The Line in the Stars (IC) [PG/14]

[Shachza]

"I...  uhhh..."  La'orth's brain tried to process the overload of information.  He braced himself against his cockpit again as the large ship loomed around him and swallowed him whole with a silent *Nom*.  His ship's VI seemed to be fine with being eaten at this point; it didn't chirp once.

Inside the strange hybrid vessel La'orth found nothing but a thick, pitch black that refused to give way before his figher's external lights.  He probably should have been scared, but the last few minutes had drained him.  In fact, the darkness made him feel cozy rather than claustrophobic.

"So, wait.  You're helping me?  What for?"

The amusement in the cat-being's voice was very apparent.  It is suitable for me.  You serve goals for me in ways that were unavailable before you disturbed the devouring-one.  The little scrabber has proven very useful.

"I...  You're welcome?"  The cat-being simply smiled and waited patiently.  "Um.  You seem to know quite a bit about me.  What, and who, are you?"  La'orth suddenly remembered where he was and went to queue up a detailed scan of his surroundings.

You are not to be rude.  The cat-being's voice changed to have a hint of annoyance.  You are who is requiring assistance, and I am willing to render for cooperation.  There is knowledge that you are not ready for, but you may refer to me as Hunter.  It is appropriate enough.

La'orth paused and considered the cat-being's words for a moment.  "Fine, Hunter.  I can be a good houseguest, though I'm afraid I don't have the proper gifts to give when accepting the hospitality..."  His eyes widened in shock.  "Did you say Acadians?!"

The obsidian cat-being laughed.

[Lisky]

Knight watched in mild amusement as Saioko casually strutted about with the power of her command.  He had several rather solid guesses as to what she was thinking.  The speckled feline was keeping himself calm and closed off.  He had a great deal of guilt over the loss of Rom, yet refused to show it in front of the rest of the team.  It wasn't that he felt remorse, it was simply a feeling of failure, a failure to do everything in his power to bring everyone home.  A failure to keep the team in better control, and a failure to throw the bastard face first into the ground as soon as he started questioning orders mid-firefight.

He fired off a few quick sets of orders before going through his own examination.  "Ben, make sure the new people are taken care of, have Harriet introduce her people to the team, and lets get everyone settled in."

After going through the routine checkup, the lieutenant set about finding his quarters.  Stress had been building up, and it took most of his effort to focus on finding his room the headache finally set in.  He felt ill with himself, like there was still blood from the dead Sargent still on him.  It wasn't until he found himself drenched in cold water that he realized he wasn't really sure how he'd managed to find his way to the crew quarters, how he'd managed to find his personal quarters, nor when he'd actually gotten into the shower. 

He turned the warm water up, chasing away the chill, along with the feelings of guilt as the relaxation flowed over his form. much like the tiny droplets the negative emotions seemed to seep through the floor and disappear from the commanders mind.  After a few minutes of relaxation, Knight wrapped a towel around his midsection and proceeded to head for the bed.  He felt like he'd just had a ton of bricks pulled off his body, and he could hopefully sleep off the effects.

[Azlan]

Infirmary


Unfortunately for poor Aaron, only Xaos and Saioko seem to notice him.  The ancient vulpine gives a simple, macho male greeting of, "yo."

Saioko on the other hand, strides right up to him and salutes, "major sir, you seem to have just missed Lt. Whitehaven, but I have his report.  Chief Warrant Officer TiBalt is from ISIS and I have her preliminary report as well.  In keeping with Knight's tradition, it seems, he has managed to bring back another pirate prisoner that is female.  Thankfully this one is not critically injured.  Our other ex-pirate turned helper, is being fixed up after the ordeal."

The feline became a bit more subdued and her gaze fell towards the floor as she added the last bit, "and... as you are aware, we had one casualty."



Try getting back to me.  Get back which used to be .


La'orth's question is left hanging after the unusual laugh of the cat-being had ended.  The image on the fighter's communication screen did not seem to waiver or change much, other than the occasional blinking of the blue orbs that appear to be its eyes.

The brief silence is broken by Hunter, "I am entering the system that will be your destination.  Now, I must just determine the best way to approach them.  Acadians can react badly when you surprise them... they are not used to being surprised anymore." 

[ShadesFox]

Infirmary

Aaron salutes back, "Yes... I felt that... too... umm..."

Aaron felt a bit awkward.  He had never lost anyone under his command.

"Well, forward those reports to my data pad and I'll look over them.  Also, make sure Knight understands that ISF rules do not allow him to keep a harem."

Turning out those pirates was going to be difficult.  The one was already offered asylum, and she should be leaving with Ana.  For the other one he would need more details about her.  Hopefully a nobody that can be accommodated with minimal fuss.

Aaron looked to Xaos, who wore an almost completely blank look on his face.  "As for you, I'm prepared for the soul thingy whenever you are."

[Prof B Hunnydew]

Stateroom corridors

Nova is hunting for Mara outside of Marissa's room.  She can feel that Mara is near, but not where.  Loki is also near here.  
The catgirl looks both ways down the corridor.  A sudden explosion of light and noise,  a 2.5 meter gryphon, Mara comes running out of Marissa's room.  Loki holds a sword in a charge position riding on Mara's back.   Also Xiah is riding behind him and waves back at Nova as the gryphon flys past her.  Mara continues running down the corridor towards the hanger.    Nova has no choice but to run after them.

"Mara!! Loki!! Come back here" says Nova

"Oh No It is the Sorceress... we must  fly like the wind" yells Mara as she flys faster down the corridor

PBH  

[Shachza]

One reptile, Rockefeller-style

"Acadians?!"  La'orth repeated.  "Aren't they the ones who are supposed to have laid out and cleared all of the known hyperspace lanes?  Some of our scientists have said that the lanes seem to have a rough pattern, and they theorize that the layout might be part of a planned design.  The E'kiath nebula does have a lot of clear lanes running within easy visual range of it.  It's like someone wanted you to see it."  He paused as he tried to remember what else he had heard either about Acadians or the scientists' crazy theory, but all he got was vague memories of other Korsinians talking over drinks about how so-and-so had gone missing in unexplored space, probably due to Acadians.  No concrete descriptions came to mind either.

He noticed that Hunter had remained unmoving and silent.  "Hello?"

"Hey!  Are you there?!  Answer me!!"  He momentarily lost the fight against his rising fear and frustration.  A moment of staring down the apparently oblivious creature on his screen allowed him to collect himself a little, and realizing what he had done, he looked away in shame.

"Please?  I don't know enough about them, not even what they look like, and I don't want to get myself killed for being ignorant in the presence of what might be a God."

[SquirrelWizard]

Spatz shook his head, "Mina, I'm not even sure about how you'd do it, but I don't think Robert would want you tooling about in his head."

"Sometimes you have to help people even if they're too stubborn to do it themselves." Mina glanced back at Robert's form, "anyways, I want to find out what he's talking about."

"Yeah, but maybe he had his reasons for not telling us. We all have our own secrets, and our reasons for keeping them."

"Spatz, I don't think he's done anything wrong, but he believes he is responsible. He helped us when we needed it, I intend to help him. To do that I need to confront those memories." Mina turned and coughed politely to get Aaron's attention, "Excuse me sir, I'm Ensign Kallanwei and," she motioned to Spatz, "this is Ensign Nevins, we were just recently revived from medical stasis, there is something I need to talk to you about the condition of our fellow crew mate, Ensign Norston."

