Aberrant: Trans-Dimensional Explorations - Trans-Dimensional Explorations

[SkyLion]

"Yeah, but not only was that a couple of hours ago--our clear *just* got the vision--but it didn't seem like your municipal defender was the precognitive type. The reason no one is hearing anything about it is most likely the governments and Samhalle trying to avoid massive panic."

,,

"You're right though...we should do our part. I suggest finding the nearest embassy..."

[Alex Green]

Paul says,

"With the right key info he got it. Info no one else on the planet has. Although hopefully they have some really strong pre-cogs who are in the know. As for the closest Embassy... I suggest not the closest, but the quickest. That Chicago hospital has contacts, they know we're novas, and they speak English. Let's start there."

[Expendable]

Paul says,

"With the right key info he got it. Info no one else on the planet has. Although hopefully they have some really strong pre-cogs who are in the know. As for the closest Embassy... I suggest not the closest, but the quickest. That Chicago hospital has contacts, they know we're novas, and they speak English. Let's start there."

"We'll need an escape plan," Theo says suddenly. "There are still people who will want to know how we know about the ship - theyl'll want proof and they'll want to hold onto us. We'll need to be ready to go when the gate can be opened."

[AnonCastillo]

"It will be a few hours before we can open the gate to send the mapping device home. We need to keep part of our team here guarding it until that time, or at least until we decide it's safe to show them the device. Anyone have a preference for coming with us or staying behind?"

After a moment of consideration, he turns to Zhenglai. "You know, when we do get a chance to return the mapping device, you should probably go back and see if you can tell whether or not our world will be attacked as well. I'd hate for us to be here watching events on this world while our own is under attack."

[Bahamut810]

Ash shrugs. "If you insist we expose ourselves to the governments of this world and take the chanse they will attempt to kidnap us...I will go. I would like to take Mask with us as well so we can make a quick escape when the shit hits the fan...and it *will* hit the fan. Estiban should come too. Anyone else *really* wanna go?"

[SkyLion]

"It will be a few hours before we can open the gate to send the mapping device home. We need to keep part of our team here guarding it until that time, or at least until we decide it's safe to show them the device. Anyone have a preference for coming with us or staying behind?"

(( ::blink Why didn't we send the mapper through within the five minutes like we always do? I thought its always in scan then send it back in one gate....Have I been misreading this whole time?))

,,

Esteban looks slightly incredulous. ::confused . "Splitting up again? Alright....but, if we are going to do this, I don't want to end up stuck here. One of us should carry the backup ETPH. I suppose I could keep it hidden within me where it won't be discovered, or at least easily confiscated."

,,

Turning to Paul

"We do have the link...which I would ask that you please maintain with Zhenglai as his mind will provide the most security...if that's alright with you Zhenglai...?"

,,

"Also, it is true they know you us Chicago, though I would have thought your survival instincts would keep you here. On the other hand, Chicago is smaller here. Why not someplace higher up the ladder, like D.C. or whever the Capitol is located...or better yeat the Samhalle in Sweden. If they are like Utopia back home, there the ones with the ability to get things done. Regional governments won't have the resources to deal with a global threat..."

[Centimane]

"We'll need an escape plan," Theo says suddenly. "There are still people who will want to know how we know about the ship - theyl'll want proof and they'll want to hold onto us. We'll need to be ready to go when the gate can be opened."

"I believe I can help with that Theo" , Zhenglai said.

"I can tell them what I am and that I can see the future, further I can let one of their telepaths verify the truth of what I say. Unless they have stronger psychics than the Psylon, they will be hard pressed to pull anything from my brain I do not wish them too, thus reducing the chance of them finding out anything we do not want them to know. The benefits of this are that we could keep the mapping device somewhere far away and safe, I would not even need to mention the mapping device or anything having to do with our mission, only myself and perhaps one or two others would need to be present, and it is the best - and only - real proof we could show them without revealing the mapper and our own origins."

