Episode Twenty Eight: Sentient

[Troy Loveridge]

1049 Local Time: 3 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

Upon learning that CHENN was going to flood the ship with 'deadly neurotoxin', all present in the engineering room began to panic. This was to be somewhat expected - being abducted and flown across the galaxy was one thing, but to be gassed to death was another. They had brought over shuttles on their arrival, but according to the marines posted the guard the airlocks the craft had come loose and been severed from the ship during their unexpected hyperspace jump. The timeline of three minutes, as translated by Doctor McKillop, did little to calm the panic that was spreading among those present.

Major Oxford returned from his hunt for the control crystal, and entered into a dialogue with the malicious AI, explaining that she would be prevented by a firewall from taking over the USS Aeneid, adding that if she allowed them to escape they'd give her the ship in return. Troy was momentarily caught off guard by this offer until Travis held up a piece of paper with a handwritten note explaining that he was buying time. The colonel nodded in acknowledgement; the more time they could buy, the longer they had to find a way out of this mess alive.

Withdrawing his radio, Troy tried unsuccessfully to contact the Aeneid, getting static as his only response. He cursed; CHENN must have anticipated them and blocked out communications. He could see the Earth built cruiser hanging off in the distance, unaware of the chaos that was unfolding on this mysterious ship. A shuttle would be dispatched Colonel Elwood at some point to check on their progress, but whether that was in the next three minutes or not remained to be seen.

"Declaration: I have scanned your vessel and access your security systems as being feeble at best," CHENN announced over the internal speakers. "Observation: Your species is especially susceptible to the neurotoxin I have created. Conjecture: Were I to pump it into the accompanying ship your crew would be quickly rendered dead, allowing for a more effective takeover of the vessel."

Looking around the room, Troy spotted Eli, and quickly moved to the doctor’s side. "What are we dealing with doc?" he asked, just as thick yellow smoke began to flood into the room via room mounted vents. The thick cloud seemed to be floating high above for the time being, giving them time so long as they stayed before it.

The doctors explanation took Troy back to his chemical warfare training when he'd been special forces. Were they more prepared, the colonel would have ordered everyone to put on their gas masks and gloves, but in the rush to get over here no one had packed them. All they had was their gits and whatever they could find laying around the room.

"We need to do something about this gas," Troy called out, repeating the message over the radio. "Calmara, Angler, Cobb, I wanted this ventilation system reversed and I want it reserved NOW! Everyone else, help them in any way you can." The colonel moved back to join Eli. As a qualified combat medic he was ready and waiting to assist the doctor deal with anyone who started to show signs of the neurotoxin setting in.

< Tag Base Personnel & SD-2 >

[Vanessa Angler]

1049 Local Time: 3 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

The brunette dropped her search at what she was doing and sprinted as quick as she could back to the engineering room, she had to think and she had to think quickly, the thudding of her boots didn't sway her line of thought right now. She started looking for Calmara and Cobb as her brain was trying to think, she had to get it out of "terrium" mode. 'Maybe there s a breaker somewhere that would work if the rearranged wires or something.' No that didn't even make sense Vanessa what are you thinking, or are you even thinking? She wasn't about to say that outloud, she would sound like a complete moron and that wouldn't do anyone any good it would simply waste time.

Okay no wait she was right.. her head was not clear right now but she had an idea. Hopefully it would work. "Intake manifold where is it?" she finally stated outloud. The problem was she didn't know the ship, its layout or its specific technology. If they could somehow cross the couplings in the intake manifold it would reverse the ventilation system (at least in theory), but again she didn't know these ships, she could only hope that someone else had a better idea or could confirm or deny her hypothesis. She was talking outloud. "I don't know these ships.." she admitted. She was only going off the basics of what she knew from her training and experience. If no one had a better idea.

Vanessa had no idea who was even listening to her at this point or if she was stepping on toes but at this point it didn't matter, what mattered was keeping everyone alive. Perhaps she got barking and commanding when something was wrong and she felt there was a way to fix it, but that was her; she had gone straight into work mode.. She felt dizzy and tried to ignore the feeling as she grabbed for the wall to upright herself. 'Intake manifold, intake manifold' she was repeating to herself in her head as her eyes were scanning the room she was in at the moment.

