Angelo's heart went out to the young girl as she poured her fears out to him.  He'd been older when he'd erupted, and becoming a Ranger taught him a lot about who he was.  Cassia had had none of that.  She should still be at home, watched over by parents as she slowly began to explore herself and her world.  Yet now here she was, hurled into a bottomless pool of unknowns with no center.

As her power began to manifest itself, he realized the first thing he needed to do was some damage control.  "Cassia, I need you to listen to me very carefully" he said in a calm, even voice.  "Your powers are activated, but they aren't under anyone's control.  When that happens, our emotions tend to take control of them.  So the first thing we need to do is to help you calm down a little.  Start breathing in and out, slowly and calmly.  Focus your attention on your breathing, on the feeling of the breath coming in and the breath going out.  Breath coming in.  Breath going out.  Don't think about anything else.  Breath coming in..."

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
I should have thought to add this originally.  This should provide a boost to get her past the fear she's feeling.
18:26, Fri 15 Nov 2013: El Dragon rolled 3 successes using 12d10 with the Target Number system with a target of 7 ((2,4,7,1,1,8,4,1,6,9, 4,2)) For Command/Leadership.

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This message was last edited by the player at 00:30, Sat 16 Nov 2013.

The deer crept slowly to the stream lowering it's head to drink from it's flowing water. It sensed something, and began to raise it's head which only flew from it's collapsing body. Over it stood the Suzukaze sword in hand. Dirty and disheveled she stared down at the animal's limp body. She turned and knelt to the stream. She reached for a canister to fill. Once filled she went back to the deer, and began to cut a portion of it away.

"It had to be done Annette," she said to nothing. "Even though we are nova we must still eat at sometime. Besides the wolves will be thankful they don't have to hunt today." She stood and gazed off towards the woods meat in hand. She caught the movement of the wolves. "See. The female leads them here already. She keeps her eyes on us as the male goes on errands." She looks towards the sky. "Let us get back to the cave. It will be night soon."

It did not take long. Not with her speed returned to her. She moved like the wind. With the wind, and arrived at the cave she made her home. She set the water and sword aside. She pulled out a knife skinning the meat, and reached for the stick to cook it on. She pierced it and set it in place. She knelt to start preparations for the fire when she heard the movement in the woods. It was coming towards her camp, but she went to it. Summoning her blade she knocked it over. The purple blade pressed against it's neck. The bag it was carrying falling a few feet away. The man didn't blink as she straddled him with the look of a killer on her face.

"Look Annette. The male returns." The grin forming on her face was eerie. "You know you are much quieter as a wolf."

"Yeah, but if I was a wolf then I couldn't lug back the supplies. Which I hope you did not just ruin." His gaze never left hers. Was he trying to act the alpha even in this situation.

She unsummoned her blade, and pushed herself off of him. She went over to pick up the bag of supplies leaving him to get up himself. He brushed himself off as she led the way beck to camp.

"You know for someone who can make their own swords I'm surprised you still carry around the real thing." He looked towards the deer meat. "Really Suzuka. You couldn't wait alittle bit. The pack is going to become spoiled because of you."

"But we needed something to sustain us. We trained hard today, and had to practice our hunting next. She looked at his face then towards the ground. "We couldn't wait for you all day Tyler."

He looked at her. For how much she has gone through, and the damage done to her. Despite the change, and this craziness that has seemed to overcome her. Deep down she was still the young innocent girl Shiro had introduced to him. It angered him to see her like this. Yet he kept his calm. He had to be strong for her like his pack. He had to be the Alpha. To protect and guide her.

"You still have time left before sunset. I'll start dinner, and go and grab Rose. Why don't you get some more training in. " She nodded and walked away. He watched her for a moment then went to work he looked to the sky briefly. "Don't worry Shiro. I'll do my best to guide her."

In reply to El Dragon (msg # 417):

Cassia was nothing if not a quick study, and she hadn't survived attempts on her life by giving in to her emotions.  Only her feeling of safety with Angelo and her time without any meaningful release for her bottled emotions had brought her to this point.  With Angelo's guidance, she quickly calmed down.  The catharsis left her drained and sad, but it dulled the intensity of her pain.

