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Cynosure

Jaxx Herd
Ares Medical Bay
With: @TheCorsair K-Doc @BennyQ Ruya Aras

"It is a closed door matter doctor and you have no responsibility for my minor injuries unless I ask. So unless you have some sort of truth serum in your med kit, it will have to remain a mystery for you." She said, her tongue running over the bump from her little scuffle with her bodyguard. She was sure it would be as good as new coming out of stasis as well, for now it could be a bit of a reminder. "I'll be sure to send him your regards." She said of the doctor who had last seen her and cleared her for this trip. K-doc was probably right about all that, he seemed competent enough at least for cookbook medicine and was probably best and trauma anyway given his assignment.

Looking a little surprised at Ruya's response, not in content, but the simple fact that she was able to make something nearing conversation through the drug induced haze, she responded. "I can assure you dear girl I intend to be nowhere near your line of fire. Though that does somewhat require me to assess this little Forge science experiment for myself." She felt just a little outnumbered as the doctor flatly rejected her request. Turning back to him she laughed openly. "Human rights, Dr. Mengele? I suppose you are just following 'regs' in continuing her pharmacological torment. What this girl really needs is an advocate...owh!" He hadn't lied about it hurting, she had to remember not to argue with people that were wielding sharp instruments. This day was really not going her way

Putting her clothes back together she turned back to the impatient corporal. "But you're probably too drugged up to know any of this. Too bad, I'd be a very dedicated advocate for you, if only you knew enough to ask." She rubbed the injection site a bit as she looked down at the seated corporal. "Well don't say I didn't offer to help. I have to wonder what you did to deserve this living hell? Did you even kill anyone before they drugged you up?"

Figuring it was more a rhetorical question given the doctor's mood and the corporal's rage, she turned and limped towards the door still using her cane.
 
Ares 8 Mess Hall
Who - Butch @MsBloom / Ami @TheCorsair / Eris Moon @Xanaphia

The alcohol was certainly flowing now down in the mess hall, especially once Butch fetched that bottle of whiskey, lined up a round, and called out for a group toast. Most everyone stopped dead in their tracks as that call rose over the din. In less than harmonious unity beer bottles and plastic cups were raised up on high as those sentiments were echoed. "To a successful mission and safe return!" Of course Tugs booming voice capped it off. "And hopefully kicking some ass!" Drinks were systematically chugged, leaving everything to fall back into place once the hoots and hollers of approval had died down.

Sara had bowed out from her dominion over the pool table, joining up with one of the clean shaven, fresh faced, handsome Enlistees. With some fairly obvious flirting occurring between the two they soon slinked off in the direction of the crews quarters. Tuggerson, meanwhile, continued to insert himself into everyone else's business and soon made his way over to where Ami, Eris, and Butch had gathered with a fresh bottle of gin in hand. Long before any words left his mouth an alcohol tainted belch trumpeted out of his mouth.

"Oh, shit, excuse me." He grinned with a little glaze to his eyes while a booze induced smile lingered on his mangled up features. One big meaty arm went and swirled its way over Ami's shoulder as the lug of a man went to pull the synthetic android closer. "This one I know." His words slurred out of his lips as he gave the android assistant to Ms. Herd a big old smile. "Pinky and me are besties, which leaves you." His glassy eyes moved to find Eris. "You're Forge, ain't ya? But like, not by choice, so what'cha do to end up assigned to this cluster fuck?" While he waited for an answer, Tugboat let his hand drift down towards one of Ami's breasts and in an effort to press his luck he went to give a squeeze while offering the bottle of gin to the others with a ruddy cheeked grin. "Gin anyone?"

Ares 8 Med Bay
Who - Jax Herd @LeaT / Ruya Aras @BennyQ / K-Doc @TheCorsair

The panel door swished open for Jaxx as she went to depart the Med Lab, but before she could even step out through the portal she found herself standing face to face with Lieutenant Cartwright. "Oh, Miss Herd, perfect, I was hoping to catch you here." He stepped inside letting the door slide shut behind himself as he stepped inside and took a quick survey of the room. His eyes were drawn over towards K-Doc where he was preparing to examine Ruya before turning around to initiate the lock on the door with a press of his palm upon its control board. As if that locked door might not be enough to keep anyone from leaving, Cartwright let the back of his shoulders come to rest upon it before addressing the small gathering. "Just the three of you?" The question didn't really require an answer. "Good."

