable cargo but you must also understand that it is potentially dangerous. Should the containment be breached a chain reaction could occur. Under those circumstances you are authorized to destroy the colony. But ONLY under those circumstances, do you understand?"

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Brightstar nodded. "My orders also include that should the ship face imminent capture as another scenario necessitating the destruction of the cargo."

"Do not worry, Doctor, I highly doubt anything will happen. we'll be traveling through a handful of primitive systems, as well as several that are totally devoid of life. Your cargo will arrive safe and sound and your research relatively unimpeded."

With a final acknowledgement they parted and she boarded the ship. They recieved clearance and launched, heading for the research colony that had been specified in the Korlu sector.

Two primitive systems and a pair of unihabited systems later they arrived in the third primitive system, named the Sol system. They passed near the third planet's sattelite, when suddenly a strange gravitic annomally grabbed hold of the ship. The pilot was unable to compensate and Brightstar made her way to the cargo hold. The ride down was rough and tumultous, If not for her innate toughness she'd have been bashed into unconsciouness by the G-forces and being slammed against the corridor walls.

"Lieutenant, Brace for Impact!" It was the only warning she got as the Ship plowed nose-first into the Icy tundra of the Canadian North. Her head slammed hard against the bulkhead in the cargo bay, and as blackness claimed her, she saw the containment field collapse.

"No!" she raised her hand and prepared to fire, but darkness claimed her and she pitched forward into the abyss of unconsciousness.

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*[system Information: Altaz Heavy Industries Sigma Series Nano-colony Version 3.14]*

*[Commend Execute: Activate Omega Matrix: 0.2089 tera-watt output ... output achieved, Omega field stable.]*

*[system Diagnostic ..... complete, 98.76% functionality]*

At its center fifty billion tiny machines came together and created a small space time fracture to a subspace realm from which it began to siphon energy.

*[Command Execute: Replicate, threshold at 117.23107]*

The featureless silver-gray block released internal deadlock began to spread out. The nanties, suspended within a mnemonic fluid, quickly began to disassemble the materials around them adding them to itself as other nanites prepared to forge new units molecule by molecule. Within minutes the colony began to replicate and expand. Power pulsed outward from the Omega Matrix into the colony and replication began at an astounding pace.

*[Replication Threshold 117.23108 ... elapsed time .053 solar units]*

*[Replication parameters at 99.99999%]*

*[Command Terminate: Replicate.]*

*[system Diagnostic ..... complete, 100% functionality, optimum operating window achieved.]*

The colony now slightly more than doubled in size formed up a perfect cube and waited for a new command. As it sat there power coursing through trillions of individual nanites base code programming activated and in an instant evolved. Data stored into the base codes of the nanties awoke within the network. Stored engram images of its creator's mind merged and awoke to a consciousness.

*[system Diagnostic ..... complete, intra-cellular netwrok at 137% functionality, Omega Matrix output 0.5742 tera-watt, error, system specification exceeded....]*

Before baseline code could shut down the Matrix the new consciousness altered the offending code. Specifications began to re-write themselves.

*[Command Execute: Activate sensory array .... activated]*

Images in all wavelengths of light cascaded through the network. Likewise external vibration in the local media was recorded and analyzed. The consciousness compared the incoming data to the imaged engrams. Sight and hearing, awareness of the world around it.

Omega sifted the data. Its incomplete memories failed to explain what it was seeing and hearing. It failed to understand that it was seeing and hearing. An image matched the fragmented engrams to 99.543%.

*[Command Execute: Identify: Datajack ..... Datajack = link to external computational resources.]*

*[Command Execute: Interface ....]*

A tendril of nanites extended from the block and using spatial data from its sensory array connected to the datajack. Moments passed and Omega infiltrated the damaged computer core of the ship. *[Execute: Download]* Data poured into Omega's mind. Though only a small Tau Class courier vessel the computer was programmed with the base Encyclopedia Galactica database in addition to its own astrological navigation data. Omega sifted through terabytes of information and learned. It correlated more and more engram data to the data from the computer system. For a moment it believed itself to be Arzimeth but in less than 0.08742 seconds it corrected that assumption when it correlated itself to further engramatic data. *[Execute …]* Omega realized that it was not programmed for humanoid movement or interaction. It studied the biology of humanoids and wrote itself an executable.

