[Aside] Unfound Destiny

A story of humanity coming back from the brink of extinction at the hands of a reptilians race of purifiers, and becoming the dominant force in the galaxy. Now, decades later, forces behind the scenes plunge the hard-won peace into civil war.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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Pollie was definitely surprised in her trajectory coming to a slow as she approached Uso. She had appeared braced to collide into the man, but when the reality of the situation revealed itself, she puffed her cheeks out. Despite reversing and gaining control of the situation with no incident, the woman seemed displeased.

"I did warn you, I simply failed to account for your horrendously disgusting habit of being perfectly calculated," grumbled the scientist, the glowing orbs under her goggles searching around elsewhere in the room. When they came back to Uso, the glow turned red, "Ugh! Do not accost me with your smoldering grin and your perfect cheekbones! It's absolutely unseemly."

She flailed her arms, separating herself from Uso's assistance, and standing a respectful distance away now. Her goggles a rosy pink, she finished out her demonstration, as if nothing happened. "Provided further funding to the Anomalous Materials division, my teams feel they can isolate the elements that produce the results in these samples."
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Kai
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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"So basically," Destiny began, doing her best to hide the chuckle that the two younger scientists' antics had garnered. "If you can figure this out, we can make a teleporter, or even faster than light travel that does not require a traditional Warp drive?" The head Professor of the Briggs Laboratory smirked- As immature and enigmatic as those in her employ could be, they did of course produce results, which was why she employed them and paid for their research.

"Perhaps if we could find ourselves a bonafide Alchemist, it might speed things along?" she teased, knowing how Kashevski simply detested the antiquated terms for those who could harness the laws of physics and nature by sheer force of will, as they now were trying to do. Bemused, the redhead turned to Uso. "And what of your research have you come to show me today, Zhangjie?" she asked of the other.

Somewhere behind Destiny, the starmap that she had been searching through earlier made a subtle change to itself, with a sudden red blip appearing somewhere on the three-dimensional map, pulsating gently as it began to also display the coordinates pertaining to the dot.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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Uso sighed, and rolled up his sleeves. Coursing over his many tattoos were faint, iridescent lines like those in his neck. The glow of it all was diminished greatly after the little stunt with Pollie. From his back pocket he withdrew a small pink gem that seemed to cast its own light far greater than what ought to be refracted by the room's own. After a few moments, it faded to a natural gleam while the young scientist's eyes and arms gained an unnatural brilliance. Zhangjie knew it and he shot Kash another grin.

"Kash spoiled the surprise a bit, but as you can see, generating the fields and manipulating them are feasible with a sufficient source. The conversion rate from isolated refractive storage to biological source is still rather poor: maybe a fifth of the power could have been channeled from a refractive source to achieve the same results. My hypothesis at this juncture is that while a hundred percent ratio is impossible, as in all energy transference, most of our loss is a result of ignorance and inefficiencies in the biological host." He looked a little chagrined at this, admitting his own failures, but also embraced it as part of science. Failure was often as helpful as success in their work.

"We've been able to kinetically displace objects with a biosource previously, but recently we've proven it's possible to also decelerate entities foreign to the source." He gestured to his cyber-eyed colleague. "Point in case. And, additionally, with sufficient energy," he gently lobbed the gem he still held. It peaked and began to fall, then slowed, and finally hovered as if caught in a thermal updraft above Zhangjie's hands. As he channeled the strange energy in his body, the marks on his skin flickered, like electrical pulses on a circuit board. Slowly, he allowed the gem to fall into his hand.

Another sigh. "It's... I'm not happy with how little we've accomplished but you told me to slow down so..." He had difficulty looking at Briggs just then, and seemed deeply focused on the gem and securing it in his pocket.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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Pollie didn't seem too content in unknowingly being part Uso's demonstrations, much in the same way that she had forced him to play part in her own. There was an intellectual slap to the maneuver, a quiet, unspoken 'gotcha' between competitive minds bereft a medium of physical conflict or exertion. Despite getting the reaction she desired out of Destiny(minuse the Alchemsit comment), not to mention a similar sight of final application for her work, Uso's swift stealing of the show stuck in her craw.

"OF COURSE, one should take matters of direct exposure to Shaver fields with the utmost seriousness, as they are not fully understood. Shaver fields are energy, and may as well have the same health effects as types of radiation. Overexerting a personal exposure could lead to mitochondrial disease or various forms of organ failure."

Dr. Kashevsky pressed a finger to the bridge of her nose, lifting a pair of glasses that she hadn't worn in many years, "Dr. Zhangjie, your frustratingly astute observations in regards to energy dynamics in shaver fields are only mitigated by your inspiring ambitions. If I may make a suggestion. Consider the use of mechanical augmentation, certain Anomalous Materials would likely help in the transference of..."

The lights under the screen mesh of Kashevsky's 'eyes' slowly traced back to Destiny, and then past her. "... energy..."

She put her hand to her mouth, her pink eyes turning blue.
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Kai
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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Entertained by the energy of the two younger scientists, Destiny was nevertheless impressed by both of their presentations. While both phenomena could be reproduced to a degree via the hyper-advanced Magi-technology, or M-Tech, to have it affect to the degree that both demonstrations given today showed, without any sort of outward technological influence was an enormous jump into the classically titled Arcane studies, though Kashevky would certainly contest that they called it Shaver manipulation or some such nonsense. As such, the redhead clapped, cheering the two presenters on their findings.

