Getting aboard the Irongrip expedition proves no great difficulty, with Thomas Whaley meeting them and getting them suited up into uniforms so they'll pass a visual muster. Cadena and Inari's tails and ears would be hard to hide, but luckily the specs call for a team protected against all environments, so they can hide their unusual features in ABC-protective headwear and armor. Cadena's tail fits inside a pantleg; Inari's tail, being fluffier, requires a little adjustment, but Tracy's suggestion of using a backpack works well enough, with the bedroll serving as the 'tail container'.

Though it's possible to commission supersonic transports these days, the ES-4070 Eagle Security Transport is not one of those; its flight takes several hours, with dirigibles meeting them along the way to refuel them en route. This gives them plenty of time for Jason to remove bugs and rig the monitors to show a loop, for them to investigate the transport thoroughly, and to prepare for their escape from the landing zone. Patched through a satellite link, Kimon keeps them updated on the latest news.

ES-4070 Eagle Security Transport
This is a huge transport, able to fit two armored personnel carriers-- though it only has one right now, and a set of crates that are marked as prefab components for an environmentally sealed command center. There are seats on both sides of the cargo compartment with drop-down rollbars to hold passengers in place even when said passengers are heavily armored beyond the ability of seatbelts to fasten, and Sgt. Thomas Whaley is piloting in the forward compartment. Briefing screens fill the front end of the compartment, along with a modicum of controls and keyboards. At the opposite end is the cargo door, which drops down to form a ramp.

One of the forward viewscreens shows a satellite recon view of the landing zone and its surrounding areas, which includes the ranch where the recent murder occurred. Via a secured channel, Cadena has retrieved information about the murders and plotted them, showing a clear epicenter to the incidents-- there are no murders on file within the grounds but then, there are no declared residents either, it being a 'nature preserve' on paper.

"Less than twelve hours ago, Dantech shocked the world by issuing a military Non-Disclosure Enforcement action against an aircar leaving the Avatars LLC premises," a chirpy news anchor reports on one of the channels being monitored by Kimon. "Although Avatars LLC responded by immediately quarantining and possibly evacuating survivors, Vice President of Security Holly Trudeau refused to answer any inquiries from Dantech or Arcadia Development, pleading corporate security privilege, both of which initiated legal proceedings against Avatars LLC to determine which company rightfully holds domain over the aircar, its passengers, and any alleged intellectual property which might have been therein contained."

"Now in its eleventh hour of deliberation, the suit has moved on to the National Cybercorporate Security Court, where our legal analysts predict that Dantech's advanced legal algorithms and treasure trove of patents will give it a decisive advantage..."

"What could he possibly want?" Jason mutters as he rubs the side of his head. Things have been moving too fast for his liking. He's more of the sit in a lair and plot out ten ways to tackle the problem, sort of a guy. "Play message," he instructs Kimon.

The youngish Adam Dexter appears on the viewscreen. "Jason, they just announced a state of power emergency here in Southern California. Seems like one of the nuclear generators in the San Diego Crater is at risk of meltdown and they're going to be severely limiting power to all offices and residences, effective in the next half hour until further notice. Could be a coincidence, but... You did ask for reports on brownouts."

"We've got a bunch of us working on the problem of locating who's drawing all the power, but it seems like it's either the Dantech headquarters up in the New San Francisco arcology, or the old Palmdale site where they built the original park," Adam continues. "Avatars' 'Omega Ranch' should be in that area too, maybe they've got something to do with it? Also, Holly got word to me that Mike is okay, he's recovering from a pretty massive systemic shock. He should be back up and at 'em in a few days. Anyway, drop me a line if we can lend a hand, okay? I owe you guys one for my bro."

Tracy sits in her jump-seat with her knees hugged to her chest and her eyes hidden behind her mirrorshades until the message is announced. She dips the digital glasses down to pay attention. "So, mom's is still holding off Dantech's sharks enough to keep Mike safe," she notes.

"Or they could be claiming meltdown just so they can divert the power to some place else without raising suspicion," Jason mutters. "Open reply," he instructs. "Adam, the likely point of power draw are any facilities related to the Zeus system, or Dantech headquarters. I don't expect it to be the old theme park area, but checking it out carefully can't hurt. Checking out any of those should be done carefully, really. The people involved aren't afraid to use lethal force and, well, you're all just kids. Don't do anything stupid-risky. Message end."

Cadena reaches over and taps Tracy. He could have just used his headset com to contact her, but for some reason it seems that he's stowed away his modified K-9 collar rather than wearing it along with his 'disguise.' "Hey, kid. When you've got a moment, I've got something weird to point out. Might be something, might be nothing. Figured you'd know."

"Because I'm weird too?" Tracy responds, but musters a grin. "What is it, Cadena?"

The helmeted and armored heavy trooper next to Jason flips up her visor to reveal the golden vixen's familiar features. "They're expecting a major power drain soon, huh? Enough to warrant an entire nuclear plant? That sounds like trouble," she says.

"Well, it sure isn't a giant weenie roast. With that much power ... they could probably open a portal the size of a city or more," Jason remarks rather grimly.

The armored dog-man (still fully suited up to hide this fact of his person as much as possible) fiddles with the controls, zooming in on the landscape around the Weapons Testing Ground. "I saw this place years ago. It's around Omega Labs. See how most of it's overgrown? What isn't part of weapon testing grounds is all reclaimed for a 'nature preserve' now. But -- look here." He gestures to several farmhouses, well-kept, with dirt ready for spring planting. "Could be there are new owners - I can't tell what's outside the zone - but look how these are old-style homes ... that one's practically new. If it'd been damaged by the Fracture, it would've been rebuilt - new style, rather than insurance forking out the money to make it look vintage. Plus ... there's that shimmer. That's not heat shimmer. Not this time of year. Something's wrong. Plus, let me see if I can get this playback to work...."

"You think the area is being masked by a massive hologram, maybe?" Tracy asks as Cadena fiddles with the controls.

Cadena plays back a bit, fast-forwarding through segments to hit the highlights that he's time-stamped. "This other farmhouse was in that news report. I'm sure of it. Then look...." He fast-forwards, and several black hovercars land and several suited personnel get out. Then, later, a brown truck pulls up, a workman gets out, knocks at the door, looks around as if trying to find someone, then departs. Fast forward. No further activity - the farmstead is deserted. "Looks like the folks in that news report got out of Dodge."