He paused for a minute as if catching his breath or collecting his thoughts, and then said, "before we decide anything definite however, I've remembered something else the Kassar put in my head, and I've had another vision. This one of the past."

"Firstly, the ship I saw, and that Paul has shown you, is a scout ship. That is why it is here while the main fleet is where we expected it to be, though I imagine some of you may have already realized this. As for my vision, I saw where the ships entered this solar system. Yes I said ships, and now I am doubly sorry for snapping at you Esteban, for it makes my anger even more meaningless. They came through a warp that looked almost exactly like one of Simon's tears in space, only much larger. The ships entered this system just inside of Neptune's orbit around the Sun. They were moving to quickly for me to say for sure, but there were at least two, and no more than seven."

He looked up into the sky and said gravely, "And this just happened no more than one hour ago."

[Alex Green]

Paul says,

"I've got a backup ETPH in the bottom of my doctor's bag. You can have that. I'm not sure who has the other. And I'll keep one link on Zhenglai in case he sees something bad happening."

,,

"The problem is what you just said, "Where ever the Capitol is". We don't know. If we go to Samhalle, which will be a trick since none of us know where it is, it'd be real easy to end up wandering around 7-11's looking for someone who speaks English. I already know the head administrator in that hospital, and he knows me. He'll know the mayor, the mayor will be able to contact Samhalle."

"As for my survival instincts... it's kind of a toss up. No where is safe, maybe even back home. "This is our chance to see how much trouble we are really in. I don't want to be here when it hits the fan, but... we have to learn from our mistakes, and if we let them make them for us... I mean, could we warp Pax to the fleet and have him level them?"

He looked up into the sky and said gravely, "And this just happened no more than one hour ago."

Paul looks a little sick ::blink

Paul says,

"OK... so Zhenglai and I go and start the ball rolling. Everyone else stays here and guards the map? We yell real hard for about two hours, then we bug out off this timeline, then we come back in a week or two?"

"Is everyone good with that? Only thing is, I'm low on juice, I used a fair amount at the hospital to pay for useless medical knowlege. Can anyone spare some juice?"

[AnonCastillo]

"I'm not exactly throwing energy around, go ahead and take some of mine. I think Brandt and Ash should go with you as well, just in case they try anything funny. Mask should stay here, so we have a warper in each group in case either group needs to run."

[SkyLion]

Everyone else stays here and guards the map?

Esteban shakes his head.

"Nuh-uh! No way am I getting sidelined again..."

"...on the other hand, we should have at least one of our warriors with the Star-Map. Eli is a good choice, if we can pull him away from his circuit boards..."

[Alex Green]

"...on the other hand, we should have at least one of our warriors with the Star-Map. Eli is a good choice, if we can pull him away from his circuit boards..."

Paul frowns... then says slowly,

"That's... not a bad idea. The next window is in about two hours. I think it will take at least that to get offical attention, meaning that by the time anyone knows enough to try to steal the map, you could have it back with Eli."

"The next window after that would be maybe three hours after that. Probably still before the attack, and even if it isn't, this isn't a primary attack site. With those extra hours we'd have a chance to see what they come up with."

[AnonCastillo]

Esteban shakes his head.

"Nuh-uh! No way am I getting sidelined again..."

"...on the other hand, we should have at least one of our warriors with the Star-Map. Eli is a good choice, if we can pull him away from his circuit boards..."

"Okay. Brandt stays back, Esteban comes with? We need someone who's capable of defending themselves from nova attacks watching it. In fact, Brandt might be a better choice, in case he needs to get the map device out of the area quickly. But if this world is going to be attacked within the next 24 hours, we don't exactly have time to wait for another gate opening."

[archer]

"I'll stay here, with whoever else wants to. Either way, if you do plan on warning someone, I'd do it quickly. We're running out of time."