<<Tag: SGD2 & Base Personnel>>

((Ooc: Shot in the dark let me know if I need to change something))

[Eli Byrne]

1049 Local Time: 3 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

Yet again, things drastically changed in a drop of a hat. This entire "mission" (was that what they called it?) felt a bit like working on a Saturday night in the ER. Things would be calm and the people there would be cared for - then bam. Suddenly a man who was bleeding out of every orifice and a few cavities burst through the ambulance entrance. Everyone would be shouting what had happened, what his symptoms are, and everyone's thoughts in the course of action that should be taken.

This mission was basically more and more waves of bleeding-cavity-man. In a strange way, Eli found this comforting. It was a pattern he was used to in an otherwise alien environment. Sure, he was in a space-station that had just jumped through hyperspace (a term he had previous only heard in science fiction books, films, and shows) - but since there was that one element that was the same, Eli was at ease. He was generally a man that was comfortable at the oddest of times. Never one to flip out and burst into tears, people sometimes called him cold or heartless. In reality, he just knew how to handle his emotions - a surprisingly hard trait in today's world, thanks to all the new pressures and interestingly awful scenarios people put themselves into.

Their sassy AI friend seemed to decide that it didn't want to play anymore. (S)he had gone from vague statements that were mildly helpful...to literal threats. What a nice evil robot. Someday people will figure out that any sort of AI always leads to a scenario like HAL - "I'm sorry, I won't let you do that Dave," or the Matrix, where humans were turned into batteries. But until then, this homicidal robot was apparently going to flood neurotoxin into the ship. Great.

As someone commanded his presence out of sight, Eli's thoughts were demanded of their man-in-charge - Troy Loveridge.
"What are we dealing with doc?" he asked, causing Eli to halt in his tracks. Sure - someone was probably bruised from the hyperspace jump, and they figured they were going to die. But if Eli didn't help figure out this toxin scenario, everyone would.
"A neurotoxin is a substance that directly damage the brain. After a short period of time - depending on the toxicity - a side-effect commonly called (in my mind at least) 'fuzzy thoughts.' Basically it'll be harder to think and focus once it settles. After that, it only goes downhill. Severe to fatal brain damage is expected, the longer we're around the stuff," Eli's mouth quickly rattled, as he his eyes darted to the yellow gas in the room, "I can reverse the minor damages," he continued, carefully watching the gas spread, "But we need to figure out something. Now."

Loveridge then moved beside Eli - ready to help. The doctor adjusted his mic so it was easier to talk into the radio, "Hey everyone - Doctor Eli Byrne here. Anyway - that lovely yellow gas you see is a neurotoxin - so please don't snort it on purpose. The ventilation system is currently being worked on to reverse out the stuff. But, please. Everyone. Monitor your breathing. Keep calm and try to only breathe through your nose. Avoid areas that start to look cloudy. If it starts to get hard to think and focus, please report to me through the radio or just yell at me if you see me passing by. That is all."

Hopefully they'd get it reversed before anyone started to complain.

<Tag Troy and EVERYONE!>

[Pooja Garcia]

1045 Local Time
Unknown Vessel – Pelion Orbit
Hunting for Gimbal

Getting to her feet, Pooja checked for further injuries that might not have been found while laying on her back. Experiencing a pulled hamstring of slight, she massaged the point of pain, as she listened to what James was saying. The harshness in his tone surprised her, what had she done to him to receive such reaction. Blinking at him for a moment before it struck her that it was his loyalty to his Commanding officers for his outburst. Rolling her eye she only wanted to regarding the extremes of such actions. It hardly did her any good from her return from being captured even after she refused to sell out Loveridge to Okeavous.

Never did she cross her mind that she would get alienated from her own people over such short span of time. Keep at it and he will show you just how loyal he is, Pooja thought with bitterness, as she followed him with Post by her side, but barely paid attention to what James was rambling on with the AI.

