ic Red Net

[Cubismo]

One of the perks of being android was not needing sleep, so when the plane was suddenly got rocked by the explosion Replica was the first one on her feet.

 

Even for her it was difficult to keep her balance as the plane shifted to one-side, sending sensitive (and heavy) computer equipment everywhere. 

 

Regardless, Replica made it out of her seat and made it towards North and Synapse. "The plane has been compromised. One wing is presently on fire and as you can no doubt guess were dangerously veering to one side."

 

As she explained their situation, Replica ran the numbers in her neutral net, trying to predicate if the damage done to the plane was so catastrophic that trying to make a "safe" landing would be impossible. 

 

 

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

Synapse jolted awake when the plane veered to one side following a loud explosion.  "Bloody hell!"  She exclaimed as she got up off the floor and managed to get to her feet, however unsteadily.  "Well the wing being on fire is not quite as much of a problem as losing one of the engines.  As long as it is still working we should be able to land, though we certainly do not want to delay any landing."  She stated as she started toward the cockpit.

 

Once there she was going to try to learn from the pilots what the situation was with both engines and ensure they were calling in an emergency landing to the nearest airport (if they were not doing so already). 

[Supercape]

GM

 

North, for his part, awoke from his half sleep in a state of quite reasonable anxiety. He looked at Replica and Synapse hurridly. "Its been a while since I flew a plane...." he gulped. As it happened, he was an amateur pilot (a skill picked up decades before when working in hard to reach areas coordinating medical emergency care). But...

 

"A very long while..." he emphasised. "But that doesn't look good. Quite the reverse, in fact!"

 

And yet worse was to come. 

 

As Synpase and Replica burst into the pilot's area of the WEST area, they saw the pilot knocked out. The co-pilot, holding a concealed small pistol, was busy ejecting the fuel tanks. 

 

He looked up as the two heroes entered. 

 

"The Sleeper never sleeps" he muttered, giving them an essentially pre-recorded gloating speech. 

 

And the sky lit up with a trial of partially ejected fuel. A stream of fire through the skies...

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

Synapse gave a very unlady like curse as she saw the scene in the cockpit, angry with herself for not taking the precaution to scan anyone on the plane to ensure they were not compromised by the Sleeper.  But it was not far too late to lament on poor decisions, she needed to salvage what she could from the situation.

 

"Stop the dumping of the fuel!"  She called out to Replica, pointing toward a control on the panel as she focused her gaze on the co-pilot and a blast of red psychic energy flashed from her mind to attack the co-pilot's.  He would eventually wake up with a terrible headache, but she did not have time to be overly gentle in stopping him.

[Cubismo]

Replica immediately moved towards the plane's control plan while Synapse busied herself dealing with brainwashed co-pilot. Given her colorful use of language Replica had to figure she was lamenting not seeing this possibility occurring and preparing for it ahead of time. In that they were of a similar mind since Replica couldn't help but cringe at the situation. She should have been smarter than this. 

 

It couldn't be helped now. Replica simply filed the failure away in her neutral net for future assessment as she gently moved the knocked out pilot out of the way and found the control mechanism for the plane's fuel reserves. Shutting that down and stopping the leakage was simple enough but actually making a controlled landing with the plane in its current state would be another matter.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The co pilot may well have been under the influence of the Sleeper, but that afforded him no protection against the mighty psychic powers of Synapse, whose mental energies knocked him clean out in a moment. He slumped straight into her arms, his pistol falling out of limp hands to clatter onto the floor of the cockpit. Fortunately, it did not go off. 

 

But that was small fortune compared to the bigger picture. Even with Replica's speed, the fuel was almost gone by the time she reached the console. And even with the fumes they had left, one engine on the left wing had gone, and the other engine on the same side was coughing. 

 

It was nearly Winter, and northern Finland was ice and snow on top of leafless proud trees. It was another small fortune - better than bare naked mountains and rock. 

 

The Plane started descending rapidly, and Replica and Synapse could hear a well - justified Scream from North as the descent continued - far too fast. Replica did her best, unnatural reflexes keeping the Plane as true and steady as possible and, for now...airborne...

 

Edited November 4, 2018 by Supercape

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

It was easy enough for Synapse to remove the threat the co-pilot represented.  While he was easily dealt with, he had already done more than enough harm to the plane and put them in a very dangerous situation. 

