IC: Time to Visit other worlds (Alternity Dark Matter)

[farothel]

It's 10:00 and as far as you know it's a normal workday in the Chicago Office of the Hoffman Institute. You have been filling out reports and reading some articles in your respective field. But now you've been called for a meeting in the most secure briefing room. Inside are a few people you have seen before in the office and one person you have seen the past days, but he hasn't been all that talkative, even for a Hoffman Institute agent. His badge had the name of... quite unimaginative, Mr. Smith. None of your immediate superiors or any higher ups in the office are present

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen," he said when they were all in, "I have been looking for some people for a special project the past few days and I think I've found at least some of them. Now I can't tell you everything until you accept, but I can tell you that it would be on temporary detachment in the Appalachians. We have other teams there and one of them has gone missing. Your task will be to try and find them back. If everything works out, we can make you an extra team for the primary research. Any questions?"

[DataNinja]

Oh, good, mountains, Cynthia thinks, dryly. Not her ideal climate - that involves a roof over her head, and air conditioning - but, on the other hand, it's an assignment. Even if she doesn't feel it plays to her strengths, there's probably a reason she's been selected. And given the fact of where they are right now, it's obviously something special.

"Now, this certainly intrigues me," she says, diplomatically, "but I do feel that I have to ask what the expectations are in sending an administrative agent such as myself to a remote locale such as that? I'm not a specialist in any kind of research, nor if there is any sort of... aggressive negotiations required. My specialization is dealing with people... so, it just seems strange to me that I'd be requisitioned for a place that involves a notable lack thereof. Or," she gives a small smile, "do the reasons why these particular skills would be needed fall under the 'need to know' category?"

[farothel]

"There are people in the Appalachians," Smith said, "people who often can be difficult to talk to. And the trail might lead to locations where your strengths will be important. And secondly, we have also selected you based upon skill needed to become one of the primary teams, should this mission go well."

While you feel that he's telling you the truth, he's also definitely not telling the whole truth.

[DataNinja]

She nods. Good enough. "Very well, yes, you can consider me in." Curiouser and curiouser. Just what was up there, exactly? "Just as long as those strengths needed on the trails aren't the literal muscle kind."

Upon reflection, perhaps joking around with a probably need-a-telescope-to-see paygrade above her isn't the best thing to do. Especially since those kinds of people, in her experience, have had their humour surgically removed. Oops. Well, nothing to do about it now. Nerves are a killer.

[farothel]

Smith gave a quick smile at that remark and then looked at the other two people in the room.

[CateranEnforcer]

Alexandr stood at almost at full attention while he listened to Mr. Smith. He too had similar questions about his qualifications and the task at hand, but with the chance to qualify for a primary research team, he really didn't care.

"Mr. Smith, it would be my pleasure to take this assignment. No matter the danger." He speaks slowly and clearly, doing his best to pronounce the English words correctly and mostly succeeding with just a hint of an accent. "I of course have questions, but I am thinking they will be answered shortly."

[farothel]

Smith nodded to Alexandr and looked at the third person in front of him. He wasn't about to disclose anything more until they all agreed, or left.

[J3st]

Leo curiously looked to the others in the room and the brief exchange before his eyes narrowed with moderate concern. "I assume this is going to be answered shortly, but if I'm here then I have to wonder if they are expected to be injured or dead. Or is that just precautionary?"

He idly places his hands together before clasping them together in his lap. "But if it's not clear, I'm more than willing to help."

[farothel]

"Yes, it's just precautionary," Smith said, before turning all business. He hands out plane tickets for Knoxville, Tennessee, leaving via Chicago O'Hare this afternoon at 2. You will be officially employees of a corporation called Cryton Research, based in their lab in Tapocco, North Carolina and you will get your mission briefing there. It's a village you've never heard about, but you will be met at Knoxville airport. He also stresses again that this is not to be discussed with anyone. Luckily for you these kinds of assignments where people suddenly vanish for a few days or even weeks happen more often. Smith has also arranged all the paperwork for this temporary duty, so that's another burden taken off your backs. Then he leaves, leaving you to your own devices.

With the plane leaving at 2 in the afternoon, you have little time, although most of you have a bag with a couple of days worth of clothing in the office just for these kinds of things. An employee of the Chicago office who has to get a visiting director from the airport agrees to take you there and the plane ride is also quite smooth. At the airport you are met by two people, carrying a sign with your names on and wearing windbreaker jackets with Cryton Research, Inc. on the back. They introduce themselves as Sarah Jacobs and Mark O'Reilly. They bring you to a big SUV with the company logo on and drive you to Tapocco, about 90 minutes from Knoxville.

You see that this is a small village, like there are many in this region. Some tourism and an old, abandoned mine is about all there is and it's to this mine that you are brought. The site has been fenced off, but security doesn't seem to be all that much, just as you expect from Hoffman Institute locations. The HI policy is that buildings have to BE security but don't LOOK it. Here there are a few buildings, looking quite new. One is an administrative building and the two others look like appartment buildings, all three stories tall. You are brought to the admin building and after the customary identity check, including a retinal and palm scan, you are given badges of Cryton research that will open buildings. You are also given a small studio in the appartment building for now where you can quickly freshen up, before you are expected for a medical exam. They are quite thorough, including a full body MRI scan and they also give you a number of vaccines, some of which even the doctor in the team doesn't recognise. Then you're brought to a meeting room.

There you are met by site director Nishawa.
"Good to see you all here," he started after introductions, "by now I'm sure you're wondering what it is we're doing here. Well, to keep it simple, we are a part of the Special Division and we have found a way to go to alternate realities, or tangents as we call them. We use machines that can access these locations through something called the quantum foam, but if you want the full scientific explanation you will have to ask one of the scientists. They are also the reason why we're here in the middle of nowhere as we need the deep shafts of the mine to shield the machines from cosmic radiation. We've been sending out teams to investigate locations and one of the teams has failed to call in. We're not sure what happened, but we would like to know. As our other teams are all occupied, an unfortunate situation which we're taking steps to avoid in the future, we've called you in to help. And if you do this well, you can become part of the group as an extra team. As it's already late, I'll answer those questions you might have and which I can answer and we'll have the mission briefing tomorrow at 06.00."

[DataNinja]

"Um..." Well, of all the things she would have thought this would be, this is not one. So she blinks. "Holy hell, that's a lot to just drop on us," Cynthia says, chuckling nervously. "I... suppose I can see why I might've been included now."

Okay, now that that's all (mostly) out of the way, nervous humour out of her system, time to get to more serious business. "So... to make sure I understand this all: you're sending us to a location you know nothing about in order to find a team that hasn't checked in for any number of reasons. I'm... hoping I have some of that wrong. Like that you happen to know a lot about what we might be headed into. But," she gives a wry half-smile, "Wouldn't be that easy, I'm sure."

[farothel]

"We do know something about the tangent before we send people there," Nishawa explained, "we first send a robot probe before we send any humans through. These probes take soil samples, check radiation and temperature levels, do some analysis on pathogens and check for artificial signals. They also have cameras to check the immediate surroundings for any dangers. We've actually already lost two of those probes because the environment was too hostile for them to function. Suffice to say we didn't send any people there. You will have access to all the probe's data on the location we want you to go."

[DataNinja]

"Oh, okay, that's better than I was expecting," she says, nodding. "Nice to know that the world at least won't kill us instantly. And that we can, in fact, come back."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr is silent for a moment while he takes all this in. Who would have thought that other worlds were right here, rather than out in space.

"I will save my more difficult questions for the scientists then, but what are we looking at in the big picture? Does this...tangent have a hostile environment?" He chuckles to himself, "Here I though we were staging a search in the mountains. It will not be so simple, no?"

[DataNinja]

"Well," Cynthia quips, "unless it's, like, a tropical beach dimension with unlimited drinks refills, I have a feeling that the team didn't exactly disappear for any good reason." All of this has her a little on edge, admittedly. While she thought she knew what she was getting into when it came to Hoffman - the unknowable - it... well, never in her wildest imagination would she have dreamed it would be this unknowable. There's literally no frame of reference of what it could be...

[farothel]

"There probably is a tangent where you can have that," Nishawa said with a smile, "however this is not one of those. At least not at the location where the team was send. You will be shown what we have in the briefing tomorrow morning, as I don't know all the details myself. You will also receive the equipment needed. I do know there are a lot of unknowns, but that's why we're here. To expand our knowledge."
He looks at you for any further questions.

[CateranEnforcer]

"I will have to see this to believe it fully, I am thinking. This is so far out in the realm of theory and science fiction. I cannot see yet how this is possible, but I am eager to find out." Aleksandr's tone remains flat and official but softens as he continues, "You will invite us if you find this beach dimension?"

[J3st]

"Eager is one way to put it. I'm all for boldly going where apparently one team has gone before, but alternate realities? Aren't some of those with other people then? As much as I love making friends with strangers most of what I see in surgery happen to be caused by people. I mean unless this happens to be beach dimension adjacent." Leo wrings his hands together for a moment, his eyes shift to the other two before settling back in. "Not that I'm objecting, of course."

[farothel]

"There are indeed some with people in them," Nishawa confirmed, "and we have general guidelines on how to deal with them. You will get those, don't worry. This is also why we have selected people who know more than one language. And I'm quite sure if we ever get a beach vacation tangent, it will go through the grapevine quite quickly."

He looked at his watch.
"I have another meeting," he said, "I'll have you escorted to your apartment building. Talk things over among yourselves and don't be late for the briefing tomorrow morning. You should also have some emails about general policies and some tech stuff by now, so you can check that over as well."

With that the meeting ends and you are brought back to the building you have a small studio in. While everyone has a small kitchen where they can cook for themselves, there is a central mess hall where food is prepared for those who don't have the time or the inclination to do it themselves. There is also a gym and a recreation room with some pool tables, some games and other assorted stuff. There is however no alcohol on site, besides what you might have brought yourself.

You already had some emails in your accounts, including one with a link to some basic rules concerning tangent travel. The most important ones are:
1) Try to find out what is different (all differences if possible)
2) We’re always interested in new and improved tech
3) We’re always interested in samples from creatures and/or plants, but don’t go killing just for samples.
4) The same goes for strange phenomena (like psionics, magic, …)
5) Try not to harm anybody, but defend yourself if needed
6) If contact is made with habitants of the tangent, try not to tell where you come from if possible
7) Any creatures encountered that the HI is at war with on earth can be taken down, but show constraint and limit collateral damage
8) Do not give people who have no means of traveling tangents these means
9) Try to not give advanced tech to people not possessing such
10) Try to blend in as much as possible
11) Establish where possible good relationships with the inhabitants of a tangent so you can go back one day.

In that email there is also a link to some rules about the machines that are used to travel the tangents and about the robot sent out (it's called a Mobile All-Terrain Laboratory Platform or MALP for short).

transport machines:
-need 2 metres on every side to materialise and ground solid enough to hold their weight (about 600kg empty)
-need about 6 hours of recharge time after every use
-max 8 machines available (expansion project is underway)
-max 1 person/machine, plus about 100 kg material
-machines make noise and light when materialising, so be prepared that inhabitants of tangents have seen you.
-transporting to the MALP will put you in the vicinity of the MALP, but not necessarily right beside it (normally within 5 km)
-when using the portable paratransponder device (PPD), the machines will come close to you (about 100m) provided there is room and there is one that is charged.

MALP:
Combination between a JPL HAZBOT III and a Mars Rover with the following specs:
-12MP tiltable color digital camera
-8MP tiltable infrared digital camera
-laser range finder
-2 spectrometers (1 for atmosphere work, 1 for soil or water samples)
-a small directional microphone
-a Geiger counter
-sensors for detecting air pressure/temperature
-sensors for determining atmospheric composition
-scoop to take soil samples + analyser for soil samples
-biosensors for airborne and soil bacteria and viruses (only limited numbers available)
-antennas to check for signals (radio, wireless,…)
-Hubsan X4 Quadcopter RTF with camera (tethered, cable length 100m, 12MP color digital camera)
-computer to analyse the results and put them in compressed formats for sending
-paratransponder so the transport machines will show in its vicinity

[DataNinja]

Well, seems simple enough on the rules. Common sense, mostly. Avoidance of violence is always a plus - not exactly her inclination to jump to that. After reviewing all of the instructions on the machines (which she'll probably have to do again), she decides to avail herself of the facilities here. Who knows what they might be jumping into, or if they'll even end up alive, so- oh, wait, no alcohol?

Well, with that disappointment out of the way, the order of the day is food and then lounging in the common areas. Might as well not lock herself away. Hopefully the others are just as sociable.

[CateranEnforcer]

After reading over the emails, Aleksandr, heads down to the common area. He goes a few rounds at a punching bag in the gym to get out some nervous energy and to think. Not only were their other worlds, other realities, but they were inhabited. And it was his job now to explore one of them and rescue a team. That alone was motivation enough. He couldn't wait to get into the lab.

Aleksandr wasn't sure if he could eat, but he figured it would be best to try. He notices Cynthia as he does so and makes an effort to be noticed. "Never a dull moment," he says, half to himself with a weak attempt at humor before getting more serious."You ready for tomorrow? Done your homework?"

[DataNinja]

"If by 'ready', you mean 'come to terms with the fact that it's quite possibly going to end with our deaths, given that a prior team didn't some back', then... no, not really," she quips, sardonically. "If you mean 'have I run out of things that I think might be helpful to do', then yes. Yes, I'm ready. Really don't think anyone can ever truly be reading for leaving their world."

