RP: LSDF Akahar [Chapter 3.0] - To Tear Free

[Eistheid]

LSDF Akahar - Deck 3 Corridor - Near Armory & Deck 3/4 Access

Unsurprisingly Glacier's attention managed to remain more or less fixed on the sealed blast door to the stairwell. The incessant noise emanating from it was in a way more unnerving than the strange performance of the ship's intercom systems. Perhaps it was the immediate nature of the threat represented by the banging. Whatever the reason Glacier kept watch, intent on ensuring that whatever it, Korro, was wouldn't make it through the blast door in one piece. If it could make it through at all.

Despite his intentions to keep his full attention fixed on the unnerving portal, sealed or no. Glacier found it difficult not to pick up on the discussion between the Chaplain and the Acting Captain, his mind apparently eager to latch on to whatever scraps of information mundane, or otherwise that might keep him alive.

As such he quickly learned that many of the areas of interest around the Akahar had been locked down, and also that for some reason anything related to the structol had been secured as well. Uncertain as to the gravity of the statements due to a lack of practical knowledge to which they pertained, Glacier contented himself with the thought that measures had been taken. Whether or not they proved valuable in their strange situation was to be seen.

Unfortunately it seemed that the next portion of the exchange was beyond his ability to observe the information being delivered on a datapad the Acting Captain produced. Hopefully it wasn't critical data. Thankfully the interaction moved on beyond the datapad and the conversation continued. Further explanation revealed that it was likely a hostile symbiotic organism of some variety had attached to the Mok'ro, the ship that had started the entirety of the present mess.

With the continued stream of information Glacier unexpectedly found himself feeling a subtle sorrow deep within himself as he learned the fates of the Mok'ro's crew as well as the Akahar's own Medic. While he possessed little love for is fellow Lorath, he could empathize with the horror they must have gone through as they were consumed by that which had ended the Mok'ro.

Alerted by the mention that some of the away team were of unknown status having failed to complete medical scans, Glacier was drawn out of his brief sentimentality instead feeling unnerved. Idly shifting his grip on the Silva the gentle motions calming as he reminded himself that he still had a chance to survive. His nervousness passing he turned his mind to more productive ends and quickly came to the conclusion that unless anyone he encountered could prove that they were clean, they were best kept at a distance.

Between the solemn farewell to the dying Kam'kebek, the quick disposal of his body by the Chaplain, and the sudden arrival of an unknown member of the Akahar's crew, Glacier found that he was forced to put his new conclusion into practice much sooner than anticipated as he slipped carefully around the armoured form as they interjected themself abruptly into the group littered around the blast door.

Now separated from the main group by this new person Glacier found himself nervously glancing down the hall that the armoured figure had arrived from wondering now if less passive additions to their gathering would also come from that way. Quietly dismayed that they were also opening the blast door that had thankfully remained little more than background noise until this point on top of his being isolated by the unknown element's boisterous arrival.

Many things quickly happened, and in the midst of the flurry Glacier found himself watching the new arrival, his focus guided by the enquiry of one of the other crew after the new figure's well being. Looking to see how 'Mars' would react to the questions, Glacier suddenly felt as though he had been doused in ice water his gaze fixing on a bead of moisture, decidedly out of place, as it slipped down the curve of Mars' helmet.

Before he could come to a conclusion on what to do in reaction to the strange observation, the blast door separating them from Korro, and the source of the noise had begun to open. Snapping into a ready position his conditioning from training helping him fall into action while his mind still floundered with the unsettling occurrences, Glacier shifted his attention regularly between the opening blast door, and the otherwise unguarded hall on his flank not wanting to trust that the only threat was the one on the other side of the door. Checking that the Silva was ready he shifted and grimaced as he prepared mentally for the worst.

Despite his intent, the distorted features, seemingly caked with debris and refuse, unsettled him as they were slowly revealed like some sort of uncanny strip-tease. Glad that his WIND concealed the uneasiness of his expression he kept his weapon trained on the aberration for the moment still held back by the slowly rising door while allowing himself quick glances toward the hall that Mars had arrived from.

The action began in earnest as the Acting Captain began to fire with his pistol, the shots hitting the legs of their target in places though it seemed to have little effect as the aberration failed to react to the impacts, instead electing to try and guide the blast door upward with its malformed hands.

When the order to 'stand clear' came Glacier glanced to the Chaplain noting the M'cel he produced. This observation incited Glacier to move quickly sheltering against the wall in which the blast door was set just as the call of the plasma grenade was made.

Safely out of the area where the flash and possible fallout of the plasma grenade detonating, Glacier moved quickly afterwards falling into position to provide suppressing fire as requested and support Pitch in her endeavour. As he moved their new arrival Mars discarded her rifle having apparently ignored the Chaplain's call to stand clear in favour of briefly firing her rifle. He watched with muted disbelief as she drew her Searing Blade and boosted through the opening blast door to collide with the aberration.

With no clear line of sight to the target Glacier held his fire, not wanting his first test of the new weapon to be into the back of a hot-headed ally. Instead his mind turned to the latest activity of the Akahar's intercom systems, it sounded like a ceremony, one he was unfamiliar with though he suspected it had something to do with the L'manel. As it drew to a close Glacier's mind slowly connected the name mentioned with the one associated with the Akahar's lost Medic. Thinking back to the previous clips of sound Glacier felt something tighten in himself, a strange unpleasant feeling comparable only superficially to uneasiness. As the feeling settled despite being in the middle of combat Glacier couldn't help but wonder, 'What did they do to her?'

 

[DocTomoe]

LSDF Akahar - Deck 3 - Adjacent to Armory

Ha'reiel's hands moved purely from memory, reflex, and instinct, as his fingers danced nimbly along the casing of the 40mm shell which he had guided from his bandolier. There was only one look at the process, a glance, to be absolutely sure of what he was chambering. That fraction of a second in which he looked upon the shell, and the weapon, was not only to be sure of the procedure, but to be sure of what he was about to do, as he quickly snapped the grenade launcher pistol into its ready position, and looked upon the mayhem which took place before him.

