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

[paladinrpg]

Space, Command Team Escape Pod

Aran'ya sat in her place silently for a long while after the previous outburst, her gloved hands moving with the practiced skill of a surgeon as she focused carefully on the necklace she was making. Bead by colorful stone bead fell into place in a line, the clicks matching the ticking of Aiesu's clock of supposed salvation. Their number matched that of crew, a myriad of disjointed colors somehow coming together in a shared final moment. Each of them, too, was a small prayer to the Goddess that their lives be spared this day... or if not, that they find the forgiveness of their sins that each sought in a small way serving upon the Akahar.

The final bead was larger than the rest, red like a miniature fruit. It reminded her of Keib, the passion she still saw in him somewhere. The medic began to struggle to insert it into the final loop of the stonethread, though, as she felt her body shivering and morphing of its instinctual accord. Her fingertips made a chitinous sound as the skin flexed coarsely under the WIND suit, and her body's hairs stiffened to the point of nearly piercing the protective armor. This immediately triggered her regenerative abilities into high gear, as it mitigated some of the radioactive burning she was beginning to sense upon her previously soft skin which now was becoming more like the hairy carapace of a Tarantis spider. Widow grit her teeth at the necessary pain, and her setule-filled digits shakily completed the last component.

As if by a miracle, suddenly Keib stirred to action by Harariel's conspiracy. He and Aiesu started wheels in motion, a mad plan forming between the two as droplets of synthetic blood floated past her visor. Aran'ya didn't care for the details, though... it was the look in his steely eyes that told her all she needed to know in that moment. The boom of his voice as he screamed the numbers out that men had given to their spot in the heavens without fear... that was the voice of her Captain. Risen again from the ashes of his failings, like the Phoenix of legend, Widow knew that somehow, her prayers to the Goddess for them may have just been answered.

She clutched tightly to the prayer necklace as the pod rumbled and was rolled by the G-forces of the supermassive Lazarus ship appearing from hyperspace, a monolithic harbinger that inspired awe and terror in all who witnessed it. But she kept her increasingly arachnid eyes fixated on the figure of Keib... as long as he was unafraid before the gaping maw of the Mynydoed, then she would not be shaken either.

 

[Semjax]

Jiji was about to lose hope when the former captain sprang to his feet and began spouting things she hardly understood at first. She couldn't help but be curious, as she looked back at them, locked safely into the cockpit seat so that she could do evasive maneuvers if needed. She couldn't figure out what was going on- wait, did they create... her mind worked, she watched the two of them and her eyes went wide a bit. "Of course..." She muttered to herself, as she began to prepare herself. She recognized what they created, a homing beacon of some sort... At least thats what she assumed... before it was proven true by eruption of plasma next to the ship sending it barreling off to the side at rapid speed.

While everyone else was sent plastered to the walls, she was jerked in the direction roughly causing her to hit her head against the seat, possibly some whiplash as well from the sudden stabilizing effect after, Unfortunately, Doll-3 was sent to the wall, and soon after collided with it. No major damage but it causes the doll to shut off from the sudden jerk. This didn't worry Jiji any, due to the fact she could simply make the minor repairs to get him back to working again once they got out of this. She rubbed her now lightly bleeding head, and looked out of the cockpits front window. She paused a moment and gushed at the large Mynydoed Mining Vessel that had suddenly come out of nowhere.

The vessel soon opened its gaping maws and began gathering the Akahar from its place of slumber. Ingenious...Keib and Aiesu are truly ingenious... She sighed lightly to herself, despite all her bravado and help she turned out as useless as she ever was in this situation. She couldn't help but let out a defeated whimper for a moment before suddenly the ship is once more tossed by being hit by an antenna from the previous home they once shared, called the Akahar. She quickly, yet slightly dizzly, got to work shifting the pod to get back into its right state. She hesitated a moment, but allowed the giant monolith of a ship to engulf them along with the massive akahar ship, she figured it was the only way to ensure that they were safe... But now her mind dredged elsewhere...what of the Chaplain, and more importantly then the Chaplain... what of her dear friend Ny'za? What would become of her out there still out there with that...thing...even if the threat was over.. ...Will she be okay? was the only thing that echo'd within her head.

Perhaps...with the Mynydoed there... she could be picked up as well.

 

[Eistheid]

Space, Command Team Escape Pod

For Glacier things had begun to pass very differently than for his companions within the Escape Pod. Primarily he had severed the connections to his Wind's audio pickups, as such the sounds of speech and activity around him had faded into muted background noise. Instead of observing the world around him, Glacier had retreated inward delving into a world of his own.

Within there were gentle things warm wind, pleasant summer sun, the delicate aroma of thousands of flowers blooming modified slightly by the moisture of nearby thickly growing trees. It was a familiar place of sorts, a construction taking inspiration from the foot hills of a dozen different mountain ranges that he had visited over the course of his survival training, and nearly twice as many locales that he had visited on his own down time. All coming together to weave a peaceful landscape one of tranquil beauty measuring in equal parts novelty and familiarity, a mental picture of a place he wished he could be.

