Tiffany Korta

Starshine “The Moore Act was like well back in the 1900s, right? Erm the 90s I think, technically I’m still not allowed in Shamong City limits even now… Or I guess in the future? Can I say how I really hate time travel!” Whilst she’d been assured that the glowing field made her bulletproof, she wasn’t looking to test that theory any time soon. So she quickly floated back down to the rest of her teen friends. “We should probably listen to them and get into cover! We’re in a dark age of no internet or wi-fi!”

Hey Rosalind is a local(ish) girl! Knowledge (History): 1d20+2=10

The Traveller “May I introduce Justicar Vor’an, sworn protector of the Star-Khan! So no we’re going to let the ship land for now…” Sitara smiled sweetly at Patriot “And Earth’s still using nuclear weapons? No wonder the Lor consider us so primitive!” She activated her wrist computer to display a map of the local region of the Milky Way “The Stellar Khanate is, or has been, an aggressive expansionistic galactic power on the edge of Lor space. They were mostly kept in check by the Grue Unity, but they’ve been licking their wounds since all that trouble with the Incursion. The new leader of the Khanate wants to halt this expansion and even drawback to try and gain control of his space. It could mean peace for that region of space for quite a long time.” She took a deep breath before continuing with the whole reason they were here. “To do this he suggested a marriage between himself and Amara Val-Ren, leader of the Praetorians. When she gently and politely gave a solid maybe, he did the macho thing and decided to prove his worth as a husband he would have to go and prove himself as a hero. And I’m afraid he picked our little planet to do all that!” She looked around at the assembled Humans, and Atletean, before looking back at her fellow Praetorians. “Any questions?”

Starshine Rosalind was running late and almost skipped past Bernadette giving what looked like the tour, but suddenly The Bracelet began to glow and give a series of what (she assumed) was excited chirps. If the Bracelet was excited about someone they were probably worth checking out. “Oh hey Bernadette, and hello new person!” she tried (badly) to act like this was just her naturally just running into them “I’m Rosalind… erm... Starshine! A senior here, but don’t hold that against me!” she laughed a little nervously. Really you’d think after the last few years here she’d manage to not come off as weird and awkward to new people.

The Traveller Sitara had been putting it off for a long time (and she could do a long time really well) but it seemed that circumstances meant she was returning to the Sol System for more than a quick visit. "गृहे स्वागतम्!” she said mostly to herself, in what sounded to those in the know as archaic Sanskrit, before she switched to flawless English “Nice to meet you all, though Sitara will be just fine! So you haven’t you been briefed on what lover boy has been up to?” she grinned a moment before more seriously adding “This might get a little complicated, what do you know about Galactic politics?”

Starshine “So much for not being conspicuous!” Rosalind bemoaned mostly to herself as she pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt, hopefully enough to cover her face, as the bracelet anticipating her need began to glow softly “Oh well, here we go!” Taking to the air, surrounded by the normal glow, she got a sensible distance from the goons before shooting a burst of hard light to take down one of them.

Starshine “My Gran left her entire family behind to come to America, whilst pregnant with my Mom. You can't choose your family, but you can choose whether to interact with them as she likes to say. Well, she tend to say it in Greek so it’s more Δεν μπορείτε να επιλέξετε την οικογένειά σας, αλλά μπορείτε να επιλέξετε αν θα αλληλεπιδράσετε μαζί τους.” she grinned hoping the humour meant her words didn’t sound to preachy. She knew how lucky she was to have such a good, if a little weird, family and Rosalind wasn’t one to try and press her opinion onto others. Helpfully something was going on at the shop to distract from the conversation. “It gets pretty heated when a sale’s on, those old grannies can be ruthless when money is involved, but I think this is something else. Shall we go and take a look?”

Starshine There was a time last year when Rosalind had bemoaned a quiet year, almost no adventures or shenanigans whatsoever! Now in a be careful what you ask for she had, it seemed, been displaced in time and space twice already in only a few months. Still, she couldn’t help but be the sensible one, thinking of what they should be doing right now. Not quite taking charge, more just nudging things in the right direction. Taking charge was not something she’d ever thought about, less panic attacks that way, “We should probably get off the streets, then find out when we are. The League must have protocols for this kind of thing right?” Figured that the time travel lessons wasn’t until later in the semester. On the plus side maybe this could count as extra credit?