Something of a mild surprise creept over Ha'reiel as he looked upon the charging Fyunnen's display. Just what was he witnessing, he wondered, as he tried to pin down the matter; was it heroism? Stupidity? Fear? Panic? Inexperience? There was no way to be sure of the matter really, without sitting her down afterwards, and asking about the matter... but Ha'reiel had no intention of such a thing, not in the slightest. Instead of even thinking about the matter any further, Ha'reiel leveled the M'cel on target, with his finger upon the trigger, there was only one courtesy made, and that was to the rest of the ship, and her crew. "Get on the blast door control panel, I am alerting the bridge, seal it!"

"Ha'reiel to Bridge, I hope you are watching this on sensors and monitors. Deploying 40mm antimatter ordinance on target in the deck-three armory inter-deck access compartment. Override the blast doors to confine the blast, our formation is weakened. Sync the push to the doors with my discharge!"

Ha'reiel's courtesy was well timed, it was not a matter of inconveniencing his shot, not in the slightest, he was simply letting the rushing Fyunnen commit to her action, and further improve the situation for his shot, as he watched the impulsive soldier meet head-on to the aberration. It was not some sort of display of respect, nor a hope that she could take Korro down, no, it was just so the impact of the booster-driven fool could seal the moment for the best of everyone. With the collision, Ha'reiel knew it was time, and he knew that the bridge, and the personnel present, would be able to cover him... it was a knowledge sheathed within faith.

"ANTIMATTER 40MM OUT! CLOSE THOSE DOORS!" Ha'reiel exclaimed, his voice booming over the din of weapons fire as he pulled the trigger, producing the tell-tale 'boop' of the grenade launcher, sending the antimatter containment slug right beneath the brazen sacrifice, just so it would effectively detonate in a manner which would hit both of them, it was a merciful gesture to the impulsive warrior, and a sign of insurance that whatever tainted Korro, would not spread further to the warrior which clashed with it, and to the ship beyond.

After firing, Ha'reiel quickly turned, while going prone, and facing his legs toward the expected blast zone, for the sake of protecting his vitals from any potential shrapnel, or even the resulting explosion if the blast doors were not sealed in time. As Ha'reiel took to the deck, he spoke a final blessing for the foolhardy spearhead which granted him his opportunity, blessing their departure, and praying for the Goddess to forgive such behavior, and that the fallen warrior not be left to their God of impulse and wrath.

 

[ShotJon]

LSDF Akahar - Deck 3 - Adjacent to Armory

Mars heard the others around as if it was dream. She flew towards the abberation and all she wanted was to kill it. Kill it with her own hands, her honour and rage demanded it. But she was not only a warrior. She was soldier too and she always had will to suppress the natural rage that fyunnen were usually born with. This time though, it was probable the hardest then ever. Mars wanted revenge. She wanted to cute the monsters head off, tore its heart out with her bare hands and to burn it to smitherness. Mars was not alone though. Akahar was more important then her petty wish for revenge. Well not so petty, the thing was part of why her colleagues died. Why they were murdered.

Mars knew what was right though. Withing a second she had to think all this, she realised that what Chaplain was doing was a lot more sound. It was the right tactic. Mars' wish for revenge was not above survival of the ship and the crew. So as she flew at the monster she shifted mid-air to crash into the thing feet first into a one big armoured dropkick, planning to fire up the thrusters in her shoes upon impact to send the monster flying back and so the bulkhead could be closed. If all went right Mars would land away from the doors and grabbing one of her Conscussion grenades tossing it in the doorway before it closed, just to make sure the monster stayed in.

 

[paladinrpg]

LSDF Akahar, Bridge

Away from the looming firefight, Medic Aran'ya continued doing what she did best and her ministrations to Mordi seemed to be yielding positive results. The Fyunnen welder had come in looking akin to a chicken who barely escaped from a butcher's shop with its life and now was more like a stitched-together mummified birdman. But at least the blood loss was halted, and the vitals were stable, if weak, and the painkillers were taking effect causing him to find some peace at last after the ordeal. Widow was glad she was able to save his life, but visibly frowned at the thought that should more souls be wounded like this there was no way she could keep up without needing more supplies. She turned her head slightly towards her first patient, the Hellion, whose knife wound had probably recovered a good deal by now, and spoke in the same non-nonsense tone as she used with the Doctor before: "Al'ris, if you can walk alright now, head over to the nearest First Aid Cabinet on the bridge and grab me as many vials of Synthetic Blood as you can. Some other materials for patching up our crew wouldn't hurt either. We're going to need it at this rate."

Time always seemed to slow down in an emergency, but now there was precious moments for her to think and be aware of what else was going on in a curtained off area of the bridge, watching the silhouettes of Yar'mak and Vithr in an unsettling shadow-play as the entirety of the assembled crew did so as well. The conversation about this "symbiote", which was apparently not as well controlled as they were led to believe, was particularly worrisome to her. It was the worst sort of viral action one could ever imagine, dwarfing anything she had ever experienced tending to those crowded in disease-ridden refugee camps after the Lor disaster. How was one supposed to even begin to contain such a thing, that fed on even inorganic matter? It was like a nightmare movie was given life, and it was playing out in slow motion before her eyes.

Aeisu's description of how to dispose of the invading symbiote was perhaps even more dreadful, causing her to throw down her blood-stained pair of gloves in disgust and instinctively reach for a new fresh pair. But deep down, the part of her that swore an oath to preserve the lives of her companions refused to accept that this would just all end like that... but how much time could they buy until the cavalry from Lazarus, who had the tools to fight this, came? Or would they just vaporize the ship to dust in order to "save" it, since anyone could become a mons? Still, it did nothing to worry about the inevitable conclusions when unraveling the here and now was of greater importance.

As she heard the speakers echo again, Aran'ya finally understood what was going on with them. As a Lmanel, she recognized well this was flashbacks of aspection training being played out like the soundtrack of a film. "So Merril was... va'haar..." the Medic wondered aloud to whomever was listening, "The symbiote must be unwinding her psyche somehow as it spreads in her body... if that's the case, maybe we can use these memories to slow her down somehow."

 

[OsakanOne]

"I've got a plan." Aiesu began, finally eyeing the bridge bunnies who'd followed her. She unravelled a large sheet of paper -- printed blueprint deck-plans which with luck would become battle plans.

"Its simple, but I've done some simulations and projections into what's probably going to happen in the next few hours."