"That helped.  The breathing.  I've read about that, that's a meditation technique.  I'm sorry by the way.  Not just for this, but for being a burden on you.  You were a stranger, but you have been good to me, better than i have any reason to expect.  I'm sorry I haven't been more grateful, more helpful."  She was conveniently changing the subject, but she seemed genuine in her words.

"That's right," Angelo said, "focusing on your breathing like that is the first part of the Taiji exercises I do every day.  When I was a kid, I had episodes of what they call 'racing thoughts' which led to panic attacks.  My Tia Carmen taught me how to use those exercises to get control over my emotions and prevent my mind from spinning out of control like that.  The martial art I use is called Taijiquon and it uses the movements of the Taiji exercises.  It's a very effective martial art, especially for defense for lighter, weaker people against bigger and stronger ones.  That's one of the things I plan to teach you.

"Now, if you're feeling settled enough to continue," he said, "let's talk a little bit about being a nova.  Novas aren't angels, or demons, or gods, or monsters, they're just people...people with extraordinary abilities.  It's their actions that make them like angels, demons, gods, or monsters.  Being a nova doesn't change who you are, it just changes what you can do.  What you become is all down to the choices you make.  And you say praying didn't do your mama any good...how do you know?  Praying is not like a magic spell where you ask God for something and it appears.  Praying is a lot like meditating.  I'm sure your mama got a lot of peace and comfort from her faith and prayers."

“Gracias hermano, adios.”  Angelo fist-bumped the former army medic and turned his gaze out the window of the small restaurant.  Caramba, he thought, why did it have to be Columbia?  There were no two ways about it...this was going to be like jumping into a nest of rattlers.  He was already working out what he'd need, even as he calmly finished the glass of ice water he was drinking.  He paid the check, headed out to his car and fished his “ready bag” out of the trunk.  He stood up after he dropped it into the back seat.  It sure is a lot lighter than it used to be, he mused, no ammo, no MREs, no water.  In fact, about all that was left that had any weight was a coil of rope, a professional camera rig, and a shock resistant tablet computer.

He fished out his phone and dialed a number.  “Sean, it's Angelo.  I've been made aware of a potential situation and I'll need a pilot with some steady nerves.  Can I meet you somewhere to talk it over?  Great, I'll be there in a few.”

He hung up the call then put the phone back to his ear.  “Call Cassia.”  When she answered, he said, “Hey chiquita, how's it going?  You know that man I met for lunch?  Yeah...he gave me some information that, if it's true, well...I need to check it out...mui pronto.  I'll be out of town for a couple of days.  I know you're smart enough and mature enough to take care of yourself for that long, but I want you to be careful.  You've got Dillon's number, if anything drastic comes up, the cavalry won't be long coming.  Take care of yourself and don't forget to do those exercises I taught you...and I mean all of them.”  He chuckled as he could almost hear her eyes rolling.  “Okay,” he said, finally, “adios chiquita.”

He pocketed the phone and climbed into his car to drive to the meeting with Sean.

"Understood, Colonel, see you soon," coincidentally Sean had finished a contract a few days earlier and wasn't due for a job as Paidrag until next week. Sean drove the limo to the depot and picked up his Impetus sedan. It wasn't as fast as its namesake, but it had seen extensive modification from the day he bought it, both by himself and Dr. Alinsky. He made it to the rendezvous with Devarga at a private airstrip that records indicated was owned by one of the Colonel's old army buddies. "Colonel," Sean greeted the man with a firm handshake, "tell me about this need you have for a pilot, I must admit to some curiosity, as you have been recorded flying at speeds no commercial aircraft is capable of."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:06, Thu 28 Nov 2013.

The dry desert wind stirred the dust at Angelo's feet.  He was leaning against the fender of his car with his arms folded when Sean arrived.  He couldn't help but be reminded of some movies where there's some kind of smuggling deal going on and the characters are meeting at some deserted location to make an exchange.  He grinned to himself at the fulfillment of the imagery as Sean drove up in his high-dollar car.

