Log:Hush

2019/03/07 Artemis Talia Samuel Kalwara 1

A radio call goes out on the Omega comms on Sunday afternoon. Artemis voice broadcasts with a note of frustration. {...does this primitive technology even reach far enough? If you can hear this, there's a riot in the streets. I'm near the crosspaths of Sea Breeze and Wharf.} Those not on Omega Guard's comm band may be able to pick it up with their own unusual senses by tuning into the radio wave spectrum. OR...they just happen to be the area to hear lots of shouting in that general direction. There's sounds of glass breaking, people shouting angrily, sirens, car alarms. It sounds like pandemonium on a large scale. Maybe St. Patrick's day is off to a rough start. Sam is never far from a comm unit and so it's not long that he's in armour and heading over to the site of the riot. {Primitive technology.} There's an edge to his tone that suggests he doesn't doesn't enjoy it. {What's the situation exactly?} Kalwara most definitely doesn't have access to anything so advanced as radio. She just happens to be in the area in her continuing exploration of the city. Trying to engage a shop keeper in barter when she hears the commotion. {It's basically a citywide broadcast, Artemis.} Talia's voice rings out in response, her slight eye roll invisible on the Omegaband. She may or may not be getting herself put together for the jaunt over to Sea Breeze and Wharf. About ten minutes later, Talia arrives on a building overlooking the corner of Wharf and Sea Breeze in a comfortable pair of khaki pants, combat boots, and a teal tank top. Planting one boot on the edge of the roof, Talia leans forward so that she can watch the streets below in curiosity. There's no response from Artemis on the Omegaband. As the heroes arrive, the chaos is evident. There's brawls in the street. Everyone's fighting and shouting angrily, looks of rage on their faces. Soccer moms are fighting retirees in the grocery store parking lot. The fire fighters are duking it out by the fire engine that they were just washing outside. Cops on the scene are taking out their batons and hitting people, and sometimes their fellow cops. And the madness seems to be spreading. As people come out to look in curiosity and fear, they soon start joining the fight. It already covers a two block radius and is spreading. Somewhere in the midst of all that is Artemis, crushing her radio in her hand with the same look of anger on her face. Kalwara smiles ans leans against a wall to watch. This is just like her clan gatherings after the drinks have been flowing for a couple of hours.

Sam arrives, flying over the commotion he pauses to see what's happening, he takes in the details quickly, trying to determine the cause of the riot. {Do we have a cause for this riot?} Kalwara comes suddenly alert. Leaving the wall she races toward the center of the maddening crowd of brawlers intent of getting a mother and child out of the fight zone. Sam pauses in speaking. {I've got innocents in need of assistance. I'm going in.} With that Sam dives towards the mother and child as Kalwara responds. {All responders check so we can coordinate our efforts.} Talia continues looking around at the crowd. Nothing and no one particularly stands out to her as her green eyes alertly scan the roiling masses below. {I don't see anything in particular. Is there anything that stands out from ground level?} As Sam and Kalwara dive in towards the fighting, they're aware of two things. There's a mother and child unaffected and trying to flee, and as they follow the cries to get to them, they feel a strange mental force try to wash over their minds.

Kalwara speaks the trigger word for her combat trance, feeling the adrenaline rush sweep through her. The only slight blessing is her clans inviolate customs, go for the biggerst toughest looking opponents. So the mother and child are safe. The rest of the crowd, not so much. The mother ducks under a swung fist, clutching her baby tight as she starts running. "Shhh, shhh, please stop crying, baby," she tries to calm her child. He's swaddled in blankets, red in the face as he bawls. The mother is young, maybe only twenty. She has a pink baby bag slung over her shoulder. Her clothes are second-hand and worn out, and her sneakers dirty. Artemis tosses her crushed comm on the ground and looks around for a challenge. She holds out her left hand and closes her fist, summoning a metal shield to form out of her bracer. Her right hand draws her sword. The amazonian woman looks for a challenge, letting out an angry battlecry. She may be just the target for Kalwara's rage. The mother looks up at Samuel, gasping in surprise. "W-wait...you're not angry like them?" The baby wails more. "Shhh, baby," she says as she rocks the child. "Hush little baby, don't say a word..." she starts to sing to her child now that Samuel is providing some cover. Kalwara senses the drawing of a sword by Artemis. Which immetiately makes Artemis the toughest opponent on the field of battle. Darting through the crowd she answers Artemis' war cry with one of her own, "WARA SURI!" while drawing her sword in a lightning fast motion and cutting down with a cutting continuation of the motion.

Artemis raises her shield just in time, feet digging in as her shield halts Kalwara's blade. Artemis has now found her opponent! The civilians are fortunate they're focused on each other. Talia frowns on top of the roof. A psychic enemy? The source of the unbridled rage below can't immediately be discerned and that's troublesome. Particularly for someone whose whole deal is smashing problems in the face. Rallying herself, Talia skirts around the edge of the roof, shifting her green eyes between the surrounding rooftops and the streets below. She has to keep an eye out for somewhere she can jump to and for any sign of someone behind the riots below.

