The Gorgon Syndrome

*Arriving on board the ultra-dreadnought, there was no crew to greet them. Signs of battle were seen all over the hanger and the various pelicans and sabers archangel fighter-bombers were knocked off their supports and lay in various states of destruction across the hanger. There was atmosphere still on the ship but stale due to a very low level emergency life support system. The lights were off and it was completely dark which was strange as emergency lighting should have come on in the event of a power outage. If the Heraklean team turned their lights on they would have seen lots of dried blood all over the hanger but no bodies. There were also weapons scattered about as well but no one to man them. A computer inside the hanger would tell the team that the Ultra-dreadnoughts Eezo core was damaged and put into stand by mode to prevent a meltdown. The computer confirmed that the fungal virus was onboard and had infected the crew. The infected than began fighting the survivors thus causing the internal damage to the ship. The computer then started a readout of surviving systems.

Reactor...............Damaged, Stand-by Mode
Propulsion..............Offline
Sensors.................Offline
Weapons Systems...Offline
Communications.....Online
AI Core.................Purged
Database...............Partially Destroyed
Weapons Load out...FOABs Depleted, MAC Gun load: 95%, Particle Cannon: Removed for Maintenance, Docked Escort Destroyers: Unknown

*the computer finished its readout and executed its last orders before the ship fell. It sent out a burst transmission with the ships last actions before being overrun by the infected so that any allied ship could hear (The coded burst transmission from my last post). The computer then sat idle.*

(OOC: I do plan of having survivors on this ship and having more to the story on the ultra-dreadnought if you want to continue)

*bump*

(OOC: I believe we're waiting for Heraklea)

OOC: Sorry, lots of work and apartment hunting. Will update when I get the chance.

The entire crew was extremely leery of the HIS* personnel who had taken over their ship. The SSS** platoon was bad enough to many of them, especially the marines, but the head of the intelligence mission that brought their ship to the Gorgon system was even worse. The severe man who had simply introduced himself as 'Charity' seemed to have absolutely no regard for military courtesy and protocols. He didn't wear any rank indication, typical of the HIS, and he appeared to be completely unaware that it was still the captain's ship, regardless of the mission it was currently on. Said captain worked hard to keep her face neutral while simultaneously trying to will 'Charity' to keel over and die with her unfortunately ungifted with psionic ability brain.

“Captain, Stheno probe confirms presence of Gorgon fungus on the planets surface.”

“Are you certain?” asked Captain Fatimah Rawya.

“Yes ma'am.” Fatima looked at 'Charity.'

“You don't seem surprised by this development.”

“Fungus spores can survive for centuries, and it was believed that the fugal outbreak originated underground. Given that, I'm not at all surprised that the nuclear strikes didn't burn all of the fungus.”

“That seems like the sort of thought that one might share with a ship's commanding officer.” 'Charity' shrugged.

“Perhaps.” Fatima began considering all the ways a man could be killed in an intentional accident on board a star ship as 'Charity' walked over to a sensor suite control station. “Begin your ground penetrating scans at these coordinates on the surface.”

“Uh... yes sir,” replied the sensor tech while giving the captain a quick uncomfortable look over his shoulder. She waved him backed to his console and the sensor tech turned back to his station. For the next two hours 'Charity' observed the sensor tech work and periodically giving him directions. “What the... Captain, mister Charity sir? I have a void, looks like a tunnel of some kind. Half-meter in width, circular and straight down.”

“Natural cave?” asked the captain as the holographic projection of the tunnel was built.

“No,” said 'Charity.' “It's perfectly cylindrical and goes straight down. It was made intentionally.” He activated his comm unit as he left the command deck. “Boats Watch, Charity. Prep the drop of the excavation platforms.”

* * * * *

Fatima's comm chirping awoke her from he sleep.

“Sorry to disturb you ma'am, but you requested to be woken if their was any update on 'Charity's' project. There has been. He's bringing something up from the surface.” That sent the jolt of adrenaline needed to fully snap her out of the stupor of waking up. Fatima quickly threw on her uniform and almost ran down to the boat bay. She intercepted him exiting the boat bay with a large container guarded by SSS team.

“What the hell did you just bring on my ship?” she demanded.

“Relax, Captain. There is no trace of the fungus in the crate.”

“That's not the point. As the captain of this ship, I am responsible for the safety of it and the crew. You have no right to bring anything on board that has even the potential to put us at risk without my express approval, regardless of the mandate you have Kirburg.”