"A shimmer is nothing more than light bending its path due to passing through a material with different indexes of refraction that separates two zones," Jason notes as he leans over to get a better look. "It can be caused by heat changing air density, high humidity, or even a malfunctioning holo projector. But ... that doesn't look like either, frankly. That looks like quantum instability." He rubs his forehead for a minute. "We were thinking that they were going to open a portal ... I think there IS one already open. That's why the excursion. They're sending troops in."

"They're farm houses though," Tracy notes. "Not floating islands or cities full of dark alleys. So what if it's another world but not an artificially generated one?"

"Not every fantasy has floating cities. Haven't you ever played the farming simulators?" Jason asks.

"Easier to set up a forward outpost on land that isn't heavily defended," Jason points out.

Cadena nods at Jason's comment, offering, "I don't think it's about farmland. It's about geography and remoteness."

"But where is it," Tracy mutters. "Why aren't there farmers, even if it's a game world? Who opened it? Did it just open itself?"

"Have you ever parachuted before?" Tracy asks, then gets a sinking feeling and looks at the transport to see if it is rigged with parachutes already.

"Nope. How hard can it be? Jump, hang onto a really big sack, and hope not to splat," Jason quips.

Sergeant Whaley activates the cabin intercom. "We're coming up on the landing site, ETA 5 minutes. Looks like we're going to be met by Dantech and Department of Defense, judging from what's already parked on the lot." He patches in a satcam feed monitoring the landing zone.

Palmdale Weapons Testing Grounds
The drop zone is an enormous football-field-sized circle of packed dirt, bordered on all sides by chain link fence and mysterious vane-like installations reminiscent of the Zeus monitors. Nearby is a massive hangar, easily large enough to hold a dirigible the size of a skyscraper-- not that they built large dirigibles even in the Frothing Fourties, but it does remind Tracy of a pirate ship hangar from the Gloaming's near-modern world setting-- and a bevy of military base-style quick-buildings. A VIP supersonic transport is parked next to the hangar, along with a medley of luxury corporate hovercars.

Cadena shrugs. "I'll see if I can get a better look at it, but I reckon that farmhouse right there isn't right. Call it intuition, call it a hunch, call it a little whisper in the back of my crazy messed-up head if you will, but I think either that house isn't really there, or it shouldn't be. Given how close it is to Ground Zero, I figure it'll give us trouble sooner or later."

That little bit of information gets him to sit more upright. "We're going to be met by Dantech? That's our cue to get out as quickly as possible. And ... in case we need a distraction I should check out how secure the car navigation systems are once we land," Jason says.

The plan is, according to the schematic view, for the Irongrip Security forces to touch down on the northwest side of the 'Event Zone', surrounded by the vanes. There, the troops are to assemble and wait for further instructions.

Cadena experiments with the suit's built-in "whisper-LOS" laser com, as he checks his gear, preparing for a quick evac. "Testing."

"Unless they use advanced biometric sensors to check for certain pheromones, body odors, and so on," Jason all-too-cheerfully says. "Tom, how hard would it be to drop us off before reaching the lading zone?"

"Are we taking the RV then?" Tracy asks, closing her helmet and switching to the LOS system.

Sergeant Thomas Whaley considers. "The General ordered me to give you any and all cooperation you wanted, so if you want to risk it, I can pop the cargo door. We'll be pretty close to the ground, you can use your boot jets if you're fully suited up, or there're parachutes mounted by the ramp."

"Or if you folks want to continue on, I could jump out here and check things out," Jason offers.

"Does it have jump jets too?" Tracy asks. "Otherwise I'll jump on my own, I think."

Cadena says, "If'n you're jumping, I'll go with you." He practices targeting a burst to Jason alone using the communicator. "That farmhouse is the one I couldn't find online."

"If you're taking the transport, I'll fake engine trouble and touch down," Sergeant Thomas Whaley adds. "Not going to be safe for me to bring an empty cargo hold to the party, if we're lucky, they'll be tightly enough pressed on time they'll want to proceed without it."

"Honestly, I think we're less likely to be captured if we evac now," Jason says, "And it gives us a chance to do some scouting. I'm be a bit concerned if we fake engine toruble. Someone might find that suspicious. I know I would. But I'm paranoid."

"Show me how to operate the boot jets, and I'm ready to bail," Cadena offers, "but I think I'll grab a parachute as backup."

Inari considers. "Did you install a remote control in the APC?" she asks of Jason.

"Theoretically did. Military gear is a bit harder to modify. You think they don't want people messing with it," Jason remarks dryly. "If I got it right it should be controllable. If I didn't, it's a nice law ornament for a hillbilly."

"I hope these things are automated, and nobody is watching us," Tracy says as she reads the instructions on a parachute before strapping into it.

Inari nods. "If we get off now, then we can use the APC as a distraction," she says.

Cadena checks the handy little icon instructions on his suit. "Parachute might increase chances we're spotted. Am I crazy for suggesting Tracy hitch a ride on one of us with boot jets? Hook her up with carabineers? Could be a rough landing, though."

"It would be extremely awkward to carry Tracy down, but it is theoretically possible," Jason says.

"Jason, have you rigged the APC to feed you audio and video already?" Tracy thinks to ask, before turning her helmet towards Cadena. With the visor down, her expression is hidden. "If I'm going to be carried down, I'll keep the parachute as a backup.. just in case."

"Kind of like tandem sky diving, I guess. I also bet the only person here with real sky diving experience is Miss Goldentail," Jason quips.

"Awkward, I can handle," Cadena says, "but I don't have the expertise to judge life-threatening, which is my concern." He moves toward the hatch. "Just don't know if anyone's watching out there, and willing to shoot."

Inari smirks unseen in her helmet. Her body language just radiates smugness. "Of course! I passed with 'flying' colors. If Tracy wants a lift..."

Sergeant Thomas Whaley calls from the pilot's cabin, "Emergency cargo door drop lever's by the parachutes. Give me a heads up if you want to change course, otherwise I'm following the flight plan." Through the tiny window in the cargo door, they can see the forest passing beneath with appalling speed.

