Aberrant: Triangle Nova Investigations; Book One, Chapter 1: First Steps

Game date: 09 Mar 2014
Present: Tabby, Chris, Sara, Paul, and Maer

Dramatis Personae:

Chadwick "Chad" Winslow: Going by the alias of "Andrew Wiggins", Chad is a 14 years old, blonde and blue eyed son of a rich family from Eastern North Carolina, and currently a runaway living in the Triangle.

Gemma Kincaid: A Sociology sophomore at Duke University, she's openly living as a Nova and using her powers at the Utopia Project Center attached to the RTP.

Javier Ryan: A thirties something gentleman with a private security background. Brown on brown and not much else to distinguish him in casual observation.

Irina DiSanti: Brown on brown, mid-thirties, ex-NYPD detective, now a PI relocated to the Triangle to be the human face of Triangle Nova Investigations.

Important locations:

Utopia Project Center, RTP: Located on the former campus of IBM off T. W. Alexander Drive, the Utopia Project Center offers Novas a safe place to live and meets their basic needs of food and clothing. Think of it as the Y for Novas.

Occidental Industries: U-Fiber equipement manufacturer partnered with Cisco. It is also the home of one of only two U-Fiber mother batches in existence.

Tuesday, 09 Mar 2010
0930hrs, local time

Irina arrives at the offices of Triangle Nova Investigations and is buzzed through by the office's smart system. A synthetic woman's voice greets her as she walks through the door and Irina stifles a growl. She hates the smart system (called Sara), preferring to open doors and turn on the lights herself … to say nothing of making her own coffee. Sara has anticipated Irina's need for civilizing caffeine and has a cup ready to pour.

Irina takes that cup with her into her office and opens her files for the day. She has a series of interviews to conduct and she wants to familiarize herself with the interview subjects before seeing them.

Gemma Kincaid openly uses her powers in front of people and from the file, Irina learns that the young woman's eruption was triggered by a traumatic event (details not given), that she lives in the Utopia Project Center in the RTP (as all outed, unaffiliated Novas tend to do). Looking over Gemma's case file photo, Irina sees a lithe young woman with the stereotypical toned body of a Nova. Gemma's stated job skills are general, with a stated goal to earn money to pay her bills and to enable her to live off campus.

Chadwick "Chad" Winslow, going by the name of "Andrew Wiggins", is originally from Eastern NC and is currently staying at the RTP Utopia Project Center. He referred to TNI by the employment office on campus. The Center isn't a charity. No one gets a complete free ride. They have to earn their keep.

Javier Ryan has an interview for a permanent security job at 10:30 A.M. His contact for this offer is someone known only to him as Charlie, who he's never seen. Javier is told that Charlie's representative, Irina DiSanti, will interview him at the offices of Triangle Nova Investigations at 10:30 A.M. sharp.

Gemma arrives first, fifteen minutes early. Chadwick/Andrew arrives a few minutes later.

The entire office space is wired out the wahzoo for visual, sound, thermals, the works. Irina observes the new arrivals via her monitors for a moment, noting their appearance, bearing, looking for any quirks or tells. Skimming through her files, Irina notes that Gemma is applying for the position of office assistant and is a sociology major at Duke.

Her notes on Chadwick tell her that Charlie specifically asked for the interviewee to apply for the position of logistics and computer support. As she is the only employee at the moment and a good portion of TNI is wallpapered and carpeted in computer hardware, Irina reckons the young man might prove a valuable asset. She is surprised to see he is listed by the Utopia Center as a fourteen year old runaway. No details concerning that are in the file. She noted the expensive U-fiber suit he's wearing when she passed him in the lobby. If he's blown his entire wallet on it, he's going to need a job … and fast. She notices he's also registered at the Utopia Center as an "Andrew Wiggins", the name of a central character in a classic and popular science fiction book series.

Irina checks her watch. 0955. Best get going. She steps out into the lobby.

Irina: Ms. Kincaid. I see you're early. If you'd like, we can start your interview now. (gestures to the office) Step this way.
Gemma: Certainly.
Irina: Please have a seat.

Irina shuts the door, indicates the chairs in front of the desk, and resumes her seat.

