Several things happen at once.

Zero 'ports in and attempts to analyze the entity, but the doctor's mind is rebuffed.

Solitaire asks Pax if he can sense the nova, and she is reminded of a moment years back... Her first mission actually, where a man phased through the walls of the capital building.  She thought she had him, but... perhaps not?!

The entity, spooked, attempts to leave.

Pax makes a motion similar to a martial artist making a hammer fist strike.  A TK field slams down on the ground in the general area of the motion, leaving a circular indentation roughly a foot deep by 10' in diameter, and nearly knocking Zero over (luckily it was on the edge of the field).
"Someone get in there and see if we got the bugger."
Fist of Peace indeed.

Confident that T2M:A knew what to do without inefficient orders, Comstock examined the spot Gale showed him.  "Not me ... but it looks very much like my work."  Disconcerting.  Without ceremony, he started kicking the ground, stomping out a circle around the spot.  Then, with some focus and a little help from some metal wreckage, he pried a large plug of ground straight up, a cylinder about two yards in diameter and two yards deep.  "I'll get Gravitas and Zero to take a look at this.  Maybe--"

Pax cratered the pavement around the fleeing assassin.  Comstock stared dispassionately at the wreckage and carefully set his plug of earth down before moving to investigate as ordered.  He kept his stress and anger in his jaw and ground his teeth together as he kicked around in the compacted debris for any sign of their attacker.

"Well, I could have done that... I was hoping for a more elegant solution." Solitaire grumbles, dropping down to the ground and staring at it as if she were trying to see through it. That was, in effect, exactly what she was trying to do. She'd lost the bugger when Pax smashed everything, now she was trying to pick him up again

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Activating Hyper-Enhanced Hearing, 1Q

21:57, Today: Solitaire rolled 1 success using 1d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 9. re-roll again, Observant.
21:57, Today: Solitaire rolled 1 success using 1d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 10. re-roll, Observant.
21:56, Today: Solitaire rolled 5 successes using 13d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,1,6,1,6,7,6,1,7,10,9,8,1. Per+Aware+Hyper, Reaquire Target.

7 Sux, my mega's fail me for once : /

---

'Yow!" Zero falls back and lands on it's head. "Wow! Good one, boss! That was so close! Thank God you where just playing, huh?" Zero was going to enjoy hurting Pax one of these days.

Imp realized that actually patching people up was perhaps not the most efficient thing he could be doing, he contacted Comstock and Pax.  "On site command, this is Impetus, requesting permission to create and run an on-site HQ, I'll take care of the paper pushing and people moving while you deal with the important stuff like pulling people out of the rubble and performing superhuman feats of might.  Can I request a mobile HQ to be ported in from the Nevada base? Over." Once the all clear was given he moved into management mode, arranging things with HQ, on site T2M operatives and rescue workers, and incoming wounded.  Frosty was back in Nevada, everybody else was going strong and hadn't blown their load as early as he had, and Pax was making craters.  If they were going to save as many people as possible, there was going to need to be some middle management.  He wondered about this drive in the human subconscious that made such positions necessary.  Ants and termites didn't have middle managers, and they seemed to do just fine.
While he worked he tapped into his eufibre's stored quantum energy and used it to fuel his ability to make people work together in almost instinctive unity, once this rescue was on track and organized he could afford to take some downtime and recoup, but not yet.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
activating synergy, spending quantum.

---

Comstock, Sol, and Zero all move in to investigate further.  Of them, only Zero can actually perceive the entity, as the nova has apparently blended seamlessly into the ground... where he is laying unconscious, about 2 meters down.

-

Slider, herself nearly as exhausted as Impetus after gathering everyone together from a dozen different locations, makes a final port for Impetus after Operations signals that all the equipment has been prepped for pickup.