"Okay, at least if Inari lands on me she won't be as heavy," Tracy notes, and heads over towards the armored vixen.

"I theoretically can work the APC from remote, yes. How it works in practice remains to be seen. Remember, there is instability in the area to contend with," Jason points out as he unhooks the four-point harness holding him in his seat and rises. "So, looks like the group vote is to plummet to our dea ... I mean jump out," he says. "Still, worst case is we splat. Better than Dantech brain-diddling us."

"I just wanted to know if you could have it record whatever gets said out at the landing site, so we know what they're going to do once they get organized - and maybe who is in charge," Tracy notes to Jason.

"Heads up!" Cadena says. "I've got the coordinates for our drop. The field here - wide open area for a wide margin of error in landing, and a nearby tree-line for us to seek cover."

"Oh, that. I probably could get Kimon to do that from distance and just relay it back to us later in case I can't get a direct link," Jason agrees.

Sergeant Thomas Whaley says over the intercom, "Give me a countdown when you're going to pop it. Cargo door dropping open will cause a bit of turbulence for us."

Inari gets in position to drop with Tracy hugged up in her arms, facing toward the vixen. If it weren't for the armor, it might look a bit overly familiar, but it's also more effective for keeping them both together and allowing the parachute (if activated) to expand outward unchecked. "Have you done anything I should drop you for?" comes her amused reply.

"Inari should go first," Cadena says, taking position by the hatch and bracing himself to jump. "If there are snipers, they're more likely to react to the second or third one coming down, than to be quick enough to hit the first, and Inari's got an unarmored passenger."

"Kimon, keep a constant record of the feed from the APC is you can. We may need it later," Jason relays to his home 'computer. It's now that he heads towards the rear hatch to prepare to jump out. "Also, if any of you have the urge to scream like a five year old girl, myself included, I ask that we each remember to turn off our comms before screaming, eh?" Jason suggests. To Cadena's comment, he adds, "I'll go last since I have probably the heaviest armor on, even if it is home-made."

"No, of course not," Tracy claims, as she clings to Inari. At least I know how to recover from a fall, she thinks.

"Ready for airdrop!" Cadena calls over the channel, as he watches the comsat monitor to compare the craft's current position to the coordinates it's passing over. "Opening hatch in ... 10 ... 9 ... 8 ..."

Sergeant Thomas Whaley acknowledges, straightening the VTOL out so that they won't have to compensate for tilt on top of everything else. "The General says 'Go with the Stars.' Whatever that means!"

"... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ..." Cadena pulls the lever. "Hatch open. GO GO GO GO!" He grips the bar beside the hatch door, and reaches out to assist Inari and Tracy.

CLANK! The cargo door drops open precipitously, giving a full view of the countryside rushing by. The forest thins out as it gives way to a wide open field.

Cadena remembers to mute his com, then leaps out. Not that anyone can hear him, but, "Yeeeeeeee-HAWWWWWWWWW!"

"This doesn't mean I'm falling for you!" Tracy calls out, it being the only clever potential last words she could come up with on short notice.

"Once more unto the breach! Here's hoping I don't pretend to be a lawn dart," Jason says. He takes a few steps back, then runs full speed out of the hatch. On the edge of the doorway, he leaps out into nothingness, arms folded in on his sides. Drop a bit to clear the ship ... then activate the jets.

Inari and Tracy spin head over tail, and then the vixen spikes the air with boot jets, killing their rotation. Once they're stable, she brakes periodically with the boot jets to slow their descent.

Cadena's boot jets work, just like it's straight out of the manual, and he touches down roughly - but serviceably - in the field. He does a controlled drop and roll to help absorb the shock of the landing, then pulls himself back up, quickly surveying the surrounding area for any reactions from the locals.

"Tell me when to let go," Tracy tells Inari. "I can land on my from about ten feet up."

After a moment of panic when his rebuilt boots don't ignite quite on cue, they fire to life and all the various stabilizers and gyros in his armor come to life! So ... he can't quite help himself and rockets past Inari and Tracy ... only to break so much that they pass him. His jets cut out again and he dives right past them again He spins around, waves at them, then spins again and surges downward. Showoff. He's making it look easy. But then again when your armor has servo-controlled baffle panels for flight control and stabilization, it sort of helps! When the ground closes in all his upper baffles spread, flipping him such that his feet are straight down and his rockets fire, countering all the momentum he build on the way down!

The ES-4070 VTOL transport wobbles a bit as it diminishes over the horizon, leaving them alone in the forest. There seems to be a farmhouse to the west, not far from this field, and due northwest should be the intended landing zone.

"Hey, Top Gun," Cadena says, turning his communicator system back on. "Awfully brave of you to make a spectacle to draw away any enemy fire, but try not to overdo it, eh?"

"Hey, this is the second field test I've done with the gear. Give me a break," Jason retorts into the comm.

Inari murmurs to Tracy, "Don't worry, I've..." One last brake and then they're falling the last ten feet, when Tracy breaks free to land on her own. Startled, the vixen falls backward; what would have been a perfect boot jet brake turns instead into a slide that gouges a rut through the meadow. "Frotz!" curses the vixen.

Tracy rolls to her own landing with less issue, then freezes when she sees Inari's less than graceful touchdown. "Uh-oh," she mutters, then switches on her comm and asks, "Are you okay, Inari?"

Jason lands on his feet with a thump, moving at a speed about equal to having jumped off a four-foot wall. "Okay, is ever ... " he starts to ask but Inari's 'ow' stops him. He's running for Inari less than a second later.

The golden vixen manages to get to her feet, her visor mirroring the afternoon sunlight. "I'm... okay. I'll be fine," she says.

"Don't move!" Cadena urges Inari as he skids to the ground by her side. "The rigid armor might help to reduce pressure on ..." He shakes his head. "I'm going to need to take a look at that. We need to get to cover. There's no good way to do this. Kid! I need your help over here."

Sergeant Whaley's voice crackles on the Irongrip communication frequency. "Got the cargo door back up. Some guy who sounds like Jason called up and asked about the bobble in my flight trajectory, told him that some idiot didn't secure the cargo door properly, but I was able to get it back in place and we haven't lost any cargo. He seemed to buy it. Good luck down there."