There had been much to see in his days of wandering, and now his vivid mental construct provided the same. The biggest difference was that where his journeys had been largely solitary in nature, intended to train for being marooned should and operation go poorly; instead however he was surrounded by mildly idealized versions of those he had met who hadn't proven to be completely detestable. Happy laughing people, enjoying the peace and the company, the sights and the chance to unwind from the demands of society.

He knew at his core that the thoughts were foolish, especially the addition of some of the more recent mental constructs people based on the crew of the Akahar, and those familiar eyes the ones that had invaded his mind against his will. Even so it was a better way to pass the time than staring at the inside of a tin of irradiated Lorath.

He was jarred from his reverie, rather violently as the escape pod was disturbed, the sudden G-force taking him off guard and leaving him stunned even after it had abated, something had happened. Possibly something important. Opening his eyes slowly, sound also slowly returning to his insulated senses Glacier peered back out at the real world wondering what had called him back, and whether it would have any appreciable impact.

 

[DocTomoe]

Space - Between Mok'ro, Akahar, and Mynydoed

♫ Moda de Rock - Hangar 18

From one moment, an accord, from the next, a behemoth.

Ha'reiel looked through the eyes of the Whirlwind, upon the massive structure which was the Mynydoed. "It's early..." He mumbled as he quickly ignited the thrust systems of the Whirlwind, quickly moving clear of the ship before doing something that some would call foolish... he brandished the L-Mark-Two in the direction of the Lazarus ship, as space was open to him, and so was the line of sight to the Matriarchy, as he sent updates as his words cut through the vacuum to the Mynydoed.

"Lazarus vessel, this is Inquisitor Chaplain Himsa." Ha'reiel started, speaking the name reserved for foreigners, clearly indicating that he saw Lazarus as far removed from the Matriarchy. "Halt your attempt at placing the Akahar in your hold, do not engage in contact with any vessel here until authorized. This area of space is under quarantine by the Lorath Matriarchy, and those within it are subject to our care and discretion. Violation of this quarantine will be seen as action taken directly in opposition to the wishes of the Matriarchy!"

There was no exaggeration, no bluff, no trumped up claims, it was the truth as Ha'reiel knew it, and that truth, was one he would apply on behalf of the Matriarchy, it was simply his duty. "Your property, the AMX-Series prototype units, will be returned once they are cleared of mission sensitive data, as well as potential hazards. Any damages made to your assets due to any attempt to defy the quarantine will not be compensated, nor will the Matriarchy take any responsibility for your losses."

"Mynydoed, move five-hundred-thousand-kilometers from the quarantine area, until authorized to approach."

With the message sent, another line was opened, this time to Merril and Ny'za; "If the Lazarus ship or any of their assets attempt to violate the quarantine, you have orders to open fire while engaging in evasive action. Our support will be here soon, until then, we must avoid granting them an opportunity to exploit this situation."

 

[Syaoran]

Space - Between Mok'ro, Akahar, and Mynydoed

Ny'za thought Ha'reiel had lost his mind, he had turned his weapons on friendlies, and a starship no less. But it was not long before he was sending a message to Ny'za and she was taken a back with surprise at it. It took a moment to gather herself before she replied. "I can't comply with those orders, they directly clash with the orders of the captain and field commander Kieb to meet up with Lazarus for assistance. It also stands to reason to obtain assistance from those who better understand the situation. I apologize but I can not follow those orders."

She straightened herself out some and looked towards the Lazarus ship and then managed to pick up the signals of the pods, they were not destroyed so that was a start, so she just hoped everything was okay inside. She then focused her attention on Merril "The ship from Lazarus has arrived, apparently they have some sort of knowledge about what is infecting you. I'm unaware of how much knowledge though, but the acting Captain seems to have made some sort of deal with them."

 

[DocTomoe]

Space - Stand Off Distance From Akahar, Mok'ro, and Mynydoed

"Better understand the situation?" Ha'reiel echoed, his tone carrying an edge that spoke not of rage, but of judgement. "They, know, nothing. It is the intent of this action to keep it that way. Lazarus is a private entity, outside of the Matriarchy, which has no right to the Akahar, Mok'ro, nor Merril. More so, it is our solemn duty to protect the interests of the Matriarchy, to surrender these beings to Lazarus, would put the Matriarchy at risk due to Lazarus' interests being their own, without any loyalty to those which made their organization possible." Ha'reiel communicated over the line, as he weighed the situation in mind.

"Soldier Hasti, it is in your best interest to follow this order, this order which has been given to you by an Inquisitor of the Matriarchy, this order which has been given to you by a superior officer, who has not obtained their position by filling the shoes of a criminal. A promise has been made, to the Mok'ro, to the Akahar, and to Merril. If you are against my orders, then you are against them."

