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

Ny'za returned to the bridge without much hassle along with the rest of the 'away team'. Her question had gone unanswered but that might have been for the best so she chose not to ask again. Though she expected to have a brief bit of rest, the captain had immediately asked for a status report and it seemed like things would continue without delay. It took a moment of thinking for Ny'za to realize that the captain was transmitting information through a kind of tactile telepathy but other than finding it a bit odd at first she did not have much of a problem with it.

The conversation that followed gave the impression that someone might be trying to board the ship, though she wanted to ask about this to make sure she did not get the chance as monitors were taken over by images of someone's life, it was suspected that these were Merril's memories being transferred through a psychic link, the notion made them a little less frightening, but still very unnerving.

The next thing to happen though was very strange to her. Instead of giving orders to the crew, a volumetric display was brought up in front of everyone and a discussion of sorts between the captain and civilian consultant took place as they outlined all that needed to be done in the current situation. A few of her questions were answered in the display so she was relieved at that. When Kieb asked for input from the crew Ny'za glanced around nervously but soon Ha'reiel was putting up a feed of data as well, with a good bit of detail. Even Glacier spoke up to add his thoughts on the matter. Feeling that she needed to speak up as well she decided to type, out what she wanted, adding it to the display as well.

Ny'za's notes said:

• The Silva canon's are very large, if we put them too plainly at intersections they would be noticed. If the first few incidents do not stop the medic then it is likely she will start dodging and disabling them. If we do this we will have to make them less noticeable.
• Is there a reason Structol is bad, does it have some kind of interaction with this infection?
• I personally think if we lock down the ship we should deal with the Freespacers and the traitor first. Otherwise they would interfere with our plans to stop the infection.
  • If there are any mecha onboard I could pilot one along side fighterships

Click to expand...

She sent her notes up, still rather nervous about them and unsure if they were the right thing to do, but hopefully if they weren't it would just be food for thought and nothing bad would come of it.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge

Widow drew in a deep breath as the moment before the away team returned through the reinforced doors seemed like forever. But sure enough they did, and as she gave a lot of cautionary glances their way from her slightly shifting pupils beneath the Peeper module she still had on -- it seemed the survivors of the battle to suppress Korro were in one piece by her figuring. "Welcome back to the frying pan from the fire," she began with an attempt at being sarcastically chipper to arrivals, "Catch your breaths and let me know if you are in need of any medical attention."

Her gaze lingered awhile on Keib especially as she gave the acting captain a respectful salute, this being the first time she saw him up close. She could not help but compare him to her old flame in the back of her mind thanks to the white lab coat he wore, although the person wearing it back then was vastly different. She also recognized the telltale body language of when he was using touch communication with his fellow New Turlistans, and was thankful that at least he was moving to a hard light display to share information with the rest of the crew assembled. (Although that Occestian skill would often times be envied by Aran'ya, as Tian'vir and her had to think up other creative ways to secretly pass their amorous messages to each other.)

If the Medic had opinions, she was still keeping them reserved to herself, though, as she allowed the discussion to evolve further. There were powers and forces much more decisive than she jockeying for position in this survival plan, and she would rather let them sort the politics out before she threw her hat into the ring. Besides, she was still trying to wrap her head around the biochemistry and materials science involved with this lifeform... she may even have a plan forming in that regard, but needed more information.

She kept her hands busy amongst all this, taking stock of the medical supplies acquired from the bridge's cabinet and made some adjustments to Mordi so she would be more comfortable, inspecting the dressings and changing them as needed to ensure the healing progressed well.

LSDF Akahar; Bridge

Jiji did her damndest to keep that guy off her new security line, she didn't hesitate to use everything at her disposal, and was severely focused until suddenly Keib came in and just cut him off with an absolute order to get the fuck off his network, in a nicer tone then what Jiji would've said. She took a deep breath and looked at Keib before blinking at him giving her a thumbs up, she grinned very childlike at his praise. Nodding a bit and taking a deep breath, that was...exciting. She then looked at this...list of things to do, combat situations and orders were not something she was accustomed to having a say in so she stuck to what she knew best. "I'll go with whatever is decided, Captain." Thats...pretty much all she knew Keib by. "I am pretty good at building things, repairing things, as you saw I was good at the computer. So just stick me where you think I have the best chance of being helpful, Sir." She nods a bit.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge
There were three cups of coffee sitting nearby, all empty as Keib was considering everything, and the input from the others too. So many things overlapping each other in the mess that was, at present state, the good ship Akahar. He was trying his best to hide it, but it wasn't enough. His knees were to his chest upon the captain's chair, the empty cups beside him left in disarray as new stains found their way onto his labcoat and today's sardonic slogan bearing t-shirt, eyes peering into the floor from just over his two arms, almost curling himself into an egg shape under the oppressive, muggy scent of the bridge.

He was scared. More often than not, his eyes would avert from the whiteboard he'd put up, all the new suggestions there just more variables for his mind to juggle. For a caste of thinkers, he was thinking on what he was doing pretty hard, burning biological CPU cycles to make ends meet as more and more, even innocuous variables like 'I can fly a Mecha', 'We have reserve Helashio', 'Hakahn must die'. Even input from the lowest of ranks, and Keib didn't have the spare time to tell them to write it on the board.

The air was thick, hot, nearly slimy: the ducts had all been welded shut leaving a crisp metallic hot scent in the air and tall barrel shaped atmsopheric processors sat heaped together with thick cables running along the floor humming from their own independent power-source as they kept the air breathable and the temperature livable. They struggled however, with the dust. Light was cast down with a similar deep thrumming hum by rectangular lamps with thin wire-like bulbs, normally meant for spot-lamps. The light had a quality that painted every pore, scratch, scar, bruise, pimple, mole and spot on every face beneath it and the atmosphere itself had a quality that brought out the worst in everyone.