The Traveller It was pretty difficult to surprise Sitara, she had seen almost everything through the centuries, but this one managed to catch her unaware. They’d been so looking out for betrayal they’d missed the obvious idea of a political (love?) alliance. “I might join you on that meditation retreat, or hit some dive bar and get blind drunk, again!” she whispered to Moon-moth Then with a skill gained through many a night weaving through large crowds (often to reach the bar) to work her way toward the lucky blushing bride. “Should congratulations be in order?” she whispered into her boss's ear, it might be a serious political alliance but she couldn’t help but enjoy the moment.

Starshine's Initiative: 1d20+0=3

TO THE STARS BY THEV Starshine Increase Base Melee by 1 Increase Fortitude save by 1 Increase Reflex save by 1 Increase Will save by 1 Increase Luck by 1 The Bracelet 15 (75PP Device, Hard to Lose, Feat: Restricted 2 [Only Usable by You]) Alien Artifact [62PP] Body of Light 7 (14PP Array, Feat: Dynamic Alternative Power 3) [17PP] Dynamic Alternative Power: Flight 7 (up to 2,500 mph / 22,000 ft/rnd) [14PP] Dynamic Alternative Power: Super-Strength 7 (up to +35 STR) [14PP] Enhanced Constitution 14 [14PP] Enhanced Strength 12 [12PP] Enhanced Feats 8 (Attack Focus [Melee] 2, Attack Specialization [Hard Light], Dodge Focus 5) [8PP] Flight 1 (10mph / 88ft/rnd) 1 [2PP] Hard Light: Damage 8 (range: 80ft, Extra: Range) [16PP] Impervious Toughness 4 [6PP]

Baby (Grue Spacecraft, Vehicle) Officially Birthing Unit TT3-47, Baby's kind are designed to deliver a new decanted clone to its designated location undetected. Though designed to be operated via a Mother Unit the craft has basic intelligence to carry out this task itself. Decades of operation, as well as exposure to cosmic rays, have increased Baby's intelligence to the point that she is an independent being in her own right. Whilst she cannot talk Baby can get her opinions over easily to others, expressing empathic feelings that feel somewhat like being embraced by a relaxing warm bath. Or that's in general as she's generally friendly and relaxed, whoa betide anyone who gets her ire... Traits: 4EP Strength: 30 (+10) [0EP] Toughness: +9 (5 base, 4 Size) [0EP] Defense Bonus -2 Size: Huge [2EP] Features: 3EP Communications Navigation System 1 Remote Control Powers: 30EP Concealment 5 (all visual senses, hearing ) [10EP] Flight 5 (250 mph, 2,200 ft/rnd) [10EP] Healing 4 (Feat Regrow, Flaw Limited to Others) [5EP] Regeneration 4 (+2, Disabled [5 hours], Injured [20 minutes]) [4EP] Totals: Traits (4) + Features (3) + Powers (30) = 35 Equipment Points

Mother Unit (Grue Computer, Minion) Mother Unit is a cube of matt black material with the exact dimensions of 4m x 4m x 4m (12 ft x 12 ft x 12ft). Made of extremely advanced material the black surface reflects minimum light meaning it looks exactly the same in all conditions. When communicating the surface seems to shimmer slightly giving an appearance of motion, though this is a psychic projection instead of a physical action. She speaks in a rather posh matriarchal voice, giving the general appearance that she knows exactly what is going on, thank you very much! She is always polite and friendly, even if it's in an ever so slightly condescending way. Whatever happened to the original Daphne seems to have affected Mother Unit's memory of the last few days before her disappearance, though this doesn't matter to her as this Daphne is to her digital mind the same person as the one from before. Abilities: -10 - 10 - 10 + 2 + 2 + 6 = 16PP Strength: - (+0) Dexterity: - (+0) Constitution: - (+0) Intelligence: 34 (+12) Wisdom: 14 (+2) Charisma: 16 (+3) Combat: 0 + 0 = 0PP Initiative: +0 Attack: +2 Defense: +2, +1 Flat-Footed Grapple: +0 Knockback: +4 Saving Throws: 0 + 0 + 0 = 0PP Toughness: -2 Fortitude: Immune Reflex: +0 (+0 Dex, +0) Will: +2 (+2 Wis, +0) Skills: 36R = 9PP Computers 8 (+20) Skill Mastery Gather Information 7 (+10) Skill Mastery Language 1 (Grue [Native], Galstandard) Notice 9 (+10) Skill Mastery Pilot 12 (+12) Skill Mastery Feats: 4PP Eidetic Memory Online Research Skill Mastery 1 (Computer, Gather Information, Notice, Pilot) Well-Informed Powers: 4 + 12 + 4 + 30 + 8 = 58PP Communication 4 (telepathy, 1 mile) [4PP] Comprehend 3 (Languages - Read All, Speak All, Understand All, Understood, Machines - Speak To, Understand) [12PP] Datalink 4 (telepathic, 1 mile) [4PP] Immunity 30 (Fortitude Saves) [30PP] Shrinking 8 (Flaw Permanent) [8 PP] Totals: Abilities (4) + Skills (9) + Feats (4) + Powers (58) = 75 Power Points