Irina: Ms. Kincaid. I understand you're a sophmore at Duke, am I right?
Gemma: Yes.
Irina: Sociology major?
Gemma: Yes, ma'am.
Irina: So where do you expect to be in another two years?
Gemma: Hopefully graduating and moving on to somewhere people would need my help. I'm not quite sure where at the moment but I just like being around people and helping them out.
Irina: What do you envision yourself doing here?
Gemma: Anything that's needed.

Irina listens to Gemma's answers, writing occasional notes on a legal pad.

Irina: How do you feel about public speaking?
Gemma: I'm not the greatest public speaker.
Irina: Do you prefer doing things behind the scenes?
Gemma: That would be best.
Irina: What's your favorite thing to do in your spare time?
Gemma: Read.
Irina: Any particular subject?
Gemma: I'm trying to figure out how to say this without … (blushes)
Irina: (groks) Fan fic?
Gemma: Yes. Fan fic.

Both women laugh softly. Nothing more need be said. Moving on …

Irina: How savvy do you think you are with technology, computers … ?
Gemma: Not too bad. I haven't killed a computer in the last year.
Irina: That's a good sign. (writes a note) Do you consider yourself good at thinking on your feet?
Gemma: Actually, yeah, I do.
Irina: All right. What would you do if you were, say, in the checkout line at a store and you hear someone behind you in line bashing Novas? What would you do?
Gemma: I'm not the type of person to turn around and bless them out. I would probably just keep going. (holds up hands, shrugs) Freedom of Speech. If that's what they want to say, it doesn't always have to be the truth.
Irina: All right. (nods) Do you value discretion over honesty?
Gemma: That's a hard one. (thinks) I would rather you be honest with me but I wouldn't like it if it was a blatantly in-your-face kind of thing.
Irina: All right. (final note) When can you start?
Gemma: I have a class at two, but after that I am free to start whenever.
Irina: I'm not in the business of interfering with your education. I understand that Duke is not … inexpensive and you should get the most you can from it. However if you would be so kind as to provide me with your class schedule, we will do our utmost to work around it.
Gemma: Thank you.

Gemma did not come unprepared. She pulls a class schedule from her portfolio and puts it on Irina's desk. Irina rises and puts out her hand. Gemma shakes it.

Irina: Welcome to the company.
Gemma: Thank you.

Irina walks the young woman to the lobby door and sees her out. Unseen by Irina, Gemma goes all the way to her car before doing a little victory dance right there in the parking lot.

Woot! She got the job‼‼

Irina turns around to face the young man sitting on one of the lobby couches. She addresses him and gestures to her office.

Irina: Mr. Wiggins. Step in here, please.

Entering her office, Irina notices a light flashing on one of the smaller monitors built into her desk. Another person has walked into the lobby behind her and chosen a seat on one of the couches. She sweeps the new arrival with a glance before turning to the young man seated in front of her. Most likely it's Javier Ryan. Early like everyone else this fine day.

Irina: So, Mr. Wiggins, where are you from?
Chad: From North Carolina.
Irina: What part?
Chad: The coast.
Irina: All right. (writes a note) So what decided you to come here to the Triangle?
Chad: I really don't want my family involved with the types of things I see with … some Novas.
Irina: What sorts of things?
Chad: Families getting kidnapped. Being put in peril.
Irina: If I read this right, you're trying to protect your family by disassociating yourself from them.
Chad: Correct. At least until I'm better.
Irina: Better? Does this mean you're not better now? Is something sub-par?
Chad: I'm not as good as … other Novas. There are a lot of people with more experience, more strengths.
Irina: When did you Erupt, Mr. Wiggins?
Chad: A couple of weeks ago.
Irina: Was this at home or was this here?
Chad: It was at home.
Irina: You've come a long way in two weeks. (Another note) Where are you staying?
Chad: At the Utopia Center.

Irina glances down, looks up. How to say this?