“Of course. The omission is entirely my fault. Please accept my apology. I will give you a more full briefing once the artifact has been placed in a secure compartment.”

“What the hell do you mean 'artifact?'”

* * * * *

“Aggression,” said the psyker. “The kind you would expect from Gorgon Syndrome sufferers.”

“Understood,” replied the subcommander in charge of the company. “Inform the flag.”

“Inform flag, aye.” Several minutes passed. “Response from flag: Acknowledged, proceed with caution.”

“Right. You heard the man. We're going in.” The cutters continued into the boat bay on board the El Dorado.

“Scans confirm presence of Gorgon fungus on board.”

“Understood. Flashers lead.” The cutter doors opened and several boxes slid out into the bay. High energy gamma radiation flooded the bay, burning away all traces of the fungus in the boat bay. When the sensors could no longer detect any of it, the marines advanced into the ultra-dreadnaught.

*HIS: Heraklean Intelligence Service – responsible for intelligence and counter-intelligence operations of the Heraklean government
**SSS: State Security Service – part of the HIS which provides combat and security teams for HIS facilities and operations, including special forces teams for black operations

(OOC: Pass)

(OOC: Same.)

“I must say I wasn't expecting this.”  Grand Admiral Kirrin raised his eyebrow.

“Is it possible that unflappable Roger Dvorak has finally been flapped?”

“No sir.  But Charity's report is quite clear.  This artifact seems to be some sort of container, suggesting the fungus was introduced to Stheno intentionally by some outside actor that is currently unknown.  The design doesn't match any known society, not even the few extra-galactric ones we're aware of.”

“Perfect.”

“Sir, I recommend we inform our friends about this development.”

“Yes, you're right.  But we should use your channels, not the diplomatic ones.  I want this information contained to the maximum extent possible for the time being.  There's no sense in creating public panics over the matter.  And send an intelligence mission to every world that has been contaminated.”

“Will do, sir.”

* * * * *

Lieutenant Commander Jeffery Kirrin deMontaigne was officially attached to the Heraklean embassy on Chiron as a cultural attache.  That was a formality that was purely intended for public consumption.  His true purpose, as the senior personnel of the diplomatic mission and persons high up in the Centauri government and intelligence community were well aware, was to act as a direct conduit for the passage of information between the HIS and the Centauri government.  Typically, he would receive messages of a supremely sensitive nature from the Centauri government, but as was often the case for him, no day was ever the same.

Jeffery called his “good friend” who worked as a staffer in Brother Lal's offices, asking her if she'd be free for a lunch-date, promising to cook his “'galaxy famous' peanut sauce, tofu-chicken vegetable stir fry, which I know you love,” an offer that quickly earned him a yes.  A few hours later, having been delayed by a visit to his bedroom, the staffer made her way back to work in possession of a number of eyes-only documents for Brother Lal.  Jeffery leaned back in his chair as he sipped some of his favorite liquor.  Many of his co-parts probably got their messages through much more efficiently, but probably nowhere near as enjoyable.

* * * * *

Lieutenant Henry 'Mechanic' Deacon didn't much like the operation, even if the approach ordered by the company commander minimized the risk to his people.  Compartment by compartment may be slow and boring as hell but 'Mechanic' didn't mind that if it meant being safe.

“Infected,” said Senior Chief Joan 'of Arc' Michaels, as they approached the next door.

“All right people, you heard the lady.  Alpha, prone, Bravo, knees, Charlie, stand, Delta and Echo, rear-guard, Foxtrot, reserve.  Take stations, stand by to pop the cork.”

“Foxtrot, standing by.”

“Delta, standing by.”

“Charlie, standing by.”

“Echo, standing by.”

“Bravo, standing by.”

“Alpha, standing by.”

“All squads standing by, popping the cork.”  'Mechanic' triggered the doors, revealing a compartment full of infected crewman.  The infected, which had been moving further into the compartment, turned at the sound of the door opening and, upon seeing the marines, began rushing them.  The marines, in turn, opened fire.  Three squads were lined along the door and their heavy rate of fire dropped the infected like flies.  With the infected in the immediate vicinity dead, the marines heard gunfire from farther in the compartment.

“I've never heard of infected using guns,” said one marine.

