pyrephox

Logfile from SamingaMU.

The sounds of the rest of the group recede as the two ensigns and Ampte head down the corridor, taking them past the medlab, and to the far-forward section of the crew deck. This area of the ship is largely given over to storage rooms for crew supplies for their shifts and after the landing. Most forward are the rooms where food (if you can call what the UESN serves on these voyages 'food') is kept, and progressively less used items are further down the line. Some of the doors are locked, indicated by a steady red glow coming from their control panels. Rice is in the lead as they go, but Morris speeds up to pull even with him. He whispers, "Hey, hey. Ampte's got rank...don't you think he should be the one leading us bravely to the slaughter? ...er, search?" Ampte, for his part, looks nervous and is sweating visibly under the lights.

Rice takes a surreptitious glance over his shoulder at the senior officer. "...no," he whispers back, in all honesty. "Rather be in front myself than behind someone who looks that distracted."

Morris follows the glance, then shrugs. "I dunno. I mean, he's armed, and I don't particularly want him /behind/ me when he's looking like that. Your choice, though..." he says, and starts to fall back to place himself behind the Lt. Ampte frowns at the two ensigns, but doesn't enquire as to their whispered conversation. Instead he waves his hand towards the doors. "We should do a room to room search, just in case any of the...of the...uh, hostiles, have gotten this far."

Rice does not look filled with enthusiasm at this suggestion, but says, "Right, sir." And helpfully stands by a door to wait for the other man to open it.

"Open Storage 1," Ampte orders Kronos, and that door slides quietly away, revealing a semi-lit room of steel pallets and boxes, each one easily broken down into spare parts for other uses. The boxes are labeled with various meal 'flavors', although in reality, most everything in them tastes like salt-flavored toothpaste. Ampte swallows hard, then gestures for Rice to go in first.

Rice . o O ( ...gee, thanks. )

Rice steps inside cautiously, keeping a sharp eye out for any movement. Or blood. Even very still blood.

Ampte steps in behind Rice, with Morris right on his heels. The door slides closed behind them. The storage room is, at the moment, quiet. Dead, really. Ampte gestures for Rice to take the left hand 'corridor', Morris the right, while he goes up the center.

Rice moves off to the left, briskly.

Rice . o O ( Okay, must remember, when we're back in the corridor, to ask if we're supposed to be really quiet like we're sneaking up on something or if we can /talk/ while we're doing room searches. I guess screaming is probably okay. People almost never get angry at you for the hysterical shrieking when it's justified. )

As the other two disappear behind the walls formed by the boxes, Rice finds himself alone. The faint scuffles from the other officers are the only other sound of the room...they bounce oddly off the steel boxes and the bare metal walls, until it sounds like some of the sounds...are they coming from /inside/ the wall next to Rice, or is it just a trick of acoustics?

Rice eyes the wall dubiously. And then, very carefully, moves over to put his ear against the wall just to be sure, while keeping watch out for anything coming from in front.

[OOC] GM says "Roll 1d100 for me, please?"

[DICE] Rice rolls 1d100 <86> for 86 total.

[OOC] Rice says "...that's probably not good."

From this distance, the wall does not appear to be the source of the noise.

Rice moves on, at a faster pace to make up for the pause. Well. That's some relief.

As he moves away, the strange acoustic trick seems to return, following him, almost, down the short length of the storage room, then around the corner...where Ampte is standing, and Morris appears at about the same time. Both men look considerably relieved. "Nothing here, Lt." Morris says.

"Nothing along my corridor either, sir," Rice says. He shifts his grip on the gun he's holding.

Ampte nods, looking a little more confident at the lack of hideous undead monsters. "Okay, then, let's head out, and try the next. Uh...Kronos? Are there any anomalous life signs in the storage rooms that /you/ found?" Kronos returns immediately, "I detect no anomalous lifesigns in any of the storage rooms. However, my detection of previous incidents of anomalous signs has been unreliable, so I regret to say that I cannot assure you of the completeness of my scan. I request sensor maintenance at the earliest possible convenience." Ampte sighs. "YES, Kronos. We'll get to it, I promise." He gestures for the other to follow him back into the hall.

Rice follows, with an occasional backward glance.

The room remains still, empty, and silent behind the three, until the view is cut from sight by the sliding door. Ampte looks around, then waves Rice forward. "Next door is locked, so we'll go ahead and do the unlocked ones first, then the rest." He takes the middle position, with Morris again pulling up behind.

Rice nods, and moves up to the front, since that seems to be his assigned position now. "Should I take the left again, sir?"

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <98> for 98 total.
[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <55> for 55 total.
[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <1> for 1 total.

[OOC] Rice really, really hopes that last roll was on the behalf of someone who isn't a gibbering monster made of dismembered body parts.

[OOC] Paravada snicker.

[OOC] Rice says "The monster can have roll #1. I'm fine with that."

