Monsters
Bone Yard - Boros
Mountains of technological refuse may be found here, within one of Boros' many second-hand scrap yards. From old-fashioned electrical scrap to modern Engines, one never knows what treasures may be found within these thick duracrete walls.
The yard itself is expansive in dimension, and separated from its neighbors through the existence of a tall razor-wire topped duracrete barrier. A small sales shack sits near the public entrance, which appears to double as an apartment. A plethora of security cameras keep constant vigil.
If you can't fly with Zid's you might as well be dead!
Grey shakes his head. "No - it ain't jus' a regular fear a doctors. I'm tellin' ya, someone did something to 'er. Unnatural - ungodly. Somethin'..." He quirks his lips and falls silent then, either unwanting or unwilling to say more on the subject matter. "Jus'... Don't push her, aye? Some have good reason to want to avoid doctors. Me, I like doctors fine, as people. I jus' hate bein' in the Med Bay." He pulls a face at Zahara.
He sneaks a sidelong glance at Annika, some inexplicable emotion passing momentarily on his face before being replaced with that expressionless mask he so often wears. His gaze is drawn back up toward the sky, which he checks as though he expects a giant chest of credits to drop down from. "Beautiful day for dealin' with corpses," he notes mildly.
The doctor merely nods. "I gathered as much, Captain; I'll see if I can help as well, as I do have a little training in that sort of thing. I'll do nothing more than is necessary. You know that."
She glances towards the ship and seems to have a bit more cheerfulness than others might. "Oh it is, actually! I'm really hoping to get some more samples and find out what could have caused this to happen. Fascinating, really... I found -nothing- wrong with the blood and tissue samples." She smiles almost gleefully at the challenge.
Sick woman, this. Just sick.
Annika turns to watch Zahara as she speaks, smiling a bit at the woman's reference to her past. Having nothing against them herself, she shrugs as if to say, 'I don't get it either.' In answer, she nods, "I agree." She turns back to Grey, the look in her eyes gone, though those ever present smudges are still beneath them. She grits her jaw when Grey says not to push Wren, not too happy, since that was exactly what she intended to do. She misses Grey's look, since she looked down and then away. She glances back to the ship when he reminds them why they are here. "Who's goin' in besides us?" She lets the other topic rest.
Grey chuckles lightly at Zahara's reaction. "Nothin' at all, yeah?" he asks, fascinated by this whole puzzle in a morbid kind of way. "Grey skin an' red, puffy eyes. Four crewmen dead, no real signs of a struggle or an external agent. My brain hain't seen this much activity since I was struck by lightnin'." He grins broadly, also anticipating the challenge from a broader, less medical perspective. "Should be jus' you, me, an' Jean-Rousseau goin' in," he answers to Annika. "JR's jus' gettin' ready now. He'll be doin' his own thing on board, anyhow. I'll check all the other parts of the ship that I didn't get to las' night, since I only really checked out the Captain's private suite."
Humming an ancient tune, Wren steps out of the cargo bay and peers around at their newest port of call. Her eyes search the yard until they hit upon the knot of people standing on Antoinette's ramp, her tune faltering for just a moment as she takes in everyone's presence. A short war within herself ensues, conflicting emotions dancing across her face until she simply shakes her head and begins to walk in their direction.
Annika gives a nod to Grey, about to ask about the doctor's comment of wanting to get more samples when she hears the humming. Given that the bone yard is so quiet, it has to be a crew mate, and there aren't many other women on the ship. With hard eyes, her face tightening slightly, she turns slowly around to face Wren. She doesn't say anything to greet the woman, just stares for a moment, then turns back to the ship. She asks the question she meant to a moment before, "Should we include the doctor? She seems to be eager to go, as well."
Wren only takes a quick glance at Annika, her eyes skittering away from the woman. Just in time to see everyone else boarding the Antoinette. Faced with the closed hatch and no boarding code, she simply stares at it for a long moment.
Gabriella steps out of the cargo bay of the Invictus onto the lowered boarding ramp, wandering about halfway down before peering around, eyes blinking rapidly to allow them to adjust to the shift in light... Thumbs were hooked through the belt on her bdu's, fingers tapping in random succession on her hips as she finally registers the presence of people, as well as ships. Well, person, anyways. "Good evening." She says towards Wren with a smile as she wanders further down the ramp.