 

While Replica was trying to do what she could to level the plane out, it was quickly clear that there was little that could be done as the fuel was all gone.  Closing her eyes a moment, Synapse took a deep breath as she focused another one of her abilities, pushing her telekinesis further than she normally used it.

 

Opening her eyes once more, Synapse reached out to the everything around her with her telekinesis, as red psychic energy spread over the aircraft.  As soon as she had the plane and everyone aboard in her grasp, Synapse started to pull against the plane’s momentum, trying to bring it to a halt…

[Supercape]

GM

 

The mighty telekenetic prowess of Synapse held the plane in the air, impossibly, against all laws of physics. Synapse, Replica, and North could hear the fuselage grinding under the opposing foprces of gravity, momentum, and psychic power. But...it held!

 

"I'm glad you're here...." whispered an almost petrfied Doctor Norris North, his face just as white as the snow that lay below them. 

 

Metal creaking and grinding, that same snow was excellent bedding for the 747, and it landed - apparently with little damage - softly on the snow, with the forests and icy rivers around them. If it were not for the empty fuel tanks, it could probably even still fly! 

 

"Youve saved WEST a couple of million pounds, and its directors life...." said a grateful Dr North to both Replica and Synapse, exhaling slowly. He wiped his brow. 

 

"Although we aren't out of the woods yet. Literally and figuritavely" he added. "What happened?"

[Cubismo]

Replica described the situation to North as expediently as she could. 

 

"One of the pilots had been secretly under the Sleeper's control," she said, pointing to the now unconscious pilot on the floor. "He knocked out his co-pilot and attempted to force a crash by leaking our fuel. Synpase was able to stop him and the crash with her powers." 

 

Replica took a look scan of the jet's exterior through the cockpit window. Synpase had managed to do the seemingly impossible and keep the plane mostly intact. Chances with some repair and of course new fuel it could even manage to fly again. That didn't really matter though given their current situation. They needed to salvage what they could here and move out. 

 

"Given this attack I think we can safety assume our security has been compromised and Sleeper knows were coming. We may be able to retain the element of surprise though if we act quickly though. He and his followers may believe were dead. If that is the case than I believe we should move as quickly as possible on their base in Moscow before they can learn otherwise." 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by Cubismo

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

By the time Synapse was satisfied that the aircraft was safely settled on firm ground and released her telekinetic hold over it, sweat was dripping down the side of her face.  Dropping back into one of the empty seats in the cockpit, the Englishwoman took a deep breath as once again fatigue settled over her.  While she had been working on her telekinetic abilities in the recent years, she had rarely pushed them to this extreme.

 

"Well, the more accurate description would be that the co-pilot was one of the Sleeper's dormant agents, unaware of the mental conditioning placed within his subconscious until it was triggered and took over.  Likely something happened that triggered the activation, as I have never seen anything to suggest the Sleeper could exert his influence over his dormant agents unless in physical contact with them, but I suppose it might be possible."  She commented, adding to what Replica had stated about the situation.

"But whatever the case, you are right, we have to assume they know we were on our way to them.  We can only hope they do expect us to be dead now."

[Supercape]

GM

 

"How? How?" muttered North, recovering from his fear and letting his anger seep in. He was not an angry man by nature, but he had just nearly died, and he was vexed at how exposed they all were. "Mother Board? Whoever she or he is, could have hacked anything we have, I suppose. Or any other agency. Or the Sleepers influence could have exposed us. Uhhh....we are completely exposed and transparent...." he concluded, mournfully. 

 

"They must know we are on to them, and are trying to stop them. And the clock is ticking. If we can "Play dead" then we should...." he agreed with Synapse. 

 

"....as much as I hate to say it, maybe we should blow up the plane...." he winced at the cost. "At the very least, lets cut of the radio...."

 

"Either that, or we need to get to Moscow as fast as possible....and we seem to be in the middle of a snowy forest in Finland miles from anywhere, so I don't know how fast that will be...."

[Cubismo]

Their situation had decidedly gone down a path that Replica neither foresaw or particularly cared for. North's assessment was on point. They were several miles away from their destination and with a compromised WEST they couldn't simply get another transport and continue on their way without more likely than not tipping off the Sleeper and his brainwashed agents.  Which that in mind Replica came to the conclusion that they had a limited assortment of options.