[ShadesFox]

Aaron turns to Mina, getting the distinct impression that Xaos is grinning his impossible grin as he looked away, "Good to meet you all.  Mmm... yes Robert.  I'm not sure what to do about his condition.  However, I also need to speak with you about your condition.  The Acadian part."

[Lisky]

State-room

With ruckus out of the way, and his fragile mind in a somewhat better state than before, the spotted feline tried to sleep, the mental image of Rom, quickly being replaced by the destruction of the prototype vessel he'd made the first leg of this mission on.  He watched in horror as an energy beam pierced a section of hull, the ship lurching out from under him.  Then nothing.  The scene kept replaying itself, slightly different each time, as he tried to sort through the details. 

some time had passed, and he was left staring at the ceiling, feeling very cold, very alone, and exhausted, yet unable to sleep.  So, he waited as the images replayed themselves yet again.

[SquirrelWizard]

Mina nodded, "I understand, but I must insist that we tend to Robert first. I can... enter peoples dreams, I believe the proper term for it is Dreamwalking, from there i can effect changes. Typically changes where I can get the subject to resolve their issues on their own is the most effective, but it is relatively time intensive. The longer I wait, the more their mindset becomes solidified, and the harder it is to change it. With your permission I'd advise administrating a sedative to Robert and attempt to Dreamwalk as soon as possible. After that we will have all the time we need to discuss the intricacies of our race."

[ShadesFox]

Aaron nods, "Yes, I'm familiar with the dream thing.  Can be especially fun when you are wildly latching onto other people's dreams."
Mina looked at Aaron quite quizzically.
Aaron looked around for a second like he was trying to forget something, "Anyways, your idea sounds like it is the best.  Try and help Robert, hopefully he won't be to upset about having his mind prodded since you seem to know him well."

[SquirrelWizard]

"We'll cross that river when we get to it. In times like this, sometimes its better to beg for forgiveness rather than ask for permission." She walked over to a nearby medicine cabinet and pulled out a tool that looked like a small pistol that had a vial attached in its hilt.

While Mina was busy fiddling with the controls on the medicine gun Spatz shook his head and went back to his seat. The commander seemed... nice... admittedly he seemed more interested in Mina than him, but that wasn't always unusual; sometimes the only way he'd seem to get attention was when several lights were red and angrily blinking. Over all he felt uncertain, there seemed to be a grand whirlwind of activity, confusion, pain, and suffering and he was just caught in the drift. He wasn't sure if the entire thing would collapse down on everybody, or if it would even out. But for the time being it seemed that this was the "calmest" place to be for the time being.

Robert sat on his bench, vaguely aware that someone had approached, "please, just leave me alone," he didn't look up.

"Robert," the mentioning of his name made him glance up to Mina who had the medical gun held behind her back, "This is for your own good," she yanked him forward and brought the gun up to the startled squirrel's neck. There was a sharp hiss from the gun as it delivered the sedative into Robert's system and, as it took effect, he slumped into Mina's arms. As she held him up Mina sighed and whispered, "Robert... I'm sorry... but I just want to help..." She began lugging his slumbering body towards a vacant examination table.

[Chairtastic]

Infirmary

The Human saluted her Superior officers, and introduced her people where appropriate.  These were mere mechanical workings, nothing more or less.  At the first opportunity, she ushered her co-operative team members out, into an empty room, and began searching for listening devices, with some help from the ever clever Magick.

"Harriet...what's up?  You look...less likely to shoot us in the face at the first sign of disloyalty," commented Miyuki slyly.  The elder female gave her a look, which made the point clear that such was not the case.

Harriet needed a secure space.  Somewhere that she could let down her defenses and convey the full scope of how utterly screwed they were, and to warn her team members of what trials would come roaring through their lives now. It in no way helped that the ship obviously had an AI on board, which meant it could possibly improvise a listening device out of something as mundane as the air conditioning.  But still, there was work to be done.  So...much...work.

[Azlan]

Infirmary


Saioko nodded to Aaron, "we also need to arrange for some type of ceremony, funeral in space, for Romulus."  The feline officer saluted and dismissed herself to her duties.

Xaos waited for Aaron to finish his conversations with Saioko and Mina before sneaking up behind him.  He draped his arms over Aaron's shoulders and moved his muzzle over to the other fox's right ear, whispering, "time to get started kid."  Both disappeared without anyone noticing, one second they are there and the next gone.

Mina placed Robert on a medical examination table and Cynthia activated the diagnostics.  Within a few moments there were statistics to evaluate and Cynthia related them, "all biological systems functioning superbly.  Some elevated neurotransmitter levels and other factors of high stress.  Please be careful Mina, this is different than the controlled simulation training.  Even dreamwalking in the minds of all those pirates over the years is very different than the mind of someone who holds memories of you and an idealistic version of your own self within him."



Marissa's room


Aaron and Xaos appeared in Marissa's room just as Gaea was shooing the pair of fox kids out, "Loki and Ixiah, go to the command center and see Mother and Matron.  You are both in charge of ship operations, but please observe Aaron's chain of command."

The two give each other conspiratorial looks and respond in tandem, "okay!"  They dash off.

Marissa yawns and waves to Aaron, "heya."

Xaos separates from leaning over Aaron to stand near Gaea.  He turns to both Marissa and Aaron, "okay you two.  I am grateful that you have both chosen to do this for us.  Now you both must shed the trappings that clothe your form..."

Marissa emits a high-pitched, cute little "eep" sound and blushes deeply, "I... couldn't do that..."

Gaea giggles, "no we must first move our consciousnesses beyond our corporeal forms... out of body type of thing, yes?"

Marissa breathes a sigh of relief, "whew..."



Stateroom Corridors


Ixiah and Loki, having encountered Mara were in the midst of a bit of fantasy play as the two foxes headed for the command center.  They run across Nova and bound off in the opposite direction.  

Loki and Ixiah break off from the game to continue on towards their destination as Mara seems intent on leading Nova in a wild chase through out the ship.

The two arrive at the command center just after Saioko.



SPS - Shadowcat Parcel Service


The creature calling itself Hunter blinked its luminous orbs a few times and it seemed to orient itself towards La'orth, "were you vocalizing audibly?  Not receiving at the period just before vocalizing myself currently.  What are Acadians?  They are a race of organics who came into being after the First Age.  They are the... oldest... of the races granted a non-perpetual existence.  Unlike those like myself or other ancients, they originally possessed the potential to self-improve... what you might call evolve.  They cast this off to achieve perpetual existence of non-corporeal thought."

It considered what it was attempting to relay and realized that it might be too high-level for the question previously offered.  The strange feline created a smaller window within the viewable area and displayed an image of a very colorful canine (fox) mammal creature, "this is what the Acadians construct from... hard energy... that they inhabit to interact with beings that are tied to physical existences.  These that I am giving you to are not like the majority that your people have legends about.  These are renegades seeking to change the current direction of their own people."

Hunter paused in its vocalizations for a moment, "these are not... gods... La'orth unit.  Oh and here we are."


The dark vessel quickly appeared, seemingly becoming a part of reality from nothing, in front of Matron.  On the bridge, Matron and Mother were surprised to no end, and Loki and Ixiah gasped.  Saioko felt a knot of fear in her stomach, but she did not know why.

The elder AIs both stopped Alexis in mid-motion as she prepared to raise defensive shields and arm weapons.  They opened communications channels and broadcasted a message of greeting.