[Alex Green]

Paul tops out his quantum pool on Johnathan (and/or Theo if she volenteers), hands his spare "gate" to Estaben, and says,

"OK, let's do it."

[Expendable]

Paul says,

"OK... so Zhenglai and I go and start the ball rolling. Everyone else stays here and guards the map? We yell real hard for about two hours, then we bug out off this timeline, then we come back in a week or two?"

"Is everyone good with that? Only thing is, I'm low on juice, I used a fair amount at the hospital to pay for useless medical knowlege. Can anyone spare some juice?"

"You can have some of mine," Theo offers. When Paul comes over, she fixes a pleasant smile and lets him leech her quantum, trying to ignore the queezy hollowness that comes with it.

"Be careful," she whispers as he draws away.

"I don't know that I would be any help at this meeting, and the fewer of us they meet, the better. I'll say here with Brandt," Theo says.

[Centimane]

Zhenglai waited until his traveling companions were ready and then opened a doorway to wherever Paul told him to ((the hospital I assume)).

"Ready when you are." He said, and waited for them to step through.

[BlueNinja]

Paul says,

"OK... so Zhenglai and I go and start the ball rolling. Everyone else stays here and guards the map? We yell real hard for about two hours, then we bug out off this timeline, then we come back in a week or two?"

Zhenglai waited until his traveling companions were ready and then opened a doorway to wherever Paul told him to ((the hospital I assume)).

"Ready when you are." He said, and waited for them to step through.

Paul, Zhenglai, Esteban, Ash, and Jonathan appear again in the hospital lobby. If anything, it's busier than before, with a number of doctors and nurses rushing outside the doors. Turning to look through the glass shows the Defender of Justice™ lowering a bus that looks like it lost a bet with a semi. "Ain't that a kick in the nuts," comes a voice from behind the group. "It's a good thing we have the Big D around to handle things like this in a hurry." The voice proves to be coming from someone you hope is another nova - given the reek of embalming fluid and skin that looks like he died by being tossed into a woodchipper. "What are you folks doing here in Michigan City? I'm Immortal, FPD," and he flashes a photo badge reading Federal Police Department.

[Alex Green]

Paul says,

“This is chickenfeed. I’m Doctor Paul and we are here to scream for help. More than 100 million people are going to die in the next 12 hours if we don’t get our shit together. I’m deadly serious. A group of your basic gleeful maniacs are going to demonstrate orbital bombardment hits like atomic weapons.”

“I’m going to assume you don’t believe us right now. But you need to get someone here who can detect lies or probe minds because the clock is ticking and lots of cities are going to become fireballs real soon.”

[BlueNinja]

Paul says,

“This is chickenfeed. I’m Doctor Paul and we are here to scream for help. More than 100 million people are going to die in the next 12 hours if we don’t get our shit together. I’m deadly serious. A group of your basic gleeful maniacs are going to demonstrate orbital bombardment hits like atomic weapons.”

“I’m going to assume you don’t believe us right now. But you need to get someone here who can detect lies or probe minds because the clock is ticking and lots of cities are going to become fireballs real soon.”

Immortal looks at you, unblinkingly, for several seconds, and then glances towards another part of the lobby. A burst of blueish smoke comes from the floor, shaping itself into a flower, and then vanishes, leaving behind a woman in blue. "Violet, meet the Boy Who Cried Orbital Bombardment."

She looks at him, raising a (blue) eyebrow. "I think your embalmed brain is mixing up fairy tales again."

The corpse-looking nova leans back, feigning shock. "Who, me? But that's how he introduced himself. And his buddies." He stops and looks the group over a little more closer. "Hey, didn't you star in a karate movie about ten years ago?" he asks Zhenglai.

Violet taps a blue finger on his shoulder. "Perhaps it would be best if someone not easily distracted by shiny things explained?" She then looks at everyone expectantly.