Mz Grue Power Level: 7/12 (180/180PP) Unspent Power Points: 0 Trade-Offs: None In Brief: A reborn Grue out again to experience all Earth's wonders. Catchphrase: "Oh wow!" Theme: Save the World - Daphne & Celeste Alternate Identity: Daphen Celeste (Secret) Birthplace: Birthing Unit TT3-47 Residence: Claremont Base of Operations: Claremont Occupation: Student Affiliations: None now Family: Meta-Mind (Gene father, very distant), Mother Unit. Description: Age: 16 Apparent Age: 16 Gender: Female Presenting Ethnicity: Grue Height: 1.73m (5'8") as Daphne Weight: 60kg (130lbs) as Daphne Eyes: Naturally White, Brown as Daphne Hair: Black In her natural form, Daphne looks fairly typical of her species with her red skin, brow ridges, pointed ears and a mouth, unlike Drones that do without. On a second glance, however, her appearance is subtly different, with her brow greatly reduced and her mouth having natural lips. But the most obvious change is her long flowing hair, from a species that naturally has no hair. Through exposure to cosmic rays, her metamorphic fields have been altered meaning that this is her natural form, though as a shapeshifter she can choose to adopt the more standard forms of her species. And even though her species has no concept of gender, Grue being either cloned or produced by binary fission, Daphne chooses to express herself as female. The original Daphne had based her human form on a character she'd watched on television, but as she'd gotten used to Earth she had begun to form her own distinctive identity. Her rebirth has finalised this with her adopting her own unique form, taking on the identity of a sixteen-year-old African-American woman. As Mz Grue her costume is the silvery-white jumpsuit that was provided by the Grue for her to wear, being a morphic fabric that can adjust size, shape, colours and textures as needed to whatever she needs it to with but a thought. On the chest is the three-pronged star that is the symbol of the Grue Union, Daphne thinks that she’s reclaiming the symbol and using it as a force of good. And whilst she’s a little less fashion-conscious than when she was younger, she still dresses stylishly her costume abilities allowing her to appear perfectly tailored for whatever frame she is wearing. History: At the turn of the twenty-first century envious eye turned towards a certain area of the Orion-Cygnus arm, a Grue infiltrator ship was dispatched but never arrived at its destination. Instead, it came into conflict with a Lor Cruiser and after the Grue attacked, according to Lor Naval records, the Grue vessel was destroyed apparently with all hands. In the battle, however, one of the infiltration/birthing units, Baby, was ejected from the craft with its precious cargo. Damaged from the combat the pod activated its Grue podling occupant, with the onboard portable AI, later calling itself Mother Unit, began to scan for a signal to signify a location for their infiltration mission. However, the signals were scrambled and the AI mistook the signals from Earth as the locking signal. So this little party began the sixteen light-year journey towards the Sol System under sublight powers. The data from these signals was used to help rebuild the damaged databanks, whilst the pod slowly repaired its battle-damaged systems. Though with damaged radiation shields it podling occupant was bathed in cosmic rays, along with those Earth signals that Mother Unit was using to construct a personality to determine how best to raise this young podling. Little Daphne grew up in this environment of the ship limping towards Earth at light speed, learning about this world from the carefully picked entertainment. Apart from instinctively knowing Grue the isolated podling had no connection to the telepathic influence of the Meta-Mind, instead, she learned to read and write the languages English of the shows. With the aid of the only parent she knew Daphne formed her own identity and gained a