Ground (Paradox/ Roxy)

[Enkashi]

The Ghost of Lisnger was a merchant vessel, an interstellar jump freighter that ferried all kinds of goods back and forth through the old solar system and the stars. She was neutral - she ran trade routes between Aedolis and Edanith mostly - but when Cancer or Libra appeared, she carried cargo there too on myriad contracts, both legitimate and, on the quiet, illegitimate.

It was one such shady piece of cargo that had Captain Windsor Wiles edgy on this trip. It wasn't that she was trouble - you couldn't ask for an easier passenger. He'd asked her a sparse few questions, and he'd gotten quiet, polite, non-committal answers; Where was she going? Heivah. Was she comfortable? Yes, thank you. She didn't seem the type to have the security rating he, through certain channels, knew she had. She had a bounty on her head - a substantial one from Thanatos Inc - and indeed she wore boots from their spooky guards... but she looked a nice young woman.

That was the problem, really. He was an excellent judge of character - and she wasn't even insane as far as he could tell - he could tell, he'd seen a lot of madness in his time... and she just didn't fit the bill. But, in the end, this was a favor to another friend of his - one of the shadier contacts... and she obviously keenly wanted to be making this trip. So, he figured, no worries - she'll be right.

Edyth fingered over the tiny implant in her wrist. Funny that something so small could cost so much. She hadn't paid in cash... she'd paid up front in assistance. A guy who knew a guy who knew a guy... she had no idea that that was how the world worked - but here she was with a working ID implant. When she was younger, she'd vowed to bring justice to the universe, to be a pilot and root out corruption wherever she'd found it. Seemed... a long time ago. And here she stood on a smuggler freighter, a woman with a bounty on her head and that was... just the start of her problems. Would it work? She didn't know.

But... it had to work. She bit her bottom lip and gripped her wrist tightly, more tightly than she felt comfortable after the surgery. It had to work. It just had to. She couldn't go on living like this. She could close the lid on this horrible chapter in her life and just get on with being herself again - just Edyth. She could almost smell her mother's familiar incense and taste her dad's cooking. She wondered how it would compare to the military ration packs the captain had given her as he announced that she needed feeding. Who would have thought that spaghetti and meatballs, waybread, and hot sauce would taste so... amazing? She still had a little left, too, and a whole two extra packs he said she could keep. That was kindness.

As she nibbled the seasoned waybread, she reflected on kindness as she stared out the little porthole that was, for the last day and a half, her only window on the world.  Earth was... breathtaking. Truly it was. It looked like a little grey and blue marble, swirling with fluffy clouds. It... looked so small she could almost touch it. Like she could hold it in her hand. She smiled, and for the moment, enjoyed the peace of the moment.

The docking procedures at the space elevator went swimmingly. There was never really any doubt they would - the Captain had a good reputation as a business man, and with Edyth simply posing as a crewman with a landfall pass, she could get to the city easily enough. She couldn't stay here forever... but maybe she could at least see her family again.

And so she found herself on the streets of Heivah, a shipping company cap on her head and her hands in her pocket, a piece of waybread in her cheeks. She wasn't sure where she was going... probably to find some information to find her parents, but for now... she just wandered. It was a strange sensation... she'd seen the mid-quarter of Haviah her whole life - she grew up on these streets and skyways, after all. But now she saw it with different eyes. The captain had given her some money for helping out with the unloading, so she stopped at a bistro she always went to when she was younger, before she'd left to become a pilot.

[Paradox]

“Why did I let you convince me to come here?” Cahal glared icily at Murdock who sat directly across from him at the table.

“Relax, pup.  I told you I’m payin’ this time.“

Cahal folded his arms and his scowl deepened, “ You said that the last three times and then conveniently forgot your credit card. ”

The senior police officer fishing into his coat pocket and held the card up for his younger partner to see, “ Here it is. So will you lighten up already and pull your girly panties out of your -”

“This day has been complete shit. That meeting with Cartwright went nowhere. “

Murdock nodded. A cute young waitress showed up then to take their order. Murdock flirted with the girl who was well less than half his age and Cahal rolled his eyes. He had to give it to the old codger though. The man had a way with the ladies and was a pretty handsome gentleman for an old guy. Even so, having to watch him in action was nauseating. Reilley nearly lost his appetite.   
Their order was taken: Glazed Salmon for the old man and a Bistro Burger for , as the waitress so affectionately dubbed him, “Mister Moody” . Alcohol for the pair of them. Vodka and Scotch. 

Their conversation resumed as soon as the waitress moved out of earshot.

“Heh. What ? You actually expected cooperation from a Senator?  “Murdock grinned and leaned back in the booth, his eyes glued on the departing waitress’s tight little tushie.

Cahal sighed and leaned back in his own booth as well, staring at the ceiling, “ If he’s not guilty then why doesn’t he just stop wasting my time and let me work?”

Murdock’s gaze shifted to his younger colleague. He grinned, “C’mon. I think you know the answer to that one. You think he gives a shit? Even if he’s clean, I bet fifty credits that he probably would shake the murderer’s hand for taking out his competition. Heh.”

