"I hope not," Quentin muttered. "Fubared, that is." He raises a bottle of something that he doesn't even bother reading the label for to toast anyway, though.



"Hmm, novel. Sort of a difficult area to research though. There may be those that might claim a pre-N-Day eruption, but they'd probably be hard-pressed to cite any evidence. Most eruptions are fairly spectacular and anything but subtle - unless all our estimates of the nova population are way under and there are a bunch of 'stealth novas' running around." Also an interesting thought. Just how accurate was the nova census? Certainly people like Quentin himself had a difficult time concealing their nature, but there must certainly be others that had much more subtle abilities.

Solitaire laughs, and knocks back a swallow of vodka with the grace of a seasoned drinker, and was unsurprised when it did nothing for her. "Might as well drink rubbing alcohol, be cheaper..." She grumbles, before taking another swig.



"Well, I never had all that much in common with my family, I don't think I've even told them I'm a Nova... My sister always got all the attention. But yeah, you guys, I like. She hoists a bottle for Imps toast. "To Tomorrow," She adds, "'cause that's what we are."



"You've got a drink that works on us? And you've been holding back? Do tell." Solitaire grins. "Share and share alike."

To Zero: "The vast amount of power here alone, speaking purely of Gravitas and Impetus could alter the way science actually works. Who is to say that there isn't a Nova out there that could just shatter the world? Editing, sort of more like adding to..." Prodigal said very matter-of-factly.

After Impetus' impromptu speech Prodigal was very quiet thinking back to when he had a family, and led to thoughts of his mother. Mom....what have I become.... He thought to himself for a second. "Thank you for your kind words Impetus," he responded and smiled a little flatly, still lost in thought, eschewing any alcohol, but enjoying a fine carbonated flavored water if possible.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:26, Tue 26 May 2009.

[Private to Phantasm: Dillon nodded.  "Alright ... maybe he just needs some fun or R&R.  Catch you later maybe?  Basketball or something?"  He was hoping for a good, quiet conversation, brother-sister-like, to sort things out after today.]



Dillon laughed.  "Alright family!"  After a hard drink and everyone's thank you's, he raised his bottle.  "And to zero casualties next time!"  With a solemn expression, he took another heavy drink.  He wanted to drink more, but it tasted funny.  Blandly, he set the bottle down.

As covertly as he could, before the solemn toast could spoil the mood, Dillon left the table and his math, made his way back behind Impetus and grabbed him, trying to hoist the man up onto one shoulder and parade him about.  "Our man of honor!" Dillon chuckled.  "Bringer of booze, banisher of bad!"
__________________________

If he can, he'll hold Impetus up with one arm and try to grab Solitaire, placing her on his other shoulder.  If no one puts a stop to the laughing madness there, he'll tell Sam to stand on his head so everyone can toast "the world's fastest" for their valiant efforts in the name of alcohol.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:25, Tue 26 May 2009.

Phantasm seems a bit embarrased by the festivities, as though she isn't quite sure where to fit in, but she tries her best to join in with everyone else and gives a little happy cheer.

[Private to Comstock: sure thing, over on the 'hidden moments' thread work?]

Sam almost declines Dillon's offer, but then he remembers his father's signature toast, then jumps up on his shoulders. With a deep breath, he begins his mighty oration. "Now, now my friends. We must not forget those who will not live through the night. Oh they will have fought valiantly, but in the end, they will die. Let us bow our heads and honor them." He lowers his head and goes silent. When he's sure the mood is somber enough, he cries out "To our liver cells! HA HA HA HA!"

He can hear Zeus groan quite loudly, and sarcastically. ~How positively droll.~

Fighting back the panic from being picked up near a fire by someone much stronger than himself, and repressing memories of that time in middle school, Imp relaxed and started laughing, giving his fellow shoulder mates a cheers.  "Truth be told, I did some looking into getting the ingredients for a three mile island and the stuff that really gives it the kick it needs is illegal outside of the far east.  I'm running some numbers on how i can generate enough momentum to bend space, theoretically creating a wormhole form one place to another.  Once I do that I will most certainly put it to good use and visit some drug markets in Cambodia."