Aiesu found her eyes settling onto Keib again, her hands steepled. At best all she could do was watch, gauging his state as she made plans of her own with luck to fill in whatever gaps would be left in his. She felt questions or statements welling up inside her that might serve her planning better but none became words: all pinned down. Saying the wrong thing could push him into snapping, she thought.

She had to let him think. He rocked back and forth in his chair, lazily gazing over the faces of those perhaps foolhardy enough to follow him here onto the Akahar. He was beginning to wonder why they had come, what the motivations were. Who was here for redemption, for money, for corporate and/or government interest? It'd become a guessing game since Hakahn had plunged a knife in the ship's back.

Further consideration, further variables, and he stood up out of his chair, you could practically hear the bones disconnecting and creaking as he finally started moving again, seeing his train of thought in his tired body langauge, his temporarily lolling gait and slack arms. He had been awake for about twenty hours now; another variable to consider: fatigue.

"Keib?" Miri asked as she watched him stagger towards the whiteboard, holding up a finger. There was no more time to argue with what was on the board.

It was time to move. Not for any particular desire, but being confined was wrecking havoc on Keib's bouncing mind. He had to move.

"I've just realised something," he said, voice hoarse as he crossed off a line on the board.

Aiesu's gaze rose. The first she'd heard out of him in hours. This ought to be good.

"The Deck 1 escape pods are death traps. The proximity of the Mok'ro and the manoeuvring thrusters of the pods don't kick in until it's too late," He put diagrams on the board, showing this to be the case. The little escape pod "and you end up like a scrambled egg against the Mok'ro."

"What about the trajectory thrusters?" Aiesu skittled, wrinkling her nose as she wiped it with a burnt thumb.

"They take too long to get warmed up in transit."

"They're glorified ejector seats... No time to slow down so... So basically you'd be smashed into the side of the ship."

"And not just any ship, the Mok'ro. And I have no desire to be face to face with whatever the fuck was in there," he then crossed another thing off. "I think Hakahn has been sufficiently scared off. We removed his backdoor, he's seen the Mok'ro, and an LSDF scoutship is still in the area to assist in ten."

"If it gets involved, it could make things worse. The clock's still ticking on the Mynoded. She's due in the next two hours."

"F-five hours," Keib corrected as he looked over to the armoury. "We have approximately five hours.

"You're sure?"

"I've been counting," he said as he grabbed a WIND suit without the GUST attachments. He had to put on the suit.

A fist met the console, thumping and then again like a child having a tantrum before becoming still and quiet, hunched over the metal, arms crossed. Her choice of words was particularly flowery.

As Keib was stripping his labcoat off, he looked behind him and asked, "Aiesu? You okay?"

"No. Yes. I'll be fine. Cabin fever."

"Be frank with me," he said as he peeled his t-shirt off. He'd have to get a new one later. He was wearing an undershirt.

There was a long pause. The voice, even the mannerisms were different, still hunched.

"Its faulty. Approaching net entropy."

"I might be responsible for that. The extra CPU cycles I made you contribute may have burnt you out," He seemed regretful.

"It" she stated, evidently talking with someone elsewhere now, using the body almost like a living radio. "The software starts off ordered and gets messier as time goes on."

"The ROMstructs. I think I saw this in the warning notes," he said as he removed his pants and started putting the WIND armour on.

"Pretty much. Eventually it gets messy enough to stop working properly. Its done about three and a half years of thought in a few days trying to come up with a solution."

She got up and walked now, cerise eyes staring at the burns along her own arm as if she were a foreigner in her own body: the real Aiesu having read the damage reports but the two hadn't been frank for a few days now.

"The safe limit before it stops being mission dependable is about four. It'll have been ... Not clingy, but needy every time its spoken to someone. For you, only minutes have passed while its all spaced out and quiet. For it, weeks, maybe even months while it was trying to figure everything out. That's the great thing about software: You can hit fast-forward in a way you can't with people. Good for answers... Bad for lifespan."

"I have welcomed the newfound attention, Aiesu." Keib replied, voice clipped as he got the rest of the WIND on, then put the labcoat back on over it so he could be easily identified. "I definitely need it at a time like this. Calm yourself-" in trade for a brief moment.

"...I'm not the construct, Keib." she tried not to laugh -- like a tired teacher dealing with a student: utterly free of the stress the construct or the crew were now marinated in. In a way it was a breath of fresh air. On the other hand, she was awfully callous. "I'm just talking to you through it."

She began picking at the burns now, fingernails digging beneath dark flakey black that the construct had refused to bandage: peeling sticky marshmellowy skin back to reveal metal skeleton beneath until the arm beyond the elbow was bare. She held the glove of burnt bloody flesh in her opposing hand before discarding it like a used bandaid. Were it her own arm, she probably wouldn't do this. Keib could be heard cringing at the sight of it.

"I know you didn't ask to talk with me but it can't be honest with you right now. It doesn't know the truth of its own condition. My advice? Just to hit reset."

"Before you do, one question I never got to answer. What is MOTHER?"

"Make it out of this alive and I'll tell you what I know."

He looked out to the rest of the crew and cleared his throat. "Plan of attack is to clear an escape route to the Akahar, wait outside, wait for the Lazarus ship. We grab Aiesu's Cryo pod for Yar'mak along the way and stuff him in it."

"I heard about the pods. Nasty. Really nasty. How do you plan to get to deck 6?"

