Moira Waverly was in the Veranda's kitchen, making sure the cooks didn't over-braise the carrots or make shoe leather out of the rump roast. Her husband was a wee bit late returning from the fields. She was beginning to worry.
Suddenly, she heard the screen door slam, and the hurried pounding of feet towards Reggie's den. Usually his first act on arriving home was to nuzzle her neck. Concerned, she quickly followed the footsteps, noticing some small wet spots on the floor as she passed through the sitting room. She bent to investigate..
"Reggie!! You're bleedin' all over me carpet! Wot in the name o'..."
She entered the den to see Reggie booting up several dormant systems, and pawing through old printed documents, blood oozing through a handkerchief hastily wrapped around his right hand.
"Reggie??? Dammit!"
She ran back to the kitchen, fetching some clean hand towels. Returning to the den, she gently unwrapped the handkerchief, gasping as she saw his raw, skinless palm; and his right ring finger, missing it's top joint completely.
"That's it, me boyo! Ye're not leavin' me sight until ye tell me what foolish shenanigans..."
Reggie turned to his wife and grasped her firmly by the shoulders. She gasped again as she saw his ashen face and wild eyes.
"Moira my love, I must leave immediately for Belfast. I can't explain right now, but I have discovered something over at the Uli Rouge plantation.
"I think I know why our harvest is so poor, and I must set some things in motion to investigate further."
She was confused and worried, but the urgency in his voice was all too apparent.
"But.. yer poor hand! Yer supper.."She tried to blink back the tears that were forming.
Reggie sensed Moira's anguish and concern. It helped him to calm a bit, and focus his words..
"My Darling, the food smells delicious. Pack some for me, would you? And I promise to stop by Canaria Med on my way to the spaceport and have this attended to..."The pain in his hand was indeed beginning to break through the shock of his experience.
"Now listen to me carefully. I need you to re-program all our outside bots. Send them to the Uli Rouge for sentry duty. They also need to conduct a continuous full-spectrum energy scan of the area. Uplink it directly to FnordNet in real time. Understood?"Again she nodded, smiling slightly as her "old" Reggie came to the fore again.
"I've informed Baffin of the problem, and I may have to go there from Belfast. I will be in touch constantly.
"Now scat, woman, and fix my doggy bag!"He hugged Moira fiercely, and smacked her shapely rump as she turned once more to the kitchen.
He had one more local call to make.
*Hiya Boss! What's shakin'?*
"Sophie, how many "g's" can your hide and innards take?"
*Well, my specs are rated at 100 gravities, but I've only been to 40 or so, playing around.. Why?*
"It'll have to do. Meet me at the WLLC Hanger in 15 minutes. How would you fancy a trip to Gallia?"
Wondering if "she" were programmed to sputter, or just "hoofing it", he broke the connection. Going to a closet he donned his baggy flight suit, completely forgetting to remove his blood-spattered waistcoat.
Within moments he was sprinting towards the garage, his supper in his left hand, his right hand throbbing and burning like the milltails of Hell.
Mal rose, placing a hand on Sarah's shoulder for support. Very nice support..
As he walked towards a nearby exit, he tapped his temple once to activate messages. He listened to Reggie's plea for information regarding Baffin, noting the degree of concern in his voice.
The small hovercraft jounced along the dirt road leading to Port Canaria and the Medical center, causing a throb of pain in Reggie's hand with each lurch.
He activated the vehicle's comm system.
"Sophie! have you reached the hangar? Prep the Warbucks. I'll be along after one more short stop!"
You may not know me, but i do know you, pope.
I have little time to give a speech so i will get to the point.
We received your pulse.
It echoed some thoughts we had. Some things we noticed.
...Some events that are bothering me.
We made some researches on the Geode. Actually about it's crystal.
That allowed us to increased the efficiency of the so called 'pineal amulets'.
Not the ones we are selling to passing by tourists however.
You get where this is going? Good.
The crystal has changed. It isn't as reflecting as it was. This decreases the efficiency of the amulets crafter since a week.
Many popes here are mumbling, and wasting incredible amounts of flax to buy 'old good' amulets.
I will send some templars to investigate in the Barrier field, Chao field, in the vacuum between Eris and the Geode...
Our gold dwarf will be checked as well..
I sense something is changing. Is this related to that forming singularity near Eris?
I cannot say.... Until some data is gathered.
I will keep you informed...
