Flight BV99003

[Carolyn]

((ADMIN NOTE:  We'll have this take place the day after Anso and his crew arrived in Vashtalia after everyone had been assigned to their respective areas. -Seth))

 

“Mayday, this is Bravo Victory niner niner zero zero three. Can anyone read me?” The copilot was trying different radio frequencies while the navigator was wrestling with the navigation equipment.

 

”I can’t keep this bird up much longer Lieutenant… find me a runway!” The captain yelled as she tapped the fuel gauges. 

“I understand ma’am, but with all do respect none of what we are seeing are in our database or charts,” the navigator responded. 
 

“Nothing but radio silence, ma’am,” the copilot commented. 
 

“Cutting engines two and four,” the pilot yelled as one engine on either wing cut off. “That will slow fuel consumption, it’s gonna be a rough on Captain!” She said looking over at the co-pilot with a smirk. “Time to act like our grandfathers in World War II and eyeball ourselves a landing lane. Lieutenant, jump down to cargo and make sure everything is locked down good. After going through whatever the fuck that was, I don’t want this bitch rocking when we land on some farm.”

 

”Yes, ma’am!” The Lieutenant/Navigator dropped the useless maps and equipment. Opened the cockpit door and headed down on to the cargo bay. 
 

“Colonel… Look!” the Captain/co-pilot called out. 
 

“I have never seen a building like that,” the pilot muttered. “Firing up engines two and four,” she yelled flipping switches. She flipped the button for the intercom. “Brace yourself, Navi!” She yelled. 
 

The engines roared as the pilot and co-pilot throttled up to climb and clear the city below.
 

Lieutenant Colonel Caitlyn Jones had been flying C-130’s for over ten years and this was the strangest flight to date.  The started off from Eielson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska. Their cargo was what she called “don’t ask don’t tell”, because it was top secret.  The minute their plane got eaten up in the bright white light that transported them to where ever the hell they were, she knew it had to be the damned cargo. 
 

The left number two engine sputtered after they leveled out clearing the town. She cut the engines down and put her eyes on an open field and a primitive looking road. 
 

“Captain our runway is at your two o’clock,” Cait gestured her head and the copilot noted. 
 

“Copy, ma’am,” the copilot responded and she knew he was starting up the landing procedures. He went through the checklist. “We as ready as we can be ma’am.”

 

”Copy that, let’s see how this fat girl does,” Cait adjusted knobs, throttles made wind adjustments and  maneuvered the massive plane into the best landing position she could with the engines sputtering at the low fuel. 
 

“Going down!” Cait yelled as she and her copilot guided the massive plane down on to the field. 
 

The landing gear complained and she prayed the brakes would hold as she threw the engines into reverse throttle. 
 

Finally, in a cloud of dirt the massive plane came to a stop. Cait took a deep breath and smacked her copilot on the shoulder. 
 

“And that Captain Campbell is how you do an emergency landing,” she said with a smirk as the two of them exchanged looks of relief.  Cait noticed Lieutenant Teeter was missing. “Fuck, Navi’s not up here!” She jumped out of her seat and hurried down to the cargo area.  Campbell followed her down into the hold. 
 

“Teeter!” she yelled looking around before seeing him fastened into a jump seat.  She ran over to him. 
 

“Teeter!” Cait said again looking him over and he looked up at her. 
 

“Colonel, I must apologize for losing my lunch on the cargo,” he said looking over to the massive black box that was ratcheted down in the cargo hold. Cait followed his gaze and started laughing before she hugged him. 
 

“You throw up on that as much as you want Lieutenant,” Cait said as she sat in the jump seat next to him. “I feel like it’s nothing, but bad luck.” She yanked her helmet off and then the Lieutenant’s.  They had all three dawned them when the ride got strange and rough. 
 

“I wonder what it is, ma’am,” Campbell said as he walked away from the paper work that was redacted to hell and back. 
 

“Whatever it is. It was something worth flying our asses into Fairbanks to move it,” she said thoughtfully. “I wonder what was wrong with the crew of this old bird.” Cait ran her fingers through her hair trying to dry the sweat. 
 

“Yeah, this bird is probably outdated by what fifteen years, ma’am?” Campbell asked. 
 

“Make it twenty,” Teeter interjected. “I looked through all the maps, ma’am. The newest was from twenty years ago,” he said thoughtfully looking at Campbell. 
 

“The girl checked out preflight. Yeah, she had older equipment, but it all worked and was ship shape. If we hadn’t gotten sucked into that bright light tunnel, we would be in B.C.”

 

Campbell was pulling out the survival gear and checking it. Cait groaned and walked over to him. 
 

“Guess we don’t need those life suits to survive the frozen Bering Sea, or parachutes to jump out the back like those puddle jumping squids,” Cait said snagging the pack designated for highest ranking officer. 
 

Teeter had gotten up and was making his way around the cargo bay checking things and looking out the windows. “I think we landed in North Korea, ma’am. I see no paved roads or electrical poles. From what I’ve heard, that’s North Korea, ma’am,” Teeter said looking over at her honestly. 
 

