Sam's House, Boulder, Colorado - Sunday afternoon
Jack was leaning against the wall, arms folded, watching Cedric practice. Occasionally he'd glance at Kawalsky, but his eyes always went back to Cedric.
Aeryn
Aeryn arrived with a duffel bag full of weaponry, looking pretty focused on whyever she was here. Not sure what to bring, she'd brought an assortment.
Jack
"Aeryn." Jack stayed where he was, simply giving her a quick nod. "Thanks for coming."
It was Aeryn. He figured he didn't have to ask what was in the bag.
Aeryn
"Wouldn't have missed it," she assured him with a nod back.
Jack
The corner of his mouth curled up in half a smile, but it didn't touch his eyes. "Wish I could have. Grab a seat. I'll explain once Anakin's here."
Aeryn
With another nod, Aeryn took a seat, hoping Anakin got here soon so she didn't have to outright ask.
Anakin
Anakin was in the house a moment later, lightsaber strapped securely to his waist and cloak streaming behind him at the pace he'd been setting to get there.
"Hello."
Jack
Jack nodded in response and pushed off the wall, moving towards the centre of the room. "Good. Let's get this thing started."
Cedric
At the sound of Jack's voice, Cedric pulled the spell back in, dropped his hand loose at his side and turned to listen.
Kawalsky
Kawalsky stayed silent against the wall.
Jack
"Sam's dead." He said it flatly, bluntly. "And it's not going to happen. We're going back to stop it. You're here so we can keep the world in one piece. We change this, we're going to rip a hole in time. A small one, but it's going to bleed. Where you get blood, you get predators. Reapers, predators that live in the time vortex. They can't be killed, can't be hurt for long, because they phase backwards and wipe out the damage. The Time Agency's never found anything that can stop them."
Jack smiled a very small smile. "But I have. Magic." He walked over to Cedric, settled one hand on his shoulder. "Cedric can drive them off. We have to keep him alive while he does it." He looked at each of them in turn. "Sam can never know, ever, and when we're finished, neither can I. That's the other reason Anakin's here. When it's over, I have to forget." He folded his arms. "Any questions?"
Aeryn
Ordinarily Aeryn would have a few objections, but if they were here, she already knew she wasn't talking anyone out of this. And she wasn't really sure she wanted to talk anyone out of it. And maybe she'd been dying to fight something.
"You have to forget?" she asked, because she was a little worried about Anakin doing something like that.
Jack
"Yeah." Even if he hated it. "If the Agency figures out there's a way to beat the Reapers there won't be anything to keep them in check. And I'm not letting them find out what Cedric can do. They can't. This is the only way to make sure."
Anakin
Anakin worried at his lower lip for a second, then nodded. "It's doable."
He looked around the room. "But if there is any chance one of you might spill this accidentally and ruin the time line, I'll erase your memories of this when I get Jack's and carry the whole thing myself. I've seen what happens when you try to screw with time and destiny and it goes badly. Decades of galactic devastation isn't me being overdramatic."
Jack
If Jack shifted his weight slightly so he was standing just a little in front of Cedric, it was entirely unconscious. "One, there's no one in this room who can't be trusted to keep the damn secret. I need you to wipe mine because the Agency can walk around in there and I can't stop them. Two," he paused, looking from Anakin to Aeryn and back, "if you do what I tell you, the timeline, the world, and Sam are going to be just fine."
Just don't ask which one was his priority.
Aeryn
There were things Aeryn could keep from John without issue. This could easily be one of them. "Understood," she said simply.
Cedric
"Yes," Cedric said quietly.
Anakin
Anakin's eyebrow had quirked up at the "do what I tell you" and had stayed there. He also had a suspicion that Jack's internal priorities weren't exactly what he had said aloud.
But starting a fight wasn't going to change anyone's mind. "Where do we start? Or is it when?" he asked instead.
