Aberrant: War Journal - War Journal: Trans-D

[Bahamut810]

"So... who here has been in an arctic environment before? That's probably part of the first 'getting to know each other' stuff we need to cover. What can we all do, and what can't we do?"

Nick raises his hand then quickly gets back to packing.

"Apart from that, we're all superhuman in some way or another. My main thing is time. I can slow it down, speed it up, stop it... And if I'm late for an appointment, at least I know..."

"Im a jack of all trades." And leaves it at that.

[Alex Green]

"Anyway - I'm mostly your garden-variety telepath, to be completely honest. I think my eruption changed me mentally, too, though. It's hard to quantify, but becoming a nova was like being deaf, dumb and blind your whole life, then turning into - well, a pinball wizard."

She smiles nostalgically at the comparison, then looks around for reactions.

Apparently missing the reference, Paul remarks, “I wouldn’t know. I was pretty banged up when I erupted. No, strike that. I was dead, but erupted anyway. No brain function means no memories.”

He shrugs. “As the saying goes, it’s a living. How did you erupt?

"So... who here has been in an arctic environment before? That's probably part of the first 'getting to know each other' stuff we need to cover. What can we all do, and what can't we do?"

Paul says, “Hey, I assume that’s why they picked me. Count on Father Nature to be on our side. Usually I make the weather nastier, but this time I gather it’d be best for the weather to be friendly... whatever “friendly” means for this area. One thing though, if it’s as bad as they say I may have to really run down the juice... and that means the weather only stays friendly as long as people are willing to, ah, donate juice.”

"Apart from that, we're all superhuman in some way or another. My main thing is time. I can slow it down, speed it up, stop it... And if I'm late for an appointment, at least I know..."

Paul whistles, ”Time control, now that’s a powerful gift. Immortality if you live long enough.”

[Asbjørn]

"You know, video- Oh!"

Realizing that her otherworldly teammate actually has no idea what a VHS tape is, Faith briefly and efficiently summarizes the information.

"It's basically a small plastic box that holds a magnetic recording that you can play back with a television screen and and a VCR, which is a machine designed to read them. They're mostly extinct now that the OpNet is here, because it kind of defeats the purpose.

"Thanks. I'm sorry, but there may be a few of these seemingly pointless questions. I've been studying the differences since I got here, but there's still lots of things I don't know. So this video format was common at the time of the music the general mentioned? I see."

"Anyway - I'm mostly your garden-variety telepath, to be completely honest. I think my eruption changed me mentally, too, though. It's hard to quantify, but becoming a nova was like being deaf, dumb and blind your whole life, then turning into - well, a pinball wizard."

She smiles nostalgically at the comparison, then looks around for reactions.

"So you're the intelligence branch... Are you a weapon too?"

"Im a jack of all trades." And leaves it at that.

"Which means...? No special powers or abilities, but a generally useful guy? Or the kind of guy who can copy and borrow what he needs?"

Paul says, “Hey, I assume that’s why they picked me.  Count on Father Nature to be on our side.   Usually I make the weather nastier, but this time I gather it’d be best for the weather to be friendly... whatever “friendly” means for this area.  One thing though, if it’s as bad as they say I may have to really run down the juice... and that means the weather only stays friendly as long as people are willing to, ah, donate juice.”

"That's gonna be useful... And I take it that means you know how to collect as well. And you're a healer, right?"

The perceptive can see Hood mentally filing away all the details, as well as paying attention to each team member's packing.

Paul whistles, ”Time control, now that’s a powerful gift.  Immortality if you live long enough.”

::biggrin

"That's a good way of putting it... But yeah, I'm not going to die of old age, at least. Plus, it makes equipment maintenance so much easier..." ::wink

Looking around at the rest of the group he says

"So... we've got mind control, weather control, time control... what else? Any serious muscle or big guns? Transportation?"

[Alex Green]

"That's gonna be useful... And I take it that means you know how to collect as well. And you're a healer, right?"

Paul responds,

“Yeah. Both of those, and ‘Animal’ Telepathy… but if direct combat starts, expect me to turn invisible. With a one bullet lifespan I’m more of a wear them out from a long distance away type of guy."