Quentin bolted upright. "That!" he yelled. "My god! Its so simple! Why didn't I think of that!?" His notepad and pencil, on a table across the room, shot into his open hands and he slammed them onto the table as he began to apply pencil to paper.

"The principal is different, but the effect is the same! Hell, people have been talking about it for seventy years! An Einstein-Rosen bridge - a wormhole - can theoretically be generated by somehow connecting a white hole with a black hole. The real problem, as Wheeler and Fuller showed, was holding the throat open somehow so that it would be traversable." As Quentin rants, a grid is rapidly taking shape on the paper, a grid that is bent into a cylinder and then depicted with a hole connecting the two sides of the cylinder are both bend inwards toward a central point. "But, hell, nova powers make that possible - surely!" Math appears beside his grid sketch. "The only real problem is first generating enough force - in my case gravity, or in his case raw momentum - to actually push through and create such a bridge. Holding it open is then the tricky part, but I'm willing to bet the application of raw quantum power is sufficient to constitute the exotic matter required to hold it open."

He stops writing suddenly and looks concerned, "Theoretically, such a wormhole could also be used to travel through time." He looked up for a moment, obviously doing math in his head, "The solution provided by general relativity would restrict you to never being able to go further back in time with a given wormhole than the creation of that wormhole. Also... Well, time travel - if you've ever read Sci-Fi - is wonky. I wouldn't want to try it. Too easy to screw something up."

Quentin suddenly looks pensive and then grows a sort of manic grin. "Want to go try it out?" he asks. "The space one, not the time one. Baby steps. I don't think I've ever generated enough gravity to actually form a black hole, but on the other hand, I've also never actually tried."

Solitaire allows herself to be hoisted up on Comstocks shoulder, joking, "Whoa there, watch the hands big guy." She clinks bottles with Imp from her perch on Comstocks large shoulder, laughing and generally having a good time.



"I'll drink to that. We could just fly there you know, make a weekend of it."

Solitaire's eyes glaze over a bit once Gravitas hits his stride with his thoughts, not taking in a word of it.

For Zero:
The appropriate investigation equipment is in the hands of the actual investigators, who are no longer on base.

However, your examination does turn up a long blonde hair and a handprint pressed into the grime near the bottom of the room's toilet (the grime underlying the stuff from the fire, miraculous you found it really).

If you can get access to the national fingerprint database, more info awaits.

For Harley:
The search seems fruitless, until you find a waterlogged credit card receipt burried in a bit of trash outside the burnt building, a redit card receipt for a couple of weeks ago. The name on the receipt, after much squinting with a magnifying glass is James Dawes, and the last 4 numbers of a credit card are visible.

If you can trace it somehow, you will find more.

)))

Both of you can also turn in your info to the powers that be for a hefty thanks, most likely.

"Do you think that would work, I mean, lets see...  Wow, the figures look like they check out, but could you create a distortion strong enough to hold it open?  And how would you make sure the other side went to the right place?  But wow, the possibilities... would things move through it from high to low pressure?  If they did, then you'd be able to put out fires by linking to the ocean, flood a place with lava, or... explosively decompress a whole area by just linking to space... How far could it go?  And could you calculate it exactly enough to make space jumps without getting lost..."

Phantasm seem genuinely enthused about the possibilities more than the figures, but she clearly understands their ramifications and the steps that will still need to be planned out.  She continues asking questions and offers help on some supplementary calculations for travel.

---

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

Science: You rolled 5 successes using 12d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 ((8,9,5,1,6,8,9,5,2,8,3,6)).
=7 succ

---

"Its hard to say how exactly it would behave." He thinks for a moment, "There's also the subconscious to take into consideration, as I think that would have an impact as to the exact manifestation. I mean, my fundamental ability is to manipulate and create gravitational fields, and so everything I do is focused through that lens. Similarly, my own expectations will impact any sort of bridge I manage to create." He pauses, perhaps for breath? He's clearly excited to the point of being almost giddy at the idea, "Given that I'm not keen on venting atmosphere into space or accidentally flooding a room just because I'm interested in visiting the Marianas Trench, there's a chance that the manifestation of the exotic matter holding the throat of the wormhole open might act as a sort of... eh... filter. For lack of a better term."

