5899/Reed shows Sue a secret

Reed shows Sue a secret
Date of Scene:	09 April 2021
Location:	Asteroid Base - FF
Synopsis:	We christen thee Singularity
Cast of Characters:	Reed Richards, Susan Richards

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Reed Richards has posed:
Reed wakes you with a kiss in the middle of the night and pulls you from bed. He smiles inn the darkness, it is late that dead part of the evening that even the most rebellious child rarely sees. He takes Sue by the hand leading her through the comfortable environs of the residential area and into the lobby then across to a his lab, winding a circutuitous path to a little used area. He throws a seemingly random collection of levers and switches and you see the teleportation pad light. This particular pad is heavier duty than any other you have seen.

Susan Richards has posed:
     It's oh-dark-stupid, and all is hell. Or so it seems, as Sue is rousted from a sound sleep by... something. No, someone. Upon cracking open her eyes, she sees it's her husband, and smiles. But there is no time for pillow talk or canoodling, as she's barely left enough time to dress before being dragged along the corridors to... "Reed? What is going on?"

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards smiles and tilts his head as he looks at you in your night gown and light robe, "Hmm? Oh, I want to show you a secret. It has be now while everyone is asleep. I don't want Val to feel I don't trust her or her friends but I am her Father." He activates the teleporter and steps into the ring with you. There is a bright flash and we are someplace, it's dark for a moment and the light start to come on and as they do this space goes from vast to gigantic to gargantuan. You recognize the hum of air circulators and the slight variation of artificial gravity kicking in. You know this isn't on Earth, and in the lights you can see the various ships of exploration from that first fateful ship to the most recent and even the Battleship size intrepid. There are upwards of 20 ships in this space.

Susan Richards has posed:
     Sue's wide-eyed expression, at least initially, is almost one of a kid in a candy shop. This space called its siren's song to every ounce of curiosity and sense of adventure she had within her--from that first fateful ship, to each vessel within its assigned berth. She just turns around and around a few times, trying to take it all in.

     "It's fantastic," she finally says, when it's all had a chance to finally sink in. "But riddle me this--how the hell did you sneak this one by me?"

     Uh-oh.

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards grins and his eyes are twinkling with mirth at your reaction, he sees the wonder and then the shrewd gaze of the Mother and business woman. He places his forehead against yours, "I am sorry love but when Lex began his bid for the presidency I panicked, you know that even since losing the Fargazer days he has been a problem. I foolishly asked him to invest in that ill-fated project and he did and lost everything. At one point he even tried to recoup his loses by bankrupting Fantasticorp.

    Anyway, I panicked and started to squirrel away resources if we needed them. First internationally, you remember that string pf buyouts a couple of years ago, and then the Antartic base, done in cooperation with T'Challa for the UN support and lastly. He gets a small smile, and gestures, "This. We used to keep the ships in high Earth orbit but that was getting crowded and overly observed, Ben suggested this, I think he may have been kidding, but three weeks later we took a ride and got started. You know that new Construction bots we used in HongKong? This is where all that hardware and software cut its teeth. Luckily it a large open space which was easy to engineer, and then lay in the scaffolding, and tah-dah." He flashes a hopeful smile, "But this was not the surprise I brought you here for." It may occur to you that the family or the company, well, somebody is worth quite a bit more than you thought.

Susan Richards has posed:
     It was hard to argue with results. Even Sue had to admit that. Thoes construction bots in Hong Kong had done a wonderful job, but their development had seemed to go almost a bit -too- smoothly. It was as if somehow the bugs had all already been worked out. Either that, or Lady Luck was on their side, watching over them and guarding the foolish who dared to tempt Fate. It made sense now, why progress in Hong Kong had been well ahead of schedule. The bugs -had- been largely exterminated from the bots' hardware and software.

     And this impressive station was the result.

     There would be questions later, and very likely one of -those- talks in private.

     But for now, perhaps she could allow herself the small luxury of reveling in her beloved's accomplishment. He always meant well, with projects like this. Could it be that once, just this once, one of his endeavors didn't go pear-shaped? Could this be the one that turned out right from the start?

     Sue's lips curl upwards with a smile, and she leans against her husband for a warm embrace. "This is impressive," she admits. "What's the surprise, though? You've got me curious."

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards grins and nods and leads you to a new ship, hidden among the rest. The ship is small and sleek, designed for speed and manueverability with over speced engines and shields. She is pretty in the same way a french bulldog is pretty. Tough and pugnacious, built to take a beating and come out the other side. You can see the small crew compartment, barely room for four, and a small but well supplied medical suite. This is a rescue craft.

Susan Richards has posed:
     "Ohhh..." Sue manages to release the breath she didn't know she was holding, in one awe-stricken moment of delight, much as a child would on Christmas morning. Almost immediately, she's going around the outside of the craft, checking it for the slightest flaws--and finding none. She ducks through the entry portal to the ship, and gives it the same inspection on the outside, from readouts to bulkheads, supplies, gizmos and doo-dads. "This is incredible! I still can't figure out how you managed to sneak this one by me. But, we could do a -lot- of good with this, if we needed to."

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards nods and watches his wife and design collaborator go over every inch of their ship with the same meticulous attention to detail she brings to every aspect of their lives, his voice is quiet when he speaks, "I- ... I didn't want you to worry, their were a few nights I could not sleep and I figured out what it was." Reed gestures at the ship and gives a small smile, "We can do a lot of good for everyone but I built this to rescue our girl, just in case."

Susan Richards has posed:
     "Then let's hope this ship never needs to be put to that purpose," Sue replies, finally turning to face Reed. Her arms wrap themselves around him, pulling him in close for a warm embrace, her forehead resting against his. It's an odd spot for a quiet moment, sweet and strange all at once. Her soft lips press against his, and curl upwards in a smile. "Thank you, Reed. I always worry about our little girl." It only takes a slight turn of her head to look about the ship once more. "Does the vessel have a name?"

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards wraps his arms around you and meets you forehead to forehead, mirroring you, "I know you do, we worry about them both." He smiles, "Not yet, you have any ideas?"

Susan Richards has posed:
     Sue smiles and leans into the embrace, swaying there with Reed. For a moment, it's almost as if they're slow dancing, miles above the surface of the little blue world that is their home. "Well," she begins. "What about... Singularity? Our little girl is unique, she is the only girl we will have. Singular. Singularity."

Reed Richards has posed:
Reed Richards barks out a laugh and steps back to look at Sue, keeping pace in the dance, "Did she tell you?" Reed gives you his winningest smile, "I had just started calling her that, for the exact same reason. Also because it was not sexist." he chuckles and moves close again, "I love it. Steel sharpens steel as the say."

Susan Richards has posed:
     Sue's laugh echoes his own, and she shakes her head slightly in reply. "No, she hasn't said anything about that. You know, Mr. Fantastic, if I didn't know better, I'd say we were like an old married couple." She barely stifles a laugh, content for the moment to sway in the embrace of her one and only. Life was good.