Aberrant: War Journal - War Journal Expansion Teams

[Asbjørn]

Bahamut, I'm going to ask you a favor, and please don't take this the wrong way.

The way you've written your last post makes Hood seem like a loose cannon and Nick like the benevolent leader. Do you think you could give me a chance to react and lower the rifle on my own before you chastise me about it?

Thanks ::smile

[Asbjørn]

Paul says and asks, “This is the first time we’ve seen it since we got here.  But shouldn’t that be our question for you?  Aren’t you from around here?”

←

Ok, I'm confused. ::confused

What mistake is Paul/Alex making here? Is he mistaking my character for Archer's? Or does he think Hood is from Permafrost? ::huh

[BlueNinja]

I thought he was asking the guy with the staff, Archer's character.

[Asbjørn]

Except he's commenting on my reply...

[Alex Green]

Archer, Asbjørn, what's the difference? ::blush

OK, my bad. I was expecting a reply from Archer and saw what I was expecting to.

I'd better edit that.

[Heritage]

Okay, I plan on posting later tonight, so if possible can we wait for me to catch up a bit? Of course it's my own damn fault for waiting so long... ::wink

[archer]

Holding off on my reply until H gives me the go-ahead.

[Alex Green]

Thank you phoenix, I needed that. If someone else wants to donate I won't turn them down.

[Bahamut810]

When the local turns his back, DD will offer. He wants to be as low key as possible.

[Alex Green]

Thank you too. The weather is a killer here, I think the next step is to take "wind chill" out of the equation.

That might help with the heat sucking guys as well. No wind means no "down wind" and our scent won't carry (if they track by scent).

[BlueNinja]

"Bullet Sensitive"? ::laugh ::lol

[Nullifier]

It was a perfectly reasonable question. Most zombies and shadows that I've heard about really don't mind being shot all that much. Oh, if you go after a zombie with a shotgun, I suppose you might have a chance, but otherwise, traditionally bullets do squat against those sorts of creatures. ::tongue

[BlueNinja]

It's a perfectly legitimate question. I'm laughing at the particular way it was phrased, s'all.

I should go back and quote-sig it.

[phoenix]

I'm with BlueNinja, it sounds like an emotional trauma. ::wink

Thank you phoenix, I needed that. If someone else wants to donate I won't turn them down.

No prob. Just for the record, though, I think I might be coming down against Quantum Vampire. It's got a tendency to turn quantum from a mysterious force into simple "battery power", or an energy drink that can be passed around. Alex, absolutely no criticism of your roleplaying intended, of course - it's just a thing I don't like about the power itself.

[Nullifier]

You mean Quantum Leech, right?

[phoenix]

Yeah

[Asbjørn]

D'oh!

Completely missed Alex's grenade reference. My bad.

But I still don't think any of us are carrying grenades outside our clothing. That would be asking for trouble. I agree that guns bigger than pistols would be clearly visible, but describing that as an 'arsenal' is a bit over the top. Or maybe we're bringing more than I imagine?

My kit: Long knives, pistols and a hunting rifle. Skis, snowshoes, big (but not superhumanly heavy) backpack, various bags and bundles slung about him, plus unknown quantities under his poncho. Also obviously dressed for the weather.

[archer]

This might be a real good opportunity to clear this up, if people wouldn't mind posting(OOC for ease), what visible gear they're carrying.

Rourke:

Monster-sized backpack, full to the brim.

Snowshoes, strapped to the outside of pack.

Tall, thick, metal pole wrapped with leather.

Thick, warm clothes. Possibly some stuff in the pockets.

Beard.

[Alex Green]

“Openly” implies in the open. That would be riffles, and heavy weapons. Between our clothes and our eufiber a great deal of our gear/weaponry should be bulges.

Paul has a suspicious bulge at his waist that is presumably a hand gun. He has another suspicious bulge that could be (and is) a grenade. I’m going to assume his extra clip is hidden by his clothes.

As long as we are on this subject, even without the disappearing insect, we obviously aren’t from around here. I wasn’t planning on meeting someone this early or I would have said something. Things that are really going to stand out around here:

1) Our Gear.

a. It’s clean

b. It’s probably new, or at least unused.

c. It’s high quality.

d. We have lots of fairly rare stuff.

e. In many cases the technology base isn’t local (our communicators have batteries, eufiber, etc).

