[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.]
[ 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.
[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.]
[ 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.
[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.]
[Bel didn't have to be told twice. They dash right towards the tendrils, diving to hit the catwalk and slide the way under them. Perhaps it was the passing air, perhaps some part of Bel brushed something too small to be seen at Miles' range, but they went wild, one curling about the whole walk, constricting. The other brushes madly to and fro, seeking either of them.
Bel scrambles to their feet, momentarily clear, and makes it to the far terminal.]
[ One half of the plan done then. But Bel needs a moment of uninterrupted concentration to pull this off. Miles strides forward purposefully, rapping his knife hard against the catwalk railing to set it to vibrating. Sound and movement, that's what he needs to focus on. ]
Over here, you overgrown salad! If you can't take me, you certainly can't take them!
[ He waves his arms, slashes at the air - or any tendril that gets too close. It's a fine line between staying close enough to be distracting while also not so close he gets caught again. And the distracting is more important at this point.
Most of the tendrils tilt in Miles' direction. But a few curl toward Bel too, reaching to grab them by their feet and pull. ]
[Bel's hands scrabble on the paneling, nerves making their movements ungentle. A small mess of wiring sits, neatly cabled, but otherwise unlabeled as to what goes where. They curse loudly, and start tracing paths with their fingers.
In the mean time, the mass of tendrils sweep ... past Miles and wrap heavy cords of roots around the catwalk itself. The whole frame shudders and the supports buckle and fold as the walk lifts, threatening to tumble Miles forward into some of the waiting tendrils dangling midway.]
Ah-HA! [Just as Bel finds the set they need, the root gently curling around the smooth surface of the suit pulls tight abruptly.]
[ Not just a murderous salad, then. A fucking smart one, damn it all to hell. Miles yelps in surprise as the catwalk tilts; he falls a few dangerous feet before managing to cling onto one of the side rails. Miraculously he keeps his grip on the knife too, though it costs him a long cut on his palm from gripping the jagged metal too hard. His feet are mere inches from the writhing mass of plant now below him.
Is Bel having any success in their side? Miles twists his head to look down. Yes - and no. The roots have jerked Bel back right at the moment when they've exposed what looks like the right patch of wiring. Miles lets out a stream of curses in thick, guttural Barrayaran. He has to get Bel's legs free now or they're both dead.
With another spectacularly vulgar curse, Miles doesn't just let himself drop - he hurls himself down knife first, aiming to plunge his knife deep into the roots grabbing Bel. And then he's going to hope that Bel can get the system working before the plant makes a meal of him. No escaping that mass of plant matter without the culling system now... ]
[Miles doesn't sever it completely, but it's more than enough for it to spasm and shudder on the ground, whatever impulses coordinating its movement severed.
The price was immediate though: the other tendrils quickly wrap around every part of Miles it can get a hold of...
From Bel's perspective, they don't question the sudden slack or take the time to look back, just dive back into the wiring. Hastily, they saw at the right set of wires. They'd watched Miles' work on the comm intently enough that... yes. It's roughshod and quick, but soft white light begins to seep up into the console above, lighting it. A moment later, the light shoots up the wires through the ceiling above.
For a moment, there was everything but the sound of machinery: just the leaves, the unsettling creak of roots, the rush of water and the sound of struggle.]
Miles!
[As they turn, a soft voice begins talking in a strange language that vibrated somewhere deep in the ear. The comms lit up, echoing the words and translating:] Initializing...
Foreign body found. Invasive body found. Electrical systems compromised. Hydro pressure at 58%
[The roots around Miles begin to constrict, even as others start pulling the small man upwards to eat...]
...
Removing intrusive species. Scanning for personnel...
[Bel charges at the mass of roots, knife swinging at the nearest. It makes horribly little progress...]
No personnel found. Beginning removal. Operators in observation stations are requires to wear eye equipment during removal process. I repeat---
[The next strike is held by a tendril wrapping around their elbow- and released.
Steam hisses from around the roots protruding from the warped sealing, and a FWOOSH that sounded unnervingly like a plasma arc... a very.... very large plasma arc drowns all of the other noise.
