Fours follows Snake's hand and stumbles along hoping he'll find something to take the edge off of this virus soon.
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Fours staggers in the direction Snake pointed, I hope I don't have to roll my own. I could never get the hang of that and everything ends up on the floor. Fours has the same problem with burritos however he's come to believe that's how they are supposed to be eaten - messy.
Fatigue and a dreary sense of hopelessness fills the security officer's senses. Thinking only of the bathroom Fours excuses himself and settles in to a luxury which is destined to be short lived. Returning refreshed, or as close to it as he can be, Fours asks, You got any more of that? and hopes to smoke what remains of his life away into oblivion - who knows, maybe the medicinal properties will spark another idea.
But the presence of a Communication Frequency Number on the chart must mean there is some means of interfacing with it. Fours racks his brain trying to remember what form of communications arrays could handle such frequencies as Ultra High. Moths, The security officer only mumbles the word, but the memory is clear. Moths were the topic of another paper he'd edited. Some snot nosed kid in second grade was competing in a science competition and had been using Moths. Torturing them more like. The kid had managed to focus a laser beam fine enough to burn out a moth's eyes. The hard part was in by-passing the moth's antireflection film on the surface of their eyes. Somehow the kid managed then made the moths fly, directing their movements with a UHF transmitter. Fours had thought it was stupid. In hindsight he should have taken the kid's research and run to the nearest arm's manufacturer.
Fours stares mutely at Snake for a moment, That was brilliant Snake!
Fours freezes. There is a look of extreme discomfort on his face and the security officer puts down his cup of java. Strangely his eyebrow relaxes and Fours' range of facial expressions increases by at least one. Furrowed brow and stoic concentration. Gaining some control over himself he manages to say, Well, lets hope we don't have to put those skills to use, shall we.
Raising his cup of chocolate rose and cinnamon java, Fours turns to face the 'assistant'. There is no need to hide any hint of panic on his face, D-2187 is not the lab coat toting science type he was expecting. There is suddenly no need for his panic to appear. Amusement however, is a whole other emotion. Fours' smirks and his other eyebrow raises, Bozzman? I would have expected a more intelligent sounding name for a man in his position. The security officer takes a long sip of the coffee, enjoying it as though it were his last. Do you prefer D-2187 or would you rather I call you Snake? Also, is your specialty computer software or nanite physiology? He puts down the cup already looking forward to his next sip.
Standing alone in a room full of expensive looking equipment, Fours starts to idly poke around, pressing buttons on some of the machines to see if he can't turn something on and figure it out.
The old man isn't gone more than 10 seconds before Fours breaks into a hoarse, red faced, eye bulging coughing fit. After a minute, the security officer manages to gain some control over himself and anxiously looks around. Nothing looks familiar, Faargh me...
Inwardly Fours sighs. Gulping down the glass of water, Man, is it getting hot in here? Fours couldn't agree more with the old man, The clock is ticking! The sooner we get to work the better. I will of course require two of your staffers - to speed things up naturally. The security officer/spy/Orange card carrying lab supervisor and now bio-physicists, I really should take up poker when all this is done... stands to leave, Can I ask you for a skilled tech familiar with nanite physiology and your top IT guy? Fours holds up his own comp pad, I'm afraid the rest of my gear is held up in customs, something about a rogue ship trying to dock without permission. I even heard people leaving Starburgers(TM) say they fired on the station! Fours turns his head to emphasis his raised eyebrow before politely coughing into his elbow, Pardon me, the guy next to me on the transport wouldn't stop coughing. I hope I didn't catch something.
Trying not to look caught off guard, the security officer smiles politely to the white bearded man as he talks. The security officer scans the white lab coat for a name tag as they head for the office. Sitting Fours accepts the datapad and begins reading. It takes him a few minutes to get through the article but despite the blurred vision and itching he manages to get the gist. This is bad.
Fours footsteps echo hollowly down the rows of counters in Lab 23.
Fours is no doctor, but his symptoms are definitely getting worse and at this point the security officer would be happy with just about any lab. All he needs is a working body scanner, preferably the kind that shows people in their most natural postures. At least then his security background would come into play - Fours knows how to adjust the settings on those things so that nothing else shows but the layer he wants to see. Adjusting the body scanner's settings to locate the nanomachines should be child's play.
Fours' heart pounds. He wipes sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his red shirt and rubs his itchy hands along the sides of his pants. Is it getting hotter in here? With no end in sight Fours begins to wonder, How much farther is this place?