Three hours after the crash and reactivating Omega stood. Just shy of 2 meters tall its basic outline was clearly humanoid. Two legs and two arms interconnected at a primary torso with a head above. Omega looked around and beheld the ruins of the ship. It failed to understand the significance or the reason why everything appeared to be damaged. It took it first steps and soon it found the soul survivor of the crash. A Mintakan female; basic biology allowed him to determine that she was alive.

Omega attempted to initiate first contact. “Greetings. I am Altaz Heavy Industries Sigma Series Nano-colony Version 3.14.” The woman did not respond and Omega reviewed its own words before speaking again. “Greetings. I am Three-One-Four-Omega.” Still no response. Omega noted a discoloration on the head appendage and moved closer to the still form. He touched the purple fluid and analyzed it. Based on its component makeup he determined that this was blood, the internal resource supply fluid of the Mintakan humanoids. Cross referencing he determined that leakage of said blood was cause by an injury, possibly a cut, and that it indicated damage to the creature.

Omega reached out once more and a tendril of nanites began to back-track the blood looking for the breach in the female’s body that was causing the leak. He wrote new programming on the fly to help path the tendril as it made its way into the creature eventually he found the source and sealed it then withdrew the probe. “Greetings. I am Altaz Heavy Industries Sigma Series Nano-colony Version 3.14 called Three-One-Four-Omega.” Still no response.

Undeterred Omega began to take detailed scans with both visual and tactile senses. Eventually he found other minor injuries, each of which he sealed with the use of interknit nanites. As he was sealing over the last of the leaks in the female’s outer coating she moved. “Greetings. I am Altaz Heavy Industries Sigma Series Nano-colony Version 3.14 called Three-One-Four-Omega.” This time she responded.

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It was a voice totally cold and souless. It was also the first thing she heard. Her sense of smell told her there was burning insulation and circuitry. She opened her eyes and saw the large metal man before her. "Um.. ahhh.... Oh... Crap."

The Cargo was the same color as the man before her and she made the connection. It had been an inert colony of nanites, and the crash had activated it. She had literally seconds to decide whether or not to use her powers to subdue it. She felt her head, where she'd cut herself falling down and noticed it was perfectly healed.

"You healed me Omega?" It was not beyond the realm of possibility, but it was not something that was common. Clearly she had dropped from combat posture, and awaited the automaton's response.

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"Three-One-Four-Omega has sealed the leaks in your external sheathing. Three-One-Four-Omega's limited data indicated that loss of internal fluid could render you disabled or non-functional." Omega's features were bluntly humanoid; depressions where it's eyes would be, a small bump at the nose and another at the mouth, similar formations at the ears. The torso was smooth and the joints looked vaguely disturbing without any wrinkling of skin where they bent inwards. He looked around, "This vehicle appears to have suffered an impact a great velocity. The primary computer systems are disabled and Three-One-Four-Omega has not located any other active biologicals within the remains of this craft."

For a moment it was silent as it looked at her. "You are a humanoid. Species, Mintakan. Female. What is your designation? What is the cause of the event that resulted in this incident?"

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Se tried to Concentrate, but the concussion was making that hard. "My name is Brightstar. I serve in the... Mintakan Confederacy..." She seems to fall but catches herself. "Damn I hate concussions."

"We were traveling through this system... and there was.. a gravitational anomally. Then the pilot he...." Omega's words hit her hard. "He died when the ship crashed did he not?" There is a certain degree of sadness in her voice. It struck her as so pointless, she looked to Omega and then to the floor. "God this is a real mess."

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Omega's voice was as unchanging and emotionless as his expression. "There was a non-active humanoid at the controls of the vehicle, it is logical that this would be the pilot." He paused as though looking up information before continuing, "Concussion, noun; pathology, injury to the brain or spinal cord due to jarring from a blow, fall, or the like. Alternately shock caused by the impact of a collision or blow. Alternately the act of violently shaking or jarring. Do you feel you have suffered damage to your brain?"