"The flip side of the coin is that my background in physics undoubtedly colors my worldview. Plenty of novas manifest powers that deal with forces they don't actually understand from a scientific viewpoint. My potential to create such a wormhole may be restricted by my theoretical knowledge of the topic in the first place."

[Private to Phantasm: Sounds good.  You want to post first and set the scene or should I?]



"So, if I were making wormholes, it would work without the science?"  Dillon looked at his math book.  "Why does Dr. Bharati want me to learn that stuff again?"  He knelt to let the whole party down from his shoulders.  This sort of science left him behind.

He grabbed some bottles and wandered over to Dr. Zero and Prodigal.  "C'mon guys.  Tomorrow is another day.  Time for mysteries then, y'know?"

Sam refused to come down from Comstocks shoulders, he was having far too much fun. But the others conversation did intrigue him. "It seems that it wouldn't work with science. We do what we do largely because of force of will, not any real understanding of that power." He takes a swig of the... piss. "I suppose if I was as scientifically minded as Quentin, I could explain my powers as having something to do with bioelectricity, but if that were the case, it might be limited to just that, rather than controlling external sources of electricity as well." He glances over at David. "Our buddy Dav- er... Prodigal over here has quite a religious thought pattern, and perhaps that has affected, or maybe even outright determined his powers."

Harley collected the evidence and carefuly placed each piece in it's own separate plastic bag wearing the plastic gloves he'd retrieved from the cafateria earlier. looking at the time he wondered ~past an hour. the others should be back~ finding Zero "we should stash this until we figure out what to do with everything."

catching up with the rest of the group, he gives Imp a $50 for the booze, grabs a couple bottles, dorms down and mostly keeps quiet as he sits, smoking and drinking. as the alcohol kicks in, he starts to unwind and relax but continues to keep his thoughts to himself. he starts mixing drinks for everybody and handing them out, one by one.

he gives Comstock a "Crossbones", Dr. Zero gets a "Liquid Heroine", Gravitas receives a "Grainslide", Imp gets handed a "Fire in the Hole", he hands Phantasm a "Mighty Mouse", Prodigal a "Christian Killer", Sam gets a "Raging Indian", and Solitaire a "Chocolate Covered Cherry Bomb". Harley makes himself "Flaming Open Wound" and "Extreme Suicide" chaser combos. "cheers!"

---

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

http://www.drinksmixer.com/cat/394

---

"She probably wants us to learn to use our powers well, and to get more ideas.  The more you know about something, the better you can conceptualize it, and use it.  Splash probably doesn't need to know about weather patterns to do her thing, but it might make it easier.  And if she were using her powers to help make plants grow or something, knowing about plants and soil and stuff would help.  Or knowing how conductive something is if she wants to hit it with lightning.  That sort of stuff.  The power is yours, and you can do whatever with it, but sometimes knowing about other stuff lets you use it better.

So when are you gonna open up this wormhole for us Quentin?  This will be a blast...

Thanks for the drink Mr. Logan... EEEW! *Coughing* Uhm, sorry, I... yeah, I appreciate it, but this tastes kind of like cinnamon suspended in alcohol... why you guys do this to yourselves?  It's like something died in my mouth... or maybe like my mouth died... eeeew."

[Private to Comstock: You first would be good.  You can set the scene and all that.  And start the conversation in the direction you'd like.]