Artemis doesn't have the usual smile or serious look when she's in a battle. There's just rage on her face, brow furrowed as she scowls. Her shield tries to push Kalwara's blade out of the way as she stabs forward with her sword.

Sam nods. "I'm not affected. We'll talk later, for now I need to get you clear. Hold on." With that he's reaching to pick her up and fly her to a nearby rooftop. "Wait here, I'll be back once I can put a stop to this." Kalwara deflects Artemis' edge with the bracer of her left forearm sufficiently that combined with her turning movement to the right the blade does no damage. The Mother rocks her baby and nods to Samuel. Seeing the two swordspeople fighting, she continues singing her lullaby to her baby.... Kalwara sways unsteadily on her feet, her sword dropping its point to the ground. Her eyes blink and half close. The affect of her song is...well, terrifying in its scale. Suddenly all the raging people start to slow down and yawn. So powerful is her lullaby that they all start curling up to go to sleep wherever they're standing. The only one not affected is the mother. Even the baby yawns, and falls peacefully asleep from crying. Those who are still awake feel the rage lifted from their minds. Artemis blinks several times. Her eyelids, shield, and sword all feel heavy suddenly. She sways a bit, head wanting to drop, but it keeps lifting back up. And then the rage clears. She shakes it off and her face relaxes from that scowl, her sword lowering purposefully. "I...don't know what came over me. I have no wish to fight you," she says to Kalwara.

Kalwara shakes her head to clear it from the numbing effects of the sudden wave of sleepiness. She lifts her sword into a salute, "You would have been a worthy opponent." Then sheathing the sword she asks, "What has happened here. Is this a feature of this realm I should know of?" Finally a slight bow. "I am Kal of Clan Wara, wa suri, clan chief daughter." "Not that I know of," Artemis says. "But the influence was strong to sway so many. My sword is sworn for only causes valiant." She sheathes her sword, not seeing a villain to face. But her shield remains. "I am..." she takes a breath, about to give a full introduction. But she remembers how Ivan keeps telling her that is off-putting. "Artemis." She keeps it simple, though it pains her Bloodlit roots. "Protector of this Realm, currently. But once, I protected many realms." Talia crosses toward the other edge of the roof, where she's closest to another building. As she draws close, however, she hears both the mother's song and feels an intense wave of exhaustion fall across her mind and body. Swaying drunkenly at the edge of the roof, Talia takes a couple of steps back and drops to her knees. One hand comes up to cover her mouth as she yawns enormously, her green eyes closing while she struggles against the sleepiness threatening to overcome her. Sam looks at the mother as they land on the roof, he then looks at the child. "We'll need to get everyone checked, make sure there was no damage done. Then we'll need to get someone down here see if we can figure out what caused this." He motions to the police. "I'll move you down to the police officers, they'll need help wrapping things up and I have collegues to check in with." With that he's once more making to fly the mother to those police that may still be awake. "No! No, please don't take me to them!" The mother begs as she clutches her baby close and tries to step back from Samuel. She has a deep southern drawl to her voice. "They'll take him away from me!" Kalwara nods to Artemis, "I intend no harm to this realm." she says in a very formal manner. Talia climbs slowly back to her feet after a few moments spent recovering from the wave of exhaustion that rode roughshod through her body. She breathes out heavily and shakes her head a few times, looking curiously over at Samuel, the baby, and the mother. Quirking an eyebrow, Talia takes a jog forward again and leaps from one roof to the next as she makes her way toward the trio. "Hey! Um. What's going on?" Sam looks at the woman for a moment. "I see." He pauses a moment. "What do you plan to do? How long do you think this will play out? I can't see a way that this won't end without people getting hurt, probably your child as well." He looks to Talia as she arrives, grateful that there's someone else to deal with the speaking to people part of the job. "We've isolated the source of the problem, now we're discussing how it can be resolved." The young mother looks nervous and fearful. "Ah'll...Ah'll git out of town. We won't come back. Just don't take my baby from me," she says in a panicked whisper, trying not to wake her baby. She looks down at her child and uses one hand to adjust the blankets to tuck him in. "Ah wouldn't let anything happen to him." Kalwara's shoulders slump while her face goes momentarily pale. Then she breathes deeply and fast for a few seconds. "What's the source of the problem?" inquires Talia, having missed out on a lot of the conversation. She cocks her head to one side, looking from Samuel to the mother and back again in curiosity. Tipping her head to one side, Talia looks over at the mother when she starts to panic a little bit. Gently, Talia smiles and holds her hands out in a placating position. "We're not looking to take your baby away. We also don't want to run anyone out of town. We're not a cowboy posse and this isn't the Old West. We just want to help make sure nothing bad happens to you or your child." Artemis looks concerned at Kalwara's paleness. "Are you unwell? Were you hurt?" "You...you promise...?" the Mother asks with wide eyes, hopeful but uncertain about trusting Talia. Sam lets Talia talk to the woman, he instead focuses on trying to figure out how best to determine the childs powers and suppress them as necessary. "I can't promise much, but I will offer whatever resources and skills I've got to help you." He shrugs. "I won't take anyones child away from them." Kalwara nods, "I am well. My people are.. what is the English word? Beserkers? In battle we rage. I have been trained to use this rage, not be used by it. But when rage stops is tiring." Talia smiles placatingly while she speaks in gentle tones, trying to reassure the young woman. She glances over at Samuel once or twice, making sure he's not up to anything, but her attention is trained primarily upon the young mother and her baby. "I'm Talia. It's very nice to meet you," gently intones the petite powerhouse. She offers a hand to the young mother, smiling politely as she waits for an introduction. Artemis is relieved to hear that. "Ah! Berserkers, yes, I know this. Great drinkers. I make it a rule never to gamble with them, though." Sore losers, she thinks of Halstaf the Rager back in the Tau Spring galaxy. Kalwara smiles, "Drink. Yes." Thanks to Talia's coaxing and trustworthy appearance, combined with Sam going along with it, the young mother relaxes. Her shoulders sag with relief. She looks so tired and worn out. "Y'all just don' know how hard it is ta be a single mom," she sniffles. "Ah'm Anna-lee. This is mah boy, Michael," she says quietly. The mother shakes Talia's hand while keeping little Michael tucked in close.