A final ultimatum was placed before Hasti, Ha'reiel had no time to play games with vague displays of authority and force. "Failure to comply, is to act against the Matriarchy. If you continue to refuse, you will be judged accordingly, Soldier, and bearing upon consequences that judgement would be what comes of your unwillingness to cooperate."

Every word was shot through the light-years of void, between the crew which was on the brink, and their home, which relied upon their actions.

 

[Luca]

Space, LSDF Akahar, LCS Mok'Ro, and Lazarus Mynydoed
♫ Ghost in the Shell - Puppetmaster ♫

Merril's ears flattened as she saw the gigantic ship warp in and barge through, scrambling over Ny'za and hissing at the gigantic in reflex like a cat meeting themselves in the mirror or seeing something unexpected. Adding another layer to things was the order from the Chaplain. To her, Lazarus would help her but she had to shoot them if they breached the perimeter?

She was too tense, however, to come up with an acknowledgement, still hissing near Ny'za's ear as claws dug in. Ha'reiel would note that Ny'za was receiving some very minor structural damage just from her holding too closely - though he could easily call it a bestial reaction.
The colossal ship, meanwhile, didn't move, but didn't act either.

So... it's holding steady. Ha'reiel mused, as he looked upon the behemoth of the Lazarus vessel, there was a risk he took in that moment, risking that they could have just as easily chosen to vaporize him in that instant, instead of even bothering to hold position. Are they thinking on it? He wondered, and as he did, the message still loomed in his mind from the pilot which was perched between the words of two people worlds above her, three perhaps, counting the faithless rodent.

Systems check... Ha'reiel thought, not even making it a command to his machine, but merely using it as a point of focus to keep nerves in order, as he counted ordinance, status, all sorts of minuscule details that were unimportant in the whole, the fact that he was there was enough to say that the situation was something that teetered on the edge of possibilities known and unknown to him. Well, Lazarus, what is it going to be?

Meanwhile, down on the hull of the Akahar, Merril's shattered nerves came back together, easing off on the poor Lmanel inside a WINTER II, though she was no less alert of what was going on. "Hey! Chaplain!" They called out, speaking into the void, and yet audible in the old templar's ear.

"Ha'reiel here. Go ahead." Came the voice in reply, spoken through a narrow beam transmission, pointed at Merril like a spotlight.

Merril gave pause and cleared her throat as the signal hit her, figuring out how to respond in kind before she whispered back. "If they know what's going on, and they have the knowledge of how to quarantine and fix us - I mean," She remembered something from what she saw in the vents though the memory was distinctly cloudy, "that guy Yar'mak was in bad shape last time I saw him, why do the Matriarchy need to show up first?" She saw him in his containment pod.

"Your answer is in your question." Ha'reiel spoke, as he watched from afar. "Ask yourself this, how do they know these things to begin with, and why was the Ey'tis so worried about making sure nothing was damaged? They seek a harvest, of something that is coursing through you right now, and ask yourself, with the thoughts of the woman you were hours ago, how frightening would it be for someone without the grace of the Goddess guiding them, to have such a thing in their hands?"

"I feel like either way, I'm going to be caged. Lazarus might have the equipment to reverse this - I heard the bunny talking about that as she wet herself through the corridors-" And Ha'reiel would recall some tense moments where Keib and the others were watching the ceilings and walls instead of looking straight ahead. "But what can you offer they don't have, aside from a word, and then what?"

"Has the Matriarchy ever lied to you? Betrayed you? Your family? Your fellow L'manel?" Ha'reiel spoke, and in words that many elsewhere would speak as a tongue-in-cheek, or some sort of hollow propaganda, there was genuine honesty in his words. What Ha'reiel had spoken, were the sentiments of the faithful.

Merril looked into the distance, at the escape pods, tilting her head towards them. "What about them?"

"If you are worried for them, then give them what they did not have time to obtain in the haste to flee what they only knew of as their potential demise. I blew out the launch bay, but the cargo hold should still have a Wayfarer or Journey in storage. I will watch over you to make sure they do not try to interfere. It was a sudden shift from the Inquisitor, but, it was one that came with the ebb and flow of the tides of the moment. He was not a man of stone, he was one of steel, bending to the moment, shaping, and sharpening.

A bellowing through space could be heard, setting Merril on edge again. An earthquake in space where the Mynydoed was the epicentre. Ha'reiel, Merril and Ny'za's communications were getting a hail signal. Merril's ears twitched and she looked at the chaplain and mouthed an expletive. In her defence, it was very loud.

The giant speaks? There was an exhale of breath from Ha'reiel, a chortle almost, begrudgingly amused by the absurdity of the Lazarus ship, and the gargantuan nature of even a hail.

"Mynydoed, speak." Ha'reiel spoke, and as he did, the missile pods of the Whirlwind slid open, to convey a further message; his impatience.

