Anomaly Acquisitions - Crossroads 15

You burst awake, blinded by the dim lights of the medbay. Facility 4. You're back.

"Beacon! You're awake! How are you feeling? Are you alright?" Blue quickly steps to the edge of your bed, checking your vitals, and offering you water and a freshly opened MRE.

"You've been out for a whole day. There's a lot to catch up on... as soon as you're ready."

After a much needed shower, and a quick "meal," you follow Blue to the command room.

"Ah the sun has returned, and I am once again bathed in perfect light! Come here!" Andoni practically flies out of his chair and dances across the room to embrace you.

"And, where is my hug? I've been without you for quite some time, cara. I could use some of that light meself!" A short figure leaning in the doorway smiles bigger than anyone. Dain deftly pushes past Andoni to get his fill of you.

"Good to see you're alive and well." Henry is facing you, but his eyes are very much stuck on the flickering light above you.

"Hey." The Shapeshifter is leaned back in his chair, feet on the table.

"Please, sit."

"Blue, you're always ready for business, eh? Can't give old friends a chance to catch up?" Dain chuckles. Blue does not.

"Our small but lively friend has informed us that the Shade is willing to come to terms with AA. Recent events have also inspired the Master to allow us to install communication arrays within the Shade. Hopefully that will make it easier to call on them should we need them. I suppose I ought to say WHEN we need them."

As your comrades take their seats, the command room lights dim, and the holographic projection of a giant building emerges from the center of the room.

"This is the Church of the Stars. It's an old cathedral in Italy that houses a secret sect of cultists. They worship a set of god-like beings they call The Children of the Stars."

"Not a lot of fun, those ones." The Shapeshifter growls, clearly uneasy.

"No. They're not." Everyone glances at Henry, but he's still very much enthralled by the dim glow on the ceiling.

"A recon team found traces of energy emanating from some sort of sanctum beneath it. It's faint, but the levels are rising. And... there have been Colors spotted coming and going.”

"This place is... let's just say there's no good reason for them to be going down there." The Shapeshifter pulls forth the scraps of a journal. "This journal is written in another space, so your mind can't handle reading it. It's like a doorway, but into your brain. And the only things that can use that door, are things you don't want in there. There's some scribbles here and there that mention the Children, that Church, and The Lady."

Blue tenses, eyes locked with the Shapeshifter. "We need to get in there, and find out what they're doing. Any ideas?"

Silence.

"Well, I made sure we have backup now. Perhaps it's time to stop sneaking around, and attack." Dain's smile can't seem to get any bigger.

Andoni raises an eyebrow. "I think maybe we ought to keep ourselves alive. Rushing in isn't exactly the best way to do that. Don't you have more nuts we could throw to help us in? Or have you used your two already?"

"The Western side has a collapsed wall that isn't quite repaired. We could try and sneak in that way." The Shapeshifter taps his fingers on the table.

"How do you know that?" 

"Uh... I guess I'm on the West side and there's a big hole here."

"I could fly someone in? Or, one by one if we have time without being noticed..." Henry is now very attentive of the glowing mass in the center of the room.

"Hmm... well we've got some options. Beacon... anything sound good?"

The eyes of the room are on you. You feel like many, many more are watching from beyond...