Earth

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

((If it's any consolation, I had to take a 5 min break to finish it)).


"Copy that, on our way."


Vanessa paused a moment, her features softening.

"I had a bad feeling she wasn't going to make it when Ian asked me to contact the other Tokra just in case. On the off chance, I did contact them. The closest ship that has the proper facilities for her is six days away now. Now, my understanding is that Val Shara may have very important information that could help all of us. If I can help, I want to be able to. I'm also hoping she'll be able to help me figure out what in the hell is happening to me, I'm starting to be able to understand languages I've only seen or heard for the first time, in just moments."


To that, Trel Vah's eyes widened slightly.

"If you would, please walk with me a moment Vanessa. I have something I'd like to discuss with you. Sho, when the others arrive, have them wait here, we'll be back shortly."


Nodding her consent, they went off in one direction. A few moments later, Siphon and Ian would arrive.


((And soon ... she becomes one!))

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

(Fine. Forgiven.)

"Yeah, she was in a bad spot when we started. I think we're lucky she stuck with us as long as she did," Sho replies quietly, brows going up some as Vanessa offers up a little about her situation.

She'll step aside as Trel Vah asks to speak with her. "Fine, fine. Go have your secret meeting without us." She'll wave her hand dismissively but her tone is her usually teasing one.

When the other two arrive, she'll explain the situation, brief as it is, also providing both of them with hugs, much needed in Ian's case, it looks like, especially from the brief grip that she gets while his arms are around her.

"You gonna be okay?"

"Even'chally. Nessa's here, though, aye? Gonna have to keep an eye on her."

"Just make sure you let her keep an eye on you, too." She gives him a light poke in the shoulder.

"Ah will."

It's up to Siphon whether he takes her up on the hug or not. "They're talking," she'll inform him of the other two. "Vanessa said something about turning into an insta-translator and that perked his interest. You know anything about that?" Someone's being nosy in a roundabout way.

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

Siphon would give her a hug, something about his grip suggesting, that while outwardly he seemed perfectly fine, Ashana's death had hit him more than he was letting on. Possibly because there hadn't been anything he could do for her, and he wasn't used to that being the case.

At the mention of Vanessa's 'plight', Siphon released Sho, and his eyebrow twitched upwards.


"Well ... We know that Nirrti was conducting experiments on her, I'd say it has something to do with that. Perhaps some unintended side effect left over from what she went through. It's possible it's a natural ability that lay dormant until such time too, which seems a bit more plausible than Nirrti looking for a translator, or an unintended side effect. Though it makes me wonder if it's more than that. Could her entire intelligence factor, everything that goes on in the brain have somehow been enhanced to near ascension levels? If so, we need to find out if it's just that, or if any other changes are going on. I imagine she's going through some kind of controlled freak out right now, especially since we've seen the results of a few failed attempts to do something like that already."

He shook his head slightly before continuing.

"At this point, it's really hard to say. I'd wager Nirrti is somehow involved in it, but the real question is, how much? Unfortunately, there's only two ways to know for certain without waiting to see what happens. One, Val Shara and Vanessa blend, and Val Shara can possibly 'translate' to us what it was Vanessa saw, and we can go from there. The other would be a dive procedure conducted by the Etherians, and someone with knowledge of those devices being present for ... Well, think of it as surfing through someone else's brain and reliving moments they have already lived. Truth be told, I'm not comfortable making her relive potentially all of that time. I know it could be vital for her but ... we should explore all other options first at the very least."


Now he went silent, sitting in one of the chairs and closing his eyes. He hadn't been this way for more than a few moments when his eyes shot back open, and he stood back up.

"Mirton Six. Ian, remember when we went back and encountered those Raptors, Vanessa knew that one of the first two we encountered was calling for help, like she understood it. That means that however she's becoming a walking translator, it isn't limited to just humanoid languages."