No, staring has not successfully opened the hatch to the ship, and Wren turns away from it with a defeated sigh just as Gabriella is greeting her. "Evenin'," she responds in kind, walking away from the Antoinette. "They're in there," she informs the woman with a jerk of her thumb.
"Ah." Gabriella says as she finally hits the dirt running... Okay, maybe not quite... She meanders towards where Wren stands, and draws to a stop, glancing towards where the girl's digit points. "I had heard rumors that there would be venturing back to the ghost ship." Gabriella comments, leaning to the side as over long fingers dig through the pocket on the side of her knee, coming out with the pack of cigarettes and matchbook, setting about lightning one. "Not going with?" She asks.
"Locked out," Wren answers, making a face. She watches Gabriella as she pulls out the cigarettes and the matchbook, and a thought seems to strike her. "How come you rattle?" she wonders, canting her head to one side.
"I'm sorry?" Gabriella says, her brows furrowing slightly, head cocking to the side, taking a long drag from her cigarette and blowing out a wandering smoke ring.
Wren frowns at Gabriella, staring at her intently. "Sorry is warm and sticky," she states with a shake of her head. "You're not."
"Warm and sticky? Or sorry?" Gabriella asks with an amused grin, flicking the cigarette ash to the side, long nails tapping in rhythm on the filter before drawing the cigarette up and taking another long draw. Her blood red, gold rimmed eyes were studying the girl beside her with mild curiosity.
"Same thing," Wren answers with a shrug. "You rattle. Not all the time, but sometimes... Small things, hidden things," she continues, cocking her head in the opposite direction as if to get a new perspective on things.
"Ah..." Gabriella says, the cigarette changing hands, bending this time towards the left, long fingers digging into the other pocket and coming up with the orange plastic bottle, shaking it back and forth, creating the afore mentioned rattle. "This?" She asks towards the other girl, before slipping it back into her pocket. Her now empty hand raises to run over the jagged and angry scar on her right upper arm, as if in explanation.
Wren nods, watching the little bottle with an odd fascination before it disappears once more. She lifts her own hand in a gesture very similar to Gabrielle's, stretching out to try and run her fingers over the same scar tissue.
Gabriella flinches slightly as the girl's touch slides over her arm, even though she saw it coming, a frown pulling a fraction on the corner of her lips. It was gone before it really had a chance to form, instead, pulling up the cigarette and taking a pull from it before flicking it to the side, her head tilting to let the smoke drift away, watching it for a long moment before turning her attention back towards Wren. "Compound fracture, ripped it wide open." She says with a shrug.
Wren's fingers are warm, their touch delicate as she explores the scar tissue over the healed bone. She doesn't hurry, taking her time until she's satisfied and then she drops her hand back down. "Didn' heal right," she says with a questioning look at Gabriella.
"Like I said, some things can't be fixed." Gabriella says, sighing softly. "It never really goes away." She comments, giving a flash of a fangy smile to the girl.
"Never really goes away," Wren echoes, shaking her head sadly. "It hurts?" she wonders next, wincing a little as she speaks, but watching Gabriella with open curiosity.
"All the time." Gabriella says, shrugging again, letting her garnet hued eyes meanders around the landing pad, staring for a moment into the bone yard behind them. She shakes her head finally, glancing back towards the girl with a smile. "Everybody's got their pains, right?" She asks, digging out yet another cigarette.
Wren nods in agreement with Gabriella. "All the time," she echoes the woman again. "They help?" she asks with a small frown, indicating the pocket where the little bottle was hidden.
The hatchway of the Lady Antoinette clangs twice loudly, like someone's kicking it hard from the other side; then, with a loud KLUNK! It swings open, and out runs Grey, holding a footlocker in his hands. "GET INSIDE THE FUCKING INVICTUS IF YOU DON'T WANT TO EXPLODE!" he screams as he runs by almost comically. "Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!" he yells as he makes a beeline for the farthest wall of technological garbage, also the wall that's not contingent on any form of life outside of it.