23's, pope.
++ You will find that the state is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly too ++
++ End of transmission ++
Posts: 8,090
Threads: 731
Joined: Aug 2008
Staff roles: Moderator
Canaria Medical:
Reggie came in, bleeding from the hand and cursing the whole while. Doc was getting ready to leave when he arrived, Reggie's cursing getting his attention.
"Reggie, old Boy, what on Canaria is wrong with you?" he asked of him with a half smile before realizing what was wrong.
"Judas PRIEST!" exclaimed Doc as he took a clean rag and covered the hand as he escorted him to a treatment room.
As he treated his hand, he listened to Reggie talking about bad crops as he began cleaning his hand.
"I can treat this and even put on some synthe skin but I'll need more time another day to do something with that missing finger," he stated. Only nodding the acknowledgment, Reggie kept ranting about bad crops, going to Newcastle and something about Gallia.
The skin was gone from the palm of the hand. Knowing how painful it was, he gave him an injection of morphine to dull the pain and then administered an anti-biotic to clean it. He then went to a kit in the room and pulled out a square of synthe skin and began to measure it up. Pealing the adhesives from it, he applied it and began going over it with a laser like device. Slowly, the skin meshed with his own, completely covering the wound. While it looked almost natural, one could tell what it was and the only real side effect was that one couldn't feel through the skin. But for now, the damage was fixed.
"When you get back and find time, Reggie, I can fix that hand like new if you want," Doc told him.
Still, Reggie's mind was on something else. Satisfied with his treatment and in a rush to leave, he thanked him and left the facility as fast as he had entered, the difference being that he wasn't cursing in pain.
Doc could only shake his head and snicker. Finished for the day, Doc hung up his smock and headed home.
Halfway across the Dublin system Reggie fell into a fitful doze.
The combination of nervous exhaustion and the painkillers he had been given at Canaria Med had finally managed to release Reggie from whatever demons had been tormenting his thoughts.
Sophie had interfaced with the Griffin's Navcomp, and manually inititated the jump into the desolate Chester system. "She" had quickly integrated their course and speed, deducing that they would arrive at Belfast a good three hours before Hope's would open its' doors.
The Fnordette squirted a command to kill the ship's main engine, and the "Warbucks" dropped to just under thruster speed, moving slowly towards the jump hole to Newcastle.
*Let the poor bugger sleep..*
Reggie had not contributed anything further about her "mission" after lift-off from Port Canaria. She had "assumed" that he was still "processing" whatever events had prompted this sudden journey, and hadn't pressed him for more details.
However, that didn't prevent Sophie's own programs from interpolating and extrapolating what she "knew".
1) Gravitational forces might be involved;
2) A "trip to Gallia" had been mentioned;
3) Their destination was the Belfast facility;
4) A Waverly LLC property on Belfast had recently been sold;
5) The buyers were rumored to be a mysterious Order with ties to the Maquis in Dauphine;
6) The Dauphine system contained an anomaly of unknown origin and purpose.
Sophie outputted the "what", "where", and "when" within microseconds.
The "how" obviously involved a virtually indestructible, self-propelled sentient "globe" with full-spectrum sensors, and processing power that left most computers in the dust..
That left only the "why".
*Why indeed..*Sophie mused, as the Warbucks drifted slowly towards the Newcastle hole.
He was completely disoriented, until he began to to see huge chunks of ice floating by on either side of the Griffin.
"Good morning, Sophie.. Newcastle?"
*Hi Boss. That's a rog.. We're about 30K from destination. Oh, and there's a message from Baffin*
Reggie activated the Warbucks' comm panel. He rubbed his stubbly chin, and absentmindely reached down for his flight kit, removing an ultrasonic razor. He shaved as he continued to read the message from Sister Mnemosym.
"Lovely", he thought to himself. Another piece of this mysterious puzzle, and another curve ball that could potentially make the TAZ paupers.. even more reason to acquire the assistance he might find on Belfast.
Looking at the control suite's chronometer, he saw it was still relatively early.. 0600 SMT.
"Sophie, kick this mule, eh? I'm suddenly famished, and I could use a gallon or so of decent coffee.
"..do these Gallians even make decent coffee..?"