"I'll carry her to the tree line," Jason says as he comes up behind Cadena. "Check her there."

Inari hisses. "Really, you don't have to baby me," she complain. "It was just a bruise."

"What, me?" Tracy asks, looking around. "Kid? Really? What do you need?" she asks, coming over.

Cadena nods, and gets his med kit ready. "It might just be a bruise, but we need to check, just to be sure. Standard procedure, ma'am."

"I don't care if it is just a bruise, it's getting checked," Jason insists and actually picks Inari up into his arms and off her feet. "And yes, I know you could kick my butt around the planet and probably on the moon too. I don't care. Right now all I care about is that you really are okay," he adds in an unusually firm tone of voice for him.

The vixen pauses, then relaxes, letting Jason carry her for a change. "I... Thanks, Jason," she whispers, off the comm so that only he can hear it.

As they head for the treeline, Cadena rushes alongside, using a scanning device. "Legs are fine, actually, amazingly enough. But ... criminy, ma'am, how do you not make a fuss? Your left shoulder's been dislocated! And that's a fracture!"

The mini-dragon zips around them worriedly, hovering over its master's shoulder. Eep!

"You're not indestructible," Jason says as he removes his helmet. "And when will you learn that you are more important than the show?" he adds. After he reaches up to pat RIU, he asks Cadena, "What do we do about her shoulder?"

They gather under the treeline, with Jason taking off Inari's armor so that Cadena can get to and treat the injuries. The golden vixen looks rather pale in the ears. In the forest, wild things twitter and hoot, cautious around the newcomers.

"As tough as you are, ma'am, I'm sure the show will go on - and you along with it, just like ever," Cadena says, "but first things first. Ground's clear over here. Kid, I need help with the armor so I can get to the shoulder, while I've got to get my hands free here. My armor isn't made for field surgery, and I can't crouch down right while my tail is making me walk funny."

"So.." Tracy says, then just assumes Cadena means he needs help with his armor, since Jason is already working on Inari's. She tries to get Cadena's heavy gloves off.

Inari is wearing her sneaksuit underneath the armor, since it's light and flexible enough to be a good undersuit. Beneath that, she's furred but there's a big and obvious purple bruise beneath the weave of her golden fur.

Cadena doesn't argue over the particulars, and once he's got his hands free, and he's got a better range of mobility, he throws down a field roll, and sets up shop next to Inari, getting out the items he needs from his med kit. "Here. Bite on this," he says, as he hands Inari a leather strap. "This is going to hurt like the devil - no lie."

"It's okay to admit you need help to friends," Jason whispers in Inari's ear as he undoes the banding and quick-release anchors that hold Inari's armor together.

While everyone else deals with Inari's injuries, Tracy looks around to see if there are any imminent threats. "Sounded like Jason Zero is out there," she notes. "And in charge of some aspect of whatever is happening."

"I'm sure he is. Bastard. Why did I ever have to be such a jerk when I was younger," Jason complains.

"OW!" Inari bites the strap, cutting nearly through it. Those are some impressively sharp teeth.

"Marvels of modern medicine," Cadena murmurs, as he tends to the arm. "All right, this is for the swelling. Good thing we got to this right away. Now, that feeling in your right arm - I wasn't just jabbing it for fun - is from the knitting action. I'm going to leave this splint on for a while just to be sure, and I'll want you to be careful with it. The bruise coloration is going to stay, however, because of the coagulation of the ruptured capillaries...."

"Tracy, can you find us defendable cover? There is something large heading this way. Not armored ... but, worrying," Jason suddenly announces to the group after several seconds of staring in the distance. "RIU, do you feel comfortable being an advance scout and checking out what is heading this way?"

The miniature dragon eebles to Jason! Something it can do! It zips up into the deeper forest, staying in the branches and using the leaves for camouflage.

"Can you tell which direction it's coming from?" Tracy asks, as she scans.. the trees. Can't haul Inari up a tree.. even if she was fine, 'treeing the fox' would just be in bad taste, she thinks. There's the farmhouse, but that involves crossing open ground..

Taking stock of the area, there's a boulder a little to the north, and some rocks to the south, and any number of trees behind which to shelter. The farmhouse is just barely visible to the west, with a well nearby and a stretch of ploughed land.

"Okay.. RIU and I can probably distract it," Tracy suggests. "You get Inari to the big rock to the north, and we'll get the bogey to follow us to the pile to the south."

"Make sure you're armed," Jason says to Tracy. He turns away from staring at the Farmhouse and heads back to Inari and Cadena.

"Careful!" Cadena says. "The bone-knitting is still in process. We don't want to jostle Miss Inari, or it could set wrong."

"That's why I'll be with RIU!" Tracy points out.. but also draws her sidearm instead of the taser before sneaking west through the trees.

"That's why they're buying us time, so we can move her safely," Jason points out to Cadena. Make sure her arm is secure. I'll carry her. He also gives Inari a look. "No arguing," he says.

Cadena bites down any further concerns he might have, and does his best to prep Inari to minimize the damage that might be done in the emergency move.

Into the comm, Jason says, "Tracy, the creature is a mangled bear of some kind; horribly mutilated as if having passed through a portal and began to break down, then went back."

Inari mutters between gritted teeth, "I feel naked when we have a fight coming on."

As Tracy sneaks through the trees, she comes into line of sight of the thing. It looks like a giant black bear, but it's been half melted and is running amok, crazed with pain. "RRRR!" it growls. It doesn't see her, though.

"So, you're saying I shouldn't try talking to it.." Tracy notes, and thinks of that list of murders scattered around the area.

The half-melted bear snuffles around, glaring through reddened eyes at the forest.

It catches a scent... Perfume? It rears up and turns toward Tracy, lumbering toward her!

The beast advances toward the perfume... But then its attention is caught by wild rustling in the leaves. Could its quarry be hiding in the branches/

"It's not melting," Tracy notes over the comm. "It's in bad shape, but there's no black smoke or anything."

Taking a chance while the bear is distracted, Tracy runs and leaps up into the tree on the bear's blind side, climbing up to try and get above it.

The bear, utterly focused on RIU's distraction of leaves, completely misses Tracy's leap!

