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Aberrant: Trans-Dimensional Explorations - Trans-Dimensional Explorations


BlueNinja

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Meanwhile:

Somewhere on CA-99 between Mojave and Fresno, a lean blue sports car with its convertible top up is gradually making its way north.

"Hey, Eli. Hope you were giving Nathan a hard time in Mojave. See you tomorrow morning!"

Eli smiles.

"I look forward to it. I'll give you a call to let you know when I've arrived at the hotel tonight, and that I will be putting it on Mr. Wesson's tab.. All right, see you then."

Closing his cell phone, Eli turns the music back up and accelerates slightly, turning his full attention back to the open road. This should be fun.

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Ash shugs and nods.  "As long as you don't read my mind, it sounds great.  It will be useful if we go exploring somewhere.  So what do we do to get it started?  I don't have to dance or anything do I?"
Paul answers, "No, just take my hand." (Offers hand)

(Assuming he does so, spend 5q)

*Can you hear me now?*

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Ash firmly grasps Pauls hand, and consentrates briefly. After the link activates and Paul opens it the audio is crystal clear, much like if they were standing next to eachother (which they are...but thats beside the point ::laugh ::sly ). There is, however no video.

*Yeah, This is better then Cingular Wireless!*

He laughs, "That is going to take some getting used to. You do this often I take it? I guess its needed if you are going into an airless environments without suits." he leans back forward, his chair 'clacking' down.

"Its really hard to say without more to go on. But I don't think Pat is right on the dot...planetary exploration just dosen't explain why *I* am here. You are the human walkie-talkie spaceman. Pat can warp us to wherever. Im a baseline among nova's. An extra bit of problem solving, sure. But I haven't been to anywhere outside the USA let alone the planet. They could have found an alien spacecraft somewhere. Its hard to say. What do you think?"

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Paul answers over the link,

*Mostly it's useful for coordinating seperate groups of novas, or for using a single animal as an extra set of eyes or as an extension of myself. Animals have less a sense of self than people and more disorganized minds so the effect on them is much more pronounced. It's less useful in space than it sounds, the distances are so great that even thousands of kilometers isn't very far.*

*We break the link like this...*

(Link Breaks)

"And it can be reactivated like this..."

(Ash gets a mental "please answer the phone" buzz. It's not unpleasant and he doesn't have to accept. Assuming he does (if he doesn't Paul just says the following))

*It's hard to say how you could be involved without knowing more about what you do. ::rolleyes At the moment I'm leaning towards the idea that they've found a (potentially?) life bearing planet in another solar system. Maybe there's aliens, maybe there isn't, and maybe they don't know.*

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Unlike everyone else, Brandt Randall Jefferson doesn't get a plane ticket. Instead, he gets a map with details street directions on how to get to the place in Selma - starting from LAX. At the very bottom of the map is a post-it that reads,

"Randall, given your abilities, I thought you'd find it faster to run from LA rather than wait an hour for the flight up to Fresno. Heck, by that time, you'd be here already! You'll have a room waiting for you when you arrive, just make sure you're ready to go by the next morning for the job briefing. :) "

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*I dunno.  I am just the best damned risk taker on the planet.  I could be 'security' or some such.  I wonder if that woman was security?  Think she will be working with us?*
Ash gets a mental image of a wolf baying at the moon.

*I hope she is. As for risk taker, that might be getting to the heart of the matter. Alien life, unknown planet, sounds like it could and would have lots of unknown and unknowable variables. Perfect job for an expert in risk taking.*

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*Don't know. Food isn't a high priority so I was saving it for last. I stocked up on animal treats before coming here. Some of it's hard to get.*

(Ash gets a mental image of a small tube of birdseed, another of beef jerky, and a third with a dead frog.)

"Food should be off that way I would think... good place to look for other team mates too."

