Aberrant: War Journal - War Journal: Trans-D

[phoenix]

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

Hood stops his explanation and looks straight at the short guy.

Edit: Seeing Hood glare at Pat and adjust his posture accordingly, Faith gives the diminutive telepath an abrupt mental nudge, abolishing his reverie.

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.gif

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.

::angry "Hey, back off! I'd sure hate to have to deal with this kind of thing every time I decide to rest my eyes. What's going on? What are you talking about?"

Faith makes sure that Pat can read her lips as she says this, and gives him a reassuring glance to let him know that she's more or less in his corner.

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.

Faith bats long eyelashes at the colonel, wearing a give-me-a-break expression, but declines to comment.

[Alex Green]

If possible and/or necessary Paul will relay the conversation to Pat’s Path.

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.

Paul involuntarily glances at Faith but remains silent. ::blush

[Nullifier]

Seeing Hood glare at Pat and adjust his posture accordingly, Faith gives the diminutive telepath an abrupt mental nudge, abolishing his reverie.

Pat blinks his eyes open, and looks around, a slightly befuddled expression on his face. Finally his gaze comes to rest on Faith, and he gives her a slightly quizical look.

"Hey, back off! I'd sure hate to have to deal with this kind of thing every time I decide to rest my eyes. What's going on? What are you talking about?"

Faith makes sure that Pat can read her lips as she says this, and gives him a reassuring glance to let him know that she's more or less in his corner.

Pat was looking at Faith at the time of Hood's statement, but he does catch her reaction, and slurs, confusedly, "Huh? What's going on here exactly?"

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.

Pat looks, if possible, even more confused than before he closed his eyes. Then a light seems to dawn, and he looks and Hood and says, in a slightly offended voice, "You think I need to close my eyes to read your mind? I could be doing it right now, and you'd never even know. I closed my eyes to think, undisturbed, for a moment. I'll try to keep my eyes open around you at all times now, though, now that I see it makes you so uncomfortable."

[Asbjørn]

::angry "Hey, back off! I'd sure hate to have to deal with this kind of thing every time I decide to rest my eyes. What's going on? What are you talking about?"

Hood keeps his eyes on Pat, not replying to Faith's outburst. At least not yet.

Pat looks, if possible, even more confused than before he closed his eyes. Then a light seems to dawn, and he looks and Hood and says, in a slightly offended voice, "You think I need to close my eyes to read your mind? I could be doing it right now, and you'd never even know. I closed my eyes to think, undisturbed, for a moment. I'll try to keep my eyes open around you at all times now, though, now that I see it makes you so uncomfortable."

Hood seems to relax a little, and looks around the room briefly before facing Pat again.

"No, I don't think you need to close your eyes to read my mind. And I hope you're not the kind of sick bastard who gets his kicks snooping around in other people's heads. But I don't know you. And when an undetectable telepath closes his eyes in what looks like concentration when I'm explaining about things he doesn't seem to understand... what would you think?" The question is addressed to the whole room.

Running a hand through his hair, Hood sighs and continues

"OK, maybe I overreacted. If you say you weren't reading my mind, I'll take your word for it and apologize. But you have to keep in mind that for you, closing your eyes is a very strong signal to send."

Turning again to the others he continues

"And I think I should clarify the colonel's statement a little. I don't have a problem with telepaths as such. What I have a problem with is people going through my brain without my consent. That's no better than rape."

Then his smile returns and he adds

"So, Pat... like I said, you looked like there was something I said that you didn't understand. What were you wondering about?"

[phoenix]

Running a hand through his hair, Hood sighs and continues

"OK, maybe I overreacted. If you say you weren't reading my mind, I'll take your word for it and apologize. But you have to keep in mind that for you, closing your eyes is a very strong signal to send."

Faith exhales noisily, muttering,

"So is flipping out for no reason, but we don't seem to have too many qualms about that..."

However, as the tension level in the room lowers, she regrets her acerbity as soon as it leaves her mouth, and sends a vaguely apologetic look in Hood's direction.