“Survivors!” yelled 'Mechanic.  “We're moving up!”  He triggered his comm.  “Headquarters, Third Platoon.  Possible survivors, moving to investigate, no time to secure our path.”  He barely heard the reply as the marines took off in a run towards the gun fire.  Rounding the corner, they found a mass of infected attempting to break into another compartment.  “Light 'em up!”  The marines opened fire and began ripping apart the infected.  The marines moved forward in a line, laying down fire that killed the infected in droves.  With the last of the infected in the immediate down, 'Mechanic' turned into the compartment and got a look at his survivors.  “Corpsman!”

As Lal was looking at the latest analyses from the economic expert systems concerning the effects of the Gorgon Strain on the Centauri and galactic economies, he was interrupted by the ringing of a virtual doorbell.

Without looking up, he said, "Come in."

Soon enough, his staffer, Talent Nicola Hansen arrived, carrying a bundle of rather severely-stamped documents, which she placed deferentially on Brother Lal's desk.

"New intel from the Herakleans, sir."

With the slightest trace of a smile on his face, Brother Lal replied, "And through the 'usual' channels, of course?"

"Well, you know I can't resist a good home-cooked meal, sir..."

Chuckling, Brother Lal waved his hands as if to dismiss the issues, "I kid, I kid. What happens between you two is none of my business, as long as it doesn't impede my business. Just don't get too attached with him, Talent Hansen. You know as well as I that attachment, especially to foreigners like him, is dangerous."

Bowing her head, and exiting the room, she said quietly, "Of course, sir."

Brother Lal then began to inspect the documents for himself. Apparently, the fungus had been introduced to the planet of its alleged origin by some kind of artifact or container, which matched no societies known by the Herakleans (or as far as Lal could tell from a casual glance any known by the Centauri). The development, while not completely unexpected, was nevertheless quite worrying, in that the disease could in theory be spread from anywhere, not just from the previously infected sectors. Still, in a vacuum, it was not sufficient impetus to a complete change of course.

Then again, nothing ever happens in a vacuum.

As he was about to turn his attention to other matters, the viewscreen urgently flashed red, signifying an incoming alert, and Lal briefly experienced a flash of precognition. No, he thought. It can't be now.

Security Alert:

There was of course only one possible course of action: he quickly issued an order to the Planetary Defense Force declaring a complete closure of the Centauri sphere of influence to unauthorized vessels, and immediate deployment of every fleet save the Scheherazade Fleet to do so. Special focus was given on protecting the region around the newly-acquired Tosev: Brother Lal was not keen on this newly assimilated and highly fragile population being threatened. Finally, as he dictated a message to his Heraklean counterpart, he prepared several sensitive documents regarding the spread of the Gorgon Syndrome to the Centauri sphere, its expected results, and what the Governate was prepared to do to combat it.

***

[HEAVILY ENCRYPTED]

To: Grand Admiral Adelei Kirrin, Chief of State of Heraklea
From: Brother Pravin Lal, Planetary Governor of Alpha Centauri

Given recent developments, the Governate has decided to fully commit its resources to combat the spread of the Gorgon Syndrome. Our military forces and our researchers are fully at your disposal. Further details will be communicated through more secure channels.

Cordially,
Brother Pravin Lal

***

In the midst of filling out paperwork, Talent Hansen heard in her ear, "Talent Hansen, you are needed in my office."

With a faint gulp, she replied, "Yes sir."

Quickly, she entered his office, where she found Lal pacing, with a bundle of duraplast documents in his hands. Upon seeing her, Lal said, "Bring these documents to Lieutenant Commander deMontaigne. I will have no distractions: this is an urgent assignment. Understood?"

"Yes sir. Understood."

With that, Talent Hansen quickly made her way through the labyrinthine corridors of UN Headquarters, not even stopping to glance at her fellow staffers. She made her way to the Heraklean embassy's entrance, and briefly calmed herself before entering. Walking past the receptionist, who gave her a knowing wink, she made her way to Jeffery's office, one that she was all too familiar with. After knocking on the door, she quickly made her way in the moment it was opened, without even the slightest pause. Her demeanor was rather changed from their last encounter: rather than warm and flirtatious, she was cold and businesslike. "Jeffery, much as I wish I wasn't here on official business, I am. Lal has these documents for you, and " - she broke into a wistful smile - "I have a doubt that we'll see each other much in the next few days. I don't know what's going on, but I can't imagine it's any good."