“Teeter,” Cait said hoisting her bag on her shoulder. “Did you see any jet fighters come after us in the air? Or anyone trying to shoot us down? Or perhaps any military vehicles coming after us?”

 

“No, ma’am,” Teeter responded. 
 

“Plus, if this was North Korea we would’ve been able to get our people on the radio,” Cait added shaking her head.  “Gentlemen, do you have your pistols ready?” 
 

“Yes, ma’am,” they answered together. 
 

“Ok, Teeter you stay here. If you see anything North Korean, you have my permission to open fire with the big guns,” she gave him a smirk.

 

”Yes, ma’am,” Teeter responded. 
 

“Campbell you’re with me,” Cait said walking to the side door. “Let’s see how bad we’re in trouble.” She reached down to a pocket at her ankle and yanked out her flight cap. “Lock the door Teeter,” she called out as she slid out the side door followed by Campbell. 
 

Cait heard Teeter latch the door as she adorned her flight cap and pulled on her aviator sunglasses. 

 

“At least the weather is nice, ma’am,” Campbell said as he dawned his respective sunglasses and flight cap. 
 

“Yeah, it’s better than what we took off in,” she said as she started walking toward the town. 
 

What no one noticed was that the dark container in the cargo hold was dripping a strange green fluid. 

[Solem'cleavu]

It was fortunate that the highway was not in heavy use at the moment due to the citizens making use of the teleportation gate network however the guards still patrolled the area and evacuated everyone who looked to be in projected crash zone according to the scouts that had been airborne following the plane during its descent.  That all being said though no sooner had the people exited their aircraft and started on their way towards the city than those four scouts landed, surrounding the craft and those who were coming out of it while still maintaining their natural dragon forms.  Each one larger than the aircraft the new arrivals had exited each gave a brief flap of their wings before folding them against their bodies.  The dragon directly in their path letting out a loud roar to make the them think twice of proceeding before two others would arrive seemingly materializing from out of nowhere next to the dragon. 

 

One was a tall, hulking man standing at 7 feet tall with fiery red hair and a beard and eyes to match wearing black armor with gold and red accents throughout.  The design of the armor would remind one of ancient Rome back on the world called Earth, slung over his back would be a massive blade although the most distinguishing part some may notice would be that the pupils of his eyes would remind one more of a lizard's as he looked over at their newest arrives.  After studying the pair for a moment he turned his head to the other man.  "See Anso?  This is what we mean by this world seeming to be a dumping ground for off-worlders."

 

Turning his attention back to the new people he then spoke to them, figuring he'd speak in the common human tongue to give him the most chance of being understood.  "I am Limara of the Red Dragon Clan Flaretalon, Captain-Commander of the 3rd Squadron of the Vashtalian Royal Dragoon Division.  Know that you are illegal entrants into this nation, do not resist or make any foolish moves as we will now take you into custody.  That being said judging by the nature of your arrival it does seem that you did not trespass onto our soil by choice nevertheless we do still need to bring you in for questioning.  If you will be so kind as to call the others that stayed behind in your craft and come with us that would be greatly appreciated."

 

Looking up to the dragon that was next to him then.  "Lieutenant, go back to the city and get a mage team out here to make sure their craft doesn't pose a danger, seal it or destroy it if it does.  There's a strange smell coming from it that I don't like."

 

"Yes, Sir"  It was this time that the dragon had spoken before taking off towards the city.  Like others of their kind when in their natural forms their speech could be heard verbally but also seemed like it was transmitted directly into the minds of those who heard them resulting in an odd echo-like sensation to those not used to it. 

 

************************

Limara

[Carolyn]

“What the actual fuck…” Cait said taking a couple of steps back from the roaring dragon. 

 

“I think we found the Lost World, ma’am,” Campbell inserted. 
 

Cait found herself lost for a moment looking at the massive man. She realized he’d introduced himself and was going into his formal list of demands. 
 

“I am Lieutenant Colonel Caitlyn Jones of the United States Air Force and this plane,” she gestured back to the bird. “Is under my command and will not be destroyed. I have very important cargo that I am charged with delivering. I can’t just…” she lost her steam.  “Fuck, I’m the new Amelia Earhart aren’t I?”

 

”Nope,” Campbell responded. “We’re going to be covered up like plane that disappeared in 1950, ma’am.” He paused to emphasize his next point. “And the aliens, ma’am.”

 

”Campbell… you just had to take this the George Tsoukalos level didn’t you?” Cait glared at her second in command. “Go get Teeter. It’s because of this damn government cover up bull shit we’re likely in this damned mess.” 
 

Campbell turned and jogged back to the door on the plane. He exchanged some words and then returned with Teeter. 
 

“Captain-Commander Limara, this is Captain Anthony Campbell, my copilot,” Cait said gesturing to the man in question. “And Lieutenant Alexander Teeter, my Navigator.” She gestured to the other man. 
 

“Just please don’t blow up the Hercules. As much as I would like to have the illusion of going home, I would really just like to get my gear out,” Cait looked at the bird.  “And say good bye.  She’s a good old girl.” 
 

