Gregory, who had been squatting alarmingly close to the fire, listened to the two of them banter between achother. Even though he was unaffected by the cold, the warmth of fire still felt good. To his astonishment, he could move right up next to the fire and it wouldn't burn him. He told himself that he would test if it was true, another time.

Sometimes other people confused him. Why did they have to say stuff that they didn't mean or that couldn't exist. Did they speak in code? Maybe it was something that they learned in school. Either way, he wondered how Ash was going to set up a shop when she had nothing to sell.

Gregory just nodded in affirmation.

Anna stood up and moved towards the window searching the sky for Doug. She was anxious to get away from her 'quarters' and especially away from James. She hoped Doug wouldn't take too long.

Ashley watches Doug fly off and feels an odd squawk of petulance.

If I could do that, we'd have won by now.

That was a thought that came up a lot when fighting novas. She still remembered what her father had said to it once though...

And if I crapped steel, we could have built a city by now. But it'd still be a city of shit.

She still wasn't -exactly- sure what it was supposed to mean, but it had made her laugh at the time. She wondered if she'd ever see him again. Not as funny.

"If they're that fast, I guess we should wait," Ash says to Gregory absently. There was something about how he looked at her that reminded her a bit of a dog...that I don't know what you're saying, but I'm really paying attention to you sort of expression they got. Or maybe it was just how he had an embarrassing tendency to need pants, but not wear them.

Curiosity tickled. Why not?

"Hey, Greg. Mind if I ask a personal question?"

He had not expected her to address him. He was still mesmerized by the heat of the fire so close to his skin. When she did ask him, it broke the hypnotic spell of the fire.

"What..Oh yeah. Go ahead."

"Do you remember what things were like for you before you..." she made a little 'popping' gesture in front of her forehead.

"You know...before?"

He remembered. Much of it was survival with his friend Dog. There was sadness too when his best friend died.

"Before I became Nova-thing. Yes." His voice was distant, as he tried to recall memories of his friend, both happy and painful. "I had a friend who protected me and helped me find food. We went everywhere together. We ran and hid from abbies in Blight area." He pointed to the west where the land had become a mutated wasteland. "One day he got killed protecting me, and I was alone. I was very sad and lonely. Then I wished he would come back and he did. After though, I had bad headache, but could make friends to keep me company. The others tell me that I became a nova."

Sad story, Ash thinks. It put things in perspective... West Point wasn't a place of happy, cheerful childhoods...but it was a lot better than scavanging in the wastelands, all alone except for some goblin made of burning, corrupt energy. It explained the tarzan syndrome too.

Didn't make him not-dangerous, of course. Or her more armed.

"When did you hook up with Doug?" she asks. It was better than sitting around waiting silently...which she had an idea Gregory would be quite happy doing, creepy as it was.

"Long enough to trust him." He didn't sometimes, but he never really trusted anyone. Surviving was much easier that way. He trusted Ash even less. "I moved places until I met Doug and the others in Newborough." The fact that crops and livestock got sick if he stayed somewhere too long was a motivator. "They been good to me."

Ash nods. In a funny kind of way, she thought his lonely beginnings might have helped shield him from the madness of his eruption. No one else around, no concept of humanity to begin with until later. Of course that didn't make him shiny and good...more amoral. Seemed like he'd been more or less domesticated by now though. As long as she didn't mess with him, he'd probably be 'safe.'

Mmm...of course, he'd provoked Charlie. Best not to assume anything.

She missed West Point hard right now. She missed talking to people and not having to wonder if they were going to bust out some wild power and take your head off.

One year. One goddamn year.

Lost in her own thoughts, she lapses silent.

Suddenly she went silent on him. He wondered if he said something wrong. He fell silent as he waited for Doug to return with Anna. His eyes wandered for the fire to the surrounding area, as he remained constantly vigilant. It was more out of habit than necessity.

Minutes later ...

Doug touches down once more amongst the dimly lit rubble setting Anna down before he too rejoins the gravity bound. Courier had need to convince James that they were only going to clear out their camp and would be back by morning but James still seemed somewhat skeptical as he bid them a quick trip.

Above Raider drifted toward the satellite and quickly engaged with it plunging his mind directly into the computer systems. He found that the guidance system was indeed damaged and that as a result nearly half of the payload of missiles remained. Raider began to create a software workaround within the system, altering files and deleting memory no long needed wiping clean the list of co-ordinates and the complex tiered priority target determinator program. Finding that he needed more precise coordinates and trajectories he used the satellite's systems to relay down to James's own and complete his guidance program.

