Event | Satellite | Spectres!

[ironwood]

Characters: Any and all!
Date: May 23 - 26, 2013
Location: Keeliai, turtleside, ARSHEPHELIOS cluster remains
Situation: Repairs and salvage operations operating innocently have triggered an invasion of spectres that possess and wreak havoc upon all they see.
Warnings/Rating: Please put CW in your subject lines

Satellite Crash Event

Crash Landing | Salvage Party | Shocking Spectres


Questions | Keeliai | ARSHEPHELIOS


Salvage is sweet, but not all is well on board the ARSHEPHELIOS cluster. The seamless cylinders salvaged from debris and the cluster, now being frequently traded, turn out to be pods the first time one is penetrated or cracked open. Each breached pod releases a flood of energy-based apparitions hellbent on world domination -- or, more accurately, person domination (and it's not the fun kind).

These apparitions -- spectres, if you will -- are driven by a need to protect the technology of the satellite cluster that their pods are associated with. They will stop at nothing to see this through. Each is immune to physical attacks, but seem to be injured or dissipated entirely by things like electrical shock or other energy-based projections. If people touch them, there is also a brief window of vulnerability, but it acts also like a door that swings both way. Through contact, these spectres can and will invade one's psyche, take over their body and cause them to attack friend or foe alike! Should the possessed body be subjected to sufficient electrical shock, the possession should fade. Strong natural will can also drive the spectres out, but it is no walk in the park to do so. Possession is not the only tool in the arsenal, for these spectres use electricity as their main offensive weapon. They'll leave deep-tissue burns on anyone they fight, and show no degree of fatigue after constant use of it.

Ten thousand of these creatures will be freed from pods, resulting in a veritable flood of Keeliai, the turtleside, and the satellite cluster. With such a driven enemy, it comes down to killing or being killed.

Meanwhile, those taking shelter indoors may notice that the spectres will get into the biomechanical functions of Keeliai. Consoles will be malfunctioning during this time, with lines of mysterious code and strange, ghostly images. One might hear people screaming for help or hours of patchy radio static.

Comments

[jirk]

[He closes his fingers over his palms reflexively, and shoots her a terse smile.]

I'm fine, we'll worry about it later. That explosion's bound to bring more of those things, okay? Let's get to the roof.

[refusing]

[Knowing he's right, she shoots him a look that says they'll be talking about this shortly, and turns to climb up the ladder that leads to the next level of walkway. She frequently glances back at him to make sure he's doing okay, but doesn't stop moving until she's hoisted herself up and onto the roof. Once again, she helps pull him up and get on his feet.]

Even if you don't need to sit, I've got to soon. I dunno how much longer I can keep going.

[And with that, she's jogging over to the other side of the roof, to see just how far away the next building is. It's a decent distance away, but not an impossible leap. She's conquered worse odds than this before, this should be no problem at all.]

[jirk]

[Jim just bolts past her and makes the jump without even thinking about it, hits the roof on the other side in a roll and comes up only a little worse for wear. Out of immediate danger as they are, it's hard for him to maintain the manic energy of before. Still, he shakes his head and goes back to stand near the edge of the roof.]

Come on, I've got you.

[He has faith in her ability to make it, but just in case, he's ready to catch her hand.]

[refusing]

[She backs up, and tries to ignore the fact it feels like she's running on empty. She can do this, she can. With that thought in mind she takes off at a run and leaps. She's not as well trained as he is, though, and so she doesn't quite make it as easily as he does.

Limbs flail, and her arms reach out, her hand grabs hold of his. She hits the edge of the roof with an oomph, and uses her hold on him in order move her legs so that she can push the rest of the way up. Slamming against the edge hurt her ankle a bit, and so as she moves to stand she stumbles and falls up against him, heart pounding.]

Never done that before.

[She breathes out as she leans back a bit, looking up at him. They made it, they're okay. She can't help but give a laugh of near disbelief at the fact.]

[jirk]

[He wraps an arm around her and just holds her for a moment. He's tired too, but with everything he knows about her, he's betting she could use the contact. Jim knows when he's somebody's shoulder to lean on.]

You did great, I never would've guessed.