-

Pax watches everyone for a few more moments, then floats into the air.
"Well, as much fun as it is watching you all poke at the ground, I'm going to go do some actual work.  Comstock, since you've got all the brains on your team, you can take charge of the central area here and investigate what caused all this.  Oh, and call in Phantasm to work with you, I don't care how much she's getting done, those constructs freak people the hell out.  Report to Impetus for any more orders, and ask his permission if you want to do anything outside of the area, since he'll be coordinating things.  I wouldn't want you to interfere with what we're doing."

Gale was not surprised to find Pax's behavior as infuriating as it ever had been.  Of course, she hadn't had to work directly with him before.  She managed to keep her tongue from getting away from her as she remembered that he was her superior now, pretty much directly.

"Imp, requesting permission to go calm down the crowds outside the blast area.  We don't want any looting, and I'm not very good for this rescue thing.  They seemed to be responding well to my presence earlier."  Might as well make herself 'useful'

Zero picks up the unconscious body of the Nova and examines it. "Hmmmm... Anyone recognize this one? Man, this seems like the second 'phaser' Nova we've dealt with. Do you think this son of a bitch was responsible for this whole mess?"

"Hey Comstock. Should I just port this bastard to quarters myself? Grav and Slider look pretty tired out."

Comstock saluted Pax.  Some part of his brain was infuriated at the field demotion and being put under Impetus' command for a change, but he was already too locked-down for it to affect him.  Instead, he helped Zero dig the unconscious nova out of the rubble.  He did not recognize the man.



He nodded.  Dr. Zero was the most qualified to handling nova prisoners.  "He's all yours.  Watch him carefully.  Call if you need anything.  I don't want him slipping through the walls again.  Have someone check the files ... Utopia might have a whole folder on him, and it'd help to know who he is before he wakes up."

Next piece of business, Comstock tapped his headset.  "Phantasm, this is Comstock: break off your search and come on over here.  I need a hand.  Over."

He looked to Zero again, some degree of expression working its way back into his face.  "She will be upset."  Calling Phantasm off from from rescue was a mistake.  Her armies of conjured minions were an enormous asset for this sort of operation.  "She will not be accepted if we force her to conceal her powers forever.  This only validates people's fears."

As he weighed the merits of recalling Phantasm, he quickly ran down the team roster in his mind.  "Solitaire!" he called across the crater.  "Perform one quick patrol of the area.  When you are convinced that there are no more hostiles, I want you to do what you do best and act freely.  Help out wherever you think you are needed and follow your instincts."  He keyed his headset again.

"Slider and Gravitas, Impetus is now in direct control of this operation.  Help him in putting together an on-site HQ for disaster relief and then start working in shifts to avoid over-exerting your powers.  Over."

Gale was already ahead of things.  That left two.  "Flare, Suzukaze, this is Comstock: report in.  Over."

Finally, he moved onto the last piece of business, his orders to determine the cause of the disaster.  He took a long look around the epicenter of the disaster.  "Zero ... should I take samples from the crater and the area near the crater?  Could you or Gravitas test that to figure out how this happened?"  He'd need cameras, surveying equipment, satellite photos if they were available, radio and op-net signals from around the time of the explosion.  Shadow Walker would have been a real asset.  Comstock experienced brief regret over the fact that he had not formed a closer working relationship with the spook.  Regardless, the sentiment was irrelevant.

