Futuristic Cosmic Deep (open)

[DarKnight36]

Haul immediately let the gun drop so Tristan would miss, swaying back from the angry swing onto his tail & catching the pistol with one of his dexterous feet. As Tristan's blade slashed the air, Haul countered immediately. Tristan was much too large for the shaft, whereas Haul fit near perfectly. Which meant that the Zumolkan had the advantage, not only in movement but in limbs. Haul utilized that well.

Haul smashed Tristan's wrist into the ventilation shaft with his unoccupied foot, while both hands reached out and clutched Tristan's head. Haul grunted as he slammed Tristan's face into the vent floor, denting the metal. He backed away quickly, returning the pistol to his hands and keeping the aim steady.

"Guess I'll be fixing that," Haul growled, eyeing the dent and new scuff marks on the vent walls. "You want to keep going, 'not a simple Homo sapien?' I'd rather not personally, but your call."

 

[Wing06]

Tristan spat the blood from his mouth and rolled his jaw to work out the pain. He smelled the iron of his blood in his nose as blood dripped from it and mixed with the blood from his split lip. His blade was behind the small creature now, and he still had a gun in his face. "Fuck, fine, fine!" Tristan muttered, "Killing you would probably violate seven intergalactic endangered species laws anyway," He sighed in defeat. "Supposed you know a better way out of here, Ventilation Inspector?"

 

[DarKnight36]

"Ha!" Haul hooted. "That's a good one. Here." Haul's tail tossed Tristan a handkerchief from one of his pockets. "Sorry about your face. If my sense of direction's right, we should still be on level 2. I'd say turn around and take your next right. There should be an access point somewhere by medical."

"Name's Haul by the way," the engineer said after a moment. "What's yours?"

 

[Wing06]

"Tristan," Tristan began, taking the handkerchief from Haul. "You sure your doctor will be okay looking over a stowaway?" The pair began making their way toward the vent cover that Haul believed would take them to the medical wing of the ship. "So, what...What are you to this crew?" Tristan was genuinely curious why a legitimate crew member was wandering the vents with two weapons, and he knew Haul couldn't have been looking for him, could he?

 

[DarKnight36]

"Eh, that's what doctors do," Haul shrugged. "I'm an engineer. Just exploring the ship, getting to know her while I can." Haul paused. "So if you're not human, what are you exactly Tristan? Where are you from? Can't be from around here if you don't recognize a Zumolkan."

 

[Pacificus]

Daytona received the ventilation schematic. He would thank the engineer later. Immediately, he began pouring over the flow chart that displayed as a hologram in front of him. He was keen on getting this breach under control quickly. He had already wasted time on being cautious. While studying the schematic, he glanced over at Naomi; whom he noticed wasn't wearing any armor. "Chief, back away from the vent. You should put on your kit." He tapped his own plate carrier that covered his chest. His metal finger made a "Tink-Tink" noise against the plasteel armor. He assumed she had a plate carrier. Nothing was standard on this ship, he had no idea what kind of equipment she had brought, but he was already impressed by her choice of sidearm.

After studying the schematic for a few seconds, he began hearing noises from the vent. The sound of an energy weapon followed by a scuffle. He shut off the hologram and approached the vent opening. "What is the fleshling fighting with?"

"Well, that answers the 'dangerous' part." He commented, "I'm going in."

Daytona drew his sidearm. Reflexively, he twirled the weapon with his finger in the trigger guard. He stopped the weapon smoothly in his palm with the barrel pointing upward and checked the slide to ensure a round was in the chamber. All in one motion. By the standards of some, Daytona's choice of weapon was archaic. His plasma pistol had a limited capacity, but fired caseless .45 caliber self-incinerating plasma-coated projectiles. It's armor penetration wasn't good, but it didn't need to be. The burning plasma projectile was sufficient enough to burn it's fleshy target by virtue of heat transfer. According to some law of thermodynamics that he probably knew at some point; information long since expunged due to irrelevance.

He crouched before the opening and pointed his pistol into the darkness. Using his thumb, he flicked on the under barrel flashlight and illuminated the vent for as far as he could see in white light. He glanced back. He wanted to give Naomi an order, but didn't even know if he could give direct orders. Were the soldiers their own unit? Did they report to Security or did Security report to them? Or were they considered 2 separate entities? He would remind himself to ask the First Officer later.