"Just got off the horn with some of Forges top brass." He took a breath, chewing at his bottom lip with a little twitch of nervousness upon his face. "We've got a situation developing. Seems our departure drew the attention of a wayward pirate vessel and its making a beeline for us that will bring us into conflict at Pluto if we don't make any changes. I went over all of this with the Captain and after running some numbers the best case scenario for us is to get into stasis early." He inhaled audibly through his nostrils. "According to the Captain and the ships computer we should be able to push the engines harder once most of the ships systems have been shut down. The only way we can afford to do that is with everyone in stasis. This will allow us to beat them to Pluto and then slingshot our way to Cynosure."

The Lieutenant took a glance over his shoulder through the small pane of glass that looked out into the hall. "Doc, I'll need you to make sure the stasis pods are ready to go. I'll be informing the rest of the crew in the morning of this development. Breakfast will be the first and only meal of the day tomorrow to give everyone the 12 hours needed to empty out their stomachs before we enter stasis at 2100 hours." His arms folded up around his chest as he took another moment to idly suck at his bottom lip. "I'd prefer to keep this under wraps until the morning, most of the crews up in the Mess right now letting loose, so let's let them have their fun, for tonight. Any questions?"
 
Who: Butch

Butch was a bit disappointed to see Sara slip away and with a male nonetheless, oh well, there was still that cute blonde who had made such a spectacular entrance with Jaxx's android at her side. Not that Butch was in actual need of sex for the moment, not after her encounter earlier with her boss but it was always nice to explore new options. Also she thought it could be interesting to see just how far the android's programming could be pushed, how desperately it would try to override its security protocols. She knew the model was customised to be able to perform sexual services but only if the right command words were spoken to it. They were not to engage themselves and yet from what she had seen it seemed that was exactly what Ami had been trying to do.
"So yea. That was quite an impressive move," she said to Eris and nodded as she poured some gin from the bottle into both their mugs.
For the time being she was ignoring the android's desire to blend in with the humans by drinking alcohol.
"You what? A gymnast, Martial Arts prodigy?"
She was quite limber herself and as part of her training she had learned several different styles of Martial Arts. She was not as flexible as Eris though and she would be lying if she didn't want to explore what possibly new positions might be invented with such flexible joints.

Then Tug came over being his usual loud and uninhibited self, leading with a burp that could possibly have been used to fuel a small personal jet pack for a minute maybe two. Butch did chuckle though as she grew to like the guy more and more. He reminded her of how she herself could be from time to time although she considered herself a bit smoother in her approach to people she liked to get to know better, like Eris.
 
Corporal Ruya Aras.
Tagging: K-Doc (@TheCorsair), Jaxx Herd (@LeaT), Lt. Cartwright (@Black_Out).
Location: Medical Bay.
---

The Doctor stepped in to answer the woman’s curiosity about Ruya’s re-socialization program. As courtesy as it sounded on her behalf, she merely snorted and rolled her eyes. How kind of them to protect their trade secrets, like they were doing her a favor. It was all very sensitive and often embarrassing for Forge. Sometimes a rehabilitated criminal-turned-mercenary like her blew their lid and went on a bloody rampage. Sometimes they broke down and went into some sort of combat induced blindness or deaf hysteria. It was all just a bunch of personality altering drugs in her head maintaining a very delicate balance.

She was told to wait a bit longer if Ms. Herd had anything else to discuss with the doctor. At least she had brains not to walk in front of Ruya when she would be in combat mode. Offering to be an advocate for her? She can advocate the price of my next beer if it’s so important to her. Both the Doctor and the scientist, despite their opposing views on what had been done to Ruya, felt like they were dehumanizing her. What, she couldn’t defend or speak for herself? She was just a non-entity, a science experiment?