"Chaplain Ha'reiel "Himsā" Ti'rien Fyunnen," a familiar voice, that of Aiesu Kalopsia. Well, it was and simultaneously wasn't hers. Compared to the small, meek little thing that scampered through the decks and could've gone between the Chaplain's legs without brushing them, the woman sounded older. Maybe, what they would have wanted to be.

"Ayetseu Karoupshea L'manel." Ha'reiel spoke in reply, speaking her name not with the bastardized foreigner accent the crippled L'manel had applied, but instead, with the genuine Orthodox Lorath pronunciation which she would have been raised with.

"So you'd like us to leave. Well, what would the Matriarchy pick up from this before we get the rest? Come on, be fair, state your terms," she said, still casual and civilian.

"Comply, or your company will become a greasy smear and a memory in a ledger." Ha'reiel minced no words.

"Yes, that's as may be," The Mynydoed controlling Aiesu replied. "If we leave, what are we going to do about the crews of both ships? They need medical attention." She was wringing his arm, or trying to. "When's the Matriarchy going to show up?"

Merril looked at the Mynydoed, and exchanged a glance with Ha'reiel. "She's creepy."

"And who might this be? A cat in space?"

Merril gave them a very Nepleslian gesture. A middle finger extended. "Don't baby talk me, bunny! The one of you who was here shit herself in her suit!"

"She did?" The Mynydoed Aiesu replied.

Ha'reiel paid no mind to the exchange between Aiesu and Merril, as he eyed his navagational equipment, and made a general asessment of the situation; "Twelve minutes, perhaps ten." He lied, it was closer to five minutes, at least at full Hyperfold speed.

Merril grew bored of the conversation too, looking at Ha'reiel and mumbling. "If I had an amethyst for every time she looked down on someone..." She'd probably have 200 HS worth of amethysts.

"Well then - would you terribly mind if we stayed? We're not going to do anything - no grabber arms, no frame scrambles, no attacks, promise."

All weapons on the Mynydoed were indeed disabled, and the activity inside of it was quiet.

"One light year distance now, you lost your five-hundred-thousand-kilometer privelige." Ha'reiel laid out, his tone heavy with age, and building aggression.

"Can I hurt her?" Merril whispered to Ha'reiel again with the slightest hint of a growl, though Ny'za was within 'earshot'.

"If she does not back off, yes, in fact, I'd insist." Ha'reiel replied, and with a voice to Merril that did not have the same edge he had given Aiesu, it was a voice that was heavy with intensity still however. "I don't trust her for an instant, and, she's an annoying brat. She's, as Nepleslians say 'Cruising for a bruising'."

"Keib spoke a bit of Nepleslian. Including all the swear words." Merril replied as she watched the Mynydoed, still there for what it was. "Maybe you two should brush up provided you aren't going to strangle him."

"I'll leave the strangling to the gallows, if it comes to it." Even less edge, more weight, perhaps even disappointment rode with those words.

"He didn't believe he was doing the wrong thing-"

Merril was rudely interrupted. "Uh, head count here: One, two, the cat, and two ships whose ARIAs look like the eyes of those girls I see in the Yamataian cartoons." She sounded bored, and Ha'reiel could hear it, like her hand was resting against her chin. "And you have seven minutes until-"

♫ Gundam Wing - The Curtain of the Next Chapter Lifts Now ♫

Before Aiesu could finish a shot rang out across the bow of the Lazarus ship.

"TWO lightyears now!" Ha'reiel called over the communication line, before a flurry of mini-missiles streaked from the Whirlwind, but not at the Lazarus ship, instead detonating in the space between the infected and the corporate behemoth... jamming missiles.

Merril's face disappeared as the mask that surrounded it closed shut, a guttural growl filled Ny'za's ears and Ha'reiel's. Her chest seemed to open up and in the middle of it was the Akahar's main gun. The one she had half a mind to use on Ha'reiel.

Once the jamming missiles stopped chaffing the line up, Aiesu could be heard coughing. "Whgh... hm. Kaff... Okay, okay, uh." Aiesu balked. Her fear of cats welled up. "Cats don't have starship main guns in their tummies! They usually have wombs!"

"What, want me to put it lower?" Merril heckled viciously. She knew Aiesu was all aflutter at these sorts of things, so maybe this one was the same.

"It seems that popular opinion is leaning in the direciton that you should get moving, Miss Karoupshea. While you still have a leg to stand on." Ha'reiel's edge was present, as was a dripping venom in those words, meant to stab deep.

 

[Semjax]

Escape Pod

Jiji stopped when the large ship suddenly stopped pulling them in. She paused a moment and frowned looking between the ship and the smaller beings of Ha'reiel, Ny'za and Merril. Finally the wound to her head started to hurt, for a little bit it didn't due to the sudden shock and adrenaline, but now that its begun to die down from disappointment its become very apparent. She slowly slumped down holding her head as the blood lightly trickled down her neck and forehead, a slight whimper came from her as she tried to get over the slight disorientating pain she felt.

