Since the beginning of the flight, Martin has spent most of his time on his post. He was such a kind of person that prefers to do something too many times than not enough. All in all, in space nothing can be 100% sure. He was checking the CCTV system, when he saw a terrible scene.
-Oh my... Craver on board... Craver on board!!-he shouted. That was an unexpected situation, even though he remembered that there is a Craver on the ship. He was called Decius, or something like that. Everybody were informed that he is disconnected from his swarm, so he isn't dangerous. But if the connection returned...
-Security, this is Martin Ladderman-Corvus!-he shouted to the communicator-I have a crazy Craver on my CCTV image from the life support room, and I suppose something should be done right now!-
When he said this, he saw that there is more people in the room. Laudamas and... Valorum
-Captain is in danger?-Martin whispered to himself-I should be there-he added
Then, he took out his favorite weapon, a one-handed plasma lancer, and ran to the life support room.
Just as Laudmas was about to celebrate the sweet success of reviving an unconscious and possibly murderous alien being, the intercom rang up. Although he had lowered the volume after the Captain's order (which caused the intercom to went back to static), the voice was erratic and demanding. The robot assumed this to be a emergency and quickly turned the volume to its normal loudness.
It was Ylona once again. "Ylona to Shields!" said the Vaulter; Laudmas wondered how much she was under the influence. He supposed a bit of humor could prove to be beneficial at a time like this but as Ylona fully finished her message, the robot was quite surfluxed. The only word he could have thought of at the time was marvelous.
Just as the message was finished, another voice from the intercom rang up. It was a young voice and it sounded even more panicked than Ylona.
"Security, this is Martin Ladderman-Corvus! I have a crazy Craver on my CCTV image from the life support room, and I suppose something should be done right now!"
The robot was quite flabbergasted. All that he could have thought of was to step back, gaze confoundly at the Craver, and hold on to a handrail for support. As if instinct took over, he took his other hand and dragged it over his face. It resembled a gesture that some may say, a face-palm.
He then remembered the Craver that was awoken. Recalling basic medical procedures, he asked some questions to Decius, hoping that nothing severe has happened.
"Welcome back to society, what is your name?" - The robot gave some time for the Craver to answer. He then hold out his 6 metallic fingers on his free hand.
"How many fingers do you see?" Laudmas paused once again for the Craver and then asked one last question.
As Laudmas entered and saw the scene before him, Valorum was kneeling beside Decius, trying to get a hint of what had happened. Lacking any first-aid skills, his efforts were mostly fruitless, so he immediately stepped away from the Craver when the ship's doctor arrived. Hearing his question, Valorum clasps both hands behind his back and replies clearly:
"Of course I didn't do this. See for yourself; there are no incisions anywhere on him. He knocked himself out after a brief series of spasms. If I had to guess, it was his attempt to stop a malnutrition induced rage."
By the time Decius returns to consciousness, Valorum is using his communicator and contacting the Saviour's galley, the conversation going something like this:
"Steward Vid Kwas here."
"Sister Kwas, Captain Valorum speaking. Remember what you told me an hour ago? About what you can do with protein rations?"
"Uh...oh yeah! I mean, it takes some work and it's not as good as a good-ol'-fashioned steak, but I've done it before. Why?"
"Can you cook something like that up for our gunner, Decius? He hasn't been eating well for the last few days."
"Oh, the Craver...yeah, I can make him somethin' like that. Give me ten minutes."
"Thank you. Valorum out."
Valorum hangs up, but remains standing behind Laudmas, watching as the doctor worked with the reawakened Decius. Hearing hurried footfalls coming from down the hall, Valorum looks up in that direction and prepares for whoever is rushing to see this, hoping against hope that it wasn't the rest of the security detail armed to the teeth and looking for an excuse to shoot.