sense of right and wrong from the heroes she saw on these human shows. With the cosmic rays causing alteration to her cells Daphne developed differently than the Drone she was originally designed to be, instead, she took on more human features (much like a Grue Metamorph). She spent her time practising her shapeshifting and telepathic abilities, as well as learning as much as she could about Earth culture from its broadcasts. From this information she chose a name for herself, Daphne Celeste, feeling that she was ready to experience her new home. During her time on Earth Daphne had done a lot to embrace her new home planet, making many friends with the heroes of Freedom City. She has also ended up living among the women living in the DuTemps castle, being a gregarious person who enjoys the company of those around her. From her superhero activities adopting the title of Miss, now Mz, Grue making efforts to be accepted by the common folk of her adopted home. This effort finally led to her being offered a position of Freedom League Auxiliary. Everything was going great for Daphne as an accepted superhero in Freedom City, she had even begun to use Mz Grue over her original Miss Grue identity and had begun to form her own unique identity. Then she just disappeared, and no one knows quite what happened, even Daphne, her body has never been found and it's generally assumed she was taken out but another villain or the Grue themselves. What they, or anyone else, knew what that Baby, had made a spare clone to keep in storage in cas eof emerganceis. Activated the Birthing Unit released this new Daphne clone onto the world. Or at least as far as anyone can work out, this Daphne is again sixteen but her form is more like that the older Daphne had been forming for herself, and her knowledge of the world is completely up to date. She doesn't however have any memories of her superhero days, only vaguely recalling people that she has met before. As she's a clone there's no way to tell if it's a revitalised old Daphne or a completely new version of the same Grue. Not sure what to do with this new Daphne it was decided to send her to Claremont to become a student again. Personality & Motivation: Everything about Earth is new again, and Daphne is enjoying Earth and everything it has to offer. She is often amazed at things with an optimism that everything working out has suited her well through the darkest of times. As a telepath, she knows the best and worst of what humanity can and does think, though she knows not to pry into people's thoughts unless it's an emergency. But despite this she still gives people a chance to prove their better nature, trusting in the inherent goodness she believes are in (most) people. Though never to the point that she would endanger another, she is still a hero after all. Whilst she can, and has experienced the full range of emotions the one that she has never felt the need to seek out is physical love. Partly this is from her alien nature, a clone species does not need sex after all, but neither has it a need for love and family which she has experienced many times. It’s mostly however that she feels no need for sexual encounters, instead, she is happy to experience romantic love in all its shapes and forms. Powers & Tactics: In her enthusiasm, Daphne tends to go off half-cocked spending no time assessing the situation and instead rushing into danger to try and help people as quickly as she can. She will attempt to use her shape-shifting abilities to best cope with the situation at hand. Power Descriptions: A reclone of the original Mz Grue has all the standard abilities of a Grue and though she's lost her phasing powers (for now) she seems to have kept her telekinetic powers. If anything they seem more powerful than they were before. Complications: Grue are you? Daphne's knowledge of her own species is based on a very damaged copy of the original database contained in Mother Unit. As such, she