Cahal scowled, but said nothing.

“Oh,” Murdock’s grin grew even broader now, “ I uh…invited a friend to join us. She’s runnin’ late. Hope you don’t mind.”

Cahal did mind. He hated these social outings and it was a miracle that he’d let the old man start dragging him outside, away from his computer. Tolerating Murdock’s company was…well, he could manage THAT but another person? And a woman?

“Your date? “ Cahal made a face. If he had to watch the old fart suck face with some broad, he was walking out. Dinner or no.

Murdock waved a gloved hand dismissively, “Nah. You’ll see.”

“Stop grinning like that. It’s creeping me out.” 


ooc: Alright, so I left things kind of open so that if Roxy wants to....she can be Murdock's friend (lol) OR not. If not I'll just fill that role with an NPC who might not even show up (lol).

Also, Nemo...I'm not sure if you've read this but: http://remnants.spiritsoftheearth.net/setting.php . I wasn't sure if you were referring to Mars (the planet) or a Space Station. The reason I bring this up is because this is not Earth (our Earth) and not the Milky Way galaxy. There is no Mars in this setting. x3  It's not a big deal (there's lots to read so I'm sure I'm doing something wrong somewhere too), BUT I thought you might like to know for future reference!

One last thing. Great post. Much better than what I could have done. Haha. xD

[Roxy]

Courtesy of a Mr. Darius Fletch, who despite his fathers’ recent shipment to TRIM, robbed a convenience store and made her give chase throughout half the middle-level of Haviah; Bébé didn’t quite get the time to fix her appearance.  Her meeting with Murdock neared close by the time she managed to drag the little punk to the station for booking; wasn’t like she could swing back by her apartment, shower, get the dirt off her uniform or even change out of it, for that matter.  So she, with a good deal of reluctance, had to stop in not looking as trussed up as she’d like.

She was exceedingly grateful that Murdock didn’t want to meet in a seedier locale, as while very unlikely, it wouldn’t surprise her if he tried to corral some of his officers into scoping out any “boy’s clubs”.  Let’s just say Bébé's private assessment of him wasn’t too favorable, though she’d never say it to his face.  She did like the guy (a little), though it was his seniority that made her wary of calling him out, even over non-serious matters.  She didn’t know him that well enough to gauge how sensitive or temperamental he could be, so she wasn’t about to take any chances.  The least amount of demerits against her, the better for her career.

He did say he’d have company, though, which incited her curiosity and resentment against a certain teenaged boy.  Damn kid…if this guest was high up she knew her tardiness could leave a bad taste in his mouth.  She’d have to do her best to salvage any misconceptions.

Though, it might’ve not been her punctuality alone  that soured any opinion of her.

When Bébé finally arrived, she came up right behind another girl, seemingly not aware of her until she bumped right into her back.  “Hey!—“  Her voice briefly rose into a bark, forgetting for a moment that it was she who made the misstep, but before she could cut some random person down she noticed a familiar figure a ways from them.  “Sorry,” she muttered dourly, as if it were an act of pulling teeth to even admit a minor mistake, before beginning to stride her way over to Murdock and his aforementioned…companion.  She didn’t give a glance back at the girl, at least not at that moment. 

[Enkashi]

Nothing had changed.

The bistro was exactly as Edyth remembered it, from the stools at the counter where people could get gourmet sodas to the man behind the counter to the arrangement of the sodding tables and booths. It felt like years and years since she'd been here. The fact that it had only been a... Couple years didn't make her feel much differently. The place had no right to have stayed the same, she felt.

Someone barged into her back, jostling her hard enough to knock off her hat, and she turned, quick as a bird. The woman who'd bumped her had a spiky sort of look, like she thought low of damn near everything and everyone in the immediate area. This, she judged, was exactly the kind of person who never apologized for anything, and so it was somewhat gratifying that she' gotten just such an apology, however spiny it was. Edyth forced herself to relax and smile, settling her ruffled metaphorical feathers.

"No worries." She said, and bent to pick up her hat again. Just the same, she stared with a blank sort of expression after her and felt her own pockets. Nope. Everything was there. Something about the woman and the men she walked over to jockeyed for her attention, but she ignored it - she was... hungry. Very... very hungry. A hundred minimalist meals came back to bite her, and she moved to the counter. One last backward glance over her shoulder at the party at the table was all she spared before turnin her attention to the fat man behind the counter.

Without thinking, she said "Hey Mr. Clydesdale, can I get a cherry floater with all the trimmings and a grilled cheese?" And right about there, she kicked herself. The man was looking at her like he'd seen a ghost!

"E-Eddie!" He yelped! People turned and looked. "I heard you were missing girl! What on earth happened to you! You look terrible!"

Sod.

Suddenly, Edyth thought about the bounty on her head, that she had been declared missing during a training exercise, that any information about her was to be reported to the proper authorities. She played the cards in her hand quickly, and ran her arm over the scanner bar that the countertop had for paying customers, saying

"Y-you must have me mistaken for someone else, sir." She said, in a low tone. He looked at the screen and hope faded to hurt puzzlement and then to resignation.

