driftfleet | This is the reason why no one on the Red Fish should have hobbies outside of punching people...

[hello yes it is just a perfectly normal day here on the Red Fish and your resident skullface guy is hauling a heavy, twitchy alien bug through the cargo bay.

despite the thing being mostly-hogtied and Coil there to give him a hand, it's still a real pain in the ass to get through the door and into the main hallway. it manages to jitter violently into the frame and make an awful racket.

but if they can just get it to the lab, they'll finally have a living test subject--and that's pretty much his sole concern, right now.]

[Coil is hyperfocused and trying to hurry--which is probably exactly how the thing bucks out of his grip and into the doorway. it knocks into the metal, gets a good kick in against his chest, and their whole balance is thrown just for a second. he manages to quickly wrangle it back, however. with one arm wrapped around what count as its hindmost legs, following Zhas into the hallway, he hooks his other arm around a flailing fore-appendage and hangs on.

just a little further and they can get to the lab, where his shiny new restraints are waiting.

they're so close. it'll be just like the good ol' days...]

[Well that's a metric ton of noise, so you can bet Syeira comes running.

When she gets there, she assumes along the lines of they'd somehow been boarded by the bug, and she moves to help.]

How did it get in here?

[It's a logical and obvious question, because hey, she doesn't assume her crew is crazy.]

[Unlike Syeira though, Cassandra doesn't have any reservations about assuming her crew is crazy. She'd like to not have to, but the evidence speaks for itself and it's the fact the thing's legs are bound that draw her attention immediately. Were this a bug that managed to get on-board, why would they have bound it up? Why not simply kill it and get rid of the body as would be the most obvious solution?]

I should think that's obvious, Syeira, [she says from behind Syeira. She steps around her, her gaze moves from Coil to Zhas, but rests ultimately on Zhas.] The better question is what are you two doing?

[as pleased as he is that Syeira is running to help, this hallway is starting to get cramped... he's only gotten through shaking his head before Cassandra shows up and makes things even more complicated.

he obviously doesn't want to talk about it right now. he clearly looks between her and the end of the hall to decide whether or not he can just ignore them until they can put this thing down.]

Lab.

[an eloquent response, as always, as he continues to try and carry the thing in that direction.]

[Coil nods--short and insistent. they're heading for the lab now, yes, everything is order so it'd be great if they stepped aside.

silly him, he's still assuming they want to help. so, he's hurried and reassuring in the way he nods and simply moves to continue forward.]

[She's not an idiot. She's seen the 'lab'. And this creature is still alive. Alive and fighting. It's one thing to kill something that's trying to kill you. But labs...labs are not okay.

She draws back. She can't go very far, the hallway isn't that big. But she's definitely between them and the way they want to go.]

Why?

[Well, she has a feeling as to why, and most everyone in the small space might guess she's already figured it out. They might also guess she's not really okay with what the answer might be. Syeira seems slightly paler than she was a moment ago.]

[They try to move forward and Cassandra immediately places herself right in the way as well. There is no getting around her without physically moving her. And if there's one thing Zhas and Coil should know about Cassandra by now, it's that she doesn't move if she doesn't feel like it.]

I won't allow it. If you wish to examine a dead specimen, that makes no difference to me. But I will not allow you to do whatever it is you have in mind to a living creature.

[Coil looks honestly shocked for a moment there; he stops short more due to disbelief than because there are two women physically in the way now.

looking between the two of them, taken aback, his gaze then moves expectently right up to Zhas.]

[that's fine, Zhas can be the one stopped because of the women in his way.

his gaze flits back and forth between the both of them. he can already tell where this is going, and he has no patience for this kind of thing.]

No. Alive tells us more. [scowling, mostly at Cassandra.] Get out of the way.

Zhas, you can't!

[Oh, well. This is fun. She's feeling a surge of fear, panic. She remembers flashes of knives, chains, fire under her skin. Helplessness. Her pupils are widening, and her breathing shallows out. She's not quite hyperventilating, but it's a possibility in the very near future.

She starts shaking her head and likely doesn't realize she's doing it.]

It's torture. You can't. You can't.

[Syeira's fear is palpable to Cassandra. When she looks over, it's exactly what she expects and most certainly has seen before. Although normally, it's the face of a young soldier or new recruit their first time in the heat of battle. They either snap out of it or it breaks them. And like with that soldier, although Cassandra has the natural impulse to try and soothe by pulling them into the present moment, she cannot worry about that. The best way to help Syeira is to keep going. And in this case, that means stopping this before it gets any further. While she gives Syeira a grim and sympathetic look, once she moves her gaze back on Zhas it's cold and hardened immediately.]

[She squares herself firmly to the spot, standing just a little taller.]

Syeira is right. You are not taking another step towards that lab. This is not up for discussion. What you are talking about is perverse and nothing of value will come of it. [She pulls her sidearm.] Either put it down or I will. Those are your only options.

