[IC] Lost in Dreams [Tereza]

[ericthered]

Charming: "Ahh, I'm a little sister."
his 'voice' (its all in her head) gets really high.
"Tereza, could you please tell me a story? Tereza, come on, surely you don't need to sleep. Tell me about that one time you trick infinity into paying you when you were giving away their agents. Tereza, are you a spy?"
it drops back to where it was.
"Surely I'm not that annoying."

The 'radio' is quite nice, even if the antennae is huge. The music includes from big band, some very early rock, jazz, and some stuff that seems to be trying to be futuristic. An odd mix. Tereza is able to find a nice channel, listen to the words, and at least drown out charming.

And Charming seems to enjoy the music. As she drifts off, she swears she can here the dragon humming along with the tune...

Her dreams the next two evenings are calm, and though she can control them, they require no action on her part.

Mr. Stuart goes out into town almost every day, seeking out the strangest aspects of the world -- odd foods, strange shows and inventions. He jumps at the chance to take a tour of an atomic power plant, and enjoys 'ray-cooked' food (which turns out to be microwaving).

And then it was time for her first job for Infinity. They left Gernsback for the ocean world again. were they met up with the rest of their team:

Shelly Hermann: Egyptologist, age 28. Very friendly and sharp as a tac. Large fund of knowledge, great at analysis, and going to be doing a lot of the interaction for the team.
Manda Dixon: Security, age 54. Weathered, somewhat gruff. She's old, but in better shape than anyone but Mr. Stuart, and she's an expert at staying out of trouble, not just getting out of it (something lacking in some younger heads).
Laurana Puerta: Parachronics expert, age 42. She will be running the conveyor, handling communications with the rest of you, doing the research on a computer at the conveyor, running a survalience drone, and keeping in touch with headquarters. She's fairly shy.
Janet Vo:Mystic, age 26. Janet is what passes for an expert on the supernatural around infinity. She is also an expert on the ancient Egyptians and will serve as backup to Manda for interaction. She's very excited to finally be on this world, wich has been a dream of hers for quite some time. She's also completely overwhelmed to be working with Mr. Stuart and Tereza.

[Poonbahbah]

Tereza stays close to Mr. Stuart as he takes in the culture. He's much better company than Charming after all.

She'll try to get to know the rest of the team better. Ask about families, hobbies, and such. Why exactly would you, Janet, be overwhelmed working with Mr. Stuart and I? Manda is bound to have some good stories. Try not to pester Laurana to much when there are less introverted people around. Find out what Shelley knows about the world they're heading towards.

Speaking of the world they're heading towards Tereza pays attention to the briefing on the mission whenever that comes round. In particular what they speak, customs, and what exactly they want her to do. She'll also ask what world they're currently on. Thinking of it as ocean world seems a bit off.

[ericthered]

The world they are currently on is known to its denizens as "Ocean-1". These really aren't real denizens. The world is a shadow of homeline, has no land at all (though the ocean floor is only 1,000 feet down for a lot of the world), and is used as a transportation route-- If you want to sail strait from Berlin to Hong Kong, this is where you do it. The world has its own government, whose main job is catching and prosecuting murderers and thieves. Everyone here is from Homeline (with a few exceptions like Tereza and Mr. Stuart). This is the world they are meeting for the breifing on the world they are entering.

The world they are entering currently doesn't really have a name: sure, its called 1056B-Q5-MA, but that's more of a description: The first ('A') Magical world ('M') on Quantum 5 ('Q5') in the year 1056 BC ('1056 BC'). Most of the people are referring to it as '1056'. Part of this mission will be naming it. Pyramid-2, Pharaoh-16, Ramses-4 and Mummy-1 have all been reserved as possibilities, though there are more that could be more appropriate.

1056 was discovered 11 months back by the scout services 'prediction algorithms'. The probe that went through was able to determine that the world was acceptable for people to live in, but that magic was present (infinity currently can't do much beyond determine how strong mana works on a given world). It also gave the local year. A high altitude probe surveyed the planet and verified that it was mostly what should be expected in 1056BC -- except that south Africa and Mesoamerica were farther long technologically than expected.

Infinity tries to be cautious around magic, and left 1056 alone until it could bring the proper resources to bear. A second set of probes have revealed no large changes (which is a good thing), and maps for you to use.

The purpose of this mission is to determine what the magic on this world looks like, and particularly if the magic can be used to compromise the secret. Of particular concern is mind magic (mind reading or mind control are both worrisome), gate magic, and 'espionage magic' (illusions, long distance viewing, transformation potions, and so forth). If any of this magic is suspected, it is to be investigated and proven or disproven. Secondary objectives include determining how difficult it will be for agents to move around, finding cultural anomalies, and obtaining magic artefacts or a mage.

OCC: any questions so far?

[Poonbahbah]

Tereza asks the briefer, "Are we going to be the first people to set foot here for home line? If we aren't what can you tell us about the cultures and languages that will probably encounter?"

