Nomadic:Sessions:20210109

Valerie rides straight at R1 (the thief who drove away the Navigator, now hastily trying to conceal the vehicle with loose brush), slamming into him at 60mph, breaking his bones. He skids along the ground, no "blue field" protecting him.

R2 draws a weapon and fires at Valerie, who slams into him and knocks him back.

Arthur tries to brush against R2 but hits something on the ground, skidding his bike but staying upright. R2 rolls under the Navigator. Valerie presses a button on her keyfob; the alarm blares and the lights flash.

As Arthur steadies his bike, Valerie turns and draws her gun and shouts at R2, "Get out from under there or I'll shoot!" R2 wisely throws his gun to the side before he emerges.

Valerie's head tingles; she has deflected a "mental attack." She walks over to the Navigator, unlocks the driver's door, and pulls it open. Jerrod Perez crouches there, his gun aimed point-blank at Valerie. She steps into him, pushes the muzzle of her gun into his belly, and fires three shots. JP slumps, unconscious and bleeding.

R3 is seated in the front passenger's seat; Valerie orders him to get out. He wants to administer first aid to JP but Valerie says no.

Arthur climbs into the Navigator and checks on Rick, then gets a first-aid kit and starts to treat his minor injuries. Valerie disarms R2 and zipties him.

Vicente orders one of the RV techs to tune in the police band. From the chatter, he gathers that the cops are swarming the "circus" ground, but there is no indication of pursuit.

The bad guys accumulated by the group include Daniel Brunswick, Sandra Kane (Brunswick's wife), Tyler (whether "Tyler" is his first or last name or NOTA is not known), Wilbur Palmow ("Mustache Guy"), Wilma Palmow ("Crystal Ball"), RV driver Don Mackley, Tim Biggs, and Jeff Farmer. While Tyler is unconscious and seriously injured, Vicente observes that his body is slowly regenerating.

Mackley is currently the most communicative one. He claims that "one more boss and six more people are coming through with equipment in a couple of days." He gives the names Mikel, Conrad, and Darren.

Vicente asks Mackley, "What is y'all's purpose?" Mackley's rambling reply goes something like: secure the area around the portal, install beacons and anchor points, then go into business making money. On a trans-dimensional highway such as this newly-opened one, they find a "node", get control of the node and the "population" in a twenty-mile radius, then charge "tolls" to other dimensional travelers. "If you do it right, it makes money." They control people using "mind programming gear" they picked up "a long time ago." They "harden [sic] dimensional energies" and possess a "kill switch that works on portals" which blocks "vehicles" from going through a portal. "Then we talk to them and they pay us appropriately, and they can go through the next time the gate opens."

Vicente: "So... this is a 'business opportunity'? What are you leaving out?" "I'm not leaving anything out," Mackley claims, but Vicente knows he's lying. Vicente: "What year are you from?" Mackley: "2050." "What did you do to Tyler?" "I didn't do anything, just standard first aid... Tyler has 'healing nanites' that activate after extreme trauma." All the 'bosses' have these nanites, including Sandra Kane. Vicente: "Will they repair the burned-out part of her brain?" Mackley: "I don't know, I'm not a med tech, plus she has other 'doodads' installed."

Vicente addresses Jeff: "My partner is really new and he's a good guy. If your friends hurt Rick and I have to set this RV on fire, guess where you're gonna be? Help me not kill everybody."

Vicente, over the headset: "Arthur, are you okay?" Arthur: "Yes, I'm fine." (His bruises have already healed.) "I have an RV full of people and I'm not sure what to do with them." "Take them to the Crossroads?" "And do what? They're, like, high-tech highwaymen. I know that Daniel and Perez are bad guys. I guess we could put them all in the RV and put them in a body of water." "As long as they're guilty. You should talk to Frank." "We'll reach Colorado 71 in four or five minutes. When we get there, turn the lights back on. I'm gonna see if I can get better answers."