knows almost nothing, apart from the media portrayal of them, about her own species. Grue the Looking Glass Almost all of Daphne's knowledge about Earth comes from humanity's broadcasts into space. As such her knowledge is slightly skewed and she expects life to behave just how she had experienced things from watching television and movies. Hide and Grue Daphne know that as a Superhero she must preserve her secret identity to protect her loved one. Not that her strange habits make this easy sometimes. Grue the best Daphne is a natural optimist and naive and tends to naturally assume that people are telling her the truth. Even when all evidence should be telling her the exact opposite. Congrueity Shapeshifters and Grue especially are feared and hated by a majority of citizens of Freedom City. Daphne feels that this is just a massive misunderstanding and everything would be fine if only she could explain things to them. Mothering Grue During her time in space the Birthing Unit, now calling herself Mother Unit, has gained some unusual habits based on the broadcasts she has monitored. She considers herself Daphne's literal mother and occasionally will intervene if she considers that her daughter has been placed in too much danger. The GM can take control of Mother Unit to try and influence Daphne's actions or even attempt to stop her acting. Gruesome End Someone had it in for the original Daphne, and may still be out for this new clone. Abilities: 2 + 0 + 4 + 2 + 2 + 6 = 16PP Strength: 12/28/28/4 (+2/+9/+9/-3) Dexterity: 10 (+0) Constitution: 14/22 (+2/+6) Intelligence: 12 (+1) Wisdom: 12 (+1) Charisma: 16 (+3) Normal/ Density/Growth/Shrinking Combat: 8 + 4 = 12PP Initiative: +4 Attack: +5/+2/+7 Unarmed, +4/+2/+6 Base Defense: +5/+3/+7 (+2 Base, +3 Dodge Focus, Size -2/+2), +1 Flat-Footed Grapple: +6/+13/+13/+1 Knockback: -1/-7/-11/+1 Normal/ Density/Growth/Shrinking Saving Throws: 5 + 7 + 7 = 19PP Toughness: +2/+6/+6 (+2/+6/+6 Con, +0) Fortitude: +7/+11 (+2/+6 Con, +5) Reflex: +7 (+0 Dex, +7) Will: +8 (+1 Wis, +7) Normal/ Density/Growth/Shrinking Skills: 60R = 15PP Bluff 7 (+10) Concentration 9 (+10) Diplomacy 7 (+10) Gather Information 7 (+10) Knowledge 9 (Popular Culture) (+10) Language 1 (Grue [Native], Galstandard, English, Spanish) Notice 9 (+10) Sense Motive 9 (+10) Feats: 18PP Attack Focus (Melee) 1 Dodge Focus 3 Fearless Improved Initiative 1 Minion (Mother Unit) 5 Equipment (Baby) 7 Powers: 8 + 6 + 5 + 8 + 27 + 11 + 9 + 26 = 100PP Communication 8 (telepathy, 2,000 miles) [8PP] Comprehend 3 (Languages - Speak All, Understand All, Understood) [6PP] Detect Emotions 5 (Super-Senses, Telepathy, Acute, Radius, Ranged) [5PP] Detect Minds 6 (Super-Senses, Accurate, Acute, Radius, Ranged) [8PP] Grue Nature 12 (24 PP Array, Feat Alternative Power 3) [27 PP] Base Power: Density 8 (+16 Str, +4 Toughness, Weight x5 [600lbs], Immovable 2, Super-Strength 2 [heavy load 520lbs]) [24PP] Alternate Power: Growth 8 (+16 Str, +8 Con, +2 Size categories [15ft]) [24PP] Alternate Power: Morph 8 (Any Form, +40 Disguise) [24PP] Alternate Power: Shrinking 8 (-8 Str, -2 Size categories [2ft, 8lbs], Feats Normal Movement, Normal Toughness) [24PP] Immunity 11 (Life Support, Sleep, Starvation & Thirst) [11PP] Mind Reading 7 (Feat Subtle 2 [unnoticable]) [9PP] Power of the Mind 11 (22 PP Array, Feat Dynamic Alternative Power 4) [26PP] Base Power: Telekinesis (range 70ft, Str 35 [heavy load 3.2 tons], Feat Attack Focus, Extra Damaging) [22PP] Dynamic Alternate Power: Flight 11 (25,000 mph, 220,000 ft/rnd) [22PP] DC Block ATTACK RANGE SAVE EFFECT Unarmed Touch DC 16 Toughness Damage Unarmed (density) Touch DC 24 Toughness Damage Unarmed (growth) Touch DC 24 Toughness Damage Unarmed (shrinking) Touch DC 12 Toughness Damage Mind Reading Ranged DC 17 Willpower Mind Probed Telekinesis Ranged DC 22 Toughness Damage Totals: Abilities (16) + Combat (12) + Saving Throws (19) + Skills (15) + Feats (18) + Powers (100) = 180/180 Power Points