[there's a sharp, voiceless huff of breath from Coil--partially from getting kicked hard in the chest again by their captive, and partially from sheer desperate anger welling up fast.

the bug is still fighting, but Coil frees up one hand so he can talk. the signs are clumsy but urgent.

just trying to get across the fact that this is their only chance. they worked so hard for this. it's important. she can't stop them.]

Stop!

[which one is he shouting at? might as well be everybody--Syeira's panic, Cassandra's sidearm, Coil's 'talking' in his peripheral. with an angry snarl he grapples up one of the limbs that keep twitching away from him.

Coil's the only one who's heard him argue like this before. that voice of his gets scary when there's actually feeling in it--frustration, in this case.]

We won't get another chance at this! It's barely even sentient, what do you care about it!

[he would not hold onto this thing solely for the chance to pick apart at a living creature. this thing is an ant to him, invading a home it doesn't belong to.]

You've seen them. They attack us without hesitation, without reason, with full intent to kill. They are dangerous to anyone who comes across them. Everything we learn can be used to prevent them from spreading to other worlds and causing more destruction!

[Ah but, Syeira has been that ant. And she starts shouting now too.]

I don't care! It's one thing to kill when you're attacked, but this is wrong! You can't cut it apart while it's alive, and fighting and screaming and begging-

[At some point, there were tears, and she is suddenly looking up at them because her knees gave out, since she's not breathing enough. She feels tinglingly numb up to her wrists and ankles. Her lips feel cold. She can't breathe. There's not enough air.]

[Cassandra is torn. Simply put, she doesn't trust Zhas and Coil enough not to exploit her moving over even a little to comfort Syeira. But she cannot remain there impassively either. After a few brief seconds, she moves down beside Syeira on the ground and wraps an arm around her shoulders. She rubs at Syeira's arm, anything to keep her physical sensations here and in the present moment. She tells Syeira quietly that it's alright. It's not, technically speaking. It won't be until Coil and Zhas stand down from this. But nothing and no one is going to hurt Syeira.]

[She has not raised her voice yet and she will not start now. She speaks evenly and calmly, but not without a cold anger behind it as she looks up at Zhas and Coil. There is a slight curl of disgust to her lips.]

You speak self-righteously and of a higher cause, and yet all I see is depravity. If these creatures are barely sentient, what makes you think they are such a threat? They are easily killed and they only mean to protect their territory or else they would have made attempts to infest the entire fleet by now.

[She narrows her eyes at Zhas in particular.]

I would have expected something like this from him, but I thought you an honorable man, Zhas. I see now that I was wrong. You are little more than a mad dog off its leash if you truly think what you are doing is just.

[see, this is why Zhas says he isn't supposed to be around normal people.

he's somewhat taken aback by Syeira's shouting and consequential meltdown on the floor--the way he edges towards her almost makes it seem like he wants to help or do something, but he can't surrender his captured bug to do it. it's obvious that she's somewhere else right now. if he can just get her to stop, maybe--

but Cassandra moves in first, berating him. were he a better person, a more patient person, he might stop to consider anything that she's saying--but her words just fall on him as empty nonsense. things that don't matter. things that are getting in the way.]

For fuck's sake.

[which, somewhat ironically, may be the most human thing that Zhas has ever said.

if he gives up, he loses. trouble with Coil. trouble with the balance of things--his carefully structured territory isn't his anymore. but if he tries to push past them, it'll escalate--and they'll lose anyway. they cannot tactically make it past Cassandra and expect to take their live subject with them.

in a way, this fight is already over. he just has to decide which bullet to take.

seething, letting out a tight breath, he turns back to his friend.]

Coil, drop it.

[the fact that he recognizes the soul-deep fear that is ruining Syeira does anything but drum up sympathy in Coil. maybe it might have in some other instance, when he'd be capable of seeing past his all-important goal, but right now... all he sees is the same uselessness and paralysis that grips him at all the worst moments, and it just makes him angrier.

she isn't present, grounded, and it's all because she's being blinded by fear. they're all blind. they aren't even looking. why can't they just see...

Coil can't yell, but he can argue. he only stares open-mouthed at Zhas for a moment before he shakes his head, begs him with his gaze. don't do this.]

[No, Syeira is not present. She hadn't expected this to happen and the flashes of knife edged memories are drowning her in fear.

They say you can't remember pain, but what was done to her wasn't just steel and fire on flesh and bone. Irenicus had gone inside her being and ravaged and ruined for the sake of his all-important goal.

Her eyes are open but Coil's face is replaced in blinks and flashes by Irenicus'. She was a bug to him. A means to an end. Calling it torture had drawn no more sympathy from him than a spider has for a fly.

He'd do it to you too. The voice in her head isn't hers. The Taint coos and promises safety. Just kill him, kill them both and she'll be safe. Everyone would be safer.