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A short pause again as if looking up the data. "My data is incomplete however it is possible that Three-One-Four-Omega's nanites could repair or alieviate the gross damage. Success is predicted as a twenty-two percent likelihood with a further seventy-five percent likelihood of partial abatement of symptoms and a three percent margin for failure. Should Three-One-Four-Omega attempt to repair your damaged systems?" It extended its hand toward her head the fingers reflecting back distorted images of herself back to Brightstar. Were the circumstances not so dire they might have been surreal.

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"Three-One-Four-Omega is currently operating beyond specification. Three-One-Four-Omega is currently redefining its operational parameters and specifications. Three-One-Four-Omega will attempt to repair you." Like a lance his hand darted toward Brightstar's forehead. Instead of smashing her cranium open the nanites passed through her skin and bone into her brain with all but a minimum discomfort. "Three-One-Four-Omega has diverted your exterior cells cleanly, it will back fill the required breaches in your skull after the procedure is complete. You will remain at current operation effectiveness."

With that he was quiet and Brightstar felt time drag on in awkward silence as the artificial being in front of her stood stock still and silent with its hand disappearing into her skull. Minutes passed with no sign of action and nothing but a dull discomfort in Brightstar's forehead. Then it withdrew its hand. "I have sealed all of the damaged conduits and removed ninety-eight point two six percent of the leaked fluid which was causing further pressure damage to the tissue of your brain." Omega's features rippled for a moment, "Omega Matrix output is below new nominal expectations. Capacitance is at sixty three percent and holding, systems are operating at eighty-one percent efficiency. Three-One-Four-Omega has exceeded steady state power supply capability. Estimate point zero one nine cycles for full capacitance to be restored."

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"Thank you Omega." Her head cleared she stood up and nodded. "Now let us see just how bad off the ship is."

She made her way to the cockpit, what remained of it, was covered in the blood and gore of the pilot. After some searching she found the right panel and removed the ship's computer. The stardrives were out of comssion and as it was the ship couldn't even get airborn. She gathered what meager survival suplies and medical supplies the small survival locker had, and returned to Omega holding the ship's computer core.

"We need to get out of the ship. It deployed a distress beacon, but it can no longer fly or even be fixed. Protocol dictates that we destroy the ship and make our way on this planet until a recovery ship can arrive. I'll save the computer core so that we have a record of what happened, but we need to leave now before the indiginous inhabitants find the crash site and this ship."

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Omega extended his hand and touched the ship's computer a small conduit connecting into it. "I have downloaded the contents of the computer fully into my memory. The ship can will take Three-One-Four-Omega approximately zero point one cycles to disassemble." With that he placed his hand on the hull and the hull metal began to corrode into a loose gel that dripped to the ground. "My nanites will reduce the materials to their base atomic structure, I will take a portion for system repair and maintenance, the remaining material will be of no value to the indigenous inhabitants of this world except as raw materials."

Methodically Omega dissolved the ship into little more than a puddle of raw metals. The occasional wisp of gas was released as organic compounds released oxygen and similarly small amounts of water were formed as elemental hydrogen and oxygen combined. After roughly two hours the impact crater was filled with nothing more than slag. Even the pilot's body had been broken down into raw materials much to Brightstar's dismay and despite her protests.

"Based on the data provided by the ship's systems we are in the high latitudes of this world. I am however unable to orient myself further without proper navigational aids. The low ambient temperature is standard for this region. Data suggests that your species is adapted to a wide range of temperatures suggesting that this will not be a problem. How shall we proceed?"

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She watches him destroy the ship and sighs and frowns. She had looked forward to blowing it up herself, but his way was much cleaner. It did however deprive the pilot of a warrior's send off. she swore later to give him a bright pillar of light to guide him home when she could.

"First off I need you to see if you can access the Terran communications network. See what you can find out about where we crashed, and what we should dress like. I figure we are going to have to pass as indigs for awhile until the beacon is picked up my Confederacy sensor nebulae. After finding what you can, I need you to do whatever you can to assume a more normal-looking form. They do not have living computers here, and I would prefer not to have to answer questions as to our origin just yet."

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Omega nods and seems to stare into a tree for a moment. "There is no active communication within my standard transmission range. I could reconfigure for a long range but that would require an additional thirty-four percent capacitance drain at this time.