"Sean," he said, taking the other's hand, "thanks for coming.  One of my contacts has informed me that a resurgent group of FARC-EP fanatics have managed to round up several of the surviving children from Columbia's former nova experiments.  They are attempting to duplicate the nova-creating process that was used before by experimenting on children kidnapped from city streets and poor farms.

"We need to go down there and try to get eyes on their operation:  Where is their operation, how big is it, how close are they, who's in charge, and what will it take to put them out of business?  I can't fly in there as a nova because not only is Columbia extremely sensitive to nova's from outside their territory, but they will likely have assets in place to detect quantum usage near their borders - to prevent novas from entering the country undetected.  They aren't much more friendly to invading aircraft, but we might be more likely to be able to creep in unnoticed.

"I've located a grassy airstrip about 15 miles south of the little town of Sabanita where we should be able to land a bush-plane or a helicopter."

"Understood.  Clearly we won't be able to go in via a Cessna, not enough range or speed to make the trip viable.  I propose we insert via sub-orbital supersonic means, then switch to a civilian mode of transport once we're in theatre.", As soon as Sean finished speaking his body started to warp, stretch, and bulge.  Soon a sleek trans-orbital shuttle was sitting on the runway.  "By my estimates we should be in Colombian airspace within 180 minutes.  Is there anybody else you believe we should contact?" Sean queried via an external speaker.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:27, Fri 29 Nov 2013.

Angelo watched the transformation curiously, then said, "No, there's nobody else, unless there's someone you need to contact."  He stopped to think for a moment.  "I'd suggest we fly into Quito.  Flying this into Columbian airspace is bound to attract attention...not to mention how the locals will react when you melt into some other form.  Ecuador is fairly friendly to Utopia so novas showing up won't create more than the usual stir.  We can pick up some transport there."  He then climbed in, stowed his pack under his feet and buckled himself in.  "All set."

"doing our initial insertion into Ecuador makes sense, once we're there I'll shift to a Cessna or something equally innocuous.  I'm running a search for small airstrips on either side of the border.  do we have any idea where in Colombia these experiments are being conducted? It's a pretty big place."

"As I said, I've located a grassy airstrip about 15 miles south of the little town of Sabanita where we should be able to land a bush-plane or a helicopter.  Sabanita is in the eastern jungles near the Venezuelan border."  Angelo shifted uncomfortably in his seat.  "Coming in from Venezuela would normally make more sense, but they're not too happy with the U.S.

"Let me reiterate, Columbia is really paranoid about novas coming in across their borders.  Is there any possibility that you have any active quantum signature while you're in mechanical form?  My initial plan was to purchase a light aircraft in Ecuador and take that across the border."

The powerful acceleration of the hyper-sonic aircraft was a rush and Angelo found himself slightly distracted by the sight of the Earth beginning to recede below him to the point that he could easily make out the curvature.  Even while his mind was focused on the mission, the kid inside him was bubbling over with excitement...he was in space!

"The only quantum signature that I generate is the passive bleed that all novas emanate.  Upon transformation I convert quantum energy into physical matter.  This form's thrust is generated by an indirect air cycle nuclear jet engine utilizing a small quantity of molten fluoride salt to generate the requisite nuclear reaction.  Dr. Alinsky and I were able to perfect the early designs of the A.R.E. programs of the early 50's, then, with practice, I was able to reproduce our prototypes via my abilities.  There are heat sinks that reabsorb much of the heat energy that would be lost in the exhaust flow, which increases efficiency and decreases my heat signature.  Further, the skin of this form is radar absorbent, much like the rather crude stealth aircraft created by the Americans in the 80s and 90s.  Doing this does take up much of my concentration in the shift phase, so I am unable to dedicate many resources to creating armoring or anti vehicle weapons, which may become a problem if we are intercepted by advanced fighter craft.
Purchasing a light aircraft in Ecuador is also certainly possible, would you like me to arrange such?"  Sean was having as much fun as his passenger, he didn't have nearly enough reasons to get into space these days, and the vista offered both below and above always took his breath away.  "You know, Colonel, if somebody had told me five years ago that I would be visiting space I'd have said they were dreaming."