Irina: You're a little bit younger than we generally interview for a position here.
Chad: I … have abilities that make me a good team player.
Irina: What sort of abilities?
Chad: I can Warp. So if we should need to get somewhere, anywhere, on Earth—and technically, other places—I can get us there.
Irina: Is this somewhere you've been before or seen?
Chad: Nope. I've used Google Maps quite a bit. All I need is a general relative direction and … distance, I suppose. Being able to see a picture of the place helps, too.

Irina makes another note, giving the information time to sink in.

Irina: How did you find out about us?
Chad: The Utopia people suggested you would be a good learning experience.
Irina: I see you are applying for the position of computer support. What do you know about computers?
Chad: Not a whole lot. I didn't fill that form out, myself. I'm not sure how I got the interview. I'm supposing that someone at Utopia decided that I would be a good fit and filled this out.

That fact goes down on the legal pad.

Irina: How good are you at logistics?
Chad: I am very good at logistics. It might be they had that set as a category … but computers? I'm a geek. I play with computers but I won't be able to fix them.
Irina: Aside from the lack of experience, which of course can be remedied via learning curve, what do you think you can do for our company that someone else out there can't? Besides the Warping, which I have to admit sounds rather interesting.
Chad: I'm … above average, I guess, in fighting, should things come up and go sideways. I'm above average at noticing things. (breathes a laugh) I'm pretty horrible at anything social.
Irina: (gentle smile) Not to make light of this, but you are fourteen. So, again, learning curve will apply.
Chad: I do have one other ability that they seemed very … happy with. I can power down other Novas. Like an energy siphon ability. I can reduce how much quantum they have to spend on their more destructive powers. Eventually, I can—if we get in a situation where we have Novas acting bad, I suppose is the best way we can call it—I can reduce their effectiveness and how long they can keep fighting.
Irina: Does being on the front line scare you?
Chad: Not yet.
Irina: Good answer.

Another note on the pad.

Irina: When can you start?
Chad: Today.
Irina: All right. (pause) I confess, we're not quite ready for you but we can be in a couple of days. Now, you have a place to live? And I have to assume you have food, clothing, that sort of thing?
Chad: I do but I don't have reliable communication.

Irina doesn't miss a beat but pulls a phone from her desk drawer. She holds it to her smart desk surface and text scrolls across a screen beneath the glass: Assign? Yes/No. Irina taps Yes and gives the phone to Chad.

It rings. Chad answers it.

Chad: Hello?
Sara: (on the phone, perkily) Hi. I'm Sara. Thank you for joining Triangle Nova Investigations. Have a good day.

Click.

Irina: Thank you, Sara. (mutters to self) I hate that program.
Chad: Do I get an office?
Irina: No, you get a cubicle.
Chad: Okay.
Irina: I'll be happy to show it to you if you like, but you have your phone. You can reliably reach us. (stands up, holds out hand) Welcome to the family, sir.
Chad: (shakes her hand) Thank you.

Irina shows him the cubicles.

Irina: At this point I have to assume you can have your pick. But keep your nose clean. We're going through the interviews first, but within the next 48 hours you can expect me to call you on that phone.
Chad: Okay.

She sees Chad out and turns to the last person waiting in the lobby.

Irina: Javier Ryan?
Javier: (smartly) Yes, Ma'am.
Irina: Thank you for coming. If you'll step inside, please.
Javier: Thank you, Ma'am.
Irina: Have a seat.
Javier: Thank you, Ma'am.

Irina sits down and studies the man across from her for a beat. She cuts a look at her notes and meets Javier's eyes.

Irina: I understand my employer contacted you directly.
Javier: Yes, Ma'am.
Irina: What sort of experience do you have in security?
Javier: I've done freelance security jobs, bodyguarding mostly. But I've also done transports, retrievals, and the occasional … hot extraction.
Irina: Military experience?
Javier: Not officially, Ma'am.
Irina: What kind of bodyguard jobs?
Javier: Mostly people who could pay for their safety, Ma'am.
Irina: How long were they?
Javier: Most of them don't last more than three months, Ma'am. However, I've had a couple of extended furloughs, including several overseas dealing with civilians in hot zones.
Irina: I see. (makes a note) Have you ever lost a subject or have had one seriously injured under your care?

Javier doesn't even blink but answers promptly.