Jack
"It's when. We go back to just before the accident." Jack didn't accept the existence of destiny. "She was killed in a rock slide. We have to intervene as close to the second she died as possible, minimise interference to the timeline," he explained, very aware of the irony. "After that, we'll have maybe ten minutes before the reapers arrive. They'll phase out of the time vortex into the sky."
Cedric
"How many reapers will there be?" Cedric asked. "Any idea?"
Jack
"They swarm, so it could be two, could be ten, could be more. The ones that come first'll call the rest." Jack turned to look at him. "Once you work your magic, drive them off, they'll stop calling. No more reapers. We'll keep them busy until the last one's gone."
Kawalsky
"What can we do to slow 'em down?"
Jack
"Hurt them. As much as you can. It won't last, the little bastards can't be killed. But you can hurt them. It'll slow them down, give Cedric's spell a chance to work."
Anakin
"Will Cedric's spell have to work individually?" Anakin asked, "or will it be a one-time thing? I'd hate to be aiming for one of the Reapers and almost skewer the wrong person because my opponent disappeared."
Cedric
"When the spell is cast, the resulting effect of the spell will work on all the Reapers. It's not going to physically hurt them or injure them. It's a powerful shielding charm that will drive them away and hold them off. So, they won't disappear."
Jack
"They will phase back into the vortex, though. Cedric's spell will chase them away. But you'll have some warning, they ripple as they phase. It should be enough."
Aeryn
"How long will we have to fight them?" Aeryn asked, hoping her ammunition would hold out if they couldn't kill these things.
Jack
"Honestly?" Jack dragged a hand through his hair. "No idea. We're doing something no one's ever done before. How long does it take to drive off dementors?"
Cedric
"As soon as the spell is cast," Cedric said. "When done right, it's instantaneous."
Anakin
"And when it's not?" Anakin asked quietly. He liked having the worst case in mind, too, just in case.
Cedric
"It's going to be done right," he said, voice brokering no room for argument.
Kawalsky
"We'll have to hold them off to give him the chance to get it right."
Jack
"We keep him alive," Jack said quickly. "And maybe we get lucky, maybe we don't. Maybe it works instantaneously against reapers, maybe it takes some time. I know there's a whole hell of a lot of maybes, but I really don't give a crap. This is going to work."
Anakin
Anakin's eyes flashed. "I know you miss her, Jack," he said, "but we need to think this through. Charging straight ahead against an unstoppable enemy with only a vague idea of how we stop them is...well, standard procedure for a lot of us, but I'd rather go home with Sam and all my limbs intact, if at all possible. I just want to be as prepared as possible before the plan inevitably goes to hell."
Kawalsky
Kawalsky got down on the floor and spread out a rolled up piece of paper. It was a mud map with notations. "This is the area. If we jump in here, we can stop the rockslide here," he pointed, "if we get the right timing. This outcrop here and these trees here will provide good cover to wait for the Reapers to arrive. This area here will be the main area. We keep them contained here. If there's no way to kill them, then we have to consider them like a regular enemy with superior numbers. The numbers will keep coming, so we keep at them with our ground forces and hold off for the air strike. That's Cedric."
Jack
Jack was experiencing something entirely new as he leaned over Kawalsky's shoulder. Right at that moment, he actually liked him. "Nice."
He turned his head to look at Anakin. "And at the end, they're just animals. Vicious, dangerous, unkillable animals, but they can feel pain, you can chop pieces off them, you can blow them up. Bit unsatisfying when they come back in one piece, but if you seriously think the people in this room can't hold them off long enough for Cedric to do his thing, you need to think again."
Aeryn
Aeryn was studying Kawalsky's map pretty intently, still listening to what was going on around her. "We can do it," she said. "It'll keep us nice and busy."
Anakin
Anakin was memorizing the map in front of him. "Very well," he said. "Let's do it."
Someone was going to have a wee bit of trouble taking orders.