"First off, we need everybody armed. Everybody in NBC-warfare or quarantine gear, then a GUST or whatever coverings they can get ontop of that. If the outer covers are compromised, hook to the deck, take the outer-gear off, space the deck and flush the gear out. If I were Merril, I'd be thinking biology: she's going to try to go for life-support: air and water specifically, since they're perfect vectors of transmission. We need our own backups and air-processing gear in our base of operations here, since within 3 hours, we should consider those systems compromised. Get everyone bottling urine and reprocessors up here along with as much fresh water as you can carry: Its nasty, but it'll save your lives.

What else.. Ah. Next, communications: If we can't coordinate, we're fucked: Personal communicators, peer-to-peer, stay off the ship's data-links. Lighting's probably going to go soon too: I don't doubt she's anticipated and compensated for low light conditions in ways we haven't: If we're clever, we should be able to blind her for a bit with a magnesium flare and upset her with some shotgun fire but she'll learn the trick pretty quickly. Finally, we need to start welding hatches and doors shut. It won't stop her but if we keep doing it, we should be able to loosely contain her. Silva can run in motion-tracking mode: If it sees movement, it fries whatever it sees, just stand it up and leave it running.

Merril's going to be trying to work out all of our advantages and dependencies and turn them against us however she can to give her an edge.

Korro, I still don't know well enough to judge his actions: If we're clever - and we are - we should try to find a way to make the two infight: Give them goals other than the ship's crew to distract them.

What do you think?... Keib?"

Aiesu's gaze tilted, eyes exploring the room now. The face she wanted to see wasn't there.

"Where the hell is Keib? Has anyone seen Him?"

Nobody replied, the bridge-crew making gormless expressions which said it all.

"...Damnit."

 

[Eistheid]

LSDF Akahar - Deck 3 Corridor - Near Armory & Deck 3/4 Access

The Chaplain did not finish saying 'antimatter' before Glacier was in motion. The potential for friendly fire from a plasma grenade was moderate should one not be paying attention, an antimatter charge on the other hand was something that was wisely given as much space as possible. He managed a quick step before the discharge of the M'Cel was heard, using the minor bit of momentum he threw himself in a controlled fall putting more distance between himself and the doorway to the access stairwell.

Sliding a short distance before settling, laying in a prone position similar to that of the Chaplain, his legs facing toward the expected source of the explosion, his arms were a little way out in front of his head carefully cradling the Silva, Glacier waited for the detonation that was sure to come, knowing that he'd have to be ready to act whether it be clean-up, suppression of a miraculously unharmed foe, or picking up the pieces of whatever remained of the group should the antimatter charge really go wrong.

 

[Luca]

LSDF Akahar, Starboard Stairway between Deck 3 and 4
An instant sunburn as the memories of a forsaken medic were playing in everyone's ears, and all throughout the ship. Korro and Bastion were chased by a grenade as blast doors were sealing behind them. The last thing Bastion heard the sound of a grenade firing and the doors snapping shut.

Her brain hadn't figured it out as she was trying to boost away from Korro. She was fundamentally screwed for a few reasons: There was the problem of momentum. She'd already dashed forward, and she had no way of just redirecting her movement back the way she came with her inertia, and her powered armour was not helping the matter. The thrusters whirred into afterburner and Bastion could see a grenade between her legs as she disengaged from the form of Korro.

It hit the ground and a forty millimetre canister of antimatter was decontained. A brilliant white flash rent them both molecule from molecule apart painlessly. Everything, including the heedy Akahar air which existed in that stairwell space was utterly destroyed. The blast door's systems contained the destruction but singed the walls. Mara 'Longwalk' Korro Lmanel and Mars 'Bastion' Aresian Fyunnen were no more.

To the others on the other side of the blast doors, it seemed like a suicidal attack underscored by an explosion so loud it could be heard in every nook and cranny in the ship, especially piercing the ears of Four Six, in those claustrophobic vents. Everyone's ears were ringing inside their skulls. Even those wearing heavier armour felt a whine in their ears. Keib and Bes'linn, who were closest as could be were curled on the floor, hands over ears and grinding teeth. The last thing Keib had yelled to Bastion while she was in transit a moment ago was a decisive "No!"

The last No she'd ever hear, and he'd ever get to tell her. His hearing was still ringing a moment later. The only thing he could make out was that he was holding Bes'linn's hand, asking for psychofeedback, a good vibration, something to calm him down.

((OOC Reminder: As advertised, stupid things will get you killed. Seniority will not protect you.))

LSDF Akahar, Bridge
Her finger was on the blast door buttons. She'd closed it and given both the wrongdoer Korro and the crewmate Bastion a tomb. Miri was examining the unfolding situation in the Armoury corridor from afar and saw it all happen before her - mentally rewinding and playing back Bastion disappear behind the doors and the camera shake as the antimatter yield went off. Keib seemed to be yelling at Bastion as they departed, and then shielded themselves from the explosion behind the blast doors.

"There's signals coming from the Mok'ro and-"

The screens flickered with static again and again. "Wait. It's like it's reacting to something. It's..."

A view screen came up and the Mok'ro's thrusters seemed to be trying to activate, sputtering and trying to come alight, but there was no fuel. As Aiesu had requested, the fuel was jettisoned and that ship was going nowhere. Then the hull begun to shift. Holes changed positions. The Mok'ro had lost its heart and was thrashing.

"Kalopsia, you might want a look at this," Miri said, trying to remain professional and keep her voice down, not knowing that she was competing for Vithr's attention too. "I don't think it's happy that Korro is dead."

"Hey, we're getting an incoming ship, IFF unknown, nationality undeclared." Vathi, the Llmanel bridge bunny said, concerned as she looked at the radar and the IFF systems drew a blank. It was making a communications link.

"Again?" Farah, the Fyunnen bridge bunny growled, remembering the pirate invasion and calmly typing. "I'm not having a repeat of last time, arming automated weapons."

They wouldn't arm. Something was overriding her and flashing red on her screen. Red was bad.

"The fuck is this?" she said, some of the cool Fyunnen composure cracking a little, but reforming quickly. The screen said that she was overridden by Hakahn 'Braincase' KaShan Fyunnen. "Is this some kind of joke?" She realised that the shadow of her former employer stretched wider than anticipated, but she'd take Keib any day over that Fyunnen. "Jiji, lock down communications and cut his line," the ensign directed to the small engineer.

Widow's patient was free from infection, and under the doctor's care, was recovering slowly. "Th...thanks... my god... I almost saw The Beast..." she moaned.