"Oh, I do apologize miss Lostetter... You looked like someone I... Please excuse me." He said, and bowed. Eddie wanted to scream. She'd known this man since she was a girl. He'd run this bistro since forever. She was best friends with his son for pete's sake! They'd dated for two years! The man shuffled off, and Edyth felt completely miserable with herself.

She should not have returned. Little did she know... Just how serious TRIM was taking her escape. The bounty... Was for fifteen million credits. Her face ... was in every law enforcement office this side of Libra. Edyth, aka 'Eddie', codenamed 'Iron Golem', was to be considered armed and exceedingly dangerous as a class 4 psionic and an Alpha-type mutant.

Mr. Clydesdale returned with her order, oblivious to any of this. He did stare after her a moment - he could have sworn... But... Not his place. Eddie sipped the soda - it was the best thing she'd ever tasted.

[Paradox]

“Speak of the devil! There she is now,” Murdock spied Bebe approaching and waved at her, “ Yer late, B.B.! “

The old man had nicknames for everyone and they could be slightly irritating.
Cahal looked up from staring at his broken watch curiously. He hadn’t seen many elves before and so it only came natural to stare at the ears. Only for a moment before looking back over his shoulder. He’d heard the corpulent owner greeting someone and he noticed a young woman , but he didn’t think much of it.

Sure, he was informed , but TRIM-related fiascos were not within his jurisdiction and not something he immediately heard about because , well, it wasn’t as though the higher ups LIKED to admit that they fucked up. They kept these sort of things hush-hush unless the shit really hit the fan and they had no choice but to include the local law enforcement.

There WAS something familiar about the girl, “Eddie” , though but Cahal couldn’t put a finger on why he thought that was. He shook his head. Perhaps he was imagining things. He turned his attention away and back to his colleagues.

 “We just ordered a couple minutes ago ,but not a problem. The waitress’ll be here in a bit to give us our drinks. You can order somethin’ then. I’m treatin’ ya, kids, “Murdock informed their newly arrived companion. He patted the spot next to him in the booth. “Have a seat.”

As soon as she had, Murdock added, “Oh…B.B. , this is my elusive partner, Agent Reilley Cahal.   He’s pretty good  for a kid. Learned everything from me, of course.” He grinned broadly and gestured to Bebe, “Cahal, this is B.B. or Bebe. Got more balls than most of them rookies. Even more than you, heh heh heh. “

Cahal studied the elf and , well, looking at her he wouldn’t have been surprised, “Hi.” He greeted with a civil tone.  Not much of a conversationalist, Cahal. His manners weren’t the most polished either, but they may well have been better than most. 

Murdock pulled out pack of cigarettes from his pocket and stuck one in his mouth. He offered one to each of his colleagues. Predictably, Cahal passed. He offered to Bebe and then pulled a gun-shaped lighter from his other pocket and lit his cigarette.

ooc: I shouldn't be posting now, but I did! >.> Let me know if I need to fix something. Might have made an error. Sleepy. :/

[Roxy]

Bébé cringed at ‘B.B.’ – it felt akin to getting her cheeks pinched by grandpa, and she was beginning to wonder if Murdock just loved to annoy everyone and everything around him. 

 “My apologies, Sir. …That…” Here she visibly struggled, but while she could be reverent and obedient of her superiors, her professionalism still needed work.  Old habits die hard, though, and it slipped out:  “Fletch punk stirred up trouble in my district.  But…he found out quick that wasn’t such a great idea.” 

When she glanced over at the man sitting across from him, she also looked visibly surprised, obviously not being the best at poker face.  She assumed he’d be older, near Murdock’s age, and now she was almost…affronted?  Was this kid (nevermind that she was only two years older than the said ‘kid’) higher up than her? 

And drinks? …Oh, boy.  She hoped Murd-y wouldn’t end up “crunk”.  The one small consolation of that would be his baby-faced partner having to drive him home…

…unless they both ended up hammered.  Good God.

She was disrupted from her very logical fears, as en route to sitting besides Murdock; she (like everyone else) heard the shout.  Bébé looked up to see the man, perhaps one of the chefs, gaping openly at the girl she bumped into moments ago.  The outburst was curious enough – who didn’t get distracted by some seeming drama? - that she caught interesting snippets of and tried to listen in further, that is until Murdock addressed her attention again.

Now she was face to face with the aforementioned kid.  Bébé knew she had to play nice  in front the old coot, much as it pained her to (and as much as it pained her not to punch him in the gut for the “balls” comment), but like how Reilley just wasn’t a talker by nature, Bébé was perpetually…well, crass.  “And a ‘hi’ to you too, Cahal,” She smirked, “Any action on your end?”  It would be nice to eventually find out what Reilley’s experience was in the field, not so much out of curiosity, but she wanted to know how she stacked up against him – to possibly best him.