A madman bursts out of the Antoinette screaming and shouting-- oh wait, that's her Captain. Wren stares at Grey in mute incomprehension, wide eyes tracking his progress across the yard. "Shit's gross," she murmurs, shaking her head as her attention snags on the one word repeated over and over. "I don't wunna talk about it," she adds in a slightly louder voice.
Gabriella blinks..... and blinks again.... and then her head turns to follow the chaotic path of Grey as he charges for the wall, foot locker in hand.... and blinks again. "Huh." Is her initial response, as if she is having to reprocess the scene that just took place before actually reacting.
The sound of falling metal is heard all around and heat lashes out in a steady stream for thirty seconds from over the wall.
The explosion is not of the variety that Grey was expecting at all. He'd been anticipating a high-yield plastic explosive charge, and bracing himself accordingly; when the footlocker goes off, he's crouched forward against the wall over which he threw the damn thing. But when the pile he's standing on starts to slide, he yells and flails his arms madly; then comes the FLASH. Blinded, all he can remember a second later is the purest white light he's ever seen in his life. Especially since he's wearing his NV/IRs, on Thermal mode. And intense heat is radiating for a full thirty seconds.
Silence stills itself on the Bone Yard moments later. Grey is laying on his back several dozen meters away from where he was bracing himself. Not moving, barely breathing, his leg visibly broken from the position he lays in.
As the explosion and the ensuing concussion, shrapnel and bits of flame occur, Gabriella lets out a rather girlish shriek, throwing her hands up over her face and head. Which is great, really... It keeps her head from being crushed by the heated chunk of metal that flies at her. Instead, it catches the shoulder which, ironically, she had been explaining hurt near all the time from a previous injury, throwing her to the ground with a disturbing crunch. A half a minute or so went by as she tries to remember exactly what breathing was, and how to do it.... Followed by a howl of pain. Quickly encored by a streaming howl of every curse word ever known to exist, in every ethnic dialogue known to man, and possibly a few that weren't...
[100.00 MHZ] Mingo says, "All medical personnel in the vicinity of Boros Spaceport, report for duty. A large earthquake has been reported, and scores are injured."
Annika assists Zahara off the ship, lending the woman a shoulder or arm, as needed. Her gold eyes are troubled, her legs a little shaky. She glances around as they start to head down the ramp, spotting the crew outside.
Metal. Heat. Sound. Wren experiences the world in a way impossible to describe, but her body moves without conscious thought. Dodging flying shrapnel is something she's had actual practice in. Apparently that skill is one that sticks as she rocks with the blast wave and then contorts to avoid the shiny bits racing at her. Dropping to the ground, she crawls her way over to Gabriella once the world is no longer raining metal on her. "Always hurts," she tells the woman, repeating her earlier comment.
Grey is currently laying on his back, his left leg in an extremely awkward and broken position underneath him. If he's breathing, it's damn near imperceptible under his heavy armor; if he's grimacing in pain, it's impossible to tell with that set of NV/IRs covering the upper half of his face. His hand twitches for a moment, then stops. His head rolls lower a little bit, then his whole body comes to rest. The Captain is down.
Annika notices some people are injured and frowns. She looks to the doctor, to see who she wants to go to first.
Zahara, white bandage stark against the blackness of her hair and colouring crimson somewhere in the back, steps down out of the Antoinette and scans those around.
"Damn."
She pushes Annika gently from her and points to Wren and then towards a couple bystanders who also seem lucky enough to be spared. "Gather those who can help. We need some stretchers." She moves to the captain, checks him, then Gabriella. She bends to check the woman's wound and checks her medpac. "Wren." Her voice is gentle but firm. "Please go help Annika by carrying out stretchers and med supplies. I need you to move fast. We're loosing a lot of blood. And Nika? Check on the Reverend for me? I don't see him out here."
Gabriella is still emitting a near constant string of curses in every imaginable language, her face white and drawn beneath her normal light golden hue. She is pinned under a piece of metal that has most likely broken her right arm and/or shoulder, and a pool of blood is forming beneath her. Her eyes are wide with pain, tears glistening in the corners, and she seems not to register the sight of the women around her. Ironically, her fingers continue to twitch as if she was at a keyboard...