 

[DocTomoe]

Deck 3 - 20 Paces From Ground Zero

A ragged breath was the first thing that came from Ha'reiel, as he exhaled a chest full of air, to draw another breath only once he was sure the air was cool enough to breathe without burning his lungs and searing them shut. Another breath led the way for more in a series, as the Fyunenn steadied his thoughts, and soon took to his feet as he faced the blast site, and raised his hand, delivering a Fyunnen benediction upon the site of the two deaths, bidding the souls which were lost a safe journey on their path to receive judgement from their Goddess. Once the blessing was placed, Ha'reiel holstered his M'cel, before looking to the remaining group, with a hard expression upon his aged amber gaze.

"We should depart, now." Ha'reiel spoke firmly, as he reached to Glacier, offering a hand to help him onto his feet. "It would be wise to rally at the bridge so we can vacate this area to prevent harmful levels of radiation exposure, we can also cleanse this area with plasma to ensure that the infection is cleared... More so, if we all clear the deck and head to the bridge, we can purge this deck as a whole, to prevent potential exposures." While Ha'reiel's words seemed detached, perhaps even heartless to the situation, they fit to mandate and protocol, more than anything else, the words fit to doctrine. While he spoke those words, laying out the framework that a professional would need to get a job done, he looked to Keib, and awaited the captain's orders.

A distant fact also lingered with Ha'reiel's presence; in less than an hour's time, the Fyunnen had been put in the position of sending off two of the departed to receive their judgement in the hands of their divine mother, and beyond that, he had also killed an abomination of flesh and corrupted soul. What could perhaps be considered a blessing, or damnation, was that there was no sign of Ha'reiel's zeal ebbing, nor his momentum faltering.

 

[Semjax]

LSDF Akahar; Bridge

Jiji watched as the events unfolded on the security monitor, she was slightly offput by the sudden events but her silence was broken when she heard her nickname being called. She looked back at the ensign who then gave her orders to cut communications and get rid of this other Fyunnen who was stopping the arming of the weapons. She nodded and quickly got to work the little genius beginning to type on the security panel, she may not have access like she should but she's worked systems like this before so she creates a bypass through the security system avoiding any triggers that may set off a security lockdown, before coming up on the permissions of the security system, there she disables Braincase's permissions making them unable to override the commands that Farah was trying to put in.

Within a few seconds she was further into the security layout, once more avoiding any triggers that would cause a ship wide security lockdown, and makes it to the security section that handles communications, and she locks the communications array down so that only certain people can access it, specifically the people out there, and on the bridge. She then exits before the security system deems her a threat and locks the ship down before turning to look towards Farah. "Permissions for the guy has been frozen, cutting his line to these consoles, and the communications array has been locked down successfully ma'am." She looked towards the Security Monitor again and takes a breath, her first real order on the Akahar was complete.

 

[Eistheid]

LSDF Akahar - Deck 3 Corridor - Near Armory & Deck 3/4 Access

He had cut the visual and audio fed to him through his Gust augmented WIND the moment he had hit the floor. While the visual might have been unnecessary, the audio cutoff proved to be irrelevant as the sound of the detonation seemed to reach into his core, violating him in a way that he had never expected to experience. Once the ship had settled, stabilized after the fallout of the blast Glacier reactivated his sensory feeds to find strange muted silence and a new familiar patch of flooring.

There was the sound of movement and Glacier turned to see the Chaplain offering a hand. As unexpected as the gesture was Glacier did not hesitate to take the offered hand, rising to his feet with a confident steadiness that surprised himself given what had happened barely even a minute before. Nodding to the Chaplain's words, Glacier broke his silence to merely reply, "Of course Chaplain." He lapsed into silence once more unable to come up with more words that would be suitable, instead he chose to act moving to check on Pitch who had been unarmoured during the events.

Crouching down next to the nervous L'manel, Glacier gently touched her with a hand nudging her form gently as he inquired his voice filtered by the suit's speakers, "Are you alright? Can you walk on your own?" They needed to get moving, it would be best to put the Chaplain's plan into action as soon as possible. After all theirs was not a situation that lent itself to careless complacency.

 

[Syaoran]

LSDF Akahar, Starboard Stairway between Deck 3 and 4

Ny'za heard the radio once more while she was shooting at the legs of her target. This time it sounded like it sounded like it was part of the aspection ceremony, one of the biggest moments in a Lmanel's life. The name mentioned sounded familiar and it took a moment for Ny'za to realize, but it was the name of a crewman, the one who had been infected by what ever this problem was that was going around attacking the crew. Why though was she being mentioned, if it was about Merril it would have to be the past, after all the ceremony for her should've been completed years ago.

She did not have much time to contemplate this information however the Fyunnen woman who had just grouped up with them went rushing past the bulkhead to attack what was on the other side and a second grenade being launched past the bulk head. The events were playing out too fast in her mind to put a stop to them. Mars was trying to throw herself to the side and stop her collision, but the momentum was too much for the suit to compensate for and she ended up behind the bulkhead either way.

Pitch's larger than average wings took a single flap as she pulled herself from her crouching position, rising rather quickly with an obviously practiced motion. She tried to move toward the bulkhead but before she could take more than 2 steps it was closed once again and only a moment after was there the reverberations of the blast. Pitch was stunned at the situation, that was the black from an antimatter grenade, even with armor, surviving that blast in an enclosed space was less than unlikely.

The words of the Chaplin broke her out of her daze and she turned to look to him, she couldn't muster any words in such a situation and simply nodded in response. She was unarmored but the blast doors kept the explosion in check so the only thing to worry about was radiation poisoning. She did check herself over briefly when Glacier approached though, she had not been paying attention to whether or not any projectiles were fired. "I believe I am fine..."

 

[paladinrpg]

LSDF Akahar, Bridge

Widow gave her patient Wire Head's hand a firm squeeze from hers, declaring flatly: "It will be alright now... the Beast will not get you here." She pushed a little of her white hair out of her eyes and added with a sarcastic sigh, "Your penchant for drink saved you this time, but try to lay off when we get out of this alive, eh? Next I'll have to be replacing your liver."