The mainscreen activated and a black feline, who looks to be made of shiny obsidian with blue-white burning eyes with a mouth of the same fire as the eyes, speaks, "greetings to you as well Alphas of the void sailing vessel.  I am known as Hunter."

Everyone on the bridge notices that this Darkshasa vocalizes with the same accent as their own Saioko.  The Shadowcat calling itself Hunter shifts its attention to the feline and tilts its head.  It appears to speak, but no sound is emitted.

Saioko tries to cover her ears to the sound, but something resonates within her.  Her panther disguise disappears revealing a similar appearance to that of Hunter, except she has pinkish energy, and is not smooth and uniform... more patchwork.

"Interesting, this is not Acadian work..."  Hunter mused.

Saioko turned giving the assembled Acadians, and Richard who everyone always forgets about, a mortified look before turning a hate filled gaze towards the screen, "you!  You are the one that destroyed my ship!"

Hunter shook his form's head in a negative fashion, feeling that to be an appropriate gesture, "no, I've never seen something like you before, but I have heard mention of it from others.  I am curious, but there are others who would come to anger over something like this.  I mean you no harm... I would... feel... sadness for you.  However I did not come here for you."

Saioko growled briefly before resuming her panther mode.  Her eyes pleaded with everyone present, "please forgive me, I did not mean to deceive... I am afraid..."

Matron held up her hand, "we should talk later dear, most of us already suspected."

Hunter exaggerated a noise that resembled clearing one's throat to gain everyone's attention, "now, I came to give you all a stray I found.  A Korsinian I found recently, separated from the rest of its... pod... pack... er, whatever they might call it, fell into my care recently.  I do not have the ability to care for a pet and I know that Acadians love the little scrabbers..."

Loki's eyes light up at the mention of Korsinian, though Matron seems to not understand the name.  Mother explains something to her briefly.

Ixiah speaks before the others, "sure, we can take him in."

"Oh good, I shall transfer him and his little void skimmer.  He may need a checkup with your biological systems engineer."

La'orth's fighter, regardless of his own feelings on this handoff, is removed from the Shadowcat vessel and moved via a beam of energy into the hanger deck of the Acadian ship.  To La'orth the Acadian vessel is as large as a cruiser.

Ixiah, Loki, Alexis and Richard (who is a smallish wolf and not Acadian) are already in the hanger area waiting for the raptor to exit his vessel.  Both Alexis and Richard are prepared if it should turn out to be hostile.

"Oi, come on out!"  Yelled Loki.



Harriet's 'secure' side room


Jack did his best not to sigh, but he was also worried, "Harriet, ma'am, we need to consider the situation.  Perhaps this isn't as bad as it seems.  Something else may have gone down there that has nothing to do with you."

Magick flagged everyone to silence just before a knock sounded at the door and a familiar voice was heard, "excuse me ma'am, but I have been instructed to introduce you and your group to the rest of the Specials Forces team members and get you settled in."

Opening the door carefully, the canine staff sergeant from the rescued mission partially entered, "For at least the time being, we will not be heading back into ISF space.  So unless there is some outstanding order to the contrary, you and your team will be integrated into the Special Forces unit and the command structure."

[ShadesFox]

Marissa's room

Aaron looked at Xaos... it was a rather flat glare.

Xaos for his part chuckled at Aaron's thoughts and gets much closer to Aaron, "Why so analytical boy!  All of this nonsense about `the latest research show that...`  You know we offer the both of you something so much more... grand!"

Gaea sighed, "Xaos, there is no need to be so dramatic.  And please don't climb on top of Aaron.  That just looks perverted."  She takes Marissa's hand, "Marissa sweety, I know this is new to you, but please relax. We will need to connect with the two of you.

Marissa, getting quite a lot of support from Gaea found herself at ease, slipping easily into a deep trance.  Aaron continued to be weirded out by Xaos for a moment before he was able to slip into... where ever it was he went.

A meeting of the minds

As far as Aaron could see, it looked like an empty white room.  Aaron looked around, calling out for someone.  Xaos continued to be quite distressing, hiding just out of view in the great expanse of nothing.

Xaos let the game continue for a few seconds before finally resting his muzzle on Aaron's shoulder, "I know what you are thinking~ And just so you know, the best way to describe this, this is something like your potential.  Well, you and Marissa.  Assuming that neither of you die and you both can become fully ascended Acadians and all that.  But lets not dwell on that point.  Gaea and Marissa are already well underway."

Aaron tries to ask something but he is cut off by Xaos, "Silly Aaron, your thoughts are so much faster then your mouth.  Gaea is looking for a window into her soul, we need to sift though your memories.  Now... lets see about... this,"

Just as swiftly as any scene change can be, Aaron and Xaos were standing in what looked like a hospital room.  Aaron and his brother Mark were both new born kits barely hours old and in their mother's arms, and their dad was standing over shoulder... hoping that any moment now she would let him hold at least one of them.
She spoke abruptly, "Robert... if only you could feel them... in this unrestrained state..."
Robert sighed, "But... Isis... we can't.  You said so yourself.  It would be dangerous to them, both the hazard of... them finding out and to themselves."

Aaron looks over to Xaos, "It looks like when I was born, and when mom locked away my psionic potential.  She looks... miserable.  Also, I don't understand, why are you..."
Xaos holds up a hand, "I was looking for her... also, I'm not sure how to best phrase this, but what she did to you would be viewed as similar to breaking your legs at birth and making sure they don't heal."
The dream image of Aaron's mom looked up to Xaos, "Yes... which is why I left a part of myself here, watching him, protecting him."
Xaos sneaks behind the image of Isis, "Yes, and now I need his help.  Figment of Isis, can you help me out?  You know what I need."
Isis sighed and looked up at the roof.  The roof, and the rest of the building shattered into thousands of little shards and disappeared into the sky, leaving behind only a green field and a forest in the distance.

She turns to the two, "Past these woods, you will find the temple of the soul.  Your companions are there as well.  Xaos, do not forget that this is my child..."
Xaos waves to her, "Yes, yes.  Don't worry, I have his best interests at heart.  Now Aaron, let's hurry!"
With that Xaos dashes off into the woods.  Aaron rolls his eyes and chases after him.  Isis sights to herself and fades into the background, watching closely...

[Lisky]

Stateroom

Without the ability to sleep, the feline decided to do the next best thing.  He headed out to go check on the condition of his team, filling out paperwork as he went on a standard issue data-pad.  Supposedly the ship had the ability to fill these forms out through psychic abilities...

He knew he looked hellish as left the stateroom, wandered out into the corridor, and started hunting for the barracks, or perhaps the cafeteria... coffee would make a welcome distraction.

[SquirrelWizard]

Dirty little secrets...

Mina merely nodded and sat down on a nearby table and leaned back. Closing her eyes, she started to slow her breathing and tried to clear her mind of thoughts and reach out to touch any nearby minds who were in a dreamstate. She was hesitant at first, the others had merely been a systematic process, surgical even. But, she had never been vested in her subject before, doubt started to gnaw at her, but she did her best to clear the conflicting thoughts from her mind as she managed to contact Robert's mind.

The best description of dreamstates is that of the surface of an ocean. Most people tend to be relatively calm with maybe some light chop; Robert's was a chaotic storm with savage waves.
Taking a deep breath, Mina plunged in...and found herself drifting amongst a sea of silver constructs that resembled geodesic spheres, roughly as big as a small room each.