 

[Solem'cleavu]

Limara gave a look to Anso before returning his attention to who would seem to this group’s leader.  Taking a moment to think about the conversation they  had with each other.  “Well met Captain Campbell, Lt. Teeter.  I’d say there’s probably quite a bit we need to discuss.  For now we’ll hold off on destroying your craft unless it does indeed pose a great enough threat to our citizenry and surroundings.  After all it will be useful for figuring out where to send you when we get the path back to your home world figured out.  I’m sure some of our temporal mages are already working on studying your entry point into our world since we’d have to be blind not to see a large metal craft just appear within our airspace.

 

Now the main question is, however, once we do get you back home judging by your conversation with each other right now how safe would you three be with your own government or even any government in your world?  Well we can talk along the way for now how about you three follow us back to the city.  This here is Commander Anso by the way, he’s another off-worlder like yourselves working with us on a temporary basis.”  With that Limara had turned and started making his way back to the city that the hapless crew had nearly hit.

[Carolyn]

Cait found herself slightly mesmerized with the large red haired man as they started walking towards the town. Her mind wondered how he would fit in a cockpit, a car, or even the cots like they’d used overseas in their tents. 
 

“The government would probably question us for days, lock us up, and run tests on us until we die,” Campbell said from over Cait’s shoulder. 
 

“I bet there was one tiny story in the news about our plane disappearing that no one noticed,” Teeter said over her other shoulder. 
 

“Sorry Teeter… no five seconds of fame. Our flight was classified, remember,” Cait said looking at Teeter over her shoulder. 
 

“I forgot ma’am,” Teeter said and Cait patted him on the shoulder. 
 

“I’m sure someone in Campbell’s network conspiracy theorists will notice we’re missing,” Cait said as she jabbed Campbell in the arm. 
 

“Well, we were in the Alaskan Triangle,” Campbell started. “I’d be willing to bet those MUFA people will notice all the search and rescue planes and chopped looking for us. Then we will be like those 44 people in 1950 in that Douglas Skymaster…. A note in history,” Campbell added philosophically. 
 

“We are going to be another redacted report in some file in the Pentagon filed away in the section ‘don’t ask don’t tell’. We are officially in the Warehouse 13 from Indiana Jones and Raiders of the lost ark boys,” Cait said giving a pat of encouragement to both men.

 

They walked quietly for a moment. 
 

“Truth be told Limara,” Cait started. “There is no telling what awaits us back home,” she sighed. “Our government has it’s ups and downs. The fact that our flight was classified, just makes it even more difficult to know.”

 

The trio looked at Anso. 
 

Both Campbell and Teeter looked at Cait who shook her head at them. 
 

“Alaska Triangle,” Campbell said.

 

“Don’t say it,” Cait said as she  stopped walking and put her hand to her forehead as if to stave off an impending headache. 

 

“I’m not going to say it was Aliens,” Lieutenant Teeter began. 
 

“But it was aliens!” Both Teeter and Campbell said in harmony before laughing. 
 

“I’m glad you two are enjoying being on your own private episode of Ancient Aliens,” Cait said as she started walking again. 
 

“Come on, Colonel,” Teeter started. “We just traveled through an Einstein-Rosen Bridge and we have landed somewhere other people have landed. Just like in all of those Bermuda Triangle theories… where planes and boats disappear, but they’re actually all in one hidden place in the Bermuda Triangle.”

 

”Let’s not forget about Uncle Fester and his time spent in the Bermuda Triangle,” Campbell said as he bumped Cait’s shoulder. 
 

“Sometimes I forget men never mature past the mental age of thirteen,” Cait protested which led to Teeter and Campbell laughing. 
 

Cait knew the boys were just making  light of the situation, but the fact that more people were already “stuck” here didn’t give her much to hope for. 

 

[Solem'cleavu]

Limara was just listening to the trio's conversation, giving some sounds of acknowledgement as the trio's commander voiced her thoughts on the matter and in the end just chuckling a bit as their conversation started to turn a bit comical.  "Well at least you can be rest assured that you are on a completely different world from your own.  Hell even Anso here even though he is human like yourselves is also likely from a different world than your own.  Although unlike his crew I do believe we might have a much greater chance of getting you lot home mostly due to the proximity of your entry point.  We'd have to go talk to the temporal mages though after they get done studying your entry point as well as the craft you arrived here in.  That all being said we can provide the means once we get all the information needed but in the end the choice on whether or not you would actually want to return home at that point would be entirely up to you three."

 

Stopping for a bit to gauge how much distance they still had before reaching the city before positioning himself in the middle of the other four.  "Excuse me a moment..."  A quick chant and a moment later the group had been teleported to a point about 100 yards away from one of the massive gates into the city.  Limara making his way ahead of the group a little before turning around to face them.  "Well you three, welcome to Wrothwind one of the sub-capitals of the Nation of Vashtalia."

[Carolyn]

“Good gravy!” Cait looked around at the fact that they had moved so quickly from one spot to the other. Her clinical mind was kicking into gear as she looked from one spot to the other. 
 