Inside the recently arrived command pod Imp sighed.  Either Shelby had had a traumatic childhood which left him socially retarded, or he had been a child of privilege and a star athlete which allowed his social retardation to go unmentioned and uncorrected.  Imp made a mental note to get closer to the man and see what he could do about his overweening arrogance.  The chip on his shoulder was interfering with not only his own growth as a nova, but of the growth of all those exposed to him.  That was a project for later, as for now...
"HQ to T2M, you're doing a great job everybody, keep up the good work.  We've gotten many of the most obvious survivors so don't be disappointed if our rescue rate falls over the next day or so.
I'm breaking the area into a grid, it should be coming up on your H.U.D.s now.  Each grid will be further separated into quadrants, I would like to make our search much more organized, sweep each quadrant, make sure we check everywhere.  I'm calling up a map of the downtown core before the blast, it should tell us where any large buildings' basements and underground parking garages are, those would have a better chance of having survivors.
Ok, done, there should now be the old downtown core with the grid overlayed on it on your HUDs.  Please let me know when you've finished checking each quadrant, and I'll update the grid.
Gale, great idea, go quell looting and riots.  Everybody else, you know what to do, let's get this done.  I'm going to be requisitioning a sleeper car or something for people to recoup in, don't push yourselves too hard, we'll save more lives if we stay clear headed with at least a little bit of juice in the tank.  I'll see what I can do about getting more reinforcements here to help with the search."
Imp signed off and called Frosty.  "Frosty, I'm going to see about getting some more nova reinforcements, if needs be I'll pay them out of my own pocket, but the powers that be know how important it is to show baselines that novas are global citizens, and saving lives is more important than politics."
He then placed a call to South Africa.  "Anna, hi, it's Imp.  I'm looking to hire any and everyone that you have willing and able to assist in search and rescue.  Yeah, Brazil.  It's leveled.  Yes, full pay.  If anybody wants to do any volunteering that'd be great, but if not, they'll get paid.  This could be really good for PR, you know, show the world that Devries isn't just about warfare.  Alright, talk to you soon.  Thanks Anna."
He then phoned Raoul.  "Raoul, Impetus.  Yeah, it has been too long.  Listen, I'm coordinating the rescue efforts here in Brazil.  Yeah, leveled, looks like it was novas, or something.  Right, well, I was wondering if you could arrange a gala or dinner or auction and have the proceeds go to humanitarian aid for survivors here.  You will?  Excellent, thank you my friend, I owe you."
After placing the calls he went back to work pairing people off with others of complimentary talents.  People with superhuman sensory powers got teamed up with people who could shift rubble, disintegrate it or otherwise extricate survivors.  While he was working he sent a private message over to Comstock, "I'm just organizing big man, as far as I'm concerned, you're still in charge."
Hopefully they'd be able to pull everyone who was still alive under the rubble out and give then the medical attention they needed.
He continued fielding calls from people wanting to help out, governments sending in rescue crews, food, water, temporary shelters.  He was also waiting for either Pax or Laragione to contact him and ask him what the hell he was thinking calling in Devries. He was hoping it was the director, he was thoughtful and practical and could be made to see reason without using any of his gifts, not like Pax.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:47, Sat 20 Feb 2010.

Flare manages to tire herself out rapidly healing what injured might benefit from her assistance. Once depleted of quantum, she simply lends an extra pair of hands to moving people and objects to safe locations. She also keeps an eye out for any signs of mob mentality or ill intent.

Suzukaze stops what she is doing, and gets on the com to respond to Comstock.

"What do you want..." Her voice is filled with anger and disgust as she responds. Then remembering Pax is around... "Sir."

"Roger, roger." And Zero tries to blink out of there. He wasn't sure if he should have said something to Comstock about the sudden demotion. Was it Pax' insanity, or blowback from Impetus' mojo? Zero liked Imp, but things like this made the Doctor question a lot.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Combat Teleport Roll: 1 Successes Guess I'll have to do this in steps...
12:25, Today: Dr. Zero rolled 1 success using 7d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,2,6,3,9,3,5. Teleport Roll, 1Meg.

Teleport Roll 2: 3 Successes
12:26, Today: Dr. Zero rolled 3 successes using 7d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,6,9,8,4,5,8. Teleport Roll 2, 1Meg.

---

Finished with his patient and coming up dry for other survivors, Quentin reports to the command post as ordered. "Someone say something about building a bit of a base?" he asked, though the question was largely rhetorical. "I assume we're going to need a few banks of computers to keep track of everything, some sat-phones, and probably a relief station? We should have enough materials back in Vegas to take care of most of what we need."