[Bahamut810]

"Well...now that we have that straitened out...You can read my mind if you cant hear anything. I dont really have anything to hide. That goes for any of you deaf telepaths."

He smiles and claps pat on the back.

[Nullifier]

Hood seems to relax a little, and looks around the room briefly before facing Pat again.

"No, I don't think you need to close your eyes to read my mind. And I hope you're not the kind of sick bastard who gets his kicks snooping around in other people's heads. But I don't know you. And when an undetectable telepath closes his eyes in what looks like concentration when I'm explaining about things he doesn't seem to understand... what would you think?" The question is addressed to the whole room.

Running a hand through his hair, Hood sighs and continues

"OK, maybe I overreacted. If you say you weren't reading my mind, I'll take your word for it and apologize. But you have to keep in mind that for you, closing your eyes is a very strong signal to send."

Turning again to the others he continues

"And I think I should clarify the colonel's statement a little. I don't have a problem with telepaths as such. What I have a problem with is people going through my brain without my consent. That's no better than rape."

Then his smile returns and he adds

"So, Pat... like I said, you looked like there was something I said that you didn't understand. What were you wondering about?"

Pat watches Hood through his little speech with a raised eyebrow and a mildly puzzled expression. Finally, he shrugs and says in a serious sounding slur, "I wasn't wondering exactly, I was making connections. You implied that this Hammersmith accident thingy occured here, in this reality. That it created 'ambient quantum energies' here that wouldn't have existed otherwise, and that they are the sole reason for the existence of novas. If that's the case, then it's the most important thing to happen in this reality, ever, and no one here has ever even heard of it. Yet in your reality you heard of it, which to me implies either a very recent, or a very obvious and widely known historical event. This second option seems unlikely to me, which means that while in your reality knowledge of the event eventually became widely know here it must have been and continue to be suppressed and hidden. An event that important and recent couldn't have eluded beings as powerful as novas for this long any other way. See what I'm getting at here? So what I was wondering, eventually, is who's been doing the hiding, why have they been doing it, and what else have they been up to in the mean time? "

With that, he turns and looks at Dr. Vanderlay with a raised eyebrow, and half a grin.

[Asbjørn]

Hood seems to listen with interest to Pat's theorizing, and then replies - if he can catch Pat's eye again ::wink -

"How about option three? I came here and learned about it through discussions with Dr Winz? Or option four: It's not well known where I come from, but I've got friends in high places? Or option five: It's bleeding Top Secret where I come from, and the government will brainwash, kill or incarcerate anyone who do know?"

"My own personal pet theory is that Hammersmith was a Dullard - a resident of the no-quantum reality the techies call 'Dullsville' - who more or less broke the laws of his own reality, and that his experiment blowing up was the first quantum branch point and a part of all the other timelines. Some of you Primates don't like that theory, of course..." ::wink

[Heritage]

With that, he turns and looks at Dr. Vanderlay with a raised eyebrow, and half a grin.

←

Dr. Vanderlay frowns.

Actually, Hammersmith's little accident did happen is this timeline - it was over a hundred years ago, in London. Most of the founders of the Aeon Society were present, and it gifted many of them with extraordinary abilities.

But by the end of the Second World War, Aeon was badly weakened by internal conflict and betrayal, and our star dimmed - it wasn't until N-Day that we had the opportunity to step back into the spotlight and bring about the founding of Project Utopia. So in our timeline, Hammersmith is little more than a footnote, known only to Aeon and a few historians and theorists. Some version of it may well have taken place on other versions of Earth as well...

[Alex Green]

Paul has been listening to this and comments, “So Hammersmith wasn’t recent but set the path, eventually leading to N Day. For the want of a horseshoe and all that. For what ever reason it’s the first big break… fascinating, but I’m not sure how relevant it is.”

Paul frowns and continues, “Or how it leads to an ice age. Nuclear Winter perhaps? A really powerful nova who’s powers revolve around cold?”

“And a side note about those VCR tapes. Probably we shouldn’t take them. Small communities may imply no electrical power, and no tape players. If we are supposed to be scavengers then we’d know that. Radios can operate off battery and hand crank.”

