Day 2
Location: Unknown
Allee opened her eyes, a headache pulsing through her head. The first thing she saw was the pommel of a ... saddle? Someone's hands were in front of her, holding the reins. She tried to lift her head, her mind still clouded with dizziness and unnatural sleep.

All around her was what she presumed was Arida, but it was an area she didn't recognize. There were hardly any buildings--which was probably definitely very far from the inner-city convent. She might not even be in Arida anymore.

She glanced behind her and couldn't quite catch sight of the person riding on the back of the horse. She opened her mouth, her throat feeling dry and scratchy as she asked, "Who are you, where are we, and what do you want with me?"

Day 2
Location: Unknown

Sam had taken the liberty to bandage the girls head while she was out. For whatever reason, his superiors had ordered him to deliver her to Q9 in the best shape possible. And he was very, very good at following orders. Although, in his opinion this job could have been conducted better if he had a team. He'd bring that up with the brass once he arrived at base.

"We are in the middle of the desert, my name is Sam Talon. What is wanted with you? I don't rightly know. But then again that's not my job," he was being truthful. In all honestly, he didn't know what went on at Q9. He didn't even know what she was wanted for. Heck, she didn't look like a criminal. She looked like your average girl. Just a kid. He snorted, the irony of that thought. It was almost too much to bear, she couldn't have been more than four or five years younger than he. Pushing that out of his mind, he reached forwards and handed her a canteen.

"Drink."

Q9

Kat awoke suddenly, after what seemed to have been a life time of peaceful, undisturbed rest. However, the quiet sleep was simply a precursor to the hell that she had awaken too. Surrounding her, on all sides were steel walls. Beneath her, a hard mattress that might as well had been concrete. Wherever she was, it wasn't home and it sure wasn't pretty.

Q9
1442qn

"Good morning, Kat," a deep voice said. "It is Kat, right? Never Katherine."

Day 2
Location: Unknown

Allee winced, reaching up to touch her head. She felt something rough--some sort of bandage? That would explain the headache.

She took the canteen and unscrewed the lid, grateful for some sort of water. If they were in the desert, she had to stay hydrated. She took quite a few sips, then handed it back to him, watching the desert landscape pass by for a few moments. She let out a nearly-silent sigh. "Where are you taking me?"

Day 2
Location: Unknown

He considered his wording for a few moments. Anything too-specific would reveal the location of Q9, yet Sam felt like he owed this girl some nugget of truth. Something that would prepare her for what to come, "my orders are to escort you to a secret government base, where you will be rehabilitated."

Rehabilitation, that is what they had told him when he signed onto this mission. He wasn't entirely sure that he believed his briefer. When the government erected fences, topped with barbed-wire, it was either to keep people out. Or to keep people in. In the case of Q9, he assumed that they would serve a double purpose. Sam pulled up on the reigns and dismounted, "stretch your legs. You've been on that horse for five hours now."

While the soldier was partially concerned for Allee's comfort, he too need a break from the endless pounding of the saddle. Sam proceeded to untie her hands from the pommel and to offer his hand in assistance. Eight years of boarding-school manners had not been thrown out the window, just because he had gone and joined the military.

Q9
1442qn

"You! What the heck is going on here?" She was confused, but most of all she was angry. She'd gone and put her trust in someone, someone she should have never even spoken too. Now... Now the trust was gone, replaced with rage, fright and puzzlement.

Q9
1443qn

"Your old life is over, Kat," the man said, pulling up a chair and sitting down a few feet from her bed. "It is up to you what your father is told, but your special abilities put you in a unique position. You're a smart, beautiful young woman, Kat. As you are right to assume, it would be dangerous to you for others to know of your power right away. Here, at Q9, we give you the tools and room to discover the full extent of your powers, and the opportunity to hone them into something that could perhaps benefit the greater good."

Day 2
Location: Unknown

"My orders are to escort you to a secret government base, where you will be rehabilitated."

Allee didn't get a chance to respond until the guy behind her pulled the horse to a stop, dismounted, then untied her hands from the pommel. He helped her down, something that surprised Allee. Whoever her kidnapper was, he didn't seem cruel, much to her surprise.

That didn't stop her from being on her guard, though.

She needed to address the rehab thing, though. She clasped her hands and licked her lips. "Rehabilitation? What on earth do I need to be rehabilitated for? If this is about how stressed I've been at work, I swear I'm fine. I don't need therapy. After the supernova chaos has stopped, things will calm down, and everything will be back to normal."

