Aberrant: Trans-Dimensional Explorations - Trans-Dimensional Explorations

[archer]

Not one to waste too much juice unless it's needed, Brandt thinks back at Paul after covering a few hundred square yards. *I can't see a damn thing through this dust, and it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. It will take me forever to scout a square mile properly, much less four square miles. Is there any good news on your end?*

[Alex Green]

(Amusement) *Oh, it will be ending soon. We should have a light rain shortly which I think will get rid of the dust. The dust mostly stops about 20 meters up, it looks like we are in a dust bowl. I don't see any structures, or people, and the bowl extends at least several miles in all directions.*

(Less amused) *I think we are in a dead zone. The no animals or birds part is very unusual. I don't see any aircraft but we have a storm front moving in so I wouldn't. Ah, actually, why don't I try out some of these items.*

Paul checks his GPS, Compass, & Geiger counter (the last to see if it is less radioactive above the dust).

(Paul remembers Brandt's speed cooking trick) *You might want to start setting up shelter as I doubt you will find any. I'd guess some of our stuff should stay dry and dust free.*

Paul rotates his Psi-Link to each person in turn {Ash, Archimedes, Eli, Jonathan, and ending back with Brandt} and relays what has been learned/observed. If someone resists the link or it fails he will just skip them.

[AnonCastillo]

Jonathan turns to the others that are still at their point of entry (Ash and Archimedes, I think). "Let's start setting up one of these tents. Anyone able to calm or block the wind a bit so the tent doesn't blow away while we get it set up?"

[phoenix]

Paul remarks to Eli in a quite voice,

”How are you doing? If you’ve never gone flying before it can be a bit of a trip. ::ohmy There's nothing quite like it, is there? We are the world. ::happy ”

"I'm all right, Paul. Steady on."

Eli's voice sounds as though he might be trying to conceal his nervousness, but at least he's not hysteric. After a moment, he speaks up again, when Paul has gotten high enough.

"Okay, please stop. Can we just hover here for a moment? I want to take a look around."

He concentrates, and suddenly shadows appear in his field of peripheral vision, as his central cone of vision focuses tenfold to view his surroundings in greater detail. He proceeds to scan as much of the ground as he can see, looking for anything artificial, or something his group might want to investigate.

[OOC: Activating EM vision.]

[BlueNinja]

Paul checks his GPS, Compass, & Geiger counter (the last to see if it is less radioactive above the dust).

The GPS (relying as it does upon satellites) of course is non-functional. The compass appears to be working normally, pointing northward in relation to the morning sun. The geiger counter is recording much lower levels of 'hard' radiation, but the UV is worse outside of the dust.

He concentrates, and suddenly shadows appear in his field of peripheral vision, as his central cone of vision focuses tenfold to view his surroundings in greater detail. He proceeds to scan as much of the ground as he can see, looking for anything artificial, or something his group might want to investigate.

You can see two straight black lines coming out of the dust bowl you're in to the north and south; one of them should be passing almost directly below you, and you think that's I-5. There's also a spot where the dust cloud seems to dip, off to the north-east about thirty miles, and unless you're way off, that should be Fresno. It means the gate opened to the west of Selma. There's nothing of particular interest in either set of mountains, and you can't see past them.

[Alex Green]

Paul asks Eli,

"Those are highways, right? Any abandoned cars or anything moving on them?"

[phoenix]

"Those are highways, right? Any abandoned cars or anything moving on them?"

"Well it's a highway. I don't see any cars, but we should be able to get to the moral equivalent of Fresno if we follow it that way for a while. In fact, if Brandt carried all of us one at a time like he did with Ash before, we could probably make it in like ten minutes."

The engineer suddenly looks up at Paul with an invisible grin.

"Nothing against baselines, but there's really nothing like working with other novas, huh? Anyway, that's all I can see, we can head back down if you want."

