A little behind Hugh, Lev drifted forward and nodded to Quirell.

"I'm Lev. You have my rifle there I think," he said, pointing out a well-maintained laser rifle.

The news of a body and sound of movement, imparted by Quirell and Yom caused him to frown, "The movement, one or more bodies, or couldn't you tell?" he asked.

He reached for the rifle and looked for his spare power clip. Then he checked the weapon over to be sure it was in working order.

Hugh had moved to the doorway alone by this time, Lev smiled to himself, "Good way to get yourself shot doing that troozg," he murmured, then frowned, "Friend I mean."

Responding to Hugh's query he states simply, "If they are looking for people they'll be alert, if they think there is no one else here they won't -- so do you want to risk going into the corridor alone or wait for everyone else? Once we do go, the questions are, one, who goes first, and two, do we go on round the arc or into that doorway that is being kept open by that poor shlub?"

In reply to Lev Serdtse (msg # 203):

Hugh nodded. "I'm thinking in the room where the body is. Yom and Quirell were able to get there without apparently alreting whoever is around the bend. I'd like to have a sense of what weapons they're using and we'll see if there's anything else there."

"I was planning to wait until the ladies catch up, but if you want to go right now, I'll cover you."


Hugh is AT the door, not IN the door. So he can monitor the hallway but he's not fully exposed.

"Uh, yeah; that's where the arms locker is located," Yom replies.  "I can't tell from the sounds if there was more than one ahead, no," he adds, handing over the weapons as people identify them, and introducing himself as well.

Petra nodded curtly to Natakkoa giving her a slightly smug 'we got this, girl' vibe with one slightly raised eyebrow.  With her friend's text sent, she gestured for herself to take the lead when they got to Engineering.  "Just stick with me." the lithe aviatrix assured the erudite oceanographer, "Everything will be fine."  It might be a touch of bravado; but with her in the lead, Petra figured that she could work to help temper any developing issues.

"Let's go collect more of our stuff and see who sleeping on the job downstairs..." the thin spacer opined off-hand and with a slightly crooked smile on her face as she carefully drifted down the hall and towards the open elevator shaft.  Petra made sure that Nat remained close behind her, shielded as necessary.

Hugh glanced back to the elevators, then to Quirell. "You said you're an EMT. What would you say killed the local? I'd like to know what I'm up against before I take it on."

He turned his head back towards the door to the hallway as he waited for an answer or for the ladies to arrive.

In reply to Petra Jelinek (msg # 206):

Releasing a grateful breath she hadn't known she was holding, Nat drifted into line behind the nimble pilot and maneuvered down the elevator shaft toward Engineering.

Having been caught once already by lifeforms in areas thought clear, she strained to catch any wayward sound echoing the hall behind her as she descended.

---

01:58, Today: Natakkoa Tukumpeh rolled 34 using 1d100+20 with the Role/Spacemaster system ("14" -  fumble range of 1 to 5).  Perception Check - Hearing/Listening.


Yup..all clear here.  Nothin' makin' any noise at all...

...boy these elevator shafts sure do echo, don't they?

As Hugh is asking Quirell how the man was killed, Natakkoa and Ptera arrive fromt he elevator shaft.

---

The party is now definitely all together.  We'll give Quirrel a couple more days, in the meantime you can converse.  Cause of death seemed to be a high-energy particle blast.

In reply to Game Master (msg # 209):

Hugh nodded at Natakkoa and Petra as they entered the room.

"Looks like our bad guys are using blasters, or at least something like it. While I'm glad I have some protection," he said, tapping his breastplate, "It's not going to do a whole lot of good. Anyone have any objection if I shoot first and ask questions later?"

He habitually checked the charge on his struptorgun. "I can switch to stun, but my sidearm doesn't have that option and if I see armor I may have little choice."

Arriving at the "Engineering" level of the shaft, Nat hung near the back, head and eyes locked on the control panel and decidedly *not* looking out the door, until Petra'd had a chance to scout the area and establish what was, and what wasn't, in a line of sight.

It also meant that she couldn't very well watch Petra effortlessly maneuvering in front of her, but the risk was too great.  Almost worth it, though..., and the corner of her mouth briefly twitched up.

She kept glancing at her pcomm while she waited, in case anyone decided to reply to her inquiry.

Petra drifted into the reception room of the Engineering deck ahead of Natakkoa, taking note to see if the boys and the corpse were there.  Hearing them in the hall beyond, the dark-haired pilot signalled the coast was clear to her companion before starting to move towards the voices.

