Summer's Rain

[Kai Karasurei]

Dr. Landford nodded. "The technology and the plague we can attribute to them, for we know nothing of either. But the war, the violence...that is our doing" Was his response.

"It makes what we choose to do here all the more important. We must ensure our research benefits humanity when so many others choose to benefit only themselves."  

[Chase Westenra]

Lola merely shook her head at his obvious optimism and took the data pad back from him. "I'm sorry Dr. Landford but this endevor has been funded by the military and I promise they will find ways of corrupting even my research to their purposes. I know it was outsourced to the C3S company but they put their people here who report back to them on every step we take."

Tossing the datapad on her desk Lola crossed her arms and leaned back against it. "Just watch, that colonel they sent will take over. I will be highly surprised if he consults you for anything once he learns how things work around here. What is his job here exactly?"  

[Kai Karasurei]

Dr. Landford nodded at the woman's predictions. It wasn't a thought that was new to Dr. Landford's thinking, but he had hoped that full discolsure would help minimize that possibility.
"Yes, even the R3S personel on board may have their research 'coloured' by the military. As far as I know, however, the colonel is supposed to breathe new life into our projects. I am not sure if his presence is supposed to boost our motivation or if he actually has some applicable research strageties that we haven't thought of yet, but the military is probably using him to put pressure on us for some results." Dr. Landford shook his head.
"As if we weren't under enough pressure already."  

[Chase Westenra]

"If the survival of millions of people isn't enough pressure for everyone involved then I don't see how one colonel is going to bring enough pressure to motivate us to work faster. I swear they think we're twiddling our thumbs up here." Lola tried to cover a yawn with her hand but it didn't go unnoticed. "Sorry. I'm still not used to this shift in my sleep schedule."  

[Myst Dubhghall]

Aine gave the Colonel a small nod, clearly disappointed that she wouldn't be able to go further in-depth with him. Her work was her life, and something she was clearly passionate about. This was the reason the Colonel's arrival brought about a bit of hope within her. Perhaps this new mind working on the problem could add the insight for a new discovery, perhaps even help crack the language. That would open up so many doors and possibilities for her own research.

Giving the man another nod, she answered the only acceptable way although she didn't mind the meetings. They were a necessary evil after all to ensure all were updated on the discoveries and encouraged brainstorming. "I will be. Now if you would excuse me?"

She awaited his response before excusing herself.  

[Kai Karasurei]

Dr. Landford nodded.
"I try to avoid the late rotational shifts, but we cannot always have our way. I am just off mine now, so do not let me disturb you any longer. Good luck." Dr. Landford replied with a smile. He waited for Lola to acknowledge his departure before heading to his quarters.  

[SeleneRosara]

After waiving the doctor out Lola waited until the sound of his footsteps died away. Once they had she plopped back down in her chair, swung her legs up onto the desk, crossed her arms and went right back to sleep.  

[Velitis]

He nodded to Aine, already pondering other things. As she left the bridge, he looked about the remaining staff ont he bridge and decided that a little more contemplation before announcing his meeting ship-wide was in order.

Datapad in hand, he maneuvered his way through the consoles that made up the bridge and looked at the captain's seat positioned squarely center and aft of the other consoles, raised by a platform that somehow flowed with elegance and purpose. As much as it jutted from the floor to make this throne of sorts, it fit the bridge and did little to ruin the aesthetics.

Once, he had dreamed of being a navy man, working through grueling ranks to one day command his own vessel. That had been decades ago, and well before his loathing of space had manifested itself. He had grown up poor. The thought of space travel had always made him giddy. Well, at least until it nearly cost him his life.

Your life, or the life of hundreds of others? Shaking his head slightly, he climbed the station and sat down in the captain's chair, curious to what it would feel like and more curious to what the position's view presented. Tactically, it was sound. He could see every console without hindrance, and even without windows to peer through, turning the bridge transparent would have been an incredibly advantage while perched here.

He set the datapad down on the small table immediate beside the chair and took a moment to relax. And it was then that sounds started blaring and the lights were flickering on and off. One of the crew members, at the navigation console, started screaming about loss of control, and then all hell broke loose.  

[Lore Master]

Sirens and lights made their alarms. The constant chimes of something almost musical permeated the confines of the bridge. Only, this beautiful chaos was not limited to just the bridge. Alarms were raised through the entire ship, no section spared from the onslaught of what was happening.

As the helmsman had cried out that control had been lost, it was not just in navigation, but in every computer system on board. The ship itself lurched as drive engines kicked in and the gentle hum of a great, powerful thrust began moving the ship away from the orbit it had held for months.

People scrambled to and from stations, looking over calculations and hoping in some frantic degree to stop what was happening. The musical chimes increased in intensity, as if warningly, yet the bizarre course of action the ship had taken did not slow.