*Five tons, Reggie. But just in case, I stashed some 'Shaking Mountain Dark', a slab of bacon and some eggs in the boot. You're covered, just in case they serve skinny croissants, puckerberry jam, and nasty Brie.*
He scrubbed his face with a warm towel, threw a "Dentifizz" and a couple more pain pills in his mouth, and tied his long silvery hair back just as the volcanic planet which anchored Belfast began to peek through the white mist.
Malaclypse and Commander Coyle had made good their "escape" from Pope Leonardo's Jinkusu. The small shuttle was approaching the "Episkopos Prime", a docking bay already opening to receive them.
"Bridge, Mal. Prepare to get underway. Set course for the Scrubby Farms. ETA 2 minutes."
The shuttle was "piped aboard" as it touched down in the bay. Mal noticed Sarah's amused smile at the anachronism. He returned the smile, and made a circular gesture with an index finger at his temple, acknowledging his "loopiness". He was rewarded with a delightful laugh.
Mal could feel that the ship was already accelerating, the soft vibration of engines confirming the feeling of inertia. Instead of entering the lift for the high, pagoda-shaped Bridge, Mal guided Sarah to the small Atrium abaft the ship's main tower."Better view." he offered. As they approached the three Farms concealed within the nebula, he tapped his temple again.
"Bridge. Circuit of all the Farms, please. One-third impulse. Activate and log visual and full-spectrum sensor sweeps."He guided Doctor Coyle to a low teakwood table. The 'traditional' tatami mats replaced by comfortable cushions."I'd order us saki, but my head needs to be clear. Oolong tea?"
As the Geisha approached the first Farm, Mal had the impression that it was deserted. He turned to a display for an "enhanced" view, finding that there were still immature "baby" Scrubbies congregated in the area. However, they appeared to be listless, flying aimlessly, nibbling only occasionally on their preferred diet of toxic detritus which the Farms provided.
It occurred to Mal that this was due to the lack of "mature" specimens in the vicinity. Scrubbies, like any species, seemed to rely on the "parental" model.. the old teaching the young how to "swim", how to explore, how to play. Disturbed by this change in behavior, Mal tapped his temple again.
"Bridge. Sedona, all possible speed. Continue sensor sweeps."
"Sarah, I can't explain fully yet, but it appears Reggie's fears have some substance. 'Something' seems to be affecting things here in Baffin.."
As they approached and circled the huge collection station that was Sedona, Sarah was on her feet, tea forgotten, nose pressed against the Atrium's "windows". Obviously her duties on MF-2 had not allowed her to explore the system. Again, only a few smaller Scrubbies approached, some looking back at Sarah in curiosity. She turned to Mal, silently raising an eyebrow in question.
"No, my dear, this is not good either. Mature Scrubbies are collected here for distribution to worlds undergoing the terra-forming process, or those requiring minor 'tweaks' in atmospheric conditions. Reggie was about to approach Bretonia about a contract for that cesspit, Leeds.."Another tap:
"Set course for the Geode! Include organism population count in survey data. Maybe my "pets" can shed some light on this."
Sarah had returned to the low table, negotiating the cushion easily, even in high heels and formal gown. As they approached the Geode Mal began to speak with some reluctance..
"Umm, Sarah, perhaps we should change into something more 'utilitarian' for the journey into'¦"
He stopped abruptly, eyes wide. The "E.Prime" had approached close enough to the Geode for Mal to realize that a trip inside wouldn't be needed. His "pets" were literally abandoning the Geode, boiling out of crevices on the planetoid's surface and the tunnel which allowed the Skyhook's cars to enter, one car almost obscured by their frenzied migration. And they were headed en masse to'¦
"Bridge!! Thirty degrees starboard! Maintain z-axis! Follow those Scrubbies!"Mal pointed to a monitor showing a forward view. Sarah reached across the table, grasping his hand as she noted his anxiety.
They were gaining on what had to be the largest school of Scrubbies Mal had ever encountered, all swimming with purpose in the same direction.
Suddenly the Geisha "bucked" wildly, shuddering as it regained course. It was as if they were being buffeted by a strong current. They continued to gain on the mass of Scrubbies, finally matching course and speed, which was barely a fraction of impulse speed.
It quickly became apparent that the massive school was also struggling against the unknown "currents", like salmon struggling upstream to spawn. They were barely making headway, but there was obviously some sort of migration in process. Even at this velocity, the Scrubbies could be on the far edges of the Baffin system within a month or two.
"Bridge!! Plot the exact course of that school! I need a destination!"