1046 - 1048 Local Time
Unknown Vessel – Pelion Orbit
Gimbal Access Room

Watching James get to work, Pooja took a look around the room as she waited for some task to be assigned to her. Noting that some parts of the ship needed maintenance, the Doctor had to wonder what had happened to the crew. Not long after CHENN declared that he/she was going to take over their ship and had no use for them.

As the words had registered in her brain, each and every part of her either froze or stiffened. Being dead in the middle of nowhere and no one to relay the news to anyone angered her. And that same anger turned into fury at the man who brought her here and to the sister who insisted she goes. So in the end the result would be the same, wouldn’t they?

“I think we might want to find out what is going on,” she told James as she wasn’t liking the direction this mission was heading in. Travis would obvious would know how to deal with this AI or she was hoping he did; or a the most someone had a plan drawn to.

Walking over the XO of SD-2, “Here’s your answer to what type of connection it’s got. It’s a psychopath. It probably kill us all. Don’t think it like humans.” He voice was low so the AI won’t catch what she as saying.

<<Tag James/All>>

[James Calmara]

1049 Local Time: 3 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel – Pelion Orbit
Gimbal Access Room


They were partway through uninstalling the gimble from the panel when the bone chilling announcement echoed through the ship. That moment that he’d feared since stepping foot on the deck plate had arrived, CHENN had finally turned on them. It was also becoming clear that the damm thing might have planned all this in advance. This seemed to be confiremd by the sociologists analisis Here's your answer to what type of connection it's got. It's a psychopath. It probably kill us all. Don't think it like humans."

“Me neither, listen i just need an extra pair of hand for a moment. Can you grab that clip on that side, open it up, then pull the gimble out. We'll deal with you know who in a moment.” He asked trying to balance the need to finish extracting the component, with the need to get out of there before they succumbed to the toxin that was being pumped throughout the ship.

The gimble slid out of the panel relatively easily, supporting it he opened up his pack and slid it inside. "Calmara, Angler, Cobb, I wanted this ventilation system reversed and I want it reserved NOW! Everyone else, help them in any way you can." The radio call spurred him to look for a solution. Looking from panel to panel Calmara was doing his best to recall the little he’d picked up while flicking through the technical specs back at engineering. If he could do something that would disrupt or confuse CHENN for a moment, that might be all they need.

“Post grab that panel down.” Calmara pointed to one directly opposite him at about head height. “Garcia open up that one.” Indicating a panel next to it at about waist height, before grabbing his radio and putting a call through to his fellow engineers. “Calmara to Cobb and Angler, I had a chance to flick through the tech specs of this tub before you joined us. From what I remember the ventilation symbol was an inverted italicised lowercase ‘a’ with fork/trident stuck through the middle. Also we should probably make sure any removal is simultaneous, so keep in touch.” Calmara turned to the pair with him ”We’re looking for the same in these panels, is could be a crystal, cable or connecter give a shout when you find it.” Pulling a touch from his vest he began poking around inside. It was strangely enjoyable to be poking around an alien system, at the same time the pressure of the deadline (literally), wasn’t far from his attention. He glanced over his shoulder at Post then Garcia, already determining that he’d ask them to make a run for it with two minutes to go. If the they could make the shuttle that is.

TAG All

[Vanessa Angler]

1049 Local Time: 3 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

The brunette officer was listening to Calmara on the radio something about an upside down A or something but she slipped and crashed to the floor, this stuff was making her weak. She could only nod at what Eli had said. "Too late its already getting to me.." she spurted out.. "I think" she added. Was she even capable of thought she leaned against the wall and grabbed her radio. She stood up and forced herself to keep going despite knowing she should rest. Vanessa was not the type to just sit around and play helpless when stuff needed to get done. She had been given a task and she would get it done if it killed her first.. wait yes that was the stubborn streak in Vanessa that showed on occasion.

The grabbed at the wall and finally pressed the radio call button. "I'm not going to be able to cross couplings..I'll be lucky if I don't pass out" Her eyes were scanning for this panel but she only knew now partially what she was looking for and the dizzy spinning room was not helping her situation. She blew air out of nose and stood as tall as she could as she climbed back to her feet. The gas was heavier and being on the ground had probably only escalated her situation but she was still moving. She closed her eyes for a second and continued to look for the intake manifold.