"Chief Naomi, please guard this exit. Report to the first officer that the our stowaway is armed and in the vents."

Daytona crouched as low as necessary and entered the ventilation duct, weapon raised. With any luck, he'd find the stowaways corpse mangled in a fan. Organics were very good at painting walls and ceilings. "Well, That might not be good for Engineering."
Slowly, he crept forward into the darkness.

FireMaiden
Wing06
DarKnight36

 

[egglover]

Silence followed after Daytona left. Naomi could hear occasional eerie echoing coming from the vent she stood by but could not understand what was happening in there. As she peered around the dark hangar she could see large, looming shadows watching her from the sides, the shapes of machines that were now sinister in the darkness. Down on the metal floor a few fallen barrels rolled only a smidge, the contents of them sloshing around and creating a strange metallic reverberation. She would feel alone and small amongst this large, creepy room.

Suddenly the sound of gentle footsteps resounded from the hangar door. They grew louder as they approached, and then with a loud shhhhzzt the door slid open and a flood of light poured into the room. From the door Naomi would see a shadow staring back at her.

 

[Wing06]

"I'm from Terran Four in the Andromeda Galaxy, and I'm an Alfen, or as you may know us," He paused and sighed, "Elves." He understood the name and how Humanity came to know his species millennia ago, but Tristan had never been to Earth. Earth was the only place Alfen became known as "Elves." Still, the name stuck universe-wide, even after the Alfen withdrew from universal relations to focus on their home system and expand into neighboring, uninhabited systems. "But yeah, can't say I've heard of Zumolkan's before, sorry. I didn't get off-world very often, and when I did, I rarely saw many other species. Is your race all," he thought of a polite term, "so small?" He asked bluntly.

Before Haul could answer, the ventilation shaft began to reverberate, and a faint scraping sound came from behind the pair in the direction of the hangar Tristan had escaped. "We might have some company," he muttered, hoping the medical wing wasn't much farther.

DarKnight36
Pacificus

 

[FireMaiden]

Naomi Hart
Location: Fourth Deck Hangar Bay
Interaction: Pacificus (Daytona) DarKnight36 (Matais)
Mentioned: egglover (whoever the hell that is)
Namoi glanced over her shoulder when Daytona spoke, asking her to back away and put on her gear. Not a bad idea, so the woman nodded and moved out the way. Heading back over to the workbenches, Naomi punched in the code to the locker again and grabbed her chest piece. It was really the only thing she'd need for the moment, slipping it on overhead and snapping it into place as she walked back to vent entrance. Her armor was matte black, a slight carbon fiber-esque pattern shown when the light it right. On the back, right between the shoulder blades, was the signature green cross of a field medic. The paint was faded, scuffed, and honestly on it's last leg, but Naomi refused to get it touched up until you couldn't see it anymore. The woman let out a small huff as she returned, adjusting the chest piece some as her...assets needed a bit of adjustment to be more comfortable. That was the main reason she refused to switch to the Avian Expedition armor. That and she was too proud of her family and military service to just get new armor. Anyway, she returned quick enough to watch the Android for another few moments before he spoke again. "Roger that, consider him informed," Naomi replied, watching the Android dissaper into the vents.

Naomi would take a few moments, fiddling with her com before she finally tuned in to the right channel. "First Officer, this if Chief Petty Officer Namoi Hart. Daytona believes the stowaway is armed and has started their persuit." What pronouns did you even use for a robot? She should have asked, but regardless, it got the point across. She let out another sigh, looking around the cargo hold. It felt weird being by herself down there, she was so use to more people being around. It was a bit spooky, but more for the fact it reminded her of the Helios than anything else. The darkness, the shapes in the corner of her eyes, that looking sense that someone was watching... The creaking didn't really bother her, growing up on ships you get use to that. Naomi actually likes the noise, it helped her sleep oddly enough. Like some people used rain sounds or others used whale songs, she likes the creaking of bulkheads. That being said, this hold was much larger than Naomi was use to. Her shoulders tensed, her stomach churned. It was an odd feeling for Namoi, this was a bit too much like the Helios. She hoped that soon an engineer would pop in or maybe someone would say something over coms to distract her.

