[b][i]NPC Post - Ascendancy of Man Presidential Palace, Hawaii[/i][/b]

Emmanuel Thoreau, President-for-Life of the Ascendancy of Man, had taken the largest island of the Hawaiian archipelago (the Big Island, also confusingly named Hawai'i) for his entire Presidential Palace, destroying most of the old structures to create a gigantic monstrosity of a building complex surrounded by two walls of white marble which surrounded acres of jungles for hunting, plus orchards, gardens, and parklands for pleasure. These in turn were centered around a gigantic Neoclassical-style palace with statues of platinum and carved jade depicting mythological figures of Greek Heroes.

The defenses were top of the line, with every member of the staff carefully watched, drones constantly flying over the walls, and battalions of armed guards conducting frequent patrols. It also didn't hurt that there were methods of defending against attempts at magical assault... None of which were proof against treachery from within. 

Aurora Thoreau, the wife of the President-for-Life, was seeking escape from her spouse and had drugged his wine so that she can sneak into an unused basement that held unused furniture, an unused basement where the Timespace Wards which prevented teleportation were weak. Then, she would pull out the tools, a set of keys that glowed brightly with stolen magic, and begin the work of further undoing them; she had to act quickly lest her husband or his minions witness the disturbance in the local magical fabric.

Footsteps can be heard rushing towards her; there were very few guards who valued her above Emmanuel, so Aurora dared not hope in anything but strong locks and a couch of silk and hardwood moved to bar the door. This ought to buy her would-be rescuer enough time... Assuming he was true to his word.

She tore off the scarf from her neck, a silk cloth given to her by a would-be flatterer, but which she herself marked with a magical sign carefully hidden and suppressed even from her husband's own senses - What a sad man who believed what had been done to him, to her, and their families was necessary. And by necessary, he had married her for political reasons and to prove his own father's theory, that a person injected with Kaisoken dust [i]as a child[/i] can pass on their powers to their own children, while those injected with the dust as adults could not; something about their DNA being stable?

A loud crack can be heard as the door was broken open, but her contact had opened the needed portal, a rift that connected Earth to a faraway spaceship. She jumped in, and as the gateway closed behind her, she found herself in a large room covered with more magical signs - Spell Marks. At the head of the room were two people, a tall figure, presumably male, in an azure crow mask and an armored long coat, and a middle-aged but still beautiful woman who looked her over, disapproving of her dress and jewels as she tut-tutted and turned to [i]Blue Crow[/i].

"So," she said, "With [i]Arthur's[/i] older sister rescued from her husband's clutches, he and the rest of Squad Zero can afford to drop their masks, right?"

"Or they'll hunt us down for jumping the gun," Blue Crow said. "Arthur may be our adopted son, but he told us repeatedly that if we don't stick to our plan, the convoluted plan to save our [i]natural[/i] son, we'll be killed."

"Speaking of which, that kid, [i]Snow[/i]..." said Blue Crow's wife, "It's hard to believe he's a pilot at such a young age." 

"I heard that!" said a voice over the speakers, "Anyway, things will move fast after this; Crowley or Arthur or whoever he calls himself won't take this lying down. We're lucky he won't kill his adoptive brother and future brother-in-law, but he is so devoted to his own [i]mask[/i] that if his sister comes to harm, he'll kill us in front of -" 

Aurora had jumped into a portal that led to a small freighter once used by the Windsor Autonomous Trading Fleet and repurposed by its current owner into his own personal blockade runner. Said current owner was one Snow Cecil, who was carrying one Blue Crow and his wife with him as they sailed towards Epsilon Theta for a [i]family reunion[/i].

She dared to ask, "Will your son really forgive my brother? You took the latter into your house and got only trouble. First with your son being abducted, then my brother taking on [i]another[/i] disguise to watch over him and prepare to dispose of any Star Marines who found themselves truly loyal to the Ascendancy to prevent them from joining -"

Snow was the one who interrupted before any mention of his own former group can be made, "If what I've heard about [i]Ashton Andrews[/i] from his parents here is true, he's a good boy... Stock Market craziness aside."

[@Letter Bee][@Landaus Five-One][@FalloutJack][@Starlance][@jdh97][@Smike]