shipmaster | (no subject)

I will second that on being a top ten of your least popular decisions.

[Still...] We've got what? An hour? .. We surely can get somewhere.

Mm. Somewhere retrievable, if not outside.

[ He flicks another root out of the way. Ah, an access ladder going up. That's a good sign. He begins to make his way up. But there's still the matter of his other purpose here ... ]

You did rescue me just now. If you hadn't grabbed me, I'd have run out of power and drowned.

[They're quiet, chewing on this. The smell, as they ascend, is pungent, a bit loamy, and a slight acrid tinge above everything.

Bel has always been one most quickly moved by emotions, something Miles had unwittingly used early on and likely has played to since. The idea of it, that warm glow, something they desperately want wars against that pit of guilt.]

It's not- [Their expression is hidden with Miles climbing first, even if he were to look down, but the emotion in the herm's voice was clear.] It's not some plan. I can't see you go down again...

[ Miles fights down the urge to gag. At least he doesn't appear to be allergic to the stuff. Or maybe his suit is filtering it out for him. Either way, small mercies.

He does glance back down at Bel for a moment. ]

I know, Bel. You never intended to get me killed in the first place. Hell, you tried to take that position yourself.

[And then there's the next stage of grief: anger.

It's a good distraction from the cloying aroma of the vegetation.]

And you should have let me take it! I was better armed and better shielded!

[ Miles doesn't stop - they can't stop now, no matter what - but he continues to crane his back down. He shakes it sharply, his own voice starting to rise. ]

And what, you'd have survived that needler? Of course not. But you knew that from the start.

Edited 2016-11-06 22:54 (UTC)

[Every delay shortens their chances of walking out. Above Miles, the seal of the hatch has been popped and warped by roots, faint drops, noxious smelling and cold, drip down on him.]

I didn't know there'd be a needler! [Of course not, but they're not even going to touch what Miles had actually been accusing them of.] Besides, I wasn't a priority target.

[ Urgh. He swipes at his face, flicking away the goop with an unhappy noise. That hatch is ... probably not going to budge with his strength, but he's small enough to slip through. After he takes a moment to cut away the roots with his makeshift knife. ]

Anyone at the rear was a target. [ He snaps the words out. ] Why do you think I took the position from you?

Edited 2016-11-06 23:06 (UTC)

You shouldn't have! [They bit back, slinging an arm through a rung to save their energy while Miles saws through the heavier roots. Orangeish sap oozes with every cut.]

That's what you have people FOR.

[ It smells too. Like some hideous blend of syrup and blood. He keeps sawing stubbornly anyway.

One of the roots twitches towards him. Curling stealthily around his upper arm and getting a good grip... ]

You aren't just one of my people, dammit! LIke hell I was going to let you kill yourself over me!

And then look! At! WHAT HAPPENED! [And damn the tears in their eyes! The way the world wavers, it almost looks like the whole root canvased ceiling was moving. They shift grips to rub at their eyes, angrily.]

Do you know who would care if YOU died? Every last one of US!

Furthermore-! [They trail off, squinting with clearer vision...]

[ Miles sucks in a sharp breath. He's turned back to Bel completely now, allowing himself this one momentary pause. ]

That doesn't mean you get to sacrifice yourself for me! Fucking hell, Bel --

[ He doesn't get to finish that statement. The vine around his arm pulls hard - and Miles is lifted bodily, pulled back towards the hatch. Another vine goes around his neck. ]

[All the protests, all of the anger were gone in a flash. There wasn't any hesitation - Bel had been a mercenary too long for that. The era of combat and boarding the old fashioned way tended to weed out those that didn't young in their career.

The herm surges up the ladder, dragging their blade out of the storage compartment.]

Don't move!

[Is the only warning Miles gets before that knife is thrust up towards the tendril around Miles' neck.

Beyond them, in the hydroponic bed, a large plant began to rustle and lift, the leaves grown to unchecked size.]

[ Miles, too, is too used to combat to continue yelling. He instantly goes limp at Bel's direction, and the dagger sinks in easily. The vine around his neck goes slack ... But the one around his arm pulls him further up into the overgrown room. He just barely manages to catch a rung with his feet and hold on; his arm feels as though it's about to get torn from his body.]

Shit! This thing's moving!

[Miles' body blocks the hatch, half pulled through as he is, the best Bel can do is grab onto Miles' foot and belt and try to heave back down.