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

Sho seems to be in a similar state. While it's clear that Ashana's death affected her, there's business to be handled. Ass kicking first, ice cream later and all that.

"Could be," she theorizes with him. "Something that got stirred up during a little gene splicing and all that." If Val Shara can provide them with answers, might be best to go that route rather than just throwing out hypothesis.

Ian sort of snaps out of his own thoughts as Siphon addresses him. "Ah recall. Vaguely. So...who or what do we know that does somethin' like that?"

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

Siphon thought a moment.

"Well, the Draque are all born with a genetic ability to learn languages within just a few words, and the Asgard had technology that they used that could do the same almost as fast. Neither of them could work on something like Velociraptors I don't think. What we're seeing with Vanessa is completely new, something no one has ever seen before, or at least left any indications or notes of it."

He trailed off, shaking his head a few times before finally adding, "to be perfectly honest, I have no idea what this could mean for her. We just don't have enough information to go on right now, but what I can say is that every moment she's fine, the better, and the less likely it is this will end badly for her."


((Figure one more post from ya and then move it on along.))

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

Sho listens to his explanation, considering. "Maybe it's a mutation, like me and Ian. I mean, it could've been something locked up in her DNA and when Nirrti was screwing around with it, it got unlocked. And it's not like it's a bad thing, you're right. I mean, being a universal translator has to have mostly an up side, right?"

"We'll take it in stride," comes from Ian, quietly. "Bondin' with the symb'iate is goin' ta be rough enough. We start pokin' around about the othah things before she's ready, might make for rough goin'. Just gotta make sure we encourage 'er about all this. Ah've a feelin' she's goin' ta need it."

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

Siphon shook his head.

"I'm betting that was part of her wanting to have a temporary blending. She wants to know what's happening to her, and she knows the best way of doing that is to have the kind of support none of us can really give to her. A second mind to help weather the storm so to speak. We can do a lot to support her, to help her, even guide her. At the end of the day though, we can't physically share her mind twenty four seven and act as a beacon. Val Shara can, so long as they are joined. The more I'm thinking about it ... the more I'm wondering if Vanessa might not end up requesting this be permanent. She's already shocked us once, and if this turns out to be beneficial for her as well as the Tokra ... who knows."


Not more than a minute after he finished speaking, Trel Vah and Vanessa walked back inside. Trel Vah seemed more at ease than when he had left, and Vanessa seemed both determined, and perhaps a little more hopeful than when she'd come through the gate.

Trel Vah spoke quietly to all of them.


"We will begin when you are ready. I must return to check on Val Shara's condition."

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see, I suppose," Sho states. "Though I'm betting Ian was talking more about supporting her decision on the blending."

That gets a nod out of the man. "Pretty much. 'Sides, havin' someone there who ya don't exac'ly have ta explain yer feelin's to might be good for her."

His demeanor seems to change when Vanessa joins them again. "Hey, dahlin'," comes out quietly and he'll head over, catching her in a sideways hug. There's questions, to be sure, but seems he doesn't want those to be the first thing out. It's more just conveying that he's happy to see her again.

"I'll go with," Sho states. "I can keep an eye on the others, so long as I won't be in your way."

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

Trel Vah only nodded to her, heading back towards the barracks.


Siphon for his part stepped forward, and 'zapped' Vanessa. When he was finished, he stepped back and smiled at both of them.

"I'm going to head back there as well, make sure everyone is clean of this crap. When you two are done talking, and ready, bring her to the barracks."


Unless either of them stopped him, he'd be gone moments later, leaving Ian and Vanessa to talk before things really got interesting.

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

"Nothin' like havin' a convo when yer pressed fer time, huh?" He chuckles a little. Seems he's inclined to wander in the direction of the barracks but he's taking it exceptionally slow. "What made ya decide ta do this, Nessa? Ah can't quite imagine ya wantin' ta share headspace with someone else so soon aftah what happened."