Wren blinks at Zahara for several blank moments, pulling her attention away from Gabriella as if it takes a great physical effort. "Help Annika. Move fast," she echoes the doctor's words, rising from her prone position to sprint back toward the ship.
Annika moves to follow Zahara's instructions, having no other skills to help but assist where she can. She moves over to check on Wren, all of her former animosity gone. "You alright?"
Annika frowns as she realizes she's not moving fast enough, spurred on by Wren's words. Giving a nod, she turns to trot for the ship, giving a final glance to the Captain, a look of worry in her face.
You board the Invictus. Invictus - Cargo Bay =>Invictus<=
This is the largest area of the Dragonfly class: a huge, cavernous room nearly the full length of the ship minus the Engine Room. The reinforced metal floor is littered with quick release clamps to easily attach or detach standard cargo containers. The huge cargo ramp is broad enough for the MULE parked on it to head in and out to load cargo. To conserve space, the MULE is usually parked on the ramp, causing it to be halfway outside the ship when it opens, although there's enough space left to park it inside when the ship's bay isn't fully loaded.
Beyond an airtight bulkhead to the aft is the ship's Engine Room. To the front, closer to the ramp, a stairwell leads up to the crew deck; and just beside it is some equipment for the crew to work out and exercise. Apart from that, the cargo bay contains shelves and lockers for the ship's own supply of parts, food and other things, along with any cargo onboard.
Invictus - Crew Commons =>Invictus<=
This is the ship's common room, a place for the crew to relax, eat, and talk. In the middle of the room is a big table with comfortable chairs placed around it. To the port side near the Med Bay's entrance is a simple kitchen beside a basic storage rack for food and drinks. Starboard, the entry to the Crew Quarters can be found, as well as a number of large lockers for the crew's kit storage. To the room's aft are placed some couches opposite to a Cortex terminal and a large screen where currently some sort of gaming console appears to be hooked up. Between the couches, a small table holds some books and other things to read. Finally, to the front near the entrance to the Captain's Quarters, a corkscrew stairway up to the Bridge can be seen.
Alabaster Smith is sprawled on a couch at the moment, limply. From the mess in the common room, it looks as though the explosion really rattled the walls, sent stuff falling or flying, and so on. The table is well out of its usual place, chairs knocked over.
Whether Wren heard the question from Annika is hard to say, but she doesn't seem to respond to it. She races through the ship, intent on 'move fast'. Until she gets to the commons, with all the stuff strewn about, including their resident Preacher. And then she halts, as if uncertain now of what to do.
[Invictus] Zahara says, "Nika? Wren? I just forgot. There's a code for the locker. You'll need it to open it in the medbay. It is "
Annika rushes into the crew commons, calling for the preacher. Spotting him sprawled on a couch, she hurries over and kneels by him. Without touching him, she calls, "Preacher.. Preacher.. Where are you hurt?"
[Invictus] Annika says, "Got it."
Alabaster Smith groans, and winces. "Explosion... table... wall... my back," he manages to grunt out slowly. He tries to sit up, falls, and goes back to slumping painfully.
Wren inches closer to Alabaster, studying him. "No blood," she ascertains, looking to Annika. "Gotta stop bleedin' first," she tells the woman earnestly.
Annika nods with an efficient abruptness and hits the comm again. "Doc. He says the table hit his back. He's on the couch. What should I do?" She glances back to Wren, "Maybe you should take those folks to the med bay and grab supplies. Doc said she needed stretchers." She gestures with her head to a few citizens who followed you both onto the ship.
[Invictus] Annika says, "Doc. He says the table hit his back. He's on the couch. What should I do?"
Alabaster Smith says, with some effort, "Mah skull's plenty thick, Ah don't think Ah have any external injuries, but..." He pauses, skin dead-pale contrasted against his red hair. "Ribs and back hurt something fierce. Like Ah got kicked by a mule."
Wren's face is pale but determined as she wordlessly follows Annika's instructions, her pace slowing notably the closer she gets to the medbay, stunned citizens in tow. And then she disappears inside.
