video broadcast

[unbearablynaive]

Who: The Vision
Broadcast: Fleetwide, open
Action: The abandoned bug ship
When: 6/27 late in the day

[The video opens up to show what sure is a red-skinned guy in a skin-tight blue suit with a bright yellow jewel on his forehead. Someone isn't going for subtlety with his look. When he speaks, it's with a cultured voice and a light British accent.]

Good evening. For those of you I have not yet met, my name is the Vision and yes, this is my normal appearance. I am an engineer aboard the SS Windrose. Like many of you I have been exploring the derelict ship and I believe it is possible to cleanse it of the fungal infection using a process known as vacuum sterilization. Essentially this means moving the air to one half the ship and opening airlocks on the other half, allowing anything not securely bolted to be swept into space - including infectious spores. We would then close the doors, filter the air, move it to the disinfected side and repeat the process. Once it is clean, we may investigate further without fear of infection to ourselves and determine if the ship is capable of being used by us, either for our own purposes or to return to its original owners.

[His expression softens to one of sorrow.] However, in order to be fully confident this cleansing would be effective, it would be necessary to release the infected bodies of the fallen life-forms into space as well. They were once fully sapient individuals, before the infection took hold, and such an action should not be undertaken lightly. Is this a course of action the Fleet would support? If there are any of you who are conversant in such things, would you consider holding a funeral or memorial ceremony for those who have been our enemies?

I welcome your input. Thank you for listening.

Comments

Video

[save_the_souls]

[Allen's got several thoughts on this. He's not sure which way to approach it first.]

Are you sure the fungus won't survive in space? I don't want another ship passing through to contract it by accident.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

The results I've seen from the medical tests would indicate it does not, but we can of course verify beforehand.

[He tilts his head to one side.] Though the chances of encountering anything by chance in space are, if I may use the term, astronomically low.

voice;

[redactions]

[ Evenly, ]

We could put a plaque on one of the walls. List the number of the dead, even if we didn't know their names.

voice;

[unbearablynaive]

If we have an accurate count, certainly. There may also be a crew roster in one of the ship's logs.

video;

[peacockherald]

Unfortunately, this sounds very much like a plague situation we might find in my world. If there is no cure for them, and their only fate is death, it might be kinder to see them off quickly than let them linger and suffer. But I think that a small service for them might not be amiss.

If it might help... I have a Gift called Fire Starting. I agree with Allen's concerns of other ships running across the fungus. If it might lower the possibility, I could attempt to burn some off to lower the volume.

video;

[unbearablynaive]

[He nods - it's very similar to what his friends would call a "zombie scenario".] I would agree. The fungus seems to want to spread its infection, as any infectious agent would. Stopping it before it can complete its goal might save many more lives. It is unfortunate that we were too late for the original hosts.

Yes, that would be helpful if it is something you can control. Fire in a contained environment is not without risk, but once we gain the ability to seal off sections of the ship it could certainly be used.

video

[bolder]

[Toph's listened to the other comments, and she's decided to chime in herself.]

We can cremate them. If that one guy's worried about fire getting out of control, my friends and I can take care of that. [A pause.] They deserve something. Getting taken over like that wasn't their fault.

video

[unbearablynaive]

[He nods, sorry Toph!]

You have a way to control fire? That would be very useful, in that case. I would agree with this proposal.

action

[stickupherforehead]

[all this talk about this ship has gotten her curious. When she finally finds herself on it, she was prepared to find bugs, equipment, maybe some information. What she wasn't expecting to find was a person with a gem in his forehead.

Shock quickly gives way to confusion, even if it looks like she's already trying to decide between fight or flight.]

Are...you a Gem?

action

[unbearablynaive]

{For his part, the Vision looks almost as surprised to see someone else with a stone in her forehead, even though he doesn't feel the same kind of power coming from hers as is in his. He inclines his head in acknowledgment.]

Hello. I'm not familiar with the terminology, so I am most likely not. [He reaches up to touch the yellow stone lightly.] This is the Mind Stone, and it brought me into being.

video;

[recopy]

Hm...yeah, maybe some kind of funeral would be for the best. Especially since they used to be normal before all this... [Aah, anybody in the same shoes would probably want that. He knows he would.] I don't know so much about the traditions that go into that sort of thing, but there's probably a lot of people here who do. I bet we could figure out a good way to go about it.