Namoi would get a small break not a few moments later as foot steps got closer and louder, a door opening a few seconds later. "Hello?" Namoi called out, her posture straightening up as her fingers tightened around the grip of her pistol.

 

[Lord Saethos]

"You'd be surprised Doctor." He muttered in response with a bit of a smirk.

Eichkern was somewhat surprised by the use of the swab, but perhaps this was all part of being 'thorough'.

After being asked to turn to his side, he complied and closed his eyes as the Chalcidian looked over his skin. He wasn't particularly comfortable being observed so intently. Not at least under these conditions. Under other circumstances, it had been intimate, but these felt more invasive.

Nonetheless, Dr. Haliday would find exactly what everyone else had.

"I don't mean to interrupt doctor, but I feel it's prudent to pass along some Deimosian medical knowledge. We have an unusually high rate of asymptomatic reactions to disease and illness."

He peaked his left eye for a moment before continuing. "It's always tough to know what's propaganda and what's real medical information of course, but some estimates by our own doctors claim the majority of Deimosians carrying an illness will show no signs. Some more radical claims than this exist though, I must admit."

A heavy sigh escaped his lips as the Doctor continued to observe him. "By all means, continue with your procedures, you are the doctor. Just felt this is good knowledge for you to have, especially if you tend to the needs of any other Deimosians. They might not all be as clean and healthy as me." He chuckled slightly.

 

[egglover]

"Uh...hello!" a woman's voice replied, she stepped forward but Naomi would only see her shadowy silhouette, "Erm, why are you alone in the dark? Wallace, configure the lights in the hangar."

"Configuring the lights in the hangar."

After a brief moment the overhead lights flickered on and light blasted into Naomi's eyes. The mysterious voice was revealed to be Captain Suleiman, her expression one of confusion with a hint of amusement. Robotic eyes scanned the room, the barrels on the floor and then landed on Naomi. "It is nice to meet you Officer Hart, though I had hoped to check in with you under
less unusual circumstances. Is everything alright?"

 

[DarKnight36]

"Not surprising," Haul grunted to Tristan, eyeing over his shoulder. "Well I see the lights from the vent up there, so let's just pop out and I'll call it in so you don't get shot on sight."

 

[druidquest]

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Dr. Haliday replied, drones hovering silently around her patient to inspect him from multiple angles. “Perhaps asymptomatic illness is why I took a skin biopsy as well. I’ll have to look into that, perhaps reread Dr. Zweibel’s medical journals on the subject. Oh! What’s this?” Eichkern felt a chitinous hand brush lightly against his upper back, and there was a small futter of her wings followed by all the drones withdrawing into her thorax before Eichkern opened his eyes completely.

“Oh dear, it seems you may be developing some manner of eczema here. I do hope it's nothing serious, I’ve heard there’s all manner of deadly illnesses this could indicate in Deimosians. Ah, I’m afraid I won’t be able to show you just yet. There are no mirrors in here you see, but I assure you, you can trust me on this. Now, I’m afraid we’ll have to put you in quarantine for the time being - just for observation, of course - but I doubt you’ll find much discomfort there, our quarantine facilities are really quite spacious. A full three feet across, can you believe it? Truly, they spoil us on this ship.”

 

[Lord Saethos]

Eichkern felt startled for more than a few moments. He couldn't even remember the last time he was sick, never mind 'eczema'. He turned to face the Chalcidian, trying to get a read on her face, but...

Well that was a fruitless effort.

It was the last few sentences that clued him in. So the Doctor had a sense of humor. He wasn't sure if her humor constituted good or bad bedside manners though. Either way, it caused him to smirk.

"Skin sample wasn't enough, now you just want to collect my whole person? Very bold of you doctor. And here I thought it was only Porcelain figures you collected. Ah well, three feet should be generous enough, I've been in smaller spaces."

He gave a slight shrug before continuing. "In seriousness though, I do hope everything seems to be in order. I was actually hoping we could discuss coordinating emergency efforts at some point soon. Or more specifically, how to handle emergency medical treatments during rescue and evacuation operations."

Eichkern spoke while still shirtless, still awaiting the doctor to finish with her work.