Any Acadian could dreamwalk, to a degree, but without training, practice, and, perhaps, talent, they had little control over where they entered a persons dream. Most would end up on the surface, the most active part of the dream. For many this was enough, but Mina had dove deeper into his dreamscape as far as she could go, to Robert's where memories would serve as a breeding ground for dreams. It would be here she could find out the whys and whats before she could even try to fix him...

"Figures," Mina muttered as she drifted amongst the silverish spheres, "Engineer would store his memories like this." As a sphere neared her, she reached out and touched its side.

Mina found herself standing in what looked like an urban park setting. A young girl, a squirrel of maybe twelve years of age, sat at the base of the tree reading a book.

"Hey Anna!" the shout caused the girl to look up from her book as a young boy ran up to her who unmistakably Robert, but eight years old. The girl sighed, "Robert, what is it now?" she had a peevish tone about her like she was dealing with an annoying sibling.

"Pa says we're gonna be heading home, so he sent me to find you. Come on lets go," Robert waited impatiently.

Anna merely started reading the book again with the air of one who was not going to be ordered around by their younger brother.

"Anna!" Robert stamped his foot, "Come on," at the lack of any motivation on his sisters part he tried a different tactic, "I know, I'll just tell mom and dad what you and Jeremy Cathens were doing..."

Anna slapped the book closed, "you wouldn't dare!"

"Anna and Jeremy sitting in a tree..." Robert teased, "K... I... S," and was cut off as he dodged the book thrown as his face, and he took off running with Anna chasing after him.

Mina smirked, and waved her hand, and the image faded away as the ball drifted away from her. "Hmm, maybe something a tad more recent," she mused as She flew up to another ball, and touched its side.

She heard the rustling of sheets, and the sounds of heavy breathing. It was a nondescript bed room, and in the bed was Robert and... Mina blushed and dispersed the dream, well... fantasy, immediately.

She sought out another floating ball and touched its edge. A faint chill confirmed she had finally found one she wanted.

Robert was at the edge of a blast door working between the console in his hand and the control panel on the door, "Okay," he addressed the other five men in pressure suits next to him, "We've access to the engineering bay. What we need you to do is to get in there, access the computers, and up-link to the Magnar and then get back. Be quick, this whole place is unstable. I tried to compensate, but there was only so little I could do without adding to the problem; so watch where you step and don't press any buttons," he eyed one of the men in the back of the group, "that means you."

The man cringed, "it was only once."

The rest of the men chuckled, and their leader looked over to Robert, "that all?"

"No, a Cheese Burger with a side of fries if you can swing it."

The man shook his head and rolled his eyes, "alright crew lets move out,"

"And none of that artificial meat replica crap!" Robert yelled after them as they made their way down the corridor. On Robert's console a window started flashing, he tapped it and the stern countenance of a human looked back at him.

"Mr. Norston, what is the status of the retrieval team?"

"Well, Captain, they just left. They should be inside the engineering bay in about ten minutes, and that's being generous. Anything I should forward to them?"

The Captain smirked and shook his head, "No, just keep me informed."

The window minimized and Robert went back to working between the two consoles. Time seemed to creep along, with the retrieval team calling in to give their position in the ship.

"Hey Robert, can you open the door to the engineering control center?" at the sound of the team leader's voice Robert pulled up a window on his pad.

"Yeah, give me a sec," Robert started searching for the junction they were at, he tapped his helmet in confusion, "According to the grid here that door is open, are you sure it isn't a blast door or something?"

"Negative,"

"Maybe its just a short. Stand back gonna see if I cant open it," Robert tweaked some variables, when all of a sudden a massive shudder ripped through the ship, "Guys... what the hell was that?"

He was answered by an onslaught of profanity. The squad leader composed himself, "Sorry. That was unexpected. The door is open, but the control center is a mess. The computer banks look okay, but the walls and some consoles are all scarred up."

There was a tangible shudder in the ship, Robert hesitated, "Guys, I don't know how long we've got till the ship becomes too dangerous to work in. See if we can still connect to the computer. If you cant or its gonna take longer than expected then I want you out of there before things can turn south."

"I copy, checking the banks now." the team leader replied. Light tremors flowed through the ship as Robert waited anxiously for their verdict. "Robert? Yeah, apart from being banged up they're good, we're gonna set up and start the transfer, shouldn't take too long."

Robert rubbed his temple and looked down at the note pad in his hand. A small bar was blinking and slowly filling which indicated that they were transferring any recoverable files to the Magnar. He fidgeted anxiously as the tremors through the ship gradually increased. Robert flicked through the various programs on his pad, checking each of the stabilizers he had in place; nothing seemed to jump out. Suddenly, just as one of the stabilizers went offline on his pad the entire ship was rocked by a sudden jolt, throwing Robert off his feet.

"Samuel, get your men out of there. Forget the equipment, this place is about to come apart at the seams." Robert picked himself up from the floor, "Magnar, what does the it look like out there?"

A feminine voice spoke from his pad, "We're currently tracking a new cloud of debris next to the ship. The stabilizer seems to be on the largest piece which is..." the next part spoke directly through Robert's helmet, "All hands prepare for impact."

The second impact sent Robert crashing into the wall. The sound of his visor cracking was drowned out by the screeching of twisting metal. He sat up in a daze as another alarm went off, and the heavy door that he had been working next too slammed shut and locked with a hiss. "Robert, what the hell!? We need this door open!" dull thuds on the door punctuated Samuel's sentence.

"Uh," Robert uneasily stood up and picked up his pad. Warning lights were blinking all over it, "Its some sort of mechanical lockdown system. It will be a minute; hang on. Magnar," Robert pulled a plasma cutter out of his toolbelt, "Retrieval team is stuck behind the access door. I need an alternative route, or breaching charges. Now!" He went over the panel next to the door. With a hiss, and a shrill screech, he started to cut the metal away from the wall, exposing the internal mechanisms.

The Magnar replied, "Robert, no alternative routes are available. The captain is on his way to assist but, we're reading a high level of radiation in the engineering control center. That last shockwave must have ruptured the containment on the reactor. I'm reading rising levels of radiation in the corridor."

"Hurry up Robert, its getting hot in here," Robert merely grunted in reply to Samuel as he shifted the wall plate aside and went to work prying out the locks. Gunfire impacted on the otherside of the door, which was soon followed by the sounds of panic as it began to set in. Adrenaline surged in Roberts blood as he finally pried out the last locking mechanism, when he heard anguished screams come from the otherside of the door. Grabbing a pry bar he wedged it into the crack of the door, "Magnar, where the hell are those charges!?" he yelled as he tried to pry the doors open.

The answer came from behind him, "Stop him." Two men grabbed Robert from behind and pulled him away from the door, turning the struggling squirrel to face the Captain, "They're gone Robert, we cant save them. You did all you could, but if you open that door you will kill us all." As if to punctuate his remark, there was a final dull thud on the side of the door as everything went silent on the other side. Alarms on their suits simultaneously went off warning of a rise of radiation. "Lets get to the Magnar before we cook, you two," the Captain motioned to the men holding Robert, "Bring him along."

The memory shifted to the medical bay of another ship. Mina presumed it was the Magnar. Robert was sitting on an examination table, head cradled in his hands. There was a hiss as the door to the medical bay opened and the Captain, a human male with greying hair, entered, "Robert? How are you feeling?"