Glancing into the hallway, she waved to Yom, Quirell, Hugh and Lev as they appeared to congregating next to the foot and the doorway.  "Well, there you are..." she noted playfully, gesturing to Nat to slow down and calling over her shoulder, "Be careful, Professor, and take your time..."

"Boys." Petra offered in greeting, accompanied with a curt nod.  Then she motioned towards the foot in the doorway and then the bag of goodies that the medic seemed to be carrying, "What have we got here?  Did I just here something about blasters?"

 Hugh released his struptor as he pulled his sidearm and checked the load. He answered Petra's query as he swapped out for armor piercing.

"Best guess is that our station local out there." he indicated out the door, "Was killed with a blaster. If you had a weapon, it might be in the findings from the armory. If not, I reccomend you at least hold on to one of the lasers."

He reholstered his pistol and took control of his struptor and glanced out the door again.

"Let's hope it's not a plasmatic repeater," comments Lev, obviously less than pleased with the idea, but then again, while a repeater uses blaster-type tech it is capable of inflicting a lot more damage.

After a second or so he smiles ruefully, "I think we can rule out a self-inflicted wound, though. So, maybe we should adopt a shoot first ask question later approach!"

In reply to Petra Jelinek (msg # 212):

Nat floated out of the elevator shaft at Petra's signal, and followed a safe distance behind her, pausing when motioned to pause, proceeding when gestured.

From over Petra's shoulder, she watched Lev and Hugh checking loads, sighting barrels, and fingering safeties, and while grateful for the discovered arms, she was quietly amused by their obvious....enthusiasm.  They never really do grow up, do they....

"Yeah, Ace," she whisper-shouted, "Quirell'd indicated he'd found our missing weapons, and presumeably the weapon-adjacent items that were taken as well."

She looked toward the small crowd, hoping to pick out the handsome physician, and noticed they were standing around an open door.

Something about a body wedged in a door....

Stillness gripped her, as if watching hornets crawl across her arm.  Only the ripple of light reflecting off her eyes betrayed the pounding of her heart.

Petra glanced over her shoulder as she could hear Natakkoa maneuvering behind her.  Rotating in place, the thin pilot turned to face her friend.  "Whoa." escaped her burgundy lips, half-admonishment, half-command, "Take it easy there, and don't be too hasty.  You look a bit unstable..."  She could see how wobbly Nat's movements in microgravity were and moved to intercept;  Petra knew that as a space pilot, she'd had much more experience in zero-g.

Conveniently, she blocked Nat's view of the situation around the boys and the body.  Giving the Professor's hand a gentle squeeze and Petra continued to hold it as she angled Nat's visual range for the moment and rotated herself back around to look down the hallway again.

Making her lithe frame as large as she could to block as much of the doorway as possible (at least on the left side), Petra placed Natakkoa's hand on her right shoulder firmly planting it so it could grip the muscles around her rotator cup.  "Just stick with me, I can guide you through here." the floating pilot reassured her friend, even as Petra reestablished her handhold on the door jamb.

Quirell shook his head, having been lost in thought.  Hugh wanted his assessment of the situation they were facing but other than the facts already given it would just be speculation.

”The lady on the comm said we are dealing with two human looking people, but implied they weren’t.  They could be transhuman, replicant, or androids.  The blaster# power indicates a heavier weapon.  The security officer was armed and had his laser pistol out.”

He moved over ackwardly to Petra and Nat, flashing them each a smile as he handed them their weapons.

”Considering we were locked into our room my hope is that our intruders locked down the station and hit the environmental system with some gas to knock us out and keep encounters to a minimum.  They probably don’t care about leaving anyone alive as the station is losing heat.  If we find survivors behind locked doors we shouldn’t shoot first.”

Hugh watched Quirrel hand the ladies weapons. "How long since you've heard from the lady? I'm inclined to see if we can neutralize whatever threat is around the curve, but if you think there might be more friendlies, we'll have to take it with a little more caution."

A soft nasal snort preceeded the barest dry grin, and a bit of unhinged adrenaline danced in Nat's eyes.  Sotto voce, just short of a whisper: "Yeah, even though I'm told it's all in my head...seems it has adverse affects on these silly motor skills...."  A few, long, measured breaths, then a rise of the chin and a nod toward the small gathering down the hall  -  and a reach for Petra's hand, gripping it defiantly before relaxing into comfortable contact. "Let's get this nonsense," she made a sweeping gesture with her free hand from her head to her shoes, "addressed and bring everyone up to speed, shall we?"