As the elevator doors close and Fours is left to his own devices the security officer takes a deep breath then exhales long and slow, I can't believe my luck! I can't believe my luck! I can't believe my luck! The numbers click down then up as the small metal cubicle heads for the sub-levels and at last the elevator slows to a stop. The doors open into a long brightly lit plain corridor, the only sign of decor a half dozen brightly colored lines on the floor. Looking at his security pass, Fours selects the orange line and heads right, hoping it will lead him to the super-super secret lab Hazell had mentioned. Fours touches the mark on his neck reviving the sting of her teeth and a smile suddenly crept over his face, If she'd tasted his blood, she may be infected as well and if his clone gives him trouble, he has another card to play.
Fours remains complacent, nodding as confidently as he can look while the Sergeant bellows. Before the security detail can lead him away Fours raises his hands stating coolly, I'm perfectly aware of the situation Sergeant. I've been ordered down to 43 for an emergency briefing, company orders. Calmly, Fours points behind the security detail, That ship possesses a serious risk to us all, lowering his next few words to a whisper for only the Sergeant to hear, there's a chance of a Class 4 Bio-weapon deployment. Smoothly Fours waves his hand in front of the Sergeant's field of vision, trailing it downwards to his side, Continue your sweep Sergeant, I'll be secure enough below.
Ouch! Hazell's teeth are sharper than he'd expected and the grazing causes the security officer to flinch. Putting a hand to his neck Fours begins to seriously question his resolve to see this role through. Looking down into her chest he confesses honestly, Sorry, first time.
Starburger, Gemini mall, Fours nods his understanding then stands to leave, A car would be wonderful, shall we say 7 o'clock?
GM_Atlas2112: Sorry I think I'm a little lost, I thought Fours was trying to deal with the obstacle. As I understand, Fours is in a small office with Hazell as she completes the 'brief' data entry program. Since he could be stuck with her for a while, I was trying to deal with Hazell (the obstacle) by using her flirtations to convince her to let Fours leave. Since he's been having some wicked luck with rolls, his ploy seems to be working. The only scene changer is this post. It sounds like Fours could have left earlier had I been able to post sooner but I didn't. Looking at it another way, it seems like Fours is assuming she will take him up on his offer and then making his suggestion to meet later. I meant his leering to be a build up to the suggestion and I made the roll for his suggestion, not checking her out. No wait, that was the first d6 roll. Is that the problem? Rolling for a good body? Rolling her body type wasn't meant to be serious and as it worked out to be the higher roll I figured no harm. I think I'm confusing myself further :P Anyways, Fours hasn't left the room yet as Hazell hasn't dismissed him, we haven't jumped to another scene and we're still in the office, the obstacle is still an obstacle, albeit a friendly one.
The nerve in his eyebrow still forcing the brow upwards, Fours continues the charade. With little effort to conceal it, Fours leans over in his chair to better check-out Hazell. He decides the girl could definitely use some dental work, braces, a nose job and a little facial cream. Maybe a good tan. Looks aside, the rest of Hazell would make even the hottest pin-up girls jealous. Fours raises his other eyebrow. Yeah, he could live with a nibble or two; sometimes sacrifices need to be made for Queen and country, I just might have to Hazell, you'll have to promise to be gentle though. It wouldn't do to have the company's newest supervisor call in sick due to 'injury', then flips her a wink.
Fours turns, a receptive look on his face, Yes. The security officer doesn't elaborate, letting Hazell contently do most of the talking. He nods politely to her open ended questions replying simply regarding his absence from the appointment, My apologies, Gemini is a large station and I was given incorrect directions by personnel in the hanger.
Fours sits up, the smell of fried food wafting through the air. As he gets his bearings he realizes odds are pretty good the teleporter initiated the program he'd created and he had successfully teleported. Trouble was, he wasn't supposed to go anywhere, the virus was. Great. Am probably still infected. Fours rubs his head and pats his empty stomache then coughs. Muttering he affirms, Yup, still infected. Remembering his training, Fours recalls the common side effect of editing documents are the munchies. Teleporting must have a similar effect. Heading towards the fragrant smell of fried food Fours lines up for a plate of yakisoba. As the attendant whips up a plate of dee-lish, Fours casually asks, Say, you know that cute brunette nanophysics tech in the lab on level three? Has she come down for lunch yet? I was thinking of taking her something, I owe her for last night.
Unbelievably the screen changes and the teleporter reports it is ready to initialize. Fours looks around, Could it really be that easy? A spasm of coughing and twitching reminds Fours the clock is ticking. Quickly he locates the voice activation control and switches it on. Stepping anxiously onto the teleporter platform Fours suddenly remembers what happened to Jerry. As uncomforting as that thought may be Fours knows they're all gonna die anyways. Recalling his training, "What to Do When Facing Certain Death", Fours takes his place on the platform. In position the security officer exhales, Initialize teleport, then closes his eyes.