Javier: Yes, Ma'am. Turkey, 2003.
Irina: (another note) Details?
Javier: Still mostly classified, however I'm at liberty to say that a certain diplomat and his family was travelling in Turkey 2003 when we encountered a landmine.
Irina: (quietly) That has the potential for a bad scene.
Javier: I have also had several mixed results working with civilians in hot zones contested by militias and local governments. However, since the socio-political climate was mired, the results were, too.

That merited another note.

Irina: If I were to ask someone else in your line of work what they thought your reputation was, what would they tell me?
Javier: Ma'am, I believe you would find me an efficient and effective asset. There is not much that I can do that other people can't, but you can trust me to do it and do it well. Discreetly.
Irina: If there is one thing about this job that you regret, what is it?
Javier: Well, Ma'am, I just wish that everything worked out the way everybody wanted it to.
Irina: What's the one thing that you love about this job?
Javier: Well, Ma'am, occasionally you have a job that I'm happy I was there and not somebody else.
Irina: I know the feeling.

Irina looks aside for a split second, then focuses on Ryan again.

Irina: Well, then. When can you start?
Javier: Anytime tomorrow after oh-eight hundred, Ma'am.
Irina: (nods) I'll see you here at oh-eight hundred. Welcome to the family.
Javier: (nods) Thank you, Ma'am.

They stand and shake on the deal. Irina sees the man out. Once the door is shut, Sara speaks up. Irina sighs. She really hates that thing.

Sara: Irina, it says here your interviews are done. Have you any previously unscheduled interviews set up?
Irina: Not to my knowledge. No.
Sara: I have a message from Charlie. Would you like to read it?
Irina: (through her teeth) I'll take it in my office, thank you, Sara.
Sara: No problem.

Irina marches right back to her office and closes the door. Not that it would keep the smart system out, no, but at least it would give Irina a tiny sense of being able to get away from that sickeningly sweet tone. She slams into her desk chair and taps a stiff finger on the glass.

Irina: Open message.

It's from Charlie, her employer. It's a file folder containing a larceny case. Irina swipes her finger on the file to open it and starts reading.

Occidental Industries, an OpNet equipment manufacturer based in RTP and partnered with Cisco. Among other things, it manufactures the interface and cabling that makes the OpNet useable with Cisco's router equipment. Occidental has suffered a robbery. OpNet equipment consisting of connectors, circuitry, and U-Fiber cables have been taken. The U-Fiber in this case is the real McCoy, grown from a mother batch colony produced by the Nova who spawned it. It's more valuable than the synthetic version because it performs better than the synthetic. As a result, mother batches are zealously guarded. The U-fiber that was stolen was embedded in the missing equipment. In all, 50 connectors are missing and the balance of 3 kilos of untasked U-Fiber material (embedded in various circuits and cables) was stolen as well. The colony is only able to grow at a certain rate. Removing too much will cause it to fail. The missing amount is enough to put the mother batch into borderline failure The street value of the 3 kilos is estimated to be 600K. Occidental has not advertised the theft or called the police, preferring to keep the matter on the down low.

Irina sends electronic confirmation of receipt of file to Charlie, with a note that she will get right on it. As cases go, it's nothing incredibly dangerous or even hard, but it should be just about right to break in the newly hired team. Irina digs out the Occidental contact information in the file. Ms. Jackie Quaid is the Director of Biomass Maintenance. The file states that she is available for appointments between 8 and 10 the following morning. The theft occurred in her department. Irina taps her desk and a phone pad lights up. She dials a number from the file.

Carolyn: Jackie Quaid's office. This is Carolyn. How may I help you.
Irina: Hello, Carolyn. This is Irina DiSanti from Triangle Nova Investigations. I understand there is a matter that Ms. Jackie Quaid would be interested in discussing with us. Is she free?
Carolyn: She will be free at 8:30 in the morning tomorrow.
Irina: 8:30? I will call on her then. Please notify her that I will be reaching out to her.
Carolyn: Will do.
Irina: Thank you very much.

Irina hangs up. Well. The crew is barely assembled and already they've got a case.

More coming soon. Stay tuned! Thank you!—Campaign Archivist.

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