Then before she realized what was happening she was back on the floor again looking up as everything was spinning. She was needed, she could tell herself that. Her head hurt, she always had weak lungs to begin with; not that it made the difference in her head hurting but it might explain why she was not dealing well with the gas. 'Get up Vanessa, you aren't weak get up' she hissed at herself in her head "I can't" she reminded herself out loud. Wonderful now she was talking to herself as she watching everything above her spinning around. Was she delusional or was she staring at the intake manifold on the ceiling?

[Stephanie Amberson]

1049 Local Time: 3 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

The Captain had an idea and she was the type to not run her idea past any of the commanding officers. "I have an idea" was all the she stated as she maneuvered around the others. She had come with the other base personnel but had got caught up dealing with getting out of some sort of contraption she had managed to get caught up in. So much for scouting alone that was the last time she swore. She had her palm pilot with her and she was hooking it up to the computer systems. There was one main reason she wasn't about to say what she was planning and that was the computer system could obviously hear them.

"Observation: Your attempt to disassemble me will end when the neurotoxin takes effect"

Stephanie could have ignored him but she didn't. "Damn it Chenn shut up already" she hissed as she started tapping on keys. She was providing a distraction, she knew it would take a while to get into the system if she could at all; but at least she was trying which means that Chenn would have to try and keep her out, rather than focusing his attention on the others. She couldn't stop the neurotoxin, that much she knew. She just knew that the others had been get to work she had a limited amount of time.

"Security Devices Detected - You call that a firewall, you have already been warned that your attempts are futile."

"Didn't I just tell you to can it" she lipped back. Right everytime she made a key stroke Chenn was seemingly making no hard effort to block her out but he was able to do so with ease. What the hell was all this? She built pentagon mainframes and redesigned computer systems for a living but she had never seen anything like this. There wasn't much time. She started coughing a little. If a senior officer so much as questioned her she wouldn't really have time to explain. She pushed her brunette hair out of her eyes and continued working. As long as Chenn was busy with her he couldn't possibly make things more complicated for the rest of the group. She would have to harden her efforts in order to try and stop things from the mainframe which she was having issues getting into. Her rapid key tapping was heard and Chenn was probably laughing at her, but she would never know since he had shut up, and she couldn't get in.

<<Tag: All>>

[Kent McKillop]

1050 Local Time: 2 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

As was typical of situations such as this, Kent McKillop was doing the best he could to contribute to the air of panic and confusion that had filled the engineering room. Having retaken his place at the console, the archaeologist was continuing to try to translate the alien operating system, interspersing this work with long streams of curses and persistently banging his fists against the wall in a futile attempt to bring the situation under control. His actions were probably in no way helping the situation and only making it worst, but he hadn't been recruited to the job for his calmness under pressure.

Colonel Loveridge took command of the situation, declaring that removing the gas was a top priority. Shouldn't that have been obviously given the situation? He was joined by Doctor Bryne who so graciously informed them of the potential deadliness of the gas and the horrible deaths they were going to suffer because of it. You know, in case the situation hadn't already seemed dire enough.

Intent to not die today, Doctor McKillop refocused his attention on the console, trying to get his head around the Mayan symbols that were scrolling across the display. The words and phrases didn't appear to make sense and just looked random which threw Kent for a moment - had he been wrong about the translation? It then dawned on him; was the randomness of the text significant? As the sole artificial intelligence still functioning on the ship, was this a sign that CHENN was losing control?

His train of thought was disrupted by a radio message from Sergeant Calmara about a symbol he'd identified as being related to the ventilation system. A mental image of the symbol lit up in Kent's head - he'd seen it before! Tapping away at the keyboard, McKillop scrolled back to the screen in question which showed a number of the symbols Calmara had mentioned. This must have been a map of the ship's internal systems. Taking a moment to orientate himself, Kent hazarded a guess as to where inside the ship people were, and which access point was closest to them.

"Sergeant Calmara, there are two panels opposite you," Kent declared, though he'd by now found them himself. "Chief Angler, Miss Cob, there is an access point just down the hallway and on the left."

The Mayan numbers scrolling across the screen updated again, and not for the better. "And you best hurry, we've only two minutes of oxygen left!"