Instead, it continues to lumber toward the tree where RIU is distracting it by vibrating leaves rapidly. From up close, Jason can make out the telltale signs of a creature that has been partially melted by quantum instability... and now he can see it is in fact not dissolving-- that means it's not a bear from a simulation world. But what can that mean?

The golden vixen winces as Cadena continues his medical procedures. "Will I be able to play the guitar after this?" she mutters, jesting.

"I wonder if that bear is the result of some sort of stabilization experiment," Jason muses from where he remains crouched by Inari and Cadena. "RIU, think you could lure it away from all of us? Send if off deeper in to 'preserve'?"

"Why, sure, ma'am," Cadena says quietly, as he works on Inari's arm, trying not to let the sounds of the nearby bear distract him from his work. "Maybe you could even teach me."

As RIU flits toward the next tree, sunlight catches off its metallic hide! The bear glimpses this and realizes... The source of the tantalizing perfume isn't this noisy thing, whatever it is! It turns around, sniffing at the air. Hmm. It went... This way.

The golden vixen smirks. "I probably could show you a few riffs." She squeezes Jason's hand, hanging onto him with her right hand.

Now that's she on a solid branch, Tracy hurries to shed her outer, Irongrip Security jumpsuit so that she can use the sneaksuit if needed. When she sees the bear turning its attention her way, she prepares to drop the jumpsuit as a distraction.

With a bit of contorting, Tracy gets the jumpsuit off and hangs it from a lower branch. Then she activates the camoflage of her sneaksuit, draws her taser.. and waits for the curious bear to come into range.

"You're going to be fine," Jason says to Inari, letting his link concentration fade for the moment. "We've pulled you from worse situations, after all. And the horror, someone has to actually take care of you for a little bit." Maybe he's just trying to distract her from the current moment by getting her to poke him for comments!

"You're not being annoying enough, RIU. Shock it's fanny!" Jason relays to the little dragon.

The golden vixen smirks. "So what are we fighting out there anyway? I hear it growling, so I guess it's some kind of animal."

"A bear that looks like it went through a flesh-pudding plant. A normal bear too, but melted like a simulation would. Very odd," Jason explains.

Cadena blinks. "Is it ... still melting? Can we just wait it out?" he asks, while still going about his work, not daring to look away.

KerZAAAP! RIU unleashes a powerful, bright blue zap of electricity! The bear is briefly stunned, roaring in pain.

"Curse it," Cadena whispers. "Doggy's batteries are all charged up. Wasn't paying attention. This isn't really Palmdale. At least, not entirely."

The bear shakes off the electricity, then turns and charges after RIU! It rears up surprisingly tall, trying to grab the minidragon out of the air.

In the tree, Tracy looks at her handheld taser and thinks maybe it won't work on the bear..

The minidragon squeaks a plaintive distress call to its master as it gets caught!

"Dammit, RIU is in trouble. I have to go. Sorry, Inari," Jason says to his injured friend.

"Hey you great outpouring of a diseased ursine's loins, why don't you fight someone more your size?" Jason shouts as he marches right out to try and get the bear's attention. And if that doesn't, the lightning-bolt up the bum should! He raises his right hand and unleashes a blast of electrical energy from his gauntlet!

ZAP! The strike lands on thick matted fur, but doesn't seem to have injured the bear-- still, it turns and roars at the newcomer, displeased! It flings the small metal insect-like thing at Jason, perhaps hoping that RIU will shock the fox-armored man on contact.

The mini-dragon eeeees as it gets flung! It shakes its head, bringing its dynamic motion sensors back online quickly, then spreads its wings out to stabilize itself. PAF! It hovers in the air next to Jason. This means war!

With the bear focused on the biggest annoyance around, Tracy climbs down from the tree with camouflage still running. Maybe if it charges Jason, she'll be close enough to use her pistol to some effect. The rail-launcher is mostly silent, after all.

"I've lost all sympathy, you threw my dragon!" Jason complains. He raises his hand to blast the bear ... and RIU's maw glows blue too!

Lightning plays across the melted bear, redoubled by RIU helicing and firing off a super-charged shot! The bear sizzles, flesh crisping (and let's face it, burnt ursine doesn't actually smell good when it's mixed with melted fur) and writhing in pain.

Tracy briefly considers her options, then loads an explosive bolt and fires on the bear, hoping to end its misery quickly.

The explosive bolt smacks the bear on top of already heavily scarred flesh! It disappears briefly behind a haze of smoke and flames, but the loud painful roaring suggests that it's not out for the count yet.

"Enough already," Jason growls and opens fire on the bear again, along with RIU!

"All right. I think that should be about it," Cadena says, looking over his handiwork. "This should numb the pain for a bit, but you might not feel it if you're putting too much pressure on your arm. I'm going to keep it splinted. Now, I want to make sure you still have feeling in your left hand. Can you feel this?" He lightly prods the index finger.

The onboard power indiciator flashes yellow at Jason, warning him that he's low on power! But the results are well over the top... The bear's skeleton is briefly visible as lightning bolts light up the cloud of smoke and debris, and then it collapses, a mass of charred flesh and cinders.

Inari nods to Cadena. She stretches her fingers, splaying them one by one, showing tiny little clawtips, then retracting them. "Thanks, doc!" she says.

"Want me to check the doors on the house?" Tracy asks. "There's no way anyone in there missed this commotion."

"All right. Looks like I need to recharge. I really should augment the power systems," Jason says into his comm. "And ... there is movement in the house. My armor is picking it up in the thermal range sensors. I guess we had better go see who it is ... and I need to borrow their power outlets."

"Doc" Cadena helps Inari up, and carefully puts away his supplies and the field roll, and puts his missing armor pieces back on, just in case the locals might take issue with his excessively hairy features underneath the security gear. He doesn't bother trying to tuck away the tail, however, as that would just be too much of a hassle at this point if he hopes to catch up with the others.

The golden vixen re-suits up, looking and feeling visibly happier about having her armor on, and her weapons to hand. She rotates her left shoulder-- feels good as new!

"Don't operate any heavy equipment or motorized vehicles for the next few hours," Cadena advises, as he approaches the house.

"Oh, like I listen to that kind of medical advice," the golden vixen snorts. She moves up, looking around for Jason.

Jason is still standing between the trees and eying the fried bear. Every now and then he glances towards the house.