[farothel]

A man wearing some dirty coveralls passed by.
"New here," he asked and before they could answer, he went on, "if you want something to eat and the food bar is closed, you can get some sandwiches from the fridge. Scan your badge, take a sandwich and scan that too and it will be detucted from your account. Same for the drinks. And welcome to the Facility."
Then he moved on, probably to start his shift, or to get some sleep and probably a shower.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr started to thank the man as he addressed them, but the moment passed. Oh well.

"I think I am the same. I need to see these devices up close, it is something perhaps within my field of study. I thought if we'd be looking at other worlds that space travel was the answer. Even spent some time in orbit myself doing research years ago." He snapped out of his wistful gaze to continue. "But you are right, it is a rescue mission, not a research mission. There may be lives at stake, ours included. But let;s not get ahead of ourselves today. Tomorrow after our briefing we can worry about that."

[DataNinja]

"Do you think that being curt and covered in grime is an inevitability here," Cynthia asks Alek, eyebrow raised. "Because that doesn't exactly bode well." She chuckles. "Wonder what the odds are that the scientists just wanted a break from rushing from one place to another."

"With space travel," she adds, with some interest, "did you ever really feel prepared for going up there? And if so, what or how long did it take?" Probably the closest thing they'd have to this, experience-wise.

[J3st]

"There's always the chance the communicators simply stopped working. I mean they are dealing with mostly theoretical science at this point so it would stand to reason that things aren't going to go exactly how we expect." Leo offers as he joins the pair in the common room. He moves to the fridge and takes one of the sandwiches before swiping his badge through the reader. "Sorry, don't mean to steal the conversation." The younger man offers a slight smile before joining the others and taking a seat on one of the larger couches.

[CateranEnforcer]

Alek shrugs, "I think we are up to something more exciting than that. We will probably still get dirty, I am thinking."

"But to answer your question, you go through a long training process that's supposed to prepare you. It helps, but there is nothing like the real thing. Some things become routine in zero gravity, but everyone is aware of the thin line that separates you from the vaccum of space. But I have only piloted three missions and each one was as terrifying as the others," Alek closes his eyes as he reminisces.

He acknowledges Leo as he approaches, "It may be that as well. I think they have selected a strong crew with this mission, each of us a different specialist. I am hoping they do not want me to be the in charge of blending in."

[DataNinja]

"Oh," Cynthia says. "That's... encouraging. Hopefully given no particular training, and just relying on our expertises, that'll be enough. I don't feel prepared at all. I mean... maybe a little. But I don't know what to do if, like... there're three-eyed tentacle monsters or whatever. Or psychic people. Or whatever else might be there. I don't even know if they'll be enough like here to be able to properly communicate." She chuckles nervously. "And that's what my whole job depends on. I've had training in establishing communication with people in languages I don't know, reading body language and all... but, man, what if things don't even have the same body?"

[CateranEnforcer]

"I haven't even begun to speculate on other life. Other sentient life would surely know us as alien right away. Apparently, if the rules are to be believed, we are at war with some of them," Alek shakes his head. "I hope not to use that mandatory combat training Hoffman requires."

[farothel]

6am was early in the morning to be at a briefing, but you managed. They had told you to be at the entrance of the administration building. There Sarah Jacobs was waiting for you. When everybody was there, she brought you to a small building that was partly build into the rock. Inside was a security office and after a check of the badge and a retinal and hand scan, a door opened. This door looked like it had been taken from a nuclear shelter, but it opened quite quickly on electric motors.

Sarah brought you into the corridor which had some doors to the side, which she ignored, going deeper into the rock. Soon they arrived at an elevator.
"This is going to take a while," she said as they got in and she used her badge to start it up, "we're going almost one mile down."

It did take a while, although not as much as you had expected. When the elevator opens it goes into a short corridor, before you arrive in a large cave where a lot of machines, pipes and other things you don't immediately recognise are. In the middle of the cave is a strange structure with metal sheets, with next to it a construction like a freight container with some glass windows in it. You start to wonder how they got all this stuff down here.
"Inside that are the machines which will bring you to other tangents," Sarah said, leading you there. Soon you see that the metal sheets are about 2 inch thick and there are two openings to go inside. However there are multiple layers of metal sheets, making the whole structure look a bit like a maze around a center space.

In that space you see a raised platform and on that what looks like eight cages, each on top of a metal cirle. Over them, where there is also a metal roof, you see another circle over the machines. Everything looks a bit like a cage on top of a Star Trek transporter room. A lot of pipes and cables run underneath and above the machines and everything is lighted by construction flood lights.
"These are the machines you will be using," Sarah said, "if you want, one of the scientists can give you the full explanation, but the short version is that we found a way to go through the quantum foam to other tangents. The easiest thing to compare it with is sending a fax. You put it on a machine here, click send and it goes through the wires to another place. The lead plates are to shield you from all external influence when in transit. Now, please follow me."

You go to another container at the other side of the main structure, where some seats are placed and a projector. She tells you to take a seat and starts up the projector.
"We've send a team to a tangent we've called HF52687-2," she starts and a set of four pictures appears, "these are the four team members. Their names are Terrence Van Dyck, Jack Summers, Vitaly Alexandrov and Jose d'Agustino. They each had a standard paratransponder and a regular transponder, as well as communication equipment, weapons and some gems to be used as bartering material. We will give you the same equipment."

"The tangent they went to had no immediate dangers in soil and air," she continued, "all samples came back negative or with bacteria which are common on our Earth as well. There were some artificial signals, including GPS, but not as much as we have here. We used the GPS and we think the MALP arrived in Atlanta."
As she speaks some pictures show on the screen. You don't know all of Atlanta but most of the buildings on the pictures are clearly abandoned.

"We were concerned a bit about the buildings, but the team reported no problems the first three times they had to report in," Sarah continued, "which is normally every three hours. However, then they suddenly missed their fourth reporting time and we haven't heard from them since. They've since then gone out of range for the MALP to pick up the signal of the transponders they all carry. It's been two days since they stopped reporting in and we want you to go and have a look. We'll give you a system so you can use satelite signals to try and track the transponders on a longer range than the MALP can handle at the moment. Any questions so far?"

[DataNinja]

As they observe the machine, Cynthia thinks that they very much do not look like things you'd travel the worlds in.

"Is there..." she pauses, yawning. Stupid early briefings. "Is there anything else relevant from their reports? What the tangent might contain... or, if there are things that they had to report if they ran into it, what the tangent might not contain?" What a person doesn't say often helps as much as what they do, after all. "Even if it's something seemingly insignificant."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksander's brow furrows as he listens. "Is this Earth? But with some differences?" Is this really another world?

"And I would very much like to speak on the specifics if there is time. I don't expect to become an expert, but I am hoping to understand what we are about to go through. I know we have a different mission at the moment and I think we know our roles for that."

[farothel]

"Their reports were routine," Sarah said to Cynthia, "they did notice they saw almost no people, but that happened before in other tangents."
Then she turned to Aleksander.
"It is a sort of earth," she said, "actually it is Earth, but it has gone through a different path somewhere in history, or it actually still is in history, or in the future. Yes indeed, some tangents run slower or faster, relatively speaking, compared with us. We don't know how this happens, but we do try to figure that out before we send people over. This one runs at about the same speed."

[DataNinja]

"Almost no people, but they were still people-people," Cynthia says, nodding. "Okay, that's... hopefully workable. Would be nice to know what language was spoken - or even if it's anything like ours - but... guess we're going to have to fly by the seat of our pants, there. Did the people who were there group up, or was it just scattered individuals? In other words, will we stand out just by virtue of being in a group, despite any other actions we might take?"

[farothel]

"We have a few pictures they have taken and there we see small groups of people," Sarah explains. She searched a bit and soon there was a picture on the screen. It was taken at dusk and the quality wasn't optima, but you could clearly see four people walking together. They were all wearing what looked like regular streetwear, but they were also wearing cloaks with hoods, so you couldn't see their faces.
"So walking in group isn't a problem, but I would suggest to keep interaction with the locals to a minimum," Sarah continued.

[CateranEnforcer]

"Okay, I think I can work with this as well. If it is not entirely different, I will just make sure I'm am familiar with our equipment." Aleksandr thinks a moment. "I will take any maps, tracking, or communication equipment you can offer."

[J3st]

"You said no immediate dangers as well, but does that mean there were dangers reported later? Any wildlife to be concerned about? I understand we're getting supplies to keep ourselves protected, but any idea is always helpful." Leo glanced to the other two then about the facility before settling back on the woman before them. "And are we just to bring them back when we find them? Or are we looking for something particular in this tangent?"

[DataNinja]

"Any wildlife is enough to be concerned about..." Cynthia mutters.

[farothel]

"They didn't report any danger," Sarah said, "but since they dissapeared, there probably is something. You will have to be careful. We can provide you with a GPS unit as there are GPS signals over there, as well as standard transponders and the paratransponders you need to call the machines back. We can of course give you a map of Atlanta, but I'm not sure how accurate that will be. Of course a handgun each and we can get some shotguns or rifles as well, although we'd rather not that you look like an invasion army. For protection we have standard battlevests. For you, doctor, we have a field trauma kit and of course each of you gets a backpack with some survival gear. Any other gear you want, you can ask and we'll see what we can do. Oh yeah, just in case, there is an emergency paratransponder in the MALP, so if you loose yours, you can go back to the MALP."
Two men brought in a cart with a number of items on it.

[DataNinja]

"Only things that I can really think of are maybe a separate audio recorder, in case bugging some place might be needed, and some binoculars so that we can be a bit less... up close and personal when observing," she says, gathering the rest of the mentioned supplies. "Information is power... and while it might be better to have something and not need it, I've not exactly got the frame to carry a bunch of things. Or terribly much training in heavier weaponry. So, I'll pass on the other guns. Leave those to the guys." She gives a little chuckle.

[farothel]

"That shouldn't be a problem," Sarah replied, "we can add that to the list."

[CateranEnforcer]

"I will just request to bring some hand tools as well as a compass, flashlight, and a student survival knife. All very useful things for being on your own in a strange world," Alek muses. "I am not much bigger than you, Miss Weiss. My frame is a good fit in a cockpit. I too will try to travel light. When do we leave?"

[farothel]

"That too shouldn't be a problem," Sarah said, "as to leaving, as soon as we're finished here. Those extra things aren't all that much of a problem to get. Do you want something extra, doctor?"

[J3st]

"That fully depends on what is available in your trauma kits, I suppose. I just would want ample supply of antibiotics, pain relievers, and sterilizing materials. Not that I expect to need an abundance, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared - especially if we are going somewhere unfamiliar and following the steps of people who have not returned." He pauses for a moment and glances to the other two. "And I know you said that you wanted us to travel inconspicuously, so perhaps a rifle in a case or semi-disassembled would help keep our profile low."

[farothel]

"No problem there," Sarah said. All the equipment was soon delivered and after checking they were brought to the machines again. There a technician was waiting.

"It's fairly easy," he said as he opened one of the machines, "you go stand in here together with your material and then we'll zap you to your destination. The easiest way to describe it is like Star Trek's transporter system, except here you need to stand in one of these instead of on a pad for it to work. And you go through the Quantum foam instead of through the air. Now, during transport there might be a tingling feeling, but that will pass quickly. Also do remember to keep your transponder with you and also remember that the machines need room to appear and a surface that can hold the weight. Ready to go?"

[DataNinja]

"As ready as I'll ever be to go into another world," Cynthia says, chuckling. "I don't know if that's something you can ever really be ready for, especially when there's a known unknown danger. But, hey... nothing ventured, nothing gained."

[CateranEnforcer]

Alek nods at Cynthia and tightens down the straps of his pack, "Likewise. There may be lives at stake here so I will not pester you with questions. At least for now."

[farothel]

Without further questions, you were each given one of the machines, or cages as they were called by the tech staff. And while the front was indeed like a cage, with bars, the other sides were closed and there were some boxes bolted on. You had no idea what they were for. The cages were about 2.5 metres high and with the boxes, about the same in the other directions. With your gear, you could just stand inside. Around the cages were a lot of mirrors, which could move and what you thought were lasers.

You are pointed to a small LED on the inside of the cage. You were told that as soon as this light turned green, the transfer process was completed and you could move out of the cage. After you were reminded again to make sure that there's enough room around the cages when you try to call them back. Then it was time for the big transfer.

You all got into one of the machines and closed the front. The technician checked to see if everything was okay and then he left, flashing them a thumbs up before he went into the lead maze. You stood there for a while before suddenly the lasers started flashing around. Then it stopped for a while and then it started again. This time it was accompanied by a noise and then you were blinded by a sudden flash. When you could see again, you noticed that the cave seemed to be a lot larger, or you were getting smaller. Then there was another flash and now the cave was gigantic. Then there was another flash and now you didn't see anything anymore.

When the flashes stopped, the cages were pointed like they were when you left, with the open sides towards each other, so you could see each other. Around the cages you could see a dusty square with abandoned buildings around it. The abandoned buildings are one and two story buildings, most without a roof or any windows. You see what looked like bullet holes and some larger holes as well. Some roads where weeds were poking through the asphalt were also visible, leading away from the square. The weather is sunny, with some wispy clouds and temperatures are quite nice at the moment.

Then the green light comes on, signalling that the transfer is complete.

