Various comments on SpaceBattles led to this idea for a more than one million view celebratory Omake...
Rebecca looked up at the sign over the door and slowly shook her head. Checking to her sides, she saw that David seemed confused based on body language and Paul was grinning. She sighed a little, the latter seemed to be taking the entire 'Family' problem as at least half a joke these days.
They'd been trying to track down any of the reptiles for over two weeks now, having found that some reason they'd all suddenly become remarkably difficult to intercept. All three of them had arrived at a place that they'd heard Raptaur or Saurial was apparently mere minutes before, only to have missed them.
She had personally visited one convenience store that Saurial was known to visit and buy cartons of eggs from four times in the last week, each time being told by the shop keeper that the lizard girl had only just left. By the third time he was looking far more amused than she felt was appropriate, causing her to frown slightly. This only had the effect of making him grin.
David had tried chasing down Raptaur a number of times as well, at the DWU, at various places around the city, and even in the bay itself, with no more luck than she'd had. He'd become rather snappy about how often he'd missed her by seconds.
They'd tried phoning as well, the BBFO number having a recording in an irritatingly cheerful and chirpy voice stating that the Family was currently busy and would call back if you left a message, but they couldn't say exactly when due to the big project they were working on. Calls to the DWU had been no more helpful, although everyone she'd spoken to as either Alexandria or Chief Director Costa-Brown had been handled politely and respectfully.
There had been one brief sighting of Kaiju in the distance, apparently talking to some people at a bar on the docks, but the vast lizard-like creature had sunk back into the water as she was approaching, waving to her in a friendly manner, then disappearing completely. Even Armsmaster's quick search with the sonar system they'd installed a few days earlier had shown no trace of her aside from a fleeting contact moving out to sea at high speed, deep below the surface.
A discreet attempt to look inside the rear of the building late one night a few days ago had been frustrated by the discovery that under the wood and metal was a totally impenetrable layer of that weird EDM material, which didn't even have the decency to flex when she'd lost her temper and punched it as hard as she could. Her fist just bounced with a loud thud. Feeling very embarrassed about something that was out of character she'd quickly zipped off across the water, hoping no one noticed.
She and David, at least, were getting really irritated. Paul had laughed quite a lot when she'd shamefacedly confessed to trying to peek inside the facility, and a lot more when two days later an invoice for two hundred and thirty dollars worth of repair work had arrived at the Rig care of Armsmaster, for her attention. It had a note attached politely requesting that in future she make an appointment via the DWU office.
In the end she'd stomped into Danny Hebert's office and loomed over his desk, demanding that he make certain that she be notified immediately when any of the Family members were on site next. He'd calmly agreed, taken her number, offered her a cup of coffee, then waved when she'd left. The blonde girl who was sitting at a table on the other side of the office working on a computer hadn't helped by smirking at her in an unbearably smug manner as if she knew something Rebecca didn't.
Now, finally, they'd learned that Saurial was definitely inside the building and apparently working on some project, not planning on going anywhere. All three of them had hastily rushed over to meet her, Rebecca now wanting more than just a brief chat. She was wondering, in fact, if the entire Family was deliberately avoiding them, but couldn't work out how they were managing it so effectively.
Looking once more at her companions, she half-smiled when Paul made a polite 'after you' gesture to the pedestrian door next to the huge roller shutter. Behind him, off to the side of the small courtyard lined with other similar buildings, she could see a number of people watching them, including the irritating blonde girl and a tall young man in a leather jacket, who seemed to be a friend of hers. The girl nodded politely to her but there was a look of amusement in her eyes.
Slightly gritting her teeth, feeling that they were somehow being played for fools, Rebecca approached the door and rapped firmly on it.
There was a long pause.
Eventually, she heard a faint click as it was unlocked and opened to reveal the tall slender and scaly form of the first of the Family to have hit Brockton Bay two months ago. Saurial looked at them, then smiled, exposing a substantial number of teeth.
"Hi!" she said brightly. "The entire Triumvirate! I'm honored. Come in."
Stepping to one side she waved them through. "You should have dropped by earlier, from what I know you've been in town for weeks. I've wanted to meet you, Mr Foot." She grinned at Paul, who sighed good-naturedly. "Sorry, I mean Legend. Although I thought Kaiju's little joke was hilarious."
"You and half the planet," he commented wryly.
"I hope it didn't offend you too much," she said.
He shook his head. "Not really. Although certain people in my life have had far too much fun with it." He sighed a little, rather theatrically, making her giggle.
Having suppressed a slight twitch of irritation at the lizard-girl's comment, Rebecca took a couple of careful calming breaths. All she wanted to to was talk to her for a while and come to her own conclusions about her. Paul was already of the opinion this was largely a waste of time and they should leave well enough alone and just monitor the situation for the moment, while David was clearly still curious about what would happen in a fight with Kaiju. Having seen the creature at a distance, she wasn't sure this was necessarily a good idea. Paul had had a point during their first conversation.
