Chapter Two: A Whole Old World

[Ice Hellion]

Shrugging his shoulders, Adrian turns back to Alice

I don't know for you but I don't have an enemy that would go that far to confuse me. And if not for an enemy, why waste so much energy and resources?

Turning around

If you want, we can go through everything we've gathered.

[aipsylon]

"Alice, we need to be in the same page when it comes to what we know. You worked on this project, and so know more about what is going on than anyone else here. " He kept his voice calm and steady, making sure to keep a warm tone in his voice. He wss pretty sure attacking hard he could get her to crack, but that had two major disadvantages. First, he would lose a good deal of her trust, something he would need if he was isolated in this time with her. Secondly, there was a chance that Suki would give her some place to hide behind.

"Take your time, and tell us what you know about the project. I know it is not what you were selling it as on the front. The Arc has armor thick enough it could crash land and likely survive intact, and more that that as things got dicey back there there was not panic and worry, but purpose and fervour. Just say what you can about what you know. Anything you can tell us might help us figure everything out."

[Akirapryde]

Alice looked down at her ring and let out a long sigh, “It was an opportunity of a life time for me. My parents brought me and my brother to Lyran space to escape the clans. I worked so hard to prove myself to loyal citizen. Something my parents could never achieve, being former clan scientist.” (OOC: Eric knows that there is more to that than meets the eyes. However he is unsure if it has anything to do with the situation at hand). She paused only for a moment.

“I worked my way to a teaching position on Tharkad at a local university. I had finally reached a place of respect when my world fell apart. I lost my job because I refused to pass a student simply because of his parent’s military connections. I remember that day well, it was raining. I walked my way home trying to figure out how I was going to break the news to my father. Professor Angsoft waited for me along a bridge that I had to take on my way home. We talked friendly as if he had known me all my life, but it was the very first day I had ever met him. I don’t know how he found out, but he knew about how I lost my teaching position. He offered me a position as his led researcher and assistant.”

She looked up to Eric, “working for Professor Angsoft is nothing you could explain. The man had this way of just knowing things. Sure his name carried all kinds of weight. I had read a paper he wrote during my understudy, it was called Butterflys. A remarkable paper about same actions having massive effects on the direction of the entire Inner Sphere. He was the leading scientist and critic that would test any and all theories regarding Time Travel. He had a way of picking apart a theory and finding its flaws. He coined the state, Time is not the means of travel, but witness to humanity's greatest achievements. The man was brilliant."

"I remember a few months after we first met, we were getting ready for a major experiment. This experiment was designed to last for an entire year as we were working on the collector. From the beginning very beginning, the goal was to unravel the secrets of the universe. To push Jumpship travel beyond its limits.” She glanced down at her ring then back to Eric, “I swear, this has been the goal of the project from the beginning.”

She didn’t allow anyone a chance to speak, “We had not been two weeks in to that experiment, before Professor Angsoft ordered the entire thing shut down. He gave us some new formulas and an entirely new direction to go. It was like being in the middle of a storm and he knew the only safe way through it. I had never seen him so determined or driven. It won’t be the last time he ordered an experiment to be shut down before we were finished.”

She looked to Adrian and Jake, “no, the project wasn’t what we sold it to the Lyrans. Because of the way Professor Angsoft ran the project, we had nothing to show for the massive amount of funds we were burning through. I can’t explain it, but it seemed like we were getting closer to something. But it was like we were skipping the work only to reach a marker or point. But Even I was at a lost as to what we were driving towards. But you get sucked in to this sense of excitement. It wasn’t long before we all were excited to see if Professor Angsoft would take us in a new direction or if we would continue on more day. But money was always a factor for the project.”

She turned back to Eric, “It was my idea that came up with the whole Task Force X. My father and other scientist within the Clans had spent so much resources trying to find Task Force X. It was a myth, nothing more. But the Lyrans didn’t know this. So we planted just the right information to bait the Admirals of the Lyran Navy. This opened up our project to funding that we never dreamed of. It made building the Arc possible. Professor Angsoft designed the Arc personally and had me conduct quality control for it. I was not allowed to short any part of its construction. I was even able to talk my parents in to helping us gather information. Detailed history of the Clans, time before the fall of the Star League. Anything and everything we could think of.”