< Tag SD-2 & Base Personnel >

[John E. Valenti]

1050 Local Time: 2 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

John managed to pull himself into a sitting position as he heard others from his team, along with people from the base, trying to figure out a way around this whole nightmare. His solution was not to have come in the first place but he said nothing. He looked around at the area and saw nothing that might be even remotely useful at the moment.

His mind raced with what if and what to do questions but his body reacted to a different set of thoughts, he pulled his gas mask from it's carrying case on his left thigh, pulled it over his face, made a seal and flipped the hood over his head. The hole process took him less then ten seconds, which was good because in training men were given a maximum of twelve seconds to do it. After securing his mask he wished he had brought along a full set of MOP gear, but then again he wasn't sure any of these measures were going to be enough with the threat of losing all the air anyway.

Again he looked around, trying to think of some way to disable CHENN and get his team out of here in one piece. He was hoping to find some kind of power conduit and put a few well placed rounds into it, shutting down the computer, but then again with how integrated it seemed to be in all the other systems there was no way to know for sure how to shut it down. He hoped the smart people they had brought with them were actually as smart as they all thought they were, for the sake of the teams...


TAG: ANY

[Troy Loveridge]

1050 Local Time: 2 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

Doctor Bryne gave an explanation of the neurotoxin that send a chill down the colonel's spine. As a combat medic with the air force - some time ago mind you - Troy had been trained in how to deal with chemical weapons and attacks. Back then though he'd have a full arsenal of needles, masks and other medical supplies to take care of people. Out here, all he had was the contents of his pockets and whatever Eli had managed to bring with him.

The engineers went to work, mainly Calmara, Cobb and Angler, trying to locate the ship's ventilation system and do something about removing the yellow gas that was threatening to kill them all. CHENN has been surprisingly quiet since declaring her intention to kill them, which could be taken as a good sign or a bad sign. Either way, they still had the gas to deal with, and Troy was lucky that he had the best people in this galaxy on the job.

On the other side of the room, Vanessa went down. Overcome by the gas, the engineer fell the ground and was now staring up at the room. Troy rushed to her side and was quickly joined by Eli, with the two men going into autopilot mode and beginning their examination. As Eli was an actual doctor, the colonel let him take the lead, instead focusing on Chief Angler's vital signs. Her pulse was a little weaker than it should have been and her pupils were somewhat out of focus. "Low pulse, pupils a bit unresponsive," he relayed to Doctor Bryne.

While Eli went to work of the downed naval officer, Doctor McKillop called across the room that they only have two minutes of air remaining. With Vanessa already down it wouldn't be long until more people starting coming under the effects of the gas, stretching thin the already minimal treatment that Troy and Eli could provide. "Two minutes," Troy repeated, more to himself than anyone else.

< Tag Eli & Vanessa >

[Kata Harris]

1049 Local Time: 3 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Airlocks

The shuttles were gone and with them any chance of escaping off this ship, the unplanned jumped into Hyperspace had torn the small vessels from the airlocks, and lucky for the few people standing near them they had the air lock doors shut otherwise they would have all been floating out in space. Kata avoided any serious injury when the ship Jumped, maybe a few bruises, nothing serious, unlike some others.

She had been helping two of the Engineers and Scientists reorganize all their gear, their colleagues were scattered across the ship, when the A.I that occupied the ship spoke, it mentioned something about a Neurotoxin being released into the air. A scientist near her swore, Kata like everyone else looked up to the air vents to see a faint yellow haze rolling out of them. Her radio started buzzing with people reporting in and asking what they should do. She glanced around the hall they stood in, the yellow haze was quickly getting heavier. “We need to move,” she said aloud, coughing. She had no idea where to go, and far as she knew the gas was all over the ship, Kata coughed again, “Where are we going?” a scientist asked, he was holding up his jacket sleeve to his face, Kata did the same, it helped a little with the gas but she knew it wouldn’t last long, “Engineering, that's where everyone else it,”

“But what about the gas?” someone else asked, she turned to face the speaker, “If you have a handkerchief or something cover your face,” she looked to the two men to make sure they understood her, both had wide eyes but they nodded back. “Good, stay close and lets go,”

1050 Local Time: 2 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Hallway heading towards Engineering

Things had gone from bad to worse.