I think once the infection's definitely removed, though, the ship could probably be usable. From what I've seen of the damage in there so far, it all seems to be pretty fixable--ah, although I'm still a bit new to this engineering thing, even if I'm an engineer too... What do you think?

video;

[unbearablynaive]

[The Vision nods.] It would be respectful, I feel. They were not themselves when they attacked us, and what was done to them by the infection is regrettable.

I also believe it would be largely repairable or alterable. The idea to take it with intent to return it should we encounter the original culture has been proposed, and I agree that might be the best course of action. Would that be acceptable to you as well?

Video

[pain_train]

If there's no cure, death's kinder. [Flat statement. This is uncomfortably close to home.] They aren't them any more.

You just have to make sure no one forgets. Something like the Wall. Holos and a list of... there aren't names, but something.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

Regrettably so, I agree. Our priority should be preventing the spread of the infection.

[gently] There may be names, a crew roster. It is something I hope to discover in the ship's files. The Wall is a memorial monument you are familiar with?

Video

[hearsthesea]

How long do you think that might take? I think most of us would like to find a solution that doesn't result in any more death...but we can't just leave them alone no matter what happens, and the time we have to find that solution is running out.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

That would depend on the condition of all the working parts, but it could take as little as a day to verify everything is in working condition. Once that's done, it should take no more than an hour to complete a vacuum sterilization.

Video

[goldenglasses]

[The voice that responds is quick and frantic. Not even waiting for Vision to finish. Cutting in once it's confirmed that the bugs won't be in the safe parts of the ships when the airlock opens.] But we can't do that! There still might be a way to save them!

Video

[unbearablynaive]

[He blinks once or twice.] If the medical professionals can find a way, I would be more than happy to save as many of them as we can. If a cure is not possible, however, is it really any better to leave them as an aggressive, heavily damaged shadow of their former selves with no higher intelligence and nothing beyond an instinct to infect others?

Video

[stigmaofsuccess]

Julian Bashir, CMO of Deep Space Nine. Dr Crusher and I have been looking through the medical side, she's got a medical implant and my own is engineering, but my field of medicine at home is xenobiology.

Anyway, distracted, but I can see the validity of your idea, but I would suggest that also developing a fungicide to be used to spray down the area be introduced to the life support systems. Even exposing the ship to vacuum isn't necessarily going to cleanse all the spores. A suitable fungicide would be much safer and honestly... how do you plan on not... killing everything still alive at the same time?

Video

[unbearablynaive]

Thank you, Dr. Bashir. Xenobiology is precisely what this situation requires, I believe.

A fungicide would be a great help, if we have the resources to produce it. And it should be a simple matter to ensure that the areas to be exposed to vacuum have no living creatures aboard, except naturally for the fungus spores we wish to eliminate. If we proceed cautiously through the ship there should be no room for accidents.

video;

[horrendous]

[... Yeah, this guy is definitely strange-looking. But Hiccup's learned his lesson so he's not going to say anything about it.]

Funeral ceremony? Usually we-- that is, Vikings-- set the dead adrift on a ship. Which is then lit on fire. [He runs his hand through his auburn hair.] I don't think that'll work out in space, though, if I'm correct. Which... I might not be. Still new to this whole space thing.

[A pause.]

It's sad, though. All those-- [Is people the right word?] -- all those lives lost. There's always a risk of something going through the village and taking people with it, but it never gets any easier.

video;

[unbearablynaive]

[Oh oh, he knows about Vikings in space! His expression lightens up considerably and the Vision actually smiles.] It can be done with a force field and antigravity support on the bottom of the boat, but I doubt those particular resources are available. A similar alternative would be to place the deceased in a vessel such as a shuttle, allow it to proceed for a while, and then destroy it with our ships' weapon systems. Others have suggested an on-board cremation, however, and they believe the fire can be controlled so as not to cause further damage. Would that be an acceptable alternative?

[And his expression becomes serious again.] It is a tragedy. My hope is that what we have learned from this may help save another group of these life-forms from the same fate.

Video

[radiantwingedone]

... I am also offering an ability in filling the ship with fire. I can adjust the protections within my magic to the metals within the ship - leaving the ship itself untouched, despite whatever temperature is deemed necessary.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

[Oh, that could be useful, especially if plastics and ceramics can be included in the protection. The Vision nods.]

