Missions and Friends

  In the passing months Danny's dreams of the Lady of the forest had stopped, and Ross had begun talking to him about their dreams of exploration. This had sparked many debates between the now retired scientist and his friend about the rumors that had spread across the habitats about a wizard tower out on the edge of the solar system. Ross would always bring it up like he was trying to pull Danny on board for some crazy scheme of his. Danny would always argue against it. Their conversations were quite circular. He was not sure what Ross's goals were until he saw a commercial on the holovid with an advertisement showcasing the new Extrimatus mining ship. The manager in the commercial was well-built and was accompanied by a pretty woman in her 20s. The Dealers proudly showed off the Extrimatus which was equipped for a crew of ten with spacious accommodations, a full cafeteria, a bridge that could be crewed by a minimum of one person with AI assistance, and came with a hanger bay with a full complement of drones and asteroid towers and drillers. This included the new AI, and what appeared to be a watered-down version of his O-ring tech. That wasn't what gave it away. What gave it away was when Danny saw his best friend in the background talking to a sales associate, and being brought into an office. “That son of bitch!” Danny said in partial exasperation. Ross did it. He really did it. It was 8:00 PM in the night cycle, and the moon was rising in the dome display. Danny got into his car and drove in manual drive placing a call to Ross.

  Ross was in a state of buyer’s ecstasy. He couldn't wait to tell Danny. He was not able to re-kindle Danny's dream, but perhaps seeing this new mining ship would change his mind. SNAP SNAP “Are you ok?” the salesman said worried that he might lose a sale. Ross blinked a couple of times coming back to himself. The salesman saw that he had Ross's attention, and began to dig his hooks back into Ross. “It is one thing to see holos, but it's another to actually see them. You know what Mr. Reynolds? Why don't we have a look.” Ross grunted in agreement. He wouldn't let it show, but he was excited. They both got up, and exited the office. The show room was white, and was big enough to hold only one ship. The other ships were docked to air locks that were easily accessible. “So, what are you looking for?” the salesman probed his slicked back hair reflecting some light. Ross looked at the show room ship, then at his other options. Money was not a problem, and he could out right buy any one of these ships, but only 1. He knew what ship he wanted, and it was sitting on the show room floor. He didn't want to let the sales man to know that. Ross wanted him to feel desperate before then. “I'M looking for a mining ship that's fully equipped, and has the potential for extra solar asteroid mining, and ship towing capabilities. Maybe some defensive capabilities.” Ross winked.

  Like a good sales man he brought Ross around to the various ships. They started with the showroom model, but Ross let his hand slide across it walking toward a decoy interest feinting interest in another ship. He would control the initial standards starting with the second best knowing the salesman caught him sliding his hand across the hull which would give him the notion that this ship could be a possibility. To the salesman credit he sold the hell out of these ships. They went from model to model as seeing them all in a reasonable amount of time would be impossible. Ross had to admit to himself that some of them were actually pretty nice and reasonably priced. He let that slip a couple of times to feed hope to the salesman. Finally, the man was desperate and brought Ross to his trump card the newly released Extrimatus with some hope of a sale. They were now in the middle of the show room floor again. Ross and the sales man circled the ship and the salesman explained various parts ending with the O-ring tech “Mr. Reynolds This is our pride and joy the Extrimatus. It has defensive capabilities and a rail gun on the top for dealing with violent competitors and for the military enthusiast looking for a little extra protection, this ship has expansion potential for two tail rail turrets and three front end rail turrets.” Ross raised an eyebrow letting out a whistle. The Salesman continued heartened by this reaction “She has been outfitted with a medium armor kit, so she can take small asteroid impacts leaving very little damage, and back here are the engines. Now this ship uses both hydrogen and upgraded PME engines for propulsion, but unlike the other ships the Extrimatus has O-ring tech which was invented by Danny Anderson.” Ross spoke up “O-ring you say?” “Oh yes! We call it the surge drive and it can take you up to a one lightyear in an instant.” the salesman finished expecting Ross to fall in love with it. Ross corrected “A quarter of a light year.” The salesman was stunned. Ross continued “I am the reason you have this model.” The sales man was speechless as it all clicked into place. Why would he not? He was speaking to one of humanities heroes. There was a statue of him on habitat 3. With a dry mouth the sales man said on autopilot “Would you like to see the inside?” Ross declined, and said “I'll take it for $35,000,000.”, but the salesman had recovered from his shock, and said “I'm afraid I can't do that. We would be losing money if I did that.” Ross had used his fame to take advantage of others in the past, but he knew it wouldn't work here so he tried again, while maintaining his mask “Ok! How about 2,000,000 off and I pay in strait cash.” “Let me check with my manager.” the sales man said as he left, but what Ross had not expected was that the salesman had left his terminal unlocked. This was practically stealing, but who was he to deny this opportunity. When the door hissed shut, Ross moved over to the terminal and quickly altered the deal to $35,000,000.

