Ellen Park, the Lone Wanderer

Elliot glances at Ellen. When she nods, he squares his shoulders. "Well," he says, "I've spent the better part of the past year up here on this ship with only Sally Taylor and a samurai warrior who doesn't speak English for company- along with a bunch of aliens. I thought they were spying on us so they could kill us all by sabotaging the ship. Captain Park here-"

"I'm only captain by default, Elliott."

"It still counts and I should've said it before," says Elliott. "Captain Park here just made radio contact with us for the first time really recently, though. And when she came up here the first time she brought a half-alien guy named Invincible to help with getting at better supplies and other issues we were having on the ship. Now we've had an Asgardian ambassador show up and negotiate peace with the aliens, of all things, and they gave me healing chems and some really weird stuff that turned out to be a basic user's guide to the ship's cryo technology. I got started thawing people out and I've had three successful people in a row, if you don't count the huge green skinned mutant monster we thawed out by mistake."

"Which would be enough on its own, but one of the aliens who gave me the user's guide came in a while ago and I'm pretty sure it was trying to tell me there's a problem with something hostile somewhere else on the ship..."

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Dinah glances briefly at Diana just long enough to catch her eye, before turning back to the doctor.

"What kind of something hostile, exactly?"

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"I'm not sure. About its size, though," says Elliott, indicating something about a head shorter than him. "So not a mutant, and ... probably not one of their robots. They've got robots with energy cannons, but the robots are shorter than they are. They did some really sick experiments where they force-hybridized human and alien DNA, though. Toshiro's left enough corpses for me to be able to tell that much about them."

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"Force-hybridized," Diana repeats, unimpressed, glancing over at Dinah as she does so.

Hmm.

"Do you and your allies think this hostile force might be more of such beings, or is more likely to be a different type of experiment? And if it is the latter -- or even the former, really -- are there accessible records we'd have time to look through? Or do you judge the situation far too urgent?"

Edited Date: 2012-10-13 01:39 am (UTC)

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"Well, Sally hasn't seen any of them herself, but she tries to stay out of the line of fire anyway," says Elliott. "Can't blame her. She's only about seven or eight years old. Toshiro's used the word 'bakemono' a lot. I'm not sure what that means, but he usually says it after killing some of those hybrids. The crew aliens get all cringing and scared when they try to communicate about them, though."

He gives Ellen an apologetic look.

"The kind they used to give me when I thought they were the danger and tried shooting them. I think it means the hostiles are armed, not just bare-handed like these bake... bakemono things. As far as records go, there's consoles all over the ship, but none of us've actually figured out how to read much of the alien language other than the specific stuff they've got in the cryo labs."

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"Bakemono," Dinah repeats, in much the same way that Diana had earlier, including the same look. Her pronunciation is better than Dr. Tercorien managed, though.

"That could be shapeshifters. Or it could just be the fact that they're hybrids, I guess."

She rolls one shoulder, flicking her blonde hair behind it in that movement.

"Looks like the only way we'll find out about these hostiles is to go find them. Unless Toshiro is around?"

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"As far as I know he's meditating in the observation area," says Elliott. "I can take you there if you want- it's right off the engineering core, so you'll be able to reach the rest of the ship via the teleporter disks. Follow me, it's not far."

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And another look gets exchanged.

"I think we'd prefer that, yes. Thank you very much."

The really troubling thought -- insofar as there are any thoughts regarding this situation that are not troubling -- is that these bakemono might just as easily be both.

Or something more, besides.

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Elliott nods, and leads the way through a number of short corridors and rounded doors that pull apart into six smaller elements that iris out of the way as they pass. Fortunately, there's relatively little ducking to be done- especially once they reach the observation area. The ceiling there is about fifteen feet overhead, with windows one can only hope are of transparent aluminum or some similar material running from ceiling to floor.

(Ellen turns away from the view quickly, herself. She doesn't need to be reminded of just how unutterably vast the blackness of space is.)

"Hey, Toshiro?" calls Elliott as they enter the room. "Toshiro, are you in here?"

An observant eye will spot the kneeling figure off to one side before it starts to rise to its feet.