She stayed quiet for a time staying in that slumped motion, as her ears twitched up and down before suddenly she heard a roar from the Mynydoed and slowly looked up, the disorientation getting a little worse. With the radiation and the wound, there wasn't much left for her at this point. She shook her head for a moment and eyed around for a moment and then suddenly she saw something explode infront of the Mynydoed. She paused a moment and slowly sat further up. "What the...What the fuck are they doing?!" She yelled out slamming her hand against the console. "They're attacking the bloody fucking ship that came to save us?! Does he just -want- us to die?!"

 

[paladinrpg]

Command Team Escape Pod

Aran'ya had been thrown around as well by the shockwave but thanks to her shapeshifting being in high-gear, she was able to grab hold of the nearest wall and hold fast with her setules while things stabilized. Once the motion stopped, she felt her sense of duty kicking back in and didn't hesitate to dart over to support the slumping Jiji, who had suffered a head injury and was bleeding underneath her protective WIND suit. "You alright, little bit?" the Medic asked, her voice tinged with a slight insectoid chitter as she quickly looked over the Lmanel engineer and considered if removing the helmet to treat the bleeding was wise at this point, considering the radiation hazard was not getting any better. She also spared a glance at Glacier and the others to see if they managed to ride out things without serious injury.

Then suddenly Jiji began cursing at the absurdity of what was taking place outside, and Widow didn't blame her for such a reaction. "The Chaplain's not going to cede his authority over our salvation easily, is he, eh...? Probably appointed himself the voice of the Matriarchy itself right now, and looks like he's not going to let Lazarus get their hands on a new science project without a fight, even if they understand it more than he does. That holier-than-thou fool." Her shifting color eyes narrowed, and that familiar sarcastic tone returned to her mannerisms. "And us... stuck here watching while being cooked alive, as the lions fight over who shall feast first."

She spoke this last line as she reached for a nanomachine soaked pad from her medical bag to try to insert it into the seam of Jiji's WIND suit's helmet quickly and at least give her some relief from the bleeding and dizziness without exposing her to additional radiation effects.

 

[Syaoran]

In space where it might hit the fan

Ny'za heard Ha'reiel's threat and her posture straightened as she leered at him, but said nothing, she was interrupted before she could with Merril scurrying behind her. She made no move to sort out the ensuing discussion and just let Ha'reiel flaunt himself. She was however surprised when Merril began to get verbal and aggressive as well. Though it was not heard her machine's posture quite clearly indicated a sigh of displeasure before she took off, heading for the escape pods, lowering her radiance to minimal to avoid irradiating them.

"Escape pods do you copy? What are your conditions?" She spoke through the comm system hoping that the escape pods had turned them on by now. Ensuring the safety of the crew was more important to her than a genitalia comparing contest.

 

[Luca]

Space, Where It Hit The Fan
The Aiesu within the behemoth seemed to pause. "You know, I can't move away. You have patients, they need treatment. That's a fact," Aiesu told Ha'reiel, willing to play ball. "You can have your investigation, and I'll leave and have mine later, but first I need your patients," though the rabbit was playing ball, she had a demand of her own. "It'd weigh so heavily on me, and on you too if they died out here, irradiated, without their last rites..."

A deck on the side of the massive Mynydoed opened, presenting a beckoning area for the pods to be escorted to, or to fly themselves to. "Come on, scoop them in. I promise I'll take good care of them, no interrogation or running away from here aside from a short debrief prior to treatment so they can walk away from this;" She then clicked her tongue, "to what's going to be left after your mothers strip it away."

Always with having the last word, however sour. While Ny'za went ahead, the beast didn't line up for treatment as they watched the WINTER approaching the cluster of escape pods. Once Ny'za was in the distance, her gaze levelled at Ha'reiel, tail waving back and forth.


Space, Command Escape Pod
Amidst all of these floating pods, the waiting, the suffering, the prospect of being cooked alive or shot was gnawing on people. Keib nearly leapt out of his skin by the sound of the WINTER-II approaching. He was about to reply to the query given to him by Ny'za, when he remembered that he tore his microphone out, clicking his tongue in frustration. "One of you, report back."

First, it sounded like something was going on out there, second, he couldn't report on what was going on, instead motioning for one of the others in his pod to report in. "Ask her what the hell's going on out there, anyway..." he added, unwilling to find out, but having to at the same time.

 

[Semjax]

Space, Command Escape Pod

Jiji was furious for the momentary silence after her cursing, and relaxed only to the slight sting of feeling Aran’ya push something against her wound and she finally registered she was being treated and looked towards Aran’ya and nodded. “…I think I’m okay…” She eyes downwards allowing her treatement to happen, however the silence didn’t last long as soon after she heard a familiar voice over the Radio that caused her little fluffy wolven like ears to twitch.