[Damanor]

Though he checked all of his survival gear before he started packing, Brad is nearly finished loading up his field pack. He attaches his "bare minimum survival gear" directly to his belt. For trade, he loads up on grenades, medical gear, and one set of thermal goggles. (He keeps another set for himself)

"So... we've got mind control, weather control, time control... what else? Any serious muscle or big guns? Transportation?"

Chameleon says, "As you probably guessed from my code name, my abilities help me to blend in and stay hidden. I'm afraid my combat abilities are...limited. Though I can hold my own in a fight if necessary, I'd just as soon avoid a conflict."

[Bahamut810]

"Which means...? No special powers or abilities, but a generally useful guy? Or the kind of guy who can copy and borrow what he needs?"

"I know a lot about a lot. And im good at taking risks...I dont actually know if thats a power or not though..."

[phoenix]

"Thanks. I'm sorry, but there may be a few of these seemingly pointless questions. I've been studying the differences since I got here, but there's still lots of things I don't know. So this video format was common at the time of the music the general mentioned? I see."

"Pretty much."

"So you're the intelligence branch... Are you a weapon too?"

Faith nods reluctantly.

"You could say that. Not that I could handle a nova-level melee."

"So... we've got mind control, weather control, time control... what else? Any serious muscle or big guns? Transportation?"

Faith frowns.

"I didn't say anything about mind control. I can mess around with people's memories if I need to, and I'm good with transfer of information, but I can't actively overrule a person's will with my own."

[Nullifier]

Hood turns to Pat and explains

"As long as that thingamajig is connected to the whatchamacallit - and you're in mental contact with it - you can talk to any of us, no problem. It's called Enzo 4."

Taking Enzo and the recall device, Pat's eufiber unifornm opens up at the back and he puts on the Path and recall device, first taking off a slim backpack the he had on underneath the eufiber, then putting it back on outside of the Path before the eufiber seals back over it.

*Hello Enzo 4, I'm Pat. Nice to meet you*

"So... we've got mind control, weather control, time control... what else? Any serious muscle or big guns? Transportation?"

Pat slurs, "I'm capable of opening Warp gates, scrying out distant locales, reading minds without getting caught, and a couple of other things, including semi-permanent long distance mental communication with a single person. There are a number of other minor mental and physical adjustments I've undergone since my eruption."

[ProfPotts]

Do something with the old bodystocking, luv - can't afford to give the frosties heart attacks, at least not on the first date.

Emerald grins at the General's comment, & with that the light in her eyes flashes brighter for a moment, & the green glow once again passes over her body - changing her outfit as it goes. This time the shapely young black woman ends up clad in dark green leggings with calf-high, fur-trimmed, boots, a matching fur-trimmed bikini top, & a jacket of dark-green leather (with 'Green Machine' spelt out on the back in small silver studs). Not the most practical of cold-weather outfits... but nice to look at... ::wink

"So... we've got mind control, weather control, time control... what else? Any serious muscle or big guns? Transportation?"

Emerald again smiles,

"Oh - I do green stuff..."

Once again the young lady's eyes glow brighter - & lengths of translucent glowing green chain appear around every person in the room... although they dissipate a moment later, after holding their targets just long enough to act as a demonstration.

"... which has a few combat applications." ::wink

Moments later a similar translucent green 'material' forms over Halle herself in the shape of cold-weather clothing (as seen in old 'Scott of the Antarctic' documentaries) - although it does little to hide from view the more revealing outfit she still wears beneath the 'field'. Emerald shrugs,

"Has some non-combat applications too - walls, flying - all sorts of stuff really."

Looking around as the rest of the team start their packing the black woman seems a little lost as far as what to take is concerned. After a moment's thought she says,

"I've picked up a few skills since I've been in the Greens, I guess, but I used to be a dancer before..." she glances down at herself, "... well, before the green. I can fight, & I have fought - who hasn't these days? - but it wouldn't be my first choice either if it can be avoided. Tactically the brass usually deploy me against large numbers of baseline troops - I can hit pretty much any & everyone I can see when I have to - or as back-up for regular troops - the guys in the trenches are usually pretty pleased to see a nice emerald brick wall appear between them & the guys shooting at them." ::wink

Gesturing towards the equipment Emerald adds,

"As for all this stuff - would it be crazy to think that these.... er... 'Permafrostians' might want the white phosphorus from the grenades for something else altogether? After all, it could be that our first team just happened to have the grenades with them & the 'Frostians wanted to trade - but were actually after the chemicals, rather than the 'bang' potential, right? I... I guess I'm just hoping that they're not as war-crazy over there as we all seem to be over here..."