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"My name is Athena." Somehow, Ash expected it to sound annoyed or angry, not bored. "If you exit through the door and walk towards the entryway to the building, the kitchen and dining area is the first door on your right." As they move towards the door, she adds snarkily, "Or you could follow backwards the trail of crumbs frim Rieller's office."

(A dead frog in a tube? ::huh )

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Ash grins, amused with the computer. He nods over at a camera/microphone location to show Paul how they are being watched.

*They are set every few feet everywhere I have seen. I wonder just how much control Athena has here?*

He looks upward as they walk. "Athena? What would you suggest to eat? Any house specialities?"

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"I believe you have confused the kitchen with a restaurant. You can eat whatever you are capable of cooking. If you are incapable of cooking, there are cases of hot pockets in the freezer. Richard has joked about pepperoni pizza hot pockets being the house special, so enjoy."

Behind you in the hallway, a doorway opens, and Claire emerges with a floating native-American man, vanishing towards the back of the building talking in low tones.

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Paul glances at the still un-named babe walking towards the back, glances at Ash and makes a decission.

*Ash, I'm not hungry, if you're off to get food I'll let go alone. ::wink*

Paul follows the pair with the intention of introducing himself.

(If and when he catches up)

"Greetings. Hey there, let me introduce myself, I'm Paul."

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At the mention of the abundance of hotpockets he says aloud "God...this place is run by geeks..."

He then looks over at the cound of the door opening (not liking to be suprised). He sees the two walk away and notices Pauls eagerness to catch up with them.

*Nehh, Hotpockets were never my thing. Meeting the people around here is more important as well.*

He follows along, letting paul lead the way.

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The floating guy doesn't say a word, but as he spins around he has acquired from somewhere a .50 caliber rifle. This is no mean feat, as the barrell is almost a yard long, and he's dressed in a pair of hawaiian shorts and a suede leather vest. The babe puts a hand on his arm. "Rieller, he's one of those novas Michal called in for the Project."

He stops, and then just as suddenly, the rifle vanishes, and he sizes you up. He takes one of your hands and inspects the calluses, then drops it with a grunt. "You need to spend more time on the shooting range," he says with a grunt, then turns back towards the keycard-controlled door in front of them. "I'll be in the armory, Claire. Don't break him." With that he goes right through the door, as though a moment ago he wasn't solid.

"Don't mind Rieller," she says with another mega-watt smile. "He's got one love in the world, his guns. Or, really, anyone's gun. He's actually a good guy to have at your back. I'm Claire, and you will probably be seeing me tomorrow so we can check your basic weapons handling skills. Ta-ta!" With that, she opens and steps through the door as well, leaving slightly-less-stunned-than-before Paul and Ash in the hallway.

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Jonathan, like the others, gets a first-class ticket to the Fresno airport. Unlike the others, he gets seriously hassled by the airport security. They force him to check his staff as luggage, and when he finally lands in Fresno, they nearly forget to take it off the plane.

But eventually, he'll end up at the large, odd building in Selma. The sun has been set for two hours now, and a slightly frazzled looking Carmela directs him to a room and gives him a map. "I believe that two of the others are in the dining area as we speak. Please don't be late tomorrow morning."

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Ash considers a second.

*Lets try this out real quick...If she is an AI I may be able to sweet-talk her.*

"Hey Athena, could you open the door for us? We were hoping to check the Armory out. And with Rieller and Clair it would be a perfect time. I'd really appreciate it."

(Luck whatever roll needed, and anti-luck the computer. Analyse weakness to see if there is a good way by it without actually breaking in.)

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Unlike everyone else, Brandt Randall Jefferson doesn't get a plane ticket.  Instead, he gets a map with details street directions on how to get to the place in Selma - starting from LAX.  At the very bottom of the map is a post-it that reads,

"Randall, given your abilities, I thought you'd find it faster to run from LA rather than wait an hour for the flight up to Fresno.  Heck, by that time, you'd be here already!  You'll have a room waiting for you when you arrive, just make sure you're ready to go by the next morning for the job briefing. :) "

Reading the note, Brandt rolls his eyes. "Son of a bitch...why does everyone assume I like to run all the time?" He looks down at his luggage and sighs. Slipping on his backpack and making sure it's secure, he leans down and grabs the handle of the rolling carry-on he'd also brought along.

