Log started: 10/21/02 9:03:33 PM

Siberia

 	From the early 21st century and before, Siberia was long considered one of the least habitable places on the Earth's surface. With below freezing temperatures and an incredibly rugged terrain, the majority of the vast resources of the area were left untapped during those times due to the limited technology of that time. Indeed, habitation was limited to a mere handful of mining stations and military outposts, which themselves were abandoned soon after the fall of the Soviet Union.

 

 	All this has changed in current times. While huge tracts of land have been preserved the way they were in the times past, now sprawling metropolises dot the area. These cities are ringed by fields of solar panels thousands of yards deep that provide more than enough energy to make Siberia a perfectly habitable place. In fact, there are actually good sized temperate forest parks scattered throughout the cities. Near the southeastern corner of Siberia, several cities have merged into a true MegaCity, the main habitation of the area, called Gar Sansky. 

Dr. Thomas Light [Normal] [MH]          Terror Tanuki [M]                      
Alia [Dispatch] [MH]                    Cyclops [Armor] [M]                    
Maverick Hoverbike <Tachyon> [M]        Bowie [Unarmored] [MH]                 
Kalinka [Work] [MH]                     Maverick Hunter VTOL <Vorpal> [MH]     
Fortress 12 [#3285 TaenV]               Access

 Submerge <D> leads to Underneath Arctic Ocean.
 North <N> leads to Arctic Ocean.
 West <W> leads to Ural Mountains.
 Southeast <SE> leads to Central Russia.
 South <S> leads to Gobi Desert.
 East <E> leads to Kamchatka.
 Up <U> leads to Sky Above Siberia.

A pair of gothy teenage girls exit the Vorpal behind Alia, one of them casting a shy smile at Dr. Light as they pass him to step out of the cold. Immediately they are both struck by a chill - they both step closer to one another, but they do not let go of each others' hands. They pause to look around the nearly snowless perma-frost. "This is probably, like.../summer/ for here..." Amy mutters. Laura is silent, her gaze having stopped on the weather station.

Alia doesn't seem too terribly chilled. "Well...this is it," she says, showing the two girls the scenery by way of spreading her arms. "....Not much, I know. But, since you're here."

Kalinka gives the twins a suspicious stare. One might think that if it was all up to -her-, she'd have them walking home right now. Then, she turns back toward the technical task at hand.

Dr. Thomas Light waves from inside the hatch, as it closes. He's being good. And old. He's being very old.

Dr. Thomas Light has left.

Maverick Hunter VTOL <Vorpal> has disconnected.

The sound of the hoverbike grows closer, and becomes visible as it passes over the closest ridge. No, it's not Bowie's usual ride. It's a Russian bike with rented tags. Let's hear it for credit cards. Anyway, he changes course, now that he has the Vorpal as a guide. Assuming that it's not cloaked, that is.

Alia walks up to the station that Light has begun constructing. "How are things going, Kalinka?" she asks.

Kalinka hmms. "Pretty good. We can get out of here in little bit, as soon as I finish main part of..." She trails off, catching sight of the approaching bike and squinting to try to see who's on their way toward them.

Laura catches the stare and shuffles one step closer to Amy, who glances in Kalinka's direction as well. She blinks. For such a young person, she can look awfully mean. The girls follow Alia towards the station, both of them looking at it curiously. No questions are asked quite yet; judging by Kalinka's look, they wouldn't be very well received.

Kalinka sends a radio transmission to Dr. Cossack.

Kalinka receives a radio transmission.

Alia glances toward Kalinka.

Alia sends a radio transmission to Dr. Cossack.

Kalinka receives a radio transmission.

[Radio: (C) Global]  Isaac transmits, "Status of the creature just what is that beast?"

[Radio: (C) Global]  Isaac transmits, "MAV!"

Bowie slows as he begins negotiating the slope up to the Vorpal and his fellow Hunters. Even though he's not terribly sensitive to cold, he'll agree that Brr! It's chilly out here. At least hover vehicles don't often get stuck in drifts.

Alia receives a radio transmission.