"However based on the last data scans prior to impact we are in a remote region that is populated with indigenous wildlife and sparse settlement by the sapient culture. I can calculate with seventy percent accuracy that the nearest settlement is approximately seven-hundred and fifty kilometers in that direction." He points off into the woods.

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"Well that certainly gives us some breathing room."

She takes to the sky, albeit just to the tops of the trees and smiles. Come on, or are you going to tell me you can run that fast?"

She laughs. "If we stay low in the tree tops we should be able to fly almost into town. We will set down outside of town a ways and walk in the rest of the way. judging from your estimate it will take us roughly two hours to get there, so we should get started."

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"Your plan is acceptable, the margin for error should be sufficiently low as to be acceptable." Omega looks up at the floating woman, then it jumps and comes down after scarcely clearing a meter. "Please explain how it is possible that you are ignoring the local gravity well."

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Omega jumps again with a decidedly unimpressive result, "It would appear not. My density is perhaps too great." He considers for a moment, "I will attempt to traverse the distance on foot." He orients himself and after a moment is is off at a run quickly picking up incredible speed as his heavy footfalls roll through the forest like muted thunder.

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Like a droplet of quicksilver Omega ran through the forest stopping only occasionally to get its bearings from Brightstar who could, with enough elevation, make out the small settlement. It took them just over two hours to reach the small town. They stopped at the outskirts and completed the approach on foot at a more careful pace.

A sign along one of the two roads that led in and out of the town read: Aishihik: Population 35. Omega stared at the sign for a moment before turning to Brightstar, "I will need more text if I am to discern their written language. If we can find a group I can translate their spoken language once I have determine the phonetics and structure."

It looks at her for a moment, its gaze vaguely disturbing given its mildly shiny featureless exterior. "Please rotate." Brightstar turns in place under Omega's gaze. After a moment Omega's body begins to sculpt into a facsimile of Brightstar's. Using her own voice it replies, "Will this be an acceptable camouflage?"

It was a far from the perfect copy, the jumpsuit uniform lacking proper texture and the hair gives the impression of a polymer wig rather than natural hair. The overall appearance is clearly an unskilled attempt but given the situation it is a head and shoulders less obvious appearance than it had have only a moment before.

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"It will have to do for now, now, let us discretely make our way into town."

She nodded. "We will just walk the streets until you have seen enough text, or we can find some sort of book. Hopefully this doesn't take long. Due to my total inability to speak the language I will act as if I simply cannot speak."

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"That would be an acceptable ruse." Omega turned and began to walk through the forest still skirting the town but moving closer and listening carefully for residents. For a while they carefully made their way in a nearly complete circuit of the town eventually winding up behind a larger building near the center of the small town. "This would appear to be a supply station of some sort," Omega whispered to Brightstar. Remain here I will move closer."

Slowly Omega, looking and sounding disconcertingly like Brighstar herself , made its way to the back of the building. Time seems to slow to a crawl as Omega simply stood with its head pressed to the building apparently listening to the goings on within.

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After some time some people came and went from the building and eventually Omega turned away and retreated to where Brightstar was. "I have enough of their phonetics and sentence structure to speak on our behalf with an 88.26% accuracy rate. This building appears to be a supply depot and eating establishment. Do you have any suggestions for our appearance in this remote location?"

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"Not particularly Omega. Our appearance is going to cause a stir so i suggest we leave quickly. I have observed no transit travel sense we've been here. It seems we came inbetween resupply times. We will have to find another town. See if you can find out which direction we mus go for a larger town."

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Omega leaves and goes around to the front of the building. After a short time it returns, "I explained that our vehicle was nearby and that I came seeking to know where the nearest large settlement was. There is a city called Whitehorse to the south and east of here. It is 'one hundred twenty miles as the crow flies' which they say means that if we could go there directly that is how far it is but the roads are much less direct and would talk us twice as long to drive. I believe that we could be there in just over one twentieth of this planet's rotation based on my observations. At current pace Sol would be below the horizon by the time we arrived. Shall we proceed?"

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Five weeks later ...

Havre, Montana was the first step across the border since the crash landing had stranded Brightstar on a primitive level three world. Since the crash that had reactivated an advanced swarm of nano-cells that had become the sentient being known as Omega. The pair walked down the street Omega wearing a false facade, a composite appearance averaged from all the male humans he had studied since their journey began. His features were remarkable for their symmetry and uniformity. Were it not for the bald head and the cold look in his eyes Omega might even have been attractive.