Ampte nods. "Yeah, that's fine, Ensign," he says, as they get to the door...just as Morris yells out, and rams into the officer from behind, both of them sprawling to the ground. And just in time, too, as one of the ceiling panels falls without warning, the heavy metal just missing Ampte's legs. Uncoiling from the ceiling are heavy, twisted ropes of slick, pulsing muscle and shining silver filaments, reaching and grasping for the humans that were /just/ there...embedded in the tentacles are dozens of recognizeably human eyes, peering this way and that. Several of them fix on Rice, the only one left standing.

[OOC] GM grins. "All of you, the PC and the two NPCs need to make a level 3 Unnatural check. 'cause this is gross. Then we'll get to combat."

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <24> for 24 total.
[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <52> for 52 total.
[DICE] Rice rolls 1d100 <96> for 96 total.

[OOC] GM says "...amazingly, both NPCs pass."

[OOC] Rice says "...I guess it's my turn."

[OOC] GM says "Heehee! Take a failed mark in Unnatural, and choose your freak. Flight, Freeze, or Frenzy."

[OOC] Rice says "To, you know, fail."

[OOC] Rice says "What can I do in Frenzy? That sounds most appropriate, but I'm not sure what it consists of. (Flight and Freeze are pretty self-explanatory.)"

[OOC] GM says "Frenzy is essentially, going berserk. You will not run away from danger, or even be conscious of it, you cannot choose a Dodge action, and you will attack the object of your fear with wild, reckless rage."

[OOC] Rice nods. "Can I start wild, reckless shooting?"

[OOC] GM says "You can! Now we're in combat, then. Due to the OWACA, the monsters do not have surprise on you. Ampte is not in combat this round, but Morris can roll and engage. Do you want to take your Initiative, or try and roll under your speed?"

[OOC] Rice says "The latter."

[DICE] Rice rolls 1d100 <44> for 44 total.

[OOC] Rice says "Quick like a monkey!"

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <76> for 76 total.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Monkey Monkey!"

[OOC] GM says "Nice! And Morris fails his attempt to take HIS speed. In that case, you're going first, then the monster, then Morris. Fire madly away! Roll under your Firearms skill."

[DICE] Rice rolls 1d100 <84> for 84 total.

[OOC] Rice says "...I am not thinking this is so much with the working."
Rice doesn't take the time to boggle at this largely unexpected horror; he raises his gun up one-handed, and begins firing at the monstrosity as fast as the trigger will let him, finger compulsively twitching.

The ropy strands of muscle twitch out of the way of the air blasts with surprising speed. Two of them snake out, around the path of the gun, and try to grab at the Ensign's flesh.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <45> for 45 total.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <76> for 76 total.

However, although the tentacles slap at his arms and one slides briefly across Rice's face, leaving a sticky trail, neither of them seem to get a good grip...this time. Morris yells, "Back up, Rice! Back up!" as he rolls to one knee, and pops off a shot, his eyes narrowed with concentration.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <3> for 3 total.

And the shot shreds one of the smaller strands of muscle, prompting a hideous, inhuman screech from somewhere up in the ceiling. At this Ampte struggles back to a sitting position, grabbing for his pistol.

[OOC] GM says "And you're up again. :)"

[OOC] Rice says "I might as well do a shift focus, since apparently I'm committed to the shooting indefinitely, and can't Dodge anyway."

[OOC] Rice says "What kind of bonus does that give me?"

[OOC] GM says "You can choose: +10, +20, or +30, but your enemy gets the same bonus to you."

Rice doesn't appear to have heard the other Ensign's shout, being entirely focused on attempting to get a shot into the creature.

[OOC] Rice says "+30 it is."

[DICE] Rice rolls 1d100 <96> for 96 total.

[OOC] Rice cries.

[OOC] Rice says "The dice HATE ME today."

As Ampte finally pulls his gun from his holster, the tentacles easily avoid the concussive air burst, and two attack...one to the tempting target of Rice, standing so close and so still, and one to the offending attacker, Morris.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <32> for 32 total.
[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <45> for 45 total.

[OOC] Rice shakes a fist at the creature. Bad enough that you're a hideous abomination of flesh, but you're also getting all the dice luck!

One tentacle slides around Rice's gun arm, and gains purchase there, its grip tightening like a vice, bruising and squeezing his flesh as it tries to pull him further into the source of the tentacles. Morris, on the other hand, manages to duck out of the way of the tentacle aimed at his head, and then he aims carefully, trying to sever the tentacle that's got his fellow soldier with his gun.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <82> for 82 total.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Oh, sure, he just gets tentacle-groped. I get probed. *sighs* TANJ."

At the last second, though, the creature gives a hard twist, and the tentacle is no longer where the shot is. Morris curses and rises to his feet.

[OOC] Rice says "I'm still, um, monster-attached, right? Can I still shoot with that arm?"

[OOC] GM says "Rice, since you're being pulled towards the center mass of the creature, you have an extra +10 shift to your attack /but/ its doing auto-damage on your every turn as long as that's attached."

[OOC] Rice cries. Okay.

[OOC] GM says "And it still has the +30 shift to get you with /more/ tentacles."

[DICE] Rice rolls 1d100 <33> for 33 total.

[OOC] Rice says "...yay! I might hit!"

[OOC] GM says "Ohhhh, baby. That's not just a success, that's a /matched/ success. Little critical."