Alia clears her throat. "Well, girls...before I get started with any more boring work, it's time to take you both home." She starts to head back to the ship. "Since you've seen the station, and all..."

Alia sends a radio transmission.

Kalinka grins a little bit when she sees whos driving up on the bike. "Handsome!! You made it out of Panama!" She hops to her feet, jogging over to meet Bowie.

Both girls jump a bit as Alia clears their throat - apparently both were fascinated with the machine. "Yes," Amy quickly says, turning back to Alia. "Thanks!" "It's real cool," adds Laura, who seems to have calmed down now. "Almost as cool as it is out here..." the girl shivers, then giggles a bit. Amy snickers and wraps her arm around her sister. "Thanks again for not, you know...being too angry. We're really sorry about this."

Bowie cuts the bike's engine as he pulls up to the Vorpal and the...whatever it is Kalinka and Light were working on, and waves. He wipes his helmet's visor free of snow, then flips it up. "Howdy, Kali, Miss Alia...ladies," he greets, smiling. "Yeah, finally. Talk about a royal mess down thare..."

[Radio: (C) Global] Metal Man transmits, "God this thing smells wrose than Toad Man..."

[Radio: (C) Global] Dr. Doppler transmits, "Cleaning Albert's laboratory again, are you?"

Well. It's getting.... Kalinka and Bowie in here, anyway. Alia won't intrude. "I'll be back later to configure, Kalinka. Until then!" Alia points to the Vorpal. "Back into the transport, please?" She'll at least do the nice thing and help the girls 'home.'

[Radio: (C) Global] Metal Man transmits, "No helping to try and get at the controll center or brain of the giant critter we all killed yesterday...the one that ate the Cow."

Bowie glances from Alia to the girls standing in the doorway of the Vorpal. "We get some new rookies?"

Kalinka nods. "I will see you when you return, Alia! And everything will be ready by that time." She gives Bowie a hug. "Are you warm enough? Do you need a coat? Oh, um...those girls, they are stowaways. They did sneak onto the ship." She rolls her eyes.

[Radio: (C) Global] Dr. Doppler transmits, "Ah, yes. That."

The girls troop into the transport obediently, casting shy smiles at the man on the bike as they pass him. <<Well that was fun. But do you think it was useful?>> <<Eh. We'll report it and see what they say.>> <<Didn't hurt, at least.>> <<True!>> Once inside the Vorpal they again try to quiet down with the conscious exchanges.

Alia's eyes are going wide... Something she's hearing over the comlink? She looks at the two girls with increasing suspicion. Then, her eyes narrow at them, suddenly. ... And she STOMPS onto the ship.

Bowie returns the hug, though it doesn't last loong. As far as he's concerned, he's on duty. "Ah'm fine. Duster keeps out the werst." He frowns slightly at the girls as they pass by him. Stowaways? On the Vorpal? Time to check security detail again, once he returns to base.

Kalinka can't intercept anything. She shrugs a little bit, then turns back to her work...she needs to complete it before Alia comes back, after all. "When tha moon hits yer eye, like-a big-a pizza pie, THAT'S -AMORE-. When the world seems to shine like you've had-a too much wine, THAT'S AMORE," she sings playfully, lining up her tools for the special work on the weather units.

Terror Tanuki has left.

Alia has left.

Bowie chuckles a bit as he follows Kalinka over to the weather unit, though the stowaways still weigh on his mind. He makes a mental note to schedule a meeting with Magma and Blizzard later. "So how's it goin out here? Aside frum cold?"

[Radio: (C) Global] Metal Man transmits, "What the hell? Its comming back online!"

Kalinka smiles, somewhat sadly. "Very well, but...this is not really how Siberia is supposed to be. I am curious, now..." She takes a moment to pull out an LED air-temp thermometer out of her bag, and she takes a quick reading of the air temp. "See...this is not good. It is -10 Celcius. That is VERY warm for Siberia. It should be -40, at least, for this time of year."

Bowie raises his eyebrows. "You mean this is warm?"

Cyclops has stared at you! Huzzah!