"I'm sorry we've all been busy," Saurial went on, walking further into the building having shut the door again. "Raptaur is out of town, Kaiju's working on cataloging some wrecks off shore, and I've been making things in between picking up gang members." She frowned a little, her oddly expressive scaled face looking pensive. "Although there are a lot less of those guys around at the moment for some reason. Bit weird. Oh well, I doubt that will last. So what did you guys want to talk about?"
She was walking into the interior of the building, waving to them to follow, which they did. Based on the comments from Emily, Miss Militia, and Armsmaster, Rebecca had expected a single very big room with a smaller self-contained workshop to one side, but what they saw now was a barrier running from side to side half-way down the length of the building. It was a featureless sheet of gray metal.
Their side had the workshop block, a large table with a number of chairs around it on the other side, a smaller workbench running down one side that had several computers and a coffee machine on it and a couple of small refrigerators under it, and some bookshelves next to the large table. Curious, she stopped next to the bookshelf nearest her and scanned the titles. They were all reference books, half a dozen on chemistry, starting at college level and going up to degree level titles, some similar ones on physics and electronics, and quite a lot of biology texts.
In addition there were a number on firearms design, one entitled 'Theoretical Nuclear Physics' which made her pause for a moment, and several mathematics texts that were far past her own experience level.
There were also a surprisingly large number of history books, including three on Roman engineering. These ones looked old but well cared for and had obviously been read many times.
'Interesting,' she mused silently. 'Quite an eclectic library.'
Saurial, in the meantime, had waved Paul and David to a couple of the chairs, and was now watching her with a small smile visible. "Coffee, while I think of it?" she asked.
Rebecca shook her head. "Nothing for me, thanks." David also demurred, although Paul nodded his thanks. The girl quickly made him a cup and handed it to him, then sat as well.
She looked inquiringly at them, waiting.
"It was mostly a wish to meet you and hopefully your sisters," Rebecca slowly began, sitting down and trying to think of the best way to put things. "Considering the rather… unusual... events that have taken place in this city over the last few weeks, and all the interest that has been attracted as a result, we're interested in finding out more about you all. Not that we have any problem with any of it, of course." She glanced at Paul as she said it.
"Of course," Saurial echoed, an easily recognizable expression of amusement crossing her face. "That's understandable. What can I tell you?"
"A little about your family, perhaps?"
She looked at David, then shrugged. "I can't go into details, I'm afraid. It's a security thing, no disrespect intended. We're pretty private as you probably already know. Partly because we just are and partly to protect people who we like from harm. Not everyone is as tough as we are and we don't want them put at risk because some idiot decided to have a go at any of us through them." Her smile was suddenly very predatory. "It wouldn't end well for them, of course, but why risk if it we don't need to?"
Despite herself, Rebecca felt uneasy. There was something about that smile…
"We understand, trust me," Paul put in, somewhat hastily. "We're not going to push. None of you have done anything wrong. This is only really a courtesy call." He glanced at Rebecca and David, a warning look in his eyes. Saurial nodded agreeably, the danger going away again.
"Sure, I get it. You're curious. I would be too." Hopping to her feet, she headed for the door into the rear half of the building. "Hey, want to see something cool?"
"I suppose the answer would have to be yes," Rebecca replied. Paul was already following her. David looked at her, then got up, as did she. The reptilian cape stopped next to the wall and put her hand on it. A door formed out of nothing in a somewhat spooky manner, which she then pulled open.
"I'm working on some body armor I though the PRT and police might be interested in," she said as she disappeared through the opening. They all followed, then stopped dead, looking around. "It's sort of based on the costume we made for Panacea, but using a different helmet design a friend of mine mentioned. It's cool, it opens at the back, and I've figured out how to make it adjustable so different size people can use it. The ones New Wave have are custom made and only fit them properly, you see."
She was heading to a mannequin to one side of the room, which was dressed in something a lot like the normal PRT trooper combat armor, although there were significant differences.
All of this Rebecca noticed absently, since most of her attention was on the other side of the room and what was standing against it.
Paul exchanged a look with her and David, then went back to staring like they were. Eventually Saurial looked over her shoulder, apparently realizing that her bright chatter was going unheard. She followed their eyes.
"Oh, do you like it?"
"Isn't that..."
Rebecca licked her lips. Could this explain everything odd about the Family?
"That looks exactly like..."
Paul was cut off as Saurial joined them.
"I'm quite pleased with it, actually."
"You have a Stargate." David's voice was flat and expressionless.
"Yep."
"A Stargate."
"Yep."
All four of them gazed at the huge metallic ring structure mounted on a complex pedestal near the wall, a ramp leading up to it. It looked exactly like the one from the Aleph show they'd all watched. Heavy cables led from the base down into the floor, and there was a control console with a whole series of large buttons, each having an ideograph on it, to one side of the thing. Each symbol corresponded to a matching one around the rim of the inner ring, while there were a number of wedge-shaped mechanisms mounted around the circumference of the outer one. She could see that the inner ring would rotate while the outer one was fixed in place.