[Bahamut810]

Ash looks at Johnathan. "Not yet. Lets get to some cover first...or out of this damned dust bowl. Our packs should keep everything safe while we move. If this is a place that was hit by a nuke and there were survivors you can bet your ass there are going to be bandits, and I want at least one wall to my back if they come through this damned dust."

Ash looks up, failing to see the pair through the dust and mentally radio's up to Paul, "Ok, after he gets a good look come on down. We need to get moving."

[Alex Green]

"Well it's a highway. I don't see any cars, but we should be able to get to the moral equivalent of Fresno if we follow it that way for a while. In fact, if Brandt carried all of us one at a time like he did with Ash before, we could probably make it in like ten minutes."

The engineer suddenly looks up at Paul with an invisible grin.

"Nothing against baselines, but there's really nothing like working with other novas, huh? Anyway, that's all I can see, we can head back down if you want."

Paul drops them both down and comments to everyone,

"Having Brandt relocate us sounds like an idea. We're in the middle of no where here with no cover and I don't think we're going to learn anything more. This dust is radioactive, the compass works, and the locals either never set up a GPS system or it was set up so differently my system can't read it."

[phoenix]

Eli nods.

"We were thinking of just following the highway to get to whatever passes for Fresno here."

[Bahamut810]

Ash considers a second.

"I dont like splitting up like that in this dust, it screams devide and conquor. Go ahead and tell Brandt to come back. We will make our way up the side of the highway and hope to come across an abandoned vehical."

[phoenix]

"I dont like splitting up like that in this dust, it screams devide and conquor. Go ahead and tell Brandt to come back. We will make our way up the side of the highway and hope to come across an abandoned vehical."

Eli shakes his head negatively.

"There aren't any abandoned vehicles that I could see. The smartest thing would be to have Brandt take either you or me first, and then whichever one he doesn't take stays behind until everyone else is gone. That way no one can get at any of us without taking out either you, me, or Brandt himself."

[Bahamut810]

"With the way the dust is, we shoulden't leave *anyone* alone. Its to easy to be suprised. Especially since we dont know what is here. For all we know Alternate-Michal made an army of super-robots who still patroll this area to eradicate all life."

[BlueNinja]

As Brandt is running, he hears a noise. As though he ran over something that wasn't dust.

[phoenix]

"With the way the dust is, we shouldn't leave *anyone* alone. Its too easy to be suprised. Especially since we don't know what is here. For all we know Alternate-Michal made an army of super-robots who still patroll this area to eradicate all life."

Eli looks like he has a headache.

"Well look, when Brandt gets back, we can just ask him if he saw any super robots, okay? Because otherwise, if Paul goes last, and I go second to last, worst case scenario is whatever's out go get us runs into two invisible, flying novas and three and a half tons of Eli and rather a lot of voltage. Plus Paul can just instantly call Brandt to help if we need it. If there's anything that can take on all that, it doesn't need to wait for us to try to escape, and the longer we stay here, the more danger we're in."

[archer]

Skidding to a halt, Brandt pauses, lowering himself to a crouch. *Paul, come in. I just ran over something that wasn't dirt. I'm going to check it out...maintain contact.* After confirming that Paul is indeed keeping contact, Brandt slowly walks back towards where he noticed the different sound.

[Bahamut810]

"Paul is too important to risk like that. With visability the way it is it would be extremely easy for anything to sneak up on us. You may not get the opportunity to do that. Considering how long its taking him to go over what I asked him to...by the time he got back to one place or another all the people who cant turn invisable could be dead." Ash says, then sighs.

"If everyone else wants to go with that, I'll go first, then you, Joseph, I will go back, he will take everyone else, then I will come back last. I don't want to lose anyone becuase we left them alone or under-helped. And considering how long it will take us to do that...It dosen't sit well with me to devide like that."

[BlueNinja]

Skidding to a halt, Brandt pauses, lowering himself to a crouch. *Paul, come in. I just ran over something that wasn't dirt. I'm going to check it out...maintain contact.* After confirming that Paul is indeed keeping contact, Brandt slowly walks back towards where he noticed the different sound.