She accepted the cigarette, and occasionally threw more stares at the back of the woman at the counter.  Like with Reilley, the sight of her struck a chord, and she personally wondered the extent of how long she supposedly went ‘missing’; assuming if the man who shouted that out wasn’t off his rocker.  Aedolis didn’t seem like a place where you could simply disappear for long, unless you were killed or shipped off to TRIM, especially insofar as the microchips were concerned. 

Bébé thought it was a little strange, but for all she knew the girl could’ve been an attempted runaway at some point, who then got returned to her parents and/or significant other.  Plus:  simply could’ve been a case of mistaken identity.

Still, the déjà vu was strong.  She decided to prod her colleagues with another question, “Either of you seen that girl before?”

[Enkashi]

Edyth knew what it felt like to be watched. During her childhood, she'd never noticed, but as a pilot candidate, the glass of her little cage had become a microscope, or so it felt... And TRIM knew no modesty. Bumping into BB had rattled her a little, and now something she hadn't known she had before leaving Aedolis the first time was getting under her skin.

She was being watched again. And she was being watched closely. The thing that woke up inside of her when she had been... A thing, a serial number stirred. She did not like the feeling... it felt like at any moment there would be a series of tests and she would wake up screaming on a table. The soda stopped tasting good. The sandwitch became nondescript in her mouth... And she pushed back. Mr. Clydesdale was still staring a little at her, and now renewed his attention upon her. He didn't believe her... And now she was under the suspicious eyes that had once caught her trying to trick him when she was a little girl.

He knew.

She could see it all over him now. He could see the apprehension in her like she was a little girl again. And all she could do was stare at him... Then turn and leave without a word, leaving most of hat she'd ordered behind. She did so just in time to look BB full in the face as she made for the door an hear her question. Paranoia ran high then - she had to get to the port. Walking briskly, Edyth pushed openthe door and made a break for fresh(er) air.

She had to reach the space port. She just had to. This was no longer her home.

Back in the store, Mr. Clydesdale reached calmly under his counter and pressed the alarm. A lifetime of being told that the law was on his side and the side of the people told him to - he didn't feel the least bit like he was betraying the little girl he'd known from the beginning. He had seen the terror in her eyes - and figured she must have done something wrong. The authorities were looking for her... And the Pilots were heroes. She must have deserted!

[Paradox]

 “He and I are working on some murder cases,” Murdock answered for Cahal who scowled at the old man for speaking before he could, “Buncha suits getting’ hacked up by a psycho.”

Cahal shook his head, “I’m not so sure it’s wise to discuss the details outside of HQ. You know how the Chief feels about that.”

Murdock shrugged, “ People are gonna talk. It’ll leak to the press by the end of the week, I’d be willing to stake a year’s salary on it.”

Cahal looked irritated, “That’s not the point. The last thing we need –“

Their conversation was cut short by Bebe’s inquiry. They both turned in their seats to watch Edyth departing in haste.

Murdock rubbed his stubble-covered chin and shrugged, “ Didn’t see her face. Why do ya ask, B.B.?”

“I can’t place who she is, but she seems familiar, “ Cahal replied slowly, “ perhaps we should run a scan on her  –“

The blaring sound of the security alarm was all the confirmation they needed. The girl was a criminal , likely. Or , at least, she’d better be or else Mr. Clydesdale was going to have to pay a very heavy price for crying wolf. 

Cahal was the first one to jump out of his seat and he was already moving for the door, running when the old man called out after him, “I’ll have a chat with the owner. You two follow that girl!”

Wasting no time, Cahal charged out the door and drew his gun out, aiming it at the back of the runaway woman. In an authoritative tone he shouted after the fleeing form of Edyth,“Haviah Police! FREEZE!”

She'll run. They always run.

Nobody turned themselves in willingly. They always ran, but there was  the slim chance that he wouldn't have to shoot someone. He'd prefer that option because he wasn't trigger-happy.

[Enkashi]

The universal policeman's cry of "FREEZE" was met with a cold shoulder. She ran! Of course she did, but maybe it was stress, maybe it was fear, but the power came to her as she broke into a dead run. It would be lost on the coppers, but Edyth's skin was rapidly turning blue, her eyes beginning to glow so brightly blue that the features inside were fading, and yet all Edyth could feel was the roaring of blood in her ears, the sound of her own breath, and the familiar rush of tingling potency as her powers were again accessed.

Eddie could hate the Pilots all she liked for betraying her, for selling her to TRIM, but they had taught her to fight, to use her abilities, but most importantly, as she started to gain some traction and really start to put out a real turn of speed, how to just keep on going! Edyth ran, ran for her life. The 'where' wasn't remotely important. All that mattered for now was the "from". The "from" - running from.

[Paradox]

I knew it!

“Damn it! I said FREEZE, not run away!” He shouted after her. Yeah. Like THAT was going to , you know, make her stop running.

I could shoot her in the back of the head and it’d all be over. I’ve got a clear shot.

Or so he assumed. She appeared human to him. Boy was he in for a surprise. Ah well, he’d know better soon enough!

It was within his rights to do so, but his finger hesitated. He didn’t pull the trigger.