Eyes the color of the fertile earth locked with those of shoreline grass, and words for her ears alone.  "I believe you.  I can get through this.  It really is just a visual thing, and as much as I abhor even the thought of it, I can work through, and past, that, as long as I'm not confronted with it directly."  Nat refused to look away, giving the other woman total access, and holding her gaze, long beyond the point of casual, if desired. "I...am stronger than you might think."


Nat straightened as the medic approached, her small smile for him weak, but genuine, and she accepted her laser pistol and carving knife with a nod of gratitude.  "Funny you should mention not shooting first.  I've got something...related...that I need you all to know." She holstered her weapon and pocketed the knife.  "For all our sakes..."

Nat's grasp on the woman's shoulder was firm, and Nat floated along beside the pilot, keeping Petra's body between her and the door, intently keeping her eyes and head pointed down the hall, making exceptions only to pointedly include Quirell in her occasional glances, hoping he'd notice the strange vector of her gaze. A tightening of the grip on Ace's petite, mighty, shoulder, then she spoke to the space at large.

"Gentlemen," her voice rang, filling the hall even as her eyes remained angled to the outer wall, filling her chest with air and owning it, just as she'd practiced in therapy -  "I...have a problem.

I...cannot handle..." she paused, a shudder rolling down her body, "...cannot handle the dead.  Bodies, I mean.  Um, it's hard to, uh, hard to pinpoint it, but....let me put it this way:  cemeteries are uncomfortable, but doable, as is anything older.  Hospice situations likewise  -  uncomfortable, but doable.  But."  Nat paused, flushing, even through her sun-kissed naturally brown cheeks, vibrating, her fingers purposefully clutching the cloth and muscle of the smaller woman next to her. "...but...I, I can't...can't process the concept of those who are...were recently...alive. I lock up.  HARD. 'Catatonic' is the clinical term." 

Breathing heavier, her shoulders dropped now, the courage spent, and she apologetically looked from one person to the other, waiting for, fearing, the responses.  "I'm...so, so sorry.  I...didn't choose this assignment...."

Petra gave Natakkoa's hand a tight squeeze back, urging insistently under her breath, "Together."

"I know you are strong." the lithe pilot responded to the Professor, before adding, "but you are also not alone.  We all have to get out of this messed-up situation.  We all have to deal with our shit."  And again Petra added, not breaking eye contact and simply letting her gaze reinforce the connection, "Together."

A light smile touched her lips and she impulsively touched foreheads again before giving Nat a light peck on the cheek.

With Quirell's approach, Petra broke contact and took her own weapons from the medtech.  Her fingers worked with practiced precision as she strapped on both the shoulder holster and the belt holster - one with a blast pistol, the other with a stunner.  She kept both weapons in their holsters for the moment.

As Nat addressed the group concerning her 'issue' with seeing dead people, Petra made sure that the corpse in the other doorway was not visible to her friend for the moment.  Her hazel eyes scanned Yom, Quirell, Hugh and then Lev in turn to see their reactions, trying to keep her own face rather neutral.  Of course, this news wasn’t new to her; so, there wasn't much for her to react to really.  She put a reassuring hand on Nat's shoulder, and with a slightly affected drawl noted rather deadpan, "Honey, none of us chose this situation; I certainly don't remember signing on to security detail on a station.  I am a god-damn pilot." a wan smile touched her lips, and her regular colonial accent returned, "But now, it is our job now to get out of here safely; wherever that is ..."
This message was last edited by the player at 07:42, Mon 20 Nov 2023.

In reply to Petra Jelinek (msg # 220):

A brief sour look crossed Hugh's face before being replaced by a thin smile.

"I also have no recollection of how we got here, but I was on my way to sign on and if there was a mission that required my skills, odds are that there was an expected threat. Given how we find ourselves, that doesn't seem unwarranted."

He glanced towards the hallway where Yom and Quirrel heard the sounds of activity earlier.

"I don't think we can avoid further violence if there are others here who mean us harm. Perhaps it is best if you hang back and let Lev and I address such. Fortnately struptorguns and lasers are relatively clean and so we just need to get bodies out of the way before you come through. I can't speak for what our opposition might be using but based on what we see, not as clean."

"We're all in the same boat," commented Lev, "or on the same boat."

He jutted his chin toward the doorway currently kept open by the corpse.

"We should check that room out first, I wouldn't want to move on and have someone at our back."

Idly he checked that the safety on his laser rifle was off then smiled a hard sad little crooked smile, "Death's never clean Hugh, stick around and watch after someone kicks and you'll see what I mean."

Quirrel looked on with concern at the professor and her admission.  Not everyone was sp familiar with death, his encounters with her caste was limited but they tended to overthink things.  There ws no time to treat this, they would have to get her through it without further damage.