[DataNinja]

"Well, this place looks positively delightful," Cynthia says sarcastically, as she takes her first steps out. Inwardly, though, she's rather shaken by the journey. That was... unsettling. It's one thing to be adjacent to paranormal whatevers, but nothing was able to prepare her for that. And this. "Hopefully nobody notices some shiny new things to destroy..."

A thought occurs to her. "Y'know, I really should have asked about the cages for the other team. What happened to them, if they knew." She sighs. "It's always when it's too late that you think of these things."

"So," she chuckles, nervously, "how's everyone feeling about... where we are? Nobody stuck their hands outside of the rollercoaster here, I hope." The similar-but-different place radiates to her very much a general aura of unease.

[CateranEnforcer]

"I wonder where this world went wrong." Alek thinks aloud. "I seem to be in one piece, but that was disorienting. Where did we end up?" Aleksander takes a moment to look around and take stock of the area. "I'd hate to be spotted the moment we arrive."

Let's try rolling!
Awareness-perception 12/6/3
[roll0] - [roll1]

[farothel]

"I wonder where this world went wrong." Alek thinks aloud. "I seem to be in one piece, but that was disorienting. Where did we end up?" Aleksander takes a moment to look around and take stock of the area. "I'd hate to be spotted the moment we arrive."

Let's try rolling!
Awareness-perception 12/6/3
[roll0] - [roll1]

There are no people as far as you can see. You do see the MALP standing inside a building, probably to keep it out of the way of any inquiring people that might appear. You also see some tracks on the square, as if a large wheeled vehicle, like a big pick-up truck or SUV had driven across it. You can easily see them leading from one street over the square into another street. Looking closer you see some tracks from boots right next to the car tracks, as if someone had come out of the car, but they don't move around a lot.

As soon as you all get out, the machines dissapear, but in your briefing documents it was mentioned that they could simply be recalled by pushing a button on your paratransponders. Which was why you had to be very careful with it to make sure you could get back, although you get get more machines with only one of the paratransponders. It was a safety feature to avoid people from the tangent to see the machines and maybe damage or destroy them. And although they were good for at least two trips, they could be recharged as a precaution.

[CateranEnforcer]

"Well, then. No one around but someone was here not long ago in a large vehicle." Alek looks up and around to try and get some kind of bearing. "Where do we begin? Maybe observe some natives from a distance and try our best to blend in?"

[DataNinja]

Oh, right. The scientists had thought ahead. Good on them.

"Yes, that would probably be good. I'd rather make any first encounter on our terms, not on theirs," Cynthia says, nodding. "And if people have been here recently, it means we risk them coming along again."

[CateranEnforcer]

"I agree, staying on a traveled path may get us discovered more quickly. First, I will see if I can find any of the previous group's equipment."

Computer Ops 15/7/3 [roll0]

(if applicable) System Ops/Comms 15/7/3 [roll1]

[farothel]

It takes a while to get it set up, but in the end Alexandr manages to hook the computer of the MALP (which has a better antenna for picking up signals and slightly better processing power) to the GPS signals they still get. There are fewer satelites than you expect, but you manage to get your position as a few blocks west of Atlanta Zoo, or at least where Atlanta Zoo is in your own home tangent.

You also manage to bounce a signal of one of the satelites and pick up the transponder signal of the other team. It's signal is a bit to the north of DeKalb-Peachtree airport (again, where it would be in your tangent), although you have the feeling that the positions here are not as accurate as they are back home. Still, that's about 25 km from your current position.

[DataNinja]

Cynthia's a little antsy waiting by the MALP, because it feels like it draws more attention to the area. She'd very much prefer to not have everything in one spot to be stumbled upon... but, hopefully it'll end up working.

"What's the conclusion, oh wise one?" she asks. "Do we have something that we can work off of now?"

[CateranEnforcer]

Alek pours over the data and relays what he found. "Our maps are close but probably not a perfect match. I am picking up the team's transponder north of us, about 25 km at the airport. A decent walk, but a start."

[DataNinja]

"Hmmm... That's concerning," Cynthia muses. "If it's anything like back home, we'll have problems getting anywhere without rousing suspicion. Let alone the fact that an airport would mean they could quickly end up anywhere."

"I say we head out, then, follow the lead while we still can. Keep an eye on the sky, too, see if we see any planes. If we don't, good chance that it's not actually an airport here."

[CateranEnforcer]

Alek nods,"Sounds like a good place to start. Keep an eye out for natives." He hastily packs away his equipment and throws his backpack onto his back.

[J3st]

The transition is an odd one, and to see the dilapidated buildings surround them is enough to keep Leo's attention wandering for what seems far longer than it truly is. "That's not a bad idea. I imagine the odds of it being an actual airport are pretty low though, right? I'm still trying to wrap my head around how all of these tangents function. I can't help but wonder if these are all diverged from singular decisions that are different or if they're massive changes in the world as we know it."

He adjusts his gear for a moment before his attention turns back to the group. "Though I suppose none of that matters now. We're here and whatever caused this damage is to be avoided regardless."

[farothel]

You start walking north, towards the location of the signal. While the roads are clearly in need of repairs and several weeds have pushed up through the concrete and asphalt covering, you can still make good time walking over the relatively flat Surfaces. With an SUV this should also be easy to do and even regular cars should be able to navigate most Streets. You see cars standing next to the road and from the look of it, they're standing there for quite some time already. Some might still start, but you don't think you would put money on which ones.

As you walk, the weather start taking a turn for the worst and soon it starts drizzling.

[DataNinja]

"Okay," Cynthia muses. "So... they have cars here, but something happened, probably. Which is concerning. More conflict overseas, cutting off our supply of fuel, maybe? That would certainly curtail some of our industry. Well, 'our' in a presumptive sense. Or maybe it's something completely unknown."

And of course it's raining. Couldn't be a nice day, could it? This is why she likes indoors. It doesn't rain on you. Oh well, the sacrifices that must be made.

[CateranEnforcer]

"A part of me wants to have a look at those vehicles but that may draw some attention." Alek replies. "There is no telling how different this world is from our own, but it's a good idea to keep an eye on those details." He looks up at the sky. "I hope it doesn't rain harder or we may need shelter."

[farothel]

You're walking in the drizzle, not getting any happier. You're about 30 minutes out from where you started when suddenly Leo stopped.
"I thought I saw some movement up there," he said to the two others. The two others look at the building, another delapidated three story building like you've seen many, but you see nothing there.

[DataNinja]

"Hmm... concerning," Cynthia says, quietly. "Well, since we've stopped, they probably know we know. Do we want to check it out? At the very least, we should be able to get some idea of what we're dealing with in a small, isolated case. And find out if a wider array of people might know we're here."

[CateranEnforcer]

"I had hoped to observe the inhabitants from a distance first." Aleksandr replies, "but I am willing to try. I will not do the talking of course. I expect my accent may be unwelcome."

[DataNinja]

"Fine, fine, I suppose it is what I'm paid for," Cynthia says with a teasing tone, mock-sighing theatrically. Need to try and keep spirits up in the rain. "Though, I'm pretty sure that this isn't the 1960s... probably. I guess it could be. They did mention something about time being wonky in places..." She does try and do a mental comparison with what she remembers about that Cold War - which, admittedly, history isn't her strong suit - in case there's anything that jogs any similarities. "I would have preferred distance, too, but it seems they got the drop on us."

[farothel]

The people on the other side seem to have reached the same conclusion, as now you all see some movement. Some of that movement is not in the building you thought you saw the movement first, but two buildings to the side. There you see a machinegun being housted on its bipod. It is clear that if these people want, they could rip through you without too much problem. Now other people are visible, about 10 you can see.

Then you hear the rumble of a vehicle and quickly a large pick-up truck comes around a corner. It's a regular one, but it's been modified. On the top of the cabin is another machine gun mounted so that someone standing in the back could easily fire it. You've seen it before, but only on the news about civil wars in Africa or in movies. But now one is coming towards you. When it comes closer, two women in camouflage clothing jump over the side and come towards you.

"Are you crazy," one of them shouts, "get these on. Hopefully it's not too late."
Both of the women have a gasmask in their hand and come towards Alex and Leo and force the gasmasks on. Well, force... you could refuse, but there are a number of guns on you.

They don't seem to worry about Cynthia and they are not wearing one themselves.

[DataNinja]

Well, this isn't good, Cynthia reflects, trying to piece together things. So, the people in here seem to be the people who made the tracks. The truck and the building people look to be together. Well, she hopes, at least - otherwise they're right in the crossfire. There's some heavy armament involved. There's something to do with the men. And these people at least seem willing to help. But help in what, she doesn't know.

All of it paints a fairly bleak picture of where they'd landed. She wants to say something, find out more, but decides to wait. Let one of the men say something first. The attention's on them, and so how things are responded to when they say anything should be able to tell something about this world.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr freezes up when he sees the weapons. It's hard to argue with strangers with guns, but it didn't seem like they meant him harm. He considers asking what was going on, but that would instantly tip them off to something being wrong. If they weren't already.

"Yes, thank you," he manages to sputter out through the mask once it is secured. "Please, there is no need for any trouble, we will cooperate." Aleksandr puts his hands in the air. He still counts his captors in his head and deems escape unlikely so he'd best go along with these newcomers' demands.

[farothel]

All three of you are put on into the pick-up truck. Two of the women sit against the cab, their backs to it and looking at you, weapons ready. The one on the machinegun keeps an eye out on the surroundings. They clearly expect trouble and are ready to dish it out if needed. As you drive you see some more people on the street. They look at the pick-up, but don't seem to give any reaction to the weapons on display. After a couple of miles you drive onto a yard. It is clear that there used to be a gate and a guard shack here, but the rusted hinges are the only thing that shows where it used to be. The building you arrive at is also in dire need of maintenance, but it still looks quite nice. In fact there are a number of buildings, but the main one is 8 stories tall and except for a number of broken windows it still looks quite well.

On the premises are a large number of people, all as far as you can see women and most armed in some way. You stop next to a side building where the only description you can think of is 'bunker'. The door is typical for a bunker and as you are escorted in, people do look at you. You are escorted downstairs into another bunker inside the bunker and here you see what you think are additions to the Original design. There seems to be a sort of airlock set up with one door clearly an Original but the other a new addition. You are all brought into the airlock, which is quite large. As soon as you are inside and both doors are closed, a bank of bright lights came on and some fine mist sprayed from nozzles build into the side. The mist smells heavily of disinfectant.

After a minute or so, the lights go back out and the inside door opens. Two more women are waiting in the hallway on the inside, one of which is quite old.
"Welcome to the Reserve clan," the old one said, "you can take your gasmasks off now, it's quite safe inside."

[DataNinja]

"Safety is appreciated," Cynthia says. There's not going to be any way to get around not being from here, so, might as well attempt to mitigate the damage, and reduce the important information given out. "However... we knew we were headed into danger. There are... compatriots of ours, who we were informed were taken and probably held in this area. We need to either get them back, preferably... or else confirm their demise."

"I did not expect that we would find those who would be friendly to us out here," she admits. "Or even what to expect, entirely. We... were not exactly told a whole lot before having to set out. I have not heard of the Reserve clan before."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr does as he is told and removes his mask. He badly wants to know why the mask is required and if he perhaps had already been exposed to some kind of disease since setting foot on this world. Asking about it might be the height of ignorance though, like asking why someone in his world brushes their teeth.

"Yes, your help is unexpected but welcome. But if it is not too much trouble, can I ask where we are now?"

[farothel]

"Follow me," the old woman said, "but please leave your weapons here. Don't worry, they will be here when you leave."
She shows a closet where some other weapons are stored and where there's room enough for yours.

She guided you further into the bunker to a small room where a couch and a few comfortable chairs were standing. Along the way they noticed only women, most of who looked at the two men and ignored Cynthia. In the room the old woman motioned for you to sit down as she took one of the chairs. Two other women stayed in the room as well.

"This building used to be the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta," the old woman said, "I used to work here before the calamity and now I'm sort of the boss around here. But, where are you from and what are your names?"


The Federal Reserve Building is in exactly the same location as it is in your own tangent.

[DataNinja]

Cynthia relinquishes her weapon without a fight. If she had to use it here, they were dead anyways. She takes the offered seat as well.

She nods at the explanation. "That certainly explains why there's such heavy protection here. My name is Cynthia. These are my associates, Alexsander, and Leo." She gestures to each of them in turn. "As for where we're from... I'm afraid that I can't say. I hope you can understand that it's for the... safety and security of certain people." Well, a whole lot of people, actually. On both sides of the tangents. "I'm sure you understand, though, being responsible for the well-being of people here."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr likewise relinquishes his pistol and follows the rest deeper into the facility. He thinks Cynthia's reply is sound and nods in agreement. He does have questions, but doesn't want to overstep his bounds. They are going to have to be very careful choosing their words. He just took this time to observe his surroundings as best as he could.

[farothel]

Leo nodded when Cynthia gave his name, but didn't say anything for now.

"I can understand," the woman said, "I'm Ania by the way. But that doesn't explain why you have two males with you who are not affected and were running around without a gasmask."

[DataNinja]

Cynthia inhales. She takes a moment to decide things. "To be perfectly honest, Ania, there are... gaps in our knowledge. We don't have memories of the important things that you do. Which is just coming more and more to light as-is. And that's something that's concerning, since things seem to get more and more... problematic, as we learn more. There is... probably plenty that we were not informed of, being sent on this endeavor," well, that's the understatement of the century, "so... it might help here to have some general overview of the situation, so we might be able to answer some of your questions, by connecting it to our own knowledge. I'm sorry that we're unable to be more helpful in that regard."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr is visibly shaken,"Have I been exposed to something out there? Do I have something to be worried about."