With the armour suit activated, Keib grabbed a Silva rifle and put the strap over one shoulder. His wiry frame was supported by the suit's strength assistance. "Being direct."

"Take my advice. Dump the pods anyway. Sequentially. The noise of it will stop her from hearing you. Of course, you won't be able to hear her either, so it goes both ways -- but it'd be a good equaliser with the hull vibrating. The construct was going to tell you this but it thought best to let you think: you don't interrupt someone who knows what they're doing and... Well. I'm a glorified science teacher. You're a captain, of a big impressive ship no less."

Keib then looked down at what Aiesu was wearing. "You have Merril's sweater still. Will that have to get disinfected as well?"

"No, the exchange was before she disembarked for the mission."

"I know, just screwing with you. Do consider armouring up though. I think there's a WIND in your size somewhere."

"No need. The skeleton's got thicker armor than three layers of gusts. Remember, this thing's basically a robot posing as a person. Going to hit reset?"

"Not until we're out," He said as looked to the others. "C'mon let's move, people. Let's get outta here. Akahar's lost. If we can incapacitate Merril along the way, it's bonus points - I'll get the bridge bunnies to give you a quickie on the way back for whoever makes Merril stop moving."

"Well I never-" Miri said, trying to save face as she visibly blushed. "Keib-!"

"Could be fun," Farah shrugged, shameless about it all. "Been a while since I've had a good shag. I wanted a piece of Al'ris."

Al'ris stood up, and cricked her shoulders. "That means I'll have to stop Merril now, won't I?"

Gough stood up, "Dibs. She isn't getting away for what she did to Yar'mak."

"Hey, she or Korro infected me, I kill her," Yar'mak chuckled. Friendly competition and rivalry was getting back into the hearts of the veteran Akahar crew.

"Does this mean the inquisitor gets a quickie for killing Korro?" Farah asked. Yar'mak and Gough laughed out loud.

Vithr stood back and let the veterans do their thing. "I'll escort the patient," Vithr said. "Widow, how's the patient?" He asked, referring to Mordi.

Mordi was in a stable now, though her wings were still plucked and her pride still in tatters and combat effectiveness reduced. She was still able to move.

Aiesu stretched, intertwining a synthetic hand now with the living as she cracked her knuckles, bruising the skin as she went a dark purple without a care for the construct itself as the palms went up toward the ceiling: arms up over its head.

"Nnnn. Nothing like running scared to get the juices flowing, huh? I don't have much else to offer: Don't suppose any of you are into anal?" she tried to laugh. It was evident from the way eyes moved then that the ghost inhabiting the construct had left: the Aiesu they knew stood in its place not knowing its last words or why everyone was giving her that very particular look or why her hands hurt.

Vathi, the Lmanel bridge bunny who shared a first name with Aiesu in the back raised her hand. "I... have deep pockets," she stated mousily before getting up to arm herself and suit up with the others.

LSDF Akahar - Bridge

There was a solemn silence from the Chaplain-inquisitor, as he waited for the New Tur'listian to do as they do. As he stood by, he thought things over from his own perspective, his own understanding, and his own agenda which was presented to him by those above. Aged amber eyes looked upon the gathered crew, each of them bathed in a light which left him to look upon them in a way which seemed to point out every detail, he looked upon them as heretics, soldiers, brothers, sisters, all kin in life and death, so long as they were willing to be redeemed. Such a thought of those gathered, a thought of redemption, that was all that kept Ha'reiel from acting on the instinctive drive inside of him, the drive which told him exactly what he needed to do.

What dug into his thoughts though, was the exchange between Aiesu, and Keib, an exchange of words which danced around a matter, an exchange which did little to advance their chances, or even to improve the outlook of the situation beyond their immediate need to survive. Internally, as Ha'reiel listened to the construct speak the words of the real woman behind the machine, he recalled records and information which he had been presented by the Matriarchy in preparation for the mission, and through that knowledge, he could not help but to find amusement in the fact that they were relying upon a corporate atheist cripple, with zero field experience. Ha'reiel's amusement came to a halt though, as Keib spoke, and immediately set a sharp pin clear through Ha'reiel's calm.

"We will be relying upon the corporation that knows no loyalty?" Ha'reiel asked, as he frowned bitterly. "While their offers of help are appreciated, I worry for what will be done with the Mok'ro and this ship. We do not need what would come of these things, and it leaves me to ask why would we have any desire to keep the Mok'ro and the Akahar intact, instead of disposing of the hazard that they present to long-term prosperity and interests?" A slow shake of Ha'reiel's head served as the bulk of the cap upon his objection. "Though, if you order it as this ship's commander, I stand in little position to disagree. However, I do advise you, if this taint proves to be as dangerous as implied, I would hope you reconsider our options before it would be too late to avoid something regrettable."

There was a slow exhale from Ha'reiel, as he listened to the crew rally; "If our task now is to leave this ship, and to lay waste to Merril, then I can only hope to destroy as much of this ship as I can in the process, for the sake of all of our prosperity, and so you can all live to my age, and older. I will give my hand, to aid you all in surviving this, Mother allowing, Father willing." His spry gaze went to the bridge bunnies, which produced a smile upon his lips; "If you want what I can give, you'll have to answer to my wife and her sisters when we get back to port." With that, he laughed, as he stood ready to go, as soon as the others were.

LSDF Akahar - Bridge

It had been a long, tedious time sequestered in the bridge of the Akahar, the measures they had taken to ensure it was livable had done little to make the experience enjoyable. While the others chattered and took what comfort they could in their social connections, Glacier relegated himself to a corner and watched mutely as he was want to do. They chattered and talked of the situation in roundabout passing ways occasionally touching on the subject of killing the former Medic or some other sort of concept of glory that they held dear, any way to keep their spirits up he supposed.

