Robert begins laughing wildly as the blame is shifted to him. He shakes his head, wiping away a tear and grinning. He doesn't even move as Avistan shoulders past him, standing tall and proud. "Oh aye, I confess, tis me. I mean I dinnae spend every night in a puddle of whiskey, my own blood and vomit. Aye I can stand past 12 pm, stand jus enough to throw up all around bu not in the jacks. Jimmy can attest to the swathe o destruction my little habit creates I'd wager!"
He stood up then, slowly, looking down his nose at the man who accused him. "And what o you Mister Wilkens? A good ploy I would think, randomly accusing everyone. Looking for a rise and trying to get some blood flowing, tensions heightened. You say that is your goal and admit to it readily so people look the opposite way well I be no fool laddie. I no be distracted by yer word play and confusin this way and that. I think yer the beast and that be no lie. And before I die, if it be my time, I'll see yeh in a grave afore me, by the grace o God himself will I! I will nay let yeh take another one of us if I may help it,"
He then turns and faced Avistan, shrugging and grinning brightly. "Oh nay worry Avistan. We can nay all be as talented and genius as you hey? I wish ya well lad and I hope yer little rules protect yeh. No bitter feelings."
Robert begins laughing wildly as the blame is shifted to him. He shakes his head, wiping away a tear and grinning. He doesn't even move as Avistan shoulders past him, standing tall and proud. "Oh aye, I confess, tis me. I mean I dinnae spend every night in a puddle of whiskey, my own blood and vomit. Aye I can stand past 12 pm, stand jus enough to throw up all around bu not in the jacks. Jimmy can attest to the swathe o destruction my little habit creates I'd wager!"
...
Jimmy looks up sharply. "So you're the skivey swine who did that. I thought it was Duke Leto."
Dash finally takes a swig of the proferred whiskey. It's bad timing though as the tension in the room gets the better of him just a second later and he goes to his knees and pukes.
Bllaaaaarrrrrggh!
Mike looks about the room with a look of resignation as he mutters "I fear the voting will result in the death of one of the few who can help us, if that happens we are doomed."
With that Mike will take a seat, have a drink and sit back to watch the train wreck. "I am thinking of making some popcorn for the show, anyone interested?"
He then turns and faced Avistan, shrugging and grinning brightly. "Oh nay worry Avistan. We can nay all be as talented and genius as you hey? I wish ya well lad and I hope yer little rules protect yeh. No bitter feelings."
Avistan, with his hand still stretched out to Curtis lingers and whispers "Common Curtis, you're making me look silly. Reciprocate the super secret handshake."
With his other hand, he carefully places The Employee Handbook on the terminal beside him and picks up the intercom. With a loud, clear voice he speaks into the microphone for the whole station to hear:
"Disgraceful," Alexander remarks with disgust when Dash tosses his cookies. "Now you're going to get all dehydrated. Ugh. But I guess we know who the weak link in our group is." He looks to the man and nods sagely. "When the creature comes after you, try to at least go down fighting."
Jimmy reaches the cryo-storage unit. He gingerly wraps Meowselworth in plastic and heat seals it. Then he expertly manipulates the mechanism to open the storage dewar. He slips the kitty in gently, while Dash looses the contents of his stomach.
"Aristotle's 'airy Antartic Ass, Dash! Couldn't you hold down one little drink? Light weight. "
As Tharp's announcement is broadcast, Jimmy exhales heavily and looks heavenward. Tharp! I am right here. WE ARE ALL RIGHT HERE! You don't need the PA. We can all see what happened. I'll clean up his mess. "
Jimmy stops.
Sven throws down his mechanical pencil in disgust, doubtless shattering the lead to bits.
"Tourists! Bureaucrats! How am I supposed to get anything done. C'mon, people, I know we are in mortal peril, but there's Science to be done for the people who are still alive!"
"And vomit to clean up. And a corpse. Any chance of you helping out there, Sven?"
"No,Jimmy. My science is more important than anything as pedestrian as your duties,but you couldn't possibly understand."
Jimmy closes the cryogenic storage.
