Just Another Sunday (IC)

[quotemyname]

Blueshift rolled gracefully to her feet. "Listen up." She spoke quickly, spurred on by the fact that their time was expiring as she spoke. "Info dump: Portal is galactic. Stars suggest local. Solar System." She began walking toward the portal, in an attempt to cut down on wasted time. "Robotic presence: Foundry issued drones. Perhaps Power Corps bought . Perhaps direct Foundry involvement. Interrogation would be great." She pointed at one of the fallen Power Corps members, "Problem: Time. Portal's open. But how long? Sustained by device? If so, not visible." She looked back at the portal, trying to see more. "Aliens plead our help. Foundry and Power Corps involved. Possible limited response time. Clear cut choice." She pointed at the portal, and faced her new allies, "We going?"

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman came down towards the portal, still fumbling with his remote, and talking into his commlink. "Right, doors are open, get out, get to the authorities, whatever. Tell them we're handling it. Or trying to handle it. Wait, scratch the trying part, it's less than reassuring."

He flipped his remote into his yellow belt pouches, and looked up brightly. "So, jump into the portal without knowing where exactly it goes or how to get back? Is that even a question, that's just a Tuesday. Let's roll."

[Raveled]

Several things happened in close succession. The portal closed with a bang -- literally, an explosion of pressure that rocked Geckoman and Blueshift back on their feet. The organic heroes felt a tension, a heaviness against their brains. The silver centaur squirming in Protectron's grip suddenly froze, and slowly went slack. Finally, one of the creatures in the corner touched its chest with one hand and spoke. "Please, let the engineer go. My name is Cyrne, and I think my people need your help."

[quotemyname]

Blueshift stamped her foot in frustration as the portal closed. "No!" she exclaimed. Where did it go? Crap. All that knowledge. Lost.

She rounded on the alien speaking. She skated toward him with the rockets on her feet. She moved quickly, but made sure not to look threatening, at least as much as she was able. "Power Corps involved. Possibly Foundry. Your statement's correct. The portal: Where did it lead? Why the Corps? Why the Foundry bots? Your people: What slash who are you slash they? More you tell, better the help."

Why am I asking the questions. I'm not good at this. I'm just going to screw this up. Do not want. Run and hide. No. You got this, B. Aliens, right? Think Sci-Fi. You like Sci-Fi. You can do Sci-Fi."

She was muttering now, "Skin like mechanical counterpressure suit. Face like sun-shield. If it is skin, face. What are you?" She questioned, her eyes narrowed in scrutiny, even as her lightning fast brain and all of it's research couldn't turn up any answers.

So. Very. Frustrating.

[JackgarPrime]

While the others were figuring out what to do with the portal, Victory was dashing around and making sure all of the Corps members were fully disabled and got them good and wrapped up in whatever large pieces of metal he could get around them. As he put in the call to have them picked up, the portal shut...VERY loudly.

Victory was far enough away that it doesn't really hit him, but when he turned and saw it was closed now, he cursed under his breath.

He did hear some of their theories, though.

"Can't say I'm surprised. Last time we took these guys in, although they were trying to keep as hushed as possible, what we were able to gather pointed to the Foundry as their employers. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the ones that busted these clowns out this time,too."

[Ecalsneerg]

Geckoman looked at Blueshift confuse. "Full sentences: nowhere?" he asked. "Seriously, not saving as much time as you'd think. Unless you really, really, reallyreallyreallyreally want to talk fast, it just makes you sound terse. Relaaaaaaaax. Slash talk faster."

He whirled around to talk to the weird alien thing, adjusting his goggles as he went. "Anyway, let's start simple. What exactly is going on here?" By this point, he was squatting on a box he'd found nearby examining a funny stain on his glove. Looks like oil. Ew.

[Raveled]

The lead creature, Cyrne, shied away fro the fast-talking, fast-moving heroine, but he -- she, it, whatever -- rallied and started answering questions. "I do not know who the Power Corps or the Foundry are. I am Cryne, navigator second class aboard a Ki-Roc colony ship. We wandered into your system, ah, seventeen revolutions of this planet ago. We were damaged and sent out a distress call. It was answered by a metal creature with burning eyes." Three gold face-plates turned towards Ironclad and Protectron, but after a moment Cyrne continued. "The metal creatures brought other metal servants on board. They've been stripping out technology and working us until we drop. I think they may work us until we die."