Rice is now trying to fire at what's pulling him in, not that he can aim well with, you know, a tentacle around his /arm/ and all that.

Apparently, having your arm nearly broken by a monster does wonders for clearing one's mind, because Rice sees a perfect shot into the shadowy mass in the ceiling, and takes it. The entire chimerical creature recoils, the tentacle holding Rice suddenly flinging him into the wall as it lets go, and the tentacles retreating into the ceiling space.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <19> for 19 total.

Unprepared for the sudden movement, Rice is unable to cushion himself as he slams into the metal wall.

You paged Rice with 'You are now at -10 for all your stat checks, due to injuries sustained.'

From afar, Rice nods. "Am I out of the Frenzy now?"

You paged Rice with 'Yep. And you're pretty sure that you've broken a couple of ribs, and dislocated your shoulder. At least, it /hurts/ like you have.'.

Morris and Ampte do not leave the monster's retreat to chance, they stand and begin firing wildly at the ceiling, driving it away. It shrieks a couple of more times, then can be heard...slithering away to somewhere else, leaving the soldiers alone.

Rice slides down onto the ground, clutching at his right shoulder. "Ow," he says, wide-eyed. "Ow. Right. Thing. In the ceiling. Ow."

Morris moves over to stand next to Rice, his gun still drawn and pointing at the hole, his eyes wide, the barrel visibly trembling. "God save us," he breathes. "Are you /okay/? Are you bleeding? What the fuck was that thing??" Ampte continues to stand, guarding the hole, his entire face a peculiar greenish-grey. "Uh. Uh. ...if the Commander wanted us to find a monster...I think we succeeded. Return to base?"

"I think," Rice says, not standing up, "that I broke something. And maybe dislocated my arm. But we should--right. Commander. Right. Yeah. That was a monster. Right. Um. Could someone help me up?"

For a moment, it looks like the answer is 'no', as neither men seem inclined to holster their weapons, or turn their heads from the hole in the ceiling. But finally, Ampte's gun wavers, then is holstered, and he heads over to give Rice two hands up, with Morris contributing one when the other Ensign is about half-way on his feet. "Let's go," the Lt. says, with another quick look at the hole, "before that thing brings friends."

[OOC] GM says "Aaaaaand, we switch scenes here, with the Rice group returning at appropriate time in the timeline?"

Kuznetsov nods to Anderson, and moves out into the hallway. "Now, if I just get a good look at the thing, whatever it looks like, to know where and how to set this..."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Is there just one hallway from Medbay to here, or are there multiple routes?"

[OOC] GM says "One hallway. The decks are built on largely linear designs."

[OOC] Anderson says "Is there a monitor in the armoury where we are?"

[OOC] GM says "No display screen inside, although there's one not fall down the hall."

[OOC] Kuznetsov nods. "I'm moving towards that one."

Anderson nods to Kuznetsov, "Kronos should be able to show us the footage from the medbay security cam." He turns, now armed and armoured, heading down the corridor cautiously towards the nearest display unit.

Proving that Kronos is still listening, at least, the display screen flickers on with a picture of the medbay as Kuznetsov gets closer. Apparently, the thing has been doing some...scavenging. The other two bodies that were under the sheets are now gone, and the abomination in the med bay has added several legs and arms, giving it an even more spider-like appearance. Three heads sit on the center mass, their wide, dead eyes flickering with silver bursts of light as it scuttles restlessly from the door, to the vent, and back again. Also, a couple of the hands are holding laser scalpels from the med lab supplies.

Kuznetsov curses, loudly, in Russian.

[OOC] GM says "This is a level 1 Unnatural check. Anyone without a Hardened notch in Unnatural, who can see the picture, needs to make a check."

[DICE] Kuznetsov rolls 1d100 <56> for 56 total.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Hey, I made it!"

Paravada calls out to Kuznetsov, "What now?"

Kuznetsov replies, dryly, "I think we need a bigger gun."

Paravada laughs, thinly. "Unless you can make one..."

Kuznetsov's face splits in a wide, feral smile. "I may have some plans in that regard."

Anderson sighs heavily, "A much bigger gun." He turns to Kuznetsov, "If those are some sort of metallic filaments buried in the flesh, what effect will the concussion guns have on those compared to the flesh?"

You paged Kuznetsov with 'Bugger all effect, according to your knowledge. The concussion guns are specifically designed /not/ to damage metal, even delicate metal.'.

Kuznetsov pages: That's what I thought.

Kuznetsov shakes his head. "The concussion guns will flay the flesh away, leaving whatever those filaments are exposed. This may be a good thing. However, it will not destroy them. This is where we will have to find... other methods. With some chemicals, a few bits of electronics, some piping... we may be able to burn them. With these," he says, hefting an energy pack in his hand, "We can either explode it or electrocute it. I am leaning towards trying the latter. There is a LOT of metal there, that looks rather conductive."

Paravada considers this. "It sounds better than any other plan I've heard so far," she says, still dry.

Diotrephes grins, sticking her head out from the armory to say, "I third that plan. I'd /love/ to see these babies fry."

Kuznetsov watches the creature, angrily. "This is ... explainable. Somehow. Doctor, do you have any theories yet?"