[ooc: pre-played with kawalsky, chasingsnitches, sith_happened, and can_be_more, NFB, NFI, OOC good!]
Aeryn
Aeryn arrived with a duffel bag full of weaponry, looking pretty focused on whyever she was here. Not sure what to bring, she'd brought an assortment.
Jack
"Aeryn." Jack stayed where he was, simply giving her a quick nod. "Thanks for coming."
It was Aeryn. He figured he didn't have to ask what was in the bag.
Aeryn
"Wouldn't have missed it," she assured him with a nod back.
Jack
The corner of his mouth curled up in half a smile, but it didn't touch his eyes. "Wish I could have. Grab a seat. I'll explain once Anakin's here."
Aeryn
With another nod, Aeryn took a seat, hoping Anakin got here soon so she didn't have to outright ask.
Anakin
Anakin was in the house a moment later, lightsaber strapped securely to his waist and cloak streaming behind him at the pace he'd been setting to get there.
"Hello."
Jack
Jack nodded in response and pushed off the wall, moving towards the centre of the room. "Good. Let's get this thing started."
Cedric
At the sound of Jack's voice, Cedric pulled the spell back in, dropped his hand loose at his side and turned to listen.
Kawalsky
Kawalsky stayed silent against the wall.
Jack
"Sam's dead." He said it flatly, bluntly. "And it's not going to happen. We're going back to stop it. You're here so we can keep the world in one piece. We change this, we're going to rip a hole in time. A small one, but it's going to bleed. Where you get blood, you get predators. Reapers, predators that live in the time vortex. They can't be killed, can't be hurt for long, because they phase backwards and wipe out the damage. The Time Agency's never found anything that can stop them."
Jack smiled a very small smile. "But I have. Magic." He walked over to Cedric, settled one hand on his shoulder. "Cedric can drive them off. We have to keep him alive while he does it." He looked at each of them in turn. "Sam can never know, ever, and when we're finished, neither can I. That's the other reason Anakin's here. When it's over, I have to forget." He folded his arms. "Any questions?"
Aeryn
Ordinarily Aeryn would have a few objections, but if they were here, she already knew she wasn't talking anyone out of this. And she wasn't really sure she wanted to talk anyone out of it. And maybe she'd been dying to fight something.
"You have to forget?" she asked, because she was a little worried about Anakin doing something like that.
Jack
"Yeah." Even if he hated it. "If the Agency figures out there's a way to beat the Reapers there won't be anything to keep them in check. And I'm not letting them find out what Cedric can do. They can't. This is the only way to make sure."
Anakin
Anakin worried at his lower lip for a second, then nodded. "It's doable."
He looked around the room. "But if there is any chance one of you might spill this accidentally and ruin the time line, I'll erase your memories of this when I get Jack's and carry the whole thing myself. I've seen what happens when you try to screw with time and destiny and it goes badly. Decades of galactic devastation isn't me being overdramatic."
Jack
If Jack shifted his weight slightly so he was standing just a little in front of Cedric, it was entirely unconscious. "One, there's no one in this room who can't be trusted to keep the damn secret. I need you to wipe mine because the Agency can walk around in there and I can't stop them. Two," he paused, looking from Anakin to Aeryn and back, "if you do what I tell you, the timeline, the world, and Sam are going to be just fine."
Just don't ask which one was his priority.
Aeryn
There were things Aeryn could keep from John without issue. This could easily be one of them. "Understood," she said simply.
Cedric
"Yes," Cedric said quietly.
Anakin
Anakin's eyebrow had quirked up at the "do what I tell you" and had stayed there. He also had a suspicion that Jack's internal priorities weren't exactly what he had said aloud.
But starting a fight wasn't going to change anyone's mind. "Where do we start? Or is it when?" he asked instead.