"Hello," says Decius to Laudmas. "I am Decius, born of fire and war, tamed through passion and pain." After a pause he adds: "I believe you are holding up six digits. In regards to what happened, I appear to have suffered a breakdown of my willpower and enacted a pacification protocol to stop myself from causing immediate harm to the crew. If you would like to know, the measure was completed 3.75993 seconds before I would have started destroying crew members. Thanks to the tactful hesitancy of our captain to destroy me before I became a threat, I have miraculously survived."
Valorum stands at the doorway, a crimson air of command standing to attention around him. Footsteps sound down the hall, and their urgent beat tells him of their intent. Checking the planted tags only confirms his suspicions. Someone had raised the alarm. Whoever it was, they must have access to the feeds inside of the life support chamber, or be him constantly. The Craver would find this person soon enough.
"There are three men converging on our position from the corridor," Decius says to the stout Vodyani guarding the door. "Two with armor piercing rifles and one with a clearing shotgun. They should stand down at your command, but they will not fall to reason if they catch sight of me, Valorum. I would advise that you shut the door."
((Don't worry, IT guy. I haven't counted you in my combatant analysis check (paragraph 3). Those were just the guys I tagged from security who have come to help you, and I cant see you because of the engine's interference. Good reaction to the situation, though.))
The robot still stood firm, he had plenty of experiences with people and other unworldly beings waking up from unconsciousness and tearing up the living.
"Do you feel any pain?" The robot asked to the Craver slowly and smoothly.
Laudmas than slowly closed towards Decius and asked him "Now if you don't mind, could you stand up or do you need assistance?"
He then faced his Captain, "So I see. But how come you two were alone with each other?"
And just before the Captain closed the door, he nodded to the Captain and went outside, hoping to dissuade anybody from coming in.
Decius looks the hard faced doctor straight in the eyes, his nearly bottomless pits searching deep within the Robot's soul. "I always feel the pain of living. It does not subside."
The Craver assesses his legs, and then slides two of his hands underneath him. Pushing himself upwards his limbs unfold beneath him; still weak from the euphoria shot he teeters slightly to one side or the other before finally regaining his balance.
"I think I can stand up myself. Thank you for your assistance, Doctor."
While he was still running, Martin loaded the lancer. Of course, the energetic weapon didn't need bullets, but energy. Two nanocarbon batteries contained enough powe to keep the plasma generator working throughout 4 hours, or 4 shots. After activating the generator, plasma started to gather in the barrel. When trigger was pressed, it was fired out in kind of electromagnetic jacket in order to explode after hit with the power of hand grenade.
When Martin reached doors of the life support room, he stopped, hearing. A quiet buzzing of generator mixed with the sounds from the room. There were three different voices, so it looked like Decius returned to consciousness. Despite that, Martin still kept his finger on the trigger. As soon as he heard guards' footsteps, he entered the room. Well, in fact he tried to enter, because then he saw Valorum standing just upon him.
-Oh, captain... I hope everything is fine...-he said, trying to hide the weapon-What has just happened there?-
((Thanks for info and for your opinion. By the way, do Cravers know, what the ,,soul'' is?))
When Corvus and the rest of the Saviour's security detail come barrelling around the corner, weapons-ready, they see Valorum standing outside of the Life-Support room door, looking in their direction. Ensuring that Stormbreaker is sheathed and secured as they all approach, Valorum steps forward and holds out a hand as a sign for them to stop, saying:
"Please stand down. There's no danger to the crew. Decius has just had something of an anxiety attack and Laudmas is tending to him now."
One of the other soldiers, a younger-looking Pilgrim man named ChidiTehiki, was bouncing on his heels from the mention of a Craver on board, eyeing Decius over Valorum's shoulder as he insists:
"We should restrain it. Leaving it free and mobile in that state is dangerous! It could hurt the crew!"
Valorum's gaze shifted to the cadet as he calmly replied:
"So could all of you. This Craver is also a part of our crew. He's the Saviour's Gunner, and his name is Decius. Have you not seen him aboard before now?"
The engineer sighed as she lit another cigarette on the bridge, watching the strange yellow cloud through the canopy. Her watches felt like they were getting longer as the flight went on so, naturally, she'd started bending the rules as anyone with her background would.