The creature scuttles, back and forth, back and forth. Occasionally it pauses at the door to reach up a hand and grab the manual unlock, tugging on it a couple of times before falling back. The three heads turn, slowly, back and forth, studying the room.

[OOC] Paravada says "Good lord that's creepy. *admiring*"

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Yes, yes it is. I will be very glad when we kill it. IF we kill it."

Anderson smiles slightly and nods. He looks back at the scene in the Medbay then back to Kuznetsov, "Agreed. Do what you can with what we have. I guess we just have to hope that Lt. Ampte and his crew don't find anymore."

Over in the armory, Diotrephes snorts. "Yeah, well, if they do, we'll hear Ampte's girly-scream all the way from here."

Kuznetsov is kneeling by the monitor, eyes not wavering from the Thing. His steel knuckles rap against the deck: tip-tap, tip-tap. "Diotrephes, do we have any wire in there? A nice long coil?"

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <96> for 96 total.

Anderson gives Diotrephes a sharp look, but doesn't say anything. Looking back at the monitor for a moment, he shivers then a thought occurs to him, "Doctor, in theory, what effect would a vacuum have on a creature like this? Part flesh part metal?"

Diotrephes' head disappears again as she goes rooting for Stuff. After about ten minutes, she grunts with disappointment. "Don't look like it, sir. Uh, got a couple of half-wire restraints, but those are only about a couple of inches a piece, and splicing them would be a pain in the back end."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "How wide is the corridor?"

[OOC] GM says "The corridor is about seven feet wide, wide enough for a lot of stuff to pass, but it makes a right turn at the medbay to head to the storage part of the deck, so there's a lot more space right around the medbay's door."

Paravada tilts her head to the side. "It entirely depends on whether it has a functioning circulatory system. If it does ... then vacuum would boil its blood and it would die. But it's not /natural/. It could be perfectly equipped for breathing space."

You paged Paravada with 'You would have noticed: The thing y'all killed did not bleed, even when injured.'.

Kuznetsov says, suddenly, "Of course it is natural, doctor. It is merely some form of natural that we have not encountered before. Now we have. We will kill these things, and dissect them, and figure out what they are and where they came from."

Kuznetsov's tone is very sharp.

Anderson nods, pursing his lips as he thinks, "But might it kill the flesh and leave the metal behind. While I am not sure if this would be an advantage, it is something to think about."

Paravada exhales sharply through her nose, and doesn't reply, except to say "The one we killed didn't bleed. I don't think we're in luck."

Kuznetsov looks to Diotrephes. "I need about fifteen or twenty meters worth of wire. Kronos?"

From the hallway leading to the storage area, you all hear sounds approaching, echoing through the hallways.

Kronos replies, "There are plentiful supplies of wire in Storage Room 4. The box is labeled."

Anderson turns his weapon to bear in the direction of the echoing noise.

Paravada braces herself for another monstrosity.

Kuznetsov turns towards the hallway, raising his weapon. "Kronos, match approaching noise to any known crew moving in that place..."

Rice finds himself supported between Ampte and Morris as they make their way back to the armory. One of Morris' hands still holds his gun, and both he and Ampte take frequent glances behind them...just in case.

Kronos says, "Crew. Ensigns Rice and Morris, and Lt. Ampte approaching. Life signs are unusually close in proximity, and Ensign Rice's life signs are abnormal."

Kuznetsov snaps, "Abnormal in the fashion of Ortega and Bartimeus?"

Kronos pauses. "No. There have been no unexpected breeches in my contact with either of the three officers." And about this time, the three limp around the corner, a battered looking Rice suspended between Ampte and Morris. Ampte comes to an abrupt stop at the sight of weapons drawn. "H-hey! Don't shoot!"

Anderson relaxes visably as the three come into view, but their arrangement causes a look of concern to cross his face, "Gentlemen, report."

Rice lets Ampte do the reporting. He's the senior one, after all.

Kuznetsov lowers his weapon, frowning at Rice, and looking to Ampte.

Paravada looks Rice over quickly, inspecting for damage.

Rice pulls a little away from the other two men, to sit down on the floor, no matter that it's probably not...proper, or something.

Ampte and Morris look at Rice for a long moment, clearly expecting him to take charge. When he doesn't, Ampte blushes slightly, and draws himself more upright. "Yes sir. Enemy contacted sir. Rice drove it away with a beaut of a shot, but...well..." he gestures to the injured ensign. "I don't think it's dead, sir. Just in retreat."

Paravada goes over to Rice, then, with one of the first-aid kits.

[OOC] Rice tsks at the other two. Really, looking at him to do all the talking.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "You're the talky one! :p"

Rice's suit arm is torn, with some truly nasty bruising underneath, and the way he moves suggests injuries on his torso and arm, not to mention a fair amount of bruises elsewhere.

"I think my shoulder got dislocated, sir," Rice says. "And I probably broke something," this more to the doctor. "It came out of the /ceiling/, sir. With...eyeballs on things and it was..." He gestures inarticulately with his uninjured arm.

Paravada does a very fast physical inspection, looking for signs of internal bleeding. If there are none, she'll give him painkillers.