Robert looked up to the man and snarled, "What do you think I'm feeling!?" he hopped off the table and jabbed a finger at the Captain, "I got them killed! The one door that I had to keep open and I couldn't even do that. And, then, when I try to get the door open I get dragged away."

The Captain shook his head, "Robert, the radiation was rising to lethal levels on the otherside of the door. If we had opened it, the compartment we were in would have been flooded with radiation. Even if we got them out of there, we would have had no way of shutting the doors, and would have likely met the same fate as them."

"How do you know that!? You didn't even try to save them!"

"Damn it Robert!" Robert backed off from the Captain,"Do you think they were the first men we ever lost? The last? This is a dangerous job. We plan, we prepare, we improvise. But, in the end there is the very real chance that some of us will not be returning. In this job you have to be willing to accept that the only thing we can do is to do our job to the best of our abilities and pray that nothing goes wrong. And, when it does, we have to be able to forgive ourselves for our shortcomings. You are only mortal Robert, even after everything went to hell you still tried to save them. That's an admirable quality but," the Captain sighed, "sometimes you have to learn to let it go."

"And then what? I'm just supposed to forget them?" Robert stood confused and angry in front of the Captain.

"No, you learn from this. Remember what happened here so you can avoid repeats of it in the future. And," the captain looked at the direction of the door to the medical bay, "raise a drink or two in their memory. The Captain led the squirrel towards the door, "The memory core transfer was successful so we should expect payment from our client, and we have a specialty team extracting the bodies of our dead from the ship so we can give them proper burial. We will live but, this experience is your burden to bear; remember you are not alone. Our lot are survivors. If we aren't clinging to something for grim death, we cling together. If you need help, then ask and we will see what we can do."

Robert sighed, "I don't get this."

"Nobody ever does the first time around," the Captain nodded, "it takes time."

The memory faded away as they walked through the door.

[Shachza]

"Perpetual existence of non-corporeal thought..."

the half-stated thought was one part La'orth trying to piece together what this Hunter thing meant, and the other part was him filling the void left as he obviously became ignored again.  He felt so helpless.  He wanted to have the proper attention paid to him.  He also wanted to get out of his cockpit, grab a good meal, and have some time to rest and collect his thoughts.  As his fighter was spat out of the organic vessel he realised that what he really wanted was a bit simpler; a good solid deck on which to stand again.

He took a moment to marvel at the size and apparent crystalline construction of the ship on which he was apparently going to be spending some time.  If he had felt less grumpy he might have been more interested in the vessel.  He spent the time as he was guided into a waiting hanger building up a more pleasant reaction and greeting for whoever he was about to meet.

La'orth found he still wasn't quite prepared as three foxes, a brilliant orange-furred female and two males colored light blue and mint green respectively, and a short all-white wolf filed in to the hanger.  The wolf carried a short firearm meant for close-quarters firefights and was apparently arguing with the orange vixen.  She shrugged once they were through the doorway before giving his fighter a quick look over.  La'orth could see that she was paying most of her attention to the mint green male however.  The mint green one yelled something which La'orth's VI dutifully translated and spat back out.

"Hey you, get out of there?"  He said quietly to himself.

Close enough.  La'orth jumped as the glowing cat-thing appeared on his main screen again.  Your skimmer systems have been upgraded with a translator.  It can assist you in more rapid integration.  A last gift from myself, little scrabber.  I look forward to interacting again before you return to your companions.  And the cat-thing was gone again.

Helpful as always, the AI recommended he put on his hands-free headset to utilize the translator when he left.  He did so, and after a deep breath he popped the hatch and hopped out.  His landing was decently graceful, he had done better in the past, and after which he straightened to his full height to regard the quartet in front of him.  He was only about as tall as the wolf, but he still felt decently authoritative.

"Hello.  I am D'ral La'orth kroi'id Namulk'nam.  The Korsinian fleet sends its regards, and thanks you for any hospitality you are willing to provide me."  His headset spat out a bunch of jargon in real time.  The mint green fox threw his arms wide and made to charge La'orth; he let out an "Eeeeee-urk!" sound as the orange vixen grabbed him by the back of the collar to stop him short.  Everyone else in the room looked on in consternation while Loki flailed around for a moment as though he were being throttled to death.  When he stopped he turned to glare at the orange vixen.

[Chairtastic]

What?

Harriet's team did not move.  One.  Muscle.  For a split second, the human woman's eyes were once again pinpricks of black among colour. Then it was gone.  "Very well, Staff Sergeant.  Please show us the way."  What?  She had just accepted it?  Majick raised an eyebrow, Jack gaped, Miyuki stared.  What?  "At attention, people!"  The sharp, crisp order put those looks to rest, and they were all at attention.  "Until further notice, you are part of the ISF Special Forces, it seems.  I will be running you ragged trying to get you civies up to par, but no worries.  It will be done.  And this time, we might not even need to resort to threats of paper shredding, will we?"

"No, ma'am!"  Came the chorus.

"Very good.  Now, the Staff Sergeant here has graciously come by to guide us, so march!"  Hut two three four!  Hut two three four!

[Azlan]

I've got soul but I'm not a soldier


Xaos led the apprehensive Aaron on a run through a verdant forest, seemingly unspoiled by the ravages of beings, a true virgin forest.  The closer they approached this "Temple of the Soul", the more energized the air felt.  This whole landscape was likely a metaphor for something, hopefully it wasn't something like "only standing wood was between Aaron and Marissa" or "Aaron thrashed madly through the virgin bush."

The dark fox leading the way snickered, "are you two consummating something after all this?  We would love to have kits running around and Matron would just be tickled fandango."

Quips aside, the two reached the elaborately faerie like structure.  Gaea and Marissa had already begun their part.  They both sat facing one another, holding hands with their eyes closed, a low glow could be seen emanating from both.



Stateroom corridor


Turning a corner, Knight nearly bumped into a disheveled and distraught feline.  Saioko's demeanor was grim and scared as she looked up into the other feline's eyes.

"Eric, we ran into one of the aliens... I am... made from.  It was dropping off some other alien that the Acadians were happy to receive.  It initiated something that caused me to revert shape to my base form and I looked just like it.  What's worse is most of the AIs and those fox kids saw and now there is an ISIS person on-board.  I don't want to go back."



Secrets


Mina had gained a bit of insight into a dark memory that only an outside observer could ever glean.  What she did with this knowledge and what she planned on doing while in this place still remained to be seen.



Matron Hanger Bay


"Alexis, I was just going to greet our guest in an appropriate and reserved fashion befitting an acting ambassador of the Korsinian fleet."  Loki whined as he was held by the taller vixen.

Even Ixiah, the light blue one, could not help but roll his eyes at the other's attempt at deceiving the wiser female.

While the Acadian foxes were occupied, the white wolf stepped up and offered a nod in acknowledgement of the greeting.  Unsure whether he should offer a hand, he decided against it.

"I am Richard Kashin and I serve the commander of this mission, who is indisposed at the moment.  The young master here seems to have taken a strong like to you."  The wolf stated.

Alexis regarded La'orth without putting down Loki, "your kind should not be out this far.  Most of the space belongs to the Vizanzi 'Empire'.  What exactly are your intentions here and with us?"

Ixiah stared at length with the saurian before speaking, "do you think we can keep him?  Loki and I can take care of him!  We'll feed him and play with him!"

