Re: The Phenomenal Fracas! (GBS2G6): [Round Three: HMS Thunderhead]
03-15-2011, 04:53 AM
Originally posted on MSPA by Anomaly.
Even for Eureka, the cloth mage seemed to be acting rather strangely. Her usual acrid demeanor had given way to bewilderment, and she seemed unusually wary about the environment in general. Asking strange questions about perfectly ordinary things, carefully examining just about everything around her... It just wasn't normal. Perhaps it was the large piece of the Malevolence's tentacle stuck in her abdomen. Could it have retained any odd effects that the main body caused? It seemed unlikely, but then again, no more unlikely than anything else that had happened so far. The internal damage from the appendage didn't look too bad, all things considered, but then again, it didn't really take much to kill a human. Surely there was an infirmary somewhere in this... where were they, anyway? It occurred to Syvex that those "gentlemen" had never actually explained exactly where the round was set. It also occurred to Syvex that he had completely ignored his surroundings for a couple of minutes while Eureka's questioning grew increasingly agitated.
"...Hmm?"
"I said, are you even listening?"
"I guess I wasn't. ...Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"I'm fine. Really. Just great." She cautiously brushed her hand against a door, and immediately pulled it back.
"Something wrong?"
"No. I just said, I'm fine. Stop worrying about me."
"Fine, except for that tentacle in your stomach."
Eureka gave Syvex a very suspicious glance. "How do you know about that?"
Syvex held up the bottle, shifted now to the middle hand on his right side. "I don't know what it is, but I think it's the same stuff that gave me all that power back in that tower. Except a liquid, somehow. So basically, I know it's there because I can see it. Let's just get you some medical attention."
"I... but... fine." It was fairly (and disappointingly) apparent that she didn't fully trust Syvex, not that she ever really had. But she did have a fairly large chunk of eldritch abomination lodged in her, with the probable internal bleeding that entailed. Reluctantly, she trudged behind the serpent as he hastily slithered through the labyrinthine hallways of the upper decks.
"Sir. Security breaches on decks 26, 2, -3, and -34, as well as maintenance catwalk 45-C. Several injuries reported, one fatality. Possible security breach on deck -49 as well."
"Elaborate, Mr. Gallagher. How severe are these breaches?"
"Deck 26, passenger quarters 2638. Robert Cunningham, First Class passenger, reports that upon entering his room, he discovered that someone had gone through his luggage. On further investigation, he discovered an unidentified intruder taking a shower in his quarters. Unidentified intruder, strangely, spoke in a pirate-like accent. Mr. Cunningham fled the scene.
"Deck 2, security station Alpha. Security guard Alexander Dupont was assaulted by an unknown assailant, and his weapon was stolen. Dupont was taken to the infirmary and is now in critical condition. Odds of survival 50% at best.
"Deck -3, crew quarters. Lieutenant Fournier returned to his quarters after his duty shift ended, and discovered an unidentified man unconscious in his bed. Upon addressing the man, he immediately jumped up, glanced around the room quickly, and fled through the door. Fournier reports the man was of average height and average build, wearing a blue shirt and an orange jacket. He was additionally wearing a purple scarf and black boots. He had medium-length brown hair, but Lieutenant Fournier didn't get a good look at his face. Had a strange device strapped to his back. Also of note is the fact that the air vent cover had been forcefully ripped from the ceiling and the lights in the room had all exploded. Cause unknown.
"Deck -34, passenger quarters -3490. Adam Hoffman, Third Class passenger, was discovered dead outside of his quarters. Quite clearly a murder, but the murder weapon is unknown. Clean entry and exit, wounds cauterized shut immediately. Died of internal burns. Couldn't be connected with deck two assault - happened around the same time.
"Deck -49, suspicious person sighted. Extremely pale, wearing tattered robes of some sort. Mouth appeared to be stitched shut. General feeling of uneasiness in all who he passed near, though he paid them no heed.
"Maintenance catwalk 45-C. Maintenance crew member James Anderson discovered an 'asocial woman', around mid-20s in age. Woman appeared inordinately dirty, likely a third-class passenger. He began to lead her through deck 45 hallway C-5, but was shortly attacked by an unknown assailant. Mr. Anderson reported that the assailant "wasn't human". On further prompting, he described it as a large, snake-like being. 'Too many' arms, covered in spikes, no eyes, big mouth full of sharp teeth, constantly smiling. Capable of speech, associated with unidentified woman."