The tendrils around Miles jerk wildly, uncoordinated and tearing- before they go still, limp. Orange goo starts dripping from above in trickles, then waves.]
Operators in observation stations are requires to wear eye equipment during removal process. I repeat-- Operators in observation stations are requires to wear eye equipment during removal process.
...
Organism terminated. Beginning clee aa nnnnnnnnnnnn
[The voice slows and then fades off entirely as the light in the panel flutters and then fades.]
[ Throughout the clean, Miles struggles against the vines as best he can. Like hell he's getting eaten at the eleventh hour just because the system had to take a few minutes to boot up. The vines constrict him tightly; something cracks on his suit, and he feels very much like his bones are about to follow suit. Not one bit of his body is going to be in bruised after this, he's sure of it.
And then, just when he can't take any more of this - when the vines have him wrapped so fully that he can't even struggle - everything goes slack. Miles falls back down to the catwalk with a wet smack, plant goop covering him (and the catwalk, and a good sized splatter distance, sorry Bel) almost completely. But he's alive and this fucking plant is dead. They have a way back up to the surface that may be full of chemicals but at least not infested by a man eating plant.
Miles just flops his head back against the still writhing pile of vines and just. Laughs. A bit hysterically, a lot relieved. ]
Excellent work, Captain.
[ He sits up slowly, wiping goo off his face with his good hand. And still laughing breathlessly. ]
[Bel is left breathing hard, staring up at the ropes of goo drizzling down, themself and Miles in turn, not quite able to fully comprehend that they DID that.
THEY did that. They did THAT. There was a lot of places to put emphasis and none of them quite summed it all up.
As Miles has his fit of hysterical relief, a similar laugh, almost aborted in a snort, bubbles up in them. Attempting solemnity, Bel scoops up a handful of the goo that Miles' inglorious flop had splattered over them, and just.
Flings it back.]
You crazy sonsabitch. [And starts laughing in all honesty.]
[ Miles laughs harder. It's still kind of hysterical, but - well. A good noise for a good feeling. Especially compared to the argument they had been having. He slops some of the goop right back at Bel. ]
Me? I'm not the one who slid under a writhing tentacle plant just to hack a console.
Did grab me, the bloody creeper.. [Bel sobers a little, getting a clearer picture.
They reach a hand down, offering Miles assistance up.
They still had a ways to go... Bel looked up at the hatch, split horribly, slick from lord knows what and the ladder was buckled outward. This was going to be interesting.]
Lets get the hell out before something else tries to kill us.
[The only indication that Bel was planning on taking point was a little unhappy sound behind Miles, but no arguments. The hardest part of the climb is where the ladder buckles outwards, requiring hand over hand pullups, but after that, the climb UP is just a nearly crawlable grade to the upper level.]
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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?
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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. ]
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Good god...
[Aching, bruised, covered in sap and water, Bel gets up, reaching to drag Miles to his feet.]
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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.
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[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.]
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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?
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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.
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Could you identify it, though? If this ship had one.
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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.
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Of course it is. So we're going to need that last pearl.
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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.
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I've got your back. Just - quickly.
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Bel scrambles to their feet, momentarily clear, and makes it to the far terminal.]
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Over here, you overgrown salad! If you can't take me, you certainly can't take them!
[ He waves his arms, slashes at the air - or any tendril that gets too close. It's a fine line between staying close enough to be distracting while also not so close he gets caught again. And the distracting is more important at this point.
Most of the tendrils tilt in Miles' direction. But a few curl toward Bel too, reaching to grab them by their feet and pull. ]
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In the mean time, the mass of tendrils sweep ... past Miles and wrap heavy cords of roots around the catwalk itself. The whole frame shudders and the supports buckle and fold as the walk lifts, threatening to tumble Miles forward into some of the waiting tendrils dangling midway.]
Ah-HA! [Just as Bel finds the set they need, the root gently curling around the smooth surface of the suit pulls tight abruptly.]