It felt strange to be carried by Doug… and even stranger to fly. Anna looked around like a small child more scared than excited. She didn’t like to be ‘unrooted’ from mother earth. Flying felt wrong to her. She wasn’t a creature of the sky.

She was relieved when they arrived and almost dropped to her knees just to sift with her hands through the soil but she held back. Anna didn’t want to appear stranger than she was to any outsiders. Slowly approaching the makeshift camp she tried to hide as much of her bulk as possible, drawing the large hood deeper into her face and moving as little as possible.

With a low but deep and resonating voice she introduced herself, “I am Anna… you need help?”

Ash stares at the towering creature in front of her. Doug had mentioned something, but this was...a monster! When it shambles towards her, she quickly backs up, one hand dropping by instinct to the grenade on her belt...though she has the presence of mind not to actually pull the pin or take it in her hand.

"Doug, you have to be kidding me!" she says, her tone somewhere between a demand and a plea. "I can't take this back...there'll be a rout!"

Anna eschewed at Ash’s demanding voice and looked almost hurt from the way she flinched. Looking back and forth between Ash and Doug Anna tried to sound soothing.

“I want to help… Doug said you need help. I am no thing, I can heal. Please let me help.”

Anna slowly removed the hood and smiled at Ash. Her eyes looked sad but she tried to be confident for the others. “I am no Monster”

(ooc: Anna got more practice with English, but it still sounds accented)

Doug shrugs at Ash's alarm and says,

"This is Anna. She's a very nice person. Much nicer and far less dangerous than me if that helps."

"If I were you I'd give the people the choice. Some will choose to brave their fears and be healed. Others will choose to die. I'm sorry but it's hard for me to relate to or feel sympathy for someone deciding to die."


If Ash pulls anything weapon-ish out Doug immediately steps between her and Anna.

Ashley hesitates, then nods, coming to a decision.

"All right. I'll take you close, then go talk to them and make sure there's no misunderstandings. When it's safe, I'll come back for you."

She motions with her head, then sets off towards the outskirts of the city, where some of the original structures were less damaged from the original blast.

"Come on."

Doug follows but sends,

*Gregory, Anna, stay alert. I half way expect someone to try something stupid here. Gregory you might want to fade out and watch them from behind the scenes.*

* OK. I think of something.

Gregory looks at the rest of them and shrugs. "Am I done here? I want to see if the others have food." Gregory's skin blended into the landscape and he waved to the Doug, Anna, and Ash. "Bye." With that he dissappeard into the darness and around a busted up building. Once there he stopped and waited for the others to head out. Once they did, he followed them, using his echolocation to see them in the dark, while remaining quiet and stealthy.

Anna smiles at Ash and nods carefully. "I am not dangerous. I will follow and protect you."

Carefully Anna came closer to Ash and waited for her to lead the way. She tried very hard to keep pace with Ash without making it appear too awkward. As they left the camp Anna put on the hood and drew it deep down her face. She hoped Doug was wrong and no one would try to attack her. She didn't want anyone to get killed. Especially not the people she was supposed to heal.

Ash leads them through the forlorn, shattered remnants of the ancient city. Even this far out, the pavement is cracked and tattered, not just from the forces that tore the metropolis apart, but from decades of constant, unrepaired erosion and exposure. Grass and shrubs grow in a riot through holes and crevices. It's slow going, but life is reclaiming what humankind once, for a brief time, made its own.

She stops abruptly and looks around, then says, "Okay, wait here. I'm going on ahead. I need to see what the situation is with the wounded, and let them know what's going on. I'll come back and let you know what the plan is as soon as I can, sound good?"

Doug says,

"Sounds good."

She nods, then backs up a couple of steps, then turns and heads off. At first Ash goes in the wrong direction, then she cuts through a narrow alley and looks back to see if there's any sign the invisible one is following...

After a moment she keeps moving, now heading for the remains of some old industrial warehouses. In one of them there would be a handful of escaped slaves...hopefully not too badly hurt...though it was a forlorn hope.

She was sure to keep her hands visible. There'd be sentries long before she got there.

(I've decided that a big long post where I'm the only involved person isn't how I want to approach this...therefore: )

Doug and Anna, and the lurking Gregory, don't have to wait too long. It's no more than fifteen or twenty minutes before Ashley comes back into view. She has a pistol at her hip now, but still no rifle or similar weaponry. Her face looks a little pale and when she speaks, her voice is haunted.

