OOC: Writing out Max temporarily until OnlytheStrong gets back. Thanks for the heads up, DarwinofMind.
After the Tour
Harvey answers Nathan's questions by pointing him back toward control, "The techs should be able to answer all of that. Go ahead and head on over, just remember to get to medical for your physical sometime today."
Max follows Amy to medical for his physical.
Howie: Private Briefing
Staunton takes Howie into his office and closes the door. The general offers Howie a seat and then sits down in his executive style chair behind his solid oak desk, the United States flag displayed prominently on the wall above and behind him.
The general speaks, "Son, I'm about to tell you something you're not going to believe but I need you to accept that it is, in fact, true. You and Lieutenant Jameson were part of a mission classified above top secret. You and the other members of your unit were subjected to a hypnosis based memory reassignment after the mission so there would be no chance of the details of the mission getting out. Everyone but you and Jameson has since suffered from some sort of post traumatic stress related issue. One member of your unit committed suicide. Another one attempted suicide and is still in a psychiatric ward under observation. Another went on a psychotic rampage and gunned down four people before the police were forced to kill him. The last one went AWOL. We don't know where he is at the moment."
He takes a sip from his coffee and then continues, "That mission is the reason you are here. You don't remember it, but you've had experience dealing with the enemy we faced in the portal room. The test run we did on the crystal last month wasn't the first time we used the thing. A year ago, we did another test run, using the thing as a time travel device, sending your team to the future. The future is pretty damn bleak, son. Those things are there and it looks like they're running the show. When we tried to bring you back, you ended up some...uh...when, else. We're not sure when exactly, but you had a prisoner with you and you lost her and the field scientist we sent with you, Dr. Zachary Logan. I think those alien things somehow knew about our second test run from having contact with you and your unit, which is how they were able to be ready for us."
Connor: R&D
Harvey goes with Connor to the Research section of the facility. Several smaller fragments of the core crystal are being worked on by a few scientists and technicians. One of the scientists, a grey haired woman with a large, black-rimmed glasses, looks up and addresses Harvey, "Is this our Bermudan?"
Harvey smiles, "Yep."
She rolls her chair over to another table and grabs a laptop, "Mr. Lang, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dr. Janice Sullivan and you are my new best friend."
Harvey excuses himself, "You guys have fun, I'm going to go catch up with Max."
Janice just nods, as she taps away at her laptop, speaking to Connor, "We found that niftly crystal doohickey in 2002, in the Caribbean. Turns out that that was the source of all the Bermuda triangle vanishings and such. The crystal was randomly activating and sending people to other times and dimensions. Well, these accidental travelers ended up leaving a curiously altered genetic trace when they procreated in the new time they ended up in. Descendants of the Bermudans, as we like to call them, have a couple of unique qualities. For starters, every single Bermudan descendant we've managed to locate, including you, has an abnormally high level of psionic potential. Your brain gives off a high level of a very specific type of radiation that seems to activate the dormant areas of the brain that contain telepathic type abilities. The radiation is harmless otherwise, but it is something we can track, which is what we used to find you. That radiation is almost identical to the radiation the crystal gives off. Which brings me to my second point...you don't actually need a recall timer. You can just sort of think your way home...we think you may even be able to control your destination when you use the crystal. With practice and development of your telepathic abilities of course."
Nathan: Control Room
Nathan finds his way to the Control Room, adjacent to the Portal Room, where all the computer systems that control the crystal device are located. Several technicians are there, enjoying a little bit of idle time since the Portal Room is inactive at the moment. A large window gives the Control Room a full view of the Portal Room, about a half-floor above the Portal Room.
One of the techs sits up and greets Nathan, "Heard you had some questions about how this all works. Well, I'm your guy."
Amy: Medical Bay
Amy gets a full physical examination from one of the doctors in the facility's medical bay. She hears Max in the room next door, recieving a similar exam and sees Harvey enter the room Max is in as Amy is being given a clean bill of health. As Amy is getting dressed, Max and Harvey exit. Harvey is trying very hard to hold back tears, his arm around Max, who appears to be in shock. Amy catches the end of Harvey's words to Max...
"I know you want to go after your mother, but we need to get this fixed first. Your mother's dad died from a brain tumor, I'm not going to lose you to one, too."
The two men continue walking out of medical and Amy loses sight of them.