[Nullifier]

Dr. Vanderlay frowns.

Actually, Hammersmith's little accident did happen is this timeline - it was over a hundred years ago, in London. Most of the founders of the Aeon Society were present, and it gifted many of them with extraordinary abilities.

But by the end of the Second World War, Aeon was badly weakened by internal conflict and betrayal, and our star dimmed - it wasn't until N-Day that we had the opportunity to step back into the spotlight and bring about the founding of Project Utopia. So in our timeline, Hammersmith is little more than a footnote, known only to Aeon and a few historians and theorists. Some version of it may well have taken place on other versions of Earth as well...

Pat spits, then slurs, angrily, and less coherently than usual, "That's a load of bullsh*t. Do you have any idea how many novas over the years have searched for the origins of our abilities? You make it sound like the Hammersmith accident isn't known in our history because its effects faded into the mists of history and so did it. I don't buy that for a second. Evidence of it and its effect must have been purposely hidden and/or destroyed by someone, most likely the Aeon Society, sometime before or shortly after the beginning of the nova age. You're full of it if you think this revelation isn't the most momentous one that could ever come about. The whole world will know of our origin and the full depth of the Aeon Society's deception and manipulation. They could have stopped this war before it ever started, but instead they hid in the shadows for decades, at least, just waiting for the chance to take over, and look where it's got us now. Well thanks awfully. You Aeon creeps are all alike, always talking down to people with that nauseating 'for your own good' attitude. Well now no one will ever, ever fall for that again. You can bet on it. "

With that, Pat spits again, turns his back on Dr. Vanderly, and closes his eyes tight.

[Bahamut810]

Nick shrugs.

"Does it matter at this point. We are here to explore other worlds...we need to find out what happened there. Going over possible history that no one really knows about wont do us any good."

[Asbjørn]

Paul has been listening to this and comments, “So Hammersmith wasn’t recent but set the path, eventually leading to N Day.  For the want of a horseshoe and all that.  For what ever reason it’s the first big break… fascinating, but I’m not sure how relevant it is.”

"Not at all", Hood laughs, "but you asked..." ::wink

Paul frowns and continues, “Or how it leads to an ice age.  Nuclear Winter perhaps?  A really powerful nova who’s powers revolve around cold?”

Hood shrugs in reply. ::shrug

“And a side note about those VCR tapes.  Probably we shouldn’t take them.  Small communities may imply no electrical power, and no tape players.  If we are supposed to be scavengers then we’d know that.  Radios can operate off battery and hand crank.”

"Electricity isn't that hard to come up with. ::huh We're talking late 20th century here, chances are every small community has an engineer or somebody with the basic knowhow. But unless these VHS are very small I agree. No point in carrying any extra bulk we might not need on the first trip."

Pat spits, then slurs, angrily, and less coherently than usual, "That's a load of bullsh*t. [...] You Aeon creeps are all alike, always talking down to people with that nauseating 'for your own good' attitude. Well now no one will ever, ever fall for that again. You can bet on it. "

With that, Pat spits again, turns his back on Dr. Vanderly, and closes his eyes tight.

Taking note of Pat's obvious hatred of Dr Vanderlay's kind, Hood otherwise ignores his rant and turns his attention once again on the available equipment. He takes his time picking out a good pair of skis that - though good products - look well past their prime, and one by one runs his hands carefully over them. As his calloused fingers glide over the material they smooth out scratches and repair splinters and other damage, leaving them as good as new.

"Does it matter at this point.  We are here to explore other worlds...we need to find out what happened there.  Going over possible history that no one really knows about wont do us any good."

"True," Hood nods.

"Well. I'm done. Just have to get my own pack and equipment and I'm ready. How about a drink and a last meal before we go through?"

He looks around the room as he asks the question, his eyes coming to rest on the two ladies.