"We'll take him for walks and take good care of him!"  Added Loki.



What?!


Magick, Jack and Miyuki were suddenly thrown headfirst into action.  Giving their best professional soldier performance, the trio fell in line with Harriet's drill sergeant approach. 

Taking a far more casual stance on this then perhaps he should, Ben lead the newcomers through the large vessel until he reached the area the Special Forces people were using.

Stepping in, Ben gave his best drill instructor voice, "everyone up and at'em!  Assemble and Attention!"  With the remaining crew assembled and at a rest, Ben ushered Harriet and her team in.

"ma'am, if you would not mind introductions of you and your people first?"  Asked Ben respectfully.     

[ShadesFox]

I wanna stand up, I wanna let go

Aaron glared at Xaos, "Oh hush you.  I was also under the impression that innuendo was supposed to be beneath you 'ascended beyond the corporeal form' type."

"Watching you 'still attached to the physical' sorts squirm never gets old!"

Upon getting to the structure Xaos drapes himself over Aaron's shoulders, "Well, looks like your lady is ahead of you~"

Xaos then pushes Aaron ahead, in spite of what ever minor misgivings Aaron may have about trading a bit of soul.  Aaron sat down near Marissa and Xaos sat near by, "Now Aaron, let your mind go.  Let it wander and let me do the rest.  When I'm done... well... you'll understand."

[Lisky]

Assessment of the Situation

Almost running into the pink-haired panthress sent Knight's pulse skyrocketing yet again.  It was becoming a reoccurring habbit, at least, seemed that way.  The spotted feline recovered his composure, then replied, "Did the ISIS operative see you?  Did anyone on the actual team see you?  From the sounds of things, we're still on our own.  We -were- the support for this mission, and since our ship is no longer here... well... there's no going back to base just yet.  We're incorporating the pirates into the team.  I'd say you're pretty safe for now, and i'm sure we'll be able to figure something out when the time comes."

The leopard leaned in close, and gave Saioko a hug.  He did his best to exude a confident attitude and demeanor.  "Besides, with the amount of contact we've had... i'm pretty sure where one goes, the other is sure to follow rather promptly... don't get yourself soo worked up, you just need to relax a bit." So saying, he release his grasp from around her, and moved hid body next to her, matching her pace and direction.  His inside hand slipped down, sliding his fingers between hers, and giving her a gentle squeeze of affection. "So, where we headed, ma'am?"

[Azlan]

You know, you know - no you don't, you don't


Letting go was a lot more difficult then Xaos seemed to think.  There are so many things to cloud one's mind, let alone their corporeal existence.

"Oh Aaron, you are trying far too hard."

With a bit of time, Aaron did get the hang of it.  At about that time somebody inserted a large, red hot poker into his being.  Or at least it felt like it.

"Yes, I did forget to mention the soul rending pain.  Amazing how difficult finding volunteers tends to be when you mention it.  Don't worry it will pass, revivification is a strange process.  You know it is interesting that your father went by Robert.  A diminutive form of this given name is Robin and Robin Goodfellow is another name for..."

The searing pain passed, but Aaron came to the realization that the pain was not his, but it originated from Xaos.  His empathy was drawing it to him, but whatever caused it passed, leaving an emptiness.  This void was filled by a cold sensation that spread and evened out within Aaron.

"Not a lot of conscious effort is required on your part, and I feel that things are about done.  I am less undead and getting more lively and you are now a bit less lively, have a stronger form, but your life force will recover in a few days.  Try not to eat voidlings for a few months and you should stabilize."



Assessment of the Situation


The pink-haired panthress shook her head in a negative fashion, "none of them saw me in my true form, the only one who was not an Acadian that did was that wolf, Richard."

Saioko squeezed his hand back and made a slight purr-like noise and blushed a bit out of embarrassment, "I was going to... well, kind of hide in our room and panic.  Probably cry a bit.  These actions seem to override all logical assessments.  I think I'm a bit confused."

[ShadesFox]

I wanna shine on in the hearts of men

"I'll keep that in mind..."

Aaron was more then a bit distracted.  This has now been twice that he has been stabbed in the soul.  Then there was chill.  The chill that settled in felt like the cold of metal walls on a battleship.

"How is Marissa, how is she taking it?"
"She is well.  Gaea wouldn't let her come to any harm."
"Oh, well..."
Aaron sat blankly for a moment.  Thinking was getting a little hard for him.  Xaos patted him on the back.
"Don't worry my boy!  You'll get back into it.  You just need time to assimilate the new essence into you.  Then we can work on training and retraining you."
Aaron let out a long sigh and smiled a bit.  His life had certainly taken a fascinating turn!

[Shachza]

Showdown at the O.K. Hangar Bay

As introductions were made La'orth put one foot back and bowed deeply to Richard, something suitable for the acting commander but far short of of an act of submission.  He felt a bit of relief that though armed, the short wolf seemed a rational sort of being.

Alexis' confrontational follow-up question caught him off guard.  Who was this vixen if the wolf was representing the commander?  He looked back and forth between the wolf and vixen in consternation.  Should he call her on her obvious disrespect of the wolf, or on hers of La'orth?  Should he note it for later and inform the actual commander?  He had no idea how the chain of command was supposed to work, and it was starting to scare him a little.

Then the shorter Acadians spoke up.  Richard laying his ears back and looking like he had just swallowed a rancid fungus ball at Loki's and Ixiah's comments did little to mollify La'orth.

"WHAT THE HELL...?!"  Richard started to say...
...as La'orth began, "I'M A KORSINIAN OFFICER, NOT...!!!"...
...but Alexis silenced them all by throwing her voice through the Hangar's speaker system and drowning the room in a roaring "LOKI AND IXIAH!"

What happened last time you brought a sentient 'pet' to Mother, Loki?  Alexis thought at Loki as the various physical beings covered their ears in shock.  To the mortals she said after a moment, "I appologize, but I would like at least ten minutes before the first diplomatic incident.  La'orth, please continue."

"If you already know of Korsinians then you should know that I am out here looking for resources and potential allies."  he said cautiously, rubbing an ear hole as though there were water in it.

[Lisky]

Assess, Comfort, , Profit!


"Well, generally having someone to talk to helps.  Little bit of love, and affection at the right time can do all kinds of great things too."  Snuggling up against Saioko, Knight purred contently as she returned the squeeze.

"Well, if you were looking to go hide in the room, perhaps i can join you there.  I mean... it's not like i have much i have to do.  Really, i was trying to do the same thing, anyways."

[Chairtastic]

Andale!

Harriet stood at attention while she and her crew introduced themselves, sparing the audience more exposition.  "I need a briefing of our present situation, gentlemen, so introduce yourselves quickly."  The human growled with a trace of her drill sergeant voice.  "Did I stutter, name, rank, and serial number!"

[SquirrelWizard]

State of Mind, Pop: You, you, you, and you!

Mina saw fine filiments leading from the sphere that she had just left, leading up to the dreamscape above. As she floated up, she saw several other filaments leading up from other spheres, each sharing a similar disposistion. Mina felt a chill when she finally breached the mist of Robert's dream. It was the interior of the Delphi, but it wasn't at the same time. Everything was twisted and broken; what was visable of the walls were caked with, grime and soot, almost as if Mina had landed in a dead husk rather than the ship. She took a moment to gather her bearings.