  The salesman came back to find Ross waiting patiently, and without re-reading, he finalized the deal. They signed the papers, and before the sales man knew it, Ross paid it in full and left the office. Soon word spread that Ross was on the show room floor, the manager came out and offered to have the armaments installed on the house, then after that found out that the ship was sold 8 million below the MSRP price, and the salesman was let go looking crushed and confused. Ross felt bad, so he offered the man his business card for what he decided was an opportunity. As long as he signs an NDA, he should be fine. Ross then left on a full reactor and instructed the AI to dock it at his habitat of residence. “Danny is going to be pissed” Ross mused to himself. Docking was smooth and thanks to his status clearance was painless. On his way to the car, he updated his crew of seven that the ship was purchased sending the message to their comms devices “Good news boys. Just got us the new Extrimatus. Working on our last needed crew members.” Five of the seven responded with Emoticons, but Alexis messaged back “Who did you have in mind?” “You'll see.” Ross ended it with a winky face, and right on que. It was as if Danny had some kind of bullshit detector. RING! RING! RING! COMMS CALL! COMMS CALL!

  “Come on Ross I know your there.” Danny thought. After about the third try Ross answered. “Hey Danny your up late, what’s the occasion?” “Don't play dumb with me. I know what you’re doing and it is not going to work.” Danny knew a feint was coming “Whatever do you mean?”, and there it was. The deny till you die game. Danny was pulling up to Ross's dwelling. He saw a shadowy figure look at the car and go to the back, Danny knew it was Ross, but Ross must of thought he was still in the clear, because the lights had missed him. “This was like catching your teenage daughter sneaking into the dwelling after sneaking out to a party. Danny laughed. He had to give him some credit for thinking on his feet.