Imp grinned as Gravitas' mind took flight, "Also, how many jules would holding such a hole open take?  Could it be maintained for more than a few seconds?  How long would it take to pass through it?  What would happen if you were caught inside when the juice was turned off?" Imp leaves Grav to his physicing, while Imp was able to follow what Grav was doing he wanted to have fun tonight, and physics was less fun than unwinding.
"We could indeed do a weekend in the orient, I'd want to be able to move substantially faster than I can now though, at 1000kph the trip would still take 8-10 hours.  I wonder if we could jet up into low orbit, accelerate to 25,000kph or so without having an atmosphere to slow us down, then re-enter the atmosphere above our target.  That'd be way faster...
"Bah, less thinking, more drinking."  Imp takes an appreciative pull on his drink, gasps at the heat of the thing, then launches into a rather lewd story about a Scottsman, an island, a sheep, a dog and a woman.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:34, Wed 27 May 2009.

"Precisely what I meant! We're able to do things in a certain way because our outlook, experiences, and perhaps most importantly, our eruption gives us certain predispositions - all of the evidence points to that."



"Cheers!" he says, sipping on the drink as his other hand continues to write. He's eventually forced to turn the page for lack of space to scribble formulas. "Hmm, not bad." Though, he admitted privately, he only really got the taste out of it. He was almost incapable of actually getting drunk anymore. Still, Kahlua made almost anything better.



"Heck, I kinda want to go try now. This isn't really the right place for it though. We'd need somewhere a bit... emptier. In case there's unforeseen side effects." He paused for a moment, "We also need something to test with. Maybe a basketball for the first test. Something live for the second test, like a stray or a rat or something. Or, I suppose, I could just try myself in the name of science. It shouldn't be possible for me to kill myself with my own powers - right?" I hope.



"All good questions. That said, I don't have to consciously regulate the power output of my abilities, it all seems to just... work. So I'm not sure we'd need to do that for this sort of bridge, either. As for what happens to something caught in the middle, when space-time restores itself, it should be on either side. I don't think it can be caught in the middle. Actual transversal time should be... instant, I should think. Like walking through a doorway."

At the Crime Scene:



Zero shares it's findings. "That sounds prudent. At least until we see what they turn up. I want to see how Utopia handles the investigation. I think we need to take a copy of this palm print I've found, though."

At the Party:



"That is a concern I have had."



"Adding what?" The Doctor asks.



"What about inventing something to do it? If your Eruption granted you super intellect in addition to gravitational influence, than it stands to reason your mind could also twist and ignore the laws of physics as well."



"This is very true. There are fewer psychological forces as powerful as stress, and you, David, have had a very stressful day indeed. You should unwind. Here..." the Doctor pulls out some various bottles of soda and juice it had in an old gym bag, "I brought some soda and juice if the alcohol's not your thing."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:52, Wed 27 May 2009.

*edit*
Harley runs back next door trying to dig up some Plaster of Paris, flour, saran wrap or some other transfer medium to get the impression. he returns showing Zero what he discovered as well.

---

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

Harley Logan rolled 2 successes using 13d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,5,1,8,4,4,3,6,1,2,4,2,10. awareness, 1 mega.
Harley Logan rolled 8 successes using 13d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,9,2,6,8,8,10,5,4,9,8,7,7. investigation, 1 mega.
Harley Logan rolled 4 successes using 13d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 with rolls of 7,1,5,7,5,6,3,1,3,8,8,4,2. science, 1 mega.

awareness, 2 sux
investigation, 8 sux
science, 5 sux

all trying to find or figure a way to transfer/preserve the imprint

---

at the party, Harley keeps pouring rounds, but gives Phantasm the "Crossbones", Imp the "Mighty Mouse" and Comstock the "Fire in the Hole" "try that. less thinking, more drinking" downing another round.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:32, Wed 27 May 2009.

The teams evening of revelry goes well, almost but not quite allowing people to forget the troubles of the last day.

Early the next morning, everyone is likely still awake and in front of the burnt out dorms when Frostburn and Mr. Walker arrive from their deliberative, stepping out of the shadows near of the buildings.

---

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

You guys manage to preserve the materials from your investigation, and can reveal it as you choose.

---

"Sorry this took us so long.  We've been talking to the Utopia heads, our funders in Chicago, and several of the other T2M members almost the whole night.  This is, as I'm sure you're aware, a very big deal.