[Dr Archeville]

Protectron looked to Cyrne, then the others.

Observation: Social dynamics have shifted. Negotiations underway, best to release subject.

Secondary Observation: Entity self-identified as Cyrne called this one his Engineer.

It released the centaur-alien it had been holding. "I hope I did not harm you, Engineer," it said flatly. "If you require assistance in repairing your spacecraft, I would be happy to lend any service I can."

It turned partly to Cyrne, so it addressed both aliens. "Machines are the natural help-mates to organics. I would not want your opinion on us to be soured by the actions of one rogue mechanoid."

[quotemyname]

"I'm sorry," Blushift peeped sheepishly after Geckoman's admonishment. When he instructed her to relax, she did just the opposite, it seemed. She found herself staring out at the walls of the warehouse thinking that they were quite a bit farther away than she remembered them being. Now that things had calmed down, her mind had plenty of time to wander.

She began pacing, "I'll try to..." and started trailing off, "be... better... at that." Her face held a crestfallen, sullen expression. Geckoman hadn't hurt her feelings, he'd just reminded her of how self conscious she was.

When Protectron mentioned repairing the ship, her face brightened. "Hey! I can help with that, repairing things is something I am good at! Just have to... find it...now." She spared a glance at Geckoman, "Better?" She asked, just as another idea poked its way to the front of her mind. "Wait. Planetary revolutions." It seemed her speech regressed as soon as she began concentrating on something else. "You know that. You must see Earth. Least know relative location. Means your ship is reasonably local. Means I can find it if I triangulate with what I saw through the portal. Quick. The area around your ship. Can you describe it?" Her face held a pleading expression.

[Raveled]

The engineer dropped from Protectron's grasp and hurried to the other aliens, and Cyrne moved to more fully shield the pair behind him from the superheroes. "We are... in orbit, between this planet and the next one out. I don't know any system to give you coordinates in. But if you will help our people, we will take you there. Quicker than a thought."

[JackgarPrime]

Victory decided to finally speak with the creatures directly, now that the Corps were all ready for pickup. Approaching them, he retracts his visor, so that they could get a look at him without being behind the impersonal screen built into his helmet.

"I'm not sure if I'm speaking for all of us, but for me, there's no "if" involved. Any way we can help, I promise that I, for one, will do everything in my power to get rid of your intruders."

[quotemyname]

"I'm in." Blueshift smiled, and moved to stand next to Victory. "This's Freedom City. We're heroes. Solving problem's what we do. In the job description." Folding her arms she nodded her head resolutely, "Excuse the turn of phrase, but...Beam us up!"

[Raveled]

Cyrne nodded and the three aliens herded the heroes into a tight group. The centaur -- the Ki-Roc, that's what Cyrne had said they were -- stood at a triangle's points around the ground, equidistant from each other. The three suited figures glanced at each other, raised their arms in unison, and there was a

--wind howling like the whole world was being blown away

--crushing pressure, vising diown on your head and heart until it felt like you were going to be jellied

--light so bright it was painful, searing out your eyeballs and crisping the back of your skull

disorienting moment of translation. The heroes found themselves in a wide open space that could have been mistaken for a park of some kind. There was an expanse of green grass (almost like a velcro pad, the blades grew up, looped, and plunged into the dirt again) pale, smooth-sided trees (with feathery, fern-like 'leaves') and even low bushes (with red, spiky stalks that shook constantly, even in the absence of any breeze). It also looked a bit like a refugee camp. There was at least two dozen of the centaur aliens without any suits on; their skin color ran the gamut from pale to inky black. There wasn't any apparent sexual dimorphism (r maybe there was just one gender on display). There was a range of ages on display, from smaller, presumably immature individuals all the way up to one alien who couldn't seem to stand all the way.

The faces were striking. Their heads -- well, they didn't exist. They didn't have necks, just smooth columnar trunks that tapered to a hairless point. Each Ki-Roc has four eyes, arranged around something looked more like a lamprey's mouth with lips than anything mammalian. As the heroes watched, one of the juveniles raised a slice of dark green fruit and gulped it down; its mouth was just a tooth-lined gullet that quickly sucked the food down.