She leaned forward for a moment and looked at the radio and slowly smiled before answering. “Ny’za! Its Jiji! We’re okay for the most part… The pod is irradiated, and we don’t know how much longer these WIND Suits will protect us…but we’re okay…” She sounded joyous that Ny’za was okay as well, and was even going as far as to ignore Ha’riel in favor of checking up on them. She then took a breath. “Captain Keib is asking for a field report… So report in Ny’za.” She looked towards Keib with a bright smile once more and then Aran receives the same treatment.

After a moment she turned the shuttle towards the deck that the Mynydoed opened up, and she began slowly piloting it in that direction, all while watching the WINTER-II.

 

[Syaoran]

Near Escape pods

"I am glad there are no injuries." Ny'za smiled in her cockpit but was a bit reluctant to report, pausing a moment. "Merril has been pacified, however Ha'reiel is insisting on threatening the Lazarus ship to leave and has called the Matriarchy her as well. He has gotten Merril rather hostile towards them as well." Despite this report, she helped the escape pods into the ship, she didn't want any of the crew to suffer longer than they had to especially since she was the cause of it.

 

[DocTomoe]

Space - Holding Ground

Ha'reiel listened to the words which flowed over the communication line, as the behemoth of a spaceship still loomed, and did not even begin to move position, one look at the sensor readout in his Whirlwind, and Ha'reiel knew why. "Your ship, it seems to have a critical design flaw, it seems to be missing its metaphorical legs." He spoke, his tone digging deeper, as he made a decision on the matter at hand. "You can treat the patients, however, you will not record any data on them. Furthermore, after this encounter, a team of LSDF technicians and infantry will scour your ship, and any assets networked to your ship, and purge any and all data related to this encounter."

"If you are in agreement to my condition for your continued involvement, then you may bring the pods on-board and provide treatment." Ha'reiel concluded, as he eyed the timer which he had set for the Matriarchy's arrival. Not long now...

 

[Luca]

Space, Where nobody can hear you wonder what's going on
Ha'reiel could hear fingers drumming against an armrest on the other side of the line. "Of course. Treatment, patients back to you, no debrief aside from anything they'll need to know for ongoing treatment," the Mynydoed-bound Aiesu rattled off the numbers a bit like she was reading groceries to Ha'reiel, "then we stick around once the goonsquad shows up, you grab all our data, then we vanish like farts in the wind."

"This seems pretty onesided, I do miss when corporations were people, like it is on Nepleslia you know," she sounded a little annoyed, and could be heard taking a sip from something in the background. It sounded like something in a can, judging by the noise it made when she put it down: Clunk.

Out in space, Ny'za's guidance of the pods was taken over, tractor beams lashing at the pods and drawing them into the loading and launch hangar of the ship. She received a brief message: "You in the WINTER-II, come aboard for treatment," It wasn't Aiesu's voice, instead, that of a bored woman. "Also, Ms. Kalopsia would like your feedback on the WINTER-II. Please land in the assigned bay and exit the vehicle."

A space in the bay lit up for Ny'za to land the WINTER-II in, giving her the option of autopiloting her way in. A moment later, in Ha'reiel's ear, he heard Aiesu again, like a fly buzzing too close. "Oh, does getting user feedback on the WINTER-II count as sensitive data?" she asked Ha'reiel, "legit curious here."

Merril, meanwhile, was sitting down and licking one of her calves, stroking the fur down as though she was trying to clean herself. She then stood up and waved around in space, but gazed at the vessel at a distance, still not leaving. Something about her mouth, her teeth, had become snarled and snaggled somewhat, lips stretching perhaps a little too far to the edges of her mouth, and her teeth stretching too far to match. She seemed bored now.


Mynydoed, Loading and Launch Hangar
The interior of the Lazarus vessel was reminiscent of the bastard child of a hospital and an assembly line. Sterile, flat, automated, and ruthlessly efficient. Given this area's sole purpose was to mount, repair, launch, and land vessels, it did all of those duties quite well. From outside, Ny'za could see the the escape pods being lowered gently onto the deck, and medical teams of identically suited people, unnaturally tall and slender, setting up perimeter.

The first pod they opened was the medical pod, grabbing Yar'mak in the litter and carting them off with haste. Vithr tried to follow them, but found himself blocked for quarantine, being scanned. The remains of Bastion was also given some care, carried off on a tray immediately. The chatter of the doctors suggested that there was still enough to put her back together.

Next, the technical pod was pried open and the technical team came out. The engineers and the freespacer came out, Bes'linn, was unconscious. A Lazarus medic carried their limp form out and laid them on a litter. The passenger and bridge team escape pods were pried open and, thankfully, all passengers were mobile, stable, and accounted for, but still needed quarantine, and were escorted off without much fuss.