For a moment she looks a bit downcast, but then grins again, swinging her hips to an imagined rhythm,

"I guess, if all else fails, I can just shake my bootie 'til they decide they want to play nice!" ::biggrin

[Bahamut810]

Nick nods. "I think that might be the case as well. Thats what I was saying earlier...they want the heat, not what we think they might want it for."

[Alex Green]

For a moment she looks a bit downcast, but then grins again, swinging her hips to an imagined rhythm,

"I guess, if all else fails, I can just shake my bootie 'til they decide they want to play nice!" ::biggrin

Paul looks on and says, "Works for me." ::laugh ::wub

[Heritage]

The male Engineers also appear to appreciate Emerald's moves, while the females merely smile and shake their heads. As the techs continue to bring out gear into the THRONE room and lay it out on the floor (there's not a lot of standing room in the storage area), Turlow flips through the pages on her clipboard, scratching her head.

Uh, some of the stuff you're looking for - I dunno, VHS tapes? I know there's a few weirdos out there in Greenland who have some, but I'm not sure where to look; I hear there's a guy somewhere in the Crazy Eights who's got a lot of cartoons on tape, but it might take a few days to track him down. The other stuff, we should be able to get from the packrats at Bravo, possibly even stuff on disk. It might take an hour or so, so you might not want to bundle up just yet.

She looks over at Nick.

If your lookin' for food, there's a kitchen through that slit over there-

She indicates a section of wall with a wave of her clipboard; a thin line can be seen, rising up from the floor.

Just run your hand down it. Fridge, electric stove, what have you. The fridge should be pretty well stocked - maybe you could even grab me a beer? ::biggrin

Doctor Vanderlay carefully steps between the various piles of gear, brushing aside her hair as she peers down at the weapons; hefting a large automatic, the Pandoran casually remarks:

As to my abilities, I'm what is commonly referred to at the Project as a 'biological' - I'm mostly trained at adapting to harsh environments, but I'm also somewhat telepathic. And...I'm skilled at disrupting quantum powers, when necessary. ::wink

This last remark is made with some pride; Colonel Bledsoe, watching everyone grab their gear from the sidelines, just shakes his head.

(OOC: Anyone using Node on her gets nada, zip, zilch - what's with that? ::wink)

[Nullifier]

Nick nods. "I think that might be the case as well. Thats what I was saying earlier...they want the heat, not what we think they might want it for."

Pat shrugs, sluring, "Phosphorus itself is a very important substance for life, especially human life. It's a main ingredient in several fire making and explosive items. They probably just want the phosporus itself, either as fertalizer, to make heat, or both. Whomever here is the strongest should probably take as much of the stuff as we can scrounge. "

Turning to Turlow, "I'd like unlimited download access to the Green entertainment database. I'm going to put as much of it on my backpack mini-comp as I possibly can. I'd also like a few thousand blank chips and as many players as you think I can carry. "

With that Pat's eufiber suit begins to shift, becoming a volminous, brown, tatty, fur-lined coat with a hood that only leaves his face and feet showing, his feet clad in sturdy black leather boots and a pair of goggles over his eyes. "How's this for post-apocalyptic, permafrost style?"

[Prince of Boredom]

Tesseract, who'd basically been standing in the middle of the room, frozen in place except for the constant, almost imperceptible shifting of his form, turns his head and speaks,

"Well, Hood here knows what I can do, so I'll let the rest of you in. My only ture 'power' is the ability to sense quantum, in basically all of its forms. As for the rest, well basically I, how did you explain it Hood? My conciousness, as well as physical body exist across 4 dimensions, instead of the typical 3. What this means is that I can naturally do things that would otherwise be considered 'powers'. First, because of this, I can see forward and backward in time, much as you can turn your head and look both ways before crossing the street. Because of this, it often seems that I'm reacting faster than normal, but really I'm just reacting at a simple baseline speed, to something that I'm seeing in the near future. Because my body also exists across this 4th dimension, I can also walk 'parallel' to the flow of time, seemingly 'teleporting', though that's not entirely what's happening. I actually have to travel through the intervening space, but I just see everything frozen in time. It also means that I can appear to be acting quicker than average as I'm moving in such a way that time is slower relative to me. I know it's weird, I don't really understand it myself, and what little I know, Hood explained to me.