”I have no medication to help you with your fears and anxiety, Nat.  Nor would I recommend exposure therapy.  Once our immediate dangers are dealt with I can listen to your history with death and work with you, if you are willing.  I am well versed with  most relaxing techniques and might be able to assist with cognitive behavioural therapy for your apparent necrophobia.”

”All I can offer you cognitively right now is this: There is existance after the shell can no longer sustain life.  I’ve encountered it.  Be comforted that those who are no longer with us still exist.”

”I can offer you my stunner.  I am in enough danger that I would be forgiven for wielding a laser pistol.  We will encounter more dead, perhaps Hugh is correct.  Your mental safety may require you to stay slightly behind.“

He turned to Hugh, Lev, and Yom, retrieving one of the odd laser pistols the security used here.  He would help move the body inside and shut the door before continuing forward.

”We’ve limited contact will Illone as she thinks the communication line may be open.  Certainly anyone near the internal comm units can overhear.  Colossian’s tend to have a reputation of being more paranoid than other cultures.  I don’t remember if I signed up for this, but I don't think we should remain here for the investigation once this emergency is over.“

In reply to Quirell Tawny (msg # 223):



"I wonder if we could use the open channel to our advantage? If the other people on this level are listening in, maybe we can get them looking the wrong way. Might be worth seeing what we can do with the security office, maybe there's some cameras somewhere. As for staying, I'm in full agreement, hopefully we can find a craft and our pilot's gracefullness will transfer to flying it." Hugh glanced at Petra, then returned his attention to the hall.

He shifted his struptor to his left hand and prepared to use his right to push off to the security office door.

"Yeah...yeah....owning it....  That's part of how I'm learning to deal with it.  Not running from it."  Nat's eyes softened, and the reflections in them became fluid. She explored their hazel counterparts, memorizing flecks and iris, texture and nuance. She leaned closer, swimming, swimming, swimming... "I know.  Thank you."

"Agreed.  And I'm a god-damned field scientist and *explorer* of the planetary sort, and I'm still trying to figure out how my skill-set applies to *this* fucking job."  She waved her free hand generically.  "But I'm damn well going to do everything I can help us get out of here."  Looking at the outer wall, her head bobbed in the direction of the en-bodied door, then then carefully found the waiting face of Quirrel. "Within my capacity."

"I would be a fool to turn down skilled therapy when I'm this far from my own regular therapist." Nat forced a smile.  "I, too, am familiar with some of the processes used to treat severe phobias  -  I just haven't managed to interrupt the visceral, physical response yet.  My...body...shuts down before I can process what's happening, before I can...stop it.  If I didn't absolutely know better, I would think it had been encoded in my dna."

"Oh, it's not about the spirit, or one's 'soul,' as far as my therapist and I have been able to discern, it's..." Nat paled slightly. "It's, um..it's... I'm sorry  -  I can't go there right now."  She looked around and shrugged slightly.  "Maybe later, when I can't endanger us...?"

She tapped her own holster, the small laser pistol's worn grip within easy reach.  "You keep it. I'm good. And yes, I should probably stay toward the back."

Nat tilted her head slightly, listening best she could as Hugh and Lev discussed tactics, then tapped Petra's hand, caught Quirrel's eye, and motioned to the device strapped to her own chest.  "My shield sucks against physical attacks, but if the opposition is using energy weapons, it'll take a few good hits.  They pop up, you  - she eyed both of them  -  get *behind* Me." Her tone shifted, as if addressing inattentive students, but tempered by the smirk that delivered it, she looked directly at Petra.  "Understand?"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:48, Tue 05 Dec 2023.

Petra smiled and simply let Nat's gaze linger as long as desired.  For her part, she'd not be the one to break eye contact.

She floated quietly next to the Professor as she conferred with the MedTech.  As Natakkoa and Quirell conversed, Petra slowly pronated, rotating around to take in the surroundings and get her bearing and a better idea of the layout and details of this part of the station.  Now was as good a time as any..

When the discussion around tactics and shields occurred, Petra simply nodded to Nat's instruction to remain behind her and her shield.  "Yes, Ma'am." the lithe pilot responded.  She didn't need to be told twice to seek cover behind the shield and its owner.  Besides that view was quite nice; at least, Petra enjoyed it.

Hugh moves ahead first to the security door and the dead man propping it open.  Inside it is as Quirell and Yom described, with the weapon locker standing open.  Beyond the corridor curves away, with a couple of windows on the outside wall, towards the place where it turns inward towards the center of the deck, where the men had stopped and returned to rendezvous with the rest.

---

Map thread message #3 has the map as far as Yom and Quirell explored.