  Danny was at the door and decided to play along just to make him suffer. “I'M at the door. you decent?” Danny heard the back door click and Ross stumbled and fell, then a bunch of stuff clatter on the floor with a whole bunch of cursing. Mission accomplished. Ross didn't wait now that the game was up, and hung up the comm. The door opened with a very disgruntled and garbage covered Ross. Danny laughed. “What’s so funny?” Ross demanded. “Nothing Ross.” Danny collapsed laughing. “Well, when your done come in.” He walked away grumbling. Danny got up his anger gone, and walked into the living room. Ross took a quick shower and changed. Walking in Ross shrugged and asked “guess I deserved that. I know what you're thinking, but how did you find out?” “I saw you on the ship commercial.” “Oh! No wonder the salesman ushered me into his office so fast.” Ross grimaced with realization, but continued while walking to the kitchen and synthesizing 2 coffees. “Look I'M selling this dwelling and its land, and I'M going into the mining business.” Ross returned handing Danny a cup. “I want you to be a part of my crew and be co-captain.” Danny frowned looking at his cup “I don't know.” “Danny, you don't have to answer right now. Just think about it, meet the crew, look at the ship, and give me an answer then.” “Fine!” Danny said defeated. “You mind if I crash here tonight?” Danny asked. Ross motioned Danny to a guest room where Ross Spoke aloud “Prepare guest room!”, and the room transformed to accommodate his guest. The next day Danny woke up feeling refreshed and a little excited. He wouldn't let Ross know that though, and on top of that he was still skeptical about this whole thing. They both got into Ross's pickup and drove to docking bay eleven. Danny saw a group of 8 people walking through the Airlock. “Guess he showed up.” Ross lamented as he thought about the man's misfortune. “What are you talking about?” Danny asked. Ross told him about the star struck absentminded salesman that under sold him the mining ship and lost his job. Danny sighed “It is just like you to take advantage of people.” “WTF man!” Ross exclaimed. They walked through the airlock, and was met by eight people. They all introduced themselves as Robert, Glenn, Steven, Heather, Grant, Anton, Alexis, and Antonio who was the salesman who sold Ross the ship. The crew looked like a band of rebels with their mismatched clothing. Alexis was the first to introduce herself. Her blond hair was cut at the shoulders, and she seemed to have an outgoing personality. “Hi nice to meet you.” She said shaking his hand. The Others seeming to realize who it was and began stammering speaking unintelligibly. “Sorry about them” Alexis said. She noticed Danny becoming uncomfortable, and herded the rest of the crew away despite some of their protests giving Danny an I'M sorry look. “Alexis is my, and soon to be our first mate. She keeps them in line, and runs the ship in my absence.” Ross continued cutting Danny's objection to that last part short. “Robert, Heather, and Glenn are part of the mining operation. Steven, Anton and Grant are part of engineering. Anton still doesn't know yet. Shall I take you on the grand tour?” Danny could see the ship outside the lead reinforced glass, and the ship was magnificent. The shape reminded Danny of an ancient railroad spike. It was wider in the back, and it sloped to a pointed edge in the front. The engines had a protective plating that left the engines less exposed. He could see a docking bay towards the back, and he noticed that there were places on the front and back that looked like door that were hiding something. Ross saw where Danny was looking and answered his unspoken question. “Those contain deployable rail turrets. Three in the front and two in the back.”. Danny gave a nod of approval. They walked inside Ross giving Danny his promised tour of the inside. They started with the crew quarters. They were spacious 4-room apartments that contains a living room bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. The crew quarters were nice. Even more remarkable was that they came fully furnished. Ross was full of pride and excitement, and it reminded Danny of a teenager who got their first car, and was experiencing their first taste of freedom. Ross then took Danny to the cafeteria. The cafeteria was completely automated with food synthesizers and places to sit and eat. Next on the tour was the engine room were Danny noticed the antimatter reactor, and something that at the time was thought to be inferior and not needed. That was the hydrogen engine that could be seen below the catwalk connected to multiple gigantic tanks. Danny approved of this, because this took strain off the reactor and when air scrubbers failed, it could serve to produce breathable air. Danny looked up and around noting how efficient the engine was and praising human ingenuity when he noticed a stability ring encapsulating the engine rooms interior. Ross saw this “Yes Danny, this is your O-ring tech, and this ship is capable of short range FTL.” “Ross? How far can she go?” Danny was getting excited. His dream of being like Cpt. Kirk wasn't just a dream but a possible reality. “25% of a light-year, but I'M afraid it can only make 3 jumps before the antimatter is depleted.” Ross put a sympathetic hand on Danny's shoulder. “Check out the bridge?” As impressive as this was Danny still wasn't sure he was ready to leave the life him and his wife built behind.