Shit. I’m too damn soft for my own good.

The subject hadn’t shown any signs of hostility. Yet. Shooting recklessly might cause too much panic in the streets and piss his target off. He needed to know more about her and what he was up against before he went on the offensive. 

He lowered the gun and followed as swiftly as he could in pursuit.  He chased her , running along the sidewalks and narrowly dodging people as he swiftly passed. Some pedestrians saw him zooming their way and scrambled to get out of his way, but some poor and unsuspecting souls were less fortunate. One such unfortunate was an elderly woman with tall, honey-colored hair shaped like a beehive. The moment Agent Cahal knocked into her, her hair went flying off her head and smacked into the face of young man who cried and flailed in a panic, "AH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Meanwhile, the de-wigged lady was screaming and clutching at her magnificently large, egg-shaped bald head.

"Sorry!" Reilley called out to the woman and he meant it, but she flipped him the bird in response.

How rude! Oh well! He couldn't stop running now!

She's fast. Faster than I am , maybe. How is that even possible? Drugs? Android? Alien species?  And where is she going anyway?

 “Yo! Cahal!” He heard Murdock’s voice crackle through the com-link attached behind his right ear.

“So, what are we dealing with?” Cahal inquired into the com.

There was a long pause.

“Murdock?”

“Uh…you’re probably not going to like this-“

Cahal sighed, “I had a feeling you were going to say that. Tell me.” 

“She’s a TRIM test subject.”

Shit!

[Roxy]

Soon as Reilley flew out the diner, Bébé was on his heels.  When he barked out an order, she kept her gun trained and body poised next to him.  Albeit…this was all only for a moment.  She crab-walked off to the side, and when “Eddie” took off and Cahal after her, she broke into a run of her own: to her motorcycle.  For one thing, she was too worn out from Darius to pursue on foot, for another, there was no way she was gonna let Reilles steal the spotlight away from her, regardless how serious this matter was or not.  The girl could’ve been a mere pickpocket for all she cared, this denigrated into a mini-competition in the elf’s mind.  She should’ve gone side by side with Cahal, but…Murdock at the time seemed occupied with the man inside.  Plus, it all seemed to happen in a blink of an eye.  She could very well claim that Cahal went off willy-nilly if asked.

She peeled out of the parking lot with a screech, being the last out in the chase.  As opposed to following them directly, though, she swerved to the right – charging down a street parallel to theirs’.  She tracked them as they passed from building to building, their figures going in and out.  She weaved rather expertly through “traffic”, which – unlike the poor, de-wigged woman – somehow possessed the grace to swing out of range.
 
Now, here came the risk. 

Slamming down on the gas pedal, she powered past the duo to only a block or two ahead.  There, she cut through an alleyway, swerving out and stopping a bit in front of “Eddie’s” path, her motorbike shifted horizontally. 

Bébé hoped it’d be enough to at least stun the girl momentarily, as she pulled her gun again from her holster, priming it for her.  "You've one more chance, girl.  Cease, or cease to exist!”

It wasn’t a completely empty threat.  Unlike Cahal, though, she’d no idea who or what she was currently in the path of.  She’d seen a blue flicker from afar, but it was for a brief second; could’ve been a trick of light or a reflection or anything else, she hadn’t thought of it much at the time.  Even when “Eddie” had accelerated, Bébé assumed some people had a degree of gifts in Aedolis – whether they be Pilot-worthy or not.

She certainly didn’t know she was trying to trap a superpowered mutant, with Cahal bringing up the rear.

[Enkashi]

Eddie felt a surge of hope! She'd outpaced the first agent somehow - it hadn't been her powers, really, nor had it been any inherent ability she'd known about - it was simple desperation. She was in fight or flight mode, and despite it all... she couldn't bring herself to just... force her way through. For all she knew, Cahal just let her escape. But, some things were destiny, weren't they? The weight of eventuality saw her outpaced by the woman she'd bumped into as she rode up on a motorcycle and cut her off.

Eddie skidded to a stop, head bowed and fists clenched into balls. She was shaking so hard now, frightened and because she was trained, angry about it. Angry at the woman for cutting her off, angry at herself for having these damned powers, angry at her country for selling her... pretty much angry at everything. And anger was quickly outweighing fear inside her heart of hearts.

She raised her head slowly, and showed Bebe her face, full of tears and fury... but also blue, with brilliantly glowing neon blue eyes, crackling with neon energy. Her hair was glowing, and veins spread from her eyes and out over her face as psionic energy radiated from her, feeling warm like a proximity to a bonfire. Energy, the same neon blue color, began to crackle from her body and lick the pavement around her like she was a tesla coil, her clothes moving as if weightless.

"Let me go." she said, her voice quiet but penetrative in the sound of the screaming people. "Please... I won't let you take me back to TRIM." Particles of what looked like black glitter were floating lazily around her body.

[Paradox]

“What information I was able to pull up from the Network is this: Psychic. Extremely dangerous. There’s a bounty issued for her…15 million credits, “Murdock whistled into the com, “The rest is all highly classified , but c’mon. A price like that , eh? I say this has got the stink of TRIM all over it. “

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Cahal agreed.