Interest having long faded into apathy, Glacier watched the exchange between the Acting Captain and the Lazarus Representative in a detached way, not really taking note of the subtleties of the exchange instead only getting the most basic details, bits about resetting the Representative, as they were artificial. There was also a brief discussion of the use of escape pods and their non-viable status as an actual means of escape. The end of the exchange left Glacier with nothing to be glad about apart for the knowledge that they wouldn't be waiting around any longer.

Between the comments of sex, the friendly argument over who would get to kill Merril, and the Chaplain's recommendation to destroy both the Mok'ro, Glacier discovered that he had run out of patience. Sighing he once again broke his long stretch of silence, "I agree that trusting the corporation is hardly ideal, however it is unlikely that the LSDF will be sending us any form of recovery operation. More importantly destroying the Mok'ro and Merril could prove to be our undoing. Is it worth denying Lazarus the materials if it may doom others in the future? We don't know what occurred on the Mok'ro, let alone how to prevent it in the future. Would it not be better to learn from what we have presently available rather than hoping blindly that we won't encounter the same situation in the future? If another ship were to end up infected as the Mok'ro is, it could end up planetside. Without knowledge that could be gained here, millions could be doomed in the future as the LSDF is forced to glass a planet to stop the spread of a similar infection that may very well be preventable."

Seeming to catch himself Glacier lapsed back into silence before he could form his next word, shaking his head he took a steadying breath before once more speaking up, though with a distinctly different line of thought, "I am sorry. I spoke out of line." Seeming to fall silent for a final time, Glacier waited to see what orders would be given, hoping that they wouldn't lead to a new tragedy.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge

Widow's faceted eyes adjusted well to the low light, as her arachnid aspects seemed the least phased by the conditions on the bridge that now resembled a kind of artificial cave more than a starship. From the talk now it seemed it was time to come out of hiding at last, for staying here any longer would prove to truly be a cowardly way to end things.

The Medic hadn't spent the entire time brooding or mindlessly chatting though, like some of the others. She had been busy tending to Mordi with the nanite treatments, for one, and now she was finally able to stand at least. Al'ris was fully recovered and loaded for bear. When Vithr spoke to her, Aran'ya nodded and presented 'Wire Head' to him. "Not exactly marathon condition yet, but good to go.”

But, for those that watched her more closely, though, the Lmanel also had been working on a secret weapon of sorts. Her incisors had elongated into fangs, and every once in awhile she had dripped some greenish venom from them into an injector vial which now was filled to the brim. The latrotoxin contained within would be enough to permanently screw over a normal person's nervous system and cause heart palpitations to the point of bursting, so perhaps it could slow down the Beast for a precious few seconds as it tried to deal with the unconventional biological warfare... at least, that was the plan.

She licked her lips once as her teeth shifted back to normal, and she got an unexpectedly good view of the Captain suiting up into his WIND for action. The lab coat over it was a nice touch. He even half seriously offered the bridge bunnies as prizes, and this just confirmed the rumors from before they came aboard about their deviant natures. Naturally Aran'ya's first thought was if Keib was part of the prizes offered, though, as she too began to strip down and enter the WIND armor suit -- though she disliked the constrictive nature of the shell, it was a necessary tool for survival especially if their next stop was going to be space. If she was being watched doing so, she didn't seem to mind.

Aran'ya was not particularly fond of the idea of having to kill the tortured monster that used to be the former Medic of the vessel before she arrived, but considering the enemy had no compunctions on hunting them down it may just end that way. When the silent type Glacier raised his voice she nodded approvingly at him and replied in her cynical tone. "Don't worry, Lazarus is going to get their sample one way or the other. Let's just make sure we aren't one of them, mmm?" Her gaze shifted slightly over to Yar'mak as she spoke, wondering just how long he could keep his composure considering the infection had time to spread further into his system. "Yar'mak, you better not get too close to Merril. I'd wager proximity to the other symbiote would make it accelerate rapidly. Then you'd be looking at being 'iced' a lot less gently than Aiesu had in mind." The allusion to death was very clear, if a bit dark, as Widow gathered up what necessary medical equipment to keep them moving as she could carry.

Pitch found herself lost in the light for a moment, looking over everyone's faces as every detail was displayed clearly. The situation made her subconsciously aware, if this was a movie it would be the turning point, where the heroes decided it was do or die. That gave her a sense of unease and worry that she couldn't put her finger on. This moment seemed to last for hours as everyone contemplated in near silence to find a way out of this situation they were in.

However the silence was broken and Kieb began to speak, explaining the problem with using the escape pods. Ny'za had no desire to be turned into space pudding so she was not going to try to come up with some clever solution to that problem and just accepted it. Noticing the Kieb went to grab a WIND armor she waited a little and then grabbed one for herself getting the one with the largest wings she could. Though the conversation turned to a topic she did not really understand, as it seemed personal, she kept listening as she stripped down to her undergarments and then putting the suit on and then attaching the GUST armor set, hoping that no one was watching her.

Though the removal of skin by Aeisu freaked her out and nearly made her throw up, she soon realized that it was a robot in front of her and not a flesh and blood Lorath, reassuring, but it still did not make the sight less disturbing. Soon after however things got on track and the rest of the plan was explained and Pitch made sure to remember every step so she wouldn't mess up. Ny'za was ready to go into action, but then she heard something that caused her to think,, out loud none the less.

"A quickie...? What does he mean by a quickie." She then quickly glanced around and practically had a lightbulb over her head. "Oh he means sex" She spoke up a little louder at that last part without realizing it.