  The bridge was amazing. The whole bridge consisted of Two chairs side by side surrounded by a spherical 10k resolution screen. As soon as the two entered the bridge, the spherical screen came to life showing a 360-degree view around the ship. Danny could even see through the reinforced docking bay windows. A British female voice which must have been the ships AI said “Welcome aboard captain. Shall I prepare for departure?” Ross answered telling the AI no. Danny was entranced. Whatever reservations he had about this were gone. “I'M in!” “Just like that?” Ross asked smiling. He had won, and Danny knew it. He punched Ross in the arm. “OW! What was that for?” Ross exclaimed with mock anger. “You win, so when do we start?” Danny was surprised to find out that the only thing left was for the crew to become certified, and for Ross to enter Danny as part of the crew. “Rose enters Danny Anderson as Co-captain.” Ross announced. “Yes master. Danny, please spank me for voice imprint.” Danny looked at Ross who now looked red, flustered and imarets. “I'M going to kill Heather.” Ross mumbled. Danny spoke his name unsure what to say. “Welcome co-captain Danny Anderson, spank me harder daddy.” then the AI named rose resigned itself. Danny could see Ross fuming. He knew the best thing at this point was to give him space. So, he left, and Ross sat down grumbling at a hidden console looking for the subroutine that currently plagued the AI. Three months later the crew was certified, Ross had sold his dwelling, and Danny did the same. He had no intentions of keeping the place. It had way too many memories, and Ross's idea to make the ship their home had a certain appeal to it. They both arrived at docking station eleven, where Ross got a coffee refill from a vendor, and sat down with Danny in the open dining area where they waited for the crew to arrive. Ross pulled out three dossiers of his registered crew, permits, and mission planner then handed them to Danny. “It's not going to ask me to spank it is it?” Danny asked chuckling as he opened the three dossiers. Ross looking a bit embarrassed, and said in a quieter meeker voice “No!”

  All three of the Dossiers were simple. The first one listed the awarded permits. All permits listed were the Class MC ship license, business permit, international space permits, mining permits, and a junkers permit. It made sense to have the international space permits, because the only way the insurance company would cover any ship damage space side was if you were operating in space with the required permits. Since no one person can own space, they took a page out of earth history and labeled it international space. Of course, insurance rates would be crazy unless you had a class MC license which means your ship has been militarized minimizing the chances of a rivaling mining ship or rogue entity fucking up the hardware as they would say. The business permit was self-explanatory, because in order to have a business like many other things, you needed to be authorized. Despite the human race's social evolution, money and bureaucracy still played its part. The mining permits were needed to show you were competent, and authorized to be in the asteroid belt and the Orte cloud. The last permit... a salvage permit, was needed to allow the ship and its crew to engage in ship towing and salvage operations in a legal capacity. Danny's attention shifted to the mission planner, and began to read. They would do a test run to the moon to test their flight systems, and pull a slingshot maneuver under hydrogen power. Danny looked at Ross. “What?” Ross questioned. “Why a sling shot maneuver around the moon? Couldn't we do the test anywhere?” Danny asked. Ross answered “I thought it would be cool.” Danny had to admit, that would be cool, and with a nod of acknowledgment he continued to read. Complete a survey of the 6th region of the outer solar system, if a viable asteroid is found, begin mining operations on the smaller asteroids, and tag the large asteroids for retrieval.“Scan for short range interstellar objects.” Danny read out loud. Ross leaned inclose as if reading Danny's mind “Yes, but I'll enplane once were underway.”. Danny smiled, slightly annoyed as he slid the holo pads back over saying “you'd better.”

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  One by one the ship’s crew began to show up with their crew bags. They each saluted their co-captains, and boarded the ship. Once the crew was aboard and accounted for, Danny and Ross boarded the ship. Part of Danny's new duties as co-captain was assisting Ross in the briefing of the crew. Per the crew’s instructions they met in the briefing room. The briefing room wasn't in the quote-on-quote grand tour, but the ship was big, and he was sure there were other parts of the ship that were bypassed in the initial tour. The room was oval with light gray walls, and held a synthetic oak table capable of sitting 10 people. Once the crew was settled, Ross motioned for Danny to start the briefing. Danny started off. “In T-1hour we will begin the pre-space flight checks which will require all of you to be at your designated stations. We will be detaching from the station, and move away with