[farothel]

"How can you not know," Ania said in surprise, "where exactly do you come from if you're not aware of the Calamity?"

[DataNinja]

Ah, damn it. She was hoping to get a bit more information before things deteriorated. This is not going well. "I'm sorry, Ania," she says, "I'd love to answer your questions... but, to be frank, we really don't know ourselves. We found ourselves in the wastelands out there with no real memories of anything that'd happened here. Just the knowledge that there were some of our compatriots who were taken, by someone. And that we need to get them out, or make sure that they're dead. The information they hold, whatever it is... it's too dangerous. And I would assume that reason there is why we really don't remember things. You'd think we could get some more basics, though." She lets some irritation creep into her voice.

[farothel]

"Mmm," Ania said, "I'm sure there is more to it than you want to let me know. I can understand that. Let's make a deal, shall we. We have something you want I guess, and I'm absolutely sure you have something we can use. I'm sure we can come to an arrangement. So tell me, in bold terms, what do you want?"

[DataNinja]

Cynthia didn't really expect it to hold up - any forces like this certainly don't survive by being unable to detect BS that might be infiltrators - so... this is probably the best they'll get. "What would be appreciated is... just an overview of what history we apparently can't remember," she says, "and we're trying to get into... what we presume is a facility that we were headed to before you picked us up, in order to extract compatriots." She gives a rough distance and direction from where they were picked up, comparatively. "Information about that would be helpful, if you can provide it."

"Now," she smiles, "What can we do for you?"

[farothel]

"Information about history we can provide," Ania said, "although I don't know anything about your … compatriots, so I can't help you there at the moment. As to what you can do for us, that's rather simple. As you might have seen we're rather short of men. It's part of our history. So while you personally can't really help, unless you have some technical skills we can use, your colleagues most certainly can, if you catch my drift."

[DataNinja]

"The only thing that I really know about the people that we're trying to rescue is that they're also men," Cynthia says, shrugging. "So, we're really on the same page, there."

She raises an eyebrow internally at the request. Ah. So that's what they need. And she's beginning to possibly put pieces together. So that's why the scientists were probably taken, it dawns on her, and the realization shows on her face. Not for information. Not because they poked their noses in in the wrong places, or were out of place. But for human repopulation. "Oh. I think I get it now. I feel like I understand. The Cataclysm... it killed or sterilized men, didn't it? I'm not sure which. Maybe both. Chemical weapon, probably. That all... makes sense, I think. It feels right..."

"I'm afraid that I don't particularly have any technical skills," she says, shaking her head. "Not that I'm aware of, at least." She glances at her companions. "I can't exactly speak for their willingness." Inwardly, though, she chuckles. She feels like, even if these two aren't willing, there might be more than enough scientists on the project who would be happy to, uh, voluntarily contribute towards saving humanity. It's not exactly a resort tangent, but, it's something to maybe be able to solve later. Command probably wouldn't be happy about it... especially given a problem of cross-cultural contamination. But, hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh? Might as well send a message later.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr watched as the conversation unfolded. He felt rather uncomfortable about the whole situation, and if the people here had a dire enough of a situation, a simple 'no thank you' would probably not be enough.

"Ah...hmm.." he began no-so sagely. "So I can see you are speaking subtlety, but I am a scientist and Leo is a doctor. I think we would prefer it if you told us in detail what you propose. We do still have an assignment to complete, but I do not think you will take no as an answer, no? What, precisely, you do need from us?"

[farothel]

Ania smiled at the two men.
"Technicians and doctors are certainly welcome," she said, "and I'm sure we can help you with your assignment. As to what we mostly want, actually need, is male genetic material. And you are right, we can keep you here if we want, but we'd rather come to an agreement. Besides, we have agreements with most of the neighbouring clans, so we might get your associates back to you where you could run around here for months. Spending a few nights with our ladies is a small price to pay for that, don't you think?"

[DataNinja]

Cynthia keeps mostly quiet on this. She can't really help here, and it's not her place to say anything. Granted, they might be expecting her to offer them up, but... she ain't going to do that. Months is a n issue, probably. Though, she doesn't want to do anything until checking in.

"How many other Clans are there around?" she asks, idly.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr thinks for a moment, "I feel that we must agree. I am sure we can come up with something. It may be to your benefit to use a way to artificially spread the genetic material. I am do not know much about that subject, however. It seems like something could be arranged, even if we have to go low tech." A month of that? That probably breaks a few rules at the institute, but they frankly didn't have much choice but to be agreeable in this alternate dimension. Itv was better than becoming a prisoner. He just hoped his interference didn't jeopardize his world or theirs.

[roll0] + [roll1] 8/4/2

[farothel]

"Where's the fun in that," Ania said with a smile, "but if that's the way you want it, I'm sure we can work something out. And if you have indeed a doctor with you, we're doubly blessed. As this Calamity as we know it was caused by a virus. A cossacki…"

"coxsackie ," interjected Leo.

"Yes, coxsackie," Ania continued, "none of us are doctors, we only have a few nurses, but what we do know is that it made most men go crazy. A lot of shootings, people having their heads bashed in. Only very few men were immune and a lot of those were killed. That's why we were surprised to see you without gas mask. Since then we live in clans, protecting the few men we still have and trying to get society going again. We used to fight over men, but lately we mostly come to exchane agreements. You know, to get the genepool deeper. So if your associates are here somewhere, they were probably taken somewhere."

[DataNinja]

Hmmm. Interesting. Going crazy, not sterile. Well, they're going to have to be very careful here. As even if they avoid the issues, it would be abysmal to infect home. Hm. Maybe they could synthesize something?

Well, no, she's feeling sorry for all of this... but they're not here to interfere. She does need to present the facts, and warn the higher ups of the potential danger, but there's unlikely to be anything that can be done.

"Well, I'll leave the doctor to discuss that sort of stuff with you," Cynthia says. "But I can see that getting them back will likely be a hassle... and if they were to disappear while they were here, that would probably invite retribution on you, I would imagine." Again, that's probably being too soft... but also, she would rather not spend any longer in crazy-virus dimension than she has to, thanks. And waiting a month or more to get the scientists... well, by that time, they'd certainly be normalized here, and it would probably disrupt things even more than getting them back now.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr raises an eyebrow at the older woman.

"Well, I did not think fun was a part of it. I was just thinking about efficiency in this situation. I did not mean to offend, whatever you think is best. So long as we do not become a permanent fixture here. When we are gone, you will need an excess of supply. We will work out the...er...details when the time comes."

Aleksandr doubted life in a harem or something like it would not be as fun as she suggested. He certainly did not intend to stay here forever as essentially a slave. This was definitely no dream come true, this was survival. He already worried their interference was too great as it was and these people could quickly become their enemies if they found out they could leave this hell.

[farothel]

"I can ask around to neighbouring clans to see if they have them," Ania said, "I'm not sure how long it will take."

"I will only need a few days to explain the artificial insemination techniques to your nurses," Leo said, "it's not that difficult to do. We just need some tools and a working freezer for the samples."

"I'll let you handle that with our nurses," Ania said, "I'm not sure what they all have in their ward. But I'm not sure if we have a reliable freezer. Power is a bit wonky here. You said you were a technician?"
She looked at Aleksandr.
"Maybe you can have a look at our generators," she continued, "a fresh view is always interesting."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr actually felt optimistic about this plan. "This sounds like a plan is coming together. I will l have a look at your generator. It is a bit outside my field, but if we can get you set up for the long run, there will be no need for us to remain here and we can find our associates. Does this sound agreeable?" He looked over at Cynthia and Leo for confirmation. It was more meddling than he would have liked, but they weren't bringing in higher tech than what already once existed right?

Aleksandr didn't want to think what might happen if they couldn't help.

[DataNinja]

"That sounds workable, if you have the skills to do it," Cynthia nods at the others. There... really isn't anything she can do, so, best to let them just do their things as they want. They know what they do best. In the meantime, she figures she'll do the best she can to get some alone time to fire off a report.

[farothel]

"Very well," Ania said, "but first let's have something to eat."

She guides you to a common mess hall where about twenty women of all ages and two other men were eating. They all look at you when you come in. She guides you to the counter where the food is waiting. It looks a bit like the cafetaria of the institute, but then underground.
"Oh, I have to go for a moment," she suddenly said, "just get some food and I'll be back soon."

With that she leaves you alone and goes to another woman at the end of the room.

[DataNinja]

Well, hopefully the food isn't bad. And compatible with their metabolisms. Cynthia figures if they were wanting to... poison them or something (well, her, probably, given they want the men), they wouldn't do it like this. They'd probably just have shot her. Or imprisoned her then shot her. Something like that. So, y'know... fun things.

She grabs what looks appetizing enough, since who knows when the next chance to eat may be, and then grabs a seat.

[CateranEnforcer]

While not particularly hungry, Aleksandr supposes that it would be best not to argue. He was more worried about getting to work and getting things back on track, but they had gotten so far off the first plan, that they mind as well go with it. When in Rome...

He follows the rest to the cafeteria to eat, not sure how to interact with the people here, but he keep his eyes down for now.

[farothel]

Leo also took something to eat and subtlely he brought them to a table at the side of the mess hall.
"So, what do you think about all this," he whispered as soon as they were all sitting down. Not that people could really overhear them with all the noise in the mess hall.

[DataNinja]

"I think it's gonna be hell getting them back, because it seems like they're literally the most valuable things in this world," Cynthia replies, quietly. "When I have a moment, gonna send a report back. At the very least, they need to know to be ready for testing and decontamination protocols to make sure that our world doesn't end up with the same fate."

[CateranEnforcer]

"I am thinking we may be meddling more than we should, but our options are limited. We should tread carefully. I agree with Cynthia that taking a handful of healthy males away will be difficult in a world where they are so valuable. It is why I think our own escape hinges on the success of our project. I fear, if we fail, that we will find ourselves needing rescued as well."

Aleksandr addresses Cynthia in a lower voice. "You may have the best chance to being given some free reign, I suspect that Leo and I will be closely watched. And perhaps otherwise preoccupied. I am not sure what the others here have come to expect or how they treat their males here. I am concerned that other women may not take no for an answer."

[farothel]

"Well, artificial insemination isn't that hard a technique," Leo said, "teaching them shouldn't be too much of a violation. And I think neither will be giving some 'samples'. Some contact is to be expected I think."

[DataNinja]

"They did say try for good relations," Cynthia says, dryly. "Anyways, I'll do what I can to get a message away. Might not be for some time, though. Probably going to be watching all of us pretty closely. Ania isn't stupid, I'm certain that she knows that something's up. Might be able to during, like... sleeping or something, though." She sighs. "Man, I never thought that this sort of stuff would end up with me feeling sorry for people on my assignments. Usually I just... greased the wheels of the stupid huge bureaucracies. Nobody's feeling any empathy for the people in charge there. Stupid red tape. This is... far more complicated than I ever could have imagined it being."

[CateranEnforcer]

"Perhaps I am being overly cautious. It is a strange circumstance we find ourselves in." Aleksandr looks up at the rest of the room. "We can only do the best we can. Hopefully, the the women who kidnapped our associates are as benevolent as the ones whi kidnapped us."

[farothel]

"I think that was one of the few things they promised us… strange," Leo said, "let's already make a preliminary report and have it queue up for as soon as the connection opens."

[DataNinja]

"I'd be wary about doing it in front of anyone," Cynthia says. "Since I don't want to give them the impression that we're trying to spy on them or anything. We're trying to not affect anything here, and doing something like that might cause conflict if they think we're from a different enclave or something."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr continues to keep his voice down. "I think protecting our home should be a top priority. They know there is something we aren't telling them, so I expect we will be watched. If we can be sure that we can contact them in secret, we should, but not before then. Perhaps we can try to keep some of them busy for you. I am not sure what Ania has in store for us, right this moment. I'm surprised they have left alone this long to as it is. Testing us, perhaps?"

[farothel]

"Maybe, but there she is," Leo said as he noticed Aina arriving. She also had a plate of food and two other women accompanied her. One was an older brunette and the other a tall, lanky blonde.

"Sorry it took so long," she said as she sat down, followed by the other two women, "this is Janice, one of our nurses (the brunette) and this is our engineer, Ginny (the blonde). They will take you to their own little 'kingdoms' after the lunch."

Then she turned to Cynthia.
"Do you have any specific skills that might be useful here," she asked.

[DataNinja]

"Charmed," Cynthia says, nodding at the new arrivals.

"Probably not," she admits. "I'm more of a people person. Just here to keep these two in line," she gives a wry grin. "They have the actual skills here." Certainly neither capabilities in corporate espionage nor bureaucratic leveraging will see particular use here.

[CateranEnforcer]

"Hello. Pleased to meet you. I should be finished soon, and eager to work." Work as if his mission and maybe freedom depends on it. Not unlike his time in Moscow perhaps.

"And I would not sell yourself short, Cynthea." Aleksandr wisely not want to qualify that statement and just left it as a friendly reassurance.

[farothel]

"You can help me with finding your companions," Aina suggested, "but first let's finish our lunch."

The lunch proceeded with some small talk, where it was clear that they were trying to get more information about where you came from. Then the group was split with Leo going with the nurse to the ward while Alex went with the engineer to their generators and Cynthia stayed with Aina.