[Centimane]

Zhenglai stood and silently watched the scene between the corpse and blue-haired nova with a smile. When the dead one asked if he had starred in a karate movie Zhenglai said, "Circumstances being what they are, that's hard for me to say. But since I don't know any forms of karate I'd say it's unlikely."

The blue-haired nova, apparently named Violet, interrupted the conversation at that point and seemed to want an explanation. Zhenglai caught her eye and began explaining.

"I am Guo Zhenglai and I am very glad to make your aquaintance", he said to both of the novas and bowed his oriental bow, "I am what you Westerners call an Empowered. Among other things I can see into the past and the future, and I can open doors in space. The last explains how we came to be here, the first explains how I know what I know."

Zhenglai spoke at a slow, measured pace as though he were in no hurry and wanted to make sure that his listeners understood every word. He gave no outward indication of what he might truly be feeling, but something in his posture or in his face made it clear that he expected to be listened to. As though it were self-evident that his words were the most important words that either Violet or Immortal had ever heard. Now he focused his attention solely on Violet since she had not yet heard their story and since she seemed to be the one he must convince. "My visions" , he said, "often show me strange things, and they sometimes come unbidden in dreams. For many months now I have had disturbing dreams and visions of demons who eat the very stars, and in my visions these demons come to the Earth to destroy and consume it as well. I call these beings demons, for I am a simple man of humble birth, and demons are a concept I understand. However, my Western companions here call them aliens and I believe that is the correct term here in this country. I only know they are evil. A short while ago I had a vision come unbidden in which I saw a vessel of these aliens over the Earth, and then it bombarded and destroyed Beijing in a single blast. When I backtracked this vision into the past I discovered that as many as seven of these ships has entered our solar system. This happened about one hour in the past. Sometime in the next twenty-four hours these ships will have reached this planet and will begin attacking it. Their capacity for destruction is beyond anything I have seen and must not be underestimated."

Zhenglai's face now conveyed all the sincerity and intensity of man who believed what he said was true and what he was doing was right. Still looking at Violet he said, "I have come to you as only myself, and I speak only the truth. But I am no one to you, and there is no reason for you to trust me. So now it is your turn to speak. Ask or tell me what you will. I will listen."

((I don't know what the appropriate roll to call for is, but Zhenglai is trying to come off as sincere and honest as possible. He's also speaking so that his words carry a certain amount of importance to them, making them hard to ignore. Like I say, I don't know what the appropriate roll is, but I figured it would have something to do with Manipulation or Charisma which he has quite a bit of. If his Persuader enhancement would be applicable in this situation then he'll activate that as well, but he's not trying to steam-roll anybody into believing him, he just wants them to listen and carefully consider what he's already said, so I'm not sure about the appropriateness of that either. Hope that helps.))

[BlueNinja]

"I am Guo Zhenglai and I am very glad to make your aquaintance", he said to both of the novas and bowed his oriental bow, "I am what you Westerners call an Empowered. Among other things I can see into the past and the future, and I can open doors in space. The last explains how we came to be here, the first explains how I know what I know."

Violet looks at Immortal, who reluctantly nods.

((I don't know what the appropriate roll to call for is, but Zhenglai is trying to come off as sincere and honest as possible. He's also speaking so that his words carry a certain amount of importance to them, making them hard to ignore. Like I say, I don't know what the appropriate roll is, but I figured it would have something to do with Manipulation or Charisma which he has quite a bit of. If his Persuader enhancement would be applicable in this situation then he'll activate that as well, but he's not trying to steam-roll anybody into believing him, he just wants them to listen and carefully consider what he's already said, so I'm not sure about the appropriateness of that either. Hope that helps.))

((You got 6 successes on a Diplomacy roll without your Persuader.)) Violet looks at you, and you feel her tapping at your mind, obviously looking for your vision. ((Unless you say otherwise, I'm going to assume you're showing her the two visions to back up your story.))