Thank you for the offer. I believe consensus is leaning toward that course of action, at least to cleanse the bodies of the fallen infected life-forms. It is very likely we will be able to use your help.

Video

[dancingmd]

[Beverly's tone is calm and professional, but it is clear from the dark circles under her eyes that she has not gotten much sleep recently.]

This is Dr. Crusher, on the Blue Fish. I see my colleague Dr. Bashir as well as several of my crewmates have already spoken to you, so I am sure you are already aware of the fungicide we're developing. You are more than welcome to stop by the lab if you'd like to discuss that further, or see any of the data I have collected so far regarding the insectoids.

[A beat.]

I understand our options are limited here, since we are currently unable to contact the crew's home planet or any of their ships, but I hesitate to support a plan involving us taking the ship. Even if we have every intention of returning it to the rightful owners - which I am not convinced everyone in the fleet has that intention - we have no idea how this will be percieved by these people. We know next to nothing about their culture or values or what relation, if any, they have to our captors. They might see our possession of the ship as an insult or sacriligious or even as an act of aggression. Not to mention, if we are unsuccessful in fully decontaminating the ship, we could be delivering a plague to their doorstep. I do not want to be responsible for that.

Video

[unbearablynaive]

Thank you, Dr. Crusher. I would be interested in the fungicide, as well as testing the effects of both incineration and vacuum exposure on it. Understanding its weaknesses is an important step of ensuring we do not allow its spread--whether or not we do take the ship. It's likely our own are quite contaminated, given the freedom of travel between their ship and our fleet.

[He inclines his head to show he acknowledges her words.] I understand your hesitation, but one could use the same argument to say that it might be a deadly insult to leave it here given its mostly functional condition. While I personally would advocate taking it, if the majority opinion is opposed we can at least take its coordinates down in case they should wish to recover it on their own.

Action; bug ship (AGH! I'm so late to this; please forgive me!)

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda hasn't spent much time off the bug ship since first arriving upon it. Despite her initial injury fighting with the once believed to be hostile bugs, she still felt compelled to stay on the ship and help as best she could. She had decidedly kept her distance from any of the fighting, at first due to her powers' ineffectiveness but now due to the realization as to just what these aliens were. Naturally, she had been feeling unsure of herself lately, unsure of her usefulness and her purpose in the fleet. As she was sitting on a cargo crate near the bug ship's entrance, she noticed someone. A very familiar red-skinned someone.]

Vision!

[She blurts out his name without even thinking about it. She doesn't immediately get up though, instead she takes a moment to prepare herself for the possibility that once again... this familiar face would not know her. Then, she slides off the crate, still a little unsteady on her bandaged leg. She doesn't move too quickly as the injury still impedes her walk somewhat, but she does approach him. She doesn't say anything at first, still unsure if this Vision is the one she remembers fighting alongside against Ultron. The same Vision who had saved her life when it seemed she would perish with the falling city of Sokovia.]

Action; bug ship (nooo worries!)

[unbearablynaive]

[Luckily for her, he certainly does recognize her--though given that he'd only been alive for several hours before meeting her in the first place, it's perhaps not as surprising as it could be. He smiles warmly and begins to stride over to her.]

Hello, Wanda. I'm glad to see a familiar face here. [Because while natasha's on his ship, she doesn't remember him at all--an eye-opening experience with the differences in timelines even people from the same world are subject to.]

[idealistic]

[ ever since Lloyd got the news that the bugs were actually as intelligent as them, it left him with a heavy heart. he'd been killing these things with no remorse left and right, treating them like the monsters he fought at home, and while it may have been a mercy at this point, taking their lives instead of finding a way to fix them left him feeling incredibly guilty.

they were different from the average human, so they wouldn't have known, but... but still... ]

...Yeah. It's better if they get a ceremony, even if we didn't know them. They deserve that much, after what happened to 'em.

[ a pause. ] What about the ones that're still alive, though? Isn't there anything we can do for them?

[unbearablynaive]

Thank you.

[The Vision sighs; he's troubled about them, too.] Our medical practitioners are looking into it, but preliminary results show that even when they are cured there is nothing of their original selves left and they pass away without the fungus to sustain them. It's possible there may be further developments, but we must consider the probability that there is nothing we can do at this stage.