You are entering Invictus - Med Bay. Invictus - Med Bay =>Invictus<=
The ship's Med Bay is a rather small one at first glance, with a Doctor Bed placed ion one side of the room. Beside it on a small table lies prepared instruments still sealed and sterilized, ready for immediate use. The room is painted all white and the cabinets all over the walls are able to hold quite an amount of equipment and pharmaceuticals. There is another small table on the other side of the room with a chair beside it. The most eye-catching thing about the Med Bay is the Cryo-Mender tube of the latest design, attached to wires and the energy systems of the ship. These expensive units are reputed to be able to heal nearly everything. The only exit is an armored door starboard with a small closeable viewport in it, which leads to the Crew Commons.
[Invictus] Zahara says, "<in a brisk authoritative voice> Leave him be. I need you out here now. Gabby's going into shock. I need you to apply pressure to a wound, keep talking to her and hold her in the shock position. We need to move FAST, people! And where are my medsupplies!?"
Annika is really out of her element with the injured. Too used to fighting to survive and letting others patch her up. Mimicking what she's seen others do, she reaches out gingerly to touch Smith's forehead, feeling his temperature. Frowning, she shakes her head, "I'm useless with this, preacher. I'm sorry." She sounds genuinely pained as she clasps one of his hands briefly.
Alabaster Smith offers a brief smile. "Ah heard that com chatter, Nika. Get me..." He thinks. "A bag of ice, or something cold wrapped in a towel, before you go. And a bottle of vodka from the cabinet. And Ah'll be good for a while."
There's a lot of banging and crashing about, as Wren searches for the supplies requested. When she reappears she's carrying a backpack loaded with supplies and humming a very simple tune with almost maniacal intensity. No pause to talk, she's darting back out of the commons on her way out of the ship.
Bone Yard - Boros =>Boros<=
Mountains of technological refuse may be found here, within one of Boros' many second-hand scrap yards. From old-fashioned electrical scrap to modern Engines, one never knows what treasures may be found within these thick duracrete walls.
The yard itself is expansive in dimension, and separated from its neighbors through the existence of a tall razor-wire topped duracrete barrier. A small sales shack sits near the public entrance, which appears to double as an apartment. A plethora of security cameras keep constant vigil.
If you can't fly with Zid's you might as well be dead!
Annika rushes off the ship, not even bothering to answer the doc on her comm. She's got an arm full of bandages, drugs, and hypo needles. Some citizens follow, holding stretchers and various other supplies. "Sorry doc. Tell me what you need?" She says this in a rush even as she jogs up to the woman.
Zahara merely begins to sing softly. It's a pretty enough voice, not fantastic, but pretty enough. It's a soothing tune that she sings, in the Arabic language... Almost gypsy in nature. She stops every line or so, to speak to Gabby. "Gabby. Your name is Gabby... Can you repeat it after me?"
But when the girl begins to dry heave, she starts singing again, and turns the injured girl's head to the side, while lifting her legs about 12 inches above her chest.
She looks back at the girl's face before looking at Nika. "Hold her legs. Check her breathing every five minutes. I want updates if she so much and stops breathing for two seconds." She stands and hands the woman's legs over to the security officer. "Keep talking to her. Ask her questions. Make her think. She's slipping into shock from the low blood flow." She then turns to Wren and gestures her over. "I need you to do something for me, Wren. I need you to hold pressure on Gabby's shoulder and switch out the cloths when they get soaked."
Without missing a beat, she turns and marches towards Grey. "I'm going to treat the captain quickly and move in for Alabaster." She snags a few startled looking but strong young men. "Wait by the Invictus. Now," she commands.
Right on the heels of Annika, Wren is panting and clearly out of breath, but she's somehow managing to hum. It's a very old child's tune, known to most school children. She sets out the various supplies methodically in time to her own humming, ignoring most of the rest of the world.
Annika drops the supplies to the side and drops to her knees, reaching without hesitation to grab Gabriella's legs and keep them held up. She nods to the doctor, her focus on Gabriella, "Got it." Turning to the woman beneath her, she doesn't croon as she calls to her, "Gabriella. Stay with me. You promised me something. You remember..?" She pauses a second, listening to her breathing, then continues, "We need you. You gotta figure this shit out. You're tougher than this. Where'd you grow up girl? Talk to me."