2) Us.

a. Everyone has really great stuff (we are all rich?)

b. Everyone is well fed, healthy, and in great shape.

c. Very likely most of us have “unnatural” tans and/or tan lines.

d. Everyone is roughly the same age.

e. A few people have aberrations(?).

f. We are ignorant of things we shouldn’t be.

g. Linguistically, i.e. our English isn’t “standard”.

3) Misc.

a. Power use.

[Bahamut810]

Nick has:

A couple large bulges under his jacket (heavy pistols)

A couple machine-pistols strapped to his legs.

A shotgun strapped on his back

A reasonably sized pack.

A few bulges on his belt under his jacket (grenade things)

[Nullifier]

Let's see, Pat's about 4' tall, and his voice is slurred, like he's deaf, which he is. He's wearing a huge winter jacket with slightly less bulky pants. Both have pockets all over them with different sized bulges in them, though nothing to indicate a weapon. He's carrying a large, for his size, backpacking backpack on his back that's strapped around both his waist and chest. If anyone was looking his direction up the hall, they would have seen him putting his 9mm into one of the jacket pockets. He's not wearing goggles or anything on his face, he's clean shaven, with irish features, dark brown hair, and hazel eyes.

[BlueNinja]

O archer - if Rourke has met Judy and team (which is pretty obvious, since they're been stuck there for over a year), what makes you think they would be open and public about their being from another dimension? And, is he assuming that others among the group can pull phosphorous grenades out of thin air? That would make a better suggestion (since I thought the grenades were boxed up), though Matter Creation grenades aren't very good for trading. ::wink

[archer]

Well, Rourke did suggest that Judy's a bit of a chatterbox, leaving open that she's likely made some slips of the tongue.

If you look at the very nice list Alex did regarding why people from another world tend to stand out, most of it would apply to the first team too.

Bright and shiny tech not available on this world, powers being used while fighting corpsies, etc.

And, is he assuming that others among the group can pull phosphorous grenades out of thin air?

Uh...no. He's assuming that at least some of those suspicious bulges in their collective pockets aren't necessarily candy and toys for the local children. ::tongue

[Nullifier]

Then in Pat's case, for the most part, he'd be disappointed, though the toys aren't just for the kids. ::cool

[Asbjørn]

If you look at the very nice list Alex did regarding why people from another world tend to stand out, most of it would apply to the first team too.

Ok, now I have to respond to that list, cause I disagree on a lot of those points.

1) Our Gear.

a. It’s clean

b. It’s probably new, or at least unused.

c. It’s high quality.

d. We have lots of fairly rare stuff.

e. In many cases the technology base isn’t local (our communicators have batteries, eufiber, etc).

Our gear is probably clean, yes. Just like all the usable tech the natives have. In harsh weather conditions like these, only well kept weapons and gear would last.

That does not mean it's new. From my impression of the Greens I think it's a lot more likely that the stuff we got from storage was scrounged from all over the place and probably includes a lot of used items. Mix that with our own, personal equipment, and I think we have a fairly worn look. As for quality... Yes, it's high quality, which is cause to assume we know how to take care of ourselves, and might be willing and able to resort to violence to maintain that standard. That's not a reason for anyone to yell "He's an alien from another world! Shoot him!" ::getsome

What's the rare stuff we're flaunting? What we keep in our packs is something else entirely, and I at least hadn't planned on throwing suspicious items around before we tell people where we're from.

The point on advanced tech is a valid one, even if I hardly think it's obvious...

2) Us.

a. Everyone has really great stuff (we are all rich?)

b. Everyone is well fed, healthy, and in great shape. 

d. Everyone is roughly the same age.

All of these things are consistent with a travelling band of traders/bandits. Unfortunately for us it fits better with bandits, but that still doesn't mean we're aliens.

c. Very likely most of us have “unnatural” tans and/or tan lines.

e. A few people have aberrations(?).

g. Linguistically, i.e. our English isn’t “standard”.

All of these points are valid, even if I think the point of intimacy where people study our tanlines is a long way off, those of us with permanent visible aberrations also have dormancy, and people speak in funny accents all over the world even today.

f. We are ignorant of things we shouldn’t be.

This is our major disadvantage, but with our new and trusted guide, we're changing it. ::wink

3) Misc.

a. Power use.

We'll just have to take it easy with the thunder & lightning, then, won't we...? ::tongue ::wink

[Heritage]

Okay, I have to chime in a bit here.

1. Judy is going to be played by BlueNinja however he see's fit, chatty or otherwise. We shouldn't make assumptions like that. I will try to bring her in as soon as possible, so she can speak for herself.