"There's a couple that don't like it...but it's pretty bad in there. Everyone has friends that need help, or needs help himself. We're going to lose most of the ones we haven't already lost if you can't help them...so at this point, worrying about being found out is pretty secondary."

Her eyes lock on Anna's, and the war between her pride and the stark horror of what she'd witnessed is clearly shown in them.

"If you're really serious...about healing people...it's this way."

She starts to leave again, pausing after a few paces to make sure the others are following.

Anna looks compassionately at Ashley and said, "I really want to help you... and friends of you. I am not a monster."

Anna placed her words carefully and hoped that Ash would hear her sincerity.

Doug starting walking, following Ashley... but really pacing Anna.

(To Anna) *Well, it's going to be grim if they're going to accept help from us.*

*I'm going to stay within arms reach of you. When you stop, I stop. Period. I've got 4 rocks here in my costume... but if it gets messy the plan is I grab you and fly away.*

Anna nodded mentally at Doug and kept her smile as she followed Ashley.

"People know that I come? You prepare them for me? I don't want to explain because it difficult for me.", Anna tried her best to speak without accent but it was obvious she wasn't fluid with the language.

Meanwhile in orbit ...

Unwilling to risk networking the satellit to James' computer system Raider was forced to jump back and remove a harddrive with the needed telemetry. With data and toolkit in hand he jumps once more into orbit and begins to set about work on linking the harddrive into the satellite control systems. After a half and hour of wireing and soldering Raider boots up the drive and begins to write the program that will work around the damaged guidance unit. Using cyberkinesis he is able to significantly reduce the development time but the task is still a daunting one and will take him hours to complete...

Ashley nods grimly. "Yeah...they know."

She glances back at Doug and Anna. "Look, I told them you're not with the aberrants in the city and that you were fighting them. Now isn't the time to get into comets and...all that. Alright? And I told them not to do anything stupid, but they're still a bit nervy. Just try to...be low key." She shrugs. "Once you start healing people...things'll probably get a little better, so you'll want to get to that."

The young woman led the two novas around a shattered block where a building had collapsed, taking two of its neighbors out as well. As they went, there was a sharp whistle from above, then another. There was a large structure of light, corrugated metal behind it that had partly collapsed; its west end was on the ground, and it ramped up to the east. Several men...hardly more than boys, some of them, were taking positions outside the slightly tilted door to the place, armed with a hodgepodge of pistols and sporting rifles. Two limped. Three had visible bandages on arms or their bodies. One had an arm in a sling. These were the most able guards the 'resistance' had to muster.

"Weapons down," Ash said crisply. "They're here under truce."

Though Doug got a couple of resentful glares, most of the heat was on Anna. Even covered as she was, her size and odd shape couldn't be missed.

"She's an aberrant, sir," one of them growled. "You -know- what they do."

"I hope you're not going to make me do that speech again," Ashley growled right back. "Because that shit wouldn't just roll downhill, it would -fly-. Truce means no guns, no questions. Unless you want to explain to their families," she motions with her head to the warehouse, "once we bust them out, why you wanted their kids to die screaming instead of get medical help."

The guy that spoke, probably not far out of his teens, stiffened. "No, sir." He turned to open the door, and Ashley waved the novas forward as she went in.

Inside was a scene from the deepest pits of human suffering. Two rows of cots, some of which were improvised from lawn furniture, or just sleeping bags and blankets. The concrete floor was sticky with blood and other bodily fluids. The smell was the sort of thing one would call 'unimaginable,' except that once one smelled it, it was far too easy to imagine again. The stench of bowels and blood and sweat and rot. Several of the walking wounded made rounds with canteens of water, doing their best to wash and treat wounds...doling out the best painkiller they had, aspirin by the look of it...to those that needed it most.

The range of injuries was...amazing, in the worst way. Burns. Blunt trauma. Immense lacerations that sometimes looked like bites or claw marks. Some wounds had the jagged, ripped look of simply having been torn open by hand. Some even had no visible wounds at all, but stared blankly, or screamed until their throats literally bled, for no apparent reason.

"This is all that's left," Ashley says in a quiet voice. "These are the 'lucky' ones."

Anna's emotions oscillated from deep sadness over compassion to simple shock. To say that the situation was desolate was an understatement. Her heart almost ached as she saw the severely wounded, men and women, most barely older than 16.

Anna looked around not knowing where to start. After her emotional trauma settled she looked at Ashley with tearful eyes. "I didn't know how bad it was. I will stay and not go before last one is healed, I promise. If you still want to kill me... I cannot stop you.", the last sentence seemed ridiculous considering her size and intimidating stature.