Taking his time, he made his way to the postal station inside the airport and arranged for overnight delivery of his carry-on to the address listed on his directions. After another stop to polish off a hot fresh mocha, he finally sighed again and re-checked the map and directions. Fixing the details in his mind, he snugged up the shoulderstraps on his backpack, made sure to attune everything so it wouldn't go flying off, and started running.

"Better keep it subsonic...way too much traffic 'round here.", he muttered to himself.

Just around 30 minutes later, he walked in the front door of the small farmhouse he'd been directed to.

"Anyone home?"

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Jonathan arrives wearing a forest green robe, carrying a large (5'ish) walking stick with feathers and beads tied to the top and an obviously hand-made leather grip tied around it. On his back is a medium-sized hiking backpack, and over that is a small duffel bag that he's thrown over his shoulder. After the hassle of his flight, he manages a polite but rather distant demeanor with Carmela as they head to his room. He takes off both bags and sets them on his bed.

"Thanks for showing me in." He glances at the map. "I suppose I'll head to the kitchen, then," he says as Carmela leaves. "Airline food just isn't enough to fill me up," he glances up and realizes that Carmela has already left. So much for making conversation, he thinks to himself, and follows the map to the kitchen.

(he arrives dormed-down, so it won't be immediately apparent that he's a nova)

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"Hey Athena, could you open the door for us?  We were hoping to check the Armory out.  And with Rieller and Clair it would be a perfect time.  I'd really appreciate it."

(Luck whatever roll needed, and anti-luck the computer.  Analyse weakness to see if there is a good way by it without actually breaking in.)

(Ya almost made it on Command. Not quite.)

"I am sorry Ash. Michal has given explicit orders not to let any of you into the secure areas of SGE until after you have signed the proper non-disclosure agreements tomorrow morning. While the Armory is not a secure area, Rieller and Claire are in Weapons Testing, which is."

(Analyze Weakness says that the door looks flimsy enough that you could probably break it down. You can't find another way around it without checking out more of the base.)

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Just around 30 minutes later, he walked in the front door of the small farmhouse he'd been directed to.

"Anyone home?"

Brandt should notice that less than a quarter mile down the road from the farmhouse is a big sign, saying "SuperGeek Enterprises," and an arrow pointing to a break in the trees. Besides, surely Michal didn't mean this farmhouse - the two-story building looks like it was built in the 1950's, and like it hasn't been lived in for most of that time. The windows are boarded up, and the roof is sagging. The carpet in the living room is filled with holes, and the dust covers thrown over the furniture used to be white, not brown.

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So much for making conversation, he thinks to himself, and follows the map to the kitchen.

Upon his arrival to the kitchen, one of the others in the kitchen catches sight of the pentacle hanging around Jonathan's neck. Muttering "Goddamn heathens," just loud enough to be heard, he dumps his food in the trash and exits out the other door, fingering the cross hung around his neck.

Still muttering angrily, he passes Ash and Paul in the hallway, ducking through the same door Rieller and Claire went through.

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Jonathan hears rock music pumping out of the kitchen as he approaches it. It sounds like someone inside is singing along to a stereo..

Mission control! Callin' supernova,

The hotline's rockin', you can come on over

And let us be who we am

And let us kick out the jams, yeah,

Kick out the jams -

Done kicked 'em out!

When he goes in, he sees someone new to him weilding a large kitchen knife to cut up a boneless chicken breast. The person is short and unmuscular and doesn't look very much like a nova at all, but when he sees Jonathan, he makes a gesture at the stereo and the music instantly dies down to a level low enough to allow conversation. He grins un-self-consciously.