As Brandt retraces his steps, he realizes that he just ran over something metal and about a square meter large. Picking it up, he realizes that it's a sign that blew over, still attached to the poles that held it in the ground. The letters were facing the ground, so it's faded but still somewhat readable once you knock the dust off.

Lemoore Naval Air Station -> 1 mile

Fallout shelter on base -> 2 miles

[archer]

As Brandt retraces his steps, he realizes that he just ran over something metal and about a square meter large.  Picking it up, he realizes that it's a sign that blew over, still attached to the poles that held it in the ground.  The letters were facing the ground, so it's faded but still somewhat readable once you knock the dust off. 

Lemoore Naval Air Station -> 1 mile

Fallout shelter on base -> 2 miles

←

Brandt smiles, and concentrates on Paul again.

*Possible good news, Paul...relay this to the others. I just found an old road sign indicating an airbase complete with fallout shelter, and it's very close, only a couple of miles from where I'm standing. If you have a map, see if you can find Lemoore Naval Air Station, that's the name of the base.*

[phoenix]

"If everyone else wants to go with that, I'll go first, then you, Joseph, I will go back, he will take everyone else, then I will come back last. I don't want to lose anyone becuase we left them alone or under-helped."

::glare The implication being that they'd be under-helped if, God forbid, he left them with the 18-foot metal killing machine instead of with you? You had better be ****ing fantastic in combat, Ash my friend..

Eli sighs and turns to face away from Ash, negating the conflict with body language.

"Let's just wait for Brandt to get back. For all we know something still needs our attention out here."

[Alex Green]

"…Paul is too important to risk like that… "

::happy ::biggrin ::ultracool ::sly

*Possible good news, Paul...relay this to the others. I just found an old road sign indicating an airbase complete with fallout shelter, and it's very close, only a couple of miles from where I'm standing. If you have a map, see if you can find Lemoore Naval Air Station, that's the name of the base.*

Paul says out loud,

“Hold Up! He found something! O.K, it’s a road sign to an airbase… hey, it has a fallout shelter and it’s close by. A few miles… someone look up Lemoore Naval Air Station.”

[Bahamut810]

Ash considers a second...considering heading in that direction...(any feelings about it?)

[BlueNinja]

Ash considers a second...considering heading in that direction...(any feelings about it?)

Your gut hasn't told you anything since the moment of blind panic while you were in the gate. Then again, is doesn't usually tell you anything until you're much closer. On the upside, at least it should be out of the dust.

Eli remembers hearing one of the radio stations in Fresno mention something about the Air Base back on Home Earth. It's the base for most of the naval fighter jets on the west coast, so it should be a sizeable place. That's about all he can remember about the place.

[Bahamut810]

Ash nods, "Ok, call Brandt back. We will head there first. If some disaster hit...thats the 3rd place people are going to head, and its safer then the first two."

[phoenix]

Eli nods.

"Makes sense."

[Alex Green]

Ash nods, "Ok, call Brandt back.  We will head there first.  If some disaster hit...thats the 3rd place people are going to head, and its safer then the first two."

*Brandt, come back. We're going to go there as a group.*

[archer]

*Brandt, come back.  We're going to go there as a group.*

←

*On my way.* Sliding his backpack off one shoulder, he digs around one of the side pockets and removes one of the glowsticks. Stripping off the wrapper and activating it with a quick snap, he then reaches down and lifts the sign back to its original vertical position, jamming its legs back into the ground to help keep it upright. Using the leftover wrapper, he ties the glowstick to one of the legs to help mark the sign.

That done, he hoists his pack back onto his shoulders and speeds back to the others, arriving within minutes. "All set. Everyone here still accounted for?"

[Bahamut810]

Ash nods. "Yep. Lets get moving. We will try to stay just off the highway."