Jiji looked over at Vithr and stood up before moving over to them looking at Keib. "If alright, I'd like to aid the Doctor and Widow in escorting the patient." Despite the show she put on before when she offered to go with the Inquisitor, the child like Lmanel did seem a little shaken up by the sudden change of atmosphere the bridge had. Despite the laughing and all that, things were quite tense... She pulled out her rifle and looks at the robot on her shoulder before muttering to it. "DOLL-3 Initiate Scan Protocol 3, If there's something nearby I want to know of it immediately." She loads her rifle and takes off the safety with a sigh... the talk of quickies was a little annoying especially given what was going on at the moment.

Personally, she's seen equal or worse then the Aiesu robot, so it didn't effect her all that much.

LSDF Akahar, Somewhere In Its Maintenance Passages
She stalked again. She could see the sounds of chatter in her overlapping senses. Written on walls and wailing to her, their myriad plans in a language that was starting to go blurry, but she understood some of the syntax of; it was just a matter of making it hers again to understand it fully.

They were planning something, on the move. They realised something, but they didn't write it down. The sounds of plans, again in that language - but they were too far, and too hurried, too stressed.

Then something much clearer - trying to approach the bridge, light skinned and of a small build - but not frail. It wasn't Korro, it wasn't Mars either - it didn't recognise it. They smelt like those who were one with the machine already, but only scraping the surface the way Merril knew now.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge!
"Well then Ha'reiel, don't be afraid to put a few holes in the ship on the way out if it means life or death." Keib nodded at the towering chaplain as he felt the last of his WIND armour suit come together on him and slipped the helmet on. "Just try not to aim for us. We'd greatly appreciate that." There was no sarcasm in Keib, he genuinely did want him to keep an eye on his aim. "Peer to peer communications activate - nobody's an island."

And between them all, a digital spiderweb begun to weave itself, visualised by various means and connecting everyone together with a blue strand that was glimmering with information being sent to and from each other. Whether you were looking at it through cybernetics, a helmet's heads up display or just kinda knew it was there, eventually everyone was connected to each other in a web. Soon, nobody was connected to the Akahar's computers. "We're only going to survive if we remain in contact. Now open the blast doors and let's rush."

"Hang on - Keib." "Camera's picked up something in the stairway where Korro and Mars were blasted to shreds." Miri spoke up, looking at the console one last time, now armoured up with the rest of the away team.

"Yes?"
The screen in the centre of the room crackled for a moment, then showed the stairway near the armoury where Mars and Korro had bit the antimatter bullet. Mars' armoured torso, one of her arms and her head was there while the rest of her was a carbon shadow against the stairs and the wall, while Korro was little more than a shadow herself - completely gone. Keib clicked his tongue.

"Huh. Shield projectors must've soaked up some of the blast. Guess the medical team can pick that up on the way out." Keib's eyebrows raised beneath his helmet. At some level, he was impressed by a fragment of her surviving, but he could chalk that to the suit more than her actions. "Scan some more, is it safe?"
"Dead as a duqc'loss tree in Ey'tis season. No signs of infection either."

"We'll get the head, at least. Vithr, ready to transport the patient?"
"Ready. We'll stay in the back."

Yar'mak was lying on a bowl-like litter on wheels holding a freshly infected Stalwart Enforcer with his 'safe' hand, still in his undergarments and ready to be 'transported'. "I'm feeling a little warm, and I think my fingers have uh, fung..." He observed, though his voice was a little raspy, and he cleared his throat behind a surgical mask, which was now fusing to his face just a little, the texture of the sterile material now apparent on his nose. "Face feels a bit funny too."

"Don't look at a mirror." Vithr advised as he closed a lid on the stretcher and started wheeling them through. "Try not to eat your gun, while you're at it."

The servos of the blast doors groaned to life with a mechanical clank and clatter, slowly yawning open for the still-Lorath crew of the Akahar. "Glacier," Keib communicated to them, privately. "Chain of command has broken down and we're trying to put it back together. Speaking out of line's the least of our worries."

"Let's move, then." Keib said out loud, broadcasting to all. "Form an orderly queue, and let's get out of here."

A Quick Headcheck and Current Marching Order said:

Note: Non Player Characters are in Blue. Player characters are Red. Former PC's are Purple.
Front of the Queue

Keib, Ha'reiel, Glacier
Aiesu, Ny'za, Gough, Greg
JiJi, Four Six, Bes'linn, Veronica
Miri, Farah, Kerrik, Sparks, Vathi, Marker
Vithr, Yar'mak, Aran'ya, Al'ris, Wire Head

Back of the Queue

Click to expand...

♫ Metroid Fusion - Tension (With SFX) ♫

The team saw a solitary figure in the doorway. It was one of the Freespacers, but not one of the Pratimas that were trying to run wild on the Akahar's computers. Keib knew that they were determined enough to break back in, and he'd bought himself a few minutes of peace.

"K-Keib, is that you?" The wiry freespacer asked, clutching themselves in a jumper that Merril had knitted for them for warmth with one hand while keeping their tracksuit pants up with the other. "It's me, ah, Null Null! A-Alphara Null Null..." they recited their full name to establish themselves as friendly.

Some assessment was in order - she looked like she'd been running scared, didn't appear armed, and was a civilian. "Friendly." Keib broadcasted to the team's communication webwork. "Hang on, Null. We have to scan you before we can take you with us." He looked over to Widow and gave her a simple direction. "Go."

"What?" Null Null asked, looking around themselves, looking behind themselves.

"Just be calm, it'll be quick," Keib tried to calm them down, putting on an assuring. "We're trying to get out of here too. Could you disconnect from the ship's network please?" She wasn't on the network. "Oh, nevermind, very good." Null Null seemed to shiver with the mention of the network.