Yellow creeps into what's left of her irises, shines and falters briefly. Syeira leans against Cassandra heavily, fighting an internal battle on two fronts. But she'd rather pass out from hyperventilating than let the Taint rise up. She wins one field, and the yellow glow is gone as fast as it came. Maybe Zhas and Coil would see it. Maybe not. It's incidental to her at the moment, because her head is swimming, and the numbness from lack of air has crawled up into her chest.

She's going to faint. That's okay. It's better than the alternative.]

Edited 2015-06-23 22:13 (UTC)

[As Syeira begins to weigh down heavier on Cassandra, she's forced to shift her position in order to keep the other woman a little more upright as well as herself. She doesn't notice the flash of gold in Syeira's eyes as she's more focused on the exchange between Coil and Zhas. She doesn't understand nor really care why Coil continues to fight the battle when it's already been lost. They just need to have this conversation some other time and deal with the problem at hand.]

Zhas, dispose of it. Now.

[As Syeira appears to be passing out, Cassandra turns her attention back to her. She curses softly and expects she will need to carry Syeira back to her room. But not until this bug is dealt with. She still (albeit reluctantly) holsters her sidearm once more.]

[Zhas notices. he only catches Syeira's change out of the corner of his eye, but he doesn't need to see more--he's tense and subconsciously running through how quickly he could drop this thing, spin around, and shoot her between the eyes. he doesn't have time to be relieved when she faints, but it will probably catch up with him later.

at least it quiets things down. he grimaces when Cassandra says the second worse thing she could have said--and snarls back over at her with a venom she doesn't deserve.]

Shut up.

[don't ruin this, don't make this worse. don't align the two of them when Coil's already going to have his faith shaken. he turns back to Coil quickly--and at least when he caves, he caves with steadfast determination and the same, terrifying authority he always has.]

Drop it.

[at least Coil isn't looking at Cassandra at all during those moments. he's visibly full of hate, but he's focused on Zhas, just like he should be.

and even so, he still stares hard for several moments too long before he finally acts. it is a conscious, deliberate rebellion--however small it is.

and then, setting his jaw against everything, he finally throws his half of the bug to the floor, and firmly steps on whatever limb is most convenient, holding it still. it continues to thrash and fight, but at least it isn't going to writhe completely out of control and catch one of them in the leg.

this is as much cooperation as they're going to get, and it's already a stretch for him.]

[he knows it's deliberate. they went through this already. this is going to be a much bigger mess than any of them bargained for.

he drops the bug and draws his gun before it's even hit the floor. he shoots it twice without blinking, and doesn't take his eyes or his gun off of the twitching corpse until it finally goes completely still.

he holsters his gun again in the silence, turning to Coil again with that same intensity--just quieter, now.]

Off the ship.

[another pointed, tight-jawed delay--just a little thing to someone who doesn't know him, but the fact that he is fighting with anger is not usual for him at all.

when did this become a thing that happened? this didn't ever used to be a problem, and now he feels maddened by it.

he still has the presence of mind to obey, however. his jaw tightens, but he doesn't argue, and he doesn't sigh. it all manages to stay frozen under a very thin sheet of ice. and eventually, he only turns to march off in the direction of his bunk.

it isn't the most direct route to obeying his orders, but he wouldn't look so angry if he wasn't intending on leaving as instructed. he'll move past whoever is in his way without a glance, without even the barest acknowledgement.

he just needs to get a few things, and then he'll be gone.]

[In the tense silence that follows, everyone can probably hear the whirring of Nunnally's chair as it rolls their way. Her breathing sounds a little heavy, the motor wasn't running fast enough and she was trying to push her chair to go faster. But it didn't work, and by the time she got there the fight was over. She was only able to hear bits and pieces of the argument, the loud ones that rang against the metal halls. But as Coil storms off to gather his things, Nunnally's eyes flick between the remaining crew members. The look on everyone's faces... she wasn't fast enough.

She takes a deep breath to slow her own breathing, and tries to push out a feeling of calm over the group. But she's never attempted to use her Lull augment powers in a tense situation like this one, there's no way to know if her efforts will have any effect. But after her attempt, she sits up straight and looks at Cassandra.]

Cassandra, could you please help Syeira to her room? Or, if she wakes up the kitchen might be best. Some water and light food will help. [she rolls her chair forward, and even though Syeira is out for the count at the moment, she squeezes the woman's limp hand gently, and then moves her chair aside so that they can depart. And, before they have the chance to leave, she looks back at Zhas. She signs something to the effect of--]

I'd like to speak with you. [and Coil, but she wants to initiate that contact herself, not treat Zhas like some middle man. And, because she wants to be precise in this part, she speaks the next sentence] But if you need a moment to collect yourself, or dispose of this creature, I understand.

Edited 2015-06-27 00:45 (UTC)

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openhands - 2015-06-27 02:21 (UTC) - Expand

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theboogieman - 2015-06-29 20:33 (UTC) - Expand

This is the reason why no one on the Red Fish should have hobbies outside of punching people...

THE MAD SCIENCE INCIDENT

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