 

[druidquest]

Dr. Haliday stepped back from the bed, turning toward her desk. “If you’re concerned about emergency triage, you should first be discussing such matters with Miss Hart,” she said, pressing a button on the side under the desk’s smooth surface. A series of sections in the wall flipped around in turn to reveal an array of medical equipment. “She is the Cry’s leading field medic, after all,” she continued, removing Eichkern’s biopsy sample from its protective vial and placing it into an open receptacle before pressing the button the desk again. The sections of wall instantly flipped back around, until it appeared they had never been there in the first place. “Deference on such matters would likely fall to her and her team in emergency scenarios.”

“I won’t know for sure until I have the results of your skin biopsy, but I believe you should be in fine health, Mr. Vanderbrecht,” Dr. Haliday said, changing the subject. She looked back over to him, extending one hand as if inviting him to put his clothes back on. “I have all I need from you for the time being, though you needn’t think my door closed to you in the future should you wish to return. For now you may return to your own duties, though if you’re open to suggestion, I would recommend you schedule time to speak with Dr. Gideon at some point.”

 

[Wing06]

The pair reached their exit point. Tristan could hear voices in the medical room, but Haul had said he'd handle the talking. "Well, here goes nothing, I guess," Tristan mused as his fingers slid through the grate, pushing the vent covering away from its housing against the wall. He slid out from the ventilation system, Haul behind him, and threw up his hands to show he was unarmed. His eyes passed between the Chalcidian doctor and the Deimosian patient. Neither presence made Tristan think Medical, yet, this was a ship of diverse species; who was he to judge.

"I know how this looks, but I promise, I don't mean any harm, not that either of you would be afraid of an Alfen...um, Haul?" He called the ship's engineer to patch the ice he so gracefully broke.

 

[DarKnight36]

"What's up doc?" Haul said. "Sorry to interrupt your examination, figured this would be a good place to hold this guy till we get the Captain notified. Stowaway, can you believe it?"

 

[Pacificus]

The android navigated the tight confines of the ventilation ducts as quick as he could. Which was still, very slow. He could have bent his arms and legs at awkward angles to hold himself off the ground and essentially "spider" along the walls, but his insistence on keeping his gun pointed ahead of him prevented that. Instead, he made slow progress by dragging himself with his left arm. No doubt, his frame was leaving scratch and dents along the sides and bottom of the vent as he went. Truthfully, he was more concerned about his paintjob than the vents. His head rotated at 360 degrees every time he came to a crossing, attempting to feel for abnormal vibrations. There was not much to go off of as the sound he had come in after quickly dissipated.

"Energy weapon. Most likely blade-type. Suspect is possibly humanoid. Most likely small to have navigated these vents so quickly." There were a number of species the stowaway could be. Daytona hoped he could corner them. Cornered suspects were dangerous, but at least they wouldn't be a threat to the rest of the crew.

Daytona scraped along and even managed contort his frame enough to get around a tight corner. This was getting old and he was getting frustrated. The trail had gone cold. He consulted the vent diagram. He was almost above medical. He saw a vent ahead of him that let down into the space. He noisily dragged himself forward and positioned himself over the grate, intending to terminate the search. He began looking for a way to unfasten the grate and lower himself down. It seemed, the builders did not anticipate anyone using these vents for spelunking. He began tapping on the grate. "Maybe there's someone down there?"

@ Everyone in medical.

 

[Lord Saethos]

Eichkern nodded appreciatively at some of Dr. Haliday's suggestions as far as medical cooperation was concerned. "Miss Hart you say? I'll have to be sure to chat with her about it then. I'm sure we can strategize some ways to avoid overburdening you Doctor." He began to pull his shirt and jacket back on, a little surprised by the elaborate design of the wall that housed both medical equipment, and how his biopsy sample. Eichkern couldn't help but feel a little unsettled seeing the sample disappear like that, but partially out of needing to still learn to trust the ship's doctor.

"Thank you for help doctor, I do appreciate your thoroughness and dedication, for what its worth. l'll be sure to visit whenever needed, but I rather hope most of our meetings aren't related to my medical status. Despite what you might think, I'd much prefer to have an entirely boring, disinteresting medical history if I can help it." As he finished buttoning up his jacket and reattaching his sword belt, he smirked slightly. "Likewise, my 'office' is always open as well, though I'm not sure you'll be in great need of my services."