"I see some sort of interface line," Tracy reports as she gets closer to the farmhouse. "The heat shimmer effect and.. black smoke, but it's on the other side of the interface - like it's more real on that side than this side."

Cadena advances at first haltingly toward the house, but now that he's away from the rock and the others, his gait is far more casual. He looks about, and reaches up to brush a gauntleted hand against a low-hanging branch of a tree as he passes under it. He continues on.

There's definitely someone moving around in the house. The windows have been shuttered... There are bear claw marks on the shutters; whomever bought the house armored ceramic shutters made a very wise purchase.

The dog-man comes to a sudden halt just as he's about to pass out from underneath the low-hanging boughs of the old tree. "No, wait," he mutters. He shakes his head. "Who ... what...."

"Cadena, are you having another personality shift?" Tracy asks over the comm. "What do we do about the barrier? It could be what melted the bear."

"Unless one of y'all has a reason against it," Cadena mutters over the communications band, "I'm going to mosey on around the house and come up to the front door to knock. Any sniper holed up in there would've done something by now - or at least had the sense not to be strolling around right now."

Inari comes up next to Tracy and briefly (but visibly) entertains thoughts of pushing Tracy forward.

"I ... amend that statement," Cadena suddenly says, and then he turns around. "Hey, Kid, you still out here hiding? I got some bad news. I'm not the right one to make much sense of it, I admit. But ... uh ... 'Sparky' has some stuff to share with us. Don't go walking through that wall. It'll goo you."

RIU nests on Jason's shoulder. It's still mostly charged, though the mini-dragon wouldn't say no to a recharge.

"Yeah. Sparky ... Whitey ..." Cadena flails his hands. "Listen, Kid, it's hard to explain, but I'm out of my element here. But ... okay, you know how those virtual people, come into the real world, they start to melt down into goo? Well ... it's like this place is 'more real' than our world, for all the sense that makes. If we go in there, we start to melt down into goo."

Jason shakes his head and walks slowly towards the house now, his sensors scanning everything they can as they go.

"Oh ... crud," Cadena says, as his shoulders slump while he's looking at the house. His helmet hides his expression, but there's something about the tone of his voice that seems as if he was going to say something else, but just couldn't.

"Well, the person in there is probably right to be frightened, so.. If we can't cross the barrier, we have to get them out here to talk to us," Tracy points out.

"Who's out there!" barks a voice from inside. "Show yourself! I've got you under cover!"

Cadena staggers back, bumping into the tree. "It can't be. No. It can't be." He stumbles, then steps back forward, raising his shaking hands.

"Anyone want to give me a hint on whether I should drop the camo or not?" Tracy asks. "I've only got a few minutes of it in this suit.."

"First that bear, now a... Some kinda mutt? Didn't look right for a dog, but then, the bear didn't either," the voice grumbles to itself. The shutters open to reveal a grizzled-looking farmer, perhaps in his fourties. He's holding a service revolver, and his vision pans across to the man in military armor talking through an amplifier. "The name's Elijah. Elijah Caine, and this is my property you're on, stranger."

Inari decides not to push Tracy into the border; instead she fades back behind the tree for cover, readying her rifle in case it comes to shooting.

"We're here trying to figure out exactly what is going on," Jason replies to the man. "I'm Jason. The gun isn't necessary. Can you tell us exactly what happened here?"

Tracy turns off the sneaksuit camouflage, and pulls back her hood and steps away from the tree.

"We don't mean no harm, Mister Caine," the armored dog-man says. "We got that bear. It won't be bothering you or anyone anymore. Sorry we didn't call first. I tried to contact you, but I couldn't get through. Don't rightly know just why, but I'm starting to get some ideas."

The man is clearly a trained police from the way he handles his gun with authority. He lowers his revolver but keeps it close to hand. "You're pretty heavily armored for travelin' around," he observes. "I don't recognize the outfit though. Had a bear sniffing around, I battened down the hatches is all."

"What year is it?" Jason asks the man. An odd question, sure ... but the answer may be interesting.

"I served my time in the Mojave rangers, myself, back in the 30s," Elijah Caine says. "What year-- huh? You confused or something? It's 2043. Don'tcha have a sat-synched chronometer in that fancy suit o' yours?"

"Mojave Rangers?" Cadena asks. "You don't say. You didn't happen to serve under Colonel 'Irongizzard' Tycho, did you?"

"Of course, but I wanted to see what year you believed it was," Jason notes as he heads closer to the interface. "There is a bit of a problem here, Mister Caine. You're on the other side of an interface. An unstable barrier where things tend to break down if they pass through. The bear was one victim of it,"

"Yeah! I don't remember any 'dog' soldiers though," Elijah says with a laugh. "Plenty of dogsbodies though."

The farmer sizes up the situation. "Haven't noticed anything, but if there's somethin' like that out there, wasn't my fault," he says. "What do you want me to do about it?"

There's no shortage of rocks, dirt clods, and the like, this being a forest in winter.

Jason grabs one of the numerous rocks and tosses, underhand, through the interface zone.

"I reckon I do, Miss Tracy," Cadena says. "I think I'm carrying something of his. I didn't realize it could've happened back when ... well, from his point of view, only a little while ago. Sparky can't give me a straight answer on what happens - to me or to him - if I try to give it back to him. And this is the sort of thing where ... I don't get a second try if I guess wrong."

Sizzle! The rock begins to slowly melt into igneous slag. The farmer tenses as Jason throws the rock, but then whistles as he observes this. "That ain't natural at all," he says. "Would explain what happened to the bear."

"Exactly. Now, can you try tossing something through from your side?" Jason asks.

"Make sure it's nothing you want back anytime soon," Cadena adds in quickly. "A rock'd do nicely."

Elijah looks around the room, then reaches for a bottle. He takes a slug from it, then observes the remaining inch of brownish fluid left in it. "Here, catch, dogsbody!" He arcs it toward Cadena.

"Knew you were gonna do that," Cadena mutters, as he deftly catches it in mid-air, without losing a drop.

"You really need to work on your explanations for things, Cadena," Tracy points out.

"Jameson Whiskey," Cadena says, looking at the bottle, though the label has already fallen off. "Five years old. Not bad tipple, as the stuff goes. It'll take you a while before you can work your way down to the real rotgut. Not that I'd recommend it - or that you'd listen to me regardless."