Regardless of wether his suggestion meets with approval or not, he then - after asking directions - makes his way to his own quarters and picks up his own stuff: An extra weapons belt, a hunting rifle and a backpack that's been resting in its corner for way too long. Basically your average black and green 120 litres nylon pack, it's been repaired and modified dozens of times over the years and now seems a hybrid of a leather bag, a normal hiking backpack and a post-apocalyptic bundle of bags, straps and pockets. Returning with it, he adds some warmer clothing and the few trading goods and equipment he picked out earlier - including, but not limited to, binoculars and a map of the area they're going to. That done, he pats his pack, smiles and says

"Well, I've got everything we need for a meal right here, including dessert, but let's get some of the famous Bravo cuisine for now... You never know when we get the chance next." ::rolleyes

All packed and ready to go, he intends to spend his time eating and relaxing - with company or not - until it's time to go. If anyone joins him, he asks after eating in relative silence for a while

"So, how do you people choose a chief when the officers don't assign one? Or do we just improvise and make it up as we go along?"

"In the crews I'm used to working with it's usually put to a vote at the start of a raid. More often than not it ends up with the same experienced people being in charge, of course, but if the crew is unhappy with the way a leader works, they can always vote for someone else the next time. It's also usually the chosen chief who gets most of the blame when things go wrong, of course."

[ConcreteDragon]

"Well. I'm done. Just have to get my own pack and equipment and I'm ready. How about a drink and a last meal before we go through?" ::rolleyes

←

Watching the display of speculation in amazement, all Erik can do is shake his head. "And all this has nothing to do with anything. This is a Recon & Rescue mission. Hood is right. We don't know when our next easy meal will be, so we should get some digestion done before we ship out." And with that, he picks up his gear and follows the Off-worlder.

All packed and ready to go, he intends to spend his time eating and relaxing - with company or not - until it's time to go. If anyone joins him, he asks after eating in relative silence for a while

"So, how do you people choose a chief when the officers don't assign one? Or do we just improvise and make it up as we go along?"

"We should ask the brass, It makes them feel in-charge ::wink But as for me, I know I'm no leader. I'm a Stalker, a Tracker, and a Sentry. But I'm no good at telling another man what to do. "cough-cough

[phoenix]

"Well. I'm done. Just have to get my own pack and equipment and I'm ready. How about a drink and a last meal before we go through?"

He looks around the room as he asks the question, his eyes coming to rest on the two ladies.

Faith nods.

"Sounds good. I'm going to go to my quarters and pack some personals, then I'll head Downstairs and hook up with anyone else I see there. Sound like a plan?"

Faith finds out the time at which she should be back at the control room (and how to get there at all) and departs.

[Heritage]

Pat spits, then slurs, angrily, and less coherently than usual, "That's a load of bullsh*t. Do you have any idea how many novas over the years have searched for the origins of our abilities? You make it sound like the Hammersmith accident isn't known in our history because its effects faded into the mists of history and so did it. I don't buy that for a second. Evidence of it and its effect must have been purposely hidden and/or destroyed by someone, most likely the Aeon Society, sometime before or shortly after the beginning of the nova age. You're full of it if you think this revelation isn't the most momentous one that could ever come about. The whole world will know of our origin and the full depth of the Aeon Society's deception and manipulation. They could have stopped this war before it ever started, but instead they hid in the shadows for decades, at least, just waiting for the chance to take over, and look where it's got us now. Well thanks awfully. You Aeon creeps are all alike, always talking down to people with that nauseating 'for your own good' attitude. Well now no one will ever, ever fall for that again. You can bet on it. "

With that, Pat spits again, turns his back on Dr. Vanderlay, and closes his eyes tight.

←

Vanderlay looks like she was hit in the stomach with a sledgehammer - she tries to form words, but then sees that Pat has "tuned her out', and she just sort of stands there for a moment, a pained expression on her face as she stares helplessly at the small telepath. At last, she turns to the rest of the company.

I...I suppose I should get my things together as well. Packing. I'll start packing.

And with that, she heads unsteadily to one of the wall slits, the techs stepping aside to let her pass.