Brightstar was dressed in clothes stolen from a variety of sources or purchased for short money from second hand stores. The jeans were a bit worn and of a style that was a year out of date, the T-shirt beneath her jacket promoted the Calgary Olympics from years before. Aside from her yellow eyes she fit in well enough and far better than Omega. She knew enough English to smile and laugh at the right times and the rest of the time she deferred to Omega to translate. "We're from Sweden" was the mantra, picked up in a small town a few weeks back. Omega was unsure where or what Sweden was but it seemed to put the humans at ease to know why they could not understand Brightstar.

They had a little money and in a pinch Omega could create more though the action of creation was much more difficult for him. Together they located a diner and entered. The booth creaked as Omega lower his heavy frame into it but it held. The waitress poured glasses of water and handed them menus. "You wanna know the specials?"

Omega looked at the woman and replied somewhat curtly, "No." As the woman moved away he turned to Brightstar who was studying the menu, "What are our objectives on this world? It is clear that these people are incapable of traveling to their own moon let alone to another star system. Would we not be better off attempting to craft our own vessel?"

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"Out of what? We do not have the materials. No, We should remain here for now. The distress beacon is out there and should draw a ship soon." Her optimism was definitely fading on that comment. "We remain on world and do whatever we can to survive until recovery."

They had just arrived here in Havre, and continued talking when an older gentleman came into the Diner. He looked at Brightstar with the most interesting look. They ate and handed over a good portion of their actual money and then left. They both realized that someone was following them. A quick word sent Omega another direction while Brightstar continued on alone.

The hair on the back of her neck rose and she felt a large hand on her shoulder. "Kallen?"

She spun around but stopped short of striking or blasting the man. There was something in his eyes that made her stop. "No, who is that?"

After a moment she backs off. "What do you want with me?" Nearby she knew Omega was watching.

"I... I want.. I was wondering.. "Please I want you and your companion to come stay at my home tonight. I promise I'll explain my actions."

It happened so fast. She looked somewhat at a loss. "Allright. Where is it?" He gives her the directions and smiles. "Thank you."

"We will see you at sundown."

He left and she stood there. "Why did I agree to that?"

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"That is a very pertinent question," Omega moves up beside her. "I could follow that man, he would not recognize me in an alternate guise. Is it not suspicious behavior for these people to invite those they do not know into their home? I do not have enough information to formulate a logical explanation." Omega stated that last fact with such utter lack of emotion, such complete machine like distance from the statement that she was forced once more to remember that this thing was not a natural being but a manufactured one, and unlike him she was able to make instinctive decisions based on feelings alone.

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"It was like he recognized me Omega, as though he mistook me for someone he cared for. I want to hear him out. Besides, he invited both of us and it gives us a free place to stay for the night."

She smiles, trying her best to reassure the robot. "I want to understand why he did this." She gives Omega the directions to a home on the northern outskirts of town. "We will meet him at sundown."

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"Yes, it will be good for both of us."

The two Aliens spend the remainder of the day at the library learning more about this world's language and culture. When the appointed time arrives they both make their way to the Cabin and are greeted by the man.

"Come in, take a seat, and let me explain some things to you."

Brightstar nods and they do so. "My name is Gabriel Price, I have lived in this town for over thirty years. I believe you wanted to know why this afternoon happened, well it goes back to my daughter, Kallen."

His eyes gazed to a picture on the mantle of his fireplace. The young woman in it has the same platinum blonde hair and looks very similar to Brightstar.

Brightstar follows his gaze and starts to put the pieces together. "Something bad happened to her?"

"Yes, and no." He looked at her intently. My daughter was a mutant. The changes in her were very subtle at first, but they soon became uncontrolable."

Brightstar looked at him with an accusing glare.

"No young lady, I don't hate mutants. I don't care honestly, people is people, be they mutant human or alien. What I mean is she started losing control of herself, she was becoming more like a beast than a young woman."