And yes, if need be, I can force myself into only 3 dimensions so as not to freak out the natives."

[Alex Green]

Paul finishes his smaller pack and his eufiber absorbs it in sections, there isn’t much. A single phosphorus grenade. A little bit of food. A knife. A hand gun with a spare clip. A spool of monowire (see elites). A tiny radio ear plug. It’s obvious it’s selected for weight vs. utility.

He bounces the IR goggles on his hands for a moment glancing back and forth between them and his cold protection clothing and then with a sigh his IR goggles also disappear into the eufiber.

Finishing that he examines the arctic cold protection clothing and slowly, with great care and exceptional talent and control, fashions his eufiber into an exact copy. Then he packs the clothing with his gear.

Doctor Vanderlay carefully steps between the various piles of gear, brushing aside her hair as she peers down at the weapons; hefting a large automatic, the Pandoran casually remarks: 

As to my abilities, I'm what is commonly referred to at the Project as a 'biological' - I'm mostly trained at adapting to harsh environments, but I'm also somewhat telepathic. And...I'm skilled at disrupting quantum powers, when necessary.

Paul looks at her curiously and says,

“You don’t scan as an active nova. Baseline or perhaps dormed deep down nova. Do you need to power up to use your stuff, and if so will your looks change a lot?”

Pat shrugs, sluring, "Phosphorus itself is a very important substance for life, especially human life. It's a main ingredient in several fire making and explosive items. They probably just want the phosporus itself, either as fertalizer, to make heat, or both. Whomever here is the strongest should probably take as much of the stuff as we can scrounge. "

Paul says,

“That raises a point, is anyone here super-strong?”

“And just for so both of you know…” (Telepathically To Pat’s Path) *Hello Path, I’m Paul, do you have another name? Can you please relay what I say to Pat? Testing Z, Y, X?*

With that Pat's eufiber suit begins to shift, becoming a volminous, brown, tatty, fur-lined coat with a hood that only leaves his face and feet showing, his feet clad in sturdy black leather boots and a pair of goggles over his eyes. "How's this for post-apocalyptic, permafrost style?"

Paul turns to face him so Pat can see his lips and answers with a smile,

“We’ll have to wait and see the locals to see how close you are.”

Tesseract, who'd basically been standing in the middle of the room, frozen in place except for the constant, almost imperceptible shifting of his form, turns his head and speaks,

"…My conciousness, as well as physical body exist across 4 dimensions, instead of the typical 3.  … "

Paul replies,

”You need to lower the tone of your voice, you are shouting. Can you take other people on these temporal trips? And I gather you are the ‘soul survivor’ from your world?

[Asbjørn]

"I didn't say anything about mind control. I can mess around with people's memories if I need to, and I'm good with transfer of information, but I can't actively overrule a person's will with my own."

"OK. I'm used to that being two sides of the same coin..."

Emerald grins at the General's comment, & with that the light in her eyes flashes brighter for a moment, & the green glow once again passes over her body - changing her outfit as it goes. This time the shapely young black woman ends up clad in dark green leggings with calf-high, fur-trimmed, boots, a matching fur-trimmed bikini top, & a jacket of dark-green leather (with 'Green Machine' spelt out on the back in small silver studs). Not the most practical of cold-weather outfits... but nice to look at... ::wink

"Not exactly warm, but definitely hot..."

Looking around as the rest of the team start their packing the black woman seems a little lost as far as what to take is concerned.

Seeing that Halle is a bit out of her depth, Hood gives her a few pointers on what to pack and not. He also gives advice to anybody else who's not a survival expert, while listening to the other team-members' summaries. He also asks Turlow for skis or snowshoes for the whole team.

"As for all this stuff - would it be crazy to think that these.... er... 'Permafrostians' might want the white phosphorus from the grenades for something else altogether? After all, it could be that our first team just happened to have the grenades with them & the 'Frostians wanted to trade - but were actually after the chemicals, rather than the 'bang' potential, right? I... I guess I'm just hoping that they're not as war-crazy over there as we all seem to be over here..."