Then, everything went completely still. The warnings the ship had been producing went silent and the vibrations the ship had been quivering with halted as if it were a dream. The entire crew of the ship paused with the ship, as if wondering what had happened.

Or worse, what was next.

The lights flashed red and blue, alternating in a painfully slow strobe effect. The musical chimes that had been frantic before took on an almost angelic tone this time, soothing and peaceful.

Then, everything the crew had experienced thus far as chaos was but an annoyance. A fine mist sprayed out from unseen nozzles all about the ship and before anyone had time to react, it seemed to instantly drug all those affected. There was no hiding from this spray. It permeated the air and, although it was a fine mist, soaked everything instantly.

All those affected by the spray had only moments before they collapsed in a heap to the ship's deck. There was no pain associated with the mist. There was plenty of fear as people's bodies stopped responding. Their minds were last to shut down in the quick process.

Lastly, just before everyone on board was unconscious from this toxin, the ship entered hyper travel, acting of its own accord and leaving the safety of Earth's military might. Within the ship, silence battered the hallways suddenly after the last conscious thought expired. The soft hum of systems running seemed the only sound and it would be hours later, if not days, before the first of the crew would awake.

Only.. some of the crew would never wake from this forced slumber. Were those that survived prisoners of some maniacal ambush, or did they defy odds they did not know were stacked against them?

One by one, they would awake, and it would seem that the only logical place was to return to the bridge. And hope that someone had some answers.  

[Kai Karasurei]

It wasn't long after Dr. Landford entered his quarters that the chaos descended. His first though was the bridge and he began to sprint towards the door of his room as he wondered what bone-headed thing some unsuspecting naval officer had done to throw the ship into this madness. Then came the lurching and before he had made it to the hall, he was thrown down, catching himself on the side of the desk and knocking his chronometer to the ground.

The orbit was off, or worse, they had now plotted a new course for goodness knows where. Fear stabbed the good doctor's mind as he picked himself up.

A pause.

While those of a lesser understanding may have breathed a sigh of relief, Dr. Landford held his with anticipation. khissssssssssss A light spray began to mist into the air and Dr. Landford, half gripping the desk for support hesitated only a moment in wonder before he realized the substance was adhering to his body. He need to get out of the mist, away from this unknown formula. He grabbed the sheet from the military issued cot in his room and dove under the metal and canvas contraption, where he desperately tried to wipe of the spray. He had hoped the blanket and the cot would protect him, but as he worked to remove the substance, he found his vision blurring and his head swimming. It was a short distance between his head and the floor....one that was traversed quickly as Dr. Landford passed out.

When Dr. Landford awoke, he was still under the cot, and the blanket was still half covering his body. He did not know how long it was, but whatever had put him out had seemingly evaporated from his clothes and body...and he was alive. He rolled out from under the cot and threw the blanket on his bed. A glance at the floor revealed the many piece of his chronometer...he still did not know what time it was.

The R3S leader looked at the door, wondering the next course of action. The ship itself had lashed out and Dr. Landford was sure it had not been contained to his room. The question was....what was behind the door. Dr. Landford brought his arm to his chest and pressed a button on the electronic arm band.
"This is Dr. Landford calling Trone Smith, Trone Smith please respond." The man said into the radio. It gave him only static.
"This is Dr. Landford to any R3S team member, please come in."
Again, only the rush of crackling dead noise.

The data pad on the same arm band was of little help. It had the information he had stored previously, with his notes and access codes, but an icon flashed in the corner, warning him that his connection to the ships computer systems, human or alien alike, had been severed. With a pensive gaze rose towards the door. If he was to find out anything, it would be out there. Steeling himself against the unknown, Dr. Landford stepped out the door and headed to the bridge.

As he made his way towards the rather important part of the ship, he came across the first body. It was a military scientist and, expecting the person to wake up as he had, Dr. Landford bent down and tried to shake the woman awake.
"Come on, up and at 'em" Dr. Landford coaxed. When the body did not respond, he gave a puzzled look and check the woman's pulse.....there was none. Fear again reared its ugly head and Dr. Landford, who had thought his days of finding dead bodies was done, stumbled back before he continued on his way, trembling a bit with shock.

All the bodies that Dr. Landford came across were just that.....bodies. They were all dead. When he finally made it to the bridge, he was forcing his every move, staggering under the weight of being the only living thing on the whole ship. The doors open and revealed more bodies. Slumped in their consoles, his own team had been at the helm when everything went haywire. If he had not been so horrified, Dr. Landford may have just smiled at the fact that the Colonel was in the captains seat...unmoving. And there, laying against the console he had been working on when Dr. Landford had left him was Trone Smith. The R3S practically fell upon the body, checking...hoping for a pulse...but he could not feel one. He shook the man, checked his breathing, tried to resuscitate him...nothing worked. Dr. Landford sat back on the floor, back against the console and started off to space.