[OOC] GM says "It's true! And you drove the monster away with one shot! If y'all survive this, Ampte and Morris are getting free drinks on /that/ story for a while."

Kuznetsov looks up, suddenly. "The ceiling," he says.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Are there any form of sensors in the vent system?"

[OOC] GM says "Paravada, no internal bleeding, you think. If you want to wrap him up and fix his shoulder after giving him the drugs, roll a Major Medicine check."

[OOC] Anderson says "And what kind of controls do we have over the vent system?"

[OOC] GM says "Nope."

[OOC] GM says "Kronos can seal off the vents in sections...but that also seals off...well, the ventilation."

[DICE] Paravada rolls 1d100 <21> for 21 total.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "And it probably can still break through the ceiling and find new ways to climb about."

[OOC] Anderson says "But the one in Medbay hasn't done that.."

"Through a panel," Rice says, gesturing more enthusiastically. "...I think. Morris saw that more than I did, since it was behind me when it came out. I didn't see it until it was already out."

You paged Rice with 'You are no longer at wound penalties.'

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "We've faced three distinct and largely different sorts of creatures, with the only link being the metallic nature and the tendency to borrow organic parts."

[OOC] Anderson says "Hmm.. is there a self destruct on the ship? 8)"

[OOC] Rice says "More importantly, if there's a self destruct, are their lifeboats that would get us the rest of the way? 'cause I'm thinking no."

[OOC] GM says "Yes there is. It requires the Captain and at least one Commander's authorization."

[OOC] GM says "The cyro tubes can function as short-term lifepods. Unfortunately, you're nowhere near being close enough to be rescued."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "If we did climb into the lifepods, we'd have to survive the Post Game Epilogue, and let me tell you, the dice rolls on it are KILLER..."

[OOC] Rice is categorically opposed to self-destruct sequences! Unless he dies. Then, sure, blow things up. Avenge him, etc.

[OOC] Anderson is just checking his options. 8)

Morris pipes up, "I didn't so much /see/ it, as hear it above us. And the panel trembled over the Lt. so I knocked him out of the way, and then..." he shudders.

Kuznetsov eyes the panels above their heads warily.

Anderson stands silently as Ampte and Rice report. "So, if our weapons only hurt it and drive it back, what else do we have that might inflict some more lasting damage on these things?" He ponders, more for himself than anyone else as he looks back to the monitor.

"Some of them seem to be able to travel in the walls. Not the one in the Medbay, though. Perhaps it's already grown too large," Paravada muses.

Kuznetsov sighs. "If we could get into the main armory, if it were not..." He stops. "Kronos, bring up the security camera on the main armory."

Diotrephes calls out, "Well, it /does/ look like hurting the flesh hurts them. I mean, when I stomped on that other one's head, it died. Or," she looks a little frightened, "it seemed to."

At Kuznetsov's request, the display screen turns black.

Kuznetsov mutters, "Of course."

[OOC] Anderson says "Can the surveillance cameras do other modes besides visible spectrum? IE Infrared?"

Kronos sounds apologetic. "It seems that something is obscuring my camera."

Kuznetsov nods. "Show me main engineering."

[OOC] GM says "Hmm. Yes. They could do infrared."

[OOC] GM says "Or, more likely, thermal."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Oooh. There's something."

[OOC] Paravada oohs, nods.

The scene clears immediately, displaying the main room of engineering. It seems quiet, with one huddled figure camped out in front of the main armory. There appear to be...it looks like some sort of objects strapped to the door. The figure is unmoving, however, its arms and legs gleaming with steel...Mobano, it looks like, at least by the implants.

Rice is studiously not watching the screens from where he sits on the floor. Meeting the unnatural up close and personal is bad enough without seeking it out in visuals.

Kuznetsov frowns. "Kronos, what is the health status of Commander Mobano?"

"Kronos," Anderson inquires, "Can you zoom in on the figure at the door." He narrows his eyes at the display.

From the direction of medbay, there's a sudden rattling THUMP, then silence. The screen zooms in, and although the head is bowed, it's clearly Mobano. He looks somewhat injured, with blood gleaming on his dark forehead. Kronos says, "Mobano's life signs are inside sleep parameters."

[OOC] Rice says "Wait, is that a thump from the camera feed, or a thump from we-can-hear-it-from-here?"

[OOC] GM says "You-can-hear-it-from-here."

Kuznetsov nods. "Still alive, just unconscious." He frowns at the noise, and looks towards the Medbay door.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Can we SEE the medbay door from here?"

Anderson jumps as the thump echos down the corridor, "Kronos, back to the Medbay feed, now."

[OOC] GM nods. "It's down the corridor a bit, but there."

The screen changes, showing the medbay. Ortega (Bartimeus and someone you don't recognize) is there, staring intently at the door. Then it backs up, all the way to the back of the medbay, and takes a scuttling start, getting up to a good speed before leaping and slamming into the door. Another rattling THUMP is heard as it bounces off, and contemplates the door again.

Paravada says "Well. It certainly wants to get out."