"Not crazy at all. A little optimistic, maybe..." ::wink

“That raises a point, is anyone here super-strong?”

"Doesn't sound like it... We've got Father Nature, Nick Dangerous, Miss Green, our two telepaths, Tess, the Doc, the chameleon over there and me. And the quiet guy in the corner, but judging from his reaction in Downstairs earlier I wouldn't bet a lot of money on him being the super-strong type either. Am I right?"

He looks at Ironfeather as he asks the question.

"Carrying capacity is going to be one of our biggest problems. We don't know how much time we need, and we don't know the hunting conditions on the other side. We need a vehicle. Or dogs. Not so much for the trading gear, but for the food. A team of nine novas in an arctic environment is going to need a lot of food."

"I'm used to using pack animals in these situations. A vehicle with a high fuel capacity would be easier, but could be harder to bring back, maybe...?" He looks at Turlow for confirmation.

"Is there any other way we can handle it?"

[Heritage]

"Carrying capacity is going to be one of our biggest problems. We don't know how much time we need, and we don't know the hunting conditions on the other side. We need a vehicle. Or dogs. Not so much for the trading gear, but for the food. A team of nine novas in an arctic environment is going to need a lot of food."

"I'm used to using pack animals in these situations. A vehicle with a high fuel capacity would be easier, but could be harder to bring back, maybe...?"

He looks at Turlow for confirmation.

"Is there any other way we can handle it?"

←

Turlow bites her lip, deep in thought - she then flips through the sheets on her clipboard.

Okay, here's what I know about Permafrost. We're going to be sending you over to the exact spot where the last team was last seen, which would be a cavern near the base of Tieton Peak. That's pretty much the middle of nowhere, at 1500 meters above sea level on a version of Earth where the average temperature, at least in Washington State, is usually several degrees below zero, and that's not Celsius. Plus you've got wind chill to worry about, no heat and very little shelter. I have no idea where this settlement the first team contacted is located, and the nearest paved road is 12 kilometers due north.

She tucks the clipboard under her arm, and sighs sympathetically.

Personally, my first crossover would be to just get my bearings and come right back, get an idea of what's going on over there. We can take a peek right now with the headgear, and see what we can see, but that might not be much - without a recaller to fix on at their end, reception will be poor.

[Bahamut810]

"Ok. Why dont we just stick with that then. We can worry about extended trading later, lets just pack light and take the basics right now."

[Alex Green]

"Ok.  Why dont we just stick with that then.  We can worry about extended trading later, lets just pack light and take the basics right now."

Paul responds, “Bull. We take everything we need to survive every time, even if we think we’ll only be there five minutes. The other team thought they were short timers and it’s been 18 months. Learn from previous lessons.”

“As for the environment, it doesn’t sound that bad.”

Paul shrugs, “It’s cold, so I’ll make it warmer. It’s got a wind chill, so I’ll deaden the wind. Oh sure, I’m not a top ranked weather controller so if it’s really bad we might want to call it a day… but chances are I’ll be able to turn it into a mild winter or bad spring day. Then with donations of juice I can keep that up for as long as I’m awake.”

“I’ve got a 30 kilometer range on this, so if the other team is near by they should figure out a nova is close by. If they’ve still got a working radio, bingo, instant communication. Then we warp over there, and the whole thing is over in half an hour. If they aren’t close or they don’t have a radio then we should either fly around or radio the others.”

[Bahamut810]

“Bull. We take everything we need to survive every time, even if we think we’ll only be there five minutes. The other team thought they were short timers and it’s been 18 months. Learn from previous lessons.”

"Yes...pack light. Take the basics, which means only what we need to survive. There is no need to haul around 50 pounds of videos and otherwise useless trading goods when all we need to do is recon and recover." ::rolleyes

[Alex Green]

Paul responds, “No need unless history repeats itself and we get stuck there too. Experimental, unproven technologies none of us understand being used in a war zone to take us to conditions none of us understand either. No cause for concern there. ::blink If fifty pounds is a problem then we take it as a crate and catch it somewhere.”