 

"I believe your solution has merit Dr. North. If we do destroy the planet than the Sleeper will likely think us dead which will allow us to catch him unaware. As for how we can leave from here in an expedient manner to Moscow, I would suggest we contact the Finnish authorities and see whether we get them to help us get to Moscow. It's a risk to be sure but if I use my technopathic abilities to contact them then perhaps Mother Board won't be able to catch wind of our survival." 

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

"No, contacting the authorities is likely a mistake."  Synapse stated, sitting back upright as she forced herself to carry on.  "The Sleeper tends to find ways to place his unwitting agents in all levels of government and other critical infrastructure agencies.  It is a safe bet that he has such agents in most, if not all, the governments in Europe, but at the very least those closest to Russian.  Contacting the Finnish authorities just increases the chance he will learn we survived and are still coming for him."

 

"No, if we are going to play dead and destroy the plane, then Dr. North needs to take the two pilots and find some place to lie low for the moment.  The two of us," Synapse motioned to Replica in addition to herself, "need to find our own way to Moscow."

[Supercape]

GM

 

North nodded at both Replica and Synapse. He was finding it hard to think straight. 

 

They could be anywhere! anytime! I mean...even I could be a sleeper!

 

No! That way madness lies!

 

He shook himself into focus. "We desperately need a way to counter Red Dawn. Between the Sleeper and Mother Board we are defenceless. I...hate to ask more of you, but if you can find out some way of protecting the world against them, the world, I am sure, would be most grateful...."

 

He pondered the issue of blowing up the plane. "Much as it hurts to say, I think deception is our best weapon. If they think you are dead, they will have no reason to dismantle their training grounds in Moscow. True, they may do so out of pure paranoia, but they will at least think they have breathing space to do so, rather than just burn it" he reasoned. "But...you must take every precaution not to be spotted on your way to Moscow. I hope you can speak Finnish..." he explained. 

 

"And we do have a change of clothes around here. Including winter clothes. And even some emergency survival kit" he explained. "I have been out in the field before, many many years ago, when I was working for Medicine Sans Frontiers" he added, rather proudly. "I am rusty, but I think I can survive in the wilderness if we get enough supplies and equipment"

 

"All thats left is to make the plane look like it has crashed. Or exploded. That's a bit beyond my skill set..."

[Cubismo]

"And quite beyond mine as well," Replica piped in. At best she could have able to use her strength to damage a critical system of the plane but that likely would have taken and more importantly would have been extraordinary dangerous. No. The android would have to leave that task to someone else better suited to the situation. Fortunately, Replica had a good idea of who would be up for such a task.

 

"Synapse, once we've retrieved everything from it, do you think you could use your telekinesis to trigger the plane to explode? Given our lack of dynamite or any other kinds of explosives I believe it would be the most effective way of destroying the plane."

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

As both Dr. North and Replica mentioned that causing an explosion to help fake a crash was beyond their skill sets, Synapse gave a small grin.  "Then you just need to spend a bit of time hanging out with a former Kali cultist/anarchist from another dimension then."

 

A more serious expression came over her face as she added, "but in any event, I can certainly make this look like a crash.  But it won’t simply be causing an explosion after we leave, as that will make the scene look anything like a normal crash.  We need to have debris scattered over a wide area.  So, it will be a bit of work."

The Englishwoman took a look at Dr. North.  "You and the pilot should get going before we get to work.  You should keep the co-pilot sedated as well for at least a few days, just to be sure no information gets back to the Sleeper."

 

As Dr. North and the pilot gathered together survival gear and supplies for them to find a place to lay low for a few weeks, Synapse put on a cold weather parka and set aside some clothes to change into after the Doctor and the others were gone.  In the meantime, she went outside with Replica and looked over the area around where the plane had set down. 

 

"The thing with plane crashes, fire damage usually only occurs once any sections containing fuel and perhaps a few other systems come to rest.  The plane is more likely going to suffer impact damage, with large sections becoming shredded due to the mass and velocity at play.  The fuel fires will mainly be located in isolated parts of the wreckage."