Bledsoe watches this exchange in silence, his unblinking red lenses hiding his thoughts. When others in the group start to inquire about food, he mutely motions for them to follow Vanderlay towards the same exit. He then switches his facemask mike to broadcast only, and whispers:

(Pat, if you can read me, c'mon and grab some grub, and forget about the ice queen for now. Everyone's got blood on their hands - Aeon's got a hell of a lot, no question, but the Greens ain't exactly saints, either.)

Beyond the wall slit is a t-port that will send anyone interested to WS Bravo for chow at the cafeteria, or anywhere else in Greenland where they need to go. Bledsoe says they are to meet back in the THRONE room in two hours.

(OOC: The PCs can go anywhere they need to, and we can follow along with them, so you guys can get better acquainted. Once everyone's ready, we'll resume the story in the portal room.)

[Bahamut810]

Nick frowns...poor lady. She has to know what her people have done...she knows things that is probably classified for some reason or another. But she still (hopefully) wants to help. She cant really control what they have done in the past, but she can help with the future (the fact that she is pretty hot dosent hurt either ::biggrin ).

He makes a quick decision and says, "Ill be back soon guys. Gots some stuff I need to take care of. Dont leave without me!" he give Emerald a quick wink and walks off down the hall after the good (or is that bad?) Ms. Vanderlay.

"Hey, Vanderlay! Wait up!" he calls as he catches up with her. "You dont wanna be walking around without someone...considering...you know." he explains as he catches up.

[Heritage]

"Hey, Vanderlay!  Wait up!" he calls as he catches up with her.  "You dont wanna be walking around without someone...considering...you know." he explains as he catches up.

←

The Pandoran at first looks somewhat startled to see Nick, but then she smiles.

Thank you. I'm sorry - as sad as it may seem, I'm more used to hostility from you Greens, though it usually isn't as...concentrated as Pat's. I don't know exactly how to respond to kindness and consideration. ::smile

She looks down at her hands for a moment, takes a deep breath, and then gives Nick an awkward look.

Um, would like to join me for a bite to eat? Something about having everything I stand for challenged gives me an appetite. ::blush

[Bahamut810]

He smiles slightly, but hesitates slightly before he answers. "Ehh...sure. Why not. We are going to be working together, so we may as well get to know eachother. I get to pick up the tab, though. I haven't been on a date in *ages*." he says grinning handsomly, lieing out his ear. He had just had a night out a few nights before that ended rather...splendidly. He knew this would be an excellent chanse to get to know if she was on the up and up or not...and really...she shouldent be around without an escort. If anyone knew...Well...Nick was no cobra.

"Im Nick by the way."

He will show her over to a more quiet place, hopefully a place dominated by scouts (god knows he would need whatever backup they would be willing to give considering if someone leaked the info). He makes sure to not to pass any vital areas (she dont need to know about them after all). He makes polite talk untill they get to the cafe...

"Take a seat. Good stuff here...just dont order the Kieshe. You dont wanna know what thats made of. So...I have been wondering...what *exactly* is a psychomorph?"

[Heritage]

"Take a seat.  Good stuff here...just dont order the Kieshe.  You dont wanna know what thats made of.  So...I have been wondering...what *exactly* is a psychomorph?"

←

Over a garden salad, Katherine (as she asks to be called), explains what Pandora knows about psychomorphs (which she sometimes refers to as 'psiads'), which turns out to be not very much. They are not as powerful as novas (which she refers to as 'eximorphs'), they don't have anything like a node, and their abilities are somewhat subtler. They also are much less common and don't so much erupt as just 'happen'. The conversation becomes more relaxed and genial, and both Nick and Katherine enjoy themselves.

All too soon, it's time for everyone to reconvene back in the THRONE room, gear up, and huddle near the onion, waiting for the portal to be opened. Dr. Winz is buzzing amidst the temporal techs, helping them adjust the device, while Bledsoe is doing some sort of odd, creepy little dance, clearly excited.

Oh, this is fantastic! We're finally crossing over!

His ruby lenses dart over the assembled team as he rubs his gloved hands together.

So, any last requests?

[Bahamut810]

Nick puts a finger up.