Starshine Rosalind looked up from her phone at the mention of her name, taking a second to figure out what had been said. “Oh have they exorcised the theater already?” realising how that sounded she added with a smile “Claremont problems right?” It was weird how quickly she’d adjusted to the weirdness of the school, she was going to miss it when she graduated in the Fall. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought but I’m not sure they’ll want me to direct again. I can put a word in to however doing the next play though, volunteers are always a struggle from my experience.”

The Traveller Just before they had entered the council chambers Sitara gently stopped Justicar Vor'an for a moment. “Here you’re his protector and you wouldn’t be doing your job if you didn’t have this…” she passed him back the Power Staff “If this is going to work we need to take a chance to trust each other!” What she failed to mention was that she’d quickly patched in a kill switch, if anyone tried to use it on the council she could quickly shut it down before trouble could start. She might be willing to trust them but only so far, she’d seen her share of betrayals in the past and wasn’t willing to see another. “What do you want to bet that this all involves the Praetorians getting in danger again?” she whispered to her nearest college after getting into position as part of the honour guard “I swear some deity or other loves to see us struggle!” she added with a touch of mirth.

The Traveller Sitara was enough of a diplomat to nod her head in respect, despite her troubles with the Khanate he was still here making an overture of peace. “With your permission, I’d like to escort you all to the Praetorian compound before making arrangements to talk to the council.” As she spoke she was quickly working out the best approaches to get them there safely, potential trouble spots and everything she’d learned from many centuries of similar tasks. “Whilst you’ve gone to a lot of effort to prove your intentions to us, not everyone is going to see it the same way. Trust me you’ll be perfectly safe under our protection.”

Starshine's rolls: Notice: 1d20+10 24 Stealth: 1d20+0 12

The Traveller Sitara had considered trying to bamboozle the Chief Engineer into examining the ship's systems, but it really wasn’t necessary it was already obvious that this wasn’t a ship ready to make war. And if it had been a trick it was such a big one that the Praetorians with thousand if not millions years of experience managed to miss. Moving to the front of their little group she faced the Justicar, giving a friendly reassuring smile to their hosts. “As my colleagues have already mentioned you obviously have a problem, and if possible we can help. So please tell us what’s going on and we’ll start from there!”

Starshine: 7 posts + 3 post (Rollover from Traveller) = 10 posts = 2PP Assasin's Quick (2) Family Matters (3) Tropical Getaway: Bernadette's Version (2) The Traveller A Paradigm Shift (4) Zhenshchina-voin: 1 post (Rollover) = 1PP + 1PP (Ref Post) = 2PP

Starshine “Ah yes, I’m Rosalind, as already explained I guess… Pleasure to meet you!” She gently lowered herself onto a lounger as if it was about to make an attack or something. Sure she was safe she relaxed a little and tried to get up to speed with the conversation. “My Gran has a collection of vinyl she bought with her, some Greek crooners that I’ve never heard of! I guess that makes her hip and cool!” Rosalind knew for sure her Gran was very cool, but a suitable joke was never to be missed.

Starshine Rosalind was not the beach kind of person, all those sexy people lying on the beach showing off there tans was not for her. Not that she minded the heat, she was a Jersy girl after all, along with good Greek genes for just such climates. So whilst the others created a ruckus she snuck back to the house to maybe catch some sun. She was wearing as much you could get away with whilst still calling it beachwear, a colourful sarong over a sensible one-piece bathing suit. Turning the corner it quickly became apparent that she wasn’t the only one who’d had the same idea… “Oh… erm… hi, nice place you have here!”

Starshine Rosalind looked down both paths, as if just looking could reveal the obvious trap just up ahead. Alas, all she could see was the obvious path and the scary spooky one. “I can’t help but feel that whatever we choose we’ll find some sort of trouble!” she then added with a shrug “But if we’re trying to stay stealthy a glowing energy field is not a good look in a shadowy forest, so by default I guess I vote obvious path!”

Starshine Rosalind wanted to get all indigent and lecture the mom about using her daughter as a source of cash, but she reminded herself that she didn’t know the whole situation and it could always be much more complicated than she thought. So she settled for an evil glare before turning her attention to her friend. “My mum is having a kitchen disaster and I need to pick up some emergency supplies, we’ll have enough for a plus one if you have some time to help out?” she gave a genuine friendly smile, beside her Gran kept asking why she never bought friends around.

The Traveller If you wanted to get a feel of what was really going on you went to places like this, where the real work was done to keep things running. She was a fan of blending into kitchen staff and listening to the gossip, and bars had their own advantages. But her spiritual home was Engineering spaces like this one, most of which she had designed major systems you still saw around. “Everything looks good here…” she looked up at the massive power core, knowing just what to say to get the Engineers attention “But the resonance sounds out, I’d say about 0.1% or so…”