"Hey. Are you here for the project? I guess you must be. My name's Eli Stone - I'd offer a hand, but mine are kind of nasty at the moment."

He gestures to the meat.

"I'll be out of here in a few minutes. Want a few chicken burritoes? You look hungry." ::ultracool

Eli's hair is brown and spiky, and his fair-skinned face gives the impression of a deep and amiable cunning.

OOC: Anon, welcome to the forums! ::pimpin

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Ash shrugs. "Ah well. Thanks anyway. Well Paul...Lets get something to eat. I'll cook. Anything in particular you want?" he says as he shoves his hands in his pockets, a bit put off as his failure.

Mission control! Callin' supernova,

The hotline's rockin', you can come on over

And let us be who we am

And let us kick out the jams, yeah,

Kick out the jams -

Done kicked 'em out!

He along wiht hte music as they approach the kitchine.

"Someone has some good taste in music..."

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Jonathan smiles, glad that at least someone is being friendly with him. "Yes, I'm here for the project, and a burrito sounds great. I'm actually a bit surprised to have been hired. I don't have much of a reputation yet, I'm not even sure I'm exactly a nova. My power isn't as, uh, flamboyant as most novas are. But I suppose a level head and self control are just as important as being able to throw cars around." Realizing he should probably not be overly snide towards novas with one standing right in front of him, he changes his tone a bit and asks, "So, what do you do? I've never had a chance to sit down and talk to a nova before."

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"So, what do you do? I've never had a chance to sit down and talk to a nova before."

"Um.."

Eli squats to open a cabinet and produce some peanut oil and a skillet. Talking while he cooks, he puts the skillet on a second eye and pours the peanut oil into his pan.

"I'm an engineer, mostly. I'm pretty versatile, since my eruption seems to have turned me into a cyborg of sorts. I can generate electricity, control machines.. some other stuff. We'll probably have to go over it as a team, once we eventually get together. I haven't even met the other guys we'll be working with, I just pulled in not five minutes ago and realized the drive made me hungry.

He dumps the chicken unceremonially into the pan and pours a package of seasoning mix onto it, then pours on more peanut oil and stirs it around. He smiles genially at Jonathan.

"And from what I've seen, Mickey Wesson doesn't spend his money carelessly - if you're here taking his money, I'm sure you're perfectly well qualified to do so."

He smirks and turns up the gas on the stove.

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Brandt should notice that less than a quarter mile down the road from the farmhouse is a big sign, saying "SuperGeek Enterprises," and an arrow pointing to a break in the trees.  Besides, surely Michal didn't mean this farmhouse - the two-story building looks like it was built in the 1950's, and like it hasn't been lived in for most of that time.  The windows are boarded up, and the roof is sagging.  The carpet in the living room is filled with holes, and the dust covers thrown over the furniture used to be white, not brown.

Smacking his forehead, Brandt disappears and re-appears at the proper building before he finishes lowering his hand back to waist level.

Double-checking to make sure he's got the right place this time, he walks in and looks around, repeating his earlier question. "Anyone home?"

Hearing conversation from a doorway just down the way, he moves that way, and finds himself in the kitchen entrance. Glancing at the people inside, he smiles a bit sheepishly. "Um, hi. Is this the SuperGeek place?"

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"Um, hi. Is this the SuperGeek place?"

"That's us, Joe and Schmoe SuperGeek. We're very happy together.."

The speaker is a short man who seems somewhat distracted because he is cooking busily. He looks up.

"..sorry. I'm Eli Stone, and yep, this is the place."

Cocking his head to listen, he hears someone else approaching the kitchen. [Ash and presumably Paul].

"And more keep coming.."

With that, he reaches into the refrigerator to produce a second pack of chicken breasts, shrugging at Jonathan.

"I hope no one was planning to do anything with these; I mean, I just found them here. Whatever, I'll pay for them if they bitch at me for it. You guys want to lend a hand?"