Had he not realized the gravity of the situation, he might have complimented Bebe and her quick-thinking. They had their quarry trapped between them. Cahal closed in slowly from behind.

 Of course, the elf couldn’t be faulted for her actions. She didn’t know-

Oh shit! She doesn’t know!

“Bebe! Careful! She’s-“

Too late! Cahal noticed the eerie glow that enveloped the psychic.

Oh shit….

 “I called the Chief. He’s likely in contact with the military now. I assume they’ll be honing in on your location here in a moment so keep the girl in your sight, but don’t engage her unless ya wanna die. “ Murdock’s voice crackled through the com-link. “You hear me, kid? Don’t do nothin’ stupid!”

I might not have a choice.

He heard Edyth speak and paused, keeping a fair distance. He couldn’t know the range of her abilities though he was sure he was well within it. “Calm down, we’re not going to hurt you. “ He flashed a brief glare at Bebe ‘Don’t you DARE shoot’ his look seemed to say.

 “We’re just police officers,” Cahal spoke in a gentler tone, the sort of tone one might use when trying to talk down a person who was about to jump off a bridge.  The psychic could probably figure this out by looking into his thoughts. No sense in lying. “We reponded to an alarm set off in the bistro you fled from. I don't know the particulars and quite frankly I'm not so sure I want to know, but let's not be hasty. We can talk this out ."

Maybe he could stall her by talking , but soon enough she was going to figure out his tactics and take flight again. He'd probably only be able to stall her for a few seconds, if he was lucky enough. One could never be too sure. He'd be even more fortunate if this woman wasn't so far gone upstairs that she'd feel inclined to kill him. And he had nothing to even try to protect himself with. Wonderful!

And here I thought that this day couldn't be any worse. Cartwright was just the icing on the fucking cake.

ooc: lulz. Editted for special mistake. >.>

[Roxy]

Any bravado Bébé had in her was shaken by the sight of “Eddie”, head on.

She pursued aliens, even inconsequential psychics; but in her 5 years on the force she’d never seen anything like her, not even remotely close.  Her eyes, the way her hair shone and clothing sifted; thin cracks and tears readily streaming across her cheeks.  Shock and awe paralyzed her as blue waves churned ominously out and kept coming, a thin black mist in tandem beginning to surround her.

Then, she said it:  TRIM.

She couldn’t deny fear.  As the reverse happened with the girl, her fright morphing into wrath, Bébé’s cockiness slid into the opposite direction.  Her eyes widened, and she didn’t speak anymore.

For once in her career of pulling dubious stunts, she felt like her mortality was seriously threatened; not only that, so were the citizens’ around her.  Facing death was a powerful immobilizer.

The dread only built when Cahal showed up.  She heard his shout, a warning cut short as he turned his attentions towards “Eddie”.  It didn’t seem like she somehow was bluffing, considering how he was acting.  There was no tackling the girl from behind or threatening arrest himself; he was trying to talk her down from the precipice. 

Despite feeling like someone sliced open her stomach and drug out her intestines in clumps, she didn’t yield nor move.  It’d be too cowardly to pull back, to let her run past, and she kept her gun out and cocked.  Though lowered from before, she was prepared to shoot in a vain, weak attempt to defend herself, any citizen who might stray too close, or even that freakin’ baby-faced kid if need be.

[Enkashi]

Eddie stared into the barrel of the gun and into the elf's face as her heart thudded in her ears and adrenaline screamed in her veins. She could see the fear in Bebe's face, and she was almost sure she could see the bullet in the back of the chamber as her ears took in everything - the sound of Bebe's motorbike purring beneath her, the sound of running, screaming people who in many ways could be quite sensible for the right incentive. And then, the voice of the man behind her.

His words were honeyed, and she tore her featureless blank glare away from the elf and directed it at the cyborg. She stared right into his eyes, but his words had perhaps the desired effect. Eddie gulped for air, tried her best to keep her heart from tearing its way out of her chest and running squealing with the crowd. The girl was crying openly, shaking with tears and anger and fear, her fists still clenched white at her sides.

She was indeed psychic... and she could hear the truth of his words when he said he didn't want to hurt her. Truth rang on every word - the last thing he wanted was to fight her, she could see it on him. Breathing heavily, the girl looked to him as if searching for a life line. Maybe they wouldn't take her back to TRIM? Maybe...

But he ruined it. He kept talking, and wanted her to talk to him. She could see his true intention as plain as day in his face, in his stance, and in his voice. He wanted to buy time, he wanted... he didn't want to hurt her, yes, but he was terrified she might hurt him. She glared at Bebe then, and her thoughts on the subject were only solidified. But even so... even so they might help her. She'd never broken any Aedolian laws, not in actual fact - she wasn't some mad killer, was she? She'd defended herself against TRIM it was true, and she'd done things she had to to survive... but she wasn't a criminal.