Cynthia
"So, you have names and pictures of these companions," Aina asked as they arrived at the radio station of the group, "I'll circulate that to the nearby clans and hopefully they react."

Alex
Alex was brought to the generator room, where two large diesel generators were turning and one was standing idle.
"We only need two during the day and one at night, so we try to rotate them," Ginny explained, "but lately we're having some problems with this one and we're not sure were it comes from."

Leo
Leo went to the ward, where some women were waiting with small complaints. When they heard he was a doctor, they were quite happy to be treated by him. As soon as that was done, he started looking around for the equipment needed for artificial insemination, while also trying to figure out what had happened here.

[DataNinja]

Well, Cynthia's at least well-trained in giving pleasant non-answers to questions.

"Yes, I do," she says, nodding as they're seperated, before getting the photos from her pack, and giving a list of names. "We have an idea of where about they were supposed to be, at least in general. Don't know if they might have moved, but you might know about those who'd live or act around there." She gives a general gist of where they were headed before this group had picked them up.

[farothel]

Cynthia

"Well, that narrows it down," Aina said, "that means we can start with only four other clans. A lot easier than asking the whole bloody town."

[DataNinja]

"I expect that there's a lot of people, then, if 4 is just a small portion of it," she says. "Judging by what you have here. I imagine not everyone has such a potent-seeming fortress, though."

[CateranEnforcer]

"That may give us a good time to work on one while the rest sleep." Aleksandr observes. "What kinds of problems are you having here? You seem to have a working system here at the moment?" He continues to ply with increasingly technical questions as he makes a cursory examination of the power generators.

Tech Knowledge 17/8/4 [roll0] - [roll1]

[farothel]

Cynthia

"It has its advantages," Aina replied, "there were of course people who wanted it, so it was difficult at times. But I hope that things will be better soon."
She brought you to the radio room where some old fashioned army radios were standing. Soon she was talking to a voice at the other side of the radio.


Alexandr

You look at the generator and the maintenance is well done. There's Always room for improvement, but in this case not that much. The main problem seems to be spare parts. While you can do maintenance, sometimes things have to be replaced and that wasn't done. When you ask about spare parts, you're taken to a storage room where you see some parts, but not the thing you need.

You do see something you're much more familiar with, although not in this way... solar panels. There's about 20 panels here.


Leo

After giving the basic care to the wounded of the base, Leo starts explaining how to do artificial insimination and also how to keep the sperm safe and refrigerated. They just needed a few extra machines and tools to get the job done.
When they took a short break, he managed to steer the conversation to what happened.
"Well, there was a virus that made most men go crazy," one of the nurses said, "Cosack-something-or-other."
"coxsackie virus," Leo offered.
"Yeah, that one," the nurse replied, "normally they don't do much, but this one did. CDC went crazy trying to figure it out. I don't know if they did in the end, but it didn't really matter. Those affected started killing each other and other people too and here we are now. I think we can be Lucky that their mind went and they couldn't remember the code for all those missiles they have lying around. So, where are you from."
"Far away," Leo said, "we have determined that there was no more virus where we were, so we didn't know that there was still here."
"I don't know if there still is," the nurse said, "men Always wear gasmasks outside of closed compounds."

Interesting, Leo thought as he went back to work teaching.

[DataNinja]

"That's indeed all we can hope for," Cynthia agrees. Man, this is far more stressful than anything said or done back home. The stakes are higher, the consequences worse, and everything is just so much more unfamiliar. But... they have to do it. IT's what she signed up for, after all.

She does her best to listen into what's being said without looking too intent on it. Any information is a boon in a drought.

[CateranEnforcer]

"Is there a reason you don't use those?" Aleksandr asked as he spotted the solar panels. It was hard to tell if they could put out the power needed to replace a whole generator even if they had all the correct parts for them anyways. He begin to pilfer through the storage room to see what other gems they had laying around. The great thing about electricity it that it works the same no matter what language you speak or if you are out in space.

[farothel]

Cynthia

Each conversation goes roughly the same way. It starts with the usual pleasantries, before Aina asks if they had any new males lately. On a yes at two of the conversations, she asks if she could come around one day to have a look for an exchange, which is granted. For one it's the next day, the other agrees for the day after.
"I guess that's even better," she said, "we can go and have a look while your two companions stay here."

Alexandr

"Oh those," Ginny said, "I've thought about getting rid of those, as we don't have PV inverters for them. So we can't use it and it's difficult to get those."

[DataNinja]

"Well, my schedule does seem to have a lot of openings," she says, wryly. "So I guess it's road trip time over the next few days."

"I do appreciate you being willing to do this for us, Aina," she adds. "I hope that my companions are able to successfully make themselves useful to help you out here in return."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr nods, "Still, I would not throw them out. We have the beginnings of a plan. What are the chances of salvaging some parts form the surrounding area? It is possible that some important parts can be found, perhaps that have been overlooked. Or maybe even traded for. If' you will forgive my ignorance of the area."

[farothel]

Cynthia

"I'm sure they will, even if it's in a more 'traditional' way," Aina said with a grin, "well, there is little to do for you for now. You can walk around, but please don't try to leave."


Alexandr

"I'm sure there are somewhere," Ginny said, "but I'm not sure what we need. I know what is missing as I've seen the inventory and I recognise most of the other items. But I don't know exactly what it looks like or how to make one if needed."
You have never made one yourself, but you do know what they look like.


Leo

While explaining the theory of artificial insimination and checking what items they have and which they need to get, he gets some more information about the virus.

[DataNinja]

"Of course not, that would be rude," she says. "And probably quite dangerous." In more ways than one, most likely. They likely would prefer to not let her leave with knowledge here. At least for now.

She debates trying to find somewhere to send a report back to HQ, but dismisses that as a bad idea while she's likely still being watched to determine what she's doing. So, instead, she wanders around, just trying to get an overall sense of the place, and what people do and feel around here.

[CateranEnforcer]

"I will start here then. I want to see if constructing our own inverter is a possibility. You are welcome to help, and I may need it since I am unfamiliar with this facility and it's power needs."

Aleksandr begins to work. He remembers enough to get started and have an idea of what he is going for, but this task ended up being much more difficult than he had expected. It didn't help that some of the women came in during his work. He was polite but it was a strange feeling recieving that much attention. Maybe under different circumstances he'd be more appreciative, but he really was trying to provide them with a long term solution to their problem. Normally pretty stoic, the former spaceman couldn't help but be slightly embarrassed, given his position, which didn't help his concentration.

[farothel]

Cynthia

You wander through the complex, seeing people at work, doing all the jobs that need doing in a community. There's also a class with mostly young girls, but also a few boys. You don't see any men, but you haven't seen all the rooms.

Some people do come to you with some questions about where you come from, which you can easily deflect.


Alexandr

It takes you longer than expected as you try to work through the distractions and try to remember some schematics you have seen years ago, but in the end you prevail and you create a schematic with easy to get (you hope) components to build a PV-convertor. Ginny looks at the schematics and while she's not an electric engineer, she does know the basics and she tells you that they should be able to get all the components.


Leo

After an afternoon of explaining, Leo also comes down with a list of stuff he would need. Luckily it's a small list, as medical stuff would be more difficult to get than electric stuff.


Party

In the evening you come back together in the mess hall for dinner. The food is simple, but quite good. Better than on the ISS or in the military in any case.

[DataNinja]

"So, hopefully your guys' days went well," Cynthia says. "I'm going to be heading out with Aina over the next few days to try and establish if our friends are in specific places. We'll have to figure out things from then. I have no idea what's going to happen."

[CateranEnforcer]

"It was tiring, but promising. Despite having never built one before and a number of people coming to check on me every half hour, I think I have a useable desgin. I hope this will provide sufficient power for their needs. I have not run the numbers yet but...." Aleksandr stops himself before he continues to ramble. "I take that to mean that you have not been able to get any privacy yet. Maybe there will be a party searching for us soon! I hope you remain safe, I doubt they will risk our lives by letting us come with you."

[DataNinja]

"Doubtful," Cynthia replies. "Not only would that put you in too much danger - I'm the expendable one, after all -," she gives a slight smile, "but also that would likely be highly irregular, and would likely incite suspicion. Not good for any of us if we're planning on getting our people back."

[farothel]

"I would play along for now," Leo said, "and try to get a contact report off tonight when we're in our beds. Hopefully we get seperate rooms."

[DataNinja]

"That was the hope. I imagine that you both will, at least," Cynthia says. "Both for safety, comfort, and to enable... other activities. Could go either way for me. Keeping an eye on is likely... which, that's understandable, but it would be nice to get across that we mean them no harm, here. We just want our people back."

[CateranEnforcer]

"I will continue to look for an opportunity as well. We seem to be in no danger here. I cannot say the same for you on the outside. Be careful out there."

[farothel]

After dinner you are shown your rooms. The two men get seperate rooms, small but comfortable. Cynthia gets a bed in one of the common rooms together with seven other women. You can move anywhere in the base, but they say that at night it can be quite dangerous outside, so they lock themselves in at night, with a guard.

From now until you want to go to sleep, you are left to your own devices, although the two men do get different 'solliciations' during the evening.

[DataNinja]

Ah, well, she'd been worried about that. With seven others, likely curious about her, probably not going to be able to get anything out. She does her best to try and look for somewhere, anywhere, that's private enough (but not suspiciously so) that she can at least get a quick signal out saying to not send another team after them.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr isn't sure if he really could get enough time alone without being bothered. He'd have to ask about the protocol of these solicitors. Are all the women trying to get pregnant? Surely you'd need some to preform other jobs besides child bearing. Was there a system? And how many generations would it take to fix the population imbalance. He wondered if anyone had done the calculations. Would the next generation face the same dangers of the virus? He'd have to ply someone with questions tomorrow.

If he feels he can have privacy long enough, Aleksandr will try to send off a quick message.

[farothel]

Women will signal availability, but they won't come in your or Leo's room uninvited, at least not the first night. You can get a message off to the MALP, which will send it through when the connection opens.

Cynthia can also send a message, especially if she waits a bit until a number of people have gone to sleep and there is less movement.

What do you send out?

[DataNinja]

Cynthia's relieved that she's able to finagle a message out, but she keeps it short so as to not risk discovery as much.

"Arrived safely. Enclave of locals taken us in. Agents possibly located. Investigating over next few days. Virus in ecosystem, causing men to go crazy. Civilization deteriorated, men are few and valued. Do not send more. Prep decontamination measures for return. Leo hopefully will have more info on virus. Reports may be far between; want to keep good relationships with enclave. Hope to have good news soon."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr is also nervous about being watched so keeps his message brief too.

"We are safe but under watch by locals. They have agreed to help us in exchange for help of our own. We are exercising caution. Men will require gas masks in this place."

[farothel]

Soon you all get a message back.
"Message received, will put decon procedures in place. Other measures approved. Be careful."

[farothel]

Leo and Alexandr

The night passes without any problems. In the morning, after breakfast, Leo takes Alexandr with him to the sickbay as he needs some 'raw material' so to speak. All the other men, four in total, are also there as requested. And Alexandr has to check the freezer so it is sure it will keep working.


Cynthia

Cynthia is taken by Aina and three other women take one of the up-armored pick-up trucks, but with a white flag attached, to a nearby group. They drive slowly over the bad roads. Cynthia can see that there are not many people living in Atlanta, as most buildings are in various stages of ruination. Some are kept well and around them the pavement has been broken up in places to make place for vegetable gardens. After about two hours of driving, including some checkpoints where you are let through, you arrive at the location you were going for.

Two women were waiting for you and are greeted by Aina. You are introduced to Mariko and Jessica, who lead in this location.
"So, you want to have a look at our newest assets," Mariko said, "you're quick. They're only here for a few days."

[DataNinja]

Cynthia's trip is mostly spent observing the state of the world, and wondering how exactly it got to this point. Was the virus a biological weapon? Something natural? How did everything deteriorate so quickly, even with the madness aspect. Are humans really that prepared to go off the deep end, and refuse to rebuild in the same way?

Okay, yes... from experience, those who have power tend to refuse to relinquish it until someone comes along and makes them do so. Even down to petty bureaucrats. And clearly now some people here have considerably more power than in the beforetimes. It is sobering to see it on such a scale, though. Just the desolation compared to the once-thriving city. She wonders what the rest of the world looks like. Was it just North America hit like this? Or is the entire world like this...

She's interrupted by arriving at their destination. It's funny, the nervousness never really hit her until just now. Maybe it was just all the shock dissipating and unfamiliarity finally settling in. Nothing about this was really the same, after all. Similar enough to be unsettling, though.

In this situation, though, the best practice is to follow the lead of the one who knows what she's doing. At least until she has something to point out.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr appears as requested and cooperates with Leo's procedure. He will introduce himself to the other men and is curious about how they feel about their lot in life, if they are feeling talkative.

In any case, his purpose is to provide power for this endeavor, so he will take a look at the freezers. He also would like to contact Ginny to inquire about the parts needed for the inverter. It's probably too soon to say, but he'd like to put those plans to the test.

17/8/4 [roll0] to examine the freezers.

[farothel]

Cynthia

Aina explains that they now have a doctor who knows about artificial insimination and while it's not as fun, it means they can spread the gene pool wider without all the difficulties they have now. But of course they will need to donate 'samples'. Mariko looks at both of you and you are brought inside to where the men are. When they arrive, you immediately see that these are not the men you're looking for.


Alexandr and Leo

The freezer just need some small repairs to make sure it works perfectly (as long as there's power of course).