As he prepared to leave, he gave some thought to her final remarks. "Ah yes, the elusive Dr. Gideon. I have yet to see him I think, he's the ship's therapist? That should prove to be an ah... Interesting meeting?"

Before he could say anything else, a loud crash filled the room as two figures appeared from out of the walls. "Are these... Samples of yours doctor?" He joked, but his tone was more serious, trying to figure out exactly what was going on. The Alfen spoke first, then the Zumolkan.

Eichkern stepped over towards the two, hand gripped firmly on the hilt of his blade, eyes narrowed.

"You realize offenses like these carry severe punishments?" His gaze flicked between the taller, then the smaller figure. Eichkern's fingers reflexively rapped along the surface of the hilt for a few, quiet moments, before finally he released his grip.

The Deimosian began to crack a smile.

"Doctor-Patient Confidentiality is something we should all universally agree upon! Honestly, I have to admit I'm a little disappointed in you two." He chuckled slightly.

"How did you two 'stowaways' wind up over here anyways? I take it you're our Sanitation Engineers? I hope you don't mind my saying..." His gaze turned back to the Alfen.

"Well, I only spent a few brief stints in Andromeda, but I always took the Alfen as being too.... Proud for that sort of work. Not that it isn't necessary and commendable work! You just seem like you'd be better suited to combat." He gave a shrug.

"Ah well, since you're both here, I suppose you ought to see the doc? We've just finished up, so one of you should be good for your checkup."

A series of strange noises had also caught Eichkern's attention, coming possibly from another set of vents. This was all beginning to make him feel very, deeply, concerned. They'd just started the journey, and already they were having ventilation issues? This didn't bode well, flying around in a place totally devoid of oxygen.

 

[druidquest]

“Mr Haulrruxyy,” Dr. Haliday greeted, sounding somewhat bemused. She took note of the weaponry he carried, her wings flickering slightly. “Inspecting the ventilation, I see.”

She turned her head slightly to regard Eichkern as he spoke, but made no move to stop the man. As disciplined as he no doubt was, his relaxed demeanor and apparent good humor had given Dr. Haliday the impression he wasn’t the sort to escalate situations without need. Still, it was odd to have a stowaway this early in the expedition. She wondered how many eyes and scanners the Alfen would’ve had to slip past to board the ship, let alone remain aboard once it had begun final preparations for departure.

“Mr. Haulrruxyy is part of our engineering team,” Dr. Haliday corrected, introducing the Zumolkan properly. “The stowaway would be his Alfen companion here.”

“And of course,” she continued, finally addressing Haulrruxyy’s request. “You’re both free to remain in medical for the time being. I only ask that you surrender your armaments to Mr. Vanderdrecht here, so they may be properly inspected and stored away. We should be arriving at Crescent Station in the morning, so they’ll likely be returned to you then. In the meantime…”

“Miss Naomi Hart,” Dr. Haliday began, pressing a button on her desk to connect to her commlink. “Please report to the Medical Wing at earliest convenience. Thank you.”

“Miss Hart will-” she cut herself off, the sound of something banging inside the vents interrupting her. Her wings fluttered briefly, then settled. “Miss Hart will escort you to the decontamination shower across the hall when she gets here,” she continued, turning to the Alfen. “Assuming you did not board the Cry through the intended path, and thus were not properly decontaminated when you arrived, we’ll need to ensure you aren’t carrying any pathogens which could pose a threat to the crew.”

 

[Wing06]

Tristan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. He bit his tongue at the Shade's (the Alfen term for Eichkern's people) remarks of him being a sanitation engineer. The Alfen were a very proud race, and Eichkern hit the nail on the head. However, he'd picked up on Tristan's military training and, judging from the blade Eichkern carried, had some of his own.

"My name is Tristan," he began after a few awkward seconds. "I'll gladly submit to whatever questioning, decontamination, or anything you need me to do. Just understand that I'm not here to bring harm to anyone."

In a show of good faith, he removed his flight belt and placed it on the ground for one of the ship's crew to take. He knew the android was coming through the vents any second, and he hoped that showing those in the medical wing he was willing to disarm would buy him some time.