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

"Well, you know that the Tokra have helped my people out in the past when we needed it. Part of it is, in a way, I feel like I owe this to them, I want to be able to do something for them for a change. Also, with this strange ... ability I've been showing, I want to know if it's something Nirrti did to me, or something that was dormant within me and always was a possibility. Considering what I saw happen to some of those people down there after Nirrti's experiments 'maxed out' ... I'm hoping Val Shara can put my mind at ease that this won't horribly deform me, or kill me like it did some of the others."

She paused for a moment, thinking a bit more on the topic.

"Besides, the Tokra aren't Nirrti, I've no quarrel with them just because their genetically identical. If it were a Gou'ald ... I might have an issue with it, but not with one of the Tokra. I'm hoping that this will be a mutually beneficial thing for all of us. Val Shara will be able to survive and relay whatever information she has, and I might be able to begin to understand what's happening to me. Maybe learn how to control it even, I don't really know on that part. Beyond that I can't really explain it Ian, this is just something I feel is right for me to do. I guess we'll see how it turns out huh? I just ... are you going to be OK with this? I want you to be able to have a say in this too."



Returning to the barracks, Sho and Siphon would split their check-ups evenly, checking on the rest of the base personnel. Fortunately, while they were still sleeping, everyone seemed to be fine.


Trel Vah meanwhile was conducting some scans on Ashana's body, likely to check on Val Shara. For the moment, he seemed satisfied everything was as it should be.

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

"Well, the choice is ultimately up ta you, though Ah suppose it'll take a bit of gettin' used ta, what with there bein' another mind added ta the mix here." He sighs, stopping the two of them and resting his hands on her shoulders. "If it'll give ya piece of mind, Nessa, and, in the long run, help ya out, then Ah'm not goin' ta tell ya 'no.' Ah've no right to. It's yer decision and Ah'll stick by ya, Ah promise ya that."

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

For a long moment, she just simply embraced him, holding him close.

"I know you will. I'm hoping it will benefit all of us."


Giving him a gentle kiss, she took a small step back, an impish smile crossing her lips.

"Besides, you'll now have two ladies in one body willing to share. How often does that happen?"


Her expression, and her tone tipped her hand that she was trying to lighten the mood, while her hand reached out to ruffle his hair slightly. After a few moments, a slightly more serious expression crossed her face.

"At the very least, we'll all get some answers we need. What happens after that ... well, part of living life is seeing what happens each day and exploring it. Long as we have each other, we'll be fine."


To that, she embraced him again, content to stay like that for the moment.

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

Ian returns the embrace, there being a bit of need in the hold, too. As she steps back, she's getting a curious look and then a chuckle and the duck of his head as she makes the crack about two women.

"One's more'n enough fer me ta handle, dahlin'. Now Ah'm gonna be outnumbah'd."

As she embraces him again, she can feel the dust of his lips against her temple and his hand gently rubbing up and down her back. "Got that right," he murmurs softly.

He's fine to stay like that for several minutes before it's his turn to draw back. "Prolly shouldn't keep the Tokra waitin'. We're workin' against the clock and all." There's a pause. "Ya want me with you?"

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

Vanessa nodded in agreement before replying to him.

"Yes. Something tells me Val Shara is going to end up wanting to talk to you at some point too."


Making their way back to the Barracks, Vanessa informed Trel Vah that she was ready. He had her sit down next to Ashana's body, then, he spoke several words in what had to be the Tokra's language.

What happened next was mostly blocked by Trel Vah's form in the way, at least until Vanessa stood up, gently moving him aside. To everyone in the room, it was clear the blending had been a rapid success, for Vanessa didn't seem much different, save for the fact she might have been standing a little straighter. When she spoke, it was definitely Val Shara in control.

"Interesting. Normally there is a period where the blending takes place, however this was almost immediate. She was right in her desire to seek our council. While she absorbs what she can from my own memories, I should catch you all up to speed. What do you all know so far of Anubis, and Nirrti?"