“She means… Great Scott!” Teeter said as he and Campbell, also took a look around. “That was awesome! Do it again!” Teeter said, but it was obvious that Campbell was in agreement. 
 

Cait looked up at Limara and stepped closer to him looking at him more closely. She tilted her head slightly yanking off her aviators. His eyes had drawn her attention and Cait was beginning to feel like she was Dr. Grant from Jurassic Park. 
 

“Sir,” she said quietly feeling a bit of trepidation. “What are you?”

 

Her twins stopped talking about temporal displacement behind her and turned to look at Limara more closely as well. 
 

“He’s got eyes like my sister’s bearded dragon’s eyes,” Campbell commented. 
 

Cait ignored the comment and continued to stare at Limara.

[Solem'cleavu]

For once Limara was a little taken aback by the enthusiasm of the trio making him almost regret teleporting them to begin with but then again at the rate they were going it likely would have been evening before they made it to the gates if he hadn't.  Reaching up to scratch the back of his head a bit even as he tried to back away some as they bunched up like a bunch of little kids seeing something interesting.  "All right all right quit crowding around me will ya?  Honestly I'm surprised you didn't figure it out from my introduction but I'm a dragon.  A red dragon, or flare or flame dragon, to be precise.  I only look like this due to the metamorph magic we dragons employ to obtain a humanoid form and blend in with the smaller races better.  As you can see though the shape of the pupils and irises of our eyes are the only things our magic can't seem to handle so they remain the same regardless of which form we're in."

 

At this point he grabbed Anso and moved the man in front of him.  "Here how about you talk to Anso while I go update the guards on the situation."  Then with that he made his way away from the group and to city to speak with the guards on duty.

[Carolyn]

Cait, Campbell, and Teeter looked around Anso watching Limara. 
 

“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” Campbell said. 
 

“Enter the Dragon,” Cait said. 
 

“Dragonslayer,” Teeter added and it was on. 
 

“The Last Dragon,” Campbell let out as he and Teeter turned to look at each other. 
 

“Dungeons and Dragons,” Teeter added. 
 

“Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story,” Campbell countered. 
 

“Dragonheart,” Cait added as she continued to watch Limara. 
 

“How to Train Your Dragon,” Teeter hedged. 
 

“How to Train Your Dragon 2,” Campbell countered and the pair were laughing at each other. 
 

“Red Dragon,” Cait said thoughtfully. 
 

“Dragon Ball… Dragon Ball… Z,” Teeter started and before long both Teeter and Campbell were dancing like idiots singing the TV series theme song that literally was those words repeated over and over. 
 

Cait straightened and looked at the pair. 
 

“Flight! Uh-ten-hut!” Cait said in booming voice. The two men immediately snapped to attention. She walked over towards them. “Dress and cover,” she ordered and the pair lined themselves up in size order left to right. “At ease.” The two stood with their legs shoulder’s length apart with their hands clasped behind their backs. 
 

“Gentlemen,” Cait said as she stood square before them. “It has come to my attention that we have ceased to behave in a manner becoming of officers. We are not on leave and we are strangers in a strange world. We must try to curb our enthusiasm for science fiction, conspiracy theories, and fantasy. We must behave as though we are reporting to Captain Jean Luc Picard, and channel our inner Commander Data’s. Is that clear?”

 

”Yes, ma’am,” the pair responded perfectly in time. 
 

“Dismissed,” Cait said with a wave of her hand. The pair turned to each other and immediately began talk to each other like Commanders Le Forge and Data.  She shook her head at her nerds as they started pulling out pocket notebooks and pencils. 
 

Cait turned and patted Anso’s shoulder. ”The lads don’t get out much,” she said before watching Limara. 

[Carolyn]

A woman dressed in medieval Norse female garb stepped from the shadows within the gates.  A long black cloak lined with raven feathers flowed out behind her as she walked across to where Limara was speaking to the guards. She paused looking up at him for a moment before looking at the ground. 

Turning she walked towards the group outside the gate her eyes glued to the ground as she followed some sort of invisible line. She halted at the guardsmen from the Clandestine and paused to look at Anso. The woman patted his shoulder with a soft smile before returning her eyes to the ground.

 

She followed her invisible line until she stopped at where the three Airmen stood. The woman looked up at Cait, grasped her chin and brought her face down to hers so she could look in her eyes. Releasing Cait’s chin she took a step back. 
 

“Your heart belongs to the sky,” the woman said with little or no emotion. “Your passion and love draw people to you. It is why these men follow you,” she gestured to Campbell and Teeter who watched the woman with curiosity. “Fate brings you here, because it is where you belong,” the woman said with her eyes gesturing up to the sky.  “Fly away sweet bird of prey…” The woman looked back at Cait and smiled. 
 

The woman’s eyes dropped to the ground for a moment, before she turned and stepped over to Anso.  She looked at the man from under her eyebrows with her chin lowered. 
 

“Take me to the mutant,” she said holding out a vial of Tim’s mutant blood.  
 

Her clothing slowly changing to Norse armor. 

 

[Cptdragon9]

(Finally getting to jump in...)