"What the hell, I'm in the middle of a building over here... Unless people are dying over there, I'll be there in a couple more minutes."

Phantasm finishes cleaning out the buildings she was working on before moving back to Comstock, her ants trailing behind her in a long line, instinctively cleaning away debris as they pass.

Imp left the pod and met Grav outside. His eyes were still bloodshot and he had none of his usual bounce, but at least the bleeding had stopped.  "Hey buddy, yeah, Jenny only had enough juice to get this one pod here, and while it's pretty good, we're going to need a rest pod, more supplies and, well, more of everything.  I've looked over the maps, and think i know where some likely spots for survivors are, but, let's face it, you're way better than I am at stuff like this. Can you take a look at the maps and make a list of quadrants in order from most to least likely so I can be more efficient in direct our teams?"
His phone was still on him, hopefully he'd be hearing from Anna soon, they could use the backup.

Gravitas and Impetus manage to set up a much more efficient HQ after 'porting in more equipment, and then begin dividing up the workload for the search and rescue, producing a grueling but manageable schedule for the next weak of work, even managing to include some time for smaller units to deal with other issues (the occasional natural disaster or crime that needs nova aid, for example).

Pax defers to Impetus' people management skills, a rarity for the face of T2M, and is nearly polite for the rest of the day.  He takes questions from reporters in a press conference and presents an optimistic face to the media, attempting to divert attention away from the massive death toll while still maintaining a somber attitude in the face of the disaster... He manages fairly well, all told, and seems happy that he didn't have to compete for attention with Impetus.  Perhaps the two can even have a happy, cooperative relationship after this disaster is resolved?

-

The DeVries agency sends out 4 novas, making a flashy, camera drawing entrance with their teleporter, who creates a dazzling cloud of energy from which the novas, decked out in company gear (logos prominently displayed), emerge.  The group of them approach Impetus and their leader says "We're here to help, where do we start?"  He also shakes Imp's hand and says, in a whisper "Anna says this is free, just make us look good out there, ok?"

-

The nova responsible for sabotaging Comstock's prison is apparently some sort of matter chameleon; when moved out of the rubble his body shifts back to flesh once more. Zero teleports out with the nova in his arms, arriving at the holding facility in Nevada, where the criminal is injected with drugs to hamper his abilities and keep him unconscious.  Zero picks up a few stray thoughts going through the man's mind, a jumble of quashed ambition, wounded pride, and foiled plans, but nothing clear enough to grasp.

-

Comstock, Sol, and the others at the center of the disaster are in for a long day as they sort through the area for evidence.  Impetus sneaks in a few shifts for the Americas team on rescue duty after a while, which Pax seems willing to ignore, but the bulk of the ivestigative work falls on them.  When Zero and Gravitas return from their various tasks, they add further skill and tools to the effort, and the reduced gravity aids in picking through the rubble.

A few answers emerge from the mess of debris and the team's investigative efforts:

1) The blast pattern heavily suggests a nova, or a nova-tech weapon, exploded in the air above the area.

2) The rubble immediately under the region suggests a medical facility of some sort (syringes, medical equipment), though city maps suggest nothing in the area but an old warehouse.  Weapons and drugs (mite, soma) were also held at the location.  Combined with the identities of the now dead novas (one was a cartel enforcer, one was listed as a deceased Mexican citizen, neither with known nova abilities), it can be assumed that this was linked to the continuing battle with the cartels.

3) The radioactive substance that Comstock sensed earlier was actually not a bomb, but rather a mixture of Nova-enhancing drugs and radioactive material.  A heavy metal case filled with syringes of the substance suggests that this was actually injected into subjects, likely at this location.  This may be enough to bring the world community into full opposition of the Colombian cartels, as the only possible reason for this would be experimentation on novas, likely for the purposes of creating or enhancing nova offensive potential.