To the room at large she asks, "About how long does this sort of mission usually take and what exactly will we be bringing with us?" After Tereza has her questions answered she'll feel as ready as she'll ever be the mission.

OOC
Think I'll be good once these questions are answered.

[ericthered]

"You'll be the first to interact with other living people. We've done a couple of tests out in the middle of the desert, but those lasted under an hour. We can make predictions about what cultures you will see though: were intentionally placing you in egypt. The classic adjacent cultures may be ran into: ancient Ethiopians, Liberians, Arabs, Phoneticians, and maybe some greeks -- they're more prominent on this time line than historically. The chances are the only language you will speak is ancient arabic."

"This sort of mission has a widely varying length. Its possible that it will only last three days. Two weeks is more likely though, and if you're there for a month something will have gone terribly wrong."

"There will be two groups. Laurana will have high powered riffles, the scout conveyor, a number of supplies and potential trade goods, solar panels, and a couple of surveillance drones. The rest of you will go in dressed as locals, and all of your gear will at least look innocuous. Some of you will be armed openly, and anyone who needs it can have a handgun disguised as something else. You will have disguised radios, and several cameras hidden in objects that are supposed to look like trade goods."

"All these items are concealed so as to not give away our presence. Doing so is unfortunate, but if its a decision between using them and being captured, I suggest you use them. Try to be cautious, but remember they are one of our greatest advantages. If you determine that the world has dangerous magic, get out quickly."

[Poonbahbah]

"Alright. I've never actually used a gun before but pointing and pulling a trigger doesn't sound hard. Do you know if I'm going to get any sort of additional training at some point for doing these missions? I feel kind of ill prepared. That said I guess I'm ready if everyone else is."

[ericthered]

Arthur: "If we do our jobs right there should be no need for a gun. They'll get around to training you. We're doing this mission first because I'm a valuable asset and having me watch you while you train would be a waste of time. It's a good point though -- do we want to give her a gun? she's made it through several worlds without one."

Manda (tough old security lady): "I think it depends on how comfortable she'd feel with or without one. If I gave you a gun, would you use it? There will be no time for one of us to tell you if the target was a foe or a bystander. And you can't threaten with it. They don't know what it is. If it comes out, its to shoot someone. Can you take that?"

Janet (mystic, young vaguely asian looking woman): "I'm carrying a gun. I've never used it on a mission, but its good to be protected"

[Poonbahbah]

"Yes I've managed several worlds without a gun but I can think of at least one time where it would of been nice to have one. Fortunately someone was around to rescue me. I don't want to have to rely on being rescued.

That said it's a last resort. I wouldn't want to go flashing it except as a deterrent. On a world without guns it wouldn't make a very good deterrent so I won't go pulling it out unless someone is actively attacking us. I'd rather not fight at all but I am fully willing to defend myself and others. Just don't expect me to throw the first punch.

So give me a gun or don't. I've never held a gun before but I think I'd feel better having one. Even if I never use like Janet has been lucky enough to do. I'm sure I can be taught the basics quickly."

[ericthered]

Manda: "We'll give you a gun. Don't use it unless one of us instructs you to though, alright? we'll make sure you are always with someone else.

There is a little more debriefing, and then they're ready to ship off.

Most of Tereza's experiences travelling in conveyors have been in high volume quick fire vehicles that resemble elevators. This is different. they travel out to a transfer world (not ocean, they want to be able to go back and forth between dry land), and then they approach the 'launch site'. The conveyor is sitting out all by itself. Its been painted to blend in with the sand, and its free standing. There is a small base on this side of the 'crossing site'. This will serve as 'headquarters'.

They gear up before they leave. long robes for trek through the desert over more comfortable clothes to wear once they get there. They are bringing a decent amount of wealth, and the first step will be to try an find someone isolated who they can learn the basic shape of things from. The gun tereza is given is shaped like a carved wooden idol. It has a few different holes, but one is obviously the muzzle. She is given another religious icon on a necklace in which is concealed a radio-- the idea is to 'pray' into the object and reach the others.

The six of them climb into the conveyor. Its cramped -- stuff is packed in tightly: food, lots and lots of water, clothing, tools, the drones, a big radio tower, even a tent. Most of it has been camouflaged in some way, from finishing it in wood to making it blend with the sand to completely encasing it in something else. They inform Charming of where they are going, and then climb in, and depart for 1056.

They come out at night, and start setting up their camp (actually, mostly Laurana's equpiment) while Laurana puts the drones in the sky, looking for an isolated dwelling they can get their bearings at, and refine their disguises. Its night, which is nice, because Tereza is pretty sure the job would be a terror during the day in this desert.

[Poonbahbah]

Tereza helps in setting up the camp while also keeping up a stream of small talk. She'll also suggest that her and another can get beyond Excalibur's range and see about getting Charming to help test the magic of this place out if he's willing. If he's not she can still head out and try to get a feeling for the magic.

A question that occurs to her while setting up camp will be, "Shouldn't we have some pack animals? People crossing a desert always have pack animals in the movies I've seen."