(sidenote - BJ, are you male or female? Just curious.)

2. In discussions with BJ, and I actually thought you Arch (but I could well be wrong), I said that the Greens living in Carson are laying low power-wise, since they're nervous about freaking the natives out. They haven't been there too long, and they don't want to be sent back into the cold for any reason.

3. This campaign has clearly entered an interesting phase, with parts being played on several sides of a wall of mystery - we all have to be very careful about what we say that might mess with this odd sort of continuity. I blame myself for not always being the best communicator, but trying to keep several disparate groups with access to different types of info on the same page has been diffcult.

Please PM or email me, or ask in this thread if there's anything unclear about what's going on, and I will try to answer the question or resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

(Yeah, I know that last bit might seem ironic given my sad-ass posting rate ::wink)

[Heritage]

Let me amend my last post slightly: it is possible that Kapriski might have confided certain things to Rourke, but I don't think she's been flaunting her powers to the locals ::wink

[BlueNinja]

Oh, poor Judy has surely lost (and regained) a couple Willpower points during her stay here, so that she can trade away grenades just to keep up a pretense of normality. But she, at least, is not about to hide her powers or mega-atts when better things can be done with them.

She's not a chatterbox, really ... but she won't lie. She tends to be very openly truthfully confrontational. Which might come from the ability to shoot the fleas off a dog's back from five hundred yards. Archer, perhaps we should PM a bit back and forth to flesh out any background between Judy and Rourke?

And Heritage? I'm, um, still wondering just what I *have* been doing in Carson. (I'm assuming that Judy, with her Mega-Int and enhancements, has now taken charge of a great deal of local industry, but whatever.) As for me, it's BN, and despite my filthy male mind, I do not go by an abbriviation of a sexual act.

[Alex Green]

As for quality... Yes, it's high quality, which is cause to assume we know how to take care of ourselves, and might be willing and able to resort to violence to maintain that standard.

I recall a story where this solider was given 200$ in spending money, was sent out, and when he came back he handed over what was left, i.e. 350$. He tried to explain he’d worked very hard at getting the best deal when spending it. Everyone around here should be willing to resort to violence. Everyone around here should know how to take care of themselves. Everyone who doesn’t fall into both of those categories is probably dead by now.

Our gear is probably clean, yes. Just like all the usable tech the natives have. In harsh weather conditions like these, only well kept weapons and gear would last. That does not mean it's new. From my impression of the Greens I think it's a lot more likely that the stuff we got from storage was scrounged from all over the place and probably includes a lot of used items. Mix that with our own, personal equipment, and I think we have a fairly worn look.

We are going to be visiting a city (town?) which has been enjoying -40 degree weather for decades. Transportation and such doesn’t really exist any more, at least around here. If this is a world wide phenomena, and it might be, then all the really good local gear should be 20+ years old and has been in constant use for 20+ years. This will likely be true even if, somewhere, there really is a still functional civilization.

1) Our gear isn’t home made, mostly its mass produced. That alone is probably going to be extremely unusual around here.

2) Regardless of how old it is, it hasn’t been in constant use for years, much less decades, it just doesn’t get that cold very often back home.

3) None of us have rips in the coats repaired by duct tap, none of us have ingrained sweat marks or even wear marks on our winter clothes.

4) In RL, after I wear a pair of jeans for a few years, it gets a square indentation in the front left pocket because I always keep my wallet there. Paul’s clothes doesn’t have any indentations where he keeps any of his gear. So not only is Paul's gear unusual, but it’s new to him.

5) Its likely there hasn’t been any plastic made in ages (oil is needed for transportation or other uses), and it’s also likely at least some of us have plastic straps.

6) We have a Path, Eufiber, Batteries, etc. If any of us used a flashlight then that along would scream, “not from around here”.

No, this doesn’t *have* to mean we are aliens, but it does mean we are agents and/or representatives from a place that still has it’s act together.

Everyone has really great stuff (we are all rich?), is well fed, healthy, and in great shape, & roughly the same age.

All of these things are consistent with a traveling band of traders/bandits.

No, it doesn’t. I seriously doubt there are “traveling bands of bandits” around here because even bandits have to eat and keep warm. In the current environment, just growing food is going to be an extremely serious problem, and this has been going on for decades. The bandits are long dead.

1) With food a problem, most of us look like bodybuilders under our clothes (as part of the nova build).

2) NONE of us have full beards. How many local adult males do you think DON”T have full beards? I’d guess none since a beard makes you warmer.