Vithr kept an eye on the patient in his care, who was resting with his hands on his lap, though he noticed that the gun he was holding was attempting to fuse with his hand from beneath the transparent cover. Yar'mak, for all intents and purposes seemed more surprised than anything. "I don't think this is what you meant by eating my gun, Doc..." he mumbled under his cover, further muffling his voice.

LSDF Akahar - Bridge Hatch

"I'll give fair warning if I'm going to shoot and someone is in the way, just like last time." Ha'reiel spoke in reply to Keib as he stood at the ready, his own WIND suit very-much intact beneath his robes. Though when the matter of Mars and her remains were brought up, Ha'reiel frowned bitterly before he spoke; "It is not a fortunate matter in the slightest that a piece of her survived, this bodes poorly for neutralizing the infection without ripping this ship apart." the Fyunnen man-of-the-cloth spoke as the crew began to move out, only to find a Freespacer in their path.

There was a silence from Ha'reiel, as he monitored the 'web' that was between each member of the group, and through the cybernetic eye that was embedded in his skull, he looked upon the world in a digital clusterfuck, EM signals were plentiful off of the group as they were linked together, but as Ha'reiel looked at the Freespacer, something did not sit right with him in the slightest, and his suspicion was confirmed as Keib spoke to her, that was when a voice sounded over their communication link.

"You are aware that her people endure severe discomfort when disconnected from their polysentience, correct? Something is very wrong with her. Furthermore, to call her a friendly is to make quite a leap, she is not of our species, she is not of our world, she is not of our military. She, is, nothing." As those words sounded silently between the group, Ha'reiel's hand found the hilt of his plasma saber, as the polished handle of the weapon soon filled his grasp, as his gaze rested heavily upon the Freespacer, that looked to him as a rabid dog would look to a Nepleslian. "Confirm her biological status, and if she is infected, stand clear, we can make it quick and painless that way."

LSDF Akahar, Bridge Exit

Widow could not help but find the symbology interesting, as the group's suits setup a local peer-to-peer network resembling that of a spider's web between them all. This thin blue filament connected the last living souls aboard together as they thought for this fleeting moment they were now the smart, the strong, the survivors -- and yet the Tarantis-aspected Lmanel knew in her animal soul that they were also caught in a much larger web that was beginning to tighten. The spaceship Akahar was not unlike a giant winged insect about to make its last, desperate bid to break free of the sticky strands or be left to sit frozen in terror to await the Beast to feast upon its belly and for scavenger Lazarus to no doubt pick the bones clean when she was done with it.

The WIND suit acknowledged the request and Aran'ya fell into a neat line with the group. She had naturally been assigned to the medical team that brought up the rear with the injured and the infected, though make no mistake she was ready to protect them also if necessary. Her low-light vision was in a heightened state for any ambushes that might appear from behind them, and her firearm was loaded and ready for what could be their last little jaunt through the ship.

Being in a hyper-vigilant state, the Medic jumped into action immediately when Keib gave the word. The sight of the medical band wrapped around the arm of the armored suit was hopefully a reassuring sight to the Freespacer civilian that stood before them shaking and disoriented. She cracked a sarcastic smile beneath the visor during the inspection, glancing at her patient's interesting mismatched outfit that seemed a size too big, "Sorry, did we catch you on laundry day? Keib's got terrible timing like that. Now, hold still please." Using a combination of her Peeper eyepiece sensors and the scanner she had borrowed from Vithr, Widow then performed a full body scan as ordered for any signs of infection present in Null Null's person or any items she carried.

She then frowned a bit as Ha'reiel spoke to Null Null as more of a stray dog than a person, however he was unfortunately correct that they had to protect Lorath lives first according to doctrine, considering every person they took with them only made escape that much more difficult. Of course, Widow had an oath as a doctor, too... and this woman seemed to be special to the Acting Captain in some way, so they had to at least try. She was already mentally prepared for the worst as she saw the Chaplain's hand grasping the hilt of his blade, though as she waited for the results to be displayed she prayed they didn't have to go down that path just yet.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge Exit

In Aran'ya's eye, she looked through the peeper monocle and outlined the frame of the feeble looking Freespacer with the hand scanner, making a few cycles up and down. Null Null seemed to squirm as she saw the disdain in the Inquisitor's body language, hand hovering just over that grenade launcher. The scanning tool pointed at her seemed to be suspect too. They looked left and right.

"I made a promise to bring them back alive before you showed up, and it'd reflect poorly if I didn't honour it." Keib replied back to Ha'reiel, voice but a hushed whisper as he watched the statistics from Widow's Peeper stream to his view. "I need no more demons and skeletons in my closet than I already have-" A series of beeps sounded now that the scan was complete.

Negative for Infection. Not connected to Akahar Network. Early Polysentience Withdrawal.

"Well there you go." Keib seemed to smirk beneath their helmet, lowering his weapon and switching to loudspeaker. "Alright, fall in, stay close. We'll get you to a polysentience that isn't trying to kill us within 24 hours." Keib was ruminating all the while though. Bloody old fart... not envious of his fortunes or long life or anything. A toxic line of thought went down Keib's neck, brimming thoughts of bull-headedness and brazenness that the Inquisitor bought to the table - worse still, backed by authority absolute. Too much context lost, no want to indulge in it for their own reality and leaping to their own answers.

A small footstep that barely even made a sound against the sterile floor. Then another, and another, and another, turning into a weak gait before walking right past Keib and Aran'ya, and into the back of the line, near Vithr. She walked past the stretcher, looked into its canopy and her eyes widened, putting her hands to her mouth. She would've thrown up - if she'd eaten anything in the past few hours - or the past few hours before that.