 

Anso hadn’t even been on duty for a day when weirdness erupted.  He’d been discussing the possibility of other people showing up like the Clandestine had when as if on cue the large aircraft had suddenly shown up in the skies.  Of course, he’d been at Limara’s side when they greeted the people at the crash, even resting a hand on the sidearm parked on his hip, but had held back.  Clearly his intervention wasn’t needed, not with the dragons flanking the craft.  In fact he was probably woefully underpowered in comparison so he merely walked with the Limara and the detainees, listening in on the conversation; smiling when everyone looked towards him.

 

And then he was thrusted into the spotlight by the dragon lord as Limara looked to distract the attention away from himself.  Of course the three newcomers were entranced with the idea of a dragon as they listed various references, or so he assumed.  He couldn’t help but snicker as the two subordinates went into geek mode.  “Most of our techs pretty much act the same when we started visiting our new neighbors.  There’s a Lot to be learned here.”  He now turned to face Cait, holding out a hand.  “Not fully introduced so let me do so.  Guard Commander Calvin Anso of the Clandestine, or what’s left of her.  We crashed here a while ago.  Still trying to figure out what to do and how to deal with it, but for now we’re cozying up to the Vashtalians.  A few of us are on a sort of exchange program so that we can understand each other.”  He looked back toward Limara.  “They’re a decent lot, once you get used to the dragons, and the magic.”

 

 

And then the strange interruption by another woman.  He hadn’t seen her come out from anywhere, but it was clear she didn’t belong to the crew that had been found with the aircraft.  He quirked a brow at the rustically garbed woman, perhaps a bit defensive as anyone looking to find any of the Guard’s mutant stock must be looking for trouble.  Besides they had more than one.  Squinting a brow, he towered over the girl.  “You’ll have to narrow that request down a bit, and perhaps give us a good reason Why you’re looking for one of them.”

[Solem'cleavu]

LImara did notice the woman as she came up and stared at him as he was conversing with the guards, how would anyone not notice such odd behavior actually.  When she went over to Anso and the others however he signaled the guards he was talking to and made his way back over to the group even as he seemed to be speaking to another person that wasn't present.  He rejoined the others just as the woman was asking to see one of the mutants and as another had teleported into the area as well.

 

This new arrival, while not standing as tall as Limara, was still about six and half feet in height and while the pupils of his eyes shared a similar shape to Limara's eyes they were more of a golden color to match his hair which went to just above his shoulders.  Wearing a set of robes that were of a cream color he did hold a staff that was about seven feet in length giving him the look of your stereotypical mage.  This man looking at all those gathered before settling on the vial in the woman's hand.  "This ought to be good.  All right young lady, you and Anso are coming with me.  Limara, just continue escorting our other new arrivals."

 

"Will do, and sorry about this Claw.  She felt like she had a similar vibe as that Janis person so I figured you'd be better able to handle her."  Giving a little salute to the man before he turned to his charges.  "If you three will continue to come with us. "  Motioning for the Cait and her crew to follow him and the other accompanying guards even as Claw motioned for the other new girl as well as Anso to follow him.

[Carolyn]

~~~ Cait ~~~~

 

And then he was thrusted into the spotlight by the dragon lord as Limara looked to distract the attention away from himself.  Of course the three newcomers were entranced with the idea of a dragon as they listed various references, or so he assumed.  He couldn’t help but snicker as the two subordinates went into geek mode.  “Most of our techs pretty much act the same when we started visiting our new neighbors.  There’s a Lot to be learned here.” 

 

Cait looked over at Campbell and Teeter and shrugged.  "What can I say?  They're my dorks," she shook her head and looked back at Anso. 

 

 He now turned to face Cait, holding out a hand.  “Not fully introduced so let me do so.  Guard Commander Calvin Anso of the Clandestine, or what’s left of her.  We crashed here a while ago.  Still trying to figure out what to do and how to deal with it, but for now we’re cozying up to the Vashtalians.  A few of us are on a sort of exchange program so that we can understand each other.”  

 

"I am Luetient Colonel Caitlyn Jones of the United States Airforce, recently the pilot," Cait gestured to the plane over her shoulder that she had come from. "of the C-130 Hercules class known as 'Steamboat' from Eilson Air Force Base in Fairbanks, Alaska.  I got her down in one piece, but," she shook her head.  "I don't know if she will get back in the air." 

 

He looked back toward Limara.  “They’re a decent lot, once you get used to the dragons, and the magic.”

 

"Yes, well... where we come from dragons are mythical beasts.  Scientists have named some things 'dragons' in our world, but these dragons are nothing like the animals or the mythological beats of home," Cait shook her head again.  "Magic in our world is a myth, but we have people who perform 'illusions' with slight of the hand that call themselves 'magicians'. I've seen a lot of shit having flown cargo in war zones, but this... this is all like a dream where I come from."

 

She followed her invisible line until she stopped at where the three Airmen stood. The woman looked up at Cait, grasped her chin and brought her face down to hers so she could look in her eyes. Releasing Cait’s chin she took a step back. 
 

“Your heart belongs to the sky,” the woman said with little or no emotion. “Your passion and love draw people to you. It is why these men follow you,” she gestured to Campbell and Teeter who watched the woman with curiosity. “Fate brings you here, because it is where you belong,” the woman said with her eyes gesturing up to the sky.  “Fly away sweet bird of prey…” The woman looked back at Cait and smiled. 

 

Cait watched the strange woman and shook her head.  The woman's words had been strange, but she had struck a cord within Cait that few knew about.  Cait let her eyes fall to the ground as her thoughts began to wander.  Limara's voice cut through her thoughts.  

 

"If you three will continue to come with us. "  Motioning for the Cait and her crew to follow him...

 

"Yes, sir," Cait said looking at Limara.  She looked over at her two men who were staring at her as though something had just happened to her.  "Let's go, Flight," she said to them and gestured for them to follow her as she followed Limara. 

 