Anna concentrated and created a comfortable and warm place free of filth and rot around her. The earth looked roughly like two large beds. (ooc: EA-Earth using the Shape technique and then the Temperature technique to make the earth comfortable warm)

Anna had to remove part of her rags else she would threaten to rip them apart by the sheer size of her muscles. She looked at Ashley with an apologizing look in her eyes as she removed the hood and the upmost layer of rags leaving her upper body only covered in an oversized tank top that clinged on her like a second skin.

Reaching over to one of the badly burnt men Anna gently lifted him and placed him right next to her on one of the earthen beds. As soon as she touched him a faint green glow flowed from within her, through her arms tracing along her thick veins and into the burnt victim. (ooc: using Healing and concentrating on the worst injuries)

"Ash... please try find out who needs most help and bring to me. This will take till the sun shines again or maybe longer.", she then looked at Doug and sent him over the link. *I will not go until I healed the last one, even if it takes the last erg of energy I've got in me. This is... I can't go before I'm done here. Please understand. You don't have to stay, I trust the girl... and if I'm wrong - at least I did something good before I died*

(OOC: Anna will stay until she drops - she will exert herself to the most extreme in the attempt to treat them all. Feel free to include one or two powermaxes if the situation is critical.)

Doug tries to keep a poker face amid all the suffering and focuses on staying close to Anna without getting in the way.

Doug sends back,

*Anna, don't burn yourself out here, respect your limits. Work till you run out of juice, then sleep and get it back then continue.*

*If you work yourself to death or madness then no one will be here tomorrow.*

Anna works for hours straight tending to the wounded. She takes the worst cases first; people with horrendous wounds, missing limbs, and burns over more than fifty percent of their bodies. Working at a pace that will maximize her efforts he treats dozens of wounded until she is finally out of energy. Drained and exhuasted she stumbles out of the make-shift hospital and into the bright light of day. It is now mid morning, Anna has been healing the sick for well over eight hours. To his credit Doug never left her side despite being unable to do more than move the sick and bear witness to the atrocity.

Gregory has taken a position overlooking the encampment and watched for the entire night, his ability to go without sleep keeping him alret though the tedium of watch duty wieghts heavily on him when he finally sees Anna come outside.

In the light of day Anna is clearly not well, she looks tired, her skin is pale and the leaves are brown at the edges. She sags with each step from sheer exhaustion, the kind of exhaustion that a nova rarely ever feels.

Ashley too is ragged and worn out, having stayed up to ensure that her people didn't do anything stupid she has taxed her human stamina to the limit and is now little more than a semi conscious lump half slumped into a chair.

Ash remembered vaguely her father once telling her how he'd gone for three days without real sleep, and how by the end he couldn't tell what was real and what wasn't anymore. She'd thought that sounded kind of neat, and once even tried to stay up like that. She made it a day and a half before finally losing it and conking out.

This hadn't been three days...but she definitely felt that weird sense of unreality stealing over her. Sometimes patches of her skin got supersensitive...other times numb. There were lightless flashes in the corner of her eyes, and she kept thinking she heard someone call her name, when no one was.

The night had been rough. The healthiest people were also the ones that had the most resentment towards the aberrants; so Ash had to keep them too busy to bitch or work up the bravado to fuck everything up. At first it was enough to get them organizing the wounded, prioritizing by wound severity, while she walked up and down the rows doublechecking and keeping them at it. Then there was water detail and bandage detail...finding clean cloth out here was a real hassle, and a good deal of the water they managed to get from wells and rain pools was used for boiling and sterilizing. Though the negativity towards the novas was too deeply entrenched to vanish, it did start to ebb once people saw the results of the fragile alliance. Only a hardcore knot still needed watching then, but they kept Ash's hands full. Twice she broke them up and sent each on separate tasks. By that time though, popular opinion was turning against them. They might not LIKE the aberrants, but no one was going to stop them from helping.

Then there was a blur, and Ash found herself in a chair with an aspirin in her hand and a cup on the concrete floor under her near a spreading pool of water. After a moment of fuzzily trying to concentrate, she decided not to take the pill. Aspirin hadn't worked on these headaches for as long as she'd been having them. Why take a pill that might help someone else when it had no chance of helping her?

A shadow passes over her, and she looks up to see the towering form of Anna, with Doug trailing after her as always.

"Hey," she croaks hoarsely in greeting. "You look like hell."