[refusing]

[She just smiles at that, and gives herself a moment to catch her breath before pulling away, looking for a way down inside the building. They're lucky enough that there's rooftop access, a little door not all that far off. With a now sore ankle she does a cross between a jog and a hop, and makes her way on over, waving for him to follow.]

Think you can spare a few hours? Not that I'm giving you a choice or anything. You're resting, and I'm fixing you up best I can.

[jirk]

[He catches up to her, and slots himself against her side, one arm around her waist so she doesn't have to hobble quite so much.]

Let's worry about that once we get you set up somewhere safe, all right?

[refusing]

[She doesn't like that he needs to help her, when she's the one that's supposed to be patching him up. But she accepts the fact that they'll have to lean on each other, and so she puts a little of her weight into things, giving him something to lean up against as well.]

Oh no you don't. No making this all about me. We're both getting set up someplace.

[She insists, just in case he has any other ideas. As they work their way down and into the building, her eyes look all around them. It doesn't look residential, maybe a business or office or something.]

[jirk]

[He guides her to a chair.]

One step at a time. Let's get your weight off that ankle.

[refusing]

[She's too tired to argue against sitting, so she does, but she fixes him with a stern look.]

I'm fine, honest. It's just a bit sore, it'll be good as new in no time. Your hands are worse off.

[jirk]

[He rummages through the office for something resembling a first aid kit, finds one and cracks it open on the desk. There's got to be some sort of medieval med unit he can use in here.

He comes up with... a rolled up, vaguely elastic, archaic-looking bandage that seems to be about the right length, and so he kneels down in front of her.]

Unless you're hiding a dermal regenerator somewhere handy, there isn't much you can do about burns.

[He slides her shoe off, follows it with the sock and starts with the simple bandaging. It's a good thing there's mandatory first aid classes for everyone, regardless of the track they're on back at the Academy.]

[refusing]

[Her cheeks puff up as she huffs a bit, frustrated that he didn't listen to her. But she's too tired to put up as much of a fight as she normally would, and so she just watches him as he gets to work wrapping her ankle. It's not long before she's slouched down in the chair, head leaning back a bit.]

Back in one of the places the Doctor took me, there were these things called Nanogenes. They looked just like little lights, yeah? But they were little robots, and they could get right on down in you and fix everything back to normal. Kind of wish we had some of 'em here right now.

[She leaves out the part about nanogenes being responsible for people mutating into gas mask zombies, because that's kind of a horrific story that isn't very comforting.]

[jirk]

What, seriously? I think that'd be kind of creepy, actually.

[He finishes, tapes off the bandage, and sits back on his haunches.]

Not too tight?

[refusing]

Funny you say that, 'cause it kind of did get a bit creepy when they decided to fix all the living people to be more like a little dead boy in a gas mask. Thought he was what humans were supposed t'be like.

[She frowns, shaking her head in response to his question. It's not too tight, and she knows her ankle will be fine in a day or two. And now that he's helped her out, she turns the tables on him.]

Your turn. Don't argue, either, I don't wanna hear it.

[jirk]

See? Creepy.

[The med-kit doesn't have any hypos (he checked) so he actually considers his escape routes.

He's pretty sure he could outrun her in her current state, but despite everything, Jim's never been stupid. He knows if he keeps going like he has been, he'll crash and burn. And while there's people in danger, that's something he can't afford. So he hops up on the desk beside her chair and leans forward so his elbows are on his knees and his hands are held out towards her.

It's nice to have a moment to breathe, and-- honestly, it's nice to have someone who's willing to argue him into his place. She's like what would happen if Bones and Uhura got spliced into the same body or something.]

Do your worst. There's saline in the kit.

[refusing]

My worst? You're gonna get a slap, you are. [She laughs, but that's cut short as she scoots in to examine his hands. They're in pretty bad shape, burned and blistered, him having been using them to climb and shoot and pull her up onto roofs.]

I'm gonna do my best. I mean, I'm not a professional or anything. But I'm not hopeless.

[She rambles a bit out of nervousness, and pulls the first aid kit into her lap so she can dig through it. She knows they need running water, it's always what her mum used to treat burns when she was growing up. But they're not near a sink, so there's the saline. And some antibiotic gel, that's good. And gauze, his hands are going to need covering.