When the Command pod opened, Keib covered his eyes through his visor and saw the figure of a woman who was too slender and tall, ears were too large to be Fyunnen and too pointed to be Lmanel. They pointed a scanner into the space, beeps heard as they took inventory. "State names, ranks," she droned, bored, flat and disinterested as her eyes were on the scanner's output. She was surprised that the one in the back was alive, eyes flicking up at Keib, then back to the scanner at the others.

"Kh...Captain Mar'zhaz Keib New Tur'lista," Keib said, pointing to himself incredulously. He looked over to Aiesu and wondered if all Lazarus personnel were like this. He couldn't send her a private communication asking why, because his microphone was still busted.

 

[Eistheid]

Mynydoed, Loading and Launch Hangar

As chance would have it, there seemed to be much going on when Glacier returned his attention to the world around him. The support that had been due to arrive in the form of a Lazarus vessel had finally come through. What followed were some rather colourful negotiations he thought, between the Chaplain and the vessel there to save them which had earned the tiny ire of Bright.

The return of Pitch to the crew, signalled the end of their time floating through space it seemed. Little more patience was needed as events quickly fell into place ending with Glacier shuffling out of the escape pod behind Keib while the others continued to lounge within.

Looking about at the strange forms littered about their reception Glacier rolled his shoulders symbolically shrugging off the uncanny nature of their situation. Thankful that his features were still lost behind a helmet and a concealing hood he spoke through the speaker system complying with the request, "Soldier, Tay'rryn Rhos'vol Fyunnen."

Now that the formalities were out of the way, he supposed whatever would happen would happen.

 

[paladinrpg]

Mynydoed, Loading and Launch Hangar

Widow was naturally relieved as they had managed to successfully get into the Lazarus ship alive and intact. This was definitely an answer to her prayers made through the necklace. However, the scientist inside of her could not help but wonder if they had hopped from the fire into yet a new frying pan, as she was slightly unnerved by the sight of their vaguely unnatural rescuers jabbing a scanner into the escape pod and demanding they announce themselves. Were these people made in someone's image, or to some beautiful ideal that she failed to grasp? She really knew so little about what the Lazarus corporation truly was about, but what she did pickup was not all good. But it was better than cooking outside, caught between the Matriarchy's Zealot and an unpredictable Beast with an anti-ship gun in her chest. Even with her enhanced vision, her attempts to try to get a glimpse of the other pods being unloaded were hampered and their occupants spirited away quickly, but they seemed well enough for her to keep her medical concerns focused on herself and those in front of her for now.

"Soldier and Medic, Aran'ya Lycosa Lmanel," responded she to the inquiry finally, her WIND suit still looking a bit like a chitinous porcupine was sheathed underneath it as the shapeshifter's bristling guard, set off by the harsh conditions she endured, was not entirely relaxed in their presence yet. "And people say I have a poor beside manner," she added with a bit of snarkiness to the one scanning her down, trying to regain her composure in front of the strangers after the harrowing trip showed her more emotional side.

 

[Syaoran]

Outside Mynydoed Loading and Launch Hangar

Once the pods were being handled by a tractor beam Ny'za let go and turned her attention towards Ha'reiel and Merril, but more focused on Merril, sending her a direct line of communication. "Everyone was loaded up safely and it looks like the captain and the crew will be alright. They're about to be treated for radiation exposure patched up. I have to go too, so we can't continue playing but I'll make sure to ask if they know how to turn you back."

After her message she turned back towards the ship and drifted the WINTER-II inside only switching to automatic for the actual landing itself. She then shut down and stepped out of the machine making her way to the the rest of the group. "Soldier, Ny'za Hasti Lmanel." Her posture was different than when she first met the group, she was more confident, though mentally she was exhausted from the tense situation.

 

[OsakanOne]

Mynydoed, Loading and Launch Hangar

♫ Tarentel - "Fever Sleep"

The floor and the air resonated with massive metal structures moving deep inside, gonging out slowly with echoes that lasted minutes that rose and ended on both limits of Lorath hearing, pitching up then back down like church bells or a giant's forge.

The guts of the ship were less like a vessel meant for people to walk in and more like a factory floor with no clear up or down and very little in the way of floors; the hanger opening in onto other sections: catwalks, rails, scaffolds and moving parts in the immense monolith forming one of the long flat panel squid-like arms of the ship rumbling what felt like miles below with only panels of golden foil stretched over the worn scratched paint to hide the rest of the ship's hardy re-enforced inards from the crew. The entire ship was one giant penrose staircase, white matte practically indestructible stonethread paint sand-blasted by unimaginably harsh conditions both inside and out, revealing gold and maroon alloys beneath.

Behind them, the hanger had not sealed. And yet there was atmosphere: the bare nakedness of space looking back at them as if through glass that did not exist, forty meters across and fifteen tall; every pod passing through experiencing a brief shimmer about its edges as if passing through a bubble before proceeding deeper.