4) Several corpses were found in the debris.  Dental records and fingerprints identify all but a few.  Dr. Montoya was a Brazilian living in the U.S. to practice medicine, before having her license removed for using experimental treatments on patients and questionable records handling in her clinic. Anton Bernal was a businessman known for making canny, but shady, investments; his office was searched after his body found, and he was found to be in correspondence with Montoya, who stated she "had exciting results to show him" in their final correspondence, only hours before the blast.  Adriana Ferrara was the 16 year old niece of an Argentinian nova model/actor, and was reported as having "ran away" months prior after she became involved with drugs and the underworld party scene; she registered as a nova.  Michael Cross was a 22 year old Brazilian, cousin to a Nova in the XWF, and had a long rap sheet that included theft and assault; autopsy reported that he too was a nova, though with a very small M-R node.  Several other people in the facility were also minor criminals, though no other novas were found.  In all the digging turned up 3 unidentified bodies, 4 human criminals, 2 humans with nursing experience, the doctor, and the two other novas.

edit: to clarify, the two other novas were found to possess nova physiology in autopsy, but were not registered with Utopia or their various governments as novas.
-

The rescue work is hard, but it is also one of the most successful operations of it's kind in history.  After the digging is done, experts state that >90% of those that survived the initial blast and the 5 minutes immediately following it were successfully rescued and kept alive.

The rescue efforts do a great deal to lessen the tensions caused by the explosion, which many are blaming on novas despite no concrete information being made available to the press.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Feel free to ask more questions, and make closing actions, complete various research, or whatever.  But the scene is winding down over the next week or so of posting.

---

This message was last edited by the GM at 17:31, Thu 25 Feb 2010.

"Check in with Impetus for your sector assignment and continue extracting survivors from the rubble.  Check in with him for future assignments.  Over."  He voice was calm and direct, mechanical and unfeeling.

Comstock managed to prepare the site well, but actual evidence collection and investigation didn't progress very quickly until he had support.  When Phantasm arrived, he summarized the situation.  "Pax determined that with the additional manpower available it is more worthwhile to have you away from the cameras and looking for answers."  He avoided mentioning that the crux of the matter was her quantum constructs, but he was not a particularly convincing liar despite his efforts.

Imp warmly shook Bloodhound's hand in front of the news crews.  "Thank you my friend, we at project Utopia are always open to aid from our fellow novas at Devries."  He gave him a manly hug repleat with a thump on the back and whispered "No problem, go check out sectors a37 and d46, there's a couple underground parkades there that're bound to have some survivors, and the news crews are gonna be following you around." he shook hands with the other 3 novas, posed for the cameras, then went back to his other work.  Grav was amazing, and he found himself simply organizing people as Grav directed.

Raoul is only able to find a few novas willing to help, and he arrives a few hours later; it is possible they didn't have a teleporter, or perhaps they took time for a pleasant lunch before arriving?

When they are on scene, they make pleasant small-talk with the other novas in the area (many times delving into the basics of terragen philosophy; apparently they view this as an opportunity to make contacts in a part of the nova community they don't often interact with), and do their part.  But there is a certain disconnect that doesn't sit well with everyone.  They treat the humans much as a shepard would treat a wounded or trapped sheep, pulling them out, occassionally attempting to calm them, but not recognizing them as equals.  Raoul is a bit more circumspect in his treatment, but even he is not terribly popular by the end of the rescue operation.  They also provide something of a distraction, since they work shorter shifts ("we are volunteers after all") and tend to spend their time off partying in the surrounding cities.

The other novas interacting with the Terragen members seem equally intrigued and repelled by the ideas espoused by the newcomers.  Most have only heard of "the mysterious group of nova separatists/elitists" and know little of their philosophy at this point.  Those that secretly held beliefs about nova superiority, those interested in the evolution of nova abilities, or those worried about the differences between novas and humans turning them against one another, are all interested and intrigued.  Those with a vested interest in the status quo, those with strong connections to the baseline world, and those that want a peaceful intermingling of novas and humans, are somewhat revolted by the newcomers.  By the middle of the week, the presence of the Terragen members is actually creating discord and distraction, with the stress of the situation exacerbating philosophical differences (not just between terragen and T2M either; several T2M members have had shouting matches, a few caught on camera, about the role of novas in the "new world").