Very quickly she pecked him on the cheek before excusing herself with a quiet, "Good-bye," and she made her way back to the office as quickly as she had come.

*As the Heraklean troops rounded the corner two figures were at the end of the hallway. One was wearing what appeared to be an unusual mixture of standard Paladin armor and the Eezo infused W-2 light stealth armor worn by the Black Dwarf infiltrator (see N7 Slayer for image). The figure wearing the unusual armor was holding an infected Ordenreich soldier seemingly in mid-air. The unusual soldier tilted his head slightly in the Heraklean's direction before turning his attention back to the the infected soldier. He pushed his hand forward and the infected was launched into the bulkhead leaving a large dent in it along with a large blood smear, the sound of many cracking bones and shattered armor could be heard as well. Lots of snarls could be heard coming from the opposite end of the hallway and the unknown soldier turned to face the 30 or so infected bearing down on him. The soldier did an acrobatic flip and sliced his katana in the air sending out a large biotic shockwave that hit all the infected with the force of a speeding train killing them. After he was done he turned his attention back the Heraklean soldiers. He stared at them from behind his helmet before disappearing and appearing seemingly out of nowhere right in front of the Heraklean force, pointing his katana at the closet Heraklean soldier, the point of the sword half an inch from his neck. The soldier finally spoke.*

Soldier: Heraklean... this is a Z-88 Katana blade, its been laser sharpened to cut through 15 inches of solid Titanium-A and is infused with Element Zero so that a single cut is as lethal as ground zero radiation. It will make that fancy of armor of yours look like tissue paper. Explain your presence on board this ship or defend yourself.

TO: BROTHER PRAVIN LAL, PLANETARY GOVERNOR OF ALPHA CENTAURI
CC: ACADEMICIAN PROKHOR ZAKHAROV, LEADER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PLANET
FROM: HIGH ADMIRAL SHIRO KESTER, CHIEF OF THE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SERVICE

WE REQUEST RESEARCHERS WHO SPECIALIZE IN EXOTIC FUNGAL DISEASES AND GENETICS BE SENT TO A BLACK RESEARCH SITE WHERE OUR GORGON CURE RESEARCH IS HEADQUARTERED.  AN SRS COURIER IS EN ROUTE TO CARRY THE RESEARCHERS TO THE SITE.

* * * * *

“Stand down soldier,” said 'Mechanic.'  “We're here to help.  Holliday!  In here, now!”  HM1 Johnathon 'Doc Holliday' Hanks came running forward.  “He needs to check you for infection.  It's non-invasive.”  The corpsman moved up and carefully held the detector up to the infiltrator.

“Sonovabitch.  He's positive, sir.”  He turned back to the Ordenreicher.  “I need a blood sample.  It's so we can have a cure ready to go as soon as possible after we evac you.”

“Dammit,” said 'Mechanic.'  “This is important.  How long has it been since you've been exposed?”

“Exposed to what?”

“Gorgon fungus.  Have you been bitten?  Scratched?”

“Does it look like I can be bitten or scratched?”

“Then it must have been inhaled,” said 'Doc Holliday.'  “When did you last breath unfiltered air?”

“It's been a few weeks.”

“Weeks?” said 'Mechanic.'  “That's impossible.  You'd be showing symptoms.”

“Of what?”

“Gorgon Syndrome,” said 'Doc Holliday.'  “It doesn't make sense.  Hold on.”  He sweeped him with the detector a second time.  “It's in his lymphatic and nervous systems, but it's not doing anything.  The only place where it's remotely active is the lungs.  He's exhaling spores, but that's all.  It's like he's immune to Gorgon.”

“Immune?  Is that even possible?” asked 'Mechanic.'

“Theoretically.  Hell, it's possible there were people who were immune before but we just couldn't find them.”

“Is there away to replicate the effect in others?”

“Maybe.”

“That does it.  New priority is getting them off safely.”  'Mechanic' turned back to the infiltrator.  “Listen.  Gorgon is an existential threat to all humans, possibly all intelligent life.  There's a facility where our best experts on Gorgon have been trying to figure out a way to end the threat it poses.  You might be the key to that.  Will you let us take you there?  Will you help us end the threat of Gorgon Syndrom?”