Reaching up, Mina wiped the grime off a plate on the wall, revealing that she was in a passageway leading towards the bridge of the ship. As she dusted the muck off her hands, she saw that her color had reverted to before the wreckage of the pod. Sighing, she made her way towards the bridge. According to Landings, Engineers were the true captains of a ship, even if they let another sit in the chair. Captains would come and go, but it was the engineer that made sure there was a ship there to begin with. It was a philosophy that Robert had agreed with Landers on. If the dream was in this section of the ship, then he would likely be on the bridge. The door to the bridge opened up to a dark abyss, the only source of light was the faint flicker of a broken console on the Captain's Chair, in which Robert sat, brooding.

"Robert," saying his name didn't elicit any response from him, he remained fixated at something in the darkness as if he didn't even hear her. Following his gaze, she saw something writhing down there; it was hard to make out exactly what. "Robert? What is this?"

"They are dead because of us," the voice had a sickening aura to it, as if it sucked in the light leaving nothing but cold oblivion. It hadn't come from Robert, but the creature that was forming behind Robert. Facing Mina now was Robert, but not Robert at the same time. His fur, his clothing, everything was black, as if he were sculpted out of pure shadow. "They cannot forget, they cannot forgive; they are dead. You should know this, you are one of them." suddenly, the shade gave Mina a harsh shove, sending her toppling over the edge into the Abyss.

The fall was not that great, and she had the dubious luxury of falling onto something soft, and fleshy. It shifted about in response to her landing on it, revealing that it wasn't one mass, but instead many bodies huddled up at the base of the cliff. Some milled about, while others vainly tried to scale the cliff. Each was in some state of decay, and they bore wounds and scaring possibly indicating how they may have died.. She pushed her way through the throng, trying to get away. Strangely enough, they didn't resist her, much less take notice of her.

She had nearly reached the edge, when a hand landed on her shoulder, causing her to yelp in surpise. "You dont belong here," the voice was unnaturally soothing. She took a step back when facing her speaker. Before her was, yet again, Robert, but he was ivory in color. "You aren't one of them." he motioned to the others, "They are figments; Grief's constructs, which you are not. Yet Robert, we, did not recognize you. You are foreign entity, to which I must question your reason for being here." His tone was less that of an interogation, and more of just an inquiry.

"I'm trying to help him, or you. You called the one above Grief," Mina glanced up to the precipice above, "I take it you are some sort of emotion of Robert's, is that correct?" The being smiled, "Emotions, states of mind, faculties therein, we each embody part of what makes him a whole. I am Compassion. There are others, but as of late we have fallen to the wayside as Grief has grown in power and cast a dark shadow about us. Perhaps your coming is fortuitous, in that we may be able to achieve some sembelence of balance once again."

"If we do not recognize her, then how exactly do we plan to inact any kind of change." a new voice spoke up with a metalic, almost clinical tone to it. Another Robert seemed to materialize out of the darkness albiet this one was blue.

Compassion motioned to the newcomer, "This is Reason, analysis, logic, and comprehension fall within his purview." Compassion turned to Mina, "It is my understanding that since you are here, you may have some method of affecting a change?"

Mina nodded, "It wasn't my first choice, but if I can get to Robert's Cortex, I can alter his perception. That might let me get through to him."

Reason narrowed his eyes, "So, basically mind control?" To which Mina shook her head, "No, and yes, I wont be forcing him to think or act a specific way, but rather allow him to come to his own decision after allowing him to see clearly."

Reason seemed to ponder on her words for a bit before responding, "I find no fault with it. Given the circumstances, that does seem like your best option."

"Right, What about Grief? Will he try anything to stop me?" Mina replied.

Compassion "No, Grief, for all its control, is merely fulfilling its function." Compassion answered, "It would be Rage that you would have to keep an eye out for. It does not stop, it does not rest, and it does not think; it can only be directed. Sadly we lack direction at the moment, so it would likely attack you. We waste time though, we should head to the Cortex." He motioned away from the base of the cliff.

They had picked their way through the dream till they had reached its lower levels and passed back into Robert's mind. They hadn't gone far when they came across an airlock floating in midair. With a hiss it opened revealing a passageway from an unidentified ship. They weaved their way through interconnecting passages before they came to the Cortex. Mina hadn't seen many people's Cortex, it was often more effort than it was worth to gain access to. Like their dreams each was represented in its own way. The room looked like some sort of control center, but the center of which was dominated by a central shaft with a glowing ember surrounded by a transparent grey shield. A set of stairs led up to a raised platform to the base of the shield. "I dont believe it." Mina barely breathed.

Reason glanced over to her, "Is there a problem?"

"No, it just never crossed my mind that Robert would have dormant psionic potential."

The two states of minds looked at each other in confusion, "We dont understand. We only know the landscape of our mind, not its composistion."

Mina walked up to the shield and put her hand on it. The ember behind the shield was in stasis, stopped mid-smolder, "He has the mental faculties for psionics, but they just aren't turned on. This kind of thing is typically seen in the generation preceding the psionic offspring within a bloodline."

"We are not sure why that is important but," the States tensed and started looking around, "Rage is here, we will try to stall it, but you must be quick." They split off from Mina and headed out opposite exits from the Cortex.

Mina faced the shielding, at the base of which was a panel with buttons. Placing her hands over the panel, a soft glow of light emanated from her palms. Squinting in concentration, she started making adjustments. After a few moments she heard a faint footstep on the floorplate behind her. She gave a hesitant glance back.

Like the other States she had seen, Rage looked like Robert, but was entirely red and more pissed off than she had ever seen him. He spun her around and slammed her into the shielding with and audible crack. The second slam against the shield broke her connection to the Cortex. Without skipping a beat, Rage flung her bodily from the platform to the floor below. Her head swam and the only thing she could do was watch on in a daze as Rage descended the stairs to  her. Standing over her body, he raised one foot up into the air to deliver the final blow, when a blue body crashed into him.

Compassion crouched over her, "Are you alright?" he helped Mina to her feet, "I'm sorry, it is normally kept restrained, unleashed it was harder to pin down than expected. Have you finished what you sought to do?"

Mina steadied her self and glanced over to Reason and Rage struggling with each other, "no, I just need a little more time." They approached the console, Compassion brought Mina's attention to the shielding, "Was that your doing?" Just over the console, the shield had developed several cracks in it, forming an irregular lattice pattern. As Mina looked closer, she saw a faint light escaping from it, and the flickering of the ember inside that was so slow that it was barely perceptable. "I think I did, I was still connected when Rage slammed me against it, it must have happened then."

As Mina hurriedly restablished a connection while Reason struggled with Rage. Seconds ticked away as the glow from Mina's hands flowed over the console. Finally, breathing a sigh of relief, Mina broke the connection, "There its done."

Compassion didn't let her rest though, "We must be quick then. Follow me. Reason will catch up with us later." Taking Mina by the hand, he lead her out of the Cortex, back into Robert's Dream.

Mina found herself in a familiar corridor leading to the bridge. Opening hte door, she walked out into the room and approached the chair, "Robert? Can you hear me?"

Robert blinked in confusion, and turned to her, "Mina? But, you died."

"Yes... she's a ghost, a figment of the past, part of what you failed to protect, and in turn killed." Grief materialized from the shadows.

"That is not true," Mina turned on Grief, "Spatz and I survived the wreck."