“Much better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”

[phoenix]

"You know, once we get through the door, I might be able to zero in on the other team telepathically. Which would definitely save time, especially if we could then open a warp to their location," Faith remarks, eyeing the arguing novas irritably.

[Asbjørn]

Paul responds, “Much better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”

Hood nods his agreement to this.

"Just like condoms..."

"You know, once we get through the door, I might be able to zero in on the other team telepathically. Which would definitely save time, especially if we could then open a warp to their location," Faith remarks, eyeing the arguing novas irritably.

"Still - like Paul says - we could get stuck there. And trust me on this: Being cut off from your own reality is bad enough without adding the extra burden of being short on supplies."

"Lets plan for a short recon mission, but there's no harm in setting up a depot for later use either. How about we cross over with a couple of sleighs with supplies, stash them somewhere while we do a little telepathic and aerial recon, and hopefully locate the team somewhere nearby? If we haven't found them in a day or two we cross back. Then we probably know a lot more about the area, and can plan a little better for contacting the natives on our second trip."

"Who knows, they may have headed for warmer climate further south once they realized they weren't getting back."

He turns to Turlow and asks

"That reminds me, who are we looking for? All novas? How many? What kind of powers?"

[Alex Green]

"You know, once we get through the door, I might be able to zero in on the other team telepathically. Which would definitely save time, especially if we could then open a warp to their location," Faith remarks, eyeing the arguing novas irritably.

Paul says with approval, “Now that would be good news… and right handy.”

"Still - like Paul says - we could get stuck there. And trust me on this: Being cut off from your own reality is bad enough without adding the extra burden of being short on supplies."

Paul dead pans, ”I hope to only imagine. Still, there’s only a slight chance of that happening. After all, it isn’t like someone will try to nuke this site from orbit the moment we fire up the generator. ::wink

[Nullifier]

Pat watches the conversation about what to do go back and forth, finally he steps in, his slurred voice taking on a much more authoritative tone, "All this speculation is useless. Let me go in alone first to scout things out. I can locate the first team telepathically if possible, and I can warp to them. If they're not anywhere around I can scan the area with my powers and scan conventional radio frequencies as well. If I get stuck, I don't need to eat, I'm immune to the weather, and I'll have plenty of trade goods to survive on until backup arrives. I'll map out the area, figure out the situation, and report back. That's what I do for the Greens in this reality, so I'm the logical choice to do it in the other one. "

[Bahamut810]

"You shouldent go alone. Ill volenteer to get your back. Im in the same boat as ya after all."

[ConcreteDragon]

"Doesn't sound like it... We've got Father Nature, Nick Dangerous, Miss Green, our two telepaths, Tess, the Doc, the chameleon over there and me. And the quiet guy in the corner, but judging from his reaction in Downstairs earlier I wouldn't bet a lot of money on him being the super-strong type either. Am I right?"

He looks at Ironfeather as he asks the question.

Erik smiles back at him, his voice begining to fade--- "I am an exelent scout and tracker. I also commune with nature, both plants and animals. I tale on the essence of their Spirit, allowing me to be strong as Mastadon, as tough as Grizzly Bear, as fast as Puma, as keen as Eagle...you get the idea."

With that the big indian grabs 9 grenades and adds them to his pre-prepaird satchel, then grabs some snowshoes and a few cold weather things to add to his wardrobe and stands at the ready.

[Heritage]

Colonel Bledsoe shakes his head at some of the comments he's hearing.

Okay, first off, no one goes through alone - we're a team, right? The smallest unit we should ever be using is two men, in case something happens out there - just because we're novas doesn't mean we can't screw up and die in an unfamiliar environment. And as I understand it, this new technology doesn't have the massive quantum signature of the old system, plus we're a lot farther down, so orbital detection is no longer an issue. Otherwise, we would be in a smoking crater right now after the trial runs.

As far as the numbers and composition of the first team, give me a second-

He pulls out a small datapad, and starts punching the tiny keyboard; after a moment, he looks up and waves vaguely.

Talk amongst yourselves.