~~~ Meli ~~~

 

And then the strange interruption by another woman.  He hadn’t seen her come out from anywhere, but it was clear she didn’t belong to the crew that had been found with the aircraft.  He quirked a brow at the rustically garbed woman, perhaps a bit defensive as anyone looking to find any of the Guard’s mutant stock must be looking for trouble.  Besides they had more than one.  Squinting a brow, he towered over the girl.  “You’ll have to narrow that request down a bit, and perhaps give us a good reason Why you’re looking for one of them.”

 

The woman tilted her head at Anso who was trying to use his height and bulk to intimidate her.  She was not in the least impressed or intimidated. 

 

This new arrival, while not standing as tall as Limara, was still about six and half feet in height and while the pupils of his eyes shared a similar shape to Limara's eyes they were more of a golden color to match his hair which went to just above his shoulders.  Wearing a set of robes that were of a cream color he did hold a staff that was about seven feet in length giving him the look of your stereotypical mage.  This man looking at all those gathered before settling on the vial in the woman's hand.  "This ought to be good.  All right young lady, you and Anso are coming with me.  Limara, just continue escorting our other new arrivals."

 

"A welcome diversion," she said with a smile as she looked at Claw.

 

"Will do, and sorry about this Claw.  She felt like she had a similar vibe as that Janis person so I figured you'd be better able to handle her."  Giving a little salute to the man before he turned to his charges.  

 

The woman looked from Claw to Limara, and then back to Claw.  She smirked.  "The tides of fate have spoken."

[Cptdragon9]

Anso had seen the new arrivals in beige out of the corner of his eye as he waited for a reply from the mutant-seeking woman, but that answer was not forthcoming.  Instead Lieutenant Jones and her flight companions were escorted away with Limara while he and the vial-toting woman were escorted by Claw....

[Solem'cleavu]

****Claw, Anso, Meli****

 

Claw just grunted a bit when the woman mentioned the tides of fate.   “What is fate, young one, but the end result of one’s circumstances, choices, and coincidences all coming together?”  Once the group was far enough away from, well, everyone Claw then turned to face the woman.  “Now, how about you explain the exact reason you have Timothy’s blood in those vials as I’m certain that just from the fact that you even have those that either you were working with Janis to bust Tim out of his cell a while back at the very least or you were actually the one who did that and Janis was just covering for you.

 

What I would like to know is, why?  Neither of you have any real reason to interfere in the affairs of others.  However before all that how about you give those vials back to Anso since you did take those samples without proper authorization from Tim’s superiors much less from the mutant himself.”

 

((I’ll post for the others later once I think of something))