Kuznetsov curses again. This time it's in a mixture of Japanese and Russian. Something about someone's mother and what they did with a bottle of vodka.

It pauses, then moves forward and rises up on its appendages. One hand reaches up to paw at the window, the fingers testing the difference between the reinforced glass and the metal.

Rice scrambles to his feet, hoping for orders. Preferably orders that involve heavy firepower and/or locking the doors.

Morris moves closer to Rice, while Ampte, after taking one look at the screen, scuttles over to hide...er, stand, in the armory.

Kuznetsov pulls out his PML and starts jotting down a 'shopping list:' 20m of wire, pipes, some sort of small electronic zapper/igniter, certain cleaning chemicals that can be mixed as flammable, a few odd tools he may require: the materials for the electric trap and the flamethrowers. "Kronos, view this document I am working on, cross-reference it against the stores here on the crew deck. Can I acquire all materials from this deck?"

Paravada watches the monitor, horrified and fascinated. "I think it can /learn/."

There's only a couple seconds of hesitation before Kronos replies, "Yes," and the appropriate room numbers appear next to the listed items. "Assuming that previous shift kept their logs accurate, all materials are available."

Anderson gives the doctor an odd look, then back at Kuznetsov, "I guess we're going shopping then."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "About how long, as a rough guesstimate, will it take to get to the room numbers and get the boxes, assuming that the previous shift kept their logs accurate?""

The creature continues to paw at the window, this action actually visible from outside, as a human hand scrabbles and scratches at the glass, leaving smears of coagulated blood behind it.

[OOC] GM says "30 minutes if you double time it."

Anderson looks back at Paravada, "You said something about blood Doctor?"

"The one we killed wasn't bleeding," Paravada replies. "That one is." She sounds slightly puzzled. "They don't seem to have one set of characteristics."

[OOC] GM says "I note: The limbs for this one have been torn from other bodies, and most of the lab is covered in blood at this point."

"Hold on a second Kuznetsov," Anderson points at the window, "You think it can survive without the borrowed organic components Doctor? Theoretically of course."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "It's probably been waddling through pools o' blood.""

[OOC] Anderson nods.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "GM, how strong is the glass in that door?"

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "'Cause once we get all the items it'll probably take another 15-30 minutes minimum to rig up the floor trap and build both flamethrowers, I'd wager, probably longer... so we need at least an hour's worth of time, right?"

[OOC] GM says "It's reinforced glass. It's not /as/ strong as the metal, but it's bulletproof and would take a lot of concentrated force to break it open. Or melting, or something."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Like, say, with laser scalpels?"

Paravada says "It had to have gotten here /somehow/. I suspect a space-born silicon-based organism, maybe inhaled... so yes. At least in its original stage it could survive alone."

[OOC] GM smiles. "...why, yes. You think that laser scalpels /might/ be able to do such a thing."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Rough guesstimate on how long it'd take the thing to cut open the window -- and how big IS that window?"

[OOC] Anderson says "How about this, can the laser scalpels do the same thing without O2?"

[OOC] GM says "Assuming it was able to use both scalpels at the same time? Probably about 40 minutes to burn the window out. And yeah, lasers operate in vacuum, I believe. And the window is about the size of a human head. Without some serious restructuring, that thing isn't getting through it...maybe."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "And if it couldn't restructure to get into the vents, it /probably/ can't restructure to get through the window. Okay!"

[OOC] GM says "You don't see any way, at least, that a human torso is going to fit. The heads, sure. The arms and legs, sure, one at a time."

[OOC] Paravada says "Maybe it can kind of ... throw bits of itself down to itself."

Kuznetsov looks to Anderson. "Commander, with your leave, I'll take the ensigns and my crew and we shall retrieve all the necessary items and establish a kill zone directly in front of the door, between the electrical traps and two flame-projecting devices."

Rice looks rather more encouraged at words like "electrical traps" and "flame-projecting devices".

The creature taps at the window...an oddly polite sound, as if it were saying, "Hello out there. Please let me out, and let's have tea." Then, however, another hand depresses one of the laser scalpel triggers, then the other, and it slowly brings them up, testing first the laser against the metal of the door, then slowly climbing.

Ampte does not look encouraged about going back into storage, at which, Diotrephes rolls her eyes and punches him lightly on the shoulder. "Sounds good! We get away from the freakshow, and we get to build some nasties."

As the creature begins to play with the laser scalpels, Anderson nods sharply at Kuvnetsov, "Do it. Quickly."

You paged Kuznetsov with 'Your shoulder itches.'.

Kuznetsov nods to them. "If you see any other products that can be quickly incorporated into the idea," he says, as he rises and begins moving towards the storage areas, weapon at the ready, "Feel free to pipe up." He gestures towards Rice and Morris. "The more hands the better. Kronos, arrange for any of the drones to meet us at the storage areas to help carry the equipment."

Rice stands up straight and prepares to follow wherever he's led. With his gun ready in his right hand, at that.

Kuznetsov reaches up idly to scratch at his left shoulder. He doesn't notice it at first, then looks down. Eyes wide, he snaps, "NOW, people." And he begins stomping down the corridor quickly.

Rice follows quickly in the man's wake.