"Well, there are two other maintenance staff sitting on their asses watching you work, Jimmy. I need to get these results written up before the Honorary Doctor goes crazy and decides to pull a reverse Frankenstein, or before the nunnlifs turn me into another Marco." Sven swallows hard after a flickering glance at Marco's remains. "It's not like I've never cleaned up puke before. God, you should see what drunk penguins can do. I mean, those things were designed to regurgitate, am I right?"
"No, my beef is with those ecotourist companies that bought off base management with big fees to send non-scientists here. They come down thinking it'll be a great adventure and decide to stay through the night, then realize that there's nothing for them to do because - waaaah - it's cold and dark outside! Big surprise, m+!!*@$~$#!@s! So they break out their booze and cigars, and pretty soon have the staff joining in and there's drinking and carousing and vomiting and this science station turns into a g$$$$* frat house when it should be a place to get " He looks surprised to realize that he's standing up and shouting at the group, and drops back into his seat.
His free hand makes a hasty swipe across his face as he re-opens his notebook. "And I've got to get my notes analyzed and written up so my work is of some use to the penguins in case I end up like Marco or Meows and ogodIdontwannaendlikethat!" He tries to write, but the shaking of his hand makes it impossible.
...before the Honorary Doctor goes crazy and decides to pull a reverse Frankenstein."
"You bird brain, that's what the creatures are going to do to us! You research types are always postulating theorems and formulating equations, you got science for any occasion." The doctor abandons his post at the fry machine and gladly accepts a glass from Duke Leto. "Thank you, good sir, Brandy always hits the spot and it should help the weaker among us to work up some liquid courage and make the hard choices."
Sven drops his forehead onto his notebook and his muffled voice emerges from beneath the curtain of long, dirty-blond hair. "More booze, just what we need. Jimmy, hope you have a clean mop."
Robert moves over to take a glass of Brandy, staring the "Doctor" deep in the eyes as he takes a slow swallow. "No words to defend yourself ya knave? Pushed too hard, tried too much too early. Played yer hand like a child learning Poker for the first time, eager and with all the finesse o a blind man pissin on his shoes!"
"Insulting everyone, trying ta make em up turn on me. I get lynched by one o you bastards and he takes another of us in the night, mark my words. If it is to be it is to be though. I've been in harder situations before. I were in London the day the Brexit ban came in tae effect. Barely got out of the city afore Johnson had the bridges raised and the Beefeaters patrolling for Muslims!" He slammed back the rest of the brandy before sticking his hand in to his pockets and pulling out a trio of long cigars, offering one to the Duke and then to the Doctor.
"Smoke it. One of us is f*&#ed come the morrow and it were a tradition to give s man a smoke before he went up again the wall!"
He lit the cigar with a box of matches, taking two deep puffs, before tossing the box on to the table and moving to the other side of the room, staring out of one f the windows in to the snow.
Wilkens is surprised at the offer of the cigar, but gladly accepts. After relaxing a moment with the brandy and smoke to clear his thoughts, Doc hatches a new plan to ferret out the creatures. "Quick, Robert, explain the appeal of Haggis?" With a soft chuckle and an elbow to Duke Leto's ribs, "No creature could ever explain that."
As the acrid cigar fumes reach the table, Sven's voice rises again from behind the curtain of hair. "Be careful. Those things'll kill you, Robert," he warns softly.
It is not clear what things he means.
"I fear Robert may be right," comes next, even softer.
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He stands there, staring out in to the fresh driving snow, a far away look crossing his face. "Tis the delicate mix o herbs and seasonin, the mouth watering aroma as yeh cut in to that delectable ball o meat and oats. Buttery pieces of onion that melt in yer mouth as ya take a big ol fork of it, finding just a little more heart than yah expected, and being happy, coz the heart is the best part. Yer grand mammy slaving for hours to cook it just right and yer daddy, pickled in whiskey so as he can't even eat and you get his share!"The huge Scot begins to tear up a little.
"Great... bout to meet me maker and now im flaming starving..."
Doc stares jaw dropped at the hidden poet inside the huge man. "Hells, if he is a creature and they can make Haggis sound appealing then maybe this planet is better off with them. At the least, then the meek wouldn't inherit the earth, f*&%#@k wallflowers."