"Unfortunately for us, we likely do not have enough fuel to accurate simulate such a fire, nor do we have access to sufficient amounts of anything else to create a fire hot enough to simulate burning air craft fuel.  But in fact, we should not try to simulate a large fire, as any authorities that investigate are sure to discovery all the fuel that was dumped by the co-pilot.  So we only need some small fires and to start some in what little fuel might remain."

 

"The first thing we need to do is break apart sections of the plain, and spread the debris over a wide area, as well as creating the damage one would expect to the ground and trees the plane would have crashed through.  So, if you could start by tearing off the ends of each wing and then taking those back about one hundred and fifty meters and using them to break apart trees out at either end of the plane’s wingspan for about thirty meters.  Let any parts of the wing that break off lie where they fall, eventually we will break them apart further and scatter those parts throughout the area.  I will use my telekinesis to start breaking trees in the center that would have hit the main fuselage."

[Cubismo]

Replica nodded her head in understanding as Synapse told her the plan. Given the circumstances and their lack of resources it was a good one by Replica's assessment that used what they did have to their advantage. Ripping apart the plan would take more time than she would have hoped for but there's to be done about that other than hoping that the Sleeper and his agents didn't abandon their Moscow headquarters by the time Synpase and her made the long journey from the wreck to their facility. 

 

"Your plan seems sound, Synapse. Let's put it in motion." Replica immediately got to work on the plane's wings. She put her artificial muscles to work and used her full strength without restraint, a rare opportunity for her outside of her training simulations in her lab, since fists allow could kill a human that wasn't sufficiently armored or protected with one punch. She proceed to rip the wings off the plane first, removing the sections from the fuselage like a branch from a tree. Once she did that the android used the torn portions as primitive bludgeoning tools for the nearby trees that were left and right of the wreckage, knocking them down or or simply damaging them severely one by one.

 

To say the torn wingspans made for poor and unwieldy tools would be an understatement but Replica was nothing if not determined and eventually she was able to get the task. In the end she made a rather impressive mess of the area, which in the end was the whole point of the task. She scattered what remained of the wings randomly across the snows of the forest and proceed to return back to Synapse and what remained of the downed plane. 

 

From what Replica could infer she was almost done with her part of the plan, with much of the area directly behind the plane being flattened by her psychic powers. 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2018 by Cubismo

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

The work Replica was doing with the tips of the wings was only the beginning of what Synapse had in mind.  Once Replica was done with the wing tips, Synapse set her to removing specific parts of the plane’s fuselage and battering it before scattering it about the area behind the plane where Synapse had destroyed dozens of other trees. 

 

Once Dr. North and the pilot had left with the co-pilot, Synapse went into the still complete section of the fuselage to change out of her costume and into some of the civilian clothes she had brought with her.  "You can call me Dee."  She said to Replica once she had changed.  "We just need to finish our disassembly of parts of the plane and trashing the interior."  She stated, directing Replica with what she needed her to do as Dee began working on prepping what was left of the fuel and the emergency oxygen tanks to be detonated and cause exploasive damage to the wreckage and start some fires.

 

Once they had finished prepping the plane to appear as if it had actually crashed and gathered what equipment they were going to take with them, Synapse prepared to use her telekinesis to start the fires.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The plan went essentially without a hitch. Debris was duly scattered, fuselage was suitably wrecked, and with the judicious application of telekenesis, combustibles predictably combusted. 

 

In all, a great success. A controlled fire, belching smoke, and a trail of debris stretching back through furrows of snow. It looked exactly like a crash to the naked eye, and by anyones estimation it would take a feat of forensic examination and, or, genius to determine otherwise. Possibly some paranoid personality traits too - although it seemed that paranoia was not in short supply in the minds of the Sleeper and Red Dawn. 

 

North had taken a fair chunk of survival gear and food with him, intending to camp out in the cold woods for as long as it was safe too. The pilots did not look severely injured, but even with medical supplies and Norths considerable medical experience, there was no cast iron garuantee he would not have to seek full medical care. Bar a hiccup, he estimated he could keep out of sighth for two weeks fairly safely. Three, if they could stretch rations. Possibly even longer if they could successfully hunt or forage. However, he judged two weeks as the maximum distance Replica and Synapse could reasonably count on. In any case, he gave them both the co-ordinates of the proposed camp based on detailed maps of the area. Near fresh water, plenty of wood, out of sight, out of wind. 