(OOC: I have to find some old notes, but I didn't want to keep everyone waiting ::tongue)

[Alex Green]

Paul remarks, (both out loud and telepathically to Pat’s Path)

“Radio hearing helps a lot against an armed and organized post-industrial foe, but if there are… I don’t know… Quantum Charged Polar Bears roaming the countryside eating people, then being deaf could be a real problem. 10 novas implies they don’t think this is a soft run for just one or two of us. That’s why there are two telepaths and two animal telepaths. Redundancy. They expect the rules to be different, and we don’t have enough information to tell how or even why.”

Paul shrugs,

“And then we have the time issue, and perhaps even an issue with the amount of power needed to make Thrown function. How long would it take to move all of the Green to another world? Months? Years? And how long do we actually have? Sending just Pat and a bodyguard might be the least risky move if we knew more, but I doubt we have time for perfection. We need information about where would be a good place to set up and we need it soon.”

[phoenix]

Hood nods his agreement to this.

"Just like condoms..."

Faith looks at Hood bemusedly.

"They don't have radio in whatever world you're from, but they have rubbers?"

Okay, first off, no one goes through alone - we're a team, right? The smallest unit we should ever be using is two men, in case something happens out there - just because we're novas doesn't mean we can't screw up and die in an unfamiliar environment.

Faith nods approvingly at this.

Quantum Charged Polar Bears roaming the countryside eating people, then being deaf could be a real problem.

Faith shudders.

"Quantum charged polar bears? What a terrifying idea..."

OOC: ::wink

[Alex Green]

"Quantum charged polar bears? What a terrifying idea..."

Paul smiles and says, "Thousands of them, 20 feet tall, radiating cold, and invisible to boot."

Paul throws up his hands to try to look taller and takes a step... ::biggrin

...and then stops and looks more serious.

"The point isn't these things are out there, the point is whatever really is out there will seem equally unbelieveable. If they came here I think novas would be quite a shock."

[Bahamut810]

"Hmmmm...Never wrestled with one of them before...Now im getting all excited..."

[Asbjørn]

Faith looks at Hood bemusedly.

"They don't have radio in whatever world you're from, but they have rubbers?"

"Oh, they've got radio, all right. 24-7. Everyone's got them. Jacked in more or less from birth, actually."

"But rubbers are more fun." ::biggrin ::wink

"Hmmmm...Never wrestled with one of them before...Now im getting all excited..."

Hood gives Faith a glance at this comment, and adds

"Speaking of condoms..." ::rolleyes ::wink

"The point isn't these things are out there, the point is  whatever really is out there will seem equally unbelieveable.  If they came here I think novas would be quite a shock."

"Improvise, adapt and overcome... We're good at that, aren't we?"

"Seriously, though: We shouldn't be surprised if we do find novas on the other side, either. Like I mentioned earlier it's very likely that the few worlds Throne has reached so far are the products of a major quantum-related event. We know there are or have been novas in two of the other worlds, and if I remember correctly evidence suggests that there might have been - or can still appear - in two others. There's only one without ambient quantum energies, where the Hammersmith accident never occured."

"But the bottom line is the same... what's that old line? Yeah. Expect the unexpected."

[Heritage]

Finally Bledsoe grunts with satisfaction.

Okay, found the first team's lineup. Let's see now - the team leader was Lieutenant Peter Carmichael, along with his second-in-command First Sergeant Katherine Hermann, both of Ninth Infantry. They had two Scouts with them, Master Scout John Red Oak and Scout, Second Grade Roy Kimple. Uh...they had a warper, Specialist Ray Stanton from Transport & Supply, an Engineer, Specialist Judy Kapriski, and a medic, Specialist Thomas Snead. Rounding out the team is Sergeant Gregory Bartosh, also of Ninth Infantry. Only Stanton, Kapriski and Kimple were novas.

He rubs the chin of his mask.

Stanton had enhanced strength as well as the warping. Kapriski was some sort of super-fabricator - said metal talked to her, or some-such. Kimple could turn invisible, heightened senses, all the usual Scout nonsense.

The creepy colonel shrugs as he puts away the datapad.

A very experienced and capable team - I'm actually fairly optimistic that we'll find them.

[Alex Green]

"Seriously, though: We shouldn't be surprised if we do find novas on the other side, either. Like I mentioned earlier it's very likely that the few worlds Throne has reached so far are the products of a major quantum-related event. We know there are or have been novas in two of the other worlds, and if I remember correctly evidence suggests that there might have been - or can still appear - in two others. There's only one without ambient quantum energies, where the Hammersmith accident never occured."