The other two novas look at each other, and there's a brief moment where they both go completely still. In eerie unison, they both say, "Shit on a shit sandwich." Immortal moves towards the door, shouting outside, "Big D! We got a problem and could use your help!" The Defender of Justice, hovering in the air holding part of the bus that he peeled away for the medical teams, tosses it casually into the grass (demolishing a flowerbed) and zips up to the door.

"What ho, good doctor!" he exclaims upon seeing Paul again. "Has your healing talent uncovered some sickness of crime plaguing this fine city?"

Violet steps forward, and taps a blue finger on the Defender's chiseled chin to get his attention. "This Chinaman is also an Empowered - a seer. He showed us something - well, something really bad. So for the next day or so, you're working for us, not the city. Alright?" She waits for him to nod agreement (despite his obvious confusion), and turns back to Zhenglai. "If I give you an image, of our offices in New Amsterdam, could you open a gate for all of us? It will make things simpler if I can explain to everyone at once."

[Centimane]

Violet steps forward, and taps a blue finger on the Defender's chiseled chin to get his attention. "This Chinaman is also an Empowered - a seer. He showed us something - well, something really bad. So for the next day or so, you're working for us, not the city. Alright?" She waits for him to nod agreement (despite his obvious confusion), and turns back to Zhenglai. "If I give you an image, of our offices in New Amsterdam, could you open a gate for all of us? It will make things simpler if I can explain to everyone at once."

"Yes, that should work just fine" , said Zhenglai, and waited expectantly for the image in question.

((BTW: The two visions thing is fine. That's exactly what I wanted to show her actually.))

[Alex Green]

If and when the gate forms, Paul goes through.

[Bahamut810]

Ash follows

[AnonCastillo]

Jonathan follows as well.

[SkyLion]

Ditto Esteban (who has been quietly observing these new "Empowered"'s Q-Sig's...).

[BlueNinja]

The image Violet gives Zhenglai opens them into a conference room, overlooking the ocean. With a shock, the old man realizes that this is the place in his vision. All eight novas crowd through the room before the gate can close, and as several baselines start crowding into the room, more of the local Empowered start appearing. A blur of white light dashes across a corner of the room, revealing an African woman holding the hands of two men in military uniforms; three men wearing almost stereotypical MiB suits and sunglasses walk in the door; a woman with living snakes for hair phases down from the ceiling; and Immortal steps up to the head of the table and clears his throat. Everyone takes seats, the Empowered mostly yielding the seats gracefully to the baselines. "Hey folks, we have ourselves a serious problem. These folks," he gestures towards the PCs, "are Empowered, and the Chinaman's a seer. He had a vision of an alien invasion - strong enough to one-shot most of us in the room." The African woman raises an eyebrow at this, and the two generals (?) lean forward attentively. "Violet already pathed to Headquarters, so they're trying to pinpoint the fleet's physical location and trajectory so that we can plan an appropriate counter-attack." Without a word, the snake-haired woman vanishes back up through the ceiling.

One of the MiBs turns to look at Zhenglai, removing his glasses. "I'm Agent Taylor, Secret Service. Is there anything else you can tell us about the fleet? Or what their intentions are?"

Another MiB also turns to regard the group, frowning at the sight of Jonathan's pentagram. "Maybe you'd be better off starting with who the hell all of you are."

[Alex Green]

Paul says,

"Their intentions? Big time hostile. Either they are here to crack the planet, or to just knock down civilization. Makes sense I guess from a twisted sort of logic; Kill the weak before they become strong enough to be a threat. In a hundred or whatever years we’d be spreading off planet. Squishing us two centuries ago would have been easy with orbital bombardment. Who knows, might still be easy."

“As for us? We’re the Inspired who happened to be at the right place at the right time. None of us made the big money, or made big names for ourselves. But someone had to be first here. Although now that I think about it, while obviously Zhenglai’s visions are the big mover, I think Ash’s super-luck played a part. Zhenglai tripped over us… I wonder if Ash’s luck is responsible for my failed pet psychic career?”