[Carolyn]

~~~ Meli ~~~
 

Claw just grunted a bit when the woman mentioned the tides of fate.   “What is fate, young one, but the end result of one’s circumstances, choices, and coincidences all coming together?”

 

Meli stared at Claw impassively. “Believe what you will.”

 

Once the group was far enough away from, well, everyone Claw then turned to face the woman.  “Now, how about you explain the exact reason you have Timothy’s blood in those vials as I’m certain that just from the fact that you even have those that either you were working with Janis to bust Tim out of his cell a while back at the very least or you were actually the one who did that and Janis was just covering for you.

 

What I would like to know is, why?  Neither of you have any real reason to interfere in the affairs of others.  However before all that how about you give those vials back to Anso since you did take those samples without proper authorization from Tim’s superiors much less from the mutant himself.”

 

Meli smirked. “The Sisterhood of Fates is many. We serve the Librarians and through them the Creator and the Fates,” she paused considering Claw carefully.  
 

“Janis stays near you because you bring her silence into our world. Your fate is blurred to her and she cannot see her own. Your paths were crossed for a reason.  
 

“She may offer you indifference and reasons for you to suspect her… but in truth she is innocent,” Meli looked at the vial in her hand with a guesture.. “In truth, neither of us took that.” She looked away from him and down to the ground for a moment. 
 

When Meli looked up, it was to Anso. “There is a fate that troubles the Librarians,” she looked back to Claw. “They needed the sample to verify what had been foretold. I have been sent to evaluate his fate,” Meli looked back to Anso. “They tell me no more.” Her eyes fell to the ground. 
 

Meli looked back up at Anso and Claw. “I apologize for the aloofness, but I had hoped you would recognize the blood. I could not locate this person, which is very strange for me. I cannot sense him,” she broke off and her eyes went distant as her mind shifted into thoughts. 
 

“I felt Cait,” she said after a moment. “And then I felt you,” Meli said with her eyes returning to Anso. “Janis speaks well of you, because of your treatment of the young girl she has been charged with,” she paused. “This mutant had an interaction with the girl that left her wary of him, but she tells me that you have a way with the man." A small hint of a smile at the right corner of her lip.

[Solem'cleavu]

Clawrift had merely shrugged at that point.  "We'll just leave that particular discussion at that then.  Such debates are entirely pointless anyway as there is no way for either side to actually prove that their stance is the truly correct one.  Take your statements regarding Janis for example.  I can simply say that my fate is blurred to her and that she cannot see her own because that's quite obvious to me as no one knows what other people's fates hold much less their own.  However you can claim some other reason entirely why such a thing can be so as I stated before there's just no way to prove one way or the other who is right and who is wrong. 

 

Anyway your reasoning behind why that blood was needed and the reason you were sent here does raise another related question.  It's all well and good to say that these Librarians are troubled by a particular fate but who know what reason they have for not saying anything more to the person they sent to evaluate said fate.  Who's to say that the mere task of even sending you out here for this evaluation will not cause whatever fate these Librarians see to come to pass?  It would seem to me that they would at least tell the evaluator about what the fate they saw was so that you would have at least a hint of what to look out for."

[Solem'cleavu]

****Limara and the rest of the crew****

 

While Claw was having a generally pointless philosophical discussion about how pointless it was to debate whether fate was predetermined or up to the individual Limara had been getting Cait and her crew through what would pass as immigration checks for them.  Each was asked various questions about their background with a mage involved to ensure each one of them was answering the questions truthfully.  Then after that was they another set of mages had recorded each person's psionic waveforms as well as their faces in what looked like small crystals.  Limara of course had paid each person's entry tax for non-citizens.  At any rate once all that was done they were released from the local guardhouse with the Dragoon Captain leading the group into the city proper and straight to a nearby restaurant/tavern so they can discuss things further.  "Figure you three might be getting a little hungry by now after that.  How about we go in here for some grub?"

 

Meanwhile another team of mages had gone out to the crash site to study the craft with the scouts from earlier on standby  so that they'd be on hand to help transport the thing when the time came.

[Carolyn]

~~ Meli ~~
Meli cocked her head listening to Claw. 
 

“One is not privy to their own fate or those that are intertwined with them,” she shrugged. “We can see each other’s, but we cannot discuss it. Janis was sent here and now she stays. Perhaps, I have been sent here to find this person for a specific purpose or reason unbeknownst to me. It is not for the Sisterhood to question the Librarians or our orders.”  Meli furrowed her brow. 
 

“Mayhap, we should get this over with.”

 

~~ Cait ~~
 

Campbell and Teeter were quick to respond to Limara in the affirmative about food. They had been enjoying the whole experience. The pair felt like they were working on the U.S.S. Enterprise and exploring strange new worlds, “going where no man has gone before”.

 

Cait was dragging behind the group. She smiled at Limara as she shouldered her pack. “Yes, food sounds good. Then maybe we can use some tranquilizers on Campbell and Teeter, so I can take a nap without worrying about them getting into trouble.”

 

~~ Steamboat - The Plane ~~
 

The large container in the cargo hold was still dripping a strange fluid, however now the lid was open, and all that remained inside was a sticky, mucus like puddle of fluid that was dripping out the corner of the box. 

[Cptdragon9]

Anso had been ping-ponging between Claw and Meli as he mulled over the bits of information.  For one he was going to make sure to put up more surveillance cameras if anyone could sneak in and bust out any of their detainees.  Granted Tim was probably their most common incarcerated figure but there were a few that either needed to dry out after a binge, a couple of supply thefts, and they either needed better security, or until they were able to ward themselves from magical intervention.  Technically he couls confiscate the vial of blood.  Mutant DNA was considered Guardsmen property.  There were channels that needed to be followed before the LIbrarians could take samples.  

 

As to the discussion of fates and destiny, he couldn't speak towards it one way or another.  That was more for philosophists.

 