However, Pollie's sudden change in demeanor definitely caught the elder scientist's eye. "What is it, Pollie? Is there something on my face?" she asked, taking the sleeve of her coat and wiping in an exploratory fashion to see if she had maybe gotten some of her breakfast on her cheek.
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Kokuten
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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"Ah huh," Pollie's mind began trying to rationalize everything she was seeing, particularly the blinking light. The galaxy was a vast, unknowable place, and place names weren't the woman's strong suit. If it wasn't written down it might as well be next door. She restrained her hands, placing them just over her hips.

The only thing she knew was the system she was in, the one her parents lived, and Yorna, the scene of that terrible battle that she had heard of so many times. Hetra was not a planet in Yorna, as each planet in the system was named consecutively after the star.

It had to be a mistake.

"It seems your map has taken some interference from all the magic emanations," said Dr. Kashevsky, hastily dismissing the possibility that Destiny's madness could be justified. "It seems to think it's got some sort of reading."
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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Zhangjie was ameliorated by their praise after voicing his concerns that it was very little progress. He still felt that way, but they were his colleagues-- the only minds relative in prowess to his own-- and their approval was the only kind he sought. The scientist was about to address the concerns of possible organic deterioration when Kashevsky indicated the map was active.

"Well you..." He shifted gears, from science to curiosity rapidly. He approached the table with something approximate to awe. Amazement, probably. "Dr. Briggs, it does seem that one of science's longest searches is coming to a close..." His still vibrant eyes fixed on his superior next, wondering silently what she would do and how she would respond.
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Kai
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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"What do you mean..?" Destiny began, turning to follow Zhangjie as he approached the table with the holographic projection of a sector map hovering above it. Upon realizing what it was displaying, her eyes widened, and she rushed over, nearly bowling poor Kashevsky over in her haste to observe the projection.

"That's definitely his signal.. and it's coming from.. Hetra? But his last signals were nowhere near that sector!" She was quite confused, but there was no mistaking that signal, as the elder researcher had designed it herself and installed it on the chassis that would later become the container for Asher's consciousness.

"I'm sorry, but, I must quickly thank you for the presentations, and then find myself the next transport off of this planet and headed toward Hetra," she apologized, almost muttering the words as her mind raced with possibilities, remembering at the last moment that the lab owned several spacecraft, one of which was her own personal transport for research expeditions and the like.

"I suppose you can file your reports in the normal way and I will go through the data when I return-"
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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Being somewhat smaller than other people, Pollie was used to being bumped around, at least in her youth. These days, being shoved around like a common intern was enough warrant for rebuke. Being shoved aside by a friend because of a man was enough warrant for apoplectic rage. The small researcher's eyes glowed an indignant red as she caught herself on a table.

It felt like she had just been tossed aside, and that hurt.

"Now wait one second," growled Pollie, turning around with all of that hurt. "You are not just going to fly off the handle into the unknown by yourself, chasing a ghost. Destiny Briggs, the Chief Researcher of the Briggs Laboratory, is not endangering the future of scientific learning for an animal of a human being!"

Even as she said it, she knew that Destiny would just ignore her, Uso would probably just smile his stupidly brilliant, smug grin and they'd both dismiss her as 'just being Pollie'. This time would be different, as her digital goggle-eyes became full of deadly purpose, flat-lining at a blue color.

"I claim the find," said the woman, coldly, the hurt in her voice ringing low. "As I saw the sample's coordinates first, I am claiming it for the purposes of Scientific Achievement as prescribed by Republic Intellectual Laws and invoking Briggs Laboratory expeditionary protocols. Considering your proximity to the sample, you are not an appropriate leader for this scientific excursion. I nominate myself, with Doctor Zhangjie as my executive. You may accompany me and what detail we coordinate to recover a sample representing great scientific potential for artificial and natural-born intelligence."

Smaller and more diminutive than Destiny, Paula was easily overwhelmed by Destiny's presence, but crossed her arms all the same. Going against the Chief Researcher like this was unheard of, "Dr. Briggs, do you approve of my expedition?"

The alternative, the three of them would know, was denying Paula's request. Denial would require justification, or worse, taking the matter to a council of arbiters to determine the intellectual rights to the find.
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Mr. Blackbird Lore
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Re: [Aside] Unfound Destiny

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Uso was nodding along robotically to Destiny's words-- all easily anticipated. Then along came Pollie, throwing the Hail Mary of wrenches into the machinations of mankind's greatest minds.

Zhangjie did a double-take as Pollie's visor shifted colors, and nearly dropped his jaw at her words. He kept his composure enough to merely fire his eyebrows into his hairline. Then, with a smile at the audacity, he recovered. Before Destiny could regain herself, the Chief of Integral Biomechanics chimed in, "I accept and second the expedition. Your objectivity is nonexistent regarding this matter, and it is essential to the posterity of this Laboratory that you be held to the standards of professionalism you expect of us all." The glint in his eye told them both that he knew it was all nonsense- but it was perfect, political nonsense that would easily sway the board- if it came to such a thing.
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