"One sec..."

He quickly takes a step back, makes a near tripping motion on the psiad, and dips her down and plants a deep kiss on her.

He lets her up after a second.

"For luck." He says with a wink towards her.

"Im good to go. Lets go save the world people!"

[Alex Green]

Paul opens his mind to see if he can see what is going on (i.e. what Thrown is up to. If it objects he will leave)

[Asbjørn]

Wolfing down the last of his meal as the call sounds, Hood shoulders his pack and heads for the Onion. His calm exterior barely hides his eagerness to get out there again as he stands ready before the Colonel.

Oh, this is fantastic! We're finally crossing over!

[bledsoe's] ruby lenses dart over the assembled team as he rubs his gloved hands together.

So, any last requests?

"Yeah... Don't lock the door..." ::dry

[phoenix]

Faith seems calm as the team prepares, though deep within her, one part of her is deeply, irrationally excited. This is the best part of any endeavor, just after the point at which further preparation is impossible, and just before things start happening. Everything she could need materially is in her relatively small rucksack, barring her weapons - those are neatly packed away in her mind. Everything is ready, everything is prepared.

Any last requests?

If Faith's eyes had been half- or fully shut before, they open fully now.

"No sir. I'm ready."

[ConcreteDragon]

Watching every one stroll in, Erik makes a mental note of everything being brought by the rest, and makes sure nothing is forgotten(survival roll).

So, any last requests?

The big indian shakes his head 'NO' (assuming we didn't need anything, otherwise he'll -voice- his concerns).

(Edit~to lighten my load ::tongue )

[Nullifier]

Pat, his eufiber fashioned into a heavy-looking winter outfit and backpack ensemble, complete with dirt and scuffs so it all looks travel-worn, watches the Onion with interest, and waits for something to happen.

[Heritage]

Nick puts a finger up.

"One sec..."

He quickly takes a step back, makes a near tripping motion on the psiad, and dips her down and plants a deep kiss on her.

He lets her up after a second.

"For luck." He says with a wink towards her.

Vanderlay squeaks in surprise, but doesn't fight him off - afterwards, her cheeks are quite flushed as she smiles in embarrassment, trying to avoid Nick's gaze. ::blush

Bledsoe looks around the team.

Then if we're all ready, take it away, Dr. Winz. Godspeed, all of you.

The insectile genius nods, and then flutters over to the nexus - hovering over it, he begins to remove and reinsert the slender glass rods using all six of his limbs. A thin, piping sort of music rings inside your heads, not unlike a finger rubbed around the edge of a crystal goblet. It's all oddly beautiful and slightly mesmerizing, like watching a conductor in front of an invisible orchestra.

Permafrost team, please approach the nexus!

As Emerald and Chameleon begin to step forward, Bledsoe gently rest his hands on both their shoulders.

I'm sorry, this journey is not for you - I've got fresh orders. Theirs is a path of darkness, but you two are going into the light…

As the rods continue to glide from hole to hole, the temperature around the nexus begins to drop, at first slowly, then with increasing speed. In no time, everyone's breath is visible - the techs, unprepared for the cold, step back, and soon shimmer out of existence, waving goodbye in slow motion as they become transparent and finally wink out of sight.

Now the cold is bone-shattering - outside the radius of the nexus, the room has grown dark, and frost can be seen on cavern walls. Winz appears to be completely oblivious to the changes as the rods continue their dance, the bulbous nexus glowing softly, casting timid shadows around the chamber. At last, the music stops - Winz sighs, his carapace rattling as all six limbs droop limply at his sides.

We are here.

The cavern is dark outside of the nexus circle - the chamber must be at least sixty feet across, and every surface is covered in glistening ice. The air is deathly still and burns inside your lungs. In the middle of the chamber, just at the edge of the light, stands a metallic framework, bits of pipe and chrome twisted into the shape of man holding up his hand in greeting. On his chestplate is carved a message:

We welcome you to Permie, our home away from home! Not that we're ungrateful, but what took you so long?

We've all gone to Carson, a place that's really fun. Hope you dressed up warmly, 'cause you'll never see the sun.