No sooner had Ny'za disembarked, a rib-like cage moved along the pearly white worn scaffolding in the ceiling; rumbling the deck before lowering like some child's crane game to lock against the spine of the empty frame, slowly hauling it up off the ground as its ribs closed before the frame, covering it in a sheet of flexible elasticated golden foil before it disappeared through what resembled a massive air-vent.

The tall pale medic watched the crew fall into line with her prompt of rank and file, years of military drilling doing its work to make them easier to evaluate. Her gaze gave away nothing; an almost mechanically tall albino figure with ruby eyes and long white hair tied up into a bun clad in a panelled environmental suit in white with golden highlights, occasionally dotted in dark blue with labels in various languages denoting the components and their functions, cables running down the outside of her arms and also her legs.

"Now then. I think you all understand that for obvious reasons you're under quarantine" she reiterated, eyeing a distant something in the background behind and above them -- the deck thudding with deep mechanical groan as something beneath them larger than the Akahar was moving in the hull's bowels causing the gravitational constant to briefly shift.

And then a new voice.

♫ The London Symphony Orchestra - "Life on Mars"

"You, you, you and... You..." a more familiar figure stepped out from behind the medic. She'd pointed out those who had either been infected directly or who had come into direct passive contact but something had stolen her attention. The woman was only about a foot or so shorter than the almost monsterous medic; a person who made ID-SOL look positively small. She had what could be described as an allotrope of the other consortium representative's features; her hair long and flat, rather than tight and wiry, her body ample, tall, strong and Lorath in every shape of the word. She was Aiesu Kalopsia and yet she also very much wasn't. Like her medic, she too wore the same white panelled suit. Like her counterpart, she wore a frown.

The smaller clutched Keib's hand - an eye hidden behind him - timid for a moment before stepping out to reveal herself. The two pairs of eyes held light in uncanny ways, cerise oozing down from violet like a lab animals, each pair looking into their own personal abyss and a reminder of their own fundamental truth in a meeting that was never meant to happen.

This lasted for quite a while, as if a bug in code somewhere caught them in a loop or as if the metaphorical cogs driving them had chundered to a rumbling stop inside each.

It was clear that each very much hated the other, that were the circumstances different, nature would be taking its course and by the design the two would tend to the business or murdering each-other for reasons neither one either knew nor understood.

Given that the consortium was meant to be a dollhouse of cooperation, it made little sense and instead merely is and was.

Escaping her loop, the newer model's features softened as she took in the sight of Merril from afar; in her own way, a gardener appraising a bouquet that redefined the rules of vegetation before remembering the others. Her excitement was palpable. Her movements graceful. Even elegant.

"Now then~ This way, please. If you have any complaints or disagreements, take it up with me personally and I'm quite happy to discuss whatever arrangements you'd prefer... But not with my associate here who has something of a temper, whom we'll be calling for the sake of our meeting 'R' should you actually need a name" her voice flowed with all the pep and enthusiasm of an air hostess or a magician, patting the tall medic's back in affirmative to make her point. Moving through the hanger's designer gravity, she moved with all the grace of a plastic bag across a beach on a windy day. Synthetic jellyfish.

A wall on the far end where her destination of the hangar split; depressing like a bubble before splitting and warping, seemingly passing through itself as it opened; edges sparkling like gemstones. Whatever was on the other side did not make three dimensional sense. But it existed.

"This way, this way, no dawdling. Come along, come along" she cheered, her tone motherly and jubilant.

The medic, R, nodded her off. She watched the twins of differing ages give a final passing regard to one another before returning her attention to the remainder of the crew. She had a job to do.

"The captain will prioritise and I'll tend to your injuries alongside Miss Kalopsia here" she nodded to the smaller damaged construct in a lumbering disinterested and monotone voice that had so little to do with what she was actually saying that it almost sounded like a student in an English class reading before their classmates.

"As a warning, be aware that the atmosphere in this chamber has been deliberately altered to prevent additional ionization. If your saliva feels dry or you experience dizziness, discolouration of bodily fluids, mucus or your skin and nerves feel prickly, its to be expected and you'll just have to deal with it. You will be kept under observation under direct Matriarchy supervision in controlled conditions for the next eighteen hours to ensure there is no further radiation damage or contamination. Do you have questions, complaints or new symptoms you'd like to indicate before proceeding?"

The Aiesu they'd been left with pulled on Keib's sleeve. She wanted him to speak up.

Not now, not infront of his crew, but soon.

 

[Syaoran]

Mynydoed, Loading and Launch Hangar

Ny'za watched as things unfolded, there were so many things to ask questions about, but what caught her attention the most were the two women of very similar appearance, one tall, the other short. Her first thought was that they were mother and daughter, but she remembered that the short one was a gynoid of some kind. So perhaps the tall one was the creator of the small one. The staring contest came to an end though.

Ny'za had no serious injuries that needed to be handled so she decided to wander onward, following the rather energetic and floaty tall Aiesu.