  maneuvering thrusters only. We will fly using quick bursts of the hydrogen engines for 10 minutes. After this has been completed, we will commence a test flight performing a slingshot maneuver around the moon using hydrogen power then switch to the PME until we hit the halfway point to the mission objective in region 6. We will coast to allow for solar drag where we will begin breaking procedures. Any questions?” Steven spoke up “I get the rest, but why are we pulling a slingshot maneuver around the moon?” Danny looked at Ross with a raised eyebrow as if to say this one's for you. Ross exhaled defeated. “It is symbolic and cool.” Anton who was schooled in both sales and engineering bought into it, voicing his agreement, causing a domino effect of everyone else to agree. Danny was flabbergasted at how easily the proverbial dominoes fell, but took this as an opportunity to pass the briefing to Ross. Ross took his position and continued the brief. “Region 6 lies at the edge of the solar system passed the Sol systems furthest Lagrange point, where we will begin surveying the area for ice and high in demand minerals which will be sent to the mining teams' holo pads, and destination coordinates will be kept secret. We will be making 1 jump outside our solar system with the surge drive.” This got some surprised reactions. Alexis was the first to ask. “First you didn't tell us we had a surge drive, and two why are we jumping beyond our solar system?” Ross answered a little awkwardly “I thought it was obvious given this is the newest ship, and that is classified, but what I can say is that our clients want us to investigate an anomaly that was spotted in interstellar space.” You mean like aliens?” Grant asked. Ross and Danny shook their collective heads if not for different reasons. Ross face palmed “it's always aliens with you. I'll refer you to the Fermi paradox which supports it but also states they are billions of light years away from us and that's assuming they are there.” This garnered disappointment, but Ross continued “To reduce the risk of information leaks, more information, and direction will be provided on arrival. Dismissed!”

  Everyone jogged to their positions. The mining crew was needed if something went wrong, and in which case the mining equipment could be used in creative ways to solve external ship issues, besides the obvious mining functions. The real need came from the engineers who insured the smooth function of the ship’s inner workings, and regulating the reactor when needed. Danny and Ross following the crews lead and left the conference room. They made their way to the bridge, where they were greeted by Rose, the ships AI while requesting orders “Welcome captains, what are your order?”. Ross Commanded the AI to begin undocking procedures alpha. The AI asked for co-captain confirmation, and Danny gave it.

  Danny was nervous. He was in a space ship about to embark on a journey through the solar system, and given the ships capabilities, maybe even beyond. He began obsessing over all the things that could go wrong. He didn't like it when he got like this, because when he did, he would panic. He could hear his breathing become erratic as fear and excitement flooded his mind. Danny felt a hand on his shoulder bringing back to reality “You ok Danny?”. Ross looked concerned. “Excited and freaked out. It’s like the habitat launches all over again, but without the… you know. But I'm ok.” Danny replied. They were interrupted by Rose “Permissions granted. Departure in T minus 1 hour.”. Danny wasn't in panic mode any more, but he could really go for a drink right now. T minus 40 minutes until departure. He felt a power well up within him and felt something hit and soak hit pant leg, causing him to feel a little drained.

  Congratulations! You have discovered the spell summon water Level 0. You can pull the moisture from the area around you into a collected sphere of water. Intelligence +1, Wisdom +1.

  A garbled message flashed across his vision, telling Danny this was something he did, and it was something he could not explain. Had he just done magic? That was impossible, and yet there it was soaking his pant leg.

  Ross noticed Danny’s-soaked pant leg, and Danny realized what it looked like. It looked like he peed himself. “Damn man! Did you really just pee your self?” Danny was imbarressed giving Ross the one figure salute. T minus 5 minutes until departure. Ross just laughed leaving Danny to his misery. He couldn't get up and change. Danny was stuck where he was until they departed, and without the inertial dampeners turned on he would have to wait until the slingshot maneuver around the moon was complete. “This is bull crap” Danny muttered. Then Danny got a brilliant idea. If he could replicate the effect, then he could get Ross back. Who knew revenge was such a strong motivation tool. Danny closed his eyes trying to remember everything he was feeling when his leg got soaked. It took Danny a few tries until he discovered it was desire and intent that initiated the effect allowing him to access that hidden strength from within, but for some reason he couldn't figure out why he failed to conjure water. He was reminded of D&D how spells required special movements and or words. “That's it!” Danny thought. He remembered that he was moving his fingers a little when it happened. This time Danny concentrated on his desire for water and moved his fingers. In moments there was a ball of water in his hand. As interesting as this was, and he would research this further, this water had its own mission, and with that in mind Danny waited until Ross was detracted, and tossed it on Ross's pant leg. Danny felt more drained than the last time. He felt exhausted. He saw however, that his little prank/experiment had its desired effect, and then everything went black. How could it not? He was exhausted!