45º 43' 87" N, 121º 48' 25" W

P.S. Beware of the dead - they are restless here.

[Bahamut810]

DD watches the good insect doctor slide the rods around, trying to keep track of what goes where and in which order (never know when that knowledge will come in handy after all). He bends over slightly getting a better look at one of them and grabs hold of his own good doctors hand.

He watches as everything changes, not really bothering to feel the temperature drop. He makes sure to take everything in, forgetting that he is holding the psions hand, and drops it once the change completes and the insect goes limp.

He quickly makes his way over. "You ok, Doc? Need some water or something?"

[Alex Green]

Paul shivers, feels his lungs burn, sees that others are similarly burdened and comes to a conclusion. He says,

“Brrr. Let’s warm things up in here.”

(Hopefully the temperature rises to where it is only “very cold” rather than “lungs get frostbite”)

He glances at the coordinates and says,

“Washington State is a bit far North, don’t you think? I was hoping for Cuba.”

OOC: Drop 6 juice, attempt to activate that “increase temperature” technique for +18 degrees F, center the technique on myself.

[Nullifier]

Pat watches the insectile doctor's operation with great interest, enchancing his vision to watch, (spending qp to activate UV and IR vision aspects of the EM Vision enhancement, and again as the environment becomes clearer if necessary). As he does so, both biological and electronic parts of him record the event, and he especially watches for anything unusual during the transit. Once there, Pat looks around, seemingly oblivious to the cold, his enhanced vision taking in every detail.

[Asbjørn]

It's like the world skips a heartbeat...

Hood closes his eyes as the surroundings shift, pulling his clothes tighter as the cold starts seeping through. Feeling the flow of time change and settle again, he opens his eyes and lets out a steaming breath.

Not paying much attention to Paul's minor changing of the temperature he walks over to the jury rigged sculpture and runs a gloved hand over it as he reads the inscription.

Turning his radio on he looks around and says

"Not too far from here. Pat, can you find the place and take a look?"

Then he goes about examining the cavern, looking for signs of people, animals or ghosts... ::unsure ::wink

[phoenix]

Faith pulls her cold-weather gear tighter around herself. She had always enjoyed being warm in a cold place, it made her feel safe. But in this violating cold that slowly erodes her body heat, that safety seems far away and long ago..

Only a crescent of the telepath's face is visible behind her hood and scarf, and she huddles near the others and prays for warmth.

[Asbjørn]

Only a crescent of the telepath's face is visible behind her hood and scarf, and she huddles near the others and prays for warmth.

"Don't sit still, Faith. Move around. The best cold-weather gear in all the world doesn't help if you don't produce your own heat."

There's no facial expression visible under Hood's goggles and clothing, but the voice at least sounds friendly.

[archer]

Grunting, the bearded man turned his head towards the inner depths of the cave. Caverns like these carried sound quite a distance, especially in the frigid air. There, he heard it again...sounded like voices. Brow furrowing, he considered how unlikely it'd be that people would have managed to make it to the back of the cave without him noticing. After all, he'd been camping out here since the blizzard last night.

Maybe it was just wind, or an animal of some kind. He vaguely remembered certain animals could sound just like a human sometimes...even still, it bothered him. He strained, listening. "produce your own heat."

Okay then. That was definitely a voice. Male, by the sound of it. Time to go check this out. Quickly and quietly covering his tiny fire with snow, he made sure there was no residual heat from the spot before rising.

Slowly lifting the cold iron bar from where it rested against his pack, the man crept towards the voice he'd just heard. He didn't want to expose himself until he saw who, or what he was dealing with.

[Asbjørn]

Making his way towards the exit of the cavern is a rather big and lumbering figure dressed in high, almost indian style leather boots, army fatigues and a big, hooded poncho. His face is completely covered by hood, scarf and goggles. On his back is a big pack, and slung about his person are other bags and bundles. He looks loaded for a long trip, but not overloaded - for a man his size, anyway. In his hands is a hunting rifle, held casually ready as he moves through the cave.