"It took me nearly three days to make it," Saurial said in the quiet. "But it came out pretty well, didn't it?" She walked over and patted the device.
It looked extremely real.
The entire thing was clearly made of metal and must have weighed tons. It wasn't a plastic prop. Rebecca shook her head, quite hard, then blinked a little, before looking again.
It was still there.
"It's just a replica, of course," Saurial told them, smiling up at it. "But I think it looks really cool." After a moment, she shrugged. "Anyway, that's not important. Have a look at this armor. Do you think the PRT would be interested in it? We're still trying to work out a fair price, but I think we can probably be very competitive with the normal suppliers and it's much tougher. A guy I know in the BBPD is very interested in it as well."
She walked past them back to the other side and picked the helmet off the mannequin, fiddling with it.
Rebecca glanced at her, then her colleagues. David was staring at the 'Stargate' with apparent fascination, while Paul was now smiling weirdly.
After some seconds, unable to prevent herself, Rebecca slowly went over to the 'control console' and looked at it for a moment, then reached out and poked one of the symbols.
Just to see what happened.
She twitched as it beeped, then reluctantly turned at the sound of moving machinery.
They watched open-mouthed as the inner ring smoothly turned, almost silently, until it stopped in a new position. One of the wedge-shaped mechanisms on the periphery clicked out then back, a light on it illuminating brightly.
The console had a screen on which the words 'Chevron 1 Encoded and Locked' appeared in friendly blue text.
"Um..." She found herself unable to continue.
"Hey! Please don't fiddle with that, I had it set up just right."
Saurial dashed over, looking mildly irritated, to stare at the thing. She sighed. "Now I have to reset it all." They watched as she quickly hit several more switches in a rapid sequence. The ring started rotating again, each clamp engaging one after the other. There was a rising hum building somewhere below them and a feeling of static in the air.
'Chevron 2 Encoded and Locked'
'Chevron 3 Encoded and Locked'
'Chevron 4 Encoded and Locked'
'Chevron 5 Encoded and Locked'
'Chevron 6 Encoded and Locked'
Rebecca watched the screen with a building feeling of worried confusion.
It was only a TV show, after all. She knew that. Mildly entertaining, some good acting and funny dialog, but only a show.
So why was she getting nervous?
Saurial muttered to herself as the ring suddenly stopped, an alarm beeping somewhere. Looking annoyed, she slid under the console and poked around. "Ah." The lizard-girl re-emerged, smiling. "Still working the bugs out." With the press of a switch, the ring reengaged, rotating the final amount to allow the seventh clamp to lock and illuminate.
'Chevron 7 Encoded and Locked'
The hum peaked, then there was a crackling sound. They watched in awe as the center of the ring disappeared into a cloud of sparkling blue energy, exactly like on the show. The rippling light looked like water, impossibly hanging vertically. Saurial smiled happily.
"Good, isn't it?" she chirped. Reaching out she tapped a button and the light vanished instantly, all the indicators around the ring going out at the same time. "Great, that's back in the right position. Please don't fiddle with it, guys."
She wandered off again.
"What just happened?"
David's query was plaintive.
"I… am not sure," Rebecca sighed. She turned to look at Saurial who was now peering into the inside of the helmet, an expression of concentration on her face. "But I think we should be cautious."
Slowly approaching, she waited for Saurial to look up at her. "How did that do what it did?" she asked carefully, pointing back at the ring structure.
"Hmm? Oh, that's just a holographic projector I got from Leet. Cool, isn't it? Looks exactly like the real one on the show."
"Holographic?"
Rebecca didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.
"Yep. I like that show, I always wanted a Stargate of my own. Now I have one." Saurial grinned. "We all like movies. You humans have really interesting imaginations. Raptaur wants to make some props now as well, and Kaiju was talking about one she liked."
"I see," Rebecca replied slowly.
"Yep, it's pretty big though." Saurial laughed. "We're going to need to find some land outside the city, I think, if we make her a full scale Battlestar Galactica replica."
When they left an hour later, Rebecca didn't know if she was more or less worried than she'd been before, but she was certain of one thing.
She was extremely confused.
And rather relieved that Saurial didn't, in fact, have a working wormhole transportation device. That would just have added an extra layer of complications to what was already far more complicated than she liked.
It still left the question of where the Family came from in the first place up in the air, though.
Sighing, she decided she needed a drink. Possibly two.
Taylor stared at her replica, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. The little joke on the Triumvirate had been amusing, but it had also led to some interesting thoughts.
"You really think we could link a portal spell into this thing?" she asked the Varga out loud.
"I believe so, Brain," he replied, sounding interested. "It would be an amusing way to do it. Portals are advanced magic, though, so it would take some time to teach you how to do it. Perhaps one day."
She smiled. "That could be a lot of fun. Oh, well, back to work." Returning to the bench she picked up the helmet again, while she waited for Amy and Lisa to get there.