Rick approaches and starts to say "Thank you, Valerie." She raises her gun and in a hard voice orders him, "Get down on the ground." She keeps her weapon trained on Rick as Arthur searches his clothing. The only unusual item is an "odd coin" like a 2012 US quarter-dollar but thicker and heavier. Arthur carefully puts the coin away in a bag. Still businesslike, he tells Rick, "Now, body cavity check." Rick squeaks "Ah, shit, are you serious?" and whines and complains as Arthur indicates he must completely disrobe.

Around 8:45pm the RV reaches Last Chance. Vicente casts Mind Reading on Tim Biggs (he has to do so twice) and asks more questions. Their stolen device "disrupts the energy field around a vehicle" and said vehicle is unable to go through a portal for a time. Yes, the occupants could simply get out and walk through the portal (when it opens again), but Tim seems to be saying they would have to leave everything behind. "Once they agree to pay, we let them through... We applied something to a vehicle at the last portal." "What do you take in payment?" "Oh, jewels, precious metals, artifacts... we have them drop them halfway between portals so we can verify them." "Do you take people as currency?" "No, that's too dangerous, not cost-efficient." For their device to work properly, they have to "control biological minds around the portal" which they do through hypnosis and "mental pathways;" this "powers our mech devices with bio-electricity... We use biometric feedback machines to make our trick work... It's all done through equipment; we can't do it without our tech... We can get everybody in an area in a couple of weeks." They use these people, then "leave them with memories of a great experience" at their "circus."

Tim continues rambling, "The last dimension was hard to get out of -- Each dimension is a reality unto itself. The effect on people can be neutralized, but we normally don't; it will wear off in two to three months." Vicente: "That circus, is that all your equipment?" Tim: "Yeah, we need all that equipment, except for what's on the other side of the portal."

Arthur shows the coin to Rick, who doesn't recognize it. Valerie: "Why weren't the (Navigator's) doors locked?" Rick: "They were locked." Valerie: "I heard you on the headset, you asked whether you should defend yourself, then you said you'd wait for orders." Stammering, Rick claims he doesn't know why he didn't take action, he must have been stunned or mind-controlled.

Arthur makes as though to treat Perez' wounds. Valerie: "Do we need him? He aimed a gun at me. Hewas going to shoot me." Arthur makes a small cut in one of Perez' hands, watches, and notes to himself that Perez heals 1hp/hour.

The group gets back together on CO 71 north of US 36. Vicente checks Rick's Aura -- no appreciable change. Body Reading -- nothing new. Mind Reading -- Rick "desperately" wants to believe that Tyler must have had a device on his motorcycle that forced Rick to be complaisant.

Arthur shows Vicente the quarter, explaining it's an unknown device. Vicente in turn shows it to Jeff, who calls it "a tracking electro-sleep device and taser."

Vicente says to Arthur and Valerie, "These guys are intermensional tollbooth tellers!" A long discussion ensues. These crooks from the future possess technology they don't understand and can't create or maintain themselves -- body and brain implants and drugs proven to cause physical injury and brain damage -- merely to extort valuables from other dimension travelers who happen to pass through their hijacked portal. The malfunctioning device on top of the RV that Valerie prevented the tech with the welding torch from "repairing" was nothing but a .50 caliber machine gun. Valerie reminds Vicente of the "vitamin guy... Centrum... the biker cop" they had previously encountered while they were traversing another "dimension highway."

Nothing makes sense.