3) None of us has calluses or wear marks from wearing our gear, but if we’d been wearing it for a while we would.

4) Pat (and several other of us) apparently aren’t bothered enough by the cold to bother with full face gear.

5) More than a few of us likely have Appearances of 4+.

6) The nova body means none of us have any spare fat. In THIS land, if we were rich enough to have our gear, and well fed enough to be this healthy, why on Earth don’t we have a few extra pounds of insulation?

7) And how exactly did we get here? Ride horses? Trucks? And from where?

I think the point of intimacy where people study our tanlines is a long way off…

1) None of us have reversed “raccoon” eyes even if we wear goggles.

2) None of us have facial tans that suggest only our mouths or whatever is exposed outside.

3) (This hasn’t come up yet but….) I assume a lot of us have the backs of our necks tan and also our arms. How EXACTLY do you get a tan like that around here? Going outside a lot while not wearing a hood or gloves? For that matter, lots of us are just tanner than we should be.

Basically everything about us says we are from a MUCH warmer, more prosperous land.

And then we have the REALLY weird.

1) Pat’s breath probably doesn’t leave a steam trail (he has adaptability).

2) The heat wave & other power use.

3) Paths

4) Aberrations.

[Alex Green]

(Through the Path) Pat says, "This guy seems to think that getting out of here is worth helping us. How ironic that we came here to investigate the possibility of relocation. I mean, it's not like things are all that much better on our side of the dimensional divide. Recall, if you all will for a moment, how the previous team got stranded here, how the last interdimensional program ended. Perhaps you folks should try to explain that we're soldiers, and we're at war, while I'm off looking for a drop point, or at least find out how much he knows about what he's asking for, and what he'd be getting himself into if we managed to make it back. Anyhow, anyone got any specific requests or suggestions for my little sightseeing tour before I go?"

←

Check me on this, that Path is set up to hear radio signals, correct? So can everyone hear this through communicators?

Or is it just whoever Pat is psi-linked to, and the Animal Telepaths?

[phoenix]

I keep my wallet in my back pocket.

[Heritage]

As for quality... Yes, it's high quality, which is cause to assume we know how to take care of ourselves, and might be willing and able to resort to violence to maintain that standard.

I recall a story where this solider was given 200$ in spending money, was sent out, and when he came back he handed over what was left, i.e. 350$.  He tried to explain he’d worked very hard at getting the best deal when spending it.  Everyone around here should be willing to resort to violence.  Everyone around here should know how to take care of themselves.  Everyone who doesn’t fall into both of those categories is probably dead by now.

Our gear is probably clean, yes. Just like all the usable tech the natives have. In harsh weather conditions like these, only well kept weapons and gear would last.  That does not mean it's new. From my impression of the Greens I think it's a lot  more likely that the stuff we got from storage was scrounged from all over the place and probably includes a lot of used items. Mix that with our own, personal equipment, and I think we have a fairly worn look.

We are going to be visiting a city (town?) which has been enjoying -40 degree weather for decades.  Transportation and such doesn’t really exist any more, at least around here.  If this is a world wide phenomena, and it might be, then all the really good local gear should be 20+ years old and has been in constant use for 20+ years.  This will likely be true even if, somewhere, there really is a still functional civilization.

1) Our gear isn’t home made, mostly its mass produced.  That alone is probably going to be extremely unusual around here.

2) Regardless of how old it is, it hasn’t been in constant use for years, much less decades, it just doesn’t get that cold very often back home.

3) None of us have rips in the coats repaired by duct tap, none of us have ingrained sweat marks or even wear marks on our winter clothes. 

4) In RL, after I wear a pair of jeans for a few years, it gets a square indentation in the front left pocket because I always keep my wallet there.  Paul’s clothes doesn’t have any indentations where he keeps any of his gear.  So not only is Paul's gear unusual, but it’s new to him.

5) Its likely there hasn’t been any plastic made in ages (oil is needed for transportation or other uses), and it’s also likely at least some of us have plastic straps.

6) We have a Path, Eufiber, Batteries, etc.  If any of us used a flashlight then that along would scream, “not from around here”.

No, this doesn’t *have* to mean we are aliens, but it does mean we are agents and/or representatives from a place that still has it’s act together.

Everyone has really great stuff (we are all rich?), is well fed, healthy, and in great shape, & roughly the same age.

All of these things are consistent with a traveling band of traders/bandits.

No, it doesn’t.  I seriously doubt there are “traveling bands of bandits” around here because even bandits have to eat and keep warm.  In the current environment, just growing food is going to be an extremely serious problem, and this has been going on for decades.  The bandits are long dead.