Paul says, ”Hammersmith? Do you mean N-Day?”

The creepy colonel shrugs as he puts away the datapad.

A very experienced and capable team - I'm actually fairly optimistic that we'll find them.

,,

Paul nods, "With the gate down if I were them I'd either link up with the local town and/or head South... Cuba maybe."

[Bahamut810]

"I bet they stuck around. I would think they would be with the closest town starting up some good Green relations. I bet they have a scout at the drop point 24/7 as well. Which is something else that would be nice to know...are we going to the same drop point?"

[phoenix]

Hood gives Faith a glance at this comment, and adds

"Speaking of condoms..."

::biggrin

Paul nods, "With the gate down if I were them I'd either link up with the local town and/or head South... Cuba maybe."

Faith winces upon learning that the team had a warper, but doesn't say anything.

[Nullifier]

"Seriously, though: We shouldn't be surprised if we do find novas on the other side, either. Like I mentioned earlier it's very likely that the few worlds Throne has reached so far are the products of a major quantum-related event. We know there are or have been novas in two of the other worlds, and if I remember correctly evidence suggests that there might have been - or can still appear - in two others. There's only one without ambient quantum energies, where the Hammersmith accident never occured."

Pat, who's looking at Hood at the time, looks very confused.

Paul says, ”Hammersmith? Do you mean N-Day?”

Pat, whose confusion kept him from noticing this comment from Paul, thinks approximately the same thing, then shakes his head and closes his eyes.

[Asbjørn]

"I bet they stuck around. I would think they would be with the closest town starting up some good Green relations. I bet they have a scout at the drop point 24/7 as well. Which is something else that would be nice to know...are we going to the same drop point?"

::rolleyes

"Were you paying attention a few minutes ago? They're sending us to the spot they were last seen."

Paul says, ”Hammersmith?  Do you mean N-Day?”

"N-Day? No, I mean... Er... Kinda. The Hammersmith accident ocurred much earlier, but had some of the same effects. If your N-Day was the car engine blowing up, Hammersmith was the first spark of ignition."

It's obvious from Hood's explanation that this is the short, short version.

Pat, who's looking at Hood at the time, looks very confused.

Pat [...] shakes his head and closes his eyes.

Hood stops his explanation and looks straight at the short guy. Ignoring the room in general he says in a very cold voice

"Ok, maybe you can't hear me, but if you're trying to be sneaky and read my mind without asking my permission, you'll have to be a lot more subtle, Pat." ::angry

The change in Hood's stance and focus clearly suggests that he's fractions of a second away from an explanation, an apology or seriously kicking dwarf butt. For those who should happen to be reading his mind at the moment: He means it. In fact, he does his best to force the intruder - if there is one - out of his mind.

[OOC: And if you are, Nulli... please let me know so I can tell you what he's thinking? ::wink ]

[Heritage]

Hood stops his explanation and looks straight at the short guy. Ignoring the room in general he says in a very cold voice

"Ok, maybe you can't hear me, but if you're trying to be sneaky and read my mind without asking my permission, you'll have to be a lot more subtle, Pat."

::angry

The change in Hood's stance and focus clearly suggests that he's fractions of a second away from an explanation, an apology or seriously kicking dwarf butt. For those who should happen to be reading his mind at the moment: He means it. In fact, he does his best to force the intruder - if there is one - out of his mind.

Bledsoe looks between Pat and Hood,

Wait, what's-

Then the colonel throws up his hands.

Oh no, not telepathy issues - I was hoping this wouldn't happen until the second day.

He turns to Pat and starts to speak.

Listen, Pat, I-

Remembering that he has no visible lips, he sighs a metallic sigh.

I'm too old for this shit.

He then flips a switch on his mask that allows his words to be broadcast via radio.

Pat, if you can read me, don't play around in Hood's head - the boy has issues, due to a long-standing tradition on his world about just this sort of thing. If you have any questions, maybe he can, I dunno, write you an essay or something.

Bledsoe then turns to the others, still broadcasting.

And any of you other telepaths, please remember that good teammates don't play 'peeping tom' - telepathy should be reserved for important communication, playful taunting and kinky brain sex only.