The Medic made sure she was comfortable as it was possible to make it, and arose to check on Al'ris progress with the resupply from the bridge's first aid cabinet. Unfortunately, this was when the shudder went through the ship, the sound of the antimatter charge going off. She gasped once as the security monitor showed the blast doors barely containing the maelstrom, as some armored figure rushed in at the last second to engage the shifting Korro and was entombed with her. She murmured to herself, "Goddess... damnit..." at the prospect of another poor soul lost today that she was powerless to save. At least it was probably a painless annihilation for them, though the shadow of death was creeping further up Aran'ya's spine than she would like. She hoped that her companions Glacier and Pitch were uninjured after the blast, and the Acting Captain and Chaplain as well, but found herself preparing more makeshift beds in the meantime anyway as her pessimistic side always was expecting the worst.

And worse it did get as another situation was brewing on the bridge, and the appearance of the unidentified ship on the radar obviously was not the cavalry judging by everyone's unwelcome reactions. "I get the feeling that is not Lazarus coming early for little our tea party, is it..." She shot Jiji an encouraging glance as she sprung into action to stymie the communications overrides, though... at least everyone was on point and focused now, but what in the Hells was coming next at them?

 

[Luca]

LSDF Akahar, Deck 3 Hallways, near Armoury

Keib was helped back up by Bes'linn, the two still holding hands tight for that mental link to support each other. They let go and Keib was rubbing his temples before looking up at Ha'reiel. "Well then..." Keib wondered as he got his thoughts in order, trying not to let the death of his beloved Trooper get in the way of his thoughts. He heard something over the intercom first.

"I think I know what the broadcasts are, I think they're Merril's thoughts, or memories. I don't know how it's happening - I'd expect to see this with a psychic link."

WIND and GUST armour suits had such attachments available to broadcast a psychic link. He continued mulling the possibilities over. Then he was interrupted by another broadcast, and it was bought to his attention that someone was trying to hack into his ship.

"It'd be wonderful if Merril could attack whoever's trying to data link that ship too," he mused quietly, "Hear that?" He said out loud, as if trying to see if the beast would respond from somewhere in his ship. "More problems. Let's get to bridge and barricade up. Flushing might work best after all."

He then straightened himself and gave a query to bridge. "Farah, what's the situation with that data?"

"JiJi's on it, Sir." Farah replied. They were watching the engineer

"Excellent. We're coming back. We're going to flush the decks with fire."

"Yes sir."

LSDF Akahar, Between Deck 2 and Deck 3, Maintenance Passages

The Beast stalked quietly in search of a quieter place to be. It felt a disturbance. The strange one from the Mok'ro was gone. The Mok'ro was screaming.

Someone called a name. Who it was was foggy. It still reached to their being. Voice was familiar.

A fleeting feeling of relaxation manifested, they could feel it in their back. Chitinous, armoured plates on an underlying stone thread weave, though foreign to any hand that could touch them now, were feeling his hands for but a brief moment.

She continued her passage through the bowels of the ship with relative impunity. Someone had been forgetting to close doors behind them. All except for the most important one back to the Bridge, and that was sealed tight and with all guns trained to it.

The Beast turned around and looked for another avenue of attack. She could sense them moving, see their display.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge

Thank goodness the Bridge Crew weren't trigger happy when Four Six jumped through that passage to report what she'd seen. The passage closed behind them tight and snug.

"Oh, you're back. Thank goodness," Miri said as she saw Four Six carrying a Yamataian samurai sword in one hand. "What were you doing?"

"I saw it." She said.

"It?"

"Merril isn't one of us now." She said, innocently.

Farah and Vathi exchanged a nervous glance together.

"Aiesu wouldn't want to examine them like she is at Yar'mak, she'd probably get scared."

Vathi pointed at herself. Her first name was Aiesu too. "Uh, I'm kinda frightened of being in the same room as Yar'mak right now."

"Hey!" Yar'mak yelled from his containment cubicle. Vithr could be heard shushing him.

"No, Lazarus Aiesu." Four clarified.

Vathi shuffled in her seat. That's right, there were two Aiesus on ship, she remembered. She was always on a last name basis as opposed to first name like Farah and Miri anyway.

JiJi was fiddling with her security screen and giving it a percussive whack. Something kept screwing up her connection. And an examination at the logs showed 'Pratima'. Not one of them were in the bridge.

Why would they be cutting off JiJi's attempts to stop an intruder?

Looking at the logs from JiJi's display, she grunted and started making decisive keystrokes. "I'm revoking thier access." Farah said.

Except, someone had beaten her to revoking access, and she was it. "Oh, come on!"

Al'ris stood up from Widow's medical treatment. She was confirmed free from infection and she looked at the security display. "What happened to Mars?"

There was no easy way to say it, but Farah simply stated "dead" as she was trying to get the Pratimas off the network. They had put their roots in thick and deep. The holographic tree that was in the Bridge was flickering out now.

Al'ris seemed to be boiling gently, resolve now burning again. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down, count to four, then breathe again. It's what Mars would've wanted from her.

 

[Eistheid]

LSDF Akahar - Deck 3 Corridor - Near Armory & Deck 3/4 Access

With Pitch's insistence that she was fine, Glacier rose easily and turned to position himself in rear guard for the dazed group watching the empty hall as they picked themselves up and began moving back toward the Bridge.

He didn't know how to feel about the results of their brief encounter with Korro, it seemed like they had vanquished the aberration and lost one of the crew in the process, however Glacier couldn't shake the feeling that Mars hadn't exactly been one of the crew when she had thrown herself through the door into the access between decks three and four. After all, even if he hadn't been recording, he doubted he could have forgotten the out of place moisture on her armour. Perhaps she had become something like Korro, or Merril, perhaps she feared what she had become?

As they moved ever toward the Bridge, Glacier managed to busy himself with the rote action of keeping watch on the hall behind him and sealing each door they passed reducing the distance he had to keep an eye on. Protocol and rote action forming a bastion of stability in increasingly turbulent times.

[OOC: Edited to fix stuff.]

 

[Syaoran]

LSDF Akahar - Deck3 Corridor - Near Armory & Deck 3/4 Access

Seeing for herself that her body was fine, she folded her wings over her body as she picked back up the Silva and began following everyone. She had not even been on the ship and hour and there were already several deaths and injuries, at the rate things were going by the end of the night she would be among the death toll. The uncertainty and nerves were getting to her and before she knew it she spoke up asking a question that should never really be asked. "Captain....we can stop whatever this is right?" The moment the question left her lips she quickly looked down in regret, she wasn't sure she actually wanted to hear the answer to that.