He tosses a chunk of cheddar cheese and a grater to Jonathan, and if Brandt seems willing, he beckons him over to the chopping block and gives him another knife, gesturing at a couple of onions and red peppers. He then busies himself with unwrapping and cutting the next package of chicken into appetizing strips before putting them into yet another pan.

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Just as an FYI, there are at least a dozen people in the dining area - which must be passed through to reach the kitchen. Everyone except the PCs are baselines. And the food is there to be cooked with and eaten. The walk-in fridge and freezer are attached to the kitchen.

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"That's us, Joe and Schmoe SuperGeek. We're very happy together.."

::huh

"..sorry. I'm Eli Stone, and yep, this is the place."

::wink "Ah, gotcha. Name's Brandt Jefferson, nice to meet you Eli." Tall and lean, Brandt is dressed casually in old jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. Wind-tousled dark hair tops a youthful, friendly face. Clear gray-blue eyes meet Eli's as the chef looks up. Slinging his backpack onto a nearby chair, he strolls over to the pair, and nods at Johnathan. "Hi there."

"I hope no one was planning to do anything with these; I mean, I just found them here. Whatever, I'll pay for them if they bitch at me for it. You guys want to lend a hand?"

"Yeah, no problem." ::happy

He tosses a chunk of cheddar cheese and a grater to Jonathan, and if Brandt seems willing, he beckons him over to the chopping block and gives him another knife, gesturing at a couple of onions and red peppers.

Sliding over to the chopping block, he raises an eyebrow briefly at the knife and veggies, then chuckles to himself and starts cutting at an easy pace.

"So...what's up with this place anyways? I still have no idea why I got hired, but when you need the money..." He trails off, glancing over at Eli and Johnathan. "You guys been here awhile?"

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"Ah, gotcha. Name's Brandt Jefferson, nice to meet you Eli."

"Brandt. Well met." Eli nods amiably.

"And, uh.. Sorry, but I didn't get your name, Mr..?" This last is addressed to Jonathan.

"So...what's up with this place anyways? I still have no idea why I got hired, but when you need the money..."

"Heh." Eli nods appreciatively. "I've actually been doing some work for these guys in Mojave on one of their space elevators this past couple of weeks, but they didn't tell me anything about this stage of the job. I gather we're all to be briefed tomorrow morning after we sign non-disclosure contracts."

"You guys been here awhile?"

Eli shakes his head.

"Nope, I just pulled in like six minutes ago myself."

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"Heh." Eli nods appreciatively. "I've actually been doing some work for these guys in Mojave on one of their space elevators this past couple of weeks, but they didn't tell me anything about this stage of the job. I gather we're all to be briefed tomorrow morning after we sign non-disclosure contracts."

"Space elevators? Those are sweet. Read the articles, haven't seen one up close yet. So if you're working on them, you're what, an engineer?"

"Nope, I just pulled in like six minutes ago myself."

"Huh. Must have missed you on the way in. 'Course, I did end up going to the wrong building at first. Ah well. You said you pulled in...were you driving?"

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"Space elevators? Those are sweet. Read the articles, haven't seen one up close yet. So if you're working on them, you're what, an engineer?"

Eli nods.

"Engineer. I've done a little security too, but nothing hardcore; SuperGeek brought in their own guy for Mojave."

"You said you pulled in...were you driving?"

Eli nods again.

"The blue Crossfire out front. You might have missed it if you came in from that side."

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"Engineer. I've done a little security too, but nothing hardcore; SuperGeek brought in their own guy for Mojave."

Brandt nods in response, still bent over the cutting board. "Cool. I play around with stuff sometimes, know a little about engineering."

He laughs abruptly, a smile playing across his lips. "Pretty sure that's not what I was hired for, though. I don't know anywhere near enough to be any real use for that kind of thing."