Wren moves back to Gabriella's side at Zahara's gesture, listening to the doctor intently. Even so, it takes a few moments for the words to penetrate before she can follow the woman's orders. Apply the cloth. Apply pressure. Hold. All the while humming at an almost frantic pace.
Gabriella's eyes shift towards the sound of Zahara’s voice, lips forming the silent words with the doctor for a moment or two, gaze still unfocused but her face relaxed slightly as the song filtered in. "Beware of the day whereon Allah will assemble all the messengers and say to them; 'What was the response we received from men who are teaching?' They shall say; 'We have no knowledge, verily you alone are the knower of the unseeen.'" She murmurs, her eyes scanning back and forth. "Gabby..." She whispers hoarsely, groaning as her painfully thin body wracks with a sequence of dry heaves. "Gabriella Mortania... Ident Number A7 dash 019 dash X1054... Born, Ariel City, Ariel.... " She recites, her eyes drifting towards Annika as she takes Zahara's place.
Gabriella blinks rapidly, her fingers pausing in their dance as the new voice registers... "Mary, Mary, dressed in black... silver buttons all down her back..." She says, followed by an oddly hysterical giggle. Her head rolls again to Wren, whimpering as the girl leans down onto her shoulder. "All the time." She says towards Wren, a tear escaping finally. "Never stops."
Zahara drops to the Captain's side and begins to strip him, layer after layer of his armour. She mutters a little. Something about just getting him well. Then she chuckles at the sight of the broken leg. She snaps it back into place and uses the armour to splint it quickly. She seems an old hand at this. "Well, that could have been worse," she murmurs.
She freezes at the sound of Gabby's voice and looks over, saying something to her in Arabic as she passes by. "Nika? Let me know if anything with the captain or Gabby changes. I need to go to Alabaster. Now."
Annika winces as Gabriella goes into dry heaves. Careful not to put too much pressure on the woman's legs, she fills the emptiness as the woman stops speaking. "That's it.. Gabriella Mortania.. born on Ariel. Good. That's right. You can do it. Where's your family? Tell me about your family." She's not really thinking through what she's trying to get out of the woman, just simple stuff that won't take much thought. She nods to the doc, "Will do. Go!"
"............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................"Truly, we belong to God and to Him is our return!'" <Arabic>
Changing the soaked cloth out for another one, Wren nods to Gabby, eyes unfocused and glassy as she works. "...five, six, the needle pricks..." she chants to the injured woman, continuing with, "Seven, Eight, medicate..." her voice fades back into its humming again.
A tear slips from her eyes at the passage spoken to her by Zahara, her face turning away from the woman. "..................................................................................................." She whispers. <Arabic>
"There is no family any more. All gone. Erased, forgotten." Gabriella manages to croak towards Annika, her head still turned away from the women hovering over her, pain of all kinds written upon her features. "Deleted file. Corrupted data.... No!" She shouts suddenly, violently spasming as if to try and pull free from Annika and Wren.
Annika winces. Ok. Obviously the wrong track to take. When she feels Gabriella try to jerk free, she wraps both arms around the woman's legs and holds her tightly in place, straining with the effort. Grimacing over at Wren, she shakes her head, "Gorrammit. I don't do injuries!" Focusing back on Gabriella, she says, "Gabby.. Gabby.. you were searching the files for Lady Antoinette.. what'd you find? Tell me what the code was doing.. You wrote a code to search for something. What were you looking for? We need your help!"
Wren hangs on grimly to Gabriella, practically shouting back to her, "Nine, ten, under skin!" She's stronger than she looks, or maybe just more determined, moving with the woman's motions to force the cloth to remain in place. "Eleven, twelve, they will delve!" she continues through a rictus smile.
Gabriella lets out a pained whimper as the two pin her into place, struggling against them for a moment before falling back, collapsing back with a shudder. "Percent carrot backslash hg one seven colon f twenty one w-e-l-l-i-n-g-t-o-n at parenthesis dot dot carrot ellipses close." Sure. It sounds like gibberish to them, but who knows, it might actually mean something to the poor woman with the multiple broken bones bleeding out in agonizing pain. She better be getting a bonus for all her trouble... "Havermathy. Puzzle piece number 29, unknown." She murmurs.