"I won't be taken back to TRIM!" she said, her voice cracking with tears. "I WONT" she screamed at the top of her voice, and the pavement cracked under her feet. "I was sold to them like a THING, and they treated me like an object! They tortured me! Please!" she said, her voice ending in a squeak. "Please I don't want to hurt anyone!" she pleaded, with Bebe, with both of them.

[Paradox]

He raised his gun instinctively , training  it on Edyth. His dark eyes narrowed on her, searching her expression for signs of deception or ill intentions.  He felt something brush against the boundaries of his mind and he knew that his thoughts were being read. He’d been mentally probed before and he didn’t like it. It felt…weird. It made him uncomfortable. This was…a bit different than what he was accustomed to. He’d been read a couple times in his earlier years of service …just to make sure that he was loyal to the government. This wasn’t that kind of reading though. It was very slight, not the usual rude and sharp jabbing sensations that the military had employed to scour his mind…
nevertheless the sensation put him on edge. She likely now understood his intentions and he fully anticipated her to lash out at him. 

Surprisingly, she didn't but she DID seem a lot angrier than before. That wasn't a good thing.

“If you’re running from TRIM, Haviah is the worst place to hide. There are eyes everywhere, “ Cahal replied calmly.  He wouldn’t allow her tears soften his stance. He was doing his duty. He had to stall her. Had to. He wasn’t going to feel sorry for her or guilty. Or so he told himself, but he wasn’t hardened yet and he somewhat found himself feeling sorry for her, feelings he knew that were dangerous to entertain because sympathy could cloud one’s sense of judgment.

I don’t understand why she doesn’t just force her way through. She’s capable of it. Maybe she’s telling the truth? Maybe she really won’t hurt anyone.

He sighed. Shit , I can't stall her.   The Department seriously needed either people or equipment to better deal with crap like this. Oh well!

 “I’m no fool. I won’t stop you, but I don’t have to. The military knows you’re here. What they do with you isn’t my concern.” It was a harsh thing to say, but it was the truth. He wouldn’t dare challenge his superiors. That was treason. At the same time, he wasn’t going to throw his life away against a person who could easily kill him in the blink of an eye. He wasn’t about to recklessly endanger the lives of others either.

The most logical choice was to stand aside…

And so he did.

The military might or might not catch her. She may or may not have been innocent. It wasn’t his place to be involved in this more than he had.
It was none of his business.

“I’d suggest running now. Don’t make me regret this.”

He glanced sideways at Bébé, hoping she wasn't entertaining any crazy ideas. One could never be too sure!

[Roxy]

Bébé watched the tense exchange, her muscles bunching up, themselves.  Her thoughts were dramatic, of the girl just wrenching back, and with a scream, expelling waves of energy that’d end her, Cahal, and anyone within radius in building or in street.  She seemed unstable enough that that could very well become reality, or a feat as similarly spectacular and horrific could erupt even if she had no such capabilities. 

The more the girl cried and begged, the more uneasy Bébé grew, the pit in her stomach expanding.  She wasn’t really listening to what “Eddie” was saying; just observing the erratic way she expressed herself.  It was close to someone shaking a detonator violently in their hand, a bomb strapped to their chest; she couldn’t feel sympathy for her.  What if she was confronted in a less dire manner, what then?  Would she be able to control her psionic outbursts even in a day to day dilemma, or would she be on the cusp of exploding, similar to this?

Or maybe she couldn’t control them, and that was why she was sent to TRIM in the first place.

She remained rooted to her spot, while inside she began to cautiously, begrudgingly accept the idea that she could die.  Yes, she was still scared, and yes, she would very much prefer to keep on living, but in her mind if she could somehow find a way to contain the threat away from all these people and Cahal, or even end it despite the odds and common sense, it’d be worth it.  The terror in her began to tentatively coincide with resignation.  It was grim, extreme, if not theatrical, but if she could get the girl isolated, for Aedolis?  It was acceptable.

Bébé turned only once in her seat to survey the streets, as if upon Reilley’s revelation tanks would start rolling in.  No such magic occurred just then, and she remained as if mute yet stolid, not willing to budge from her position.  She was determined to keep a lock on the girl until soldiers showed.   She flipped on her radio with a switch, and just as she was about to make a request she finally found her voice, albeit not in the way she expected.

It felt like another shock when Cahal stepped aside, freeing up a path for “Eddie” once more.  But as opposed to continuing her quiet, she shouted, triggered by a cocktail of anger, helplessness, and desperation, “Cahal, what’re you doing?!”  She wasn’t thinking logically, just reacting in initial surprise that a fellow officer would let someone as dangerous as “Eddie” seemed to be, go.

After her (ironic) churlish burst, she looked at the girl, waiting to see if she’d take the opportunity.  If she did, Bébé planned on following.  She wanted to ensure that the girl would be captured, not just leave it up to fate. 

[Enkashi]

Eddie stared at Cahal for a moment after he said his piece and stepped aside for her. It was a symbolic gesture, really, but it made a kind of sense. She would never probe someone's mind... not like they'd done to her, but feeling over it, the shape, the vibrations of it... that was different - that wasn't impolite, especially in a circumstance like this. She didn't pay his harsher words much mind really - it was what he meant that mattered.