 

As for the rest of the salvage, there was food, water, clothing, and plenty of scientific equipment including computers, camera's, binoculars, even hand held WEST scanners. There was only so much they could carry, of course...

[Cubismo]

With North and the pilots in relative safety, and the plane thoroughly wrecked, Replica knew that it was time to finally move on. She followed Synapse's example and got out of her jumpsuit and changed into some causal winter clothing she had brought along. She didn't need to worry about the Finnish cold but a woman walking around completely bothered by the icy weather would be eye-catching, the exact opposite of what she wanted right now.

 

Once that was taken care of Replica looked over what salvaged equipment she should bring along for their journey. The WEST scanners would come in handy as would the cameras and binoculars but the thing that Replica most considered vital right now was the map of their general area. Nothing else mattered after all if she and Synapse couldn't find there way of the forest to a town or village where they could get a vehicle.

 

She turned to Synapse. "I've found a map of our location. There's a village nearby. I believe that we should go there and find a mode of transport that can quickly get us to Moscow, unless you think that would be to much of a risk?"

 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Cubismo

[Supercape]

GM

 

The WEST plane of course was primarily based on bleeding edge technology. But Director North had been prudent...when faced with any possible unknown variables including EM disturbances and dimensional anomalies, it paid to have back ups. 

 

In this case, detailed topographical maps of the known world. Northern Finland was not exactly the most populous area, and at this time of year primarily snow, darkness, and northern lights. But it had not been omitted from the map files. It was not in high scale, but it would certainly do - roads, mountains, lakes and rivers could all be clearly seen. 

Edited November 29, 2018 by Supercape

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

Dee looked over at the burning wreckage of the plane, satisfied that all their hard work would make it very difficult for the investigators to realize the plan had not actually crashed.  She then glanced over to Replica as she mentioned a village being located nearby.  Scanning the map a moment, she gave a small nod.  "That sounds like a plan.  The sooner we get on the road to Moscow the better."

 

The Englishwoman slung the pack full of clothes and other gear up onto her shoulders.  "Best to get moving.  It will be getting dark soon, and last thing we want is to be stumbling around in this cold and snow in the dark."

[Supercape]

GM

 

And so...

 

The air was bitter and cold, but had a beautiful crisp quality to it. The night grew dark, in a manner of speaking, for Replica and Synapse were treated to an impressive display of northern lights. 

 

It was about an hour walk to the nearest main road, which ran west-east, and, from the maps, would reach the Russian border about thirty miles away. Despite the cold, the survival clothing kept Synapse warm enough along with the march, although anybody in such situation would surely appreciate a hot bath and hot bowl of soup. 

 

It was less than a minute before the pair saw a pair of beam lights approaching from the east, presumably driving towards Russia. Of course, in the darkness and the dazzle of beam lights, it was hard to make out what the vehicle was. 

 

With eyes, that is. 

 

Synapse's radar identified the vehicle as a transport truck (presumably transporting something from Finland to Russia), whilst the mighty mind of Synapse detected the brain of a single driver (of, she judged, average intellect). 

[Cubismo]

The trek through the snow getting to the main road had been trying. Not because of the cold or wind but because the snow made it difficult to traverse the forest and reach road as quickly as she would have preferred. Still, they made it to the road despite the snow with the help of the map and radar and as luck would have it a vehicle was approaching. Synapse told her that their was only one driver in the vehicle (a transport truck apparently) and that he or she wasn't an exceptional mind.

 

Good, Replica thought. If that was the case than maybe the driver won't be overly compelled to ask to many question. Replica made the universal gesture for hitchhiking and yelled in out Russian and Finnish for the driver to stop. 

 

 

[Thevshi]

Synapse

 

Dee managed not to grumble too much during the trek through the snow covered wilderness toward the road.  Part of her was wishing she had never agreed to come along to investigate this possible lead on the Sleeper and Dr. Zero, and that she was instead back home with Erik.  But, she knew that she needed to do what she could to try to stop whatever plans the two old Soviet villains had in store, so she somehow managed to trudge on.

 

Once they were down by the road, it did not take long before a vehicle came up on them.  She let Replica take the lead in trying to stop the vehicle and get them a ride, waiting off to the side to assist if needed.