"You say I go alone?", asked Anna unsure. Though her huge size suggested she would be more confident she sounded a littel afraid at the prospect of going alone. She nodded hesitantly. "If no other way I go. I want to help", she looked at Doug hoping that he would stick to his plan and take her with him.

Doug says,

"After... um, after last time I traded for some training in keeping people out of my head. And it's a big city, I don't think they can scan everyone all the time, chances of me running into Squid at the front gate are low, he's got to have better things to do with his time."

"And I'll bet they have multiple factions. Maybe even some that we wouldn't mind hooking up with. What we're doing right now is kind of hoping someone comes by and tells us what is what."

"Say... I walk in first and talk to them, see what they're going to do. Then if it seems all right I tell them Anna is with me. If they have a kill on sight policy then I'll run away."

"Sounds good to me. Just be careful, and get out of there if it looks like trouble."

Doug gets his razor out and starts to take off all his facial hair down to and including his eyebrows.

Anna nodded in agreement and stripped some of her clothes of leaving only something similar to a muscleshirt and some matching pants on. Her size was unreal both height and muscles and her movements made clear that she didn't like her body at all. She felt awkward and insecure revealing herself that much but it was her disguise and she didn't want to rouse any suspicion about her.

Smiling shyly she looked at Doug and said, "I follow you. You tell me what to do and what to say?". She pointed with one finger at her head, trying to make understand that she was referring to the link.

Calypso watches all this with a hard to read expressionlessness. Finally she says, "We need to work out a way to tell if...when you return to us...your minds are still your own."

Doug shifts the link to Anna and replies,

*That's the idea.*Doug replies,

"The link should help a lot. It doesn't cost me anything to use or shift, if I'm not willing to use it assume something is wrong. And as an added level of protection, the password is 'Rumpelstiltskin'".

"Wait!" Gregory chimes in as if remembering something. "Yesterday, when I look around city again, I hear two of them speaking. They laughed at parts" Gregory furrowed his brow, attempting to recall what they said. He brought his hands up as if to make an apology that what he is going to say may be somewhat innaccurate.

"They talking 'bout a plan working. ..and 'bout all dead 'othewise'. First one also says escaping to a place called Mars..no moon!" Gregory looks angry at himself? "Can't remember what they wanted to do there..sorry."
"They laugh when one still wants to eat and breathe. He said he liked doing those. But can't where they are going" With a grin, Gregory added his own opinion "I like eating too."

"He asks if his friend has 'seen it'. Friend says good eyesight let him see it weeks ago. He scared of it."

Gregory's eyes brightened. "They talk about us. Call us 'human lovers'. They don't want us interfering.... with crazy plan again. Both laughed when they said that storm is keeping us there."

Gregory looked worried. "I think they want to hurt everyone and leave for other places. That thing in sky has something to do with it."

Two days later …

Unable to locate any dye or pigment suitable for altering his skin color Courier settled for shaving off all his hair and getting dirty and ragged. With Anna he approached the city from the forest and found that they were more or less allowed in with Courier only needed to prove himself nova. They were quickly informed for the basic rule of the city: Fend for yourself or work for your food. Beyond that they learned that the city operates on a might makes right hierarchy with the aberrants/novas with the most power, most smarts, or most ambition being at the top. Baseline slaves are little more than dogs to the aberrant population and cattle to some of them. The last thing they were told was that organized work forces are formed in the mornings at city center.

The next morning they reported to city center hoping to learn more. Aberrants willing to work at grouped by ability and put to work repairing buildings, clearing debris from structures and streets or even demolishing ruins. In exchange for this work the aberrants are given food from the city stores. Courier reported this back on the end of their second day in the city exhausted after a long day of hard labor lugging massive chunks of debris away for the latest project site.

Meanwhile Raider and Gregory were out and about in the city themselves. Gregory spent much of his time out alone sneaking around the restored sections of the city where the more powerful aberrants lived and worked. Raider spent his evening combing through the computer systems within the Tower and his days recuperating his power and analyzing the data as best he could give the situation and facilities. [PMs pending]

Calypso, Seven, and KB continued to do what they could to gather food and make a more comfortable and permanent hide-out within the cavern. The two days passing slowing with the dark and dank confines.