1) With food a problem, most of us look like bodybuilders under our clothes (as part of the nova build).

2) NONE of us have full beards.  How many local adult males do you think DON”T have full beards?  I’d guess none since a beard makes you warmer.

3) None of us has calluses or wear marks from wearing our gear, but if we’d been wearing it for a while we would.

4) Pat (and several other of us) apparently aren’t bothered enough by the cold to bother with full face gear.

5) More than a few of us likely have Appearances of 4+.

6) The nova body means none of us have any spare fat.  In THIS land, if we were rich enough to have our gear, and well fed enough to be this healthy, why on Earth don’t we have a few extra pounds of insulation? 

7) And how exactly did we get here?  Ride horses?  Trucks?  And from where? 

I think the point of intimacy where people study our tanlines is a long way off…

1) None of us have reversed “raccoon” eyes even if we wear goggles. 

2) None of us have facial tans that suggest only our mouths or whatever is exposed outside.

3) (This hasn’t come up yet but….) I assume a lot of us have the backs of our necks tan and also our arms.  How EXACTLY do you get a tan like that around here?  Going outside a lot while not wearing a hood or gloves?  For that matter, lots of us are just tanner than we should be.

Basically everything about us says we are from a MUCH warmer, more prosperous land.

And then we have the REALLY weird.

1) Pat’s breath probably doesn’t leave a steam trail (he has adaptability).

2) The heat wave & other power use.

3) Paths

4) Aberrations.

←

While several valid points are being made here, no one should make any assumptions about Permafrost - people are very inventive and adaptable, especially if given enough time.

For the record, there is a nomadic lifestyle on Permie, but life for them is very difficult. Mostly they go into the cities looking for machined goods to trade with the settled folks, but when times are hard, some do resort to banditry, or more properly raiding settlements.

[archer]

While several valid points are being made here, no one should make any assumptions about Permafrost - people are very inventive and adaptable, especially if given enough time.

For the record, there is a nomadic lifestyle on Permie, but life for them is very difficult. Mostly they go into the cities looking for machined goods to trade with the settled folks, but when times are hard, some do resort to banditry, or more properly raiding settlements.

←

Thanks for the clarification, H. ::smile

There's couple of other things I'm curious about too, just background stuff really.

For example, what do people eat? If we're talking Ice Age conditions, is there any plant life at all? Minimal maybe? Do the natives have hydroponics set up, or are they mostly meat-eaters? If they do eat meat, where's it come from? What happened to the original flora and fauna, like deer and trees and such? ::wacko

I'm trying real hard to follow your advice and not assume as much, so anything you can answer would be awesome.

[Asbjørn]

Check me on this, that Path is set up to hear radio signals, correct?  So can everyone hear this through communicators?

Or is it just whoever Pat is psi-linked to, and the Animal Telepaths?

←

The whole idea with Pat's path was that he'd be able to communicate with the rest of us without reading our minds or lips.

[Nullifier]

He reaches into a cavity under the nexus, and pulls out two objects, one that looks like a wristwatch, the other like a pair of snow goggles combined with a headset radio; they appear to be superficially related to PATH biotechnology. Holding up the 'wristwatch', he continues.

All of you field agents will be given one of these recall devices - they are used to track both your geographical and temporal location in the timestream, as well as bring you back at the end of a mission. They can also be used as inter-personal communicators in the field, or to call for assistance or a recall back to Prime.

This is from Winz. He later hooked Pat's up to a path so he could 'hear' you guys in his head.

[Alex Green]

Hey, does anyone know what the game time is? I.e. what day of the year it is? For the sake of this planet I'm hoping real hard this is Winter.

[Heritage]

Hey, does anyone know what the game time is?  I.e. what day of the year it is?  For the sake of this planet I'm hoping real hard this is Winter.

←

This is happening at the same time as the regular WJ, so around September 16th.

BTW, sorry for my near-complete absence for the last week or so - a lot going on, plus laziness plus Harry Potter, all sucking up my time. I plan to post a bunch at the latest on Monday.

Go in peace, one and all! ::smile

[archer]

Cool! Thanks for the update H, much appreciated. ::biggrin

[BlueNinja]

So then ... has anyone volunteered to take over Trans-D yet? If not, I'll give it a shot, seeing as how my character hasn't actually become part of the game yet.

[Bahamut810]

It depends on if Heritage gives me the info about the game world, and no one else steps up.