"Yeah, just don't look too hard," Vithr said as he pressed a button on the stretcher to render its canopy opaque for the moment.

"Onwards." Keib motioned, heading further into Deck 3, looking for an appropriate stairwell down.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge Exit

Pitch switched her suit's communication line over along with the other's, watching the web of light displayed between them as laser communication was established between them all. It was reassuring to have a direct line of communication to everyone, even if the ships systems went totally down they could still talk. However the next bit of information to stream through the network gave her mixed feelings. Mar's body or at least part of it survived the blast which was a good thing, they could take her head and create a new body for her. But what did this mean for that mutation they fought? Did it survive and maybe was just hiding from the camera?

She could not bring herself to voice her fears and, and just went along with everyone, after all they said that she was dead for sure and no sign of infection, so chances were the mutation was as well. While she was still contemplating this they encountered Null Null on their path and the mix of hostile and peaceful reactions. Ny'za was unsure what to think, after all though this person's appearance was a bit strange to her she was a Freespacer and their appearance was more times than not somewhat strange and she did not have the same kind of eeriness that that Koro person had.

The scan came back clean and Ny'za sighed in relief that was one less problem she had to deal with. She did not notice at first she let her guard own, but quickly got back to alert when she noticed, quickly glancing around to make sure nothing had changed. Noticing the Freespacer approaching now she gave a small wave to her as she came by.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge Exit

Widow holstered the hand scanner, finally exhaling as the murderous tension subsided and she directed Alphara to her spot in the formation. For all the strange freeloaders and contractors that had taken up residence in the Akahar, Keib sure seemed to have a certain innate knowledge about people that was hard to dispute. That was probably the only reason the ship had even held together all this time before she had arrived here. An unlikely captain to be sure, but one that she did indeed respect... enough to overlook all the strange bedfellows he seemed to keep. What lost puppy of his would they run into next, she wondered?

Speaking of things that had been lost, her attention was momentarily diverted to the area where the antimatter grenade had detonated and reduced Korro and Mars to ashen shadows on the walls. That is, except the armored chunks of the infantry team leader's body that somehow survived. Aran'ya stared a long time at the lifeless head that was lying there on the floor, being no stranger to death, and finally made a decision. The medic used a set of makeshift forceps to pick up that one piece of Mars' remains since it was the only one that would fit in her specimen containment bag that had a good amount of biohazard shielding. At best, there was a chance to clone her body from this piece of biomass... and at worse it was an infection risk, though one she thought was prudent to take.

As the Medic performed a rudimentary scan on it while walking back to her spot in the formation, she cast an apologetic look towards Al'ris, hoping this wasn't going to be a big blow for her to have to see the gruesome remnant of her friend for a moment like that. Rather, it was actually doing her a favor and giving hope they could be reunited someday.

LSDF Akahar, Bridge Exit

Jiji just continues following the group, watching the Freespacer quietly while moving. The remains didn't really bother her that much for some odd reason. She however kept her attention ready and her gun at the ready. She began lowly humming to herself almost child like, her step beginning to become more of a skip.

LSDF Akahar - Bridge Hatch

Unsurprisingly Glacier was met with a rather cynical comment originating from Widow just as he finished voicing his likely unwise contribution to the situation at hand. While the suggestion to focus on not ending up as another sample was at its heart accurate, Glacier was of the opinion that it did not really contribute anything or make their goals any clearer. Still he wasn't about to venture any further thoughts and it seemed that his focus was better directed elsewhere as the Acting Captain spoke up.

Briefly the Acting Captain seemed to address the Chaplain's tactics, making a gentle request that the old Fyunnen do his best to avoid putting the crew as a whole in the line of fire. While the sentiment was understandable, Glacier was of the opinion that as a whole the crew would have little to worry about unless they were planning on attempting heroic charges against foes with unknown capabilities.

With the order to link up that followed the somewhat considerate request of the Acting Captain, Glacier wasted no time and his GUST augmented WIND suit linked up with the others on the bridge becoming another part of the localized information network that would allow them all to rapidly, and silently communicate. Noting the purposeful severance from the local ship systems, Glacier briefly spared a moment to wonder what might be happening with the Akahar's native infrastructure and what possible unknown repercussions might result from interacting with it.

As the order came to begin moving away from the bridge toward an intended escape, there was a brief interruption as a report came in stating that against all odds some part of Bastion had survived even after their reckless charge and the antimatter detonation. The proclaimed goal to acquire the head of what remained of Bastion seemed unwise to Glacier, especially after what he had seen, and quietly kept to himself in light of their 'noble' sacrifice.

Settling near the hatch leading out of the Bridge as the infected member of their crew was prepared for travel, having been guided into a litter for ease of movement. Deciding against investigating the status of the infected crew member given what little he had heard, Glacier directed his attention elsewhere as he waited for the final preparations to fall into place.

As the blast door sealing the Bridge came to life, Glacier was surprised to find himself addressed by the Acting Captain, words that he supposed were meant to ease his mind on the subject of speaking out of turn given the situation that the Akahar found itself in. While Glacier could find no way to respond besides a brief acknowledgement, he did however wonder as to what had motivated the kindness.

Falling into his position on the right side of the front of the formation of the remaining crew, Glacier prepared himself mentally, checking over his Silva and getting used to looking about knowing that he would have to be fully alert as they moved through what had once been their ship. He expected it to be a rather quick operation, moving through a hostile environment while keeping whatever dangers they encountered away from the surviving crew.