 

[paladinrpg]

LSDF Akahar, Bridge

Widow gazed at Farah hard for a long moment after her poor handling of the loss of Mars. "For Goddess sake, why don't you just stab her in the heart now? Breaking the news in such a cold way just drives that knife deeper."

The Medic went to the Hellion's side again, putting on the worn face of someone who completely understands. "Al'ris, I know how you are feeling right now, because I've been in that dark place myself a few times. You want to find someone to blame, to make them feel your pain. But don't let that anger overwhelm you as I fear it did your friend, Mars. We see how that road ends... And for all we know that also gives the symbiote the perfect way in. We need you strong and resolute for those of us still standing. To fight to make sure that her sacrifice is the last life that has to be cut short today. I'm sure that is what Mars would truly want."

It was spoken well and with conviction, for it was like that little bit of her father was echoing in her head. Not so different from how he shocked Aran'ya to her senses after the loss of her partner and secret lover as well as her mother after the moonfall incident. She probably would have never become a Medic if it were not for that moment in time. Recalling it now helped renew her strength a bit, as she knew it was only a matter of time before the area she was prepping for more injured would be full, the Beast still out there on the hunt.

 

[Semjax]

LSDF Akahar, Bridge

Jiji noticed that she was being stopped at every corner, so she got a little more technical. She began taking bypasses that she would create herself rather then routes that were already there. She changed her target to Pratimas so that Farah and her could double team this person which would make it all that much harder for this person to deflect both of them, her goal?! Disabling Pratimas' access and getting them off the damn network, nobody outmatched Jiji! As she was typing she looked at Doll-3 who began playing some music for her to concentrate to.

 

[Luca]

LSDF Akahar, Bridge
"Glad we kept a 'big red button' for the Freespacers, and its analogue rather than digital," she said as she started pushing more buttons, trying to pull the plug on the Freespacers. The analogue was now disconnected but there were still digital attacks going.

"The Freespacers?" Miri echoed as she looked around the bridge. She realised that the Freespacers hadn't made themselves present on the bridge. "I actually haven't seen them approach the bridge at all, they're on their own."
Farah looked up and glanced to Miri with her eyes narrowed. "Now that you mention it, none of the Pratimas or their hub have reported in."

"What about the other one?" Miri asked.

Farah's eyes looked back at her pad, the Pratimas were making a counterattack, and their happy little hub seemed to be a little more powerful than anticipated. "Stargazer Alpha Null? I haven't seen them or heard from them after the Away team returned."

"Not taking part in the attack either?"

"No. Seems to be no signal coming from them at all."

"Huh..."

Miri paused to put some dots together in her head, but she was interrupted by the arrival of Keib and company entering the bridge. Everyone in that party was accounted for, though, mostly. Kam'kebek and Mars were two notably missing beings.

"Miri, status report, pronto," Keib said as he walked into the bridge, and realised that it'd probably be quicker to convey the information by touch. He looked at Farah trying to wrangle the Freespacer's lunacy, and saw some of the Freespacer-made elements in the Bridge start to freak out. He held out a naked hand and waited for the Bridge Bunny to respond.

Miri held his hand and a link was made.

She went through the most immeidate events. Yar'mak was infected, Four Six had returned, Hakahn was trying to override things, the Freespacers appearing to cause havoc, and then a gut suspicion from the New Tur'listan bridge bunny: What if the Pratima Freespacers were a deliberate plant from Hakahn?

Given how much he spent ruminating, looking for a stone and planning within planning for no reason other than itself, Keib thought back to her. It's a serious possibility worth considering.

And what does that mean for the Freespacers, save for Alpha Null?

They're our enemies now. Simple as that. Keib squeezed his hand, almost hurting Miri's. In his mind's eye, his back was beginning to resemble a chopping block full of cleavers and knives. Another materialised. Business as usual. He let go now that there was every base covered.

"Assist Farah and JiJi. I can't let Hakahn return to the Akahar, no matter what he's looking for." Keib made a lap of the Bridge and clapped his hand down on the Lmanel Bridge Bunny. "Vathi, activate the point defence and turrets. I want his grave to be space and his name struck."

He made a glance over his shoulder to Ha'reiel. Maybe he'd already seen the file on Hakahn, and why Keib would be so dark on him. The only detail it would've omitted was Aiesu's defilement - she would probably die of embarrassment and hack into the LSDF herself to scrub it away if such a detail was on a public record.

Speaking of, Aiesu perked up when she saw Keib, a toothy grin appearing for the briefest of moments. "Keib, Keib, I ... I had an idea."

"She did," Vathi commented. "Give it some thought if we want Merril gone ASAP."

Though, Keib would have given the plan some thought if he was across on it.

"Do tell..."

LSDF Akahar, Throughout the Ship's Communications

Warp. View. Hear. Echo.

Video trickled in to feeds.

Flashing lights and klaxons, muffled but crisp. A warning over intercoms unnoticed. Looking, looking. . . An escape pod!

The vision was traded for another.

A stuffed shirt. Some hen of the hall. Ugly in their self-importance. "You will rendez-vouz with the LSDF Ki'ala to be transported back to the Matriarchy where you will be dishonorably. . ."

And another.

A body pressed under, the sickening crack of bone. A bloodied uniform.

Another.

A proud day. Excited hands waving the gold-embossed letter with the all-too familiar symbol of the LSDF to that hulking woman, still so strong but getting older.

Again.

"I don't wanna be a doctor. They're all ego and no muscle to show for it!"
Confident words from a confident mouth, as hands discarded advanced medical textbooks to the floor.

Finally, one last message before the feed went dead again.

". . . to do with your life?" The bear said, looking straight into the observer.

"I want to heal."

LSDF Akahar, Bridge

Keib gave one of the monitors a swat and groaned as Aiesu enthusiastically reiterated her plan to turn the ship (save for the Bridge) into a microwave and evacuate it. "I think Merril's sending us more. I remember reading this about being on the Ki'ala and its crash on her file."

"So you're saying Merril's been broadcasting her life to us?" Aiesu asked as she tried to remember if such a thing ever happened in trials she'd observed.

"That's the stones of it. I think at moment of infection, it started with birth and it's coming to the present."