[Bahamut810]

Ash smiles at the croud as they gather. When the Immortal starts to speak, however, he silently slides next to the African speedster. He looks over at her, and winks once he has her attention.

((too...long...since...caused...CHAOS. Must seduce woman...)

When Paul mentions Ash's luck ruining his career...

"Yeah...that was pretty lame, man. I think you should thank me for that one. I think we need to get you a new show too. You know what...screw that. Ima get my own show. And if I can I'll get her to be my Co-star. What you say, Babe?" he says with a grin, winking again at the african woman.

[SkyLion]

Ash smiles at the croud as they gather. When the Immortal starts to speak, however, he silently slides next to the African speedster. He looks over at her, and winks once he has her attention.

((too...long...since...caused...CHAOS. Must seduce woman...)

When Paul mentions Ash's luck ruining his career...

"Yeah...that was pretty lame, man. I think you should thank me for that one. I think we need to get you a new show too. You know what...screw that. Ima get my own show. And if I can I'll get her to be my Co-star. What you say, Babe?" he says with a grin, winking again at the african woman.

,,

Esteban *coughes*...

,,

!

[Alex Green]

Paul protests,

"But it had potential!"

[Bahamut810]

Ash cocks an eyebrow. "What do you think that the people want to see more...You talking to a cat about how it hates its cat chow, or an intense murder mystery/drama starring Ash Phoenix and...uhhh...whats your name? I am sure our Arch-nemesis, Senior Estiban would like to know." he says as he gives a thumbs up to his friend.

[SkyLion]

Esteban's Eufiber changes to a villanous costume comprised of a black bodysuit and shoes, with a silver vest and Black overcoat with long tails. From below the caricature pointed nose of his silvery half-mask, a curling black moustache emerges from his face while a tall black hat adorns his crown.

,,

He takes a sweeping bow...

[Centimane]

One of the MiBs turns to look at Zhenglai, removing his glasses. "I'm Agent Taylor, Secret Service. Is there anything else you can tell us about the fleet? Or what their intentions are?"

Another MiB also turns to regard the group, frowning at the sight of Jonathan's pentagram. "Maybe you'd be better off starting with who the hell all of you are."

((Zhenglai will wait patiently through his teammates temporary bouts of insanity and weirdness, then cut in after Estiban's bow. Speaking of you guys' behavior... do I need to worry about fighting off another round of Domination attempts or anything?))

Zhenglai watched his companions' odd behavior with bemusement, not really understanding most of what they were talking about. When a suitable pause came up he cleared his throat and spoke to the "MiBs", "No, I don't think we would be better off telling you who we are. And, more to the point, neither would you." Zhenglai scanned the room with his old eyes for a moment, then looked back at the man who had challenged them and stared at him with an expressionless intensity as he continued. "We are here because we must be. That is all. My visions led me to these companions of mine, and my visions have led me to you. They are willing to trust me, and I them, and we have all placed our trust in you. I would suggest you do the same. Your suspicions, while they may come naturally to you, and may in fact be a vital part of your normal job, are entirely out of place in this situation young man. I can see both forwards and backwards in time. This is fact; a simple truth. You may, if it will ease your suspicious mind, put me to a test to prove it. But time is short. In no more than one day, possibly less than 12 hours, those ships will enter the orbit of this planet, and they will not wait to see if my visions of them are true or only a dream. They will attack with the intention of murdering this world. They will give none of you any quarter, no matter how much you doubt their existence. Right now there is only time to prepare, and then to fight. If we are all still here when tomorrow's sun sets, then you may ask me and my companions any question you like, and I at least will promise to answer those questions honestly and thoroughly. For now, know that we are messengers and you are the kings to whom we must deliver our message. We have done our part already, now it is your turn. Do what you must, but please do not waste what little time you have."