"Hold on. You're saying that Mr. Anderson was attacked by a giant talking snake? Is this a joke?"
Mr. Gallagher paused as his communicator earpiece sounded. His face grew more serious as the voice on the other end, inaudible to the captain, gave its report. A few moments later, Gallagher turned back to the captain.
"Another report has come in of an eyeless, snake-like creature traveling with a dirty-looking woman. Showed no hostile intent to passenger, however."
"...Find it. Subdue it. You said it's capable of speech?"
"Yes, sir. James Anderson reported it talked to unknown woman for some time before leaving the catwalk. It also tried to talk down the other passenger it encountered, but she was more concerned with running."
"Bring it to security. Question it. If it's intelligent we should try to learn what the hell this thing is before we just kill it."
"Yes, sir. Security teams have been dispatched to all affected decks. I'll keep you updated."
Captain TIberius Reed of the H.M.S. Thunderhead sighed. They'd come this far, and now this happens? Something wasn't adding up at all.
"...Um, hi. ....Do you happen to know where the infirmary is?"
The woman continued to gaze in silent, paralyzed fear, afraid for her life but unable to react.
"...I'm not going to kill you. Just relax, and tell me wh-"
The woman suddenly let out a deafening scream and sprinted down the hallway in a frenzied panic. Syvex hadn't previously considered the ramifications of having a very hard-to-disguise monstrous appearance in a place packed with civilians who weren't used to such things. He probably wasn't going to get much help finding his way around, in any case. Almost immediately, however, Syvex heard a familiar giggling sound from up ahead, accompanied by the same quickly-disappearing silhouette.
"Did you see that?"
"See what?"
"Well, did you at least hear something?"
"...No. Are you feeling okay?"
"...Nevermind. Let's just keep going."
Syvex pointedly headed toward the silhouette once more, and, unsurprisingly, found no traces of it. No traces, that is, except for the map stuck to the wall with a large dagger. Unable to read more than a few choice words, he carefully removed the poster-sized map from the wall and handed it to Eureka. As the large wording across the top indicated, it was a map of the interior of the "H.M.S. Thunderhead", no doubt this round's locale.
The ship was arranged in a plain and orderly fashion - there were 101 decks, numbered from -50 to 50. Deck zero contained important command rooms, such as the bridge. Decks -5 through 5 were crew quarters and other important ship functions, such as security and the infirmary. Decks -25 though -6 and decks 6 through 25 were second class, lined with cabins and various entertainment centers. Decks 26-50 were first class, while decks -26 through -50 were third class. In the center of the ship from the top to the bottom was a massive open area, lined with various bridges as well as a magnificent plaza on deck 6. Five lifts surrounded the perimeter of the open area, and ten more were situated around the outside of the zeppelin. Finally, below deck -50, there was a massive observation deck, located where one would normally find the cabin of a standard zeppelin.
Eureka folded up the map and shoved it in a pocket. The two headed off again, this time toward the lifts instead of at complete random. For a few minutes they thankfully encountered no more passengers of the ship, even as they came to "LIFT 5C", as the large sign proclaimed. Syvex moved forward to activate the lift, stopping in his tracks when he heard a loud CLICK from some distance behind, its source shrouded in light.
"Security. Don't move if you want to live."
Even for Eureka, the cloth mage seemed to be acting rather strangely. Her usual acrid demeanor had given way to bewilderment, and she seemed unusually wary about the environment in general. Asking strange questions about perfectly ordinary things, carefully examining just about everything around her... It just wasn't normal. Perhaps it was the large piece of the Malevolence's tentacle stuck in her abdomen. Could it have retained any odd effects that the main body caused? It seemed unlikely, but then again, no more unlikely than anything else that had happened so far. The internal damage from the appendage didn't look too bad, all things considered, but then again, it didn't really take much to kill a human. Surely there was an infirmary somewhere in this... where were they, anyway? It occurred to Syvex that those "gentlemen" had never actually explained exactly where the round was set. It also occurred to Syvex that he had completely ignored his surroundings for a couple of minutes while Eureka's questioning grew increasingly agitated.