"Huh..." Aiesu ground her teeth. "So it's digging through her memories?"

"What happens if it gets to right now?" Keib asked.

Farah could be heard swearing a little, "Keib, do a hard authority override for us and the Freespacers will be out."
He had to think on Aiesu's words as he resumed command and with a synchronised input from JiJi, finally booted the Pratimas off from the Akahar's ARIA network.

Then Keib started doing some commands and letting words of his own go back down the initial connection. "Get off of my network, Hakahn." With that, he terminated it. "Good work, JiJi." He flashed the young-looking engineer a thumbs up.

There was an eerie silence that pervaded the Bridge as all of the players were in place, and things were progressing, perhaps a moment of calm that was so foreign to the crew of the Akahar now. Blast doors started shuttering the accesses in and out of the bridge while the maintenance hatches were locked down.

Keib bought up a list of points for things to address and make preparations for on a holographic whiteboard that was broadcasting thoughts and text, as well as having things written onto hard light surfaces, floating in a hazy light. The Bridge bunnies contributed with corrections. Keib's thoughts and words were written in blue, Aiesu's in cerise. The Bridge bunnies were as need be.

• Get Yar'mak to Stasis. Requires trip to Cargo.
  • You must be joking. -Miri
  • Not joking if you want him to survive.
  • Seems harebrained but I'm willing to give it a gamble if people are willing to go get it, or you.
• Contain Kill Contain Kill CONTAIN Merril. Okay fine you win.
  • Use Silva rifles, aim for joints to lock them up.
• Ship Evacuation Plan
  • Closest Escape Pods are on Deck 1 (Two floors up).
  • Secondary Escape can be via Deck 6 (Three floors down).
  • Mm. Good to know.
• Barricades?
  • Unnecessary with Blast Doors.
  • Point.
• Flood ship with Plasma, as per Ha'reiel's suggestion.
  • On our way out from leaving entirely, hopefully. Akahar's a lost asset.
  • I am going to have some explaining to do for the Matriarchy. Or the Inquisitor over my shoulder can do that for me - whichever's quicker.
• Aiesu's Plan:
  • Everyone suit up. Get something bright. Beeline for anything Life supporting.
  • About three hours from now, we're going to have to use our own air supplies in power armour.
  • Get P2P communications going rather than Ship communications.
  • Kill the lights, use emergency systems. Could disorient Merril for a bit.
  • Turn Silva guns into Sentry guns at intersections via motion tracking mode.
  • Keep adjusting tactics to keep Merril from adapting to us and to the Akahar. The more surprises we can throw at her the better.
  • We don't have to worry about Korro or any plans she had.
  • Saw that. Shame about Mars.
  • Tears later, Aiesu.
• Observe Mok'ro.
  • It's getting quite creepy. It doesn't even look like a Harvester Class any more.
  • Take photos. Get as much data as you can.
  • I do not want it to come into contact with the Akahar in any shape. The Hull's made of Structol - even before we had retrofits put on it.
  • Oh God that'd be terrifying.

There was a list, and Keib was checking it twice. "Pick on one of these, we'll put it into action, throw it in the water, see if it leaks." Keib said as he considered each and every plan that was running through his mind.

Maybe it was part of his style to leave it to his troops to make the best decision. Or his two most vocal advisors, the Consortium and the Inquisition would force his hand. Though, their plans were considered.

 

[DocTomoe]

LSDF Akahar - Bridge

Between the ground-zero location of three deaths in rapid succession, and the bridge, Ha'reiel had plenty of time to mull over just what kind of incident was unfolding. 'Standard protocol' did much to address what to do, but, there were other elements which were unspoken, things which he had not been there for, and that he would need to watch for, to learn of, and to adapt to. What he had walked into, he figured, was a series of events which simply went out of hand, and each individual event tied into the next, worsening the progression, until they were in the situation they found themselves in, one which conventional doctrine would demand a sacrifice of blood and fire to rectify.

On the bridge, there was quiet from Ha'reiel, to watch, and listen, and learn, those things comprised the Fyunnen's priorities as he found a degree of frustration wash over him as Keib elected to transmit thoughts through conventional New Tur'listian means, it was a reason why their counterparts, the Occhestians, were so readily distrusted in days not too long ago. An introspective took place as he watched the way which Keib handled the bridge, he was a natural at administration it seemed, and a suitable choice for a first-mate, and with the incidents surrounding Hakahn, he had fallen into place as a captain just as well, to see his work as a captain, was to bring some degree of hope to Ha'reiel, for the mission, and for the crew.

When the hard-light projector kicked on though, that was what caught Ha'reiel's attention, as his aged amber gaze looked upon the colorful words which were splashed upon the suspended photons. As he read, his gaze hardened, a frown crossing his aged face, as the sound of stretching polymers faintly sounded from his fists. What brought that ire from Ha'reiel left as suddenly as it came, as he approached the glowing 'board', and took a finger to the surface, and soon he began to splash down his own perspective, written in orthodox Lorath script, narrowing the field of just who would be able to read it.

1.) Uncontrolled bio-synthetic hazard - Medic.
1.1) Lmanel infected
1.11) Potential for mutation? Potential for adaptation? Risk high.
1.2) Sentient bio-synthetic hazard, assume it knows as much as we do, from the start. Do not rely on glimpses and guesses. Observed history of Lmanel trance states indicate that such presentations of memory and feeling are used to indicate an adaptation or aspectation, it is no reason to assume that memory and integration are mutually exclusive.
1.3) It is advised that the hazard be neutralized. It is my judgement that this hazard be neutralized by any means necessary, including termination. Sorry Lazarus-bunny, you can't always get what you want.
1.31) If it is imperative that the medic be spared, let it be made clear that no one said she needs to be fully intact to be kept alive. Sever the head, store it in stasis, bring it back to Lor. Our experts can effectively transfer her neurological pattern to a clean body cloned from DNA records on file, while the unclean can be tested, examined, and fiddled with.

2.) Uncontrolled data-leak hazard
2.1) Cut the lines to our data network physically. This works with P2P comms plans.
2.2) Give the Freespacers a shuttle, send them on their way. Irradiate the shuttle beyond conventional organic tolerances. Freespacers have a much stronger cell structure than Lorath or Helashio, and would be able to endure the exposure.
2.21) If sending the Freespacers away is not a viable option, then I would recommend collaring them; use a collar to serve as a firewall, which would prevent I/O of harmful code, or sharing of sensitive data. Present the collars as just that; a firewall. It would avoid cultural issues.