 

[DarKnight36]

"Glad that's all settled," Haul said, impressed at the doctor's pronunciation of his name. It wasn't right but it was closer than any human could do. "I'm sure the Captain will want a word with him." Haul handed both guns to Eickhern. "They're from the weapons locker in the security office. I shouldn't have grabbed them but it all worked out."

Haul glanced up at the vent. "I suppose whoever was following us has made it this far. Probably the Chief. Daytona, I believe his name was?"

 

[PiePillager]

"Okay, we good now?" Hector noted, flipping a switch to take B.R.D out of stasis and slamming the panel shut. Lowering the gurney to stand the robot up again, he shook his head. Neuro-processors were misaligned, causing some of the feedback being sent back to the chef's 'brain' to go on a loop. Simple mistake that should've been solved in testing. Speaks for the quality of Terra-Farm's robotics division, if this is what they churn out. Probably hadn't gone through any sort of testing phase and was born completely off the assembly line. Dangerous line of thinking when it came to robotics. Still, he couldn't deny that there was something impressive behind some of their tech.

For all their faults with robotics production, Terra-Farm had managed to make use of some pretty advanced brainwave pattern duplication software. B.R.D's being replicated from that of a renowned chef from the Rome-Vitas colony. If they manage to botch more besides B.R.D, he could imagine the recall orders costing more than whatever it took to make it.

"You can find your own way back to the kitchen, right?" Hector asked, hoping the robot's navigation systems were at least aligned correctly.

 

[FireMaiden]

Naomi Hart
Location: Fourth Deck Hangar Bay
Interaction: egglover (Captain Tish!)
Mentioned: Pacificus (Daytona) druidquest (Dr.Haliday)
"Wait turning the lights on was as simple as that?" Namoi blurted out, her mouth working faster than her head. Of course it would be that simple, but Naomi was...well, she didn't necessarily like the dark, but at the same time she was comfortable in it. It hadn't even dawned on her try turning on the lights. But now, she could see who was standing there. Immediately the woman straightened up a little bit, giving the other a salute once seeing it was Captain Suleiman. "The Android followed an extra heat signal down here to the hangar. It dissapered shortly before I arrived. Some barrels fell, and what we assume to be a stowaway ran off using the vent here. Daytona pursued, and he asked me to stay here to keep watch," Naomi explained, giving the captain a short summary of what was going on. "Haven't had an update just yet..."

But just as she said that, the woman's com came to life, the doctor probably asking her to come up to medical. "Oh geez, I hope this isn't a check up,"She mumbled, brows furrowed a bit. Namoi didn't mind if that was the case of course, but she'd then have to give her usually speech to a new doctor regarding her health. And she hated that. Then again..."Captain, I've been asked to come up to medical. Something might have happened if you'd like to come along?" Naomi suggest, pushing off the wall she was leaning on, holstering her pistol on the small of her back.

 

[egglover]

"Yes, of course" Captain Suleiman nodded.

**

When the two reached medical Tish beheld a fascinating sight. Dr. Haliday, Eichkern and Haul stood surrounding an unknown stranger - an Alfen man, she believed, though she had only met one or two in person before - and with a surprised look upon her face she began to speak, "Well, this is - "

She was interrupted, however, by a familiar robots head popping out of the vents like a strange android birth. Daytona, the security chief, had followed suit and seemed somewhat shocked to find the Captain standing before him in the doctors office. Although the medical room was quite sizable Tish was aware that it was slowly becoming more and more cramped in here now.

"Hello, Chief Daytona. Welcome to the party." The Captain smiled, "I see your intruder has been found. Good work. Now..." her gaze turned to the Alfen man and little Haul standing beside him, "Can someone please explain to me what I have missed?"

A short and...mildly concerning story later and everyone seemed to be up to speed. Captain Suleiman nodded seriously, "Very good work, Haul. Though your erm...methods of obtaining weaponry is something we should discuss later. Nevertheless, Dr. Haliday is correct. Hart do you mind escorting this man to decontamination? I'd think we'll all need a quick stunt in there after this...." Tish's robotic eyes locked onto Tristan, "Though perhaps you and I should have a talk on the way, hm? What is your name?"