The men explain that except for the not going out unless under guard and with a gasmask, life isn't so bad here. At least they have food and they don't have to do too much work.

Leo explains to them what is required to get some samples. The two nurses listen to the explanations so they will know what to do once the team is gone.


Alexandr can roll a repair check.

[DataNinja]

Cynthia does idly wonder about if there will be those who pushback against an activity being less fun... quite possibly, seeing the dearth of what might be considered enjoyable in this time and space.

It's a great disappointment to see that none of the men there seem to be those that they're looking for. Well, it was only a 50/50 shot, it seems... couldn't just be that easy. Not that getting them out'll be easy.

She looks at Aina. "I don't feel that strongly about any of these," she says, shaking her head. "So, I'll defer to you." Aina's a smart cookie. She'll probably get it.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr is still positive that he would not want to spend longer here than he had to, even if the men were treated well. He doesn't say as much however and he is hopeful to avoid contracting anything while he was here to bring back to his own world. The longer he was here the more at risk he was. Perhaps they'd need to study the virus to make sure it doesn't happen.

But for now, he had to help others if he wanted to help himself. They were kind enough to help them after all. They could have made them prisoners for life. Not quite the apocalypse he'd have though of either, if Hollywood was to be believed.

Putting his thoughts aside, Aleksandr gets to work on the repairs.

Repair Check 15/7/3 18 - 4 = 14

[farothel]

Cynthia

"They look nice," Aina said, "we'll have to have them over to us for a while. I hope by then to have some new technique... well, old technique so we need them only like one or two days and then we can use their material for months on end."

The other women were interested and launched into a discussion about the artificial insemination, for what little Aina could explain. At one point, they look at you for more information.


Alexandr and Leo

It takes a while, but you get the freezer back to working order. Leo lets it cool down for a while before he gets you all (himself included) to donate the first batch of material that gets placed into the fridge.
"We'll need some extra material," he said to Alexandr, "to make sure they can do this when we're gone. And some things you can use only one time or they have to be made from specific materials. I hope Cynthia can help us get that stuff."

[DataNinja]

"Basically, at it's simplest," Cynthia says, only really knowledgeable about the bare basics of it anyways, "instead of using the entirety of the genetic material at once on one person, you're able to collect it, and then disperse it to many people in a more effective manner - keeping it contained, even, as Aina said, if you're not wanting it all used immediately and ending up with a whole swathe of children all at the same time. I don't really know much more about it personally, though, so I unfortunately can't go into detail."

[CateranEnforcer]

Alexander nods at Leo, sweating from his exertion. He directs a question at him and the other men. "With this done, what do we do now? I do not think I would be comfortable doing nothing. What are your duties?"

[farothel]

Cynthia

It is clear that they are not completely following, but Aina changes the subject. They talk for a few minutes about other things and arrange for an exchange of certain items, before leaving back to the compound.
"So no luck here," Aina said when they were alone in the truck.


Leo and Alexandr

Both of the men help with the hydroponics bay they have in the bunker, where they have a mushroom farm.
"I still have to get to question all the women," Leo said, "to know when best to do the insemination."

At that moment Ginny came in.
"Hey," she said to Alexandr, "we got some electronics stuff in. Can you have a look at it?"


Cynthia: you can do an Interaction(bargain) to see how the negotiations went
Alexandr: if you decide to help, you can do a technical knowledge check to see what they have.

[DataNinja]

"No..." Cynthia says sadly, shaking her head. "I'm afraid not. Hopefully tomorrow's pans out. If that doesn't work out, not sure what we'll end up doing. Guess we'll cross that bridge if it arrives..."

"I hope that you were able to at least get something good for you all out of this journey, so that it wasn't just a wasted trip."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr nods to Ginny, "Certainly. I did not expect to have some material soon. I will see you later, Leo. Now, show me what you have. "

Technical Knowledge 17/8/4 [roll0]

[farothel]

Cynthia

"I've had worse, I've had better," Aina said, "well, hopefully you have better luck tomorrow. And at least we will have something to eat other than mushrooms and bread tonight."


You feel the deal has been fair. She might have gotten more, but you also know that pushing might make people less inclined to deal next time.



Alexandr and Leo

Leo has to interrogate all the women of childbearing potential on the base, or at least have the nurses do it, so Alex soon goes back to Ginny and the generator room. The stuff they have is quite interesting. Mostly basic items which can be used in lots of places, but also about half of the items needed to make the convertor. This was a lot better then you had expected.

[DataNinja]

"Well, I appreciate you making the attempt," she says. "This all must be... quite unusual for you. I hope that we're able to get that stuff working to help you in repayment. I have confidence in Aleksandr and Leo, though, and I'd love to be able to see things thriving for you."

"I do hope that none of this ends up causing more issues for you in the future, though..."

[CateranEnforcer]

"A good start. Still not enough to complete the project. In any case, what else is needed to be done around here? I need something to keep me occupied. I am permitted to have a look around, yes?"

[farothel]

Cynthia

"The technique your doctor will learn us will make that we can make our gene pool bigger more easily," Aina said, "that's always good. I'm sure we can use that. And I feel we have to grow together with larger groups, as soon as we know the virus has gone."


Alexandr

"I have not much for you," Ginny said, "I have to do some work outside and you can't go there. But if you really want, you can inventorise the back storeroom. It's the place where we put all things we can't use at the moment, and it's gone on for quite some time now."
If you agree, she will bring you to a room where loads of things are stashed.

[DataNinja]

"That's probably a smart philosophy," she says, nodding. "Many together are always stronger than a few alone. Does it seem likely that the threat of the virus will end soon, and that rebuilding will be able to happen?"

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr laughs. "I do not know if I am that bored. I think I would like a workout. Is there any place suitable for that here?"

[farothel]

Cynthia

Aina is silent for a moment.
"I have no idea," she said, "we don't have doctors, just nurses in our compound. There have to be doctors around somewhere, even though the hospitals were hit pretty hard when the virus struck."
Soon you arrive back at the compound.


Alexandr

"Of course we have that," Ginny said. She brings you to a gym room. While it's rather basic, it has weights, an exercise bike and a rowing machine and some smaller stuff. You can probably do all your basic muscle groups.

[DataNinja]

"Maybe Leo can find something out. I don't know. That's... not where my knowledge lies," she really doesn't have any more words herself, either. This is a bleak, bleak world. People scrabbling to have any rays of hope. It makes her feel fortunate for all those things she takes for granted.

She does some mingling when back at the compound, just trying to get what life is like.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr takes this time to go though a short workout routine. He especially is interested in practicing his fighting form. He is a small man, so even with training, he will never be very strong, but he is quite quick. He spends a short while doing this before heading out to get a better idea of the layout of the rest of his temporary home.

[farothel]

You walk around and see that the compound is actually quite large, with about 150 women living there. There are children, including boys. Those are not allowed to go outside (and neither is Alexandr), but the girls play outside on a central square inside of the buildings of the compound.

People do come to you with questions as to where you come from, what you think about the situation and in the case of Alexandr, some more personal requests as well.

[DataNinja]

It's nice to see everyone living and working together. Hoffmann has definitely given her a great appreciation for when everyone pulls their weight in the face of adversity, and this reflects that. They seem to be thriving here, in comparison to what might be expected from the outside. Though it still hurts to see all of this having happened in the first place. In another world, this could be her.

Cynthia politely brushes off questions from where she'd come from, simply saying that for the safety of others she couldn't say... but does have more fun with the younger children, instead grinning and asking them where they thought she'd come from, running with the more fancible ones that would be impossible for any person, and weaving small tales of fantasy regarding them.

As for the current situation, she mostly expresses her admiration for all that everyone has done here and the perseverance that they've shown, and hopes that things might change for the better soon.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr responds in kind with Cynthia, avoiding questions about where they came from. Though the danger of transferring the virus to their world was lessened now that they had gotten a warning off, he was taking no chances.

As to the other offers, Aleksandr is apologetic. He feels prudish to keep making these refusals, but simply explains he is not comfortable with coupling with people he had only just met. Still, he worries that he has offended the women or perhaps even threatens to draw further scrutiny towards their origins so for the first time he entertains the idea of giving them what they expect. After all, males from this timeline don't seem to hold the same hang ups as he does.

He brings this up with Leo first, curious if there any chance of the virus transmitting this way. He would assume not, or else all would lost in this world. He also asks Cynthia to keep an ear out to see if his behavior is raising more questions and potentially causing them more trouble.

[farothel]

Cynthia

The kids love it, as most adults have other things to do than play with them. And on the quad they are in they are quite safe and don't need constant watching. The kids ask questions as well of course.


Alexandr

The women are a bit dissapointed, but don't press the issue. When you ask Leo he thinks there shouldn't be a problem, or they would have had issues long before you guys showed up. He doesn't know much about the virus and the changes and would love to know more, but here he is quite sure. And while you're there, you can give a second sample.


All

A bit before dinner, you get a message from home. It indicates that decon measures are in the process of being implemented and should be ready in about two days and urges you to wait returning until then if possible.

[DataNinja]

Cynthia enjoys talking to the kids, and their wonder, and weaves tales of magic and monsters, and fantastical realms beyond the stars. Granted, a lot of it's inspired by media... but, well, they probably don't have a lot of that here. It's fine. It's a fun little thing to do, and maybe it'll inspire them to tell similar stories later.

She replies to the message, with a brief, "Understood. It'll be at least a day anyways, we've not concretely located them. Possibility, but the location we were at today didn't have them."

She begins to dwell a bit more on concerns. What will they do if they can't locate the scientists? How will they extract the ones there? Are they irrevocably unbalancing the destiny of this world by doing this all? It's all rather heavy. Nothing they can do, though, except try their best.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr is a bit antsy as the day comes to an end. He doesn't really like simply waiting in his closed space. He felt somewhat helpless here. Trapped even. Her really hoped Cynthia was making better progress than he was.

[farothel]

The night passes without any problems. The following day at breakfast (after Leo and Alexandr have passed by medical for another sample taking), Ginny arrives at your table.

"Hey," she said to Alexandr, "we might get some stuff in to connect those solar panels. Can you show me how to do get those connected?"

Soon Aina also arrives for Cynthia and the drive to the second group for a look at their men. Outside they were also loading some stuff onto the pickup truck, which Aina said was some stuff they had promised the other group. As they were heading that way, they could just as well take it with them and save a trip later.

[DataNinja]

"What's usually traded between your communities?" Cynthia asks, curiously. "Is access to various men the most essential thing, with mainly self-sufficiency otherwise, or do some of you rely on others to make sure that you can pull through?"

Hopefully the self-sufficiency thing. In case the men disappearing causes... tensions between enclaves. She'd rather not have that.

[CateranEnforcer]

"Very good! I will have a look immediately. The inverter is only part of it however. You will need someone to go outside to set up the panels and run the proper connections." Aleksandr gets up and it's eager to check in on his project. Hopefully things went to plan.

[farothel]

Cynthia

"We try to be," Aina said, "but it's very difficult. And I think that trading makes you grow more together as you get to know each other better, don't you think?"
Soon they were on their way with the same group of people as the day before.


Alexandr

"Don't worry about that," Ginny said, "I can do that with some of the others. Just let us know where we best put them. I've seen an install guide for the panels somewhere. We should be able to do it."
When the material has arrived, you see that you have everything to make about half of the converters you need, given the amount of panels you saw.


@Alexandr: do a few repair rolls to create the converter. It's an extended test, 15 minute interval.

[DataNinja]

"Oh, absolutely," she nods. "Building bonds through shared necessity is the groundwork for something bigger. In a comparison between those who pool their resources, and those who use it for fighting one another... well, the pooled resource ones will have a much better life for all. It makes me happy to see those things."

[CateranEnforcer]

"Very well, then I will get to my part of the project." Aleksandr gets to work, beginning first by studying his plans to get into the right mind set, carefully setting up a workspace. Then, he begins to work, unfamiliar with the process.

Repairs! 15/7/3
[roll0] - [roll1]
[roll2] - [roll3]
[roll4] - [roll5]
[roll6] - [roll7]
[roll8] - [roll9]
[roll10] - [roll11]
[roll12] - [roll13]

[farothel]

Cynthia

"We try," Aina said, "it hasn't always been easy. But we try and we have the advantage of not having to start from scratch of course, although it is difficult as we lack the ability to operate certain things. But we will relearn. There have to be records somewhere."


Alexandr

It takes you about an hour and half to get the converter put together and tested. Now the only thing you need is to hook it up, but for that the panels have to be up and the cables run to the converter. Then Leo comes in.
"Hey, just taking a break," he said, "how are you doing?"

[DataNinja]

"I believe in you," Cynthia says, nodding. "I've seen nothing but resourcefulness from everyone here, and I'm sure if there're any Archives or anything, you'll be able to find it." It's always awkward dancing around things. They could probably give a lot more from her world... but would that be a smart thing to do in the first place, even? Regardless,, it's not her decision to make.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr looks up from his work. "Making progress. We hopefully will have alternate power ready before too long. Perhaps I need a break as well before continuing. If this works, do you think they will release us?"

[farothel]

Cynthia

"We have found a lot," Aina said, "unfortunately, we don't always have the people who understand it. But I'm sure it will come back. Ah, there we are."

The truck stopped at another building that was clearly reinforced. They stepped out and were greeted by a two women who introduced themselves as Mary and Celeste. Soon some more were offloading the supplies Aina had brought along, while you were brought inside. There, after exchanging some pleasantries, three men were brought in.