A crash from the doorway hailed the arrival of Reason, who was still busy staving off Rage. In the interruption, Grief grabbed Mina's collar and lifted her into the air, "You are a sham, alive on the outside, but dead to the core."

Her mind raced as Grief started to head towards the edge of the Abyss with her, and Robert still looked confused as to what was really happening. She then thought back to what Compassion had said about Rage, "Your right though, you are to blame."

The statement caught Grief offguard causing him to stop. Mina merely continued, "You do everything in your power to keep people safe from forces you cant even control and you beat yourself up over it." there was malice in her town, "look at you now, he is going to kill me and you are going to do nothing. Is that what your plan is!? Trying got too hard, too painful, so now you just watch!"

Compassion, who had been watching from the side, smirked. He glanced over to Reason, who nodded in some unsaid agreement. Reaching out and shifting his weight, Reason threw Rage towards Robert. With barely a sound, Rage dematerialized into a red mist that flowed into Robert's being.

"Touching speach, but.." Grief's remark was cut short by a fist to the face. Dropping Mina, Grief rolled to the side and looked up at Robert, "And what exactly do you think you are doing?"

Robert, "I'm sick of listening to your shit." He started to pummel Grief.

Mina rubbed her neck where the collar of her shirt had dug in, "Robert... Robert! You cant do this!"

"Like hell I can," he growled, not skipping a beat, "He dies, and this goes away. And we can move on."

Catching Robert's fist on the upswing Mina took his attention away from Grief, "You cant, because he is part of you." This elicited a bewildered look from him, "What do you mean?" Glancing down at the form of Grief, who showed no marks from the beating he had recieved, Mina sighed, "We are in your dream, He is the personification of your Guilt. You could no more kill him than kill yourself."

"We fell upon dark times," Reason's voice caused Robert to watch them as they approached, "In those times Grief reigned supreme." Compassion knelt down next to Robert and placed its hand on his shoulder, "And in this time of our need, she came to us. To return balance, and usher us out of the darkness."

Sitting back Robert sighed, and in doing so, Grief, Reason, Compassion, and the bridge of the ship faded out of view. "I don't know what to do. I tried to bury the memories, but if they cause... this.. then what is the point. What do I do when it becomes unbearable?"

Mina sat down next to Robert, she idly noticed that her fur color had updated, "A wise man once said, 'this experience is yours to bear, but remember, you are not alone,' Spatz and I, we're your friends. And if we cant listen to you, then what are friends good for."

Nodding slightly, Robert grimaced, "Why am I so tired? I feel wrung out, empty on the inside." patting Robert on the back, Mina shook her head, "you've been through alot, its natural. Just sleep. When you wake, it will be a fresh start."

As Robert shut his eyes and slumped over. Mina faded out of the dream. The dreamscape was still quite choppy in the area, but the storm had passed, and in its wake was an uneasy calm.

[Azlan]

I wanna mean it from the back of my broken hand


"Hmmm, foxes are not known for being very trainable.  I hope we can get past 'roll over, beg and play dead' quickly before we move onto 'liquify enemy brain'.  What do you think would be a good reward structure?  Foxie biscuits?"  Xaos thought out-loud, if such a thing were possible.

Gaea and Marissa both return to the same reality level as Aaron and Xaos, at the end of a conversation, "why Chobits?  This can't be like that..."

"Now now dear, let's focus... we are back with the boys."  Gaea spoke with a very soft voice.

Marissa nodded and drifted over to sit next to Aaron, "things are very weird now."

Xaos spoke up, "now now Marissa, things are not at all the way you think they might be.  Let me explain one critical thing about these supposed magical, voodoo powers we call psionics: we Acadians invented them.  They are like a game interface."

Gaea sighed and nodded, "it is kind of true.  For all intensive purposes there exists a... huge server farm, that runs all the overlays, interfaces, generates the particle effects, physics effects, tools and application instances.  It is a very complicated construct to place into such small and limited concepts, but that is the 'gist of it' as they say."

"A very long time ago, we convinced everyone... Darkshasa, Zhar, Kathaern, K'RysTansi, IoYu'IouOiyou'iuIy and the Shofanxi to use it and enable its interface at a genetic level.  When the Shofanxi found out what it was and how we did it, they were so cross.  They created technomancy to spite us, but it is like comparing building with child's blocks to our carbon nanotube structures."  Xaos explained in a nonchalant fashion.

Gaea continued with the information dump, "what the older races suspected was true to a certain level.  You see, every star in our galaxy, and we suspect the entire universe, is connected at a certain level... it is something very difficult to explain, but we inadvertently tapped this connection with our psionic oversystem and component subsystems.  It is how we maintain a galaxy spanning psionic network, it is how we can collapse a sun with an application of our own will."

"Our will, only those of us who are of the Primordial stock could pull off such a feat.  It is not without cost to ourselves and the systems, however."  Xaos added.

Gaea gestured as a distraction mostly and the group of them returned to normal reality, "time to return to the business at hand, shall we?"



Diplomatic Incident avoided, thank Carter


Alexis considered this information and nodded, "a reasonable goal and noble mission.  I know from... 'news' reports of your conflict with the Korsinians.  They are not known for compromise and are xenophobic to a fault.  It is actually high art to them.  Acadians being a fickle bunch, you'd best not try to contact them... they find saurians cute pets, even if they speak and perform calculus.  They have saved a number of your people from conflict though.  It would be better to speak to the Major, he can contact his government... the InterStellar Federation."

Pushing the two fox kits in front of her, Alexis headed for one of the exits, "come with us D'ral La'orth, we will take you to meet with Major Aaron Brown."



Ship's Cabin


Heading to the cabin, instinctively she knew where it was without much conscious thought, she lead Knight to the comfortable accommodations.

"It scares me a bit, but this is strangely liberating.  It is like a weight is lifted off my shoulders."  The feline loosened and discarded her uniform jacket and pulled her shirt out from being tucked into her skirt.  Kicking off shoes, she laid back and attempted to relax a bit.



We are hurrying up!


With a smart report, each of the team members responded with their equivalent ranks, names and Harriet assigned serial numbers.

"Sairenji, Miyuki.  Chief Petty Officer.  77784586932."

"Maier, Jack.  Sergeant.  77784586900."

"Nightstride, Magick.  Corporal.  66677701337."



State of Mind


Mina passed back into reality.  She leaned heavily back in the chair she was occupying and held her hand to her head.  The vixen was very dizzy, the effort expended was very draining on her as it was much more involved than she had anticipated.

Far more experienced than Aaron, but years behind Loki or Ixiah, it would be a bit of time before she could try that again without aid of another more experienced psychic.

For the most part, Robert appeared much calmer.  Spatz on the other hand, rushed up to Mina with a concerned look, "are you okay?  You sat there staring for a few seconds and slumped."

[ShadesFox]

Another head aches, another heart breaks

Aaron was staring at, something, staring like his eyes were attempting to escape.  "Wait... what does... how does..."

Xaos cut him off quite quickly, "I could give you a billion of billions of metaphors and it would only create the thinnest shell of the truth.  You should be more like your girl here.  STILL! Business is a hand and needs to be addressed!"

Xaos jumps to his feet and marches out with Gaea close behind.  Aaron gets up and springs out of the room, only to find Xaos is gone now.  Probably to appear at the most inopportune time.  He gets the strangest feeling that he should go down the hallway.  Yes, that seemed a good direction.  He heads out, paying far too little attention to what Marissa was doing.