  Danny awoke in another part of the ship that was not shown to him during the tour. It looked like a mini hospital. Equipped with a med scanner, a surgery table, a fluid condenser which pumped IV and various medications into the body pre- and post-surgery, and a body lift to transport the body, which was all run by an emergency medical AI. Crew certification did include a course in basic medical practices, but the skills were rarely needed in the med bay. Danny looked out of the view-port and saw Mars and noticed that the thing in the corner of his vision was more prominent than before, begging for his attention. He ignored it and thought back to the event that led him here. Danny remembered summoning water not once but twice. The first time causing him to feel tired, but the second time made him pass out. What if this had something to do with mana? He only passed out after casting the spell which meant mana wasn't committed until the spell was used. Maybe I should look at my player sheet. It was garbled before, but maybe!? Danny thought quizzically. So, he focused on his character sheet. Sensing that it was wanted, it appeared in his view. It was not as garbled as it was before. Danny could read a little more of it. He noticed that some numbers had increased, along with a now readable spell, mana, and stamina bar.

  Name: Danny Anderson Race: Human Level: 0

  SRK: 0!

  D*X: )(9

  ??N: 1&

  INT: 14

  X2&: 11

  98^: @!

  LCK: 20

  Mana: 05/10

  Stamina: 05/10

  SLSLKI:Knowledge Lvl-0 Novice, Perception Lvl-0 Novice

  Spells: Summon Water Lvl-0 Novice

  Danny noticed that his mana and stamina had not refilled completely, and that he needed stamina to regenerate his mana. This left Danny confused. He examined all he knew and experienced, and then the answer hit him. He was too far from the source, and the closer he got the stronger the connection. Another garbled but partially understandable notification popped up. He wasn't able to understand most, but he understood the word knowledge.

  Knowledge gained! You have delved into the clues before you, and discovered a truth. Knowledge Lvl-1! Wisdom +2!

  So, it would appear that he was suffering mana fatigue? Ross could be heard on the comms system “Good work crew. You are relieved for 10 hours. Rose, begin auto functions.” This broke Danny's concentration and the screens once again sensing neglect, vanished.

  Ross felt his leg get dowsed in water, and felt his mixed emotions vanish as fear took hold of him. His best friend and arguably the only family he had left, slumped unconscious in his chair. He couldn't panic. Panic meant mistakes, and mistakes cost lives. Rose was not programmed to handle this maneuver which meant one mistake, and the engines fry and send them hurtling through space with little hope of rescue. Despite advances in technology, no one was quite able to perfect hi velocity rescue in space without ripping the ship in half. That would only be possible if the ship was not spinning, because they would be spinning the escape pods would be like water from a sprinkler. Nutans 3 laws of gravity were not kind when space was concerned. Minutes felt like an eternity as this momentous occasion turned tragedy unfolded. Was it the Gs? No! He had to focus. He couldn't think about that now.

  The sling shot maneuver was a success. Ross flipped the inertial dampeners on, unbuckled Danny, and carried him to the ships' med bay after giving control over to Rose. He was greeted by the med bay's AI which swung the body lift around. Ross placed Danny on it, explained what happened and the AI began its work. The AI started with a scan. It then announced to Ross “Patient is exhausted and collapsed due to fatigue. Solution! Let patient rest.” This didn't make any sense. He glanced at his wet leg, which he thought was puke. Ross had examined it and discovered it was water. When they took off Danny was well rested. Something was off. For some reason this reminded Ross of the time when Danny crashed his car. He had somehow survived when he should have been dead. No matter which way Ross tried to reason this, no logical explanation came to mind.

  This only led to more confusion and just resigned himself to what he did understand.