Q9
1443qn

"First you drug me and then you expect me to latch onto that party line? Yeah. Well, you've got another thing coming Doc, I've been around our government enough to when when something's fishy. And this place smells like dog-crap, I'll bet that y'all have a very pleasant surprise waiting for me if I don't cooperate. Huh?" That fiery temper, that had launched her father to a successful career in the military had gone and over powered Kat's normal emotions. Again.

Day 2
Location: Unknown
Her attempt at denying her abilities was laughable, but admirable all the same. As Sam had said before, he officially had no idea what went on in Q9. But all the same, he realized that there were no coincidences. The fact that Q9 was so high on the priority list meant only one thing. That must of been created in the light of recent events. Namely, the sudden appearance of extra-ordinary individuals.

"Nice try, Ma'am. But you aren't fooling anyone at this point. I was sent to pick you up, because of your, well. Interesting abilities."

Q9
1443qn

The man shrugged.

"We could always return you to your father, if that is what you want. Incidentally--someone saw you. He knows all ready," he stood. "Get used to this place, Kat. You're lucky that you're only in here for protection, not rehabilitation. If it weren't for the fact that one of the doctors has been fighting on your behalf, you wouldn't even have protection, just a grave. Most of the others here have used their power to kill dozens--some, hundreds--of people. You're not in the same class as them. Don't make us regret that. Now, unless you have any more reasonable questions, I'll leave you to change and get ready."

Q9
1443qn

So dad knows, the knowledge of that shut Kat up like a punch to the gut. The fire left her and she returned to her normal self. The last thing she wanted to do now was go back, she'd be shunned in her own home and the only person in the world that she could rely on, well. He was thousands of miles away. Or so she thought.

"Wait, get ready for what?"

Q9
1444qn

"You will be meeting with your doctor and being oriented to the facilities and where you can and cannot go, as well as being moved into your permanent room and out of intake."

Arida: Day 3
De Mon Estate

Chris raised an eyebrow at the mention of "worse collectables". He could only what kind of bizarre items a overly wealthy widow could gather around her.

"Oh, nothing really. I was mostly just trying to escape the rampant refugees that have descended upon this place." the bounty hunter continued to idly maneuver around the "collectables" until he was near the fireplace.

"On second thought, I do have a question. What are you planning to do with all these people? You can't stay here much longer, unless you plan on doing some renovating to the house..."

Arida: Day 3
De Mon Estate

"Yeah, and that really isn't going to happen right now," she said, sighing over what she knew was going to come. "No where near the trained workforce necessary to renovate it right now. Frankly, I don't have a solid plan for what next. I'm still considering my...options, I suppose.
"It would, technically, be possible to build an entire community here, within the walls of the De Mon Estate. The Estate covers hundreds of acres, which could all be converted to form a proper little fifedom, I suppose. The problem, however, is that a more and more violent sort of people are gathering and fighting just beyond us. Arida is collapsing and falling into ruin. With the gangs empowered, and a lack of firepower within the Estate, they will sooner or later spill into the land. Which is really quite a bother, because I doubt any of them would see the beauty in this old place," she said tenderly, looking at the books. She shook her head.
"Anyway, I don't know how long everyone could survive here. Then, there is the option of kicking everyone out, but that merits the question 'then why did you let them in in the first place?' for which I would have no answer."

Candi stopped and lit a cigarette, finally joining Chris by the fireplace.

Day 2
Location: Unknown

Allee had been pacing, but at her kidnapper's words, she stopped right in her tracks. "Interesting abilities?" She paused for a moment, her mind scrambling to figure out what on earth he must mean. "Do you mean my writing? Because I mean, seriously, kidnapping me for my ability to put words together and write a decent interview is a little harsh."

Day 2
Location: Unknown

Sam crouched down and picked up a handful of sand. As the soldier allowed the rough grains slide between his fingers, he forced himself to look up at his kidnapee. And to evaluate her, not on her abilities to commit atrocities. But instead he asked himself, would this girl, in her right mind do such a thing as to merit being shipped to a recently developed government concentration camp? His answer to the that self-imposed question was a firm and resounding no.

"Alright, I think its best we get going," Samuel had to focus his brainpower on something else. Anything but the topic he was bunny-trailing down. The mission came first, the mission always came first. In one smooth movement, he was on his horse and out of instinct he offered his hand out in assistance. "I don't plan on knocking you out this time, but I'll have to ask you to take the front of the horse, Ma'am. Its protocol now. "