Paravada stays, considering that her damaged foot makes her more of a liability to speed.

"Will do," Kronos affirms. Diotrephes jumps at the sharpness of Kuznetzov's voice, and practically hauls Ampte along. Morris trails behind Rice, looking as unhappy as Ampte to be going back /there/.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "So, when last we left our heroes, they were happily returning from their TOTALLY UNEVENTFUL trip to the Storage Rooms, collecting the items they needed to kill the monster... ;)"

[OOC] Anderson says "But the Commander and the Doctor were absconded with and turned into alien food. 9)"

The group heads down the corridor towards the storage rooms. As they get closer, they can hear the whrrrrrrrrrrr of the mechanized drones from down the hall. And, indeed, as they round the turn to the storage area, four drones are arrayed like an honor guard on either side of the hallway. Just beyond them is a broken panel from the ceiling, and a gaping hole above.

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Nooo! Not the doctor, I we need the doctor!"

Kuznetsov looks up towards the ceiling. "Where it came from?"

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <98> for 98 total.

[OOC] Anderson says "It's been nice knowing you Kuznetsov."

[OOC] Kuznetsov says "Doooom."

[OOC] Paravada says "Doom doom doomity doom..."

The hole leads up to one of the ventilation shafts. A cool breeze can be felt pouring from it. The air is scented with an odd, sweetish smell.

Kuznetsov nods, sighs. "Kronos, is the camera in this hallway working?"

"Affirmative," Kronos replies. Diotrephes elbows Ampte, who squeaks, "Uh, yes, yes sir. This is where it appeared. Uh, Morris saw it first." Morris shrugs. "I already told you all /I/ saw..."

Kuznetsov nods his head. "Kronos, keep an eye on this corridor, and if it looks like something's coming out of the ceiling, do be so kind as to warn us, please."

"Affirmative," Kronos replies again. He has the programmed grace to sound a little chastised.

Rice looks up at the hole, wrinkling his nose. "Funky smell," he says, with a belated, "sir. I mean, not like you'd think something made out of corpse bits would smell, right?"

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <10> for 10 total.

You paged Rice with 'You detect not just a smell, but there's a strange, silvery residue at the edge of the hole...all the edges, now that you look at it. And...is it /moving/? Seems to be...'.

Kuznetsov nods his head, and moves to the first door. "Stay in groups of no less than two, eyes on each other and the walls. Take a drone for the carrying. The faster we get this done, the faster we take back Hermes."

"Sir?" Rice points up. "There's something left on the hole, I think. Should we take a sample of that or something? It's...kinda moving."

Morris attaches himself to Rice's group. Ampte looks to be sidling that way, as well, but Diotrephes grabs him by the arm and snaps her fingers at one of the drones, as if it were a dog. At Rice's words, however, she and Ampte move as one to get even further away from the hole, and Morris reaches for his gun.

Kuznetsov nods. "Get a sample jar out of one of the rooms and see if you can't secure it."

Kuznetsov doesn't pay too much attention to it; he's more interested in collecting the gear so he can build the traps and get into Medbay. He reaffirms this thought as he reaches up to scratch at his shoulder again, then gestures firmly towards one of the drones and moves towards his engineers. He'll probably have to keep the peace.

Rice looks a little sorry to have spoken up, but nods, and heads for a supply room to get a jar. Add possibly a stepladder.

Diotrephes does a mental headcount, frowns, and then looks at Kuznetsov. "I guess we're with you, sir. What shall we grab first?" Morris looks a bit queasy at the idea of sampling that Thing, but sticks by Rice. "I think sample jars are in Storage 5," he mutters, eyes on the hole as they move away. "Affirmative," Kronos replies.

Kuznetsov picks the nearest items off the list, trying to get things quickly, with a focus on the wire, wire cutters, and other tools needed for the electrical trap first, then the flamethrowers.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <62> for 62 total.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <80> for 80 total.

Rice hopes there are also stepladders in Storage 5, or he's going to need to ask Morris for a boost.

Most of the equipment is fairly easy to find and toss on the drone. A couple of the listed items are clearly lower in supply than is listed on the logs at the front of each box, but at least they're all there. The three engineers work quickly and efficiently, despite Diotrephes' occasional needles at Ampte's perceived slowness. The sample jars in Storage 5 are easy to find...sadly for the Ensigns, no stepladders appear to be in evidence.

Kuznetsov nods. "After all this is done, Lieutenant," he says to Ampte, "We will have to come back and correct the inventory."

Rice grabs a sample jar and a spare, and heads resolutely back towards the hole in the ceiling. "Right," he tells Morris. "If you give me a hand up, I think I can try to scrape some of this off with the lid into the jar. Then we seal it up and get away from that place."

Ampte flashes a sudden smile. "I hope to God in the Void that we have that opportunity, sir. I'll volunteer for the task myself...I'll go through every box in this entire place, if we'll just get through this."

Morris eyes Rice uneasily. "This...seems like a terrible idea," he says, dubiously, but offers his linked hands for a boost anyway.