The two men behind her were barely keeping up and she herself was starting to feel the affects of the gas and it didn't help she knew they had two minutes before all the good air was gone. They came to a break in the hall, she stopped walking, her mind was moving from thought to thought so fast she couldn't focus on one thing. She pressed her forehead to the cold metal wall and willed herself to focus, “Focus dammit!” she took a breath and tasted the faint hint of the gas. She had been with limited air before, hell they trained her to be able to run on low supplies. “We are almost there..” it was the scientist who spoke, he still held his sleeve to his face, “We need air,” he said coughing again.

“We need to escape this,” she said quietly, then the cloud that was starting to form in her mind cleared for a moment, and in that moment one thing crossed her mind. Kata lifted her head from the wall, she grabbed her radio and placed a call. Her small group kept moving, “Capt. Harris to Col. Loveridge, Sir I'm headed towards your location with two others,” she paused a moment to cough again, the hallway seemed to tilt a little, she quickly shook her head, the hallway righted itself, she continued, “Sir I have a idea that might help us, escape pods would have their own air supply,if we can find the pods, we might be able to use them to buy us some time,”


<<Tag Troy and anyone else>>

[Eli Byrne]

1050 Local Time: 2 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

There was a count-down to their death now, thanks to an evil robot that wanted to kill them. So basically Eli's life had turned into one of those bad scifi movies that was on at about 9pm on Saturdays. Only this time around, there wasn't that one guy who saves the day. The lead. The main character who obviously could thwart anything and everything. Instead, there was a group of slightly above average people, who could quite easily die in the next few minutes. That, honestly, bothered Eli a bit. It wasn't apparent upon his face nor posture - but he could feel a bit of worry crawling up his spine.

They'd be fine though. These people were hand selected from all across the entire world to be on this mission. If they couldn't save them...well then humanity was doomed anyway.

Carefully breathing out of his nose, Eli's eyes scanned the room, watching for everyone's posture and general expressions. That's when there was a thud in the exact opposite direction he was looking. Vanessa had hit the ground. Flat on her back - her eyes blankly stared at the ceiling. This was not a good sign. Troy reacted a moment before he - sliding up next to her just before Eli.

His mind quickly tracked down her name, as Troy did the basic scan of the girl.
"Low pulse, pupils a bit unresponsive."
"Vanessa. Vanessa Angler. Can you hear me?" he asked in a very clear tone, staring down into her distractingly light eyes, placing his own hand gently upon her throat to get his own reading upon her pulse. It wasn't that he didn't trust Troy - he simply wanted to see if it changed when he addressed her. It should. Instead, it felt slower.

"Two minutes."
Eli looked up at Troy with an expression that actually held some of what he was feeling. Very light panic was held behind his blue eyes, mixed with a bit of frustration and annoyance.

Eli quickly glanced upward, noticing the area appeared a bit foggy. The toxin was heavy here. Even his own head was beginning to feel a bit off.
"I'm moving her," he stated, sliding an arm behind her back, and another under behind her knees. Carefully bracing himself, he stood, mumbling, "I got it," before walking to a part of the room that appeared clearer. The center.
"Everyone try to avoid that area if you can. Monitor your breathing in any areas that appear foggy," he instructed, glancing down at Vanessa, before carefully setting her down.
"Don't hold your breath though, because you'll just breath harder when you breathe again," he quickly added, before crouching down next to Vanessa.

"You have to stay awake," he instructed "You're going to or are feeling very sleepy. Stay with me. Okay?" he asked, placing his hand upon her forehead, before looking up. The room was appearing foggy everywhere at this point. They had two minutes.

"We need as many functional people as possible. Avoid speaking and breathe through your nose," Eli loudly instructed, his own head going hazy. He had to fight it though. These people needed him in these final minutes. He really couldn't do much, but he could monitor them, and keep them alive just a little bit longer.

That's really all he could offer.

A doctor without his supplies was like a fireman without his fire-retardant clothing and hose...nor ax. The knowledge was there, but there wasn't much one could do with it, other than give advice.