Trusting in the computing gods Fours clicks 'OK' and returns to the utility file. The body outline image designated SO 4-44 displaying both green matter and red nanomatter appears and Fours excitedly exclaims, Thank the gods for user friendly programs! He repeats the cut and paste process, highlighting the red nanovirus and typing in the destination coordinates. Palms sweating the security officer wipes his hands on his black pants then clicks 'OK'
Using the teleporter console, Fours scans himself this time. Once the image materialized on screen he begins the process of isolating the nanovirus festering inside himself. Careful to match the schematics from his comp pad to the teleporter console reading, Fours selects himself as the source then hits enter. The screen filled with lines of algorithms and programming, whizzing past far to quickly for him to comprehend.
Fours sets his comp pad on the teleport console automatically synching the two devices. In theory it seemed like a simple enough process, just a quick cut and paste job. He'd done that before. Fours is a whiz with Word Processing stuff. Before signing on with the security firm he'd possessed as a ghost writer, helping foreign students ace their language assignments. Times were simpler then...
There's only one gunnery console on the bridge that Fours knows of - and he should know, he's got the shirt and graduation certificate to prove it! Top 30 in his class. With K'kth'ki finished probing the console's innermost regions Fours backs away allowing K'kth'ki's tentacles to roam freely over the controls. What the hell is that thing?! Is he even qualified?
Adjusts comm badge nervously.
Tugging on the sleeve of his red shirt the security officer frowns, But, it's standard issue according to rank ma'am. Besides, I think we've found the source. Fours points to the mysterious figure coalescing on the bridge, It seems to know all about the virus.
Fours, I hope you aren't texting your friends while you're supposed to be SHOOTING.
Trying to hide from Zanbabe's glares behind his red shirt, Fours hastily flips over his comp pad and with his other hand fires off a quick shot. Still watching his targeting screen Fours attempts to redirect the conversation, Ma'am, am I leaving the ship or not?
Fours pulls out his comp pad and begins texting, "At work, will post later. In the meantime GET ME OFF THIS SHIP!" Any away mission will do.
With Zanbabe's blessings, Fours adjusts his scanners trying to find a suitable ship.
As Riven uploads petabytes of porn at the console next to his, Fours tries to keep an open mind. One flashed scene in particular provides a glimmer of inspiration causing him to exclaim, Ma'am, we could go in through the back door! Sensing a bit of confusion from the others on the bridge the security officer elaborates, We can't beam over because the Gemini's shields are up, but those other ships haven't raised theirs. They're flying in there unprotected. We could send an away team over to one of those ships still in the process of docking, slip through the Gemini's shields and make a run at Borak.
Fours freezes in his tracks, Shoot? The station? The security officer thoughts begin to question the order but then a nanobot's microlaser cuts a nerve sending his left eyebrow up in a surprised expression, Yes, ma'am!
Jerry? The name sounds familiar but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Fours acknowledges Zanbabe's request to lead a team down to the station, Yes ma'am. But before he leaves for the teleportation room Fours tries his luck on the weapons array. The green one looks good... As the console flashes alarmingly Fours takes a step back, Right.
On my way! Fours heads for the teleportation room, selecting a standard issue weapon along the way.
Reaching the weapons array console, Fours announces, Ships comms appear functional sir.
Fours had only just started walking toward the bridge when the hall lights turned red and the annoying whine of sirens started up. As if this day couldn't get any worse he stops to roll his eyes and look up to the gods above, A little help here?
Entering the bridge Fours regards the pandemonium unfolding; error lights flashing on the weapons array, no one at the helm, correction the one called Zanbabe is pressing buttons there. Looks like she knows what she's doing too. Say didn't someone offer up as a trade? Sensing his fingers will probably be needed at one of these consoles Fours falls back on his training, eenie meenie miney mo... then heads for the weapons array. I thought Sampet was the cook, what's he doing there?
Laying face down in a puddle of drool, Security Officer 4-44 coughs then slowly makes his way to a standing position. Rubbing his head he is thankful to still be alive. How he came to be in such a position, for now eludes him. Straightening his red shirt and checking that his ship's com badge is facing the right way Fours, a name his fellow crew mates coined for him, took a moment to consider what just happened. The sound of Lord Borak's voice over the loudspeakers stops Fours in his tracks. Sapphire's broken announcement doesn't fill him with a lot of confidence either. Turning pale his inside voice screams, I knew it! I just knew it! I should never have signed up for this! Should have stayed on Gemini... Fours rubs his face and looks up and down the hall to get his bearings. Deciding he'd better report in he taps the brass badge and waits for the standard series of beeps to chime before speaking. No sooner did his hand tap the insignia on his chest than Fours realizes he's been standing outside the bridge the whole time.
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