In summary, it was this (as she understood it) - He was scared to look back to see how big the darkness was because he himself was absolutely powerless to do anything about it. He couldn't help how things were - he could only deal with things as they were. He had his own business to worry about. Her expression softened, and though she could not say what she thought aloud, she did say this, directly into his mind, and with it came the feeling that she well and truly meant what she said.

<Thank you. I will never forget this, no matter what happens. But if you would...> she looked at Bebe, and her own thoughts betrayed her intentions. She would have to deal with that, one way or the other. The woman would not take no for an answer. She turned her mind again to Cahal.

<... Tell my parents that I love them. I can ask no more.> she said.

With that, she turned, dashed to the edge of the road, to the railings, and dove off.

She'd been spaced before - it was part of how she escaped from TRIM. She'd had to find herself a space suit to survive that ordeal earlier on, and that had been a close run thing - neurotoxins and psychophagic (psionics-eating) gasses had been employed to keep her contained... and failing that, a whole section of the station had been spaced. What that had to do with this situation is that, to get away from the station proper...

... she'd had to absorb the suit as well, and it had maneuvering thrusters.

She had no idea if this would work, but the way she saw it... it was get dead or learn how to fly in a damn hurry. Both ideas at this point seemed equally viable and appealing - she'd meant what she said about never, ever going back. The thrusters formed, and the controls made their way into her mind. She'd never used them like this but... well, time for a lemming to learn how to fly, yes?

The first jet was poor - it didn't pull her up so much as send her into a spin, but it did let her narrowly whizz by a couple skyways on her way down, even if it did send her careening in a corkscrew. She struggled to breathe, to get her bearings, but it was impossible... and she could see a street coming up at her from below! Desperate cogitation saw her form another thruster from the black metal and blue light, and she fired it, at least getting out of the spin. Desperately, with the ground accelerating towards her, she formed a third (and was by this point getting seriously winded) that faced forward and down, and with all the effort she could manage, she HAULED.

Her body hurt terribly with the stress of it, and little purple and blue lights danced in front of her eyes, but still she strained! If she hit the pavement at this speed she'd be a big purple splatter with extra chunky bits. She could see cars down there! Perhaps a car would break her fall? She doubted it. She could already feel herself losing it, but she was nearly there, nearly there...! An oncoming semi truck, oblivious to the human missile oncoming lit up her world brielfy, and she gave one final burst of effort, slowing and rising just... barely enough, and then the world sank into black. With a CLUNK, the escaped mutant landed on the cargo container in transport, blacking out.

In total, she'd fallen... maybe seven hundred feet.

[Roxy]

Bébé sped to the railing after her, astounded that she was planning on jumping the damn thing just moments after she was spared. “Shit!—“ she cursed, but was too late. 

Screeching to a hard stop, the elf watched, in part amazement and horror, as “Eddie” began to…morph, jets jutting out from her own person.  Her eyes bugged out of her skull, her jaw dropped, the synapses in her brain momentarily flittering in and out as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. 

Motherfuck…!  Odds got even slimmer of catching her from this rate, considering the very huge headstart she gave herself.  Of all the abilities the freak had to have, why’d it have to be flight?! 

She did notice that it wasn’t a perfect downwards spiral – seemed a little jagged, desperate, like there was a damn good chance that she could be mortally wounded from the vault she took.  Down she went, full and whole-seeming one moment, near a tiny speck the next. 

On the one hand, that might’ve been a good thing, considering that if she did die it’d be one less potential threat against Aedolis.  On the other hand, after moments of peering over the ledge, she didn’t catch any hint of violence in the coagulated abyss.  She didn’t hear people screaming, tires squealing.  She might not have been able to see everything 700 ft up, but she would think some faint screech or cry could travel.

Regardless, there was a good chance she could still be alive.

Bébé ground her teeth, trying to stifle the rage bubbling up.  Right now, she couldn’t fly off into any tantrums of her own.  If there was any chance of salvaging this chase, she’d need to try to redirect the big boys, and be less like a tiger pacing in her cage. 

So she backed up, turned around, and sped off, not uttering so much another peep to Cahal.  He can tell Murdock his side of the story, and if need be, she’d double-back to headquarters to give her own report.  Bébé didn’t feel like dealing with him right now, nor did she have the time to.   

The elf radioed into dispatch as she drove – “Fugitive fled…right off the ledge of Milheim’s Street.  Likely, if not dead, on Routes 70-5” – hoping the transmission would be received, that at least a small portion of the militia would rear their heads. She started bucking for the road she’d last seen the girl plummeting towards, but there was no tracking or catching her.  “Eddie” was lost to her, seamlessly disappearing into the lights and noise of Haviah an hour into the chase. 

[Wah wah wahhhhhhhh]

[Enkashi]

(( This was exciting! I think this thread is pretty much complete, as short as it was - but next Eddie is heading for Midhaven. Would you two like to be sent after her? ))