<Tag Troy, Vanessa, ALL>

[Vanessa Angler]

1050 Local Time: 2 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

[/left]

She could see people hovering around her,in reality her eyes did feel heavy. 'Just a bit more to go Vanessa' she told herself as she tried to sit up but she realized the only reason she had been able to sit up in the first place was that now she was being carried. She closed her eyes and reopened them, there was nothing she could really do. "The ceiling.. Its on the ceiling" she managed to get out of her mouth but it was merely a whisper. "Someone has to get up there and switch the wires.." she was trying to explain as they were more worried about what was going on with her. She just hoped that people would take her seriously and that the box was not just a figment of her imagination.

She tried to sit up but she was almost too weak to do that. She felt weak comparatively now as the neurotoxin was setting in her system more. She started coughing up the fog and didn't mean to inhale more but she did and she inhaled more of the toxin which caused her to fight more to keep her body from the sleep that her body so desperately wanted. 'You're going to or are feeling very sleepy. Stay with me. Okay?' was the last thing she heard. 'Tell me something I don't know' she shook her head trying to stay awake.

The worst problem was that his throat felt dry. She kept pointing at the ceiling. "Get someone up there" she managed to croak, she was not good at the whole following directions thing. Well she would be if someone would listen maybe. She started coughing again but she couldn't stop it. She just laid down and tried to get her breathing even and decided if they hadn't listened to her now they weren't going to, all she could do was try.

<<Tag: Troy, Eli, All>>

[/blockquote]

[Tlepolemus]

1050 Local Time: 2 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering



There was a distinct lack of response from a healer and although he loathed to leave an injured man, he felt he had to go and find help, so Tleo rose and started back towards engineering. Sticking his head round the access he noted that the healers seemed to be occupied, the effects of the gas seemed to be taking effect

Walking back he noted that John had donned the piece of equipment that covered his head and face, no doubt to stake off the effects of the gas. Tleo was beginning to feel strange he was head felt extremely fuzzy.

He slumped down next to the Sergeant, and fumbled at the pouch at his side pulling out a similar piece of equipment, and pulling it over his head, offering as he did. “John I fear that any help is going to take some time. The gas seems to be causing a great many problems and we have to few Healers. If you wish I will aid you to stand.”

Grabbing the man’s arm he put it about his own shoulder and then attempted to leaver him up right into a standing position. Steadying himself after a slight wobble likely from the combined effects of the neurotoxin that was filling the ship and now supporting the extra weight of sergeant Valtine. Then attempted to steer him in the direction of engineering, where he knew he could get the man some help.

<Tag Valtine & All>

[Travis Oxford]

1050 Local Time: 2 minutes of oxygen remaining
Unknown Vessel: Orbiting Pelion
Engineering

His bluff hadn’t worked; which was shocking, most of the time it usually did get the job done when needed. A AI who was immune to his charms was a first he ever encountered. Not only did it bruise his ego but it also made him wonder that maybe he was losing his touch as he got older. Age was catching up, but he was still young enough to charm the best of them. He didn’t have much time to ponder over his lack short comings as he smelled gas or whatever it was then listened to Doctor Byrne explain what the gas did and how it affected the ‘humans’ as CHENN put it.

That AI knew just what to use and when to use it. Knowing he might meet the same fate as the rest he tried again, “Listen to me,” he started, “There’s no need to do this, I promised you that ship, there’s no need to kill us.”

“Negative, Major. This promise has no value since I’m a computer. Your ship will serve me well for time to come. I’m upgrading my software and hardware.”

Well h3ll, now what, he paused for thinking, “Our people know we are here, and if we don’t call back in given time, they will send either reinforcement or fire at will.” As the gas made its way up his nose, Oxford stumbled back right till he hit the walk and shook his head as his brain went fuzzy. With the radio’s down, there was no way to send a Morse Code to the other ship, unless….

“McKillop, find a way to Morse, Aeneid. With something, anything,” There was no way in hades , he was voicing what needed to be send. Kent knew the situation and hopefully this AI didn’t know how to read the code.

<<Tag Kent/All>>