Vicente magically darkens the interior of the Navigator while he and Arthur interrogate Brunswick. "Why are y'all here?" "To make money by robbery, tolling... bank robbery. Who are you?" "We are a troubleshooting organization." "Shit." "You are a criminal organization." "No, we don't have a formal name." "Seven more of you are comming?" "Correct." "What if I destroy all your equipment?" "That's... very bad for us." "Is there a 'dimension police'? What are they called?" "Different names... Dimension Patrol, Infinity Patrol, I never encountered -- I don't know their formal name; got away from them a few times." They convert valuables they extort into "hard goods" (how, he doesn't say). He claims they make most of their wealth from bank robbery, that "the tollbooth is just to study the local, identify targets." They don't stay in any location more than "half a year." The tech in his head "affects the electrical field in others' brains. I have to be able to see them. It's driven by my own bio field." Vicente: "Or you could get brain damage, like Sandra?" Brunswick: "Is she alive?"

Vicente: "We have a problem. We can't leave you here or take you with us. We need to give you over to an authority, or kill you. Think on that." Brunswick pales. Vicente casts Sleep on Brunswick, then drops the Darkness.

Tim claims they can't communicate with their other team. "The last reality was a disaster. We were chased -- we lost a couple of our support vehicles. We were lucky to get away. This is a good staging point. It's not as noticeable. This is good pickings. This is an internet society."

Arthur: "I need a bucket and a blowtorch."

Tim: "We collected the high tech from other realities we've been through. We can send a burst comm through one of these portals. A portal's only open for two or three minutes at a time. If word gets out and the locals start poking around, exploring, we leave. We are not a widespread gang, it's just us. Believe me, I'm giving you the straight info."

Vicente: "So if you went missing, nobody would be looking for you." Tim, after a deep breath: "That's true. You must have a mind reader." Arthur: "Well, he believes what he's saying, anyway." Vicente: "I know." Tim: "I don't know who's chasing us. We just got away."

Arthur: "You guys are done. We're going to seize all your tech, and then Mister Carbone gets you." Tim, bug-eyed: "Are you Carbone?" Vicente: "Have you heard of me?" Tim: "There was a Carbone that controlled a significant point of reality. We left in a hurry."

Vicente: "Arthur, you're going to have to cut out the techs' tongues. I mean, I don't want to kill them. ... Jeff, I need your help in helping you. Jeff, how do I call the intergalactic police?" Jeff: "I don't have a clue. None of us know."

Vicente: "Rick, go gas up the Navigator. Frank, we need some to-go food. We're going to the diner and get food for everybody."

According to police chatter, the cops have discovered the weird equipment and called in state investigators.

The group drives to Bird City KS (site of the other portal), arriving at 11:30pm. The portal is expected to open at midnight and again at sunrise, which is when the "other group" comes through. Valerie: "Vicente, how about we get the jump on them?"

Vicente, to Jeff: "You get one chance to answer properly. (Puts on a 'crazed' expression) How do you counteract your brain tech?" Jeff: "The only one with that tech installed is the 'boss man' Chad Wyatt. I might can hobble [sic] together a primitive electrical field. Vicente: "Well, I guess I don't need you. You have fifteen minutes or your friends get it." Jeff: "Don and I can make them." They work rapidly. Arthur takes one and gives one each to Valerie and Vicente.

At midnight they go through the portal. In this version of Bird City to one side of the two-lane gravel road stands a smallish motel called Star Court Motor Lodge, it parking area surrounded by a wall. There is a gate in part of the wall that crosses the road. Across the road are some old-style gas pumps. Behind us is a chain-link fence 10' high.

Two of the vehicles in the motel lot match those described as belonging to the rest of the bad guys. Other vehicles in the lot include cars from the mid-'Sixties through the 'Eighties, standards Army Jeeps, and one 2000 car up on blocks.

Arthur pulls out his cellphone and checks it. Its indicated signal strength is 1 bar.

Four of the motel rooms are occupied. Vicente casts Glass Wall on each. The "boss" is asleep in Room 2 along with two other men, one of whom is lying on the floor in front of the door. Four other crooks are in room 3. Room 4 contains a young man with an assortment of military-type weapons.

Vicente Teleports himself and Valerie between the two beds in Room 3. They tase the occupants in the neck. They repeat these actions in Room 2. Then Vicente blindfolds Chad Wyatt.

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