"...Hmm?"
"I said, are you even listening?"
"I guess I wasn't. ...Are you sure you're feeling alright?"
"I'm fine. Really. Just great." She cautiously brushed her hand against a door, and immediately pulled it back.
"Something wrong?"
"No. I just said, I'm fine. Stop worrying about me."
"Fine, except for that tentacle in your stomach."
Eureka gave Syvex a very suspicious glance. "How do you know about that?"
Syvex held up the bottle, shifted now to the middle hand on his right side. "I don't know what it is, but I think it's the same stuff that gave me all that power back in that tower. Except a liquid, somehow. So basically, I know it's there because I can see it. Let's just get you some medical attention."
"I... but... fine." It was fairly (and disappointingly) apparent that she didn't fully trust Syvex, not that she ever really had. But she did have a fairly large chunk of eldritch abomination lodged in her, with the probable internal bleeding that entailed. Reluctantly, she trudged behind the serpent as he hastily slithered through the labyrinthine hallways of the upper decks.
- - - - - - - - - -
Captain Tiberius Reed of the H.M.S. Thunderhead sat back in his luxurious captain's chair, situated in the center of the space-zeppelin's bridge. Various personnel bustled about around him, completing their tasks with due diligence. The captain's attention, however, was focused fully on the large viewscreen at the forefront of the circular room, intently watching the ship's slow progress through the depths of space. A scant two hours remained before they would finally complete their voyage; just two hours until Captain Reed would receive personal accolades from the Empress herself. The voyage so far had been quite uneventful - no major malfunctions in critical power systems, no inexplicable deep-space anomalies that required the application of meaningless technical-sounding jargon to bypass - a perfectly routine trip. Tiberius Reed, contented, relaxed and silently awaited the triumphant return of the H.M.S. Thunderhead. Silently, until his bliss was interrupted by the ship's head of security."Sir. Security breaches on decks 26, 2, -3, and -34, as well as maintenance catwalk 45-C. Several injuries reported, one fatality. Possible security breach on deck -49 as well."
"Elaborate, Mr. Gallagher. How severe are these breaches?"
"Deck 26, passenger quarters 2638. Robert Cunningham, First Class passenger, reports that upon entering his room, he discovered that someone had gone through his luggage. On further investigation, he discovered an unidentified intruder taking a shower in his quarters. Unidentified intruder, strangely, spoke in a pirate-like accent. Mr. Cunningham fled the scene.
"Deck 2, security station Alpha. Security guard Alexander Dupont was assaulted by an unknown assailant, and his weapon was stolen. Dupont was taken to the infirmary and is now in critical condition. Odds of survival 50% at best.
"Deck -3, crew quarters. Lieutenant Fournier returned to his quarters after his duty shift ended, and discovered an unidentified man unconscious in his bed. Upon addressing the man, he immediately jumped up, glanced around the room quickly, and fled through the door. Fournier reports the man was of average height and average build, wearing a blue shirt and an orange jacket. He was additionally wearing a purple scarf and black boots. He had medium-length brown hair, but Lieutenant Fournier didn't get a good look at his face. Had a strange device strapped to his back. Also of note is the fact that the air vent cover had been forcefully ripped from the ceiling and the lights in the room had all exploded. Cause unknown.
"Deck -34, passenger quarters -3490. Adam Hoffman, Third Class passenger, was discovered dead outside of his quarters. Quite clearly a murder, but the murder weapon is unknown. Clean entry and exit, wounds cauterized shut immediately. Died of internal burns. Couldn't be connected with deck two assault - happened around the same time.
"Deck -49, suspicious person sighted. Extremely pale, wearing tattered robes of some sort. Mouth appeared to be stitched shut. General feeling of uneasiness in all who he passed near, though he paid them no heed.
"Maintenance catwalk 45-C. Maintenance crew member James Anderson discovered an 'asocial woman', around mid-20s in age. Woman appeared inordinately dirty, likely a third-class passenger. He began to lead her through deck 45 hallway C-5, but was shortly attacked by an unknown assailant. Mr. Anderson reported that the assailant "wasn't human". On further prompting, he described it as a large, snake-like being. 'Too many' arms, covered in spikes, no eyes, big mouth full of sharp teeth, constantly smiling. Capable of speech, associated with unidentified woman."