She'd only just settled back in her seat when Ylona's message came through. Without a thought, Alice's fingers began to dance on her holographic controls. Switching the autopilot off was easy, but the shields...the shields would be an issue. Inhaling deeply from her cig, she activated a shipwide broadcast to deliver the bad news.
"I've done as you've asked, but the ship can't slow down fast enough. I'm going to attempt a high energy turn. Everybody hold onto something. This won't be pretty."
Her fingers working once again, Alice cut the portside rear thrusters, shunting their power into the manoeuvring jets. She could feel the ship groaning under the strain as it began to turn away from the anomaly, the effect echoed by physical pain throughout her body thanks to her ability...
"What?!", Ylona screamed into the communicator, "Don't turn! You'll tear the ship in half! Worse, you'll throw us off course." She turned her speedy jog into a high-speed sprint, hoping to reach the bridge before Alice attempted this insane maneuver. She was about halfway when she felt the telltale pulling of an acceleration overcoming the inertial dampening. Constantly cursing, she kept dashing forward, bumping into walls and failing to turn in time at corners. This wasn't what she'd been expected to be doing right now, and being drunk on top of it just made it worse.
"Stop, shit, stop!", she ordered when entering the bridge, waving her arms around wildly, "What do you think you got us with that stunt? A few milidegrees? You can't 'turn around' at these speeds like it's some kind of orbit hopper! We are pulling 200 cees! I have the conn." Sitting down in her chair, Ylona quickly locked the helm controls and then took a breath before more calmly explaining: "We didn't need to slow down. We're hitting the fringes of the cloud, I'd guess pressures of ten to minus eight. We can punch a plasma path through there, but if we don't have shields, our hull will be scratched. Yes, we will lose speed on that, which is why I need the autopilot off, otherwise it will fry the core trying to keep up, but it is not going to burn up the ship, unlike what you just tried."
"Don't forget who you're talking to," Alice replied, "I know this ship. I built her core and most of the power systems. The Saviour would've handled that turn fine even at this speed with only some temporary gravity issues. I was planning to swing us around the most dense parts of the cloud, but if you want to punch through leave the power systems to me. I'll get us through."
Valorum and the mob of soldiers he's calming down feel the sudden lurch of the ship and all of them stumble. The captain himself magnetizes his feet and remains standing with the help of that and his glaive. Looking around at the hallway in bewilderment, he activates his communicator and calls the bridge:
"Valorum to bridge, requesting a status update. What in the name of creation just happened up there??"
"I just heard—", Ylona began, but stopped when Valorum's message arrived. She quickly answered: "Small course correction, over now, and there won't be more. I hope you all held on as ordered."
Then, something else managed to get her conscious mind's attention in the by now rather badly hurting head of hers, so she added: "Is security on their way to this Craver problem? How did one manage to stow away on this ship, anyway? They're huge, and they eat a lot. Its not like the extra mouth could be guessed away as Laudmas' squid thing being extra hungry." She shuddered, hoping that the little ball of goo was safely locked away. Dealing with that thing on top of all this would put her over the edge.
"Now with that dealt with", she turned back to Alice, "I just heard a bulkhead creak. So the turning isn't as harmless as you say, at least not on system's you didn't design. And then there's the thing where after you managed to get our course turned by the five degrees or so we need to go around the cloud, we'd be shooting off into dark space at 200. Managing to hit a star is not easy, and trying to get us back on track to Tanye would require either another ship-breaking turn or constant thrust over days, and can add several weeks to the journey. There's a reason why nobody ever turns a ship around mid-travel. This is why."
Her mouth felt dry after that speech, and she was pretty sure that she'd let her emotions get the better of her, but right now Ylona did not feel well enough to be polite. She'd expected a quiet time off with a bit of stargazing, followed by a nap. Now there were two emergencies happening, and she was drunk.