As gently as she possibly can, she takes hold of his left hand and gets to work cleaning out all the popped blisters and dirtied burns with the saline. Making sure her hold on his hand is delicate but firm, she tries to prevent any flinching away that may happen.]

[jirk]

[Cheekily,]

Is that a promise?

[About the slap, he means. He's too tired to really flirt, but it's reflexive, like breathing or blinking, and it just rolls off his tongue without much conscious thought.

When he twitches away from pain, it's usually for the benefit of an audience. Or because Bones is heavy-handed with his hyposprays. Even now that he's coming down off the adrenaline, the pain's there, but he's not really focused on it. He's felt worse, and he wiggles his fingers a bit.]

You keep this up and I'll sign you on as my personal nurse.

[That, actually, is genuine encouragement. You're doing great, I'm fine all at once.]

[refusing]

Yeah? Lucky for you, I've got a great bedside manner.

[It's a joke meant to lighten the mood, not even thought of as an innuendo, and she glances down at him to make brief eye contact along with a lopsided smile. But she needs to focus on her work, so she looks back down, and moves on to cleaning off his other hand as best as possible.

The antibacterial gel is taken out next, a few little packets that are easily opened and doused across every single burn and open blister. She doesn't rub it in at all, just makes sure it's on there, and goes right into wrapping his hand in the gauze. She makes sure it's nice and loose, so the wounds have plenty of breathing room.]

[jirk]

[And he just lapses into an easy, comfortable silence while she works. The longer he's still, the more the exhaustion of the past few days is catching up with him. If he doesn't start moving again soon, he'll pass out on his feet.]

Thanks, Rose.

[It's a quiet statement. Perfectly genuine.]

[refusing]

You'd do the same for me. Guess you kinda did, actually.

[She shrugs it off, concentrating on finishing up the wrapping. It doesn't take longer than another minute or so, and then she's setting the medical kit aside in order to fall back against her chair. Her eyes look around the area, and she moves on to the next step.]

I'm thinking we should go ahead and find a place to collapse, just for a bit. Find a wall, lean up against it, side by side?

[Every time she's had to sleep in awkward places with the Doctor, that's the preferred method of being able to get comfortable without sprawling out on the floor. Human pillows are surprisingly useful. Without hesitating, she moves to stand up, holding out her hand to him.]

[jirk]

[He gestures to the interior glass door out into the main room of the office, and takes her hand, mindful of her bandages.

They'll probably come off again as soon as he's outside, because he can't afford to be fumbling his phaser, but for now he'll leave it alone, and appreciate her efforts.]

There's a couch out there.

[refusing]

A couch. Fancy that, something going right.

[She laughs in delight, giving a dreamy sigh. She makes sure to take hold of his wrist and not his hand, fingers lightly curling around the area as she drags him along after her. It's mechanical by this point in her life, you have adventures, you take the hand of the person you're running with and make sure you both get through it all alive.

The second she's within range, she flops over to lay on the couch. She's never been so grateful to see a piece of boring office furniture in her entire life.]

[jirk]

[Jim smiles at her, pulls the blanket off the back of the couch and drapes it over her, and then settles on the floor in front of the couch, sitting upright with his back to it. He hasn't tried to disentangle his hand at all.]

Are you always this good at roping people into doing what you want?

[Gentle teasing. There's something about the way she's been holding herself that tells him she's in pain, even if she won't come right out and say it. Something's wrong, and that is Not Okay in the world of Jim Kirk. So he does what he can. And if that means sitting here and getting a couple hours of sleep beside her, he will.]

[refusing]

Sorry, am I not supposed to do things like that?

[She retorts, a way of saying that yep, she's used to generally getting her way. It's one of her talents. She keeps her light hold on his wrist, thumb moving up and down his pulse point idly. It's a good way of reassuring herself that he's alive, she helped him, and everything's going to be okay. Her eyes slide closed and she smiles, not sleeping yet but just glad to be able to finally relax someplace safe.]

[jirk]

[He half-turns a little to knock the banter back into her court, but at the sight of her closed eyes - she's not sleeping yet, he can tell by her breathing - he falls silent. She needs her rest, and he--

Well, hell. He could probably use some too. Just a few hours. He tips his head back against her hip and closes his eyes, too.]