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

"In due time. You two get settled first, then we'll worry about me."

Given Ian's expression, he wasn't expecting things to happen as quickly as they did. In fact, seeing Vanessa stand up, he actually moves to take a step toward her, stopping when he realizes she's steady on her feet.

"That they're trouble," quips Sho. "But that's a given. As I understand it, Anibus is worried about the Tokra because there's something you all have developed that will make it possible to undermine his, uh...mind controlled assassins. One of whom is supposed to be my sister. In the future, anyway. He probably knows about the existence of Atlantis, thanks to Nirrti but as it stands, and we hope, he won't be able to get through the shields, which is why the exodus for you guys. Nirrti's been working on creating the perfect host for herself and so far we're sure she hasn't managed that yet, but she's currently inhabiting the body of Cassie, who she'd experimented on before." Sho grows quiet after that, sucking on a tooth. Clearly the Cassie thing is still a sore spot with her, with good reason. Probably a good time for Siphon to jump in.

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

Vanessa/Val Shara nodded.

"The Ashrak technology yes. As it stands now, he won't be able to get into Atlantis, at least not without finding other advanced technology first. I am ... displeased to hear about Cassie, I was hoping to return in time to prevent her from falling into Nirrti and Anubis' hands. Unfortunately, these are not the only factors to consider with those two. Anubis has acquired a very old piece of Ancient technology, one that can reanimate dead cells. He has nearly completed work on a proto-type warrior with an ablative armor that our weapons would be useless against. I may be able to help create something capable of stopping them, but I will need time. In addition, Anubis has an interest in Dakara. All I know about his plans for Dakara is that he plans to attack it at some point, and hopes to find a weapon somewhere within the temple."


Siphon had opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when Val Shara started talking. While his features remained unreadable, the small sound he made at the mention of the warriors, and Dakara was enough to let everyone know he was not thrilled with that information.

"So let me get this straight. The most holy of places to all the Gou'ald and Jaffa holds a hidden weapon, and Anubis plans to try and take it?"


She nodded in reply.

"Yes, and without a means to counter his new warriors and their armor, it is likely they will succeed."

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

Sho looks to be listening to the information, though it's Ian that speaks up first. "So what about beatin' him to it? Gettin' the othah gou'ald ta delay him long enough fer us ta figure out what it is he's lookin' fer. Ah don't think us gettin' the goods ta a safe place and givin' 'em back latah is as bad as him up and stealin' it, right?"

Sho will interrupt at that point. "A regenerated warrior with indestructible armor. That sound a little familiar to you? Like, I don't know, guys from the future with really bad attitudes and who we're currently trying to kick the collective ass of?"

 

[SiphonTalvesh]

Re: Earth

Siphon half shrugged at Sho, his expression seeming to indicate he wasn't dismissing the possibility, but that he wasn't buying an alliance between Anubis and the Klarnell, or that Anubis had his hands on Klarnell tech.


"Assuming we can even locate the weapon itself, that might be a possibility. Whatever this weapon is, Anubis seems to be willing to devote a large portion of his fleet towards taking it. I do find it odd however that he hasn't made his move yet, he has the forces, yet appears to be waiting on something."


Siphon thought for a moment before he replied.

"Probably waiting on us to find it. If what we know about him is true, and he's half ascended, then it's possible he only knows about it because of his ascended knowledge. He may be afraid the others would stop him if he tries to take it directly, instead of waiting for someone else to do all the leg work."

 

[Copper]

Re: Earth

"So we need to figure out a way to find it and get it somewhere safe--"

"Or destroy it," cuts in Ian.

"That, too. Before he or his minions can get their mitts on it. Or make us give it up. That being said, what about minions? Could he send someone like Nirrti? Or is that too 'involved' for the Ascended? Because if that's the rule that's keeping him from going and getting it, then we've got him at a stalemate for the time being."