(OOC: There is only one alive)

Soldier: Negative, Heraklean. I am called C-34. That is short for Crusader number 34. I am one of the few who are part of the Ordenreich's newest branch, the Biotika Korps. As such I am one of the Ordenreich's biggest secrets therefore I cannot fall into foreigner hands especially now. Know one has heard because of our compromised comm network but the Ordenreich, for all intents and purposes, has fallen. Our military is scattered all over the galaxy, most of our government is dead, and the survivors have holed themselves up in our core worlds cutting themselves off from all contact from the outside world. At this point, all Ordenreich military you see is now operating independently from our government and its up to us to ensure that her secrets do not fall into enemy hands. I was hoping to clear this ship of the infected then contact some of my people to retake the ship but your presence onboard this ship means it has been compromised. I am on my way to the ship's Eezo core to self-destruct this ship.

"I will send Doctor Fedorov and whoever I can, Brother, but as excellent as our research facilities are, I feel you are looking for the wrong person to send help."

Brother Lal turned to face Zakharov's hologram, which had just appeared in the room. "I am inclined to agree. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Diedre?"

Nodding in response, Lal replied, "Aye."

Within a second, Diedre's hologram appeared in the room as well, smirking slightly. "I was wondering if you two would ever bother asking for help, or whether you two were too proud to do so. I was about to offer it myself, but conveniently enough I received the request before I could. Given the report I received from Rachel Carson base before it was blocked out, I assume you need some kind of fungal specialist to deal with this Gorgon Syndrome, correct?"

Although faintly annoyed at Diedre's slight, however minor, Lal nevertheless felt a sense of relief. "Yes. Given the work that your researchers have done with xenofungus, I know that they are the most qualified for this task. I need whoever you send to meet with some of our other researchers at UN Headquarters before the Heraklean courier arrives to pick them up. Who will it be?"

"Only the best," she said proudly. "Doctor Sylvester Paulus will come, as well as some of his team. Given his lead role on the Pholus Strain project, he should be more than qualified."

Before long, the combined group of Centauri researchers under Doctors Nikhil, Fedorov, and Paulus were assembled at UN Headquarters, waiting for the SRS courier.

The Burninites continue to passively aid, allowing their resources to be used where called upon.

“Self righteous, Richie bastard,” muttered one of the marines.

“Quiet,” ordered 'Mechanic.'  “Crusader, if the Ordenreich is as in shambles as you say then maintaining the secrecy of your military technology may not have much point.  On the other hand, if you work with us, we may find a cure.  That will save the entire galaxy, including the Ordenreich.  Please reconsider.  We have the best experts on Gorgon Syndrome and fungal diseases being assembled as a team to try and end the threat of Gorgon.  Please, reconsider.”

* * * * *

The HRV* Curie had stopped briefly in Alpha Centauri to pick up the Centauri research team before proceeding on to HSRS** Thoth.  The research station was the only inhabited part of the system, and orbited the high-density, super-high gravity sole planet in the system.

“Welcome to Thoth Station,” the officer greeted the Centauri.  “I'm Commander Cavenaugh.  Please forgive the remoteness, but the dangerous things we research necessitate the isolation.  The labs for Gorgon research are this way

* HRV – Heraklean Research Vessel
**HSRS – Heraklean Scientific Research Station

OOC: Sorry to be so short, but I have very little time tonight.

*C-34 buried his katana in the bulkhead suddenly, even with the helmet on he seemed irritated*

C-34: Here's the thing Heraklean, the Ordenreich hasn't seen such devastation since the Hildenburen Wars. Billions are dying even as we speak and our own men have been forced to target our own colonies with FOABs. Its madness out there and with the government on the run the people are going to want a scapegoat, someone to take the blame for their suffering. I'm not saying that their calls for revenge are rational or valid but they are there and many in our military hierarchy will see it that way as well. This disaster could result in an unofficial Ordenreich-Heraklean War and I'll tell you right now there are a lot of Ordenreich fleets out there armed to the teeth with FOABs with no central authority to guide them and a yearning for revenge against your people. This is going to get a lot worse way before it gets better. Now look at it for my perspective. You looking for a cure in me means you'll have access to high level top secret Ordenreich military hardware and potentially the secrets to the power of our biotics. While I am a firm believer in the kinship between our two peoples I won't give you the keys to our secrets which you can use against my people.

*The Biotic pulled his katana out of the bulkhead effortlessly and turned his head down the opposite hallway*

C-34: I wasted enough time. This ultra-dreadnought needs to be scuttled. Its reactor is on stand-by mode but it is damaged and leaking Eezo all over this ship. If your men stay here long enough they will suffer Eezo poisoning which, lets just say, is a permanent military career ender. If you wish to help you are welcome to. Might even convince me to help you against this nasty disease

The Centauri team followed Commander Cavenaugh to the labs, all while taking in the surroundings and inspecting the facilities.