Kalwara lifts the lizard hide container from her belt and popping the stopper takes a long quaff. Then offers it to Artemis. "Winter wine. Six seasons." Artemis smiles gratefully at the offering. She accepts the container. "Many thanks, my friend. I hope in the future we fight alongside each other," she says, taking a swig before handing the container back to her. Kalwara clips the contained to her belt, "I look forward to that day."

Artemis's eyes light up with the potency of the brew. "Winter wine, you say? I like it!" Sam looks at the mother for a moment. "I'd like to invite you back to my lab. I have some ideas as to what's going on, I may even be able to suppress the abilities for a time, but I may need time to figure out how to help you handle your abilities." Kalwara bows again to Artemis, "I will see you again I hope. But I was batering with a trader when I heard this. I should go and finish the trade." Artemis flies up to her teammates as people below start to groggily stir and wake up. "Friends! What foe must we defeat to save the day?" she asks enthusiastically! "Sshhhh!" Anna-lee says to Artemis. Artemis looks puzzled and repeats herself in a whisper. "Friends, what foe must we defeat to save the day?" "We've not got a mother and baby with unknown powers. No foe to defeat, just people in need of help. I think I can make some progress in that regard." Sam shrugs a shoulder as he looks at Artemis. "I can't say how much effort it will take." His tone becomes vaguely pointed. "What with our primitve technology." "I'm sure you'll still manage to cobble together something," Artemis says sympathetically without skipping a beat. She missed the point Samuel was trying to make. Her left hand relaxes and her shield tesselates back into a much smaller space within her bracer. There must be some sort of dimensional compression going on to fit all that metal into those thin bracers. "Let the baby sleep," notes Talia to Artemis in muted tones while she shakes Anna-Lee's hand. Talia's grip is surprisingly strong for such a small, young woman. She smiles gently and looks over at Samuel, shooting him a glance to go with her warning tone toward Artemis. Looking back to Anna-Lee, Talia smiles cheerily and adds, "I think it might be worth it to see what a science guy can do to help you. At the very least, he doesn't seem to be nearly as affected by the powers as the rest of us. So maybe it'd be a good place to rest and eat without worrying?" Anna-Lee nods after her hand doesn't quite get fully brushed. It goes back to help cradling her child. She offers a tired, relieved smile. "Ah'd...ah'd like that. If there were any chance to fix this, ah'd be so grateful. But ah don't have no money. Ah couldn't even afford enough to get baby formula at the grocery store to keep Michael happy and quiet..." she says, eyes welling up as she sounds overwhelmed by her situation. "That's fine. You've got a guy in power armor and a demigoddess looking out for you right now," intones Talia, trying to sound soothing and comforting as she gingerly reaches out to rest a hand on Anna-Lee's shoulder. Shifting her weight, Talia tries to meet Anna-Lee's gaze as she smiles, "Plus I'd be happy to drop by whenever you want. We're here to help you out." Sam nods slowly. "We'll need to make sure the baby sleeps until such a time as we're able to prevent any more outbreaks." He seems to consider for a moment. "I suspect there's an auditory factor to their powers." He nods slowly as he looks at Anna-Lee. "That won't be a problem, I'll see the lab is stocked with anything you need." He looks at the others. "If the two of you could see to getting our friends to my lab, I will go ahead to get the facilities set up."