-I suppose that we are all safe at the moment, of course if nothing bad happens with the ship-Martin replied, looking with a bit of mistrust on the floor. He still didn't caught balance after that ,,high energy turn''
-Anyway, everything is OK now, isn't it?-he asked, looking at Valorum with a question on face-Thus, restraining is an exaggeration, but I agree that Decius should be under observation for, let's say, two weeks, so that we can be sure that he isn't dangerous anymore-
Although Laudmas tried his best to keep up with the captain, Valorum was much faster and reached the door before the robot. As Laudmas tried to catch up to the Captain, the ship suddenly shook and the poor robot (given how graceful he was) promptly flew all the way back to the Craver and almost smashed into the creature. Fortunately for Decius, Laudmas instead collided with the wall head-first, narrowly missing the Craver. Unfortunately for Laudmas, the impact was tremendously hard and it left a mark on the wall and on the visor of the robot.
Although the collision was impressive, the material that Laudmas made up of was even more impressive. A dent on the visor yes, but none of the inter-mechanics inside him were affected. As the robot got up, instinct took over and he rubbed his head. Laudmas balanced himself using a help of a metal pipe connected to the wall. "You alright?" he asked to the Craver.
Valorum facepalms and shakes his head when Ylona asks her question:
"It's Decius. You met him; the Craver you reprimanded for ripping a bed out of the barracks before we took off?"
Valorum now realised why alcohol was a limited or banned substance under Vodyani law; it was messing with Ylona's ability to think and perform. Valorum wasn't about to reprimand her, though, because he had more matters to attend to. Looking back to Corvus, he said with a terse edge in his voice:
"Your caution is appreciated, Brother Corvus, but Decius is already under enough scrutiny as it is. The fact that the whole security detail and the head of IT responded to this little incident is proof of that. What he needs is some breathing room...and actual food."
Using his communicator again, Valorum contacted the galley, asking:
"Stewardess Kwas, how are things coming along down there?"
"Not too bad. Send down the hungry guy and I think he'll be surprised."
Turning back to the life-support room, Valorum re-enters and asks the two occupants:
"Are you both okay? That turn didn't break anything, did it?"
"No, but I think I left a lasting memory on the wall." The robot chuckled when he said that.
Laudmas hoped that the Craver won't pass out again. There were plenty of medical items left but it would be a much better idea to conserve them. Plus, there were sure to be side-effects and he doubt the procedure will work the second time?
The robot stroked his visor. There were no bumps, dents, or scratches and he was grateful for that. After all, he has only one body and he had no more to spare.
"What happened? Was Ylona showing her expertise in the fine arts of collision?" Laudmas asked to his Captain, holding the urge to laugh. "To be frank, she's very impressive on that part."
He then remembered his medical items and promptly rummaged through his pockets. Fortunately, they were all secured and contained.
"I am nominal," The Craver replies to Laudmaus as he lets down his arms from the ceiling. Brace positions become especially easy when you are as tall as the ceiling.
"I am not damaged, Captain. I believe that the equipment is still functional, but I would recommend that we run a diagnostic on the pumps. Will someone radio for an engineer? Most of the crew cannot survive without enough oxygen."
Valorum nodded his approval, but his core flickered again and he stumbled momentarily. Sighing, he compacted and sheathed his glaive, reached for his 'belt' and demagnetized two things; the Dust ration he had obtained earlier, and a small, black sphere composed of many small triangular faces. Touching the former to the latter, the golden substance seemingly drained into the sphere, lighting up several of the triangular faces with its same gold colour as Valorum said:
"So long as you're both well. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see just what happened on the bridge. Decius, unless Laudmas needs to perform any secondary tests, make your way to the galley immediately. Stewardess Kwas has cooked something up for you that should fit your appetite better than your usual paltry rations, and neither of us will be taking 'no' for an answer; you've pushed yourself hard enough and this meal should tide the worst of your appetite over until we make it to Tanye. Here, return this to the stewardess when you get there and tell her I sent you."
Valorum then tossed the now-empty glass Dust container to Decius before turning to leave, stopping only a short pace from the doorway and adding:
Mithrill
Timer Lord
Mithrill
Timer Lord
21 200g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Mithrill?