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This time Dinah doesn't grin or offer a hand for shake her hair.

She bows formally instead.

"Konichiwa, Toshiro-sama."

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Toshiro stares for a moment, then shakes himself off and returns the bow. "[Good day to you, lady,]" he says as politely as he can. "[Please pardon my surprise. I didn't expect to meet someone here who spoke a language I could understand.]"

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"[The vagaries of Fate are strange, indeed.]"

Diana's own smile is warm and open.

"[But perhaps that will end up in our favor, this time. I hope we are well met, Toshiro-san. I'm Diana, and this is Dinah. Ellen tells us you've run into creatures that seem like bakemono on board this ship, multiple times. Is there much you can tell us of them?]"

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Another one? Toshiro's surprise is evident, but quickly replaced by a scowl. He jerks his head in a nod. "[There are things on this ship that used to be human,]" he says. "[I thought at first they were conjured up by the little demons that captured me- but then I killed one and saw its blood was red, like a man's. And then I saw that they had five fingers, and a thumb on each hand, not three as the demons do.]"

He holds up his own right hand by way of example.

"[There are not many of them left. I've been hunting them wherever I can reach in this ship. They move quietly and wear no armor, carry no weapon- but they move quickly if they see you, and leap at you with the strength of five men. Their arms are longer than a man's, and their fingers tough as claws. You can see the marks one of them left on my armor, before I was able to catch it and put it out of its misery. Their eyes are black, like the demons', and they have no noses, only holes in their faces. The demons have taken away their ears, too. Their skin is yellow-green, like sickness, and their intestines can be seen through their skin. They do not know fear or pain, but will keep attacking until they die.]"

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Dinah listens carefully, having just the slightest problems following his dialect, which she knows at least isn't modern. She follows his description well enough, and glances at Diana to see her response.

The good news is, not shapeshifters. The bad news is: well everything else.

And she'll probably have to kill. It's not a pleasant thought.

"[Thank you, Toshiro-sama,]" she says when he's through. "[You have been doing good work here. We hope we can relieve some of that burden for you.]"

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"[There are a few of the demons left, as well,]" Toshiro notes. "[They are faster, and talk among themselves, which their victims no longer do. They will be harder for you, I think.]"

Edited Date: 2012-10-17 02:13 pm (UTC)

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"Great Hera," Diana's epithet punctuates the revulsion she feels at the idea of experimenting on living beings -- and, in a way, the necessity of mercifully ending their plight.

She shares another look with Dinah. (Faster is always relative.)

"[When you say 'a few', Toshiro-san, are there few enough that they might surrender? Or do they seem the type to prepare for a last stand?]"

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"[Perhaps four or five,]" says Toshiro. "[They're armed with guns, not blades. When they run out of the coals they use to make their guns spit balls of light I suspect they may surrender.]"

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"[Then we'll just have to give them moving targets until they run out of ammunition,]" Dinah says. "[Do their weapons damage the ship, if they miss?]"

This is important!

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"[They burn the walls and put out lights, but the metal of the walls is strong,]" says Toshiro. "[But they can burn through a man's armor, or a man's arm, with only a few strikes. And their weapons almost never leave bodies behind, only ash.]"

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Diana arches an eyebrow, looking toward Dinah briefly.

This sounds like a job for Diana's bracers, at least in part.

"[I daresay we may be able to work with that, and better than most.]"

Quite.

Edited Date: 2012-10-18 10:21 pm (UTC)

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"[Very well,]" says Toshiro. "[I know a warrior when I see one. I can lead you to where I see these things most often. Being rid of these things will make guarding those who sleep here an easier task.]"

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"[Thank you very much,]" Dinah says, still using highly formal terms. She bows, then grins at Diana as they follow him.

"[We would like to ease a task that important.]"

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"[We should have swept this place from end to end months ago,]" says Toshiro as he indicates the blue-lit corridor ahead of them. "[There aren't many of us awake, but after the great battle that destroyed the other vessel, enough of the demons were gone that we could have wiped them all out. Leaving them alive was a terrible mistake.]"

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"[Mercy is rarely a mistake,]" Diana offers. "[Even when offered to those who refuse to take it.]"

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