It was done. Samyaza didn't realize what was happening, it all happened too fast. Noises, some... thing hitting his face, and his right eye didn't work, reading error after error before cutting off permanently, the process repeating itself when he tried to 'turn it back on'. He knew from the little screen, that he was going to contact Ben on, which was reflective when off, that his face was battered, scratched, and bruised extremely badly, and that his eye was literally broken. he squeaked looking at himself, running a finger down his bloody face. It was a black and red mix, and looking down to examine the mess on his hands, was a cocktail of alien fluids, as well as his own blood. He felt like throwing up, but he took a moment to collect himself, pushing a clean button.
“Ben I… Its done. I don’t know what the hell this thing is, but send the best from your… Calvary down here. Them, and Hendrick, and Talon Four and Talon Five, and anyone else important… And you. Just… come. Now.”
He and Ben had a small chat about what was done, and what it was done with, and though not too satisfied that he did it, Ben seemed somewhat impressed, if not afraid. Samyaza was afraid too. Deathly afraid, in fact.
He looked around when the final half of the deed was done, and gulped. Tools and equipment were strewn about, his blood and the bile that whatever the creature contained was splattered across the operating table, as well as around the spot where he had struck the creature. He looked at it, but dared not approach. He nor Ankita both, as far as he could tell.
What was that? Where did it come from? Maybe he shouldn't have put Ben off... when he last heard his voice. That was when he met Dr. Patil, who looked a little afraid then, too. That must have been when The Quarantine started, and based on the silence minutes after, it was not yet to end.
It took awhile, but what felt like the entire crew arrived, He recognized Hendrick Swaneopele, Talon V, Benjamin Marlow, Astrid Hardy... There was another barefoot man, probably another Talon unit, and Several mercenaries, who had burst in first and rushed past him, bumped into him. He looked at them with a sick look, and Ben's voice saying whatever to him was distorted, warped. He pointed at the armor on the floor, and hear Ben's voice again, looking up at Talon V, who was glaring him down with a curious look.
He staggered away from the crowd, His entire body shaking.
"Are you okay?" he heard.
"James, oh my god, James!" someone called out from his left, but from behind.
"Mr. Clarke do you realize how lucky you are? did he hurt you?"
He shook his head. "I said I'm fine!" He yelled out, everyone looking at him. "Quiet! all of you! I will continue working!" His voice was slurred, and he slapped away the hand that came upon his shoulder. "Don't touch me, you pig!" He choked up. "The bastard is there! Look what he did to my face! apprehend him!" Talon V slapped him, producing a gasp.
"Calm down, Dr. Clarke."
"I-- I am so sorry..."
"It's fine."
Samyaza sat down on the floor, gripping his cheek. He looked like, nay, was, a child who had never been struck before, and Athene's hand was leaving a mark.
They all looked, they all spoke, and Samyaza didn't know how long it was before he was hallucinating again. The world, at one point was as it is, and as it will be, the USCSS Vespasian, 2098. But it... wasn't. The world had become as it was, as it had been; London, England, June 23, 2088. He was in that bathroom in the Weyland Corp Building, but this time, it wasn't before, it was after. The DIs and officers were all there, and he was in his shock blanket. It felt wrong, but everything was... right.
Samyaza stood up and limped over to the body, shrugging off an officer, and looking down at his mangled face. "I... What is that...?" I didn't do that...?"
"Dr. Clarke, please mo--" The creature screeched and Jumped at Samyaza, but overshot the dizzy man, who had just swayed out of the way.
"Hendrick, gun!" Athene commanded. The command followed, Ben ordered to shoot the 'shoot the bastard, as Talon IV stood as a barrier between the unarmed and the rest of the room, everyone pressed against the door to the room, the creature on the other side.
The mercenaries did as ordered, Storm Rifles blazing. Samyaza looked around, seeing his assailant crawling around the room, being shot at, but not hit. The man approached him , and he covered his face, but felt sharp pangs ripping through his legs, and he felt his body falling in slow motion.
"Warning! Room Gravity sensor Malfunction! Now repairing! Repair at Nine Percent!" A friendly female voice called out. Athene threw his gun at Ben, who caught the weapon, and aimed but found his aim rocked when everyone fell back to their feet, sans Samyaza, who screamed in pain and clutched at his calves.
"Electronics subrouted! Gravity Offline in Personal room S.C07932! Artificial Gravity now Online! Beware, not everywhere you step is safe!" it called out cheerfully over Samyaza's crying, which was shushed by The creature jumping onto his face. Everyone, even the mercenaries, stared in horror as his body convulsed sporadically and inhumanly twitched and Jerked.
Talon V stepped closer to observe, as did Talon IV, who seemed amused by the motions. Athene noticed this and stepped in a wide arc away from the body too Ben and the others.
Talon IV stared with a wide smile, a hand held out as he approached. His hand touched Christine Robin's Shoulder. He stepped to the side, hand running across Christine's chest, and across her breasts to the middle of her Gun bearing arm, and she jerked, Talon IV catching her gun and snatching it away. "You fuckin--"
Three shots rang out, and everyone looked at the Synthetic, who whipped the gun into Christine's chest without so much as turning around. "Jackson Savage, Christine Robin, and Gunnar Sorensen" He began coolly. "Take the body and Dr. Swaneopele to his Laboratory." He Turned, and walked toward the door. "Sebastian Stark, please be a good boy, and Fetch us Dr. Freyja Bennett, would you?" He looked around at the looks on everyone's faces. "Go, go, all of you. We have a lockdown to lift, and there's work to be done here and out there!" HE walked past Athene, bumping the other's shoulder on purpose, a surprisingly human gesture. "Excuse me." He mewled with a smile, eyeing the bloody pad. "Dr Swaneopele, remind me to take a sample of this, Dr. Patil, hand me a glove. She did nothing, and he snapped. "Now!" She did so, her whole body shaking. He snapped it on, and called to Abigail.