Imp cursed under his breath, then looked over at his companions in the command pod, "So, do you think Raoul and company are actually adding anything to this rescue, or are they more of a hindrance?"  He found himself torn, he trusted Raoul, more than he trusted many people at Utopia, but his views were a little extreme for Imp's tastes.  It wasn't like Raoul had seen first hand any anti-novaism, all the negative press about him had been because of his own actions and words, not just because he was a nova, or because he was a member of Team New Despotism.  He shut down that line of thought and went to work outside, they'd found most of the people they were going to find, and now the rescue was in the terrible stages of finding body after body after body.  He noticed Piotr Enrikssen walking with some Utopia reps and Brazil's president.  It looked like Utpoia was going to remake the city, much like it was doing with Addis Ababa, probably with a giant park and monument right in the middle.  The brave new future, being built on the graves of those who had come before, at least this time the graves would not be unmarked.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:38, Fri 26 Feb 2010.

Quentin did his best to keep himself calm, analytical, and impartial during the rescue operation. He knew that there was no way to save everyone, so he proposed search grid priorities and plans that would rescue the greatest number of people. This meant that in many cases he left people who might be easily found and rescued, but who could conceivably survive without rescue for some time, to sit while prioritizing places where long-term survivability was unlikely.

In spite of his advanced analytical ability, people still died. That was simply inevitable - people had died before they even arrived, and they continued to die as the rescue operation proceeded. After a few days he made a note in his reports that indicated that anyone who had survived the blast but had neither food nor water was likely dead of dehydration. These theoretical people did not, he hoped, exist, as they were fairly high-priority rescue candidates. Even teams of novas could not be everywhere at once, though.

When prompted regarding the Teragen presence, Quentin seemed sour, "Overall, they're a hinderance, at least when they bother showing up at all. When they're over in Rio they don't factor in to efficiency."

Z worked around the clock, combining it's use of intelect and speed to ahive super effiecency while organizing Baseline and low powered Nova workers. The Doctor tried to balance out the rift the Terrats were blindly causing by maximizing it's efficiency with Baseline teamwork. It becomes quite an enlightening work, as Z stops trying to save the day all by itself, and is forced to rely on Baselines to act with it as a team. Zero realized that it was not Superman, and that it was arrogant to try to solve all the big problems by itself. Perhaps there was more to Solitaire's little way of patronizing Baselines than Zero first realized.



"Sigh. Yes. But would it cause too much trouble if we had them leave? I wish there was a way to keep the cameras off them, but that is a pipe-dream. Still, I thought they would have caused a lot more turmoil by now. I know Raoul thinks he's helping, but I think he is too used to being able to chat his way out of things that he hasn't fully grasped what his action speak about himself and others."

Imp contemplated the coin spinning across his knuckles, "Still, this has managed to get all the major factions of novas working together, that's gotta count for something.  Are we really that different from each other?  Really?  I don't know any more. All right, time to get out there and do some interviews with the reporters, we're going to be pulling out soon, if I never have to comb through another disaster zone, never have to find another body crushed beyond recognition, it'll be too soon.  Who could do such a thing?"  Imp went outside, looking upbeat and hopeful, yet still suitably dour.  Just because a miracle had been accomplished here didn't mean that it wasn't a tragedy.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)

Ok, I think this is a good time to end things here.  If you guys will move things over the the Headquarters thread, and start talking about what happened and the ramifications, that would be good.  Between long ago hints/clues, the ones just dropped, and a bit more investigation, you can crack the Cartels plot, and move along.

---