"I'll take your word for that," Angelo said.  The stealth ability was something to keep in mind for the future.  He filed it away with the potential mission assets.  "If any fighter can go fast enough to intercept this thing I'd be very surprised.  We're going what, mach six?"

"A.R.E...That's that program where they were trying to create a nuclear powered bomber, right?"  Angelo was an indifferent student of history but his time in the military had exposed him to a certain amount of its history.

"I think getting a light aircraft once we arrive is our best option.  The more low-tech and ordinary we appear, the less attention we're likely to draw.  If you have some connection that can expedite that process, it would be really helpful.  I was just planning on hitting up one of the private hangars attached to the airport.  I called around to a few in the states.  Nearly all of them had used aircraft for sale."

He looked out again at the wide, unobstructed vista below them.  "Y'know, technically I could get out here under my own power.  I've just never thought to do it.  I'm too much of a ground-pounder, I guess.  About the only time I got into an airplane it was to jump out of it," he added with grin.

".Mach Six in a time to climb test is beyond me, currently, but as we re-enter we should be somewhere north of mach 15 or so.  I've located a likely plane and arranged with the pilot that we'll be looking at it within the next hour or so.  We'll be paying in dollars, naturally.  I've got a briefcase containing more than enough to purchase  and fuel a small plane fo rour purposes."  He paused as he accessed computer records and confirmed via SMS their arrival time.  "Everything is arranged, we'll meet Mr. Ramirez after we arrive.  He has a modest criminal record, mostly for public drunkeness and some petty theft, but there's nothing that woudl tie him to the cartels."

Angelo blinked for a few moments in surprise at Sean's whirlwind of activity in arranging for the purchase of the plane.  He had been planning on purchasing the plane himself, using the process of seeking it out, and even going to the local bank to arrange for the cash to pay for it, to further establish the credibility of their "cover".  He had to adjust for these variables in his overall plan.  Depending on how their arrival worked out with the local airport traffic, they could be in and out of the airport in a few minutes.  That could work to their benefit.  Then he found the snag.  Showing up in a one-man hyper-sonic aircraft was bound to turn a few heads.  If they did nothing out of the ordinary, after a while those people would likely lose interest.  But if they were to land, purchase a plane on the spot using cash and immediately take off in it...

"Sean," he said, "I don't suppose you can change form with me inside, can you?  For instance, wait until we've slowed down enough then change into something more ubiquitous?  It's just that this form is...shall we say, less than inconspicuous.  If we were to land like this, then immediately plop down cash for an airplane and fly off in it, it would raise a few red flags."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:08, Sun 01 Dec 2013.

"Of course. I can safely transform with a passenger, as long as my new form has sufficient volume to hold them. As we're purchasing a plane I suggest I do a quiet insert some distance away, then turn into a truck of some kind. This form has VTOL capabilities, so I can land anywhere."

"Vertical take-off and landing," Angelo said, feigning wonderment with a wry grin, "what will they think of next?  Are there any other capabilities of 'this form' you want to clue me in on?"

Once again, he settled back in his seat and reassessed his plans based on this new information.  "Alright...how about we set down outside of town, then you transform into a ubiquitous car of some sort, an average rent-a-car.  I'm pretty sure we can find a spot out of sight somewhere for you to go back to two feet once we get to the airport."

"Other than being submersible, that's about it. " they dropped out of orbit and inserted into a towering storm cloud that was dumping rain on the region just south of the airstrip where they were to purchase their plane. Buffeted by wind and drenched with rain, Sean agressively cut speed and angled towards a logging road. He reduced speed further, dropped to within a couple feet of the road and, with a ripple, morphed into a rather battered Land Cruiser. "We're about an hour away from the air strip at normal driving speeds. The briefcase is on the back seat."

When Angelo saw they were descending into the storm, he checked that his belt was tight.  Then as the buffeting began, he relaxed.  He was expecting the kind of wild-bull ride he knew from riding in the backs of C-130s.  This was hardly a bumpy road.  There were a couple of moments where he could feel the buildup of electrical energy before lightning flashed close by with a sharp report.