"Dead....they are all....all of them...dead...." He managed to croak, throat dry, voice horse.

"why.....?"  

[SeleneRosara]

After falling into a light sleep Lola was suddenly thrown out of it when the ship's alarms went off in warning sirens. Without knowing it Lola had jumped out of her chair and drew a knife from her boot ready to fight whatever was coming. Lola knew the knife could prove to be a problem for her later if security caught up with her but at this point she didn't care. She'd come to that barrier when she had to.

Cautiously Lola left her lab to head out into the hallways to find out what was happening. Some of the RS3 personnel who saw her with the knife ran away from her scared but before they could alert security the mist started spraying from vents in the ceiling. Lola took off running for the medical ward to hopefully find an oxygen tank but before she got far the mist had knocked her out.

When Lola woke up she was laying face down in the hallway with the knife still clutched in her hand. Rolling over on to her back she listened for the sound of life and heard none. No one on the ground with her was breathing, not even shallowly. There was no sound, no footsteps, nothing but the sound of her own breathing.

Sitting up Lola rubbed her head where she had hit it falling down. She wasn't bleeding but would probably end up with a nasty bruise. After getting up Lola decided to keep the knife out just in case and headed towards the bridge. Maybe she could find some read-out or console that she could read or even understand, who knew, there might even be a button to show if the ship was damaged.

When she got there the doors opened automatically which was good. The ship was still working so whoever was left alive wouldn't die from the coldness of space. Looking around at the bodies Lola hoped someone was alive on the bridge, she hadn't been here often so wasn't sure what the hell was what.  

[Kai Karasurei]

Dr. Landford looked up as the doors woooshed open, thinking the ship was malfunctioning...or worse. The fact that Lola walked in did not register for a moment as she scanned the room. When it finally hit him who it was, he was still piecing his mind together, surprised that anyone was alive...he had already resigned himself to the fact that he was the only survivor.
"b-b-but...your dead, aren't you?" He stammered without really thinking what he was saying.  

[Velitis]

With a muttered grunt, Vexant managed to lift his head from the slouched position off to the side. The muscles were incredibly tense and instantly, before he even knew what was going on or where he was, he knew it was going to be days before the kinks worked themselves out.

His eyes opened reluctantly, but it was the sound of another voice that stirred him from whatever slumber he had been forced into. And, the vision that met his eyes was that which he dreaded most: death. He could sense it. Feel the blanket that death had become in his life. He focused on the doctor, then to the strange girl standing in the bridge doorway.

He wasn't sure if the knife or the tattoos were what he noticed first, but a quiet alarm went through him. Reacting without much more thought, he was on his feet, Calbis 35 in hand and aimed for a kill shot at the pirate. his neck had erupted into excruciating pain at the sudden movement, but he dared not let it show. He didn't have much in the way of surprise, but maybe his sudden awakening would be enough.

"By order of the UNE, you will stand down and surrender," he ordered, voice clipped and authoritative.  

[Myst Dubhghall]

Aine had been on her way to the medical bay before the ship had erupted into chaos. The sudden shift into movement had sent her careening into a console, bruising her hip in the fall. As she pulled herself up on her feet trying to discern what to do, a fine mist started to coat everything within sight. Out of reflex, she held her breath and looked around for anything she could cover herself with. There simply wasn't enough known about the aliens to ascertain if this could harm human physiology or not. As she groped around in the nearest room, her vision started to blur. Her mind racing as she tried cover herself. She watched as someone walked by the open doorway and collapsed.
Not good. This is NOT good...
Although some logical part of her brain was already telling her it was too late to deal with the exposure, her sense of self preservation simply wouldn't let up. She had just managed to hunch under a console as she lost control of her limbs and ended up slumping to the floor.  

[SeleneRosara]

Lola looked over when Dr. Landford spoke. He was on the floor and appeared to be in shock. Before she could answer his question or go over to help him someone else spoke. It wasn't so much the words he said or his tone of voice that had Lola reacting but the weapon pointed at her head.

Instinctively she ducked behind the nearest console. Lola decided it wasn't good to bring a knife to a gun fight so she put the knife away in her boot and drew her own gun from the small of her back. "I am not the person you have to worry about. I work here." Lola figured she was dealing now with the colonel that Dr. Landford had mentioned earlier and from his reaction it was obvious he saw her pirate tattoo but didn't know about her background. <******** wonderful...'

"There are a lot of dead crew members who need to be dealt with. Put down your weapon before you force me to kill you." Lola didn't move out from behind the console but was more then certain she was a more accurate shot then some desk jockey colonel.