Cyrne and his two other travelers disrobed. There didn't seem to any zippers of buttons on their suits. The fabric just separated at a touch and pooled around their legs. Cyrne's skin was a brick-red color, his eyes were violet, and there was a metal speaker crudely sutured into his skin just above his mouth. The alien spread his armed and noise issued from the speaker. "Welcome to the last home of the Ki-Roc."

[quotemyname]

Blueshift's first response after the strange transportation sensation was a violent one, "Huuu oh god." She retched. "Ick. Not ready for that. Hoo. Grass...Turf? No, Grass..." She observed in her usual cryptic fashion. "Why is there grass?" Her knees went weak and she plopped down on the ground, thankfully away from the pile of sick. "And sky. Why is there sky? Big sky... We were just inside. Why are we now outside? Don't like outside..." By now she was breathing heavy. She drew her knees up to her chest and hugged them. One hand found a pouch at her side, drew something small from within, and placed it in her mouth. She swallowed, hard. She continued rocking herself softly murmuring.

[Raveled]

Ironclad fell to the ground when the teleport landed them... wherever they were. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, trying to keep from being sick inside her helmet. Definitely not a good idea, she told herself, repeating the phrase like a mantra. After a minute she felt fine enough to open her eyes and look around. The little wooded area put her at ease somewhat, until she saw Blueshift rocking on the ground. The young woman put her own discomfort aside and knelt next to her, touching the other woman's arm gently. "Hey. We all came through fine. Really, all bits attached and in working order." She folded her own helmet away and rubbed a hand through her hair, brushing out the currently-long locks. "See? All present and accounted for and... And oh, god."

Ironclad happened to glance up and did a double-take. Stretching above the group was a solid, inky blackness, uninterrupted by metal beams or wires or anything at all. Stars burned there, constant and unblinking, just another bit of oddity in this alien place. "Oh, god," Ironclad whispered again, almost to herself. "We're in space. We're really in space."

[quotemyname]

"It's so big." Blueshift was still shaking. It would seem that she didn't even notice Ironclad's touch, except that she seemed to press closer toward it like it offered some form of comfort. "Outside. Too much being outside. Need to get inside. Inside is better. Inside is safe." Her eyes were focused squarely on the ground in front of her feet. She didn't dare think of what would happen if she looked up again. At the deep empty darkness. "Can't go out there. Too big..."

[Raveled]

Ironclad glanced up at the other heroes, at a loss for how to proceed. Consoling heroes in the midst of a panic attack wasn't something she had trained for, but it didn't seem like anyone else was going to try and help. She scooted closer to the other woman, putting her arms around Blueshift loosely. "We are inside. It's just a really big inside, with lots of trees and--" Ironclad stopped herself. She didn't know much about psychology, but she was willing to bet that there wasn't a logical way to approach this. Instead, she reached out and took hold of Blueshift's chin, moving the other heroine's face around until they were eye-to-eye. "Just look into my eyes. Don't worry about anything else, just focus on me. Can you do that?"

[JackgarPrime]

As outlandish as their new surroundings were, Victory was in work mode. He'd have to wonder about the nature of these creatures after they've dealt with the problem at hand. That said, he did have to double take for a moment. And while space was still a bit of a wonder to him, he's been trying to become as acclimated to the sight as he can. It's tough, to be sure, as it was something you're used to looking up at, not down from.

He took a few steps forward, taking a look (and as thorough a scan as he can on the aliens, to see if there's anything he can discern about them for sure), but stops when he noticed others weren't following. Looking back, he sees Blueshift on the verge of a breakdown, and Ironclad trying to help.

He moved back to them, and placed his heavy hands on each of their shoulders, looking down at Blueshift. His hand, the fingers moving very slightly, made a noticeable whirring noise this close to their ears. Not loud and painful, just a quiet hum.

"Hear that? White noise. Keep that in your mind. Just let it keep you anchored. It's a trick I use sometimes when the sky is coming too fast."

[quotemyname]

"Just look into my eyes. Don't worry about anything else, just focus on me. Can you do that?"

Blueshift gave a slight nod, a tentative confirmation. She stared, not wanting to look away.

"Hear that? White noise. Keep that in your mind. Just let it keep you anchored. It's a trick I use sometimes when the sky is coming too fast."

She let her eyes closed, and for a moment it seemed she would drift off, hypnotized.