Jack
"It's when. We go back to just before the accident." Jack didn't accept the existence of destiny. "She was killed in a rock slide. We have to intervene as close to the second she died as possible, minimise interference to the timeline," he explained, very aware of the irony. "After that, we'll have maybe ten minutes before the reapers arrive. They'll phase out of the time vortex into the sky."
Cedric
"How many reapers will there be?" Cedric asked. "Any idea?"
Jack
"They swarm, so it could be two, could be ten, could be more. The ones that come first'll call the rest." Jack turned to look at him. "Once you work your magic, drive them off, they'll stop calling. No more reapers. We'll keep them busy until the last one's gone."
Kawalsky
"What can we do to slow 'em down?"
Jack
"Hurt them. As much as you can. It won't last, the little bastards can't be killed. But you can hurt them. It'll slow them down, give Cedric's spell a chance to work."
Anakin
"Will Cedric's spell have to work individually?" Anakin asked, "or will it be a one-time thing? I'd hate to be aiming for one of the Reapers and almost skewer the wrong person because my opponent disappeared."
Cedric
"When the spell is cast, the resulting effect of the spell will work on all the Reapers. It's not going to physically hurt them or injure them. It's a powerful shielding charm that will drive them away and hold them off. So, they won't disappear."
Jack
"They will phase back into the vortex, though. Cedric's spell will chase them away. But you'll have some warning, they ripple as they phase. It should be enough."
Aeryn
"How long will we have to fight them?" Aeryn asked, hoping her ammunition would hold out if they couldn't kill these things.
Jack
"Honestly?" Jack dragged a hand through his hair. "No idea. We're doing something no one's ever done before. How long does it take to drive off dementors?"
Cedric
"As soon as the spell is cast," Cedric said. "When done right, it's instantaneous."
Anakin
"And when it's not?" Anakin asked quietly. He liked having the worst case in mind, too, just in case.
Cedric
"It's going to be done right," he said, voice brokering no room for argument.
Kawalsky
"We'll have to hold them off to give him the chance to get it right."
Jack
"We keep him alive," Jack said quickly. "And maybe we get lucky, maybe we don't. Maybe it works instantaneously against reapers, maybe it takes some time. I know there's a whole hell of a lot of maybes, but I really don't give a crap. This is going to work."
Anakin
Anakin's eyes flashed. "I know you miss her, Jack," he said, "but we need to think this through. Charging straight ahead against an unstoppable enemy with only a vague idea of how we stop them is...well, standard procedure for a lot of us, but I'd rather go home with Sam and all my limbs intact, if at all possible. I just want to be as prepared as possible before the plan inevitably goes to hell."
Kawalsky
Kawalsky got down on the floor and spread out a rolled up piece of paper. It was a mud map with notations. "This is the area. If we jump in here, we can stop the rockslide here," he pointed, "if we get the right timing. This outcrop here and these trees here will provide good cover to wait for the Reapers to arrive. This area here will be the main area. We keep them contained here. If there's no way to kill them, then we have to consider them like a regular enemy with superior numbers. The numbers will keep coming, so we keep at them with our ground forces and hold off for the air strike. That's Cedric."
Jack
Jack was experiencing something entirely new as he leaned over Kawalsky's shoulder. Right at that moment, he actually liked him. "Nice."
He turned his head to look at Anakin. "And at the end, they're just animals. Vicious, dangerous, unkillable animals, but they can feel pain, you can chop pieces off them, you can blow them up. Bit unsatisfying when they come back in one piece, but if you seriously think the people in this room can't hold them off long enough for Cedric to do his thing, you need to think again."
Aeryn
Aeryn was studying Kawalsky's map pretty intently, still listening to what was going on around her. "We can do it," she said. "It'll keep us nice and busy."
Anakin
Anakin was memorizing the map in front of him. "Very well," he said. "Let's do it."
Someone was going to have a wee bit of trouble taking orders.
[ooc: pre-played with kawalsky, chasingsnitches, sith_happened, and can_be_more, NFB, NFI, OOC good!]