((I'm sorry BN, but once again I don't know the appropriate rolls to call for exactly so I tell you what my goal is here. Zhenglai will bring to bear all of his considerable empathic powers as well as the full force of his equally considerable personality here. His goal is to give those who are doubting or lingering on unimportant details (such as their backhistory) the social equivalent of a clout on the head to grab their attention and get them focused again, while those who are already focused will (hopefully) feel a real sense of the urgency of the situation. Basically he's trying to take the focus off of himself and his companions and put it back on the potentially world-ending invasion where it should be. He'll use everything up to and including Empathic Manipulation (but not Domination) if he has to, but once again he doesn't want to steamroll anybody or do anything that would look outright hostile (well ok, he might be willing to steamroll "who-the-hell-are-you"-boy ::tongue ).))

[archer]

Meanwhile, in the Nevada desert....

Brandt stared thoughtfully into the horizon for a few moments, not speaking. Finally turning to Theo, he raises an eyebrow at her. "Do you think we'll actually survive this lunacy?"

[AnonCastillo]

Jonathan smacks his forehead as Ash and Paul pretend to bicker. After Zhenglai speaks, he adds, "My companion is right, you have much bigger worries than who we are. We should be giving you all the information on the aliens that we can, so your people can investigate the threat for yourselves."

[BlueNinja]

One of the MiBs, obviously not satisfied with this, opens his mouth to say something else, when snake-hair drifts back down into the room, moves over to a tv in the corner, and turns it on to a news station of some kind. Across the bottom of the screen reads the headline "First Contact: On Its Way" and a news anchor is talking about how an astronomy telescope in South Africa is broadcasting the images of the alien ships discovered only minutes before. Four other high-powered telescopes have confirmed the image of five ships, inbound towards Earth at some small fraction of lightspeed and slowing.

Violet flips the tv back off, and turns to look at the MiBs. "Ok, we don't need their credentials. Other than your ability to warp space, do any of you have abilities that would help us take one of these things down? If your vision is accurate - and I have no reason to believe it's not - these ships came loaded for bear."

[SkyLion]

Shifting out of his dastardly guise, the now normal looking Esteban adds rather solemnly,

,,

"We're...not sure..."

,,

"According to Zhenglai, in his visions, hundreds of Empowered attack a single ship simultaneously and are just as quickly obliterated..."

,,

"There is more that we know of why they are coming, which Paul has already alluded to, but there isn't time now to recount all of how we know it. For now, let us say that Empowered, or at least beings very much like us were their enemies in the distant past or possibly future, and they now come for vengeance or to stop us before we become a threat. They are more than prepared for our capabilities. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about them. In truth, we had only just begun to investigate these aliens...known as the Mechlar...and from what we can tell, their arrival now is 100 years before our initial projections estimated..."

[Alex Green]

Paul says,

"None of us are equipped for combat with those things. We were still gathering information. We think it's been a very long time since we've last met... at the moment I'm hoping they don't know about Inspired. But that might not be much of an edge. The only power I can think of that might hit them below the belt would be telepathy or some varient, maybe linked with mind control. Oh, and we think they're 'borgs. Fused with their technology. If you have someone who's influence with computers has that kind of range, that might work well."

[Expendable]

Meanwhile, in the Nevada desert....

Brandt stared thoughtfully into the horizon for a few moments, not speaking. Finally turning to Theo, he raises an eyebrow at her. "Do you think we'll actually survive this lunacy?"

"I don't know," she admitted quietly. "If we really knew why they were coming, if we could talk to them, maybe. if they just want to strip our world, then the first thing they've got to do is to wipe us out. Only I don't know why. The Oort cloud on the edge of our solar system's got plenty of raw materials they could use without ever having to venture in-system and easier to get at. If they're looking for those other aliens, wouldn't they want to make friends and ask us first? They're more likely to destroy whatever they're looking for by attacking. None of this makes any sense to me."