[BlueNinja]

You start walking, following Brandt to the sign, and then altering course to follow what seems to be the direction towards the air base. Walking through the dust is like wading through water, except drier, and the incoming storm is making the wind begin to pick up. It's mostly easier on the road, where the dust is only a few inches thick, rather than a foot deep, but several of you stumble on potholes and cracks in the decades-old pavement. After an hour has gone by, you've passed under two traffic lights, with still no signs to see anywhere, when Archimedes cries out, pointing off to the left of the road.

Barely visible through the dust clouds is the familiar outline of a building - a church. It must be the base chapel. (You could have gotten here sooner if Brandt had done better on a Navigation roll. ::tongue )

[Bahamut810]

Ash stops. "Ok, I think we should check this place out. If its not going to fall in on our heads, we should stop and take a break. Mabey even set up camp here. Brandt, could you give us a perimeter check of the outside of this place? Nothing major, just a quick look-see to make sure we dont get suprised by anything. "

He says while writing something into a small notebook.

[phoenix]

Eli walks past Ash as he stops in his tracks.

"Ok, I think we should check this place out. If its not going to fall in on our heads, we should stop and take a break. Mabey even set up camp here. Brandt, could you give us a perimeter check of the outside of this place? Nothing major, just a quick look-see to make sure we dont get suprised by anything. "

"Jesus, you're paranoid." remarks Eli over his shoulder. He approaches the church and pulls open the door.

"Here's hoping the dust isn't as bad in there.."

[AnonCastillo]

Jonathan steps up behind Eli, watching for anything out of the ordinary as he opens the door.

[Bahamut810]

"Jesus, you're paranoid." remarks Eli over his shoulder. He approaches the church and pulls open the door.

"Im Careful." he corrects.

[BlueNinja]

The church isn't in great condition - some of the windows are broken, and the roof is sagging - but the wind is mostly non-existant inside, and only a thin layer of dust covers everything. Stairs lead up to a choir loft, and a number of closed doors line the wall at the back near where you entered. At the front of the chapel, to the right across the large open space, someone has graffittied the altar, but the passage of time has left it illegible. Or maybe it was always that way.

[Alex Green]

Paul says,

"Time to check for rats and the like. Maybe we get lucky and there is a guard dog..."

{Animal Mastery Roll again, mostly looking for the closest rat or dog or similar creature.}

[BlueNinja]

After a few seconds, you discover that there's a small family of mice hiding out, about a half kilometer to the north. They're all hunkered down in their burrows, away from the dust and the storm.

And speaking of which, a gust of wind stirrs up the dust coating the pews, bringing with it the overwhelming smell of rain. In a few minutes, anyone standing outside is going to get very wet.

[Alex Green]

Paul says,

"Good. There's a small herd of mice about half a K that way."

[AnonCastillo]

"Perhaps we can use the mice to scout the area for us? They can get into places we can't. That way we can find out a bit more about the area without risking our necks out in that storm. Besides, they might know of human survivors."

[archer]

"Brandt, could you give us a perimeter check of the outside of this place? Nothing major, just a quick look-see to make sure we dont get suprised by anything. "

Glowering irritably at the back of Ash's head for a moment, Brandt finally walks off at a normal pace to check the building's perimeter. Once done, he rejoins the others, whether inside or outside the church.

[BlueNinja]

You notice a few things on your walk-around -

1) On the other side of the chapel from where you entered is another low building, that was probably an after-services meeting hall or Sunday School place. It used to have a lot of windows, and you're pretty sure the roof had caved in.

2) Behind the chapel (outside the wall where the altar is) is another street, and across it is some large building. You couldn't make out what it was in the dust, but there was an eroded, illegible sign between that building and the street.

3) In the street were a pair of wrecked vehicles, that had obviously been in a head-on collision. The paint has long since peeled, but the SUV was obviously police or security of some kind from the wreckage of the lights on the roof. You can't see any remains in the vehicles, but whether that's due to distance+dust, or the lack of remains, you can't tell.

4) As you come back around to the door that Eli opened, a raindrop nails you perfectly in the right ear. ::biggrin