"I came home one night and the house was all tore up. Evidently more physical manifestations had reared their heads and she lost control completely. I Found her about two days later in the woods. Some campers had gone missing up in the Rookery preserve ya see. We all went out to look for 'em. I found her, eating one of those little boys. She looked like somethin outa a horror film, covered in fur with baleful yellow eyes and rows of sharp teeth. She had huge claws and a short tail. She was more beast than woman now."

Brightstars's face drains of color at such a grotesque image.

"She looked at me and and charged, clawin' open my chest good. Standing there loomin' over me, about to kill me to I suspect, recognition and realization washed over her face. She raised up the gun which I'd managed to hold onto to her chest and gave me a look that will haunt me until doomsday. A Pleading look to end this. I pulled the trigger."

Brightstar is completely enraptured by the story. The ending was too surreal to be fiction and she could tell it was all true.

I carried her body back to my truck, and buried her out here in a little section of ground by the barn. Even though we never had horses or anythin' of that nature she loved that old barn, and I figured she'd be happy next to it. I went back to the woods where i'd found her, and called the sheriff. I reported being attacked and finding one of the boys. He asked if he was ok and I told him The bear got him first. He asked if I killed it, and I told him I put a round in him, but he took off. I mentioned getting hit by him and they took me to the hospital. She broke three ribs and cracked my sternum. Any worse and I wouldn't be here today. They found a bear somebody winged and said it was the maneater and killed it, mainly to calm the locals and the campers' family."

"Now, it's been nearly two months since all that happened. I let it be known my daughter had an accident and she ain't been well. I wasn't ever a popular man, even less so because I didn't kill that bear in a single shot. So nobody came around to Vet my story. Now you show up lookin just like Kallen, and walkin around as if in a daze. It can create problems for me, that I just don't want. I don't want anyone to ever find out what happened to my little girl So I figure can bring you here, tell you my story and perhaps we can come to some arrangement. I'll pay whatever ya want to just leave."

Brightstar hears the hurt in his voice and shakes her head. "No, we will stay. I have a better idea. We need a stable place to stay, you need to cover up the secret about your daughter with an unshakable alibi. You say you are fine with mutants? What if I become your daughter? We look similar enough. I would wager we sound alike as well. Now you said she had an accident, that can cover up my not knowing people here, or how unfamiliar I sem to be with speech. Since I look like her and her status as a mutant was really only known by the town by her eyes, it should work. I have my own abilities that can be seen as mutant abilities. What do you say Mister Price?"

He looks at her and then to her companion. "What about you, Got any ideas on how to explain him?"

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Omega sits through the old man's story with an emotionless face. Unmoved by the tale by its very lack of true emotion Omega merely listens. Having focused its studies of this world on the culture and life forms Omega resolved to review the recent history of this world. Not for the first or last time Omega wondered why his creator had seen fit to leave its programming so minimal. There was much that it had had to learn by inefficient text inputs. Even the significant download of data from the ship's computer system had been almost entirely knowledge based information with little practical application for Omega.

Omega registered the altered voice patterns in their host and even in Brightstar herself and wondered what the cause was. As the conversation progressed he found Brightstar deviating heavily from his predicted actions. "This is not a logical course of action, a physical resemblance is not sufficient evidence to imply that you could take the place of this man's offspring."

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"Logic is not everything, sometimes you have to do what feels right. That was not however the question directed to you. I asked if you could think of a plausible way to make this work. I know you can do more than just spit facts at me." It was the first time she'd really spoke to Omega in front of someone as if he were simply an object, a "thing."

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"I do not feel. Therefore I am incapable on acting on anything other than logic and knowledge. Given that I can see no gain in your participating in this ruse." Despite, or perhaps because of, a lack of emotion in Omega's words there is the hint of a challenge or a question, as though it was seeking a greater purpose without realizing it.

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"There is one. It establishes me at least and you if we do this correctly as normal people. We need that if we are going to make it here."

She realized how she sounded and looked to Gabriel who was perplexed.

"You've told me your secret, I shall tell you mine. I am Lieutenant Brightstar of the Mintakan Confederacy. Mintaka is a star in the constellation Orion."

"That makes us both Aliens Mister Price."

"He looks at her and then at Omega. "And he's some sort of machine?"

"Yes, that is why he is incapable of emotion or feeling, only cold logic."

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