"The blue Crossfire out front. You might have missed it if you came in from that side."

Still cutting, the newcomer's head perks up, and appears thoughtful as he stares at the wall before looking at Eli with a wide grin.

"Crossfire huh? That's an older one. Nothing wrong with that, though. Did you swap out the internals, or keep it stock with the old engine? Man, I love those old cars. Love the old trucks even more, I think. Big old four-wheelers you could take off and go anywhere with. Good stuff."

A peculiar zipping sound, like an incredibly fast drumbeat is heard suddenly, and Brandt glances down momentarily, then back up to Eli. "All done. Need help with anything else?"

As Eli looks for himself, the vegetables he'd given Brandt to prepare were sure enough completely sliced and diced; the cuts almost perfect in their symmetry.

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Jonathan leans his walking stick against the wall, washes his hands (I assume there's a sink here?), and quickly and easily grates the cheese, accustomed to having to fix his own food.

"I'm an engineer, mostly. I'm pretty versatile, since my eruption seems to have turned me into a cyborg of sorts. I can generate electricity, control machines.. some other stuff. We'll probably have to go over it as a team, once we eventually get together. I haven't even met the other guys we'll be working with, I just pulled in not five minutes ago and realized the drive made me hungry.

"I suppose I'm probably a bit outmatched, then. I can sense animals, and even understand and speak with them. With a little concentration, I can even move things with my mind, and some other basic psychic powers. Nothing that ancient mystics of various schools of practice weren't able to do centuries ago. But I suppose I'm well enough qualified for.... well, the letter was a bit vague on just what exactly we're here for." He shrugged and continued grating cheese while the other two talked.

"Ah, gotcha. Name's Brandt Jefferson, nice to meet you Eli." ... "Hi there."

"Jonathan. You can call me John, if you'd like."

"So...what's up with this place anyways? I still have no idea why I got hired, but when you need the money..." He trails off, glancing over at Eli and Johnathan. "You guys been here awhile?"

"Just got in a few minutes ago. I would have been here half an hour ago, but airport security wasn't too fond of my staff." He nods towards his walking stick. "And I'm more than a bit curious about the job, as well. I need the money, and Supergeek is offering more than I can pass up, but..." he trails off, glancing down at the cheese he's grating for a moment before glancing back up and continuing, "well, I know the kinds of jobs people hire novas for, and I guess I don't know much about SuperGeek. I just hope I don't regret having made this trip."

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Ash shrugs.  "Ah well.  Thanks anyway.  Well Paul...Lets get something to eat.  I'll cook.  Anything in particular you want?" he says as he shoves his hands in his pockets, a bit put off as his failure.
Paul answers,

"I'll have whatever you're having... in baseline proportions. It's funny, but I don't have the nova appetite."

Spotting a group of (mostly) nova-ish looking people preparing nova proportioned amounts of food, Paul walks past the people in the dining area to introduce himself.

"..sorry. I'm Eli Stone, and yep, this is the place."

Cocking his head to listen, he hears someone else approaching the kitchen. [Ash and presumably Paul].

Paul says,

“I heard that. Hello Eli, I’m Paul Blue, aka Dr. Nature, but please call me Paul.”

(To Ash) *I’ll let you introduce yourself Ash.*

"I suppose I'm probably a bit outmatched, then. I can sense animals, and even understand and speak with them. With a little concentration, I can even move things with my mind, and some other basic psychic powers. Nothing that ancient mystics of various schools of practice weren't able to do centuries ago. But I suppose I'm well enough qualified for.... well, the letter was a bit vague on just what exactly we're here for." He shrugged and continued grating cheese while the other two talked.

"Jonathan. You can call me John, if you'd like."

Paul says,

“Now that is interesting. I can talk to animals as well. Is that a coincidence or an indication of what’s needed? I wonder if we have anything else in common, I can’t move things mentally, but you mentioned psychic abilities, does that include the ability to make psychic links?.“

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