Kalinka nods to Bowie. "Yes, dear, this is...unusually warm for Siberia. Now Moscow is not this cold for a little while. But Siberia does get it first, you see. It is this crazy weather we are having."

Cyclops has left.

"It is when this is the lightest clothing I've ever wear to come here..." Ooh, Mysterious Voice. As a Strider appears... out of nowhere. "This whole thing is abnormal."

Kalinka has stared at you! Huzzah!

Kalinka startles back, almost losing her balance at the sudden appearence of the man in the winter clothing. "Huh..!!! Who are you?"

Currently travelling a bit away from here is the Maverick Hoverbike Tachyon, Cyclops aboard. Having heard something about a stowaway incident, and actually just happening to be in the area, he's decided to head over and have a bit of a look from a distance. Who knows, perhaps he'll spot something of interest...

Bowie turns as he hears the Mysterious Voice, one hand instinctively reaching for his pistol. The other hand reaches to steady Kali. He does not want to have to explain any Cossacks tumbling off mountaintops. "Who's thare?"

Bowie has stared at you! Huzzah!

"Call me K." The Strider replies, "My team and myself was formeral allies of the Hunters. Although we mostly keep to ourselves these days." He then regards Bowie, "I'm not here to do any harm."

If there's an alliance between this stranger and the Hunters, Bowie certainly doesn't remember it. Then again, there's a lot of things he doesn't remember. He lowers his e-pistol but does not put it away. "If ya say so."

Kalinka says, "How come -former- allies, hm?"

"Zero really really hates us." Strider K offers as a explanation, "Just ask him about 'Striders' and 'Blue Dragons'." He then nods at Bowie, respectfully. "Thank you, kind sir."

You say, "Ask X about that, as well."

Now much closer, the Maverick hoverbike has come to a stop not that far from the Vorpal and all those around it. Cyclops doesn't actually even truly know how close he is, and is really just taking a break at the moment. As he starts it up again, it creates a bit of a bang. "Ugh... I should really upgrade this thing." Hopefully for him none of the others in the area have heard the 'bang'. He begins to direct the hoverbike forward, gliding along slowly...

Kalinka blushes a bit. "...Striders...!" Apparently, she knows SOMETHING about the Striders. Something that makes her blush. "Well." Rather awkwardly, she glances back at her work, and then back at the man. "What brings you out to no mans land?"

"Trying to figure out what's wrong with the weather... the same as you," K says, with a pensive frown, "...The weather must be really screwed up. I heard Sydney got snow."

Bowie notes Kalinka's reaction but saves his questions for later. "Striders, huh. Thought y'all were urban legend." Turning his optics back to K, he nods. "Rain in the deserts, wind, hail, crazy."

Terror Tanuki has arrived.

Finally, Cyclops rounds a bit of a hill, only to see the Vorpal and the figures of several people about thirty metres away. Quickly shutting down the hoverbike, he hops off of it, bringing up a pair of binoculars to his single eye. And for now he's just going to watch...

Kain just arches an eyebrow at Kalinka... he knows only one person... one member of his team that could make a lady blush like that... and K shakes his head. (...Derek's rocking the cradle...)0o. He nods at Bowie. "Any idea what is causing this? Like maybe a Maverick Satellite or something?"

Though there may not have been a pose, the Vorpal took off a few minutes ago. After travelling a few miles and rising several hundreds of feet, the back doors open up, ejecting some miscellaneous items...and a pair of screaming girls. The two plumment towards the ground, grabbing each others hands and falling parallel to the ground to maximize wind resistance and minimize speed. Still, they're going plenty fast when they hit the ground. Luckily, they hit one of the few good snow drifts remaining - but still. That hurt.

"We, er...we do suspect this is technology that is beyond Masters, or even Mavericks," Kalinka admits, working on setting up the large weather-monitoring equipment. She's still blushing, too. She can't get herself to look over at Kane, because she feels like her entire face is one big blush-beacon.

Cyclops has arrived.

From his perch look over at Kali, Bowie and 'K', Cyclops see the Vorpal take off, and drop the all those misc items. Including those two girls of course. While he may be a Maverick and all, he still has human left in him. He hops back on the hoverbike, quickly heading in the direction of where the two girls would've landed.