“Professor Angsoft’s dream was to send the Arc back across space at sub-light speed. So that survivors of the Dark Ages could see how the cycle of war will destroy our civilization. It was a noble idea. But the Arc was only second to the primary project. The collector would capture the energy of the universe so that we could break it down to its fundamental parts and study it. Think about it, understanding creation its self."

She looked down at the ring and let out a bit of laughter, “on the way out to Phoenix Station, I asked him why he picked me. I seemed so out of place compared to the core scientists of the project. I mean after all, sure there were other assistants, but I was the youngest of the group. He laughed at my question and said time will give me my answer. He gave me the watch off of his wrist and made me promise to never allow my ideals to be compromised.”

She looked up again and back to Eric, “I don’t know what more you want from me.”

(OOC:anyone who made their rolls, you have little doubt that everything she said was true to the best of her ability)

[Kunanaki]

Piped up after quietly eating his meal, ignoring any requests to his attention beyond that. It was not as if he wasn't pliable to stating "Hello, Doing well thanks." it was more or less the need to consume tasty things and get something in the stomach that had been empty for awhile. After ravenously polishing up and then getting involved in the story telling, the Stranger decided to add in.

"The phoenix is arising. That's the reason we needed to rush from one ship to another. That's all I've heard to add." Piped in for those listening. Quietly thumbing the surface edge of the table, awaiting a little more to happen. Making sure he was heard was a simple flexing of the diaphragm to pull out the parade style voice.

[Ice Hellion]

Looking really annoyed by the last sentences.

The phoenix is arising? Did you make that by yourself or did you read a fortune cookie?

Turning to Alice

And for you, I can only say Great Scott! This is a really great story and I am just wondering if this Professor was so good, why would his project fail?

Looking at everyone

Now, we need to check when we are. Our ComStar groupie here...

Pointing to Suki

had an idea. Could it work? If so what do we need? And if not, does anyone with the space navigation or scientific background have a better idea?

[Akirapryde]

For a moment, Alice thought about offering an answer to Adrian but then chose against it. She stood there hoping that her moment of exposure was over. She didn't like having the spot on her like this but at the same time she understood why it had to be. She thought of everything that was going on and the possibilities. Finally she spoke up, "Despite my hopes that this is a trick. Finding out the truth as to where we are and more importantly, when we are. Once we figure out these two answers, then we can plot a better path forward."

[Ice Hellion]

Turning back and pointing out to Alice

Just two questions: what is Task Force X?

[aipsylon]

"Task Force X was a lie that the professor came up with to get himself funding after all look how much the houses spend on war, what is a little bit more to the war fund." Eric piped up, casting a glance at both Alice and the captain after he did.

[Akirapryde]

Alice nodded as she looked at Adrian, "yes Task Force X was lie. The origins of the myth came from a group of Star league warships that became lost during Reunification Wars. The Clans knew about the myth and vested a large amount of resources finding the lost Task Force. However after decades of searching it was deemed a fools search. Professor Angsoft was faced with a termination of funding, so I suggested that we claim that we could located the missing Task Force and deliver the missing ships to the Lyrans. We falsified some of the records and the Lyran Navy did the rest of the work for us. It was a bit funny as the effort kind of took on a life of its own. The Navy even set up their own task force to make sure that they gave us everything we needed to find the missing Task Force. The Lyran Navy jumped at the opportunity and opened the flood gates of funding. They even asked us to create a list of probable ships of the Task Force that has survived. The night before Professor Angsoft was to present this list, I created it. They were blinded by illusion of warships to see what we were really doing."

She paused for a moment, "you said you had two questions Adrian."

[Ice Hellion]

Yes. Let me sum it up my way.
You went into a team with a scientist that works more or less on his own project, gets funding from the military while lying to them, build a ship when there is no need for that for his official project and still allows you to talk to your parents, which for the military are Clanners, to gather intel.
Did I get it right?

Pausing

I don't know much about military projects but something seems really wrong here.