All Burninite offers remain open, but Thorgood does not attempt to get into the science club meeting. If not invited, the Burninites will continue their passive course. No cases have been reported to affect a Burninite just yet, so they can't be said to be as devastated by this. They're plants, after all. Would it even be ethical to try to figure out if they can be affected?

(Answer; no )

(OOC: I'm going to wait for Heraklea)

“Very well, Crusader,” said 'Mechanic.' “We'll help you. Our original orders are to try to restore ships controls sufficiently to pilot the El Dorardo into the local sun. By forcing it into the sun, everything would be disintegrated, including the left over spores. A self destruction could leave undestroyed spores free to infect a new population in any chunk that enters an atmosphere. Do you know if there is enough functionality left in the ship's control systems to make that possible?”

* * * * *

Commander Cavenaugh guided the Centauris to the branch with the Gorgon lab.

“The labs have multiple layers of containment. Each lab has an independent, isolated ventilation system. Ventilation can be cross connected if necessary, but for obvious reasons we prefer not to. Labs further have deconing airlocks to remove any spores that might escape the containments in the labs. The p-ways have the same kind of isolated venting and airlocks to move between areas. There is isolated berthing and messing compartments in the branch. Those are separated by an airlock from the rest of the branch, but internal to that part of the branch ventilation is through common ducting and passage is through vacuum tight doors. The branch is of course also isolated from the rest of the facility by a deconing airlock. The airlocks also have scanners for detecting Gorgon infection.

“As a warning, the airlocks will lock down if the scans say that you have been infected, not contaminated, but infected. If it happens, a clean route will be established and you will be given a new anti-c suit while you are transferred to the branch's medical isolation compartment. We have everything we need to engineer your individual cure, and since our protocols restrict you from working longer than six hours straight without taking a break, there is no chance for you to exceed the 24 hour infection detection window.

“Anti-c suits all have forced air breathing protection with two canisters good for six hours each. One is placed on service at a time while the other serves as a back up. An expended canister can be removed and replaced with a fresh one while it is recharged. We'll have your things moved into berthing and run you through indoc before chow so you understand all of our protocols and casualty procedures. After that, you should all hit the rack so you can be fresh and well rested tomorrow. We'll be starting bright and early.”

The Centauri scientists nodded gravely in agreement as Commander Cavenaugh described the anti-contamination measures, clearly satisfied by the containment system in place. With that, Doctor Paulus spoke up, "Let us proceed quickly to the briefing, then. We are all quite interesting in knowing the established procedures at this site."

C-34: Nein. All Ordentlich ships run off Element Zero which exhibits behaviors similar to Dark Energy. Driving an Eezo core the size of the one that powers these Ultra-Dreadnoughts into the sun will release a violent burst of Dark Energy in the sun. Our scientists have only observed the phenomenon once before from an observatory long before the Ordenreich reached space and it caused the sun to age faster than it should. The system that the star was in went supernova long ago. Unless you want to wipe out this system with the same method I would advise against driving this ship into the sun and before you try to use it as a tactic to wipe out the infected colony the process of Dark Energy killing a star from when we started observing it till it went supernova took a century to happen so unless you have a minimum of a century to waste waiting for the star to die don't bother. As for destroying this ship, one good thing about its design is that there is an efficient method to scuttle this vessel. Tactical nukes are installed a strategic hard points all over the ship. They are unarmed so as to not detonate in the event of battle and one alone can't destroy this ship but if we detonate them all at once this ship will be scrap. Plus, the Eezo core is already ruptured so it won't take much of an explosion to cause it to go critical and explode. Don't worry about the Eezo or the Dark Energy, we are too far away for those elements to cause any harm to this system. They will dissipate long before they arrive at the colony or star. Now, there are two ways to activate the nukes, the first way is the console on the bridge. I would advise we go there as it is closer but unfortunately that place was burned out in the fighting so the console is probably destroyed. The second method is the console in the engineering deck. Eezo is flooding all the rear decks due to the rupture so no living thing, infected or not, should be in that area though Eezo will kill you, radiation suit or no, if you get exposed. I can handle the exposure due to my... abilities. I suggest we take the Grand Causeway there. It runs the entire length of the ship and we might get lucky and find a working lift to get us to engineering but I am pretty sure we will have to walk.