"Hold on. You're saying that Mr. Anderson was attacked by a giant talking snake? Is this a joke?"
Mr. Gallagher paused as his communicator earpiece sounded. His face grew more serious as the voice on the other end, inaudible to the captain, gave its report. A few moments later, Gallagher turned back to the captain.
"Another report has come in of an eyeless, snake-like creature traveling with a dirty-looking woman. Showed no hostile intent to passenger, however."
"...Find it. Subdue it. You said it's capable of speech?"
"Yes, sir. James Anderson reported it talked to unknown woman for some time before leaving the catwalk. It also tried to talk down the other passenger it encountered, but she was more concerned with running."
"Bring it to security. Question it. If it's intelligent we should try to learn what the hell this thing is before we just kill it."
"Yes, sir. Security teams have been dispatched to all affected decks. I'll keep you updated."
Captain TIberius Reed of the H.M.S. Thunderhead sighed. They'd come this far, and now this happens? Something wasn't adding up at all.
- - - - - - - - - -
Syvex and Eureka, in spite of their almost random wandering, failed to run into anyone for several minutes after the incident on the catwalk. Corridors branched off from other corridors in several directions, occasionally leading back out onto larger bridges in the massive open area. Eureka continued to act strangely, prodding at harmless inanimate objects and glancing at Syvex suspiciously every so often. Idle chatter proved useless as long as Eureka was in this state, so the serpent instead elected to remain quiet. After turning yet another corner in the many hallways of cabins, however, Syvex almost ran directly into a middle-aged woman who was facing the other direction. She immediately turned around and opened her mouth as if to scold some common miscreant, but froze at the sight of a twelve-foot, spike-covered shadow snake. Her eyes grew wide with fear, and her heart started beating noticeably faster, but she failed to actually move."...Um, hi. ....Do you happen to know where the infirmary is?"
The woman continued to gaze in silent, paralyzed fear, afraid for her life but unable to react.
"...I'm not going to kill you. Just relax, and tell me wh-"
The woman suddenly let out a deafening scream and sprinted down the hallway in a frenzied panic. Syvex hadn't previously considered the ramifications of having a very hard-to-disguise monstrous appearance in a place packed with civilians who weren't used to such things. He probably wasn't going to get much help finding his way around, in any case. Almost immediately, however, Syvex heard a familiar giggling sound from up ahead, accompanied by the same quickly-disappearing silhouette.
"Did you see that?"
"See what?"
"Well, did you at least hear something?"
"...No. Are you feeling okay?"
"...Nevermind. Let's just keep going."
Syvex pointedly headed toward the silhouette once more, and, unsurprisingly, found no traces of it. No traces, that is, except for the map stuck to the wall with a large dagger. Unable to read more than a few choice words, he carefully removed the poster-sized map from the wall and handed it to Eureka. As the large wording across the top indicated, it was a map of the interior of the "H.M.S. Thunderhead", no doubt this round's locale.
The ship was arranged in a plain and orderly fashion - there were 101 decks, numbered from -50 to 50. Deck zero contained important command rooms, such as the bridge. Decks -5 through 5 were crew quarters and other important ship functions, such as security and the infirmary. Decks -25 though -6 and decks 6 through 25 were second class, lined with cabins and various entertainment centers. Decks 26-50 were first class, while decks -26 through -50 were third class. In the center of the ship from the top to the bottom was a massive open area, lined with various bridges as well as a magnificent plaza on deck 6. Five lifts surrounded the perimeter of the open area, and ten more were situated around the outside of the zeppelin. Finally, below deck -50, there was a massive observation deck, located where one would normally find the cabin of a standard zeppelin.
Eureka folded up the map and shoved it in a pocket. The two headed off again, this time toward the lifts instead of at complete random. For a few minutes they thankfully encountered no more passengers of the ship, even as they came to "LIFT 5C", as the large sign proclaimed. Syvex moved forward to activate the lift, stopping in his tracks when he heard a loud CLICK from some distance behind, its source shrouded in light.
"Security. Don't move if you want to live."