Looking back over his shoulder he says

"Come on, Faith. Walk with me, let's check out the entrance here."

The accent - in case anybody's listening for that sort of thing ::wink - would be hard to place for a resident of the world he just left, something undefinably wrong with it, almost a mix of spanish and british intonation.

He waves his companion closer and keeps walking.

[Bahamut810]

Nick looks up from the insect-doctor.

"They are right guys, we need to get to work. Pat, checking the area is good. Faith, can you can the more immediate area for us? We have the location, but we need to be *sure*, and we need to know whats inbetween. And it would be nice to know exactly what is around. Hood...your a time guy...can you verify that our team put that up here? Uhhh...we need a pair to go ahead and scout the area as well, any volenteers?"

He looks over at the Psion. "Can you do anything that may be useful right now?"

[phoenix]

"Come on, Faith. Walk with me, let's check out the entrance here."

Faith's expression is equally unreadable, but she falls into step next to the larger man.

[Nullifier]

"Not too far from here. Pat, can you find the place and take a look?"

Pat nods and says, "Sure, but it might take a bit. We should probably scout out this immediate area first, make sure it's safe before I go looking long-distance."

"Come on, Faith. Walk with me, let's check out the entrance here."

The accent - in case anybody's listening for that sort of thing  - would be hard to place for a resident of the world he just left, something undefinably wrong with it, almost a mix of spanish and british intonation.

He waves his companion closer and keeps walking.

Pat notices the two of them wandering off towards the entrence and decides to follow, walking quickly, but quietly to keep up with the taller pair. The midget is dressed in what looks like thick cold-weather gear from head to toe, with a bulging covered backpack on his back. The gear is a brown faux leather on the outside, with fur coming out on the fringes. His boots are typical snowboots, of the same design as the rest of his outfit. The whole ensemble looks weatherbeaten and aged, with mended tears and even patches in some places, but bulky as it is it doesn't seem to impede his movements one bit.

[archer]

As he kept moving to the rear of the cave, the man stops occasionally, pausing to listen. It was as he thought. The voices were getting closer , and not just from his own movment towards them. *Makes sense. I wouldn't want to stay back in that creepy cavern either.*

Obviously, they didn't expect anyone to be so close by, or they'd moderate their voices. He could hear them almost perfectly, even with the minor distortion of echoes.

"They are right guys, we need to get to work. Pat, checking the area is good. Faith, can you scan the more immediate area for us? We have the location, but we need to be *sure*, and we need to know whats inbetween. And it would be nice to know exactly what is around. Hood...your a time guy...can you verify that our team put that up here? Uhhh...we need a pair to go ahead and scout the area as well, any volenteers?"

Stopping dead, the man's hands flexed nervously on the iron bar he was carrying.

*Couldn't be. They said they expected a search party, but I never really believed 'em. And these newcomers, clear enough they're not just a bunch of nobodys. 'Scan the area? You're a time guy?' What the hell does that mean?*

Taking a firm grip on his staff, he grounded the pointed end into the icy ground, then made his decision. *Only one way to find out. Just be ready, pard.*

Using the metal bar as a walking staff, he kept moving towards the voices; making no effort to muffle his footsteps or the solid tchink sound of the staff's end striking the rocky floor with each stride.

He made his own voice carry, made it sound more nervous than he was. "Hello? Is someone back there?"

[Asbjørn]

tchink

As the first sound of metal on stone reaches his ears, Hood quickly turns in the direction of the noise. Rifle to his shoulder, he drops to one knee and covers what he can see of the cavern tunnel. When the sound repeats itself and the walking rythm becomes evident he relaxes a little. Still holding the rifle ready, he directs Pat and Faith to the best ambush positions available in the immediate area and then falls back to a better position himself.

[OOC: Tactical Prodigy]

He made his own voice carry, made it sound more nervous than he was. "Hello? Is someone back there?"

Still kneeling, Hood drops his larger pack on the ground, allowing him better mobility. Then - searching the darkness - he calls into the tunnel

"Who's there? Show yourself."