"Yes," Rice says, "but that's why they told /us/ to do it." He shrugs at the general perversity of officers, and, lid and jar ready to wield, puts a hand on the other ensign's shoulder and a foot in the linked hands to get up there and get it done with.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <84> for 84 total.

Morris lifts Rice, but it's clear that the effort is not trivial. His hands under Rice's foot shake and waver, making collecting that sample awfully difficult. Especially since it seems to be moving to /avoid/ the lid of the jar, oozing around on the metal with surprising, mercury-like speed.

Rice tries to grab a sample quickly, feinting at the liquid with the lid to fool it into moving the wrong way. He refuses to be outwitted by something smaller than a cat. (Cats get a free pass. They're sneaky.)
Huh? (Type "help" for help.)

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <38> for 38 total.

"H-hey, stop squirming up there!" Morris hisses, as Rice's movements become more vigorous. It appears to be worth it, though...Rice's feint works, and he's able to scoop up a thin line of the residue into the sample jar. It pools in the bottom of the jar, almost sulkily...just as there's a sudden, /fast/ skittering down the tunnel, silver flickers going off in the darkness, as something rushes at Rice's head.

[OOC] GM says "Significant Dodge check, please."

[DICE] Rice rolls 1d100 <88> for 88 total.

[OOC] Rice cries.

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <67> for 67 total.

[OOC] Rice says "And that's a skill I'm actually /decent/ at."

Rice jerks back as Something leaps from the vent onto his face, grabbing on with a multitude of sticky fingers and obscuring his vision. Morris is entirely unable to hold him under these circumstances, and falls backwards with a yelp that's audible all the way down the hall, tumbling both men to the ground. The sample jar hits the ground and bounces away from Rice's grip. To the Engineers, Kronos says, "Visual on intruder from ceiling. Ensigns Rice and Morris are under attack."

Kuznetsov drops whatever he's got onto the drone, and, pulling his gun, begins hurrying out. "Not QUITE the advance warning I had hoped," he mutters, as he heads for the hallway...

Rice scrapes at his face. "Getitoff!"

[OOC] GM says "And on /that/ fun note, we switch back to the other group. ;)"

Meanwhile, in the visual feed at the armory, the creature has found the glass with the laser scalpels, and apparently finds the reaction more favorable than that of the metal. It begins to burn the glass, starting at the top of the round portal.

"I wonder what it plans to do once it burns through that glass?" Anderson muses to himself as he watches the creature work.

Paravada says "Presumably add us to its hoard of limbs."

Anderson furrows his brow, looking at the Doctor, "But how does it plan to get through that small hole? It's far too large, and we haven't seen any indication that it can make itself smaller, just larger."

The creature, after a bit of experimentation, sets the scalpels at a cross-fire pattern, both focused on one point on the glass...the portal begins to blacken around the point of impact.

Paravada considers. "My guess is that it can ... elongate. Or abandon portions that don't fit." Most of the horror in her voice has been replaced by a scientist's interest.

Anderson nods slowly, as if agreeing in theory, but not really believing. "Kronos, estimate the amount of time it'll take for the creature in Medbay to cut the window out."

Kronos says, "30 minutes for full removal, judging by degree of damage to door. First penetration of glass should be occurring about," there's a sudden spark from the door, a flash of red light, "now."

Paravada spits a curse in Old Sanskrit, concerning Krishna and some cows.

Anderson coughs to hide a squeak as the sparks shower the corridor, "Any ideas what would put out a laser scalpel?" He looks at Paravada hopefully.

Paravada thinks about it. "Water won't work. They don't short out easily at all -- wouldn't work if they did."

Anderson nods and sighs, looking back towards the door, "We could kick off the fire suppression gear in the Medbay, but I don't know if that’d do it, or what condition the equipment we need in there would be in afterwards."

[DICE] GM rolls 1d100 <15> for 15 total.

You paged Anderson with 'As you look towards the door, you notice something. The creature does not seem to be attempting to burn around the edge of the portal. Instead, it's burning down at an angle.'.

[OOC] Paravada says "How much of the medbay equipment would be damaged? A lot of it would be stored in cupboards and things..."

Anderson tilts his head to one side, watching the creature cut through the glass before it occurs to him, "Why isn't it cutting around the outside of the window? Why would it cut through the middle... unless... You think it might just want to break through after weakening the window?"

[OOC] GM says "The scanners and any exposed equipment would not be damaged, but it would be dirtied. It would have to be cleaned before you could trust the results of any tests."

[OOC] Paravada says "... well. Cleaned is better than 'we are dead and no one is using the equipment.'. But. How fast is it likely to get out?"

[OOC] GM smiles. "Depends on what it's trying to do."

"Kronos, if it's aim is to weaken the glass so it can break through, how long will it take, presuming human level of strength." Anderson moves a little closer towards the door, watching the creature work.

Kronos calculates. "Depending on the level of weakening it seeks to attain, anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes."

The flare of the laser light continues to creep across the glass.
Anderson opens a comm channel to Kuznetsov, "We might have less time that originally planned. Looks like it's just weakening the glass not cutting it out."

Paravada sighs, heavily. "I can clean the equipment. It probably needs it anyway. Let's try to douse that laser."

[HoaS] Third Session Log!

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