The plant shudders and stirs, a great beast of the bulb shape leaves above, having somehow found root in the nutrient rich algae bed and grown to enormous levels. It's not able to lift itself from the ground, though it shudders, a splintering groan issues forth as it tries. The watery sap spills forth, trickling down to Miles. Around them, electronics fizzle and crackle as the roots, stirred to movement by a rare new prey pull wires and cords in the frenzy.]

Can you cut it?

[ Thank god their suits are waterproof - as evidenced already by their recent swim. But the crackling electronics ... That's a different matter. Miles yelps as one of the shocks hits his suit, discharging a small amount of his precious energy. As for the vines themselves, Miles doesn't dare struggle too much, lest Bel lose their grip on Miles' legs. This thing looks like it would surely eat Miles in one bite, given a chance.

He flails with his makeshift knife, trying to get in a good cut on the vine holding his arm. ]

Working on it - fucking plant --

[ With a vicious swing, he finally manages to sever the tendril holding onto him. ]

[The moment there's even a hint of slack, Bel yanks down hard, throwing all of their weight behind it. Without a hand on the rungs themself, Miles pitches down and Bel hardly has a hold to keep themself from following. Both hit the walkway hard... giving a great view of above, the first roots squirming through the circular hatch...and then those were severed and drop. Oozing orange blood, they twitch around Bel and Miles as the pressure of all of the other roots, thrashing and pushing at the hole at once, causes the metal floor between them to bulge downwards, metal screaming.]

Good god...

[Aching, bruised, covered in sap and water, Bel gets up, reaching to drag Miles to his feet.]

[ Miles' shoulder is surely dislocated, and the abrupt fall back down to the catwalk (and on top of Bel) did him no favors either, but it could have been worse. So very much worse. He gasps a little a Bel hauls him back onto his feet, eying the bulging steel with no small amount of dismay. He'd caught enough of a glimpse of the room above to know where it leads. But the monster guarding it... ]

I'm suddenly very glad we didn't go into that room.

[ He hisses a bit with pain as he takes a step back. The roots continue to batter at the metal with alarming strength. ]

But - but that's the way up, I'm sure of it. That's the same hydroponics bay we saw before.

Edited 2016-11-07 02:25 (UTC)

No kidding.

[Bel eyes the warping steel, then quickly glances around. The walkways were suspended, bolted hard to keep from the usual disruptions of the antigrav system flipping on and off. Several cables were and tubes were stapled regularly to the wall, distributing power, water, air and other vital systems. A few panels were scattered at the endpoint of each of the walkways, but were dark...]

Search for another gap? [They glance down to their readout on their wrist. Three fourths, still.]

Edited 2016-11-07 03:18 (UTC)

[ Miles is down to 60% himself courtesy of the energy he'd lost fighting the thing. He'll lose more to his injured shoulder as the suit attempts to heal him. But - hydroponics aren't too far from the surface. If they can do this quickly enough, without further injury...

Assuming they can get past the monster in the first place. The hatch groans again, popping several bolts. Miles barely suppresses the urge to pace madly. ]

Another gap could take us anywhere. Or nowhere, and put us straight back here with the plant directly in front of us. There has to be a way through.

[ His gaze flicks back over the hatch and and the panels in the area. Dead and powerless. Just like they would be without the Queen's pearls.

Without ...

Miles' eyes are suddenly bright with manic energy. ]

There has to be something on this ship we can use against it. Fire suppression, perhaps?

In the hydroponics? [Bel watches miles begin to pace and brightens... There he is. God, they've missed him. They stay out of the way, there's no stopping or derailing him now.

The walkways shudder, and one of the roots presses past the rest, coiling and sweeping above their heads, blindly seeking its prey.] Nothing that would do more than add to the water problem. I mean, the culling system is dangerous, but if it was working, that beast wouldn't have gotten past sprouting.

[ It's a damn good thing Miles is short. He still retreats a step, keeping out of the way of that massive tendril. ]

Could you identify it, though? If this ship had one.

If it's like ours, yeah. [They glance over to one of the panels just past the groping tendril. Several bulky wires and tubes run from it upwards...]

The service hatch would have it's access at the walls below it. But.. Miles, it's probably as dead as the rest of this ship.

[ Miles follows the wires up with his eyes. Doable ... yes, doable. If dangerous. ]

Of course it is. So we're going to need that last pearl.

[Understanding dawns, finally. If the comm unit worked...]

Ah.

[They snap open the storage compartment, putting their knife inside and fetching the last pearl again. Another tendril shove through as the hole buckles and gives a little, tearing on one side.]

Stay with me.