“Self destruct it is,” said 'Mechanic.' “I'll need to inform headquarters of that change in plans. They'll need to be ready to track any chunk not fully destroyed.” He triggered his comm. “Headquarters, Third Platoon. Survivor secured, no infected in the area.” Holliday turned to look at 'Mechanic.' “According to the survivor, the El Dorado is powered by a reactor using an exotic matter that could cause a premature super-nova. Intend to assist in his plan to initiate a self destruct sequence. Recommend informing flag and recommending they prepare to track any pieces not fully destroyed.”

“Very well, Third Platoon. Assist with the self destruct. Seventh Platoon is located three decks below you. The order is going out to Seventh Platoon to coordinate and rendezvous to provide back up.”

“Assist with self destruct, Seventh Platoon coordinating and rendezvousing. Headquarters, Third Platoon aye.”

“You do understand that just because he's not showing symptoms doesn't mean Crusader isn't infected, right?” asked 'Holliday' over an encrypted two-way channel. “That the fungus is in his blood stream.”

“Am I officially informed of that?”

“... no sir. ”

“Then we'll proceed as ordered. Crusader, we're going to link up with another platoon before proceeding. I believe we should start with the command deck. As you said, its closer and isn't being flooded with exotic radiation. If that's a bust, we can always double back and head for engineering. I don't like the thought of leaving you uncovered in engineering, even if the infected can't survive the radiation. For that matter, I don't like throwing you into a radiation area even if you can handle it. If you truly are immune, you could be of vital importance to ending Gorgon. I'm not going to take any unnecessary risks with you. Third Platoon, make ready to roll out! Delta, Echo, forward. Alpha, right flank. Bravo, left frank. Charlie, rearguard. Foxtrot, trail-blaze. Take stations.”

“Third Platoon, Seventh Platoon. Test.”

“Seventh Platoon, Third Platoon. Read you clear. Elevator shaft shown thirty meters forward, fifteen starboard, seven aft. Rendezvous on our deck at the shaft.”

“In meters, thirty forward, fifteen starboard, seven aft. Rendezvous your deck. Third Platoon, Seventh Platoon aye.” With that settled, 'Mechanic turned to address the platoon.

“Third Platoon, roll out.”

(OOC: What happens with the scientists?)

Ten minutes later, the Seventh Platoon had arrived at the rendezvous location. Lieutenant Nicholas 'Tesla' Wardenclyffe, the platoon leader, placed himself immediately under 'Mechanic's' command, even though his platoon was at the full strength of eight squads as opposed to the six of Third Platoon. With a force now over a hundred men strong, 'Mechanic relaxed a little. Two platoons may not be the most subtle, but that many guns would tear apart any mob of infected they came across. With the more immediate concerns for their safety alleviated, 'Mechanic's' attention back to curiosity about Crusader.

“Tell me, Crusader. Is there anything about your back story you can tell us that won't compromise Ordenreich national security?”

* * * * *

“Headquarters, Fourth Platoon. We've located servers for the ship's database. Unsure of contents. Much of the data is gone or corrupted. Everything else is highly encrypted. Intend to copy the data, and recover as much as possible.”

“Very well, Fourth Platoon. Recover the data, then return to the boat bay. The situation on board El Dorado is about to get very... explosive.”

* * * * *

The indoc sessions had taken the remainder of the day. First was the general layout of the branch and public areas of the station. Then the security briefing, followed by a basic physical examination and the gym indoc. Then came the damage control trainers (firefighting, pressure loss and a host of other casualties), followed finally by an introduction to lab procedures. By that point it was late in the afternoon and they adjourned to the messing compartment to sup before turning in to get an early start.

The next morning, the Centauri team were led to the main lab they would be working from. It was there they encountered a new and very strange face.

“Ah, good morning,” said the alien. Although over all humanoid in shape, it was a little over eight feet tall and rail thin with a bumpy dark purple hues skin. “You must be the Centauri team I've heard about. I am Doctor,” the few of the next sounds to come from the alien could be pronounced by a human mouth. “You may shorten that to T'lix, if you care to. It will be a pleasure to work with you. Please, come see the work we have done so far. I am most keen to have another set of eyes look upon them. Eyes that may not have already prejudiced themselves towards one explanation or another.”