Then the shaking stopped. Whether it was the medicine she took, or the support of her teammates that was responsible wasn't clear. But at least she was improving. "Okay." She let out a deep breath, "Think I'm okay. Just... Just don't look up, Blue." She opened her eyes. Her pupils were dilated, and she seemed momentarily unfocused. Then she looked from Ironclad to Victory and back. "Thank you."

Managing to hoist herself on to her feet, she had her eyes fixed on the ground at her feet. "Don't look up. Doonnnn't look up. Funny. Normally it's 'don't look down.'"

[Dr Archeville]

The strange golden robot had been silent and still since the arrival, a fact not noticed (due to concern over Blueshift) until now. One would easily think that it had become damaged during the teleportation. This, however, was not the case.

My first non-terrestrial environment. Such diversity of life... recording...

Extrapolating muscoskeletal structure of six-limbed quadruped...

Calculating composition of native environment based on present flora and fauna....

The robot slowly panned around the area, scanning above and below as it panned left to right. It abruptly stopped when its field of vision passed over Blueshift and the others.

ALERT

Organic in distress

Observation: Others have rendered aid

The robot at last moved towards the heroes, and addressed Blueshift in its flat tone. "Apologies for not noticing your distress sooner. Are you doing better now?"

[quotemyname]

"I... Um... I think." Blueshift nodded, and spared Protectron a sideways glance. Her expression told him that she was upset about and ashamed of being a burden. But not enough to verbalize it. "Medicine is helping. Yay. Modern science." she cheered with mock excitement. "Heh, Ironic. Considering present company." She paused, looked the robot up and down for possibly the hundredth time that day, eyes alight with curiosity. "You know. I could just pick you apart." She paused, realizing the implication of what she'd said, "Um... I mean... You know. In the good way." Awkwardness aside, it seemed she was indeed better. Busying herself with Protectron, and the distractions of their surroundings, seemed to help her greatly.

[Raveled]

Cyrne hovered at the edge of the group as Blueshift's panic attack was handled. Once everyone was in control of themselves again, he leg them deeper into the trees. Under their fronds, the view of open space was obscured and the light sources were dimmed a bit. The alien held out a hand and a red fruit drifted lazily down from the treetops into it. As he began sectioning and eating it (separate pieces seemed to peel away into his hands like it was being cut by an invisible knife) a piece of the turf slid back and a metal pole rose out of the ground to about waist height. A white hologram flickered into sudden life in the middle of the group. Cyrne waved a hand at it and said simply, "The ship."

Its basic structure was a circle within a circle, a pair of concentric touri with a cone at the very center. Four 'spokes' connected the outer rign the inner, and four more connecter the latter to the hub. The image was surrounded by oddly curved sigils -- almost certainly the Ki-Roc alphabet. "This is a colony ship," Cyrne explained, stepped close to the hologram and pointing at different parts. "We held in the neighborhood of twenty-five million Ki-Roc colonists in suspended animation, with another two hundred bridge crew who rotated between sleeping and working. We were fleeing a catastrophe in our home, and for seventy or so cycles everything worked fine. Then... this."

The alien gestured and the hologram flickered, replaced by one that was the same except for a small difference; a full quarter of the inner circle and nearly a third of the outer circle had been ripped away, roughly if the rent edges were anything to go with. Some of the connecting spokes were crumpled, too, as if by explosive decompression. Cyrne let the heroes absorb the image, then spoke up. "There are roughly three million of us now. Maybe the only Ki-Roc left anywhere."

[Dr Archeville]

"I do not believe this is the time or place to 'take me apart,'" the strange robot replied flatly. "However, once this current crisis is resolved, I would be happy to discuss my operational parameters and technical specifications with you."

Observation: Since discovery 29 days ago, Lab-Friends have cautioned me about freely sharing my technical data, for fear of misuse.

Tactical Analysis: Act with caution. Trust, but verify.

"What was the nature of the catastrophe?" Protectron asked, right before the holographic presentation flicked to the image of the crippled craft. A soft whir could be heard from the robot's head as its optics adjusted to take in the scene. "What happened? Collision? Attack?"

Analysis: Presuming genome of Ki-Roc species is comparable to that of humans, 3,000,000 survivors should be enough to ensure genetic diversity. Species should be able to survive this catastrophe, though counseling for psychological issues may be required.