  Ross went back to the bridge, taking back control. He just sat there relieved that Danny was alright, and troubled at how much of it made no sense. “I really should have got surveillance receptors installed on the bridge.” Ross sighed. Four hours later they came up on Mars. It was beautiful. The PME was already active, and there wasn't any need to keep the crew active any longer. They were not AI after all. Ross decided to relieve crew for respite, and downtime. It would take them another 11 hours to get to their destination, and Rose could handle that. He re-calibrated the rail-gun turrets and relieved his crew for downtime, then gave control back to the AI. “Time to check up on Danny, and find out what's going on.” Ross said aloud as he left for the Med Bay.

  Danny saw Ross walk into the med bay. He greeted Ross as he always did, however, Ross did not have his usual smile and looked tiered and slightly accusing. He sat down next to Danny “Is everything ok?” “Yeah! Why, what's wrong?” Danny said frowning at the obvious. He had an idea as to what brought this up. How could he be so stupid? As the saying goes curiosity killed the cat, and two wrongs don't make a right, even if he was being facetious. “I need to ask you something and I need you to answer truthfully.” Ross said cautiously “Ok?” Danny recognized this as cautious Ross, and the best thing to do was comply. “Are you an alien?” Ross finished not smiling nor laughing. Danny was taken aback, then began to laugh “Whatever would give you that stupid idea.” Ross looked a little hurt by this, but Danny knew Ross was no fool, and could pick up on the nuance. To reinforce how ludicrous this was, Danny directed Ross's attention to the med scanner's screen “I look human to me.” The med scanner did indeed confirm that Danny was human, but he noticed a second circulatory system that was entwined with his arteries and veins which looked a little ghostly. Ross missed it all together. “Ok! I was just checking. I just can't make sense of what's going on.” Ross looked relieved, but Danny could tell he still wanted answers. “First!” Ross lowered his voice “Your car takes a nose dive that should have killed you and you survive. I saw the medical report. You were healing on the table. I just chalked it up to a miracle until this happened.” Ross lifted his pant leg and his empty thermos. Ross continued “After you passed out Rose reported an unexpected shift in air quality.” Danny finally confessed “Ross your wrong. I am Danny, and that's not changing,” Ross seemed to accept that, but continued to listen “and you are also correct. I should have died that day. It was no miracle or providence, but something else. I'm not sure what it was, but it warned me that my wife was going to die. I know this sounds crazy.” Ross looked skeptical but waited. Danny continued knowing this probably wouldn't end well “When I went over in my car I was surrounded by light. Of course, what is in motion stays in motion so when I appeared next to the car, I still hit the ground at full velocity, and it came to me gifting me with something it called a second chance.” Danny grimaced with regret and shame as he remembered what he had tried to do. Ross snapped Danny out of his regret by placing his hand on his shoulder “when we get back, we will have you checked out. I think you may have some brain damage” “I'M not crazy. I can prov it.” Danny stated as a matter of fact, pushing Ross's hand away letting some anger creep into his voice. He knew passing out from mana fatigue was a possibility, so he pulled up his character sheet, seeing his mana resting at 6/10. “How can you do that?” Ross exclaimed. “Like this!” Danny focused on the intent to gather water while holding his palm up between himself and Ross. The process went a little quicker this time as Danny felt a stronger connection to his mana. He felt his mana pooling in the palm of his hand. It asked. No! It demanded that the water come, and obey him. Ross watched not expecting to see anything happen, then his eyes widened as water began to form and coalesce into a sphere of water in Danny's hand. Ross was speechless “How?”. Danny tossed the water into Ross's face, snapping him out of his daze. “I was changed. That's why I lived, and that's why you are wet.”. Danny emphasized this by pointing at the second circulatory system. “Point made! Remember the briefing?” Danny nodded. “Well…” Ross trailed off unsure if he should tell Danny given the sensitive nature of it. “Let’s just say our solar system is still uncharted.” It was Danny's turn to be skeptical, and it showed. He knew that look. “Coming from the man who can do magic.” Ross retorted. “Fair point.” the two let slip nervous laughs.