Finally he got a word in edgewise.  "I'm afraid that we will have to bring this up to the Colonel.  Possession of the vial of blood needs to be authoried by the Guard, which would mean stating your case to him.  He might better be able to explain why your people cannot "see" TR-6."  He had his suspicions; Tim was a high grade 'path and could possibly be "cloaking" himself with a mental projection.  Nine could briefly cloak herself by modulating energy which screwed up electrical equipment.

 

Much of this would need investigating, and explaining.

 

[Solem'cleavu]

Claw shrugged a bit after Meli was done talking.  "Well one could argue that merely requesting clarification of your mission parameters and/or requesting more info regarding the subject at hand to better fulfill your orders would not actually be questioning your orders. 

 

However you are right, perhaps it is time we get on with the task at hand so we’ll just leave it at that for now although I do have plenty more questions I can ask you.”

 

With that he turned to Anso as the man was getting his two cents put in.  “In regards to that it wouldn’t be all that surprising that they can’t seem to “see” Tim.  Our scouts are trained to be able to hide their psionic presence so I figure a strong enough mental defense would be enough to hide oneself from detection.

 

I’ve also been meaning to bring this up but related to the past security breach by this one due to our new agreements since I will be installing a proper teleport gate at your current base I will also place defenses to protect against unauthorized teleports into your area of influence.  Should shunt most teleports to the teleportation gate that will be installed if not cause any incoming teleports to fail outright.

 

In my role as advisor however I would advise against letting this one near Timothy until we know more about her particular assigned task.  If you must have her meet with the Colonel to discuss this then I would suggest having the Colonel come here.”

[Carolyn]

Meli grabbed one of Anso’s hands and shoved him one, and the another vial into his hand before closing. 
 

“Take your DNA back. You will find they are both at capacity with the sweet precious Mutant blood.” Meli said to Anso pointedly.

 

”I believe you misunderstand when I say that he cannot be seen. He is quite visible as one uses the five senses The Creator granted and his mind,” Meli paused looking at Claw and then back to Anso. “Is a concern, because the man cause a small ripple in someone else’s timeline by possibly trying to influence them.” Meli paused in thought for a moment. 
 

“It is appreciated that the guard did take actions, but,” Meli paused and rubbed the bridge of her nose between her eyes. “They want someone to keep an eye on him. So, here I am…” she waved her hands in front of herself and looked at the ground. 
 

“I’ll talk to whomever I need to. I just want to settle this and move on,” Meli said to her feet.  She finally looked up. “Can I get some coffee?”

 

[Solem'cleavu]

Once again that shrug from Clawrift.  "Well that much is obvious. Everyone influences the timelines of everyone they meet in some way young one this is not a new phenomenon.  Although you mentioning that this particular ripple could have been a conscious effort on his part wouldn't surprise me given his personality from what I remember of the last few times I've seen him."

 

At the mention of coffee the mage just sighed.  "Well I suppose we can go hit one of the local stalls or something back in the city.  It's probably close to Anso's break time anyway."

[Solem'cleavu]

***Limara and crew***

 

With that unanimous agreement being made Limara had let the trio into the establishment and after greeting some of the serving staff that welcomed them they were led to an empty table in the corner.  The dragoon captain taking the liberty of ordering a round of ales for the group as well as whatever the special of the day was before he turned to the other three.  "Well then I guess the main question now is what to do with you three.  Well, I guess that would really depend on if we're able to lock down your homeworld's coordinates.  Which, from what I understand, is a lot easier if the path that brought you here simply connected two different locations in space rather than crossing entire timelines as well."

 

***Crash area***

 

The mages that arrived however had simply surrounded the aircraft just as the scouts were still surrounding it, casting various spells to record any data they can get about the plane's point of origin and thus didn't even go inside the plane.  The scouts for their part had been watching the plane this entire time since they had first arrived watching for anything else that may try to crawl out of it.

[Carolyn]

~~ Cait ~~
Cait studied her ale. Sniffing it before taking a sip.  Campbell and Teeter both dove into their beverages. 
 

“I suspect we traveled here through an Einstein-Rosen Bridge, or wormhole,” Teeter began in what was his best Commander Data voice. “Unfortunately, the technology we have cannot determine how we moved through the wormhole, and we have no knowledge of how wormholes work.”

 

”String theory offers the possibility that we traveled through time, or to a different parallel simultaneously occurring timeline,” Campbell said with a shrug. 
 

“What these Trekkies are trying to say is that where we come from we don’t have any sort of technology or knowledge about what happened to us. But there’s no shortage of fringe theories.  I’m sure these two already have one,” Cait said taking a tentative sip of her drink. “And there will be mention of Aliens.”

 

”I’m not gonna say it was aliens…” Campbell started with a smirk. 
 

“But… we can’t explain it,” Teeter added. 
 

“So… it was aliens,” Campbell finished. 
 

Cait slumped into a chair. “It’s always aliens,” she said with a smirk before shaking her head slowly.

Cait propped up her feet and began to feel wistful. 
 

“Farewell and adieu to ye fair ladies of Spain;” Cait began singing.

“Farewell and adieu to ye ladies of Spain,

Cause we’ve received for to sail for ol’ England,

But we hope in a short time to see ye again…”

 

Campbell and Teeter joined in on the chorus. 
 

“We’ll rant and roar like true British sailors,

We’ll rant and we’ll rave across the salt seas,

Until we strike surroundings in the channels of England, 

From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-four leagues…”

The group laughed. 
 

“Maybe I should get a boat,” Cait said thoughtfully. “Or start a crop dusting business in Australia.”

 

”Australia?” Campbell stared at Cait like she’d lost her mind. 
 

“Yeah, they need bush pilots… then again so does Alaska, but it’s warmer in Australia. I could learn to surf and find myself one of those good looking Ausssies to settle down with,” even as Cait said it, she was not convinced. 

 

~~ Plane ~~
The plane sat quietly. Oil dripping from the engines along with a strange green fluid. The fluid running off and down the landscape to the woods.