Jimmy pulls off his rubber gloves, stomps open a trash pail, and discards them before he joins the brandy queue.
<
Leaning against a table indignant of the faux-post on his tablet, Clive is shocked at the vomiting and drinking moreso than the accusations flying around. Although there is one accusation that sticks in his craw; "Mr Sven, when you say they're sending "Non-Scientists" here - I take it you aren't talking about me! I'll have you know I'm written up in the Gouda Nuff Review for my paper on the carmelising point of Dutch cheese!"
"If they are true mimics - if they devoured his heart and soul and knew him to his bones - would you be able to tell, Duke?"
"Russ Curtis is my closest companion at this facility and I will attest to his innocence. A vote for Curtis will be a vote against yourself!"
Mechanics stick together til the end!
Russ finally awakens from where he's been passed out.
"Wha-? Was it a dream?" His groan proves the hangover is still real.
Russ looks around and sees all the sideways glances. "Er...what's going on?"
"You drank alcohol. That kills brain cells!" Clive tuts to Russ as he walks around the room to try and relieve the tension.
Dash votes for Russ I see through that ruse! You think you're so smart pretending to be unconscious!
"Eh? Ruse?" Russ says confused.
Then his eyes go wide.
He bursts out, "No way! So that Marco dream! It was real! This is just awful."
He shakes his head.
"And now you're saying you think I did it because I was too drunk. Amazing logic there, Dash."
"I have some suspicions. Russ isn't one of the suspects, in my mind. The guy who is so eager to start electrocuting people without any idea of what they are? That guy seems to be on the side of the nunnlifs, if there's any logic in his honorarily-degreed noggin."
Russ walks over to a lab computer and pulls up the logs of all the conversation he's missed while asleep and proceeds to try and catch up on everything.
That guy seems to be on the side of the nunnlifs
"Typical liberal illogic, protest mightily about ethics, then embrace the very program you protested against when it benefits you. You're like the Greenpeace advocate that drives home with a gas engine burning the petrol from EvOil. I won't take your bait." Wilkens continues to enjoy his cigar and drink and makes no move back towards the machine. "Mark my words though, the creatures will pick you off one by one under the guise of peace and science."
"This mess just started and you people are already out for blood? Disgraceful. It's a good thing we're all locked in here, because not one of you would last a day outside. Hell, can't even blame dehydration or starvation for your insanity."
" Glad to have you back among the living, Russ. Only a narcoleptic or a metamorphosizing alien, could have fallen asleep under this kind of stress."
Jimmy looks around the room. " But some of us are just too calm. Too quiet. Elora, if you can't whip up a quick apple tart, then I think you might be one of THEM."
"Well Dash. Jimmy has seen the error of his ways. Care to change your vote?"
Avistan then sticks his hand out to perform the super secret Mechanics only fist bump with his partner Russ Curtis.
"Hey, hey. Sorry I'm late on this, Boss. Just read the log that says you wanted this."
Super Secret Mechanics Fist Bump activated!
"Despite what the Doctor says about science being a trifle dangerous and manipulative, as much as any politician. Violence isn't the way... find data and them we work out a safe way to distribute it." Clive tries to stop any lynching of the doctor, or anyone really.
Super Secret Mechanics Fist Bump activated!
"I feel complete."
Russ nods to Doctor Wilkens.
"You're right. Good thing we don't have any professed xenosexuals in this group. It sure would be weird if someone pretending to be somebody's bunkmate turned out to be all lovey-gooey-dovey with, like, the top dog alien, right? Talk about a weird ending where these things could be reasoned with because of love."
Russ gives the doc a super meta-wink.
"That said...I'm pretty on the fence here about somebody getting offed. I feel like there's not really enough information to go on. But if we're sticking to the script, the Doc is sure be one, but he has to make it until the end, so the hero can face off with him but then leave the audience hanging on who's who while everything burns down before the big freeze (presumably) finishes off one and all."
Russ looks at the log again squinting. "Hey, we got a flamethrower around this joint? There's something about a way to test everyone's blood in the script here..."
Talk about a weird ending where these things could be reasoned with because of love.
"Careful with that kind of talk, it could get you killed...again, and again, and again." The doc still makes no move towards the machine.