After the change, he looked around the interior.  It was quite a change.  "Nice work on the interior details," he said.  "So," he said then with a grin, "should I drive or just sit behind the wheel and fake it?"

" Take the wheel if you want, I guess I need to get used to someone doing that if I'm going to be as stealthy as I'll need to be in this organization. Be careful, as my power to weight ratio is probably better than anything you've driven outside of a race car. I'd rather not run headlong into a tree." He was quiet for a while, "Colonel, if I can ask, why are you involved in this organization? Surely more good can be accomplished via a larger organization."

Angelo put the Land Cruiser into gear and eased it onto the narrow roadway.  He spent a few minutes getting used to feathering the sensitive throttle as they bounced along the rutted logging road then settled in for the drive.

He took a moment to consider Sean's question.  "Well," he said finally, "as was traumatically demonstrated recently, a larger organization has no guarantee of united purpose.  Utopia was founded with the best of intentions and has done a massive amount of good for the whole world, but hidden within its organization was a...faction, I suppose...that was responsible for some of the worst 'medical' experiments since the Nazis during World War Two."  He shook his head sadly at the memory of what was found in Bahrain.  "And look what happened when Project Proteus' activities were made public.  That betrayal of the deep level of trust Utopia had earned with all its good works has had repercussions we still don't know the full extent of."  He paused again with a deep sigh.

"I'm part of this organization because I know the people involved.  We come from a vast range of different perspectives but there are some core beliefs we hold in common.  Like holding those incredibly powerful beings called novas to account for their actions.  Might absolutely does not make right.  Another thing we have in common is a desire to use these abilities we've been given to try to make the world, as a whole, a better place."

"Fair enough. Although I'm pretty sure that many governments are conducting experiments equally heinous. And I'm definitely sure that the major cartels are too. We are the new super weapons. Ultra concealable. Ultra unpredictable. Given to standard human weaknesses, and not protected by any organization, save those we create ourselves, or allow ourselves to be employed by. We've also got predatory novas that enslave or employ those with fewer resources. Sorry, I'm just rambling, I'm not usually in a situation where I can actually talk with other novas about the big picture. Usually it's either employers or other elites. They don't usually welcome such questions."

The Solitaire sat in what had once been the board room of the Utopian Initiative. The long table had been snapped in the middle, leaving a shallow 'V' in the center of the room. The left wall had been blown out six months ago when she'd wrecked the place, allowing her to gaze out across the ruins of New York and up into the night sky. She had her boots propped up on the edge of the table and had a handful of pebbles that she was flicking at the various buttons of the video screen that was the right wall. Every few seconds she would change the channel, giving her an excellent view of more static.

The problem with being able to break whatever she wanted was that you ran out of things to break eventually. She had tested herself against the various warlords and factions that ruled their little slices of the world, but that got boring. She missed her old team. Oh, they had been worthy foes, but that was the past. The past was always her problem, as much rubble as she could heap on top of it, it never mattered, it was still there. There was nothing she could do to change it, and she had tried. Tried everything and failed utterly each time.

"What you desire. I can give it to you."

The Solitaire missed the control button, shattering the screen. She hadn't heard him approach. There was nothing she didn't hear. She spun around, perched upon the edge of the table in a crouch, eyes dangerously narrow.

"You have ten seconds before I tear you in half."

"You can call me The Traveler. I go places. Places that are, have been or might be. For a price, I can take people with me. The question is, what are you willing to pay?"

"Anything."

"I didn't mean to imply that others hadn't done similar things," Angelo said as they sped down a larger dirt road toward the main highway.  "As you were saying, it has become part of human nature to want to have what we perceive as the greatest power under our control.  But you asked why I wasn't with a larger organization.  I just used Utopia as an example of bigger not necessarily being better.

"I don't have any problem discussing 'big picture' topics most of the time.  I ought to warn you," he said with his trademark crooked grin, "that once I get started, I sometimes have a hard time knowing when to shut up.  So if I start running on a bit long just tell me to can it.  Deal?"

"Deal. It looks like we're there, now might be a good time to stop being a crazy person talking to your truck. I'll stay in this form until you've made the necessary arrangements, then you can drive me over to the hanger?"