You recognised two of them immediately, the third taking some time because he now wore a beard that he didn't have on the pictures.


Alexandr

"I hope so," Leo said, "otherwise it will be up to Cynthia to negotiate. But I'm sure I've made explained how the techniques work so they can do them themselves even without me here. Maybe you best do the same. You can build stuff here, but if they don't know how to fix it when it breaks, it will serve them little."

[DataNinja]

"Oh, yes, these three look good," Cynthia says, nodding at Aina, as she looks the trio over. Presumably they haven't been hurt, but she tries to see if there are signs of how they're holding up in this situation. Didn't really want to ask in front of the people of this particular camp, that'd probably get awkward questions.

[CateranEnforcer]

"Well, with this done, what else is there to do but wait? Perhaps you have come across records of history lying around, no? I am curious on the details of what occurred here. I would like to know more."

[farothel]

Cynthia

"We could use these," Aina said, "as I mentioned before, we have artificial insemination now and we can teach that to you, making things easier to exchange."

"Interesting," Mary replied, "and I'm quite interested in that. So, when can we expect them back?"


Alexandr and Leo

"From what I understood, it's a mutated coxsackievirus," Leo said, "how it was mutated they don't know. If we have time, and they let us go, we might check the CDC building. That's in Atlanta, at least in our home. They might have records there somewhere. But I doubt these people know."

[DataNinja]

Yep. And here's the kicker. They sure aren't going to be willing to just let them go. They need them to survive here, after all.

"That's Aina's domain," Cynthia says, diplomatically, "though," she ventures, "I'm not sure exactly how valuable she deems that knowledge." She daren't push any further, though. This isn't her world, and she has no idea how much push and shove is exactly allowed when it comes to these sorts of deals. And she doesn't want hardships to come on Aina's people because of her. What a legacy that would be on one's first outing to another world. "Caused the fall of those who were willing to help."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr shrugs. "That does not mean much to me. If we are set free, I do not think it would be a good idea to wander around. I am thinking we would find ourselves picked up again shortly. It may be best to send an all female team next time."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo responds to Aleksandr "I agree, I don't want to be stuck here, but it seems they don't even know if they are still trapped. Aina said something when we first arrived that men never leave the compound without guards and a gasmask, so the virus could be eradicated and they wouldn't know. If I had access to some samples I could run some tests to make sure and help these people stop living in such fear. We weren't infected, there isn't any reason we would both be immune." At this point Leo goes off rambling a bit about the chances of two men from different tangents being immune to a virus. Eventually he realizes he has been carrying on and stops to see what Aleksandr says.

[farothel]

Cynthia

"It does mean we don't have to trade men," Aina said, "or fight over them. Just send little packages back and forth. That should work, no?"
"Maybe," Mary said, "but certain things are a lot more interesting 'in the flesh' as it were."
Cynthia recalls that during one the conversations Aina said that men could be exchanged, but they normally returned to the group that had them first.


Leo and Alexandr

The two men were chatting when Ginny came back in.
"Hey," she said when she saw the doctor there as well, "we have put those panels on the roof. So now what?"

[DataNinja]

"Well, of course," Cynthia says, with a grin and a wink. "Why do you think that I'd have a hankering to see if we could try and get a few more permanently around the place? If it wasn't valuable, wouldn't be talking about leveraging it out of something of value now, would we? Does seem like it'd be a good trade now. Bit less now, in exchange for something much more steady and a better supply down the road."

[CateranEnforcer]

"Well, with the help of this inverter, we should be able to harness the power to the power grid. It would probably be best to try and scrounge up any batteries we can to store excess power during the day so that they solar system still provides power at night. That, would be a new problem, but for now you mentioned that you use less power during the day." Aleksandr stopped his train of thought for a moment. "Maybe I will end up going through your junk after all."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo greets Ginny too "Hey yourself." Leo offers his assistance to search through stuff. He is not sure how useful he can be besides treating the few minor injuries that are inevitable with a large group. He is hoping to have some privacy to talk to Aleksandr about his ideas on testing for the virus, but having to go to the CDC.

[farothel]

Cynthia

"Sure you can have them for a while," Marie said, "but we found them, so we want them back. That's how it goes around here."


Leo and Alexandr

"I'm sure we have some batteries," Ginny said, "This building used to have a back-up battery system when it was still a Reserve bank. I'm not sure if it's still working though. We really need an electrician. And doctor, when is my appointment?"



@DataNinja: depending on how you want to play this, you can roll charm, bluff or intimidate
@PMrogue_alchemist: the idea is that all women of childbearing age will get artificial inseminiation at the appropriate time. This will give you the chance to make sure the nurses understand the procedure if you help them a few times.

[DataNinja]

"I understand how things usually go," Cynthia says, sweetly, "but I wouldn't exactly call this a usual circumstance, would you? It's the rediscovery of something that could change everything for the better here. It's really a small price to pay in the end for something so huge. Of course we wouldn't want something huge, that would be crass. It's just a little bit of extra fun for the people who put in the work."

Charm 15/7/3: 2

[CateranEnforcer]

"I am not completely ignorant about electricity, but I admit my specialty is more physics and mechanics. While I may not make designs up to the standards of the former codes, it generally works the same as the systems I have worked with in the past. Working on a building is not something I am used to, however. If there is nothing else you need, I will see what I can find." Aleksandr excused himself from the conversation. He'd rather focus on his work rather than the details of the procedures Leo had planned. He heads off to try an locate the battery backup systems here and what they might need done to them. He racked his brain for any knowledge that may help him for the coming work, every lecture and notebook he had every taken notes in.

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo smiles when Ginny asks him about her appointment. "We can meet whenever you are ready, though I will be showing others how to do it, so it may not be as much fun as you think." He wasn't completely oblivious to Ginny's meanings, and he wanted to stay on the women's good sides around here, but they seemed determined about this. Leo turns to Aleksandr with a sheepish smirk "It seems duty calls, I will help you when I can. Let me know if you need anything." Leo then heads off towards the medical rooms to gather the necessary supplies and to find the nurses to show them how it is done.

[farothel]

Cynthia

The women consider it for a moment and then agree. You can take the three men with you. They don't seem to give any reaction to the news and don't know you. They are outfitted with gas masks and loaded into the pick-up truck for the drive back.


Alexandr

It takes some searching, but soon you find the batteries in one of the basement rooms. It's a quit large bank, designed to run all the bank's servers for up to 24 hours in case of electricity cut. But it is clear that these haven't been used in a while, with dust on them. You will have to check them all to see if they still work and check their connections, but at least they are there.


Leo

You head back to the infirmiry, where you explain the procedure while showing how to do it. It's been a while since you have done this kind of procedure, but it all comes back to you quickly and as the nurses ask questions and you explain, things go quite well. It will take a while to perform the procedure on everyone as women have to be in a certain part of their cycle for it to work.

[DataNinja]

Phew. That went better than she expected. No fuss, no muss, hopefully everyone's all right and psychologically sound. She'll have to check that all out.

"Thanks for all of this, Aina," she says, as they head back. "I hope we've made up for the trouble that we've caused you, at least. Once we're back, don't know if you have a place where I could just talk to them without a bunch of people around, make sure they're all fine after all this? This is an... unusual change of lifestyle for them, so, just want to make sure everyone's a-ok."

[farothel]

Cynthia

"I would like our... well, your doctor, to check them out first," Aina said, "just to be sure. Then they will be assigned quarters and you can talk to them there."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo continues in the infirmary, finding who is in the right part of their cycle for the procedure. He is available to check out the men as soon as he finds a stopping point. He would be just as interested in speaking with them, but recognizes that he probably won't have much of a chance with the nurses watching him to learn all they can.

[DataNinja]

"Yeah, that's fine," Cynthia says, nodding. "I'd be happy to make sure they have a clean bill of health, too. All sounds good."

[farothel]

After an hour or so, you arrive back at the Federal Reserve Bank compound. The three men are taken down to the doctor for a check-up and to have explained what they would have to do here.


Leo can give me a medical science (treatment) roll.

You can also talk to each other if you want. The guys brought in don't know who you are of course.

[DataNinja]

"Glad to see that we could get you out of there," Cynthia says, as Leo begins... whatever it was he had to do. Who knows. She's not a doctor. "Now, I know that you wouldn't recognise us, but... let's just say that a Mister Hoffman sent us out on his behalf." She gives a wink. "We're here to get you gentleman back home, safe and sound. Hopefully that's not an issue?"

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr is happy to find something else to work with here, but these batteries my not be properly functioning. He isn't sure the best way to test them out without hooking them up and seeing if they will hold a charge, if any. Still, he happliy buries himself in his work, not aware of the rest of the goings on, for them moment.

Tech Knowledge? 17/8/4 (4)

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo is careful of any nurses that may be assisting him as he begins treating the returned men. As Cynthia brings up the Hoffman Institute, Leo mentions glances at the nurses, shaking his head, but to the men says"Yea, Cynthia and I trained at the Cryton Research facility together to be able to get this far. But we can discuss the specifics later." He continues treating them, as he tries to ascertain that they are all still healthy. He also mentions the new program they have been volun-told to do here with artificial insemination, explaining that it would go a long way for these people if the men would make their contributions when they could.

[roll0] vs 16/8/4

[farothel]

Alexandr

The batteries need some work, but it would be easy, although a bit time consuming. A few would have to be replaced and the wiring connecting the batteries to each other and to the grid needed replacing. Quite simple work, but it would take a while, if you would be able to find enough wiring of the right sort.


Cynthia and Leo

The three men seem in good health, although maybe some extra food and sleep wouldn't be amiss. When they hear you speak about the artificial insemination, they chuckle.
"We've been doing it the natural way," one of them said, "more interesting that way."
When you mention Hoffman and Cryton Research, they mention that they know these, but don't go into details until you are alone.
"So, what's up," one of them asks, "you've been send to find us or something?"

[DataNinja]

"Yeah. Make sure you were still alive, and to get everyone back home," Cynthia says. "Also just try and make sure that nothing much was shared. It'd be bad for everyone, I'm sure. Here and there. Glad to know you're all alive. Hope was sort of dipping for a moment, stepping out into the wasteland. But, we should be able to head out tomorrow, once they've got some decontamination procedures set up to make sure we don't bring anything home."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo also makes sure they are alone before confirming, "Yea, we have been sent to retrieve yall. We'll send back a message tonight and see how they want to handle extraction. I know everyone here is scare of the virus that wiped out the men, but I haven't seen much evidence of it. How long were yall outside before being captured?"

[farothel]

Cynthia and Leo

"About three or four hours," the lead guy said, "we haven't been outside since then though, although the inside wasn't too bad."
There were chuckles from the two others.
"I can understand why they are scared of the virus," one of the others said, "some of the older women have told stories about what happened here.
This is like resident evil. So I can understand their reluctance and fears."

[DataNinja]

"Well, hopefully our doctor here can confirm a clean bill of health, and we can get the a-ok from home that we can head back," Cynthia says, nodding. "Hopefully you don't mind spending one more night out here."

[rogue_alchemist]

"As far as I can tell, everyone is fit as a fiddle. Though more tests to confirm the absence of any dormant viruses would be needed. We don't know how long the incubation period is on this thing." Leo looks around and says loudly enough for the nurses to hear. "They seem fine to me, but I recommend they come back tomorrow for me to check again, make sure they didn't contract anything from the other camp. Sometimes these things can lie dormant for a day or so." Leo gives the men a meaningful look to let them know that this is more a cover so they can be guaranteed a chance to talk again tomorrow than a real check-up.

I know that is a lot to communicate in a look, but I think we all know what kind of conspiratorial look I am talking about.

[CateranEnforcer]

Well, back to the drawing board. Aleksandr was happy to have something else to busy himself with. It helped to take his mind off the waiting game he had to play now. He sought out Ginny to inform her of his findings and what he'd require.

[farothel]

Cynthia and Leo

"I don't think we're going very far," the guy replied, "so we can easily come back tomorrow."


Alexandr

By asking around, you find Ginny easily. You give her the shopping list and she's quite sure that she can get 90% of it easily. And the 10% that's more difficult will just mean they have a bit less battery capacity than they would otherwise have, so nothing to be worried about to start. They should be able to learn enough to do the rest themselves later.

[DataNinja]

"Alright, well, I'm sure, based on what I've heard, you'll have no shortage of entertainment until then," she says, wryly. "But just be careful, it'll be a bit of a hike, so you'll probably want to actually sleep."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo pulls Cynthia aside quickly and says "You make the report on the guys and I'll alert them to the decontamination procedure we are going to need when we get back. Good work on tracking them down." He smiles briefly at her and then goes back to his regular duties of checking up on people and preparing for artificial insemination procedures.

I don't want to advance time before everyone is ready, but I also don't want to hold up the game with my sporadic post rate this week because of on-the-job training. So whenever it is night again, Leo will make his report about the virus and ask for any feedback they can provide on a decontamination procedure to make sure it isn't brought back to our reality. It would be great if they could send an air test to see if it is still a problem, but that would require more information and us getting it from the CDC or something, so just full decontamination to kill anything on our skin. I know that technology exists, even if we don't know the exact nature of what the vector is. I think the astronauts went through it the first several times they came back from space.

[farothel]

The rest of the day and evening goes well, while all of you continue with your work and writing your reports. The three are indeed send out to investigate this tangent and had been snatched up in a similar way as you had been, although by a different group.