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Is Bel having any success in their side? Miles twists his head to look down. Yes - and no. The roots have jerked Bel back right at the moment when they've exposed what looks like the right patch of wiring. Miles lets out a stream of curses in thick, guttural Barrayaran. He has to get Bel's legs free now or they're both dead.
With another spectacularly vulgar curse, Miles doesn't just let himself drop - he hurls himself down knife first, aiming to plunge his knife deep into the roots grabbing Bel. And then he's going to hope that Bel can get the system working before the plant makes a meal of him. No escaping that mass of plant matter without the culling system now... ]
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The price was immediate though: the other tendrils quickly wrap around every part of Miles it can get a hold of...
From Bel's perspective, they don't question the sudden slack or take the time to look back, just dive back into the wiring. Hastily, they saw at the right set of wires. They'd watched Miles' work on the comm intently enough that... yes. It's roughshod and quick, but soft white light begins to seep up into the console above, lighting it. A moment later, the light shoots up the wires through the ceiling above.
For a moment, there was everything but the sound of machinery: just the leaves, the unsettling creak of roots, the rush of water and the sound of struggle.]
Miles!
[As they turn, a soft voice begins talking in a strange language that vibrated somewhere deep in the ear. The comms lit up, echoing the words and translating:]
Initializing...
Foreign body found.
Invasive body found.
Electrical systems compromised.
Hydro pressure at 58%
[The roots around Miles begin to constrict, even as others start pulling the small man upwards to eat...]
...
Removing intrusive species. Scanning for personnel...
[Bel charges at the mass of roots, knife swinging at the nearest. It makes horribly little progress...]
No personnel found. Beginning removal. Operators in observation stations are requires to wear eye equipment during removal process. I repeat---
[The next strike is held by a tendril wrapping around their elbow- and released.
Steam hisses from around the roots protruding from the warped sealing, and a FWOOSH that sounded unnervingly like a plasma arc... a very.... very large plasma arc drowns all of the other noise.
The tendrils around Miles jerk wildly, uncoordinated and tearing- before they go still, limp. Orange goo starts dripping from above in trickles, then waves.]
Operators in observation stations are requires to wear eye equipment during removal process. I repeat-- Operators in observation stations are requires to wear eye equipment during removal process.
...
Organism terminated. Beginning clee aa nnnnnnnnnnnn
[The voice slows and then fades off entirely as the light in the panel flutters and then fades.]
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And then, just when he can't take any more of this - when the vines have him wrapped so fully that he can't even struggle - everything goes slack. Miles falls back down to the catwalk with a wet smack, plant goop covering him (and the catwalk, and a good sized splatter distance, sorry Bel) almost completely. But he's alive and this fucking plant is dead. They have a way back up to the surface that may be full of chemicals but at least not infested by a man eating plant.
Miles just flops his head back against the still writhing pile of vines and just. Laughs. A bit hysterically, a lot relieved. ]
Excellent work, Captain.
[ He sits up slowly, wiping goo off his face with his good hand. And still laughing breathlessly. ]
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THEY did that. They did THAT. There was a lot of places to put emphasis and none of them quite summed it all up.
As Miles has his fit of hysterical relief, a similar laugh, almost aborted in a snort, bubbles up in them. Attempting solemnity, Bel scoops up a handful of the goo that Miles' inglorious flop had splattered over them, and just.
Flings it back.]
You crazy sonsabitch. [And starts laughing in all honesty.]
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Me? I'm not the one who slid under a writhing tentacle plant just to hack a console.
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You. I'm not the one who-
What DID you do to get stuck in there, good lord, Admiral.
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Well. I jumped, obviously. Seemed the thing to do at the time. It was about to grab your legs, so ...
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They reach a hand down, offering Miles assistance up.
They still had a ways to go... Bel looked up at the hatch, split horribly, slick from lord knows what and the ladder was buckled outward. This was going to be interesting.]
Lets get the hell out before something else tries to kill us.
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Agreed. We can go over all the details once we're safely outside.
[ He also glances at the ladder, slick as it is. Still their best shot ... he carefully wipes off his hands and goes to start climbing. ]
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