We had the helicopter pilot and the cameraman arrested for trespassing, and their equipment was confiscated.  I also don't think they saw any of the bad stuff that went down.  I know that a lot of people were hurt today, but this was honestly our first concern, because if it looks like we are out of control, or that we can be easily victimized, it invites people to take further advantage of us, and makes it possible that the world's governments could turn on us.

We had Saul, the man helping you with the wounded earlier, taken back to his home earlier.  He said that he was happy to work with such "nice young people" and wished that I send his regards.  He managed to heal all but the cuts and bruises before he left, and thanks to your efforts and his abilities, we lost only one man down there... Though frankly we shouldn't have lost him.  We let him down...

We had investigators on scene, they removed everything they could find.  Which was very little.  They plan on going back and looking tomorrow, once all the dust has settled and there is more light.  I figured at least a few of you would look over the building and find some things, and I was told that you at least went in... you can tell me if you found anything after we're done giving you the news.

Lets see... Our superiors are concerned, but too occupied with the beginnings of a war to actually spare anyone but us, and the nature of the matter is too sensitive, and dangerous, to involve baseline police investigators, though governments worldwide are being warned of a potential nova threat that has emotion effecting abilities.  Which is actually pretty close to the information we have, considering how little anyone saw of this... individual.

That's about it.  Life will go on as planned, because that's really all we can do.  You guys will return to training the rest of the week, we've got some people clearing out room in the soldier's dorms for you to sleep in, and by the time you get back from your mission, we should have things repaired enough that you can go back to staying in your dorms, at least until you complete something better.

Everyone... I'm proud of all of you.  You handled yourselves well, and you saved a lot of people from dying today.  Thank you for everything.  I'm sorry that everything has gone to shit, but that's often the way it goes in this business."

"As Frostburn said, we are at the frontline of a war.  A war on crime, on ignorance, on poverty, on abuse, on environmental destruction.  But most of all, a war on culture, the culture that has made all of these other things a reality.  And the culture that would quite readily brand those fighting against it as demons rather than the heroes that they are, especially since they are different, possessed of awesome power beyond their comprehension.

This is why we are so concerned with our public image.  For us to do what we have to do, for us to save the world from itself, we have to have the support of the public.  Events like this must be kept out of the public eye as long as possible, so that we can have the freedom to make this world a better place.

As for the nova responsible for this... I am afraid that he, she, or it, will continue to be a problem.  We have novas with the means to sense things through extrasensory means, but they have had absolutely no luck in finding the individual.  But we will not live in fear, nor will we occupy ourselves with a pointless, blind search.  Both of these are things this individual more than likely hopes we will do.

As Frostburn already said, you will train the rest of the week.  You'll have Friday evening and all of saturday off, and will ship out midday Sunday.  Yes, we have official confirmation that you will be activated to assist T2M in the rescue and defense of civilian targets.  Locations are still classified, as are the details of your mission, but you will be briefed Sunday before you ship out.

Well, that's about it everyone.  This has been a tragic day, but we should all endeavor to learn from it.  Everything that we go through should teach us, and help us grow.

We will have breakfast up shortly, and training will begin at 0700.  Until then, lets discuss any further information you have on this hostile nova.  We have your earlier interviews of course, but have your remembered anything else important?  Did you find anything in the buildings that we missed?"

"Rescue and defense of civilian targets starting next week?  Why aren't we trying to rescue and defend people starting tomorrow?  I have no idea how many civilian casualties there could be by then, or how much environmental destruction.  I'm thinking that the sooner we get in there the better, boss."
Meanwhile Imp is secretly wondering about who can defend the team from hostile novas.  Many of us are not combatants.
Also, who the hell is this we?  Is Walker a nova?
Imp heads over to the barracks and grabs some soap and a towel.  too bad his shaving kit had cooked off in the fire, that cologne was expensive.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:19, Thu 28 May 2009.

"Hostilities haven't officially started Impetus.  There's just been a great deal of posturing up to this point, with a few raids by impatient would-be generals.  That's all being handled by T2M right now.  It's why we don't warrant more of their help at the moment.  But by the middle of next week, our intel people predict open hostilities will break out."