"Dr. Sloan, prep the lab, stat. We have two new friends, one of them human!"
Having continued to work, Samayza murmured, Eyes examining the black liquid he had gotten off of the alien armor. "It's... this is an entire colony...!" He was thinking out loud, or he was recording a log, either way, he was speaking out loud, and not to Ankita Patil, who seemed to be asleep on the floor.
"All of these microorganisms--" Samyaza stopped, looked over at the woman. He couldn't help stopping to look at her. She seemed so... beautiful, the soft blue lighting emanating from the floor dressing her in its hues, but also giving light to the radiance that one recognized on all women, but didn't acknowledge unless they wanted something from them. But Samyaza was different, and He needed to acknowledge it now.
The tools in his hands were put on the counter he occupied, and he smiled, crossing his arms. He wanted to walk up to her, to cradle a hand upon her cheek, to kiss the opposite cheek and assure her it would all be okay, but no, that was not the appropriate action, not in this instance. Not at all, really, but with the noises in the hallowed halls, anything was possible, and he liked to think that everyone needed a shoulder to lean on in instances like this.
"Dr. Patil..."
He walked over to her before crouching. and shook her shoulder, licked his lips. A small shake, It did nothing. "Ah, uhm... Ankita...?" She moved after another shake, but it seemed to be a motion to waver him off. "Please wake up..." She wriggled under his touch again, and he sighed, standing up. "Oh, fine. Sleep well, sweet princess." He rolled his eyes, walking back to his workstation to look over the sample, which had... moved. Not the container, but the sample itself. He picked up the container and looked at the sample, curiosity piqued.
"What are you...." He murmured, placing the container in a holder that kept it on its side, however the liquid stayed focused in on the center, a surprising observation. Perhaps it had some adhesive properties?
Electronic zoom, 100%
There was certainly life to it.
Zoom, 500%
There was a lot more life, but it still seemed clumped.
Samyaza Zoomed in until he was just befopre the atomic level, but out enough to see each individual organism pooled together, pulling, pushing, living. it was frightening, but extraordinary. HE took it down, put his eye in basic zoom, and stored the sample in a freezer. before walking around back to the Armor, sitting, undisturbed, on the operating table. He looked at Cabrera's Test results, at the holes in the armor. Melted in. It wasn't consistent with the results of the test, so it was something that was there when it was bought in. Something caused by an alien life form.
He was lost in thought then, thinking about what could have caused the biggest hole, or rather, the multiple small holes that penetrated it. It was so strong, so impervious to human tests, what sort of creature could possibly have--
Light patters like rain on a tin roof, filled the room.
Samyaza's, who was usually so engrossed in his work, attentive of his job and not very aware of his surroundings, caught this little sound, and his head jolted upwards. Could it have been-- No... people saw it on the first floor. Lurking around the laboratories-- the personal quarters. There was another skittering on the floor, and he was... scared. Not so much for himself, but for Ankita. He didn't doubt her, but he was... scared for her safety period. He took several steps toward Ankita, nudged her with his foot until she awoke. "Dr. Patil... Wake up." She stretched, yawned with a gasp, but sat up slowly.
"What is it Dr. Clarke?"
"I don't Know..."
More skittering pattered against the roof and Samyaza reached over for something, anything. His hands picked up a pistol grip syringe, and he wielded it like a weaponized pistol.
Samyaza took hold of the largest needle he could find and placed it on the mouth of the device, set it to extract, and pointed it at the Vent. "Stay here, Dr. Patil." He instructed, the woman standing up with a worried look on her face. She opened her mouth to say something, and a third set of patters trailed above them, prompting Samyaza to spin around and put a finger to his lips, shushing Ankita. The last gasp would be the only sound she would make for the moment.
Another patter, this time in the walls, but still above.
A scratching at the Vent cover.
Samyaza approached, ever so slowly, ever so quiet, and Aimed his... weapon at the vent. Each step he took forward, the scratching got more constant, worse. Truth be told, it scared him to no end what was behind the vent, because he knew, because he could see. he had a good Idea one of them, He or Patil, would not make it out alive. If it came to that, it would be him, He couldn't-- nay, refused to see a single hair on Ankita's body out of place. Lost in his thoughts, Samyaza found himself below the vent. More scratching. In a desperate move, Samyazya heaved the needle into the vent, something between a shriek and a billowing groan shaking the room. He looked around, and gulped, looking at Ankita.
"Call the--"
The creature burst from one of the roof vents, and flew at Samyaza, who dropped the syringe. It screamed another inhuman screech as it clamped to his head, covered his eyes. There was a tightening around his throat, and his eye went out of sync, a sharp proboscis stabbing against his eye. He screamed, grabbed at the bony tail like appendage or tail, staggering around the room. "Get it off! Help me damn it! Please!" He cried, releasing a hand as he gargled and coughed. When his stomach hit the corner of a table, he swung his head down,hitting the creature upon its edge. IT let go and fell off, Samyaza grabbing the armor and throwing it down, producing some sort of a crushing sound. He picked it up again, swung it down, up, down. beat it until it stopped twitching. His face was bloody and bruised, an eye broken and battered like a cracked glass orb.
"Watch it." He bluntly instructed, frowning at Ankita. She walked over, looked at the creature, at the armor. The armor broke. Her eyes widened when it twitched underneath it, and she turned to tell Samyaza, who was limping over to the Intercom.
"Ben I... Its done. I don't know what the hell this thing is, but send the best from your... Calvary down here. Them, and Hendrick, and Talon Four and Talon Five, and anyone else important... And you. Just... come. Now."
