Session start: Saturday, December 31, 2033 – 0100 hours PST – downtown Pax Artificium
Daniel
Once Pax Artificium University is rebuilt in October, Daniel resumes his work there. The new semester is starting mid-January, and he wants to be ready. Meanwhile, he is attempting to contact God through occult and spiritual means (primarily Kabbalistic) with the aid of his program. On New Years Eve, he finally succeeds.
Daniel meditates, attempting to talk to God. His radio spontaneously turns on, and he hears the voice of Banks on the line. "Daniel Miller, this is John Banks and Ringo Summers. We know you're listening. We need your help." He explains that they are trapped in a place called the Astral plane, along with some people who wish to speak with him. A man named Yeslek interrupts in a scratchy voice, asking if Miller has heard of an ancient Babylonian instrument, capable of opening gates between worlds.
Yeslek plows on, saying Daniel isn't a very good expert on ancient religions if he hasn't heard of it. Yeslek tells him it has been lost, but that he believes it still exists. He tells Daniel to find it, bring it to the island where the obelisk lies, and to play it so that they can be freed from their long captivity.
"And Miller," he says, "Don't trust anyone. At least one of your friends is working for the enemy."
Erica
Erica Banyon receives a call from MMS informing her that it is time to reinventory any personal items that she wishes to keep insured. (Typically, this is done with a scanning rod, with any items she wishes to insure in plain sight.) They schedule the inventory for the next morning (Saturday) at 8 am.
That night, Erica awakens to the sound strange, feminine voices outside her window. They blend together musically, with intriguing, overlapping overtones. Looking outside, she sees figures wearing swirling, almost ethereal black robes. One turns its head, and Erica sees the image of a pale woman, with glowing white eyes, looking toward her. The woman looks surprised and opens her mouth, unleashing an unearthly scream. Erica falls unconscious, as all the windows in the entire apartment complex shatter simultaneously.
In the morning, Erica's alarm wakes her, and she recalls the dream she had, noticing that none of the windows are broken. Ten minutes before eight, there is a knock on her door. It is the MMS guy. He is wearing a suit, carries a steel briefcase and has dark sunglasses on as well.
"Good day," he says, "I am Armin Reed from Money Management Solutions. I'm here to do an inventory of your personal items, for insurance purposes." He proceeds to scan the items she has made available to him. There is another knock on Erica's door. When she answers it, it is another man who claims to be Armin Reed. When she turns around, she sees that the first Reed has disappeared, as has her prized possession, a flute of some value.
Dirk
Dirk has been charged with the task of investigating potentially anomalous individuals from Pax Artificium, to verify their status. He has designed an arm module for this task that can specify "type A" (increased anomalous particle count within and surrounding the body), "type B" (differences in individual DNA strands), "type AB" (both A and B), or "type O" (normal). It also identifies the "strength factor" of the anomalous activity. His arm's database keeps track of the findings.
The first person on Dirk's list is Erica Banyon. His government has arranged a cover identity for him: Armin Reed of MMS. But when he shows up at Erica's apartment, he gets more than he bargained for...
Daniel
Daniel searches the Net for information on the ancient Babylonian flute, but has no luck determining its current whereabouts. Just when he is about to give up for the night, he feels an alien presence in his mind. Though the voice speaks in a whisper, it is still the most overwhelming thing Daniel has ever experienced. "ERICA BANYON," it whispers. "SEEK THE FLUTE. HURRY." Something about the voice brings images of Cthulu to Daniel's mind.
Daniel takes a late-night train to Erica's area of town. As he approaches her apartment building, he sees three ghostly figures floating outside one side of the apartment. They do not appear to see Daniel as he crouches behind a nearby bush. He notices a woman peering out one of the apartment windows at the figures, and he sees that one of them notices the woman as well. The figure screams, and Daniel passes out as all the windows of the apartment building appear to break yet not break simultaneously.
Erica, Dirk and Daniel
The next morning, Daniel awakens and verifies that the window from which the woman peered last night was one of Erica's windows. He knocks on her door and introduces himself as Daniel Miller. Dirk is there, and notices that Daniel is type A, which seems like an unlikely coincidence.
Dirk excuses himself to the bathroom so that he can call his base, as he was ordered to report anything unusual. His boss Baxter instructs him to bring them in, telling the truth about his mission if necessary to convince them. Baxter also suggests that they may be able to help determine what happened to Erica's flute. Dirk tells Erica and Daniel that he works for the Canadian government, and eventually they agree to accompany him back to Canada.
Betty and Frank
Betty Brown, a nervous jewel thief, has recently acquired a jeweled circlet from an L.A. museum on behalf of a client from Vancouver, British Columbia. Betty's associate, Frank Furio, flies a plane, transporting people and goods in an "unofficial" capacity. Frank has agreed to take her across the border so that she can rendezvous with her client later that evening.
Fortunately for Betty, Frank's plane is equipped with the latest anti-radar technology, including augmentations courtesy of Canada. Unfortunately, this technology was given to Frank with the understanding that his services could be called upon to transport Canadian agents as the Canadian government deems necessary.
As Betty boards the plane, Frank receives a call from Dirk, who he has transported a couple of times before, saying that his services are needed to take Dirk and two others back to Canada right away. Frank informs Dirk that he is just about to take off with another client, but eventually agrees to pick up Dirk as well, since the two destinations are similar.
United
When Dirk boards the plane, he discovers that Betty is also anomalous. He insists that Frank travel to the base before dropping off Betty in Vancouver (so that he can have her taken into custody there as well).
Daniel senses a powerful force within Betty's pack, and sees a ring shape glowing from within. Something about it is extremely compelling, but Betty senses Daniel's unhealthy interest and guards the pack even more fiercely than usual.
As the plane nears the Canadian border, Frank notices two blips near the edge of his radar, traveling on a trajectory similar to his own. He adjusts his course to keep the blips near the edge of his radar, not letting them get too close.
After traveling this way for a couple of hours, a gigantic creature emerges from the water, heading straight for the plane! This leviathan resembles a huge snake, several hundred feet long, with a gaping maw capable of swallowing the entire plane with ease.
To make matters worse, the two blips on the radar accelerate and begin heading straight for Frank's plane as well. When they are within visual range, it is clear they are U.S. military aircraft.