"Well, my explanation is that Cadena and this guy are the same person," Jason remarks to Tracy.

Elijah looks at Cadena oddly. "Yeah, it ain't bad stuff," he agrees. "Good engine starter fluid in the morning."

"Touching down at the landing zone," Thomas Whaley's voice reports over the comm. "The other birds are down already, we're going to get started unloading cargo. Hope you made your landing A-okay. Over and out."

"Yeah, and you broke this one open on account of Ms. Wheatley," Cadena mutters. He holds the bottle up where the others can see it. There's no sign of any black smoke coming off of it. He doesn't go so far as to pull his helmet off and drink it, however - never mind if he's already been pegged for a dog-soldier. "I need to talk to you about that. There's a reason why we asked you about the year. Something happened to you ... recently - and it wasn't just your bank account what got cleared out."

"We're fine. The situation is ... rather odd. I highly recommend not going through any 'interfaces' here if you value staying in one piece," Jason replies through the comm to Thomas.

Tracy is also silent, looking from Cadena back to the old soldier. Then she pokes Jason in the shoulders, and asks, "Are you messing with me?"

Jason looks over his shoulder. "Normally, yes. Right now, no," he answers honestly.

"Okay, who are you?" Elijah asks after a long pause. "Why do I feel like I know you somehow?"

"So.. so.. so.." Tracy says, rubbing her forehead. "That barrier isn't between us and another reality, but between us and another time? And.. how is Cadena this guy?"

"Or we're looking at overlapping worlds. Same place, just in a different dimension, a mirror," Jason says and shrugs.

"You know me," Cadena says, "because somehow you got a lot of what makes you ripped out of your noggin. And I'm carrying it up here." He reaches up with one hand and taps his forehead. "It's been longer than you realize. I'll tell you one thing - Sabrina's still around, still in Palmdale even, still up to her old games, but the years have not been kind to her. The Germans have a word for taking pleasure in that but ... eh ... I forget."

"Schadenfreude, but assuming I choose to believe you for a minute, why are you here on my land?" Elijah replies.

Inari whispers to Jason over the comm, "I'm guessing taking a shot would be the wrong tactical decision to make just now."

"Yeeeaah, that would be quite the mistake right about now," Jason agrees in the comm.

"Well, for starters, that bear and several other ugly things like it have been tearing folks up in these here parts - Sabrina's new 'fiance' among them, if you believe the news reports," Cadena drawls. "Personally, I wouldn't put it past her to be playing 'black widow' and using it as a cover. But I digress. I wanted to find out what happened to you. I didn't expect you'd actually be here, talking to us, and not in a drooling vegetable state or in a cryo chamber somewhere. It kind of ... forces me to reconsider my assumptions. I hate doing that. I've been doing that way too much lately."

"I have no idea what they're on about," Tracy admits. "Who is Sabrina? For that matter, just who is Cadena?"

The farmer leans out and stares at Cadena. "Build's wrong... You don't look like me, however many years it's been. What happened to you... Me?"

"Cadena is secretly an old guy, transformed, and has been watching over you. I hope you didn't change clothes in front of him," Jason jokes.

"You got your mind transplanted in this body," Cadena says matter-of-factly. "This creature ... don't rightly know how to explain it, but it has 'extra storage space' in its noggin. Carrying along at least one other bundle of memories that wakes up every now and then. I've had trouble keeping count. But I ... I mean, you recently kind of got back control. Aw, heck, it sounds nuts no matter how I put it. Listen, you are you. But this ... thing that's talking to you, has a bunch of your stolen memories. That's the best I can figure, and it's subject to revision the next time someone corrects me."

Over the comm, there's the humdrum noise of soldiers unloading a transport. Someone shouts, "Hurry it up! Our window opens in half an hour. I want that transport fully loaded and ready to go by then!"

"Folks, we have thirty minutes to decide what we're doing here. Me, I think I'm going to go try to sabotage their systems. If I can get to one of those vanes I can probably cause some chaos," Jason tells the others.

The farmer pauses. "Stolen memories... Okay. So, am I somehow in the future, and I'm going to rubber-band back into my proper time and live a right an' proper life, now that you've given me a morsel o' good advice on what to do?" He raises an eyebrow. "Don't suppose you could see fit to give me some winnin' stock tips too?"

"Wait.. should we sabotage stuff before we know what's actually going on?" Tracy asks Jason. "I mean.. could you set up a remote-controlled sabotage device, instead?"

"Somehow I don't like giving the chance of wrecking the world a chance, you know? This is Andrei we're taling about. He doesn't care; he'll do whatever he wants if it'll advance his goals," Jason says ... and so starts walking north.

"I ... well, heck," Cadena says. "If this is a time travel thing, we've already messed with the continuum, and somehow haven't blown ourselves to smithereens. All I know is, the only thing I can do is try to give you back your memories - and, sorry, but they aren't all happy ones. No, you don't get even with Sabrina. Not even sure if you'll get a chance now. But you do get to save a few people. Trouble is, you've got to do something about your heart. See a DOCTOR, for crying out loud, now and again. You've got insurance."

The heat shimmering effect is getting worse, as if the farm is somehow receding into the distance. "My... heart. Got it," Elijah says, taking that a bit more seriously. "I wish I could give you something back, but I think anything I know, you do too."

Jason stops mid-step. "Looks like this interface between us and that house is beginning to face," Jason tells the other. "Aaand ... now it's collapsing."

"Good.. talking to the past is creepy and probably more dangerous than anything else going on," Tracy says. "I want to know what's in that hangar. Have any actual orders or anything been given that Kimon has heard?"

Cadena sputters out all the "important" tips he can think of. Stocks? Forget it. No such get-rich-quick details seem to have stuck in his head. It's a montage of "things that were really bad ideas - don't do them!" and "talk to so-and-so while you get the chance, because he's going to be in a car crash in a year," and "stop being a pack-rat and give the old laptop to your niece - maybe she'll get a head start and get a real job," etc.

Elijah grumps. "You couldn't remember any stock tips while you were at it?" As the bubble distortion gets worse, however, he salutes. "Self... It's been a long road to get to where you are. I just hope... Aw, heck. Thanks, and I'll see you in the mirror when I get there." He cracks a smile.