Bowie nods his agreement with Kalinka's words. All this advanced science and meterology is a bit byond his ken. A breeze gusts over the ridge, kicking up a little of the remaining snow and tugging at his duster. Since he has nothing useful to contribute, he says nothing.

(Beyond...?)Oo. Not good. Not good at all. Which is shown by K paling considerably. "...Are you sure?"

Maverick Hunter VTOL <Vorpal> turns about, and starts to head back for the mountaintop where the Hunters are waiting.

Alia has arrived.

Kalinka nods. "Yes, to change world weather would be...HUGE expenditure of energy."

Kalinka has left.

Cyclops quickly reaches the location of the twins, having learned of their identities by now. He doesn't say a word, just looks down at them.

Kain pales even more. "..." (I hope, pray even... that they are not coming back. It has to be someone new! PLEASE let it be someone new!!!)0o.

The Terrors lay still in the snow, reploids once more - they lost the holos in the shock of the fall. Both of them peer up at Cyclops, not looking too happy despite the fact that he's supposedly come to their rescue. After a beat, one of them says, "Gonna help us up?"

Alia lands the ship back near the mountaintop equipment. She steps out soon after. "Well...that's taken care of," she says. Sounds enthusiastic, too.

Cyclops sighs, reaching forward and pulling them both up. He takes a look at them both, before asking the question he's been wanting to ask for a while. "...How on earth did you get onboard that ship?"

Bowie says "Whutever it is, we need t'find it, an soon. Else thangs are only gonna get werse."

One twin supports the other, whose leg is damaged. "We're sneaky. Can we go home now?"

Cyclops nods. "I've got a hoverbike just back there." He points behind himself, where out about twenty metres is his hoverbike. For now at least. "We should all be able to fit."

It's just as well Bowie's not wearing his hat, or else he'd have lost it when the Vorpal landed. "That wus fast," he comments.

The twins both nod silently and engage in a slow three-legged race in order to get to the bike. Once there, the twin in better shape helps the damaged one get on, then climbs on herself. Both then turn to the cyborg, waiting for him to get on. Normally they'd be more talkative, but, well...you know.

Kain sighs, "It looks like I best be going." He comments as the Vorpal lands. "It seems I've some thinking... and planning to do."

Bowie nods. "As do we all." With that, the Texan begins escorting Kalinka back to the Vorpal, stopping only to retrieve his rented bike. It wouldn't do to leave it out here to be buried in a drift.

Alia says to Bowie, a bit sheepishly, "Welll....we didn't have that far to go." She walks up to the tower. "Give me just a few minutes to enter calibrations, and we can go."

Bowie nods again, this time to Alia. "All right." The bike is pushed up the ramp and placed in the now surprisingly (or not) empty cargo bay.

Cyclops hops onto the bike, quickly starting it up. "Well, let's just get out of here." The bike begins to, well, hover, and then drive off. Cyclops makes sure to quickly pass the Vorpal and all those around it to get one last look.

Cyclops has left.

Very empty.

Terror Tanuki has left.

Maverick Hoverbike <Tachyon> begins to streak off into the distance. Going... Going... Gone.

Maverick Hoverbike <Tachyon> enters the Sky Above Siberia.

Maverick Hoverbike <Tachyon> has left.

Alia has left.

Bowie has left.

<Global News Network> *An image appears on screen* This is Charlie Egatsoh reporting from Korea on more strange weather effects. The usual city of Seoul, has lately been enduring heavier rain then usual...but...uh *a woman walks up in front of camera, and speaks: I require you* Well, I uh, get that a lot...heh *the woman frowns and grabs the weatherman by the next, lifting him into the air: The master desires you* *gack!* k-keep filming! *the woman glances towards the camera: Six, Twenty, destroy that camera...cover my escape* *a clawed hand, and the glimpse of a smiling female face are visible before the camera goes dead*

[Radio: (C) Global] Guts Man transmits, "What's this? Crystalized water crystal? Finally I can harness this new energy source and take over the world!"