Annika nods encouragingly to Gabriella, though the woman isn't looking at her, "That's good. Tell me more. Tell me what the code says.. tell me the data bits." A fine sheet of sweat makes her skin glisten, a bit of fatigue starting to set in after so long.
The words fade back once more to humming as Gabriella quiets again, and Wren can change the cloth for yet another one. Blood has smeared across her forehead and down one side of her neck, and her hands are slick with it.
"Data files.... Access... Access Wellington: Financial Records... Sealed, encrypted, unknown algorithm. Can't find the door, they locked it and threw away the key... Hid it where I can't go. Hide and seek..." Her eyes close for a moment, her breathing dropping shallow for a half a minute or two before her eyes snap open, latching onto the two hovering over her, teeth gnashing in pain. Her hand twitches, sliding through the blood-muddied dirt towards her pocket, tugging at the snap and finally finding what she is looking for. Clumsy fingers manage to pop open the lid to the orange bottle, but drop it a moment after, the small blue pills spilling out into the dirt. Her head raises and angles towards where the contents lie, a look of betrayal evident on her face. "Gorram it all to hell and back." She mutters, her head falling back, lacking the energy to hold it up any longer.
Annika frowns as she watches Gabriella fumble for her pills, really seeing them for the first time. Glancing over to Wren, then back to the pills, she balances her grip on the woman in one hand and reaches down to pick up the bottle. She raises the label up to read it.
[Invictus] Zahara says, "Nika. I'm sending two people down to you. I want Gabby loaded up, legs still elevated... Do a log roll to get her on the stretcher. That is, keep her neck, head, and spine in line when you move her. I want her brought upstairs and set on one of the medical beds. NOT the one with the cryomender. The First mate has broken his back and I'll need that one for him. Copy?"
[Invictus] Annika says, "Copy that, doctor."
Wren knows exactly what Gabriella wants, and unlike Annika, is not interested in reading labels. Instead, she reaches across the woman's body, maintaining pressure with one hand, and scoops up a few of the small, blue pills. Bringing them up to her own mouth, she blows across them as they lay in her palm, dislodging at least a bit of the dirt they collected. Then she presses one of them to Gabby's lips, offering it wordlessly.
Annika just frowns at Wren, but says nothing as she moves to help the woman. She resumes the task she was given and continues to trying to keep the woman alert, "Wellington.. encrypted.. someone hid it.. but you're good.. you can find it.. You just have to think it out. Think it OUT Gabby. How do you find him?"
Gabriella's lips part just slightly to accept the offering by Wren, a grateful look given in her general direction as she dry swallows the pill, letting her head fall back once more, eyes closing. "There's no back door." She says towards Annika, shaking her head slightly. "Too many lines, knots all tangled up in a row, one after the other." She breathes, "Can't find the tail without the key." Gabriella lets out a soft whimper, another tear escaping as another wave of pain sends a shiver through her body. "No key. No road. No way home."
A pair of healthy young men walks out of the ship, boots thumping against the boarding ramp as they carry the stretcher for Gabby out with them. Positioning themselves at opposite ends, they look to Annika and Wren to roll the injured woman onto it. Wren merely returns their gaze with the same unfocused, glassy eyed stare she's maintained this entire time. Disconcerted, they change their tactic to simply looking at Annika expectantly.
[Invictus] Zahara says, "<a little brusque, but like as not busy more than mean> Status of Gabby, Nika. Report?"
Annika frowns, actually listening to Gabriella as much as she's trying to keep her conscious. Sighing, she looks up as the men exit the ship, gesturing to them with a wave. She slowly lets go of Gabriella's legs and lays them out so the men can role her onto the stretcher, "Be careful." Turning to Wren, she gestures, "Come on, let's follow them on board."
[Invictus] Annika says, "We're on our way doc. Gabriella had a bit of a seizure, but nothing we couldn't handle. She's been talking."
Take me back to Wren's RP Logs