"One more thing - write this down. Call this number - " Cadena rattles a number. "Call. Ask for Penny. Tell her to NOT go to the theater on Christmas 2042. Tell her that you know about you're a friend of her father, and if she doesn't believe you, you know about the crystal goblet on the mantle. Leave it cryptic. Just do it!"

"Five-five-..." Elijah seems to be repeating the number back, but by then he fades to imperceptibility... and all that's left is the same farmhouse, but twenty years older. Shutters hang open to the elements, filled with cobwebs, and a thin layer of grime covers everything.

"Want to check out the farmhouse?" Jason asks as he looks over at the derelict building. "We don't have much time."

"This is like a reverse ghost story," Tracy mutters, and looks to Cadena. "Are you alright?"

"Whatever I was supposed to do," Cadena says grimly, "I think I blew it. And if he was in some parallel timeline ... well, we'll never get to know how it turns out anyway. I don't believe in time travel anyhow." He looks the bottle over. "This is good stuff, though." He digs through his medpack and finds a piece of sealing plastic that he jams over the neck, then puts the bottle in his satchel. "Could be a bottle of magic booze. Might come in handy somehow."

Over the comm: "Attention! Stand by for review." The cameras on the ES-4070 transport pick up an older man in Space Force blues, wearing all sorts of decorations. He addresses the troops. "Gentlemen, you are gathered here for a monumental occasion. While it must be kept secret for now, someday it will be as famed as the moment when Armstrong stepped onto the Moon. Today, we will finally demonstrate... The Ouroboros Project!" Clapping from the assembled dignitaries.

"Folks, do what you need to here. I have a project to shut down, no matter the cost," Jason says into the comm. He starts to head in a hurry towards the southern vane.

Cadena strolls up to the door, and punches in a security code, without looking like he's expecting much. "Not going to be anything here. Not anymore. This could be a fall-back position if things go sour, though and we need a place to hide out."

"We still don't know what it all is!" Tracy notes, and heads north as well. "Inari, can you keep Jason out of trouble? I want to find out what's going on."

"Well, hot dang," Cadena says, looking surprised. "I'm checking the garage." He rushes in, followed by clattering noises.

Inari glides up and after Jason. "You're asking a lot," she says over the comm. "Normally I get him in trouble."

"Still here!" Cadena cries from the garage. "Aww, I missed you. I mean, I would've if I'd remembered you. Let's call it retroactive. Now, let's make sure you don't blow up on me."

"Maybe he has a battery I ca borrow to boost the suit power. Got ot get to the vanes," Jason mutters as he turns and starts towards the old farmhouse now.

The garage door rattles open, as Cadena disengages the door from the automatic track. "House's backup cell is still online, for door locks and such, but main power's off the grid - no surprise." He rolls out a low slung motorcycle, portions of the shell glistening with preservative gel. The sidecar is attached, filled with packing material, which he starts to scoop out. "Help yourself to what you can use from the garage."

"Backup cell will work. Plus who knows; maybe I can rig up some explosives from things in the garage," Jason declares as he rubs armored hands together. "They're going to get fireworks, but not quite the ones I think they're hoping for if I get my way."

"So.. maybe I should go get my disguise again just in case," Tracy says, and hurries back to the tree where she left the jumpsuit and helmet.

"Don't try the fridge, though," Cadena warns, gesturing to a mini-fridge near the tool bench. "I ... got back from a fishing trip not long before the Fracture event. I'd hate to think what it turned into in there."

Their suit comms, still tuned to one of Irongrip's frequencies, picks up the Department of Defense secretary as he continues to ramble to the assembled Irongrip Security soldiers. "Imagine it! A device that will allow us to transport soldiers anywhere. The Ouoroboros Project will revolutionize warfare, and by controlling it, we will be able to prevent anyone else from developing a similar device. The United States will once again be the world's peacekeeper." Behind him, the hangar begins opening, light pouring across the giant vessel concealed inside.

"Hey, isn't that the thing my mom turned into a giant hot dog?" Tracy comments as she watches the feed.

Sunlight pours across the ancient Empire of Stars battleship as it glides forward slowly, levitated through some unimaginable technology. Gems set into its side have been polished into brilliance, catching the sunset, and its guns look nastily modern.

"Oh hell no. They aren't starting any sort of crazy invasion using my ship. No way, no how," Jason practically growls as he stomps into the garage. "I brought that thing to life, I sure as hell can take it out. I know every blasted bolt! And gems? GEMS?!? Seriously? He's turned my ship into some sort of flying pimp parade! That's just ... OOOOO!" As he rants and raves he waves his armored arms about wildly. "Oh, this is personal now!"

The soldiers gasp and point up at the massive battleship. "What the frotz--" "Ain't no way that thing can fly!" "It looks like something out of a video game, for cripes' sake!" "Wouldn't want to be standing in front of those guns, though."

"Not to mention a massive violation of Avatars LLC copyrights," Tracy notes. "But it makes sense I guess. I mean, it's the one vehicle Jason is least likely to actually blow up, isn't it?"

Power lines still connect the Ozymandias to the hangar... But they are no ordinary power lines. Reddish fluid visibly pulses within them, and the gems flash in time with them. Perhaps this is where the nuclear reactor's output is being devoted. Whatever Jason Zero is going to do with this... It's going to need a lot of energy.

"It's probably got a quantum core in it to manage the portal stuff," Tracy notes as she struggles to get the Irongrip jumpsuit over her sneaksuit, then runs for Cadena's bike. "Otherwise, how could it get back from wherever it's going? Maybe we should steal it!"

"Everyone, I suggest you get out of here. They're using my ship, and worse ... the gate I had to make to get us out years ago, to power this thing. The Ouroboros project portal is my portal. Everything here is my fault ... and I'm even helping. That's why they took my clone, the only other person keyed to be able to use any of this. So, it's my responsibility to stop this; no matter the cost," Jason says as he slams one of the power cords to the backup cell into his armor to recharge its batteries. "And there is only one way to be sure they can't use any of this, or me, again. I have to destroy it, my clone, and myself. So, the rest of you ... drive away from here. Get as far as you can because ... I have no idea how big of an explosion this will be."