Are you sure you want to block Mithrill ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Mithrill ?
UnblockCancelZennock
Meat Officer
Do you know that spiders blow up when they explode?
Zennock
Meat Officer
27 900g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Zennock?
Are you sure you want to block Zennock ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Zennock ?
UnblockCancelStormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
The best stories aren't the ones you read; they're the ones you live yourself.
StormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
29 300g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report StormAngel?
Are you sure you want to block StormAngel ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock StormAngel ?
UnblockCancelNibot
Sanitary Lord
You can call me Mr. Clean
Nibot
Sanitary Lord
21 700g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Nibot?
Are you sure you want to block Nibot ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Nibot ?
UnblockCancelZennock
Meat Officer
Do you know that spiders blow up when they explode?
Zennock
Meat Officer
27 900g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Zennock?
Are you sure you want to block Zennock ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Zennock ?
UnblockCancelNibot
Sanitary Lord
You can call me Mr. Clean
Nibot
Sanitary Lord
21 700g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Nibot?
Are you sure you want to block Nibot ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Nibot ?
UnblockCancelMithrill
Timer Lord
Mithrill
Timer Lord
21 200g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Mithrill?
Are you sure you want to block Mithrill ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Mithrill ?
UnblockCancelStormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
The best stories aren't the ones you read; they're the ones you live yourself.
StormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
29 300g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report StormAngel?
Are you sure you want to block StormAngel ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock StormAngel ?
UnblockCancelMokinokaro
Addict
"The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long."
Mokinokaro
Addict
39 500g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Mokinokaro?
Are you sure you want to block Mokinokaro ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Mokinokaro ?
UnblockCancelAlien@System
Oddity
Good puns aren't told, they're perpetrated.
Alien@System
Oddity
20 700g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Alien@System?
Are you sure you want to block Alien@System ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Alien@System ?
UnblockCancelMokinokaro
Addict
"The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long."
Mokinokaro
Addict
39 500g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Mokinokaro?
Are you sure you want to block Mokinokaro ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Mokinokaro ?
UnblockCancelStormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
The best stories aren't the ones you read; they're the ones you live yourself.
StormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
29 300g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report StormAngel?
Are you sure you want to block StormAngel ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock StormAngel ?
UnblockCancelAlien@System
Oddity
Good puns aren't told, they're perpetrated.
Alien@System
Oddity
20 700g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Alien@System?
Are you sure you want to block Alien@System ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Alien@System ?
UnblockCancelMithrill
Timer Lord
Mithrill
Timer Lord
21 200g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Mithrill?
Are you sure you want to block Mithrill ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Mithrill ?
UnblockCancelZennock
Meat Officer
Do you know that spiders blow up when they explode?
Zennock
Meat Officer
27 900g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Zennock?
Are you sure you want to block Zennock ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Zennock ?
UnblockCancelStormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
The best stories aren't the ones you read; they're the ones you live yourself.
StormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
29 300g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report StormAngel?
Are you sure you want to block StormAngel ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock StormAngel ?
UnblockCancelZennock
Meat Officer
Do you know that spiders blow up when they explode?
Zennock
Meat Officer
27 900g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Zennock?
Are you sure you want to block Zennock ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Zennock ?
UnblockCancelNibot
Sanitary Lord
You can call me Mr. Clean
Nibot
Sanitary Lord
21 700g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Nibot?
Are you sure you want to block Nibot ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Nibot ?
UnblockCancelStormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
The best stories aren't the ones you read; they're the ones you live yourself.
StormAngel
Vodyani Contributor
29 300g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report StormAngel?
Are you sure you want to block StormAngel ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock StormAngel ?
UnblockCancelNibot
Sanitary Lord
You can call me Mr. Clean
Nibot
Sanitary Lord
21 700g2g ptsReport comment
Why do you report Nibot?
Are you sure you want to block Nibot ?
BlockCancelAre you sure you want to unblock Nibot ?
UnblockCancel