3.) Traitor.
3.1) Hakahn must die. He has abandoned his post, he has committed crimes against the Matriarchy, and he has failed to repent for his initial sins. His chance to redeem himself has been squandered.
3.2) This ship should have a compliment of fighters on board, if the Akahar is unable to conduct a proper engagement due to our infestation, then we must use our small craft to put him down.

4.) The Ship Is Unclean
4.1) A bonus to having our fighter-craft launched will allow for a contingency plan in the event of shipwide infection. We will be able to destroy the ship through the use of anti-starship ordinance.
4.11) Alternative to destroying the Akahar with anti-starship weapons, I would recommend using the small craft in conjunction with a gravitic projector modification to tow the ship to a star for disposal.
4.2) While plasma cleansing is suitable for most areas of the ship, if the infection spreads to vital systems, or, even to the plasma handling equipment itself, we will be unable to conduct that plan. It would have to be sooner than later to carry out this option.
4.3) We must prevent the possibility of transmission to planetary bodies, or other ships. At this time, it is recommended that we disable our own engines, to prevent impaired personnel from potentially moving the ship to an inhabited location.
4.31) A final engine burn can be carried out, pointing us to the nearest star for incineration.

5.) Mok'ro
5.1 ) Purge it.
5.11) While we still have the capacity, we should disable its engines, and conduct a slow incineration of the ship without the use of explosive or kinetic weapons.

6.) Strategy
6.1) It is fortunate that the primary threat to our survival is in a physical tangible form.
6.11) Isolate every deck.
6.12) Conduct deck-by-deck sweep-and-clear operations.
6.13) Herd the target to a location which will allow us to exercise some form of superiority, and to execute some form of neutralization procedure.
6.14) If target is hostile, do not merely disable the limbs, destroy them. We do not have the luxury of taking aimed shots at joints. That takes too long, that will get people killed.
6.15) Go for the body-shot, the brain matter is all that is of importance if you wish to save the medic.
6.16) If we are compromised beyond what we feel we can manage to work through, then I would recommend that combat personnel be outfitted with Wind-type suits, and that the cryostasis function of this ship be brought online. It will slow the infection, and, allow personnel to find and neutralize the medic without much potential for a fight.

7) Summary
7.1) Kill the traitor.
7.2) Kill the Mok'ro.
7.3) We want the medic's head.
7.4) Purge the unclean.
7.5) Purge the unworthy.
7.6) Protect the clean.
7.7) This is not a corporate ship, the Matriarchy is in charge here.

After Ha'reiel finished writing upon the hard-light board, he looked to Keib with a frown upon his lips, and a stoic hardness to his gaze. "I'm here to advise, I'm here to observe, and I'm here to loan my ability to you. However, the moment this situation becomes out of control, I will do what needs to be done to protect the Matriarchy. From what I've observed, captain, our situation needs decisive action, and what I advise, is that we refrain from staying our hand, and follow our strengths, as a group. You know your crew better than I, and what they excel at, have them do what they can do best for us all."

 

[Eistheid]

LSDF Akahar - Bridge

The journey progressed, sweep, clear, seal. Rote action repeated as they travelled a distance that had felt much shorter when they were rushing into a dangerous situation. Now as they retreated back to the relative safety of the bridge time stretched on into eternity, thought seemed limitless, and would have been uninterrupted if not for another generous showing of the former Medic's past.

Her latest gift came with visuals, overlaying themselves over his vision distracting as his WIND fed him the unwanted data broadcast over the communication systems, though unable to bring himself to cut them off.

Where was it? Who was it? So many questions found their way into his mind, though he had no way of answering them. There was the brief suggestion of another ship, the LSDF Ki'ala, unknown to him as such its relevance was lost beyond that it was a part of the memories. Only the question 'why' remained.

His attention was drawn back to the present, the Bridge. Apparently he'd lost track of himself, a troubling observation. The words exchanged between the Acting Captain, and the Lazarus Representative were of interest though he had to force himself to focus on their words. Still it seemed like they had some sort of a plan, and some sort of idea what was going on with the communications system both of which turned out to be rather unsatisfying.

The silence that followed as the mode of communication shifted proved to be more unnerving than Glacier might have previously anticipated, thankfully a board shimmered into view revealing a progression, and slight battle between those involved.

Soon enough a trip to cargo through a hostile ship, the suggestion of containing Merril, evacuation plans, containment plans, general survival plans, and guidelines were all made available. Then came the statement to pick one, something that Glacier wanted to provide input on, but remained hesitant given his position at the bottom of the hierarchy, and brief time spent aboard the ship.

A gentle sound, too brief to be properly identified drew Glacier's attention to the Chaplain just in time to watch the wizened Fyunnen set into motion bringing his own perspective to the board before them.

Reading the notes, Glacier was satisfied by the detail, the expansions on each point provided depth and consideration that satisfied some curiosities and directed his mind to questions he hadn't considered.

As Glacier read, a detail nagged at the edge of his vision drawing at his attention. The Acting Captain. The man seemed to squint and shift as he looked at the Chaplain's words, an odd reaction in Glacier's opinion as it was not quite one of displeasure, or disagreement, seeming to be more one of slight frustration. Could it be the Acting Captain struggled to read the Orthodox script? Glacier had no way to be certain, and he was hardly going to question it.

In the end, despite being pleased by the actions of the Acting Captain, the Lazarus Representative, and Chaplain; Glacier found himself burning to speak up. He shifted and fidgeted glad that his nervousness what masked somewhat by the concealing WIND he wore. Still he felt he should voice the one thought that had settled like a gnawing parasite within his mind.

A deep breath, then an intentional crackle as he turned the suit's speaker on to draw attention before he spoke, "I am aware that this is likely out of line, and given my lack of information some of my conclusions may well be skewed. However, to my knowledge the reason for the present state of the Mok'ro is unknown. As such we have no way of knowing what caused it, or if it is likely to befall other ships. It therefore seems unwise to completely destroy it, or the infected crew unless no other option is left available. Our failure to secure intelligence now could doom far more lives than our own."

Lapsing back into silence his opinion made clear, returning his mind to peace Glacier waited for whatever would come.