His expectations where put on hold however as they were immediately met with a strange, solitary figure one that seemed to know the Acting Captain by name though their nervous disposition kept Glacier edgy and alert. Before he could come to his own conclusion about the possible threat, the call of friendly went out leaving Glacier with only a moment of hesitation before lowering his Silva reluctantly so as not to further antagonize the already frightened figure that was identified simply as 'Null.'

The order came for Widow to scan the form, all according to the Acting Captain's orders for the moment, leaving Glacier to watch and listen to the Chaplain's words that emphasized the alien nature of this latest figure as well as to decry their worth. While Glacier could find no reason to argue against the statement that they should not be considered on of them, he was left to wonder slightly at the passionate declaration that they were nothing, worthless. Again it seemed that while Glacier could respect the Chaplain, he did not quite understand his reasoning.

The interaction between the one identified as 'Null' and Widow was carefully observed, Glacier ready to level the Silva on the anxious form should they prove hostile; it quickly proved to be a needless precaution however, as Null was proclaimed clean and shuffled toward the read of their group accompanied by Widow. Satisfied that the distraction was out of the way, Glacier once again brought his weapon into a ready position and resumed his distracted scan of their surroundings as the group readied once more to advance.

LSDF Akahar, Deck 3
Ji'xa's humming echoed inside of her helmet as she pranced in order down the halls of the Akahar. Keib was patient as he watched Aran'ya slowly, slowly and painfully pick up a fragment of Mars. The scans indicated that there was no life left in it at all, flatlined for both the organic body and for its infection.

"Put it here. Quick." Vithr motioned as he lifted the bedsheet of the stretcher up to reveal shelving space and a biological storage container for what Aran'ya had picked up. Null looked at the transported fragment carefully, examining it like it could leap out of the medic's control at any moment.

Keib looked down the stairs and ahead of the others, and he could hear footsteps. "Shh, shh," he motioned for quiet.

They sounded like the footsteps of a low grade power armour, and Keib seemed to recognise the noise as he heard it walking through the corridors. "Can we get a camera on that?"
Miri tried flicking through camera feeds, but all of the cameras on Deck 4 had been knocked out, all delivering static or painted over with some strange, oscilating substance when she tried to access each one individually. "Can't. All KO'd."

A basic hindrance, but Keib and his crew still had eyes, ears and means to amplify. He was the first to peek out into the corridor with his Silva rifle up, disengaging the safety. "Confirming that Starboard corridor is empty. Heavy footsteps are coming from the fore area."

In the Fourth Deck of a Raptor class ship was Engineering, the Secondary Medical Bay, the science Laboratory, Nanoconstruction Bays and the Utilities. All of them had been deemed too sensitive to keep in the open for Merril or for Korro, leaving the rest of the Akahar crew in a maze of blast-door sealed corridors where the walls near engineering where the Pratimas loved to lounge were covered in childish scrawl. Dim emergency lighting and everyone's individual torches were keeping things lit well.

With Keib unable to monitor how things were going via camera, there was only one choice for confirming that all was well. "As we move, confirm that all of our locks are still in place. Report any damage or anomalies - and if its moving and not one of us, arms free."

Keib proceeded towards the fore, and Al'ris followed him close, watching his other side. "My gut suspicion is that it's one of the decommissioned power armours from the pirate attack that fucked things up a week ago..." Bes'linn said aloud. "I think it was an Origin armour."

"One of those Impulse ones?" Gough asked.

"Yes. I don't like them though. They're too general, meant more for blue collar work in hazardous environments than combat," Bes'linn jabbed at the intergalactic corporation's wares. "Still pack a punch in a hurry though." Bes'linn swore quietly under their helmet as they realised something: "Shit, this means they've broken into Utilities. I had them put there to get the corpses inside into waste disposal!"

LSDF Akahar - Deck 3

Jiji stopped humming when she heard footsteps, raising her weapon she prepared for a fire fight should it come. She looked towards Keib when he began talking and quietly accessed the situation. She listened to the sound, the weight and then perked a bit. "The only origin power armor that is out on the market is the Impulse Power Armor; Class OI-M2-1A... The power armor isn't military grade by no means its civilian...but its still dangerous, it could have any weapon, and it still has the Modular Outer Armor which is made with Durandium Alloy and Nerimium alloyed together in varying ratios... Its not as dangerous as the Daisy from Yamatai... But behind that is yet another layer of armor made of Polymer... It has an outside power supply as well.."

Jiji considered her options before posting an idea towards Keib. "If you could distract the power armor, I might be small enough to get behind it and get on its back so it can't grab me, and then use my skills to disconnect the power supply from its backpack... and the IHVC in the slot on its back should it have one. Its a dangerous plan and we can avoid the power armor instead, however I have a feeling that it might be a pain in our ass later.." She had a radical plan, and before acting she did wait on Keib's opinion.

Pitch heard the distant foot steps of the armor and tensed up. she could identify at least that it was probably heavy, and that meant armor and armor meant durability and combat capability. Judging by Keib's initial response it was not expected, and as the conversation progressed that fact as confirmed. The last thing she wanted to fight was a power armor, even if they were in powered gear themselves it wasn't like she was in a mech.

The fact that the suit was for civilian use and not military use was only a minor relief to the skittish soldier, but she had something that strained her mind even more. Jiji had given a plan that could probably work, but Ny'za did not know enough about the armor to know for sure. The problem though was that this plan was in a word 'Dangerous' and in a phrase 'Incredibly dangerous'. Even with the extra durability thanks to Gust armor, climbing onto the back of another armor could be fatal when you try to close the distance. "That sounds really risky." Was all that came out of her mouth, but at the same time she was readying her Silva rifle, however she was unaware of it's natural problems against armored opponents.