The following morning, after breakfast, you manage to gather all together in the room of one of you. It's been quiet in the compound, with most people outside working on various things.

[DataNinja]

"Well... today's the day, I guess. Heading back home. Hopefully everyone's set to move in a bit?" Cynthia asks. "I figure we should probably inform Aina that we'll be headed out. Mention that someone else might come later to continue on in our stead. Since... well, we were asked to make headway to prep for possible trade, right?"

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr is more than ready to move out. "If our obligations are met here, I am prepared to leave immediately. I would not want to damage any future relations with Hoffman, so I would like to leave on good terms, I'd possible. I feel I can nor offer much either regards to studying this world."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo looks between Cynthia and Aleksandr, "I am ready to move out too, but I don't know if they will just let us leave so easily. I have them setup on the start of the process for artificial insemination and we have made our genetic contributions; however I think they will be loath to let Aleksandr and myself go, with as much as we have been doing around here. It may be best if we just disappear and leave a note for them to find long after we are gone. I want to leave on good terms, but I also don't want to be held here against our wills. They were pretty adamant when we first arrived about our not going outside."

[DataNinja]

Cynthia shakes her head. "I don't think we can really leave without getting permission as-is. The entrance is guarded, and I have no doubt that anyone of us trying to leave without permission would be... detained. For our own safety, in most cases, but in this one, we do have to get out of here. I do feel like Aina does understand that we can't stick around. That we have families and friends to go back to, and that we can't just stay here forever."

"You both have set them along the path to improving their infrastructure and society, I imagine that that can be considered payment enough."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo shrugs "I am not going to protest, just want to make sure you've thought through this. I don't understand people's reactions near as well as you do. I just know they seem desperate for men, and they are treated more as a commodity or property to be used and protected or traded as needed than as people who can go off and do their own thing. I agree and hopefully they will agree that we have helped them and should be free to leave, but desperate times will drive people to desperate measures. Don't expect them to behave as others would back 'home'"

[DataNinja]

"I am aware of this," Cynthia replies. "But, given the aid that Aina has given us, it is my belief that she is not the type of person who will stand in our way in this matter. I might be entirely wrong." She purses her lips. "But... I feel that simply attempting to leave without getting acknowledgement will end up far, far worse for us. If they're wanting to keep us here, they're already going to be keeping an eye on us to prevent such a thing anyways." She shrugs.

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo shakes his head and relents "Alright, let's do it your way. Just tell me what I need to do."

[DataNinja]

"Just make sure your bags are packed," she says, winking. "If you want to come with me to find Aina, though, feel free."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo turns back to get to work and waves over his shoulder as he calls "I'll leave that to you. I'll be ready when you are, until then I'll make sure everything is going along as best it can in the medical ward." Leo walks to the medical lab, making sure that whatever nurses are available understand the process as best they can and will be able to continue on when they leave, though he doesn't mention anything about leaving to anyone else.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr thought deeply on the topic. "The deal was agreed upon before we started. I do hope that they will honor it. I believe they may still be wary of us and perhaps ask for more. But I am not so trusting. My former superiors would have taken all they could. Let us hope it does not come to that. I will be ready."

[farothel]

While Leo goes to sickbay to do some last minute stuff, and Alexandr basically does the same with his technical stuff, Cynthia goes to find Aina. It takes a while, but in the end they meet in the same room as they were in the first time they talked.
"You wanted to see me," Aina asked as she entered the room.

[DataNinja]

"Yes, I did," she agrees, nodding. "I'll just cut to the chase. Now that we have our companions back, and they're all safe and sound, we really should be going now. Wanted to be open about that, try and avoid any trouble leaving. It's been hard on everyone, being out here for so long. But, I want to thank you for your hospitality, and all that you've done for us. I'm hoping that what knowledge we left you will help this community prosper."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr goes to make sure the technical side of things. He hate for things to break down after he left. He draws up the closest thing to a manual he can manage to give to Ginny when they leave. Other than that, he doesn't have much else to prepare.

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo makes sure the nurses understand as much as they can about the process, he copies whatever notes they need down for them to keep, but keeps all the originals for himself, so that he can have a record for their side. Who knows when it would come in handy.

[farothel]

"That you did," Aina said, "and truth to be told, I was hoping you could stay another few days."

Leo and Alexandr are both working at their respective locations, getting everything ready and working on last minute details.

[DataNinja]

"Oh?" she asks, curious. "Why's that? I think the others have written down everything, so what they could have told you is there for posterity. So you should be good to go, I'm sure."

[farothel]

"Yes, I know," Aina said, "but there is a difference between having things written down and having an expert on hand when the fecal matter hits the oscillating unit. And both the solar panels and the inseminations are rather delicate projects."

[DataNinja]

She pauses for a moment, and thinks. "Let me... go and discuss things with my compatriots. I don't want to promise anything, but I will see if we feel that we can justify a delay in our trip home. As I've mentioned, things've been rather hard on everyone but... I'll see if we're up to helping out for a little bit longer here." More than anything else, it's sending a message home that she feels she needs to do. What their recommendation is - head home ASAP, or try and build a better relation in case they wanted to send someone else or try and trade or whatever in the future. After all, they've only scratched the surface of the world.

[farothel]

"Sure, I'll be here for most of the day," Aina said.

[DataNinja]

"All right, I will try and keep deliberations relatively brief, and get back to you on the decision before the end of the day," Cynthi says, nodding, before working on making her way back to the others, and also trying to find a spot to send a message back to Hoffmann.

"People in this compound are requesting that we stay for a few more days in order to aid them with mechanical and scientific repair," she sends. "What direction do you want us to take this? Get out now and come home, or help them and try and build a better rapport? It'll have to be one or the other, the likelihood of anything happening again to one group as we try and head home, especially if it doesn't include me, is too high."

[farothel]

You get a automated message back.
Next communications relay in 58 minutes, 42 seconds.

You can get the others separate if you want to. You're accepted in the compound, so they give you privacy.

[DataNinja]

Cynthia makes her way back to the others, gathering them privately. "So... sent home a message, but it'll be a while before it'll even get to them. Probably longer for a reply. So... right now it's a judgement call based on how you all feel," she says, looking over everyone. "Aina's wanting us to stay around here for a few more days. Help with the power and reproductive projects. Its your guys' calls, you're the ones who're pulling the weight here. And if you're feeling like you're just mentally done or whatever... it's fine to just go. I've let Aina know that it's not a guarantee that we'll help, up to you guys."

"But we can go. She's accepting of that. She won't hold us back. So... how do you all feel? How do you want to proceed?"

[CateranEnforcer]

"It is not unreasonable to ask that of us. I do fear it could go n on for much longer, if we let it. We must agree for now." Aleksandr sighs. "Let us keep an eye out for alternatives."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo nods his head in assent as well, trying to hold his patience in check. He knows it is for the good of the team, but it physically galls him when people don't see what the data is telling them. He knows not everyone is as smart as him, and when it comes to people, he knows he is not the best at reading them. So he just continues to bide his time, training the nurses.

[farothel]

You stay there for another two days, the boys helping out in their respective field. At the end of the days, the nurses have no problem with the procedures and the solar panels are also attached. There still is work to be done, but there will always be work to be done.

You have received a message from home that they needed another day to get all contamination procedures in place, so the extra two days are not really a bit problem for you.

Now it is the morning of the third day.

[DataNinja]

Well. This is the moment of truth, really. They'll know today exactly the intentions of those here. Cynthia goes to meet with the others to speak about the day. "Alright... well, unequivocally, we have an intent to leave today. I hope that nothing problematic happens... but, we should plan for it, just in case. Nice place... but we can't stay here forever."

"So..." she quirks an eyebrow, "who's wanting to brave the terrifying world of talking with me."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo looks at Cynthia with a sardonic look and says "Whatever gets us out of here, I am all for trying. If I need to go talk to Aina, I will. I think we've done all we dare do for them, and have completed our mission. I hope nothing goes wrong, but I have never been lucky enough to have things go that easy."

[DataNinja]

"Well, I'm happy to have moral support if something goes wrong," she responds, dryly.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr folds his arms and nods, "A united front is best. Let us see what she has to say to all of us. Though it she refuses, escaping may prove more difficult under a watchful eye. I will want to hear what Aina has to say."

[farothel]

You all head to Aina, who was talking to some of the others. When she sees you, she quickly finishes her business and turns to you.
"You're all here," she said, "then I can thank you all at the same time for the work you have done for us. This would help us a lot. Now, we have a supply run this afternoon in the direction we found you. We can drop you off close to that location. Would that be okay?"

As you can call the machines from just about anywhere, as long as you have enough space around for them, any direction is fine, although in that direction there were less people. And less people means less chances of people seeing you.

[DataNinja]

"Glad to be able to help out," Cynthia says, smiling. "I'm sure you'll do just fine without us, though."

"And that sounds good, if you're going out that way anyways," she nods.

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo hangs his head abashedly, and grumbles out "Yeah, thanks. Glad we could help." Whenever they get a moment, he apologizes to Cynthia for doubting these people. He then finishes making sure he is packed and ready and shows up to the rendezvous on time.

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr breathes a sigh of relief. "That will be fine. Thank you for your help." He still was a bit suspicious of these prople, but he pushed it aside. This was not Moscow, after all.

[farothel]

An hour after lunch, all of you (including the rescued men) are piled into two pick-up trucks. Aina isn't going, but she has instructed the leader of the team. All the men are given gas masks. It's not because you're going away that they are going to take chances. It takes you about 45 minutes to reach the spot where they first found you. As soon as you are out, the women wave and move off, going further into the ruins.

"So," one of the rescued men said, his voice distorted by the gasmask, "any of you guys know a good spot around here where we won't be overseen, so we can call the machines and get out of here?"

[DataNinja]

"Best to move on from here," Cynthia says, keeping her voice low. "Off the road at least. We don't want them poking around here in case they're still watching us. The MALP's nearby, and we don't want that found if we can help it. We should go a little further on. Don't know anywhere specifically, though, this is where we came in."

She picks a direction that looks like there's some terrain that can at least obscure them from view if they get around it, before beginning to walk.

[farothel]

It's not difficult to find a secluded spot in the ruins that should be large enough for six of the machines.

[DataNinja]

"Alright, well," Cynthia says, calling the machines. "It's been fun. But I'll be glad to be back home." Hopefully they didn't interfere too much over here...

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo follows Cynthia off to find a secluded spot in the ruins, shocked that leaving has gone so smooth. He tries to mentally run through everything to make sure he can give an accurate report of what happened and to make sure they didn't affect the world too much. He knew they had introduced forgotten technologies that may not have been rediscovered for many years, but hopefully giving it a push toward something that would happen anyways wouldn't be too bad. Leo is ready to return to get back to the world he knows.

[farothel]

You call the machines and they appear without problem. Each of you get in their machine and soon you appear in what looks like a large cave. After a blinding flash, the cave looks smaller and you recognise the lead maze you started in. As soon as the LED on the machine turns green to indicate the transfer is complete, a group of people in HAZMAT suits show up and guide you to a set of rooms that look very newly build. Inside there are decontamination showers and some beds as well as food.

One of the people in HAZMAT suits, a doctor, confers with Leo on what he knows about the virus and they decide that you should stay there for another three days, with blood drawn every day for testing. In the meantime you can work on your after action reports. Any requests you have for things like exercise equipment or other things will be taken care of if possible. But you will have to stay underground for three days.

After those three days, everybody is still negative for any strange viruses, so you are allowed back to the surface. There you confer with the site director Nishawa and Sarah Jacobs.
"I've already read your reports," Nishawa said, "do you still have any remarks or things you wish to discuss?"

[DataNinja]

Cynthia does her best to enjoy the peace and quiet after the stress and hectic-ness of the last few days, figuring out how to deal with everything. So, she just asks for some books to pass the time, to get through a pile of fiction she really hasn't had time to get to. By the end of the three days she's getting a little antsy, but... that's the end, thankfully.


"Nothing much to comment on, besides that we got extremely lucky in some cases. But they were all unavoidable hazards, stemming from our lack of knowledge of the area or culture, and absence of the ability to create a believable cover story. I worry about something like that happening again, and more and more agents just blundering in. Can't see any way that'd much be mitigated, though."

[CateranEnforcer]

Aleksandr breathes a sigh of relief when the machines arrive to take him home. Honestly, he was surprised to have made it back so easily. Maybe he was too untrusting. He gladly takes the chance to exercise for his three days and think about what they'd found. Not much really, other than a dire possible future.

"The only thing I think worthy of comment is that the locals proved to me much more trustworthy than I had thought. Perhaps Aina hopes to benefit from future interactions, but they were under no obligation to accommodate us. I think the Institute has a potential ally in her."

[rogue_alchemist]

Leo is pensive as ever, sorting through all that happened. He is glad that the machines take them back without incident and glad to see the quarantine protocols he had helped laid out utilized so well. While he is in isolation, he has them send him electronic copies of all the bloodwork and tests they do, to keep another set of eyes on it. He doesn't see anything out of the ordinary, so he happily comes out of isolation at the end of it.

When meeting with Nishawa and Sarah Jacobs, his only comment is: "I wrote up everything I could. They have made many adaptations to their climate, though I wonder if it is possible that the threat is gone and we could free them to explore their world more. They seem strongly motivated by an offer of renewed technology that they lost, so it could be a bargaining chip to get more information out of them." He shrugs and looks lost in deep thought for a bit before shaking his head and returning to focus to the here and now with another shrug and shake of his head to indicate he is done.