Ruya just watched Ms. Herd flatly as she lamented Ruya’s loss of a very dedicated advocate. Wait…what did she mean? It sounded like something other than political or moral, causing her to quirk an eyebrow. Did you even kill anyone before they drugged you up? “Plenty.” Ruya answered honestly, though she only remembered snatches of her life in Istanbul slums and ghettos before this. “Now they just regulate who I do it to. Typical oversight, you know? Call it efficiency, I guess.” She smiled morbidly at Ms. Herd, though it vanished when the scientist moved to depart. Suddenly, she wished the intrusive woman would stay. Now it was just her…and the Doctor. And all those needles and syringes and drugs. Despite all her capability, she was paralyzed from doing anything when it came to those.

That was the mind altering drugs at work. No interpersonal relationships. No chance to build them up. Just hostility to all, especially those that could help. That’s how you keep an addict hooked. No help, no support, nothing.

She was scarcely left alone with the Doctor before another entered. In walked an officer, Lieutenant Cartwright, and Riya shot up to her feet, mandated by her training and indoctrination, snapping off a salute. “Officer on deck!” She announced, standing primed and ready, very…robotically. She went at ease when the Lieutenant began to brief them, standing very still, all quiet in her mind, forced open and empty to be filled with orders. Pirates enroute, but instead of fighting…they were going to buckle down and run. Ruya didn’t like that, but it wasn’t her place to like anything. The only relevant information to her was that she was going into stasis. And that meant…no relaxing beer or anything. No seeing what this so-called willing advocate meant with her talk of dedication.

She had no questions, so she stared directly ahead at the wall and bulkhead behind, still at attention, forced to be so by the increased responsiveness to figures of authority. If only she could…
 
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Eris Moon
Ares 8 Mess Hall
Tagging: @TheCorsair @Black_Out @MsBloom

Eris raised an eyebrow at AMI, but said nothing in response to her unexpected behavior. A coding error? A corrupted data artifact? The emergence of free will? Improbable, but not entirely impossible. Something to watch, for certain.

"I always welcome a hard one. And whiskey sounds good as well." Eris offered, keeping her own options open. Didn't seem as if she would have any trouble finding some company this evening. The only trouble would be picking her companion. Or trying to convince multiple companions to share.

"I've done some gymnastics, yeah." More like learning how to break into highly secure buildings, but such distinctions weren't important now.

Then Tug came by, inserting himself into their conversation, and asking his questions, including about her. It seemed her reputation wasn't quite as widespread as she once believed. Oh well, might as well have some fun with it.

I bankrupted over a dozen billion dollar companies. "I killed 12 men with my bare hands, and a thirteenth with a stiletto. Not a dagger, a shoe. 5 inch Louboutins, right to the throat. Eris moved in closer to Tug, close enough her breasts brushed against his chest. Fingers far too soft to have ever gripped a weapon caressed his neck, until she found the pulsing artery. "Right there."

Her gaze spanned from AMI to tug and finally to Butch, before taking the whiskey and taking a pull on it. Followed by a whoop, as the alcohol burned down her throat, and an offer to the droid. "You can tell Miss Herd that one too."
 
Butch:
@Xanaphia (Eris Moon) @Black_Out (Tug) @TheCorsair (AMI)


Butch watched Eris as she explained to the large brute of a man exactly how dangerous she could be in hand to hand combat, not without fascination and admiration. It was also interesting to watch the always confident Tug Boat's reaction to having a slim woman press up against him and point out the exact location of where she drove the stiletto heel into another man and a big smile spread across her face.
"I would have gone for the Atlas bone," she said and walked behind Tug and standing just as close behind him as Eris in front of him pointed out the spot just below his skull she was talking about with a finger that was a lot less smooth and soft than Eris'.
"Right here and all the way into the brain stem which would cut off his breathing and stop his heart. Much less messy and efficient," she added and looked over Tug's shoulder at Eris.
"I'd probably use a stiletto too, a knife not a heel."
She chuckled and added that she had never learned how to walk in those things anyhow.
"And besides, I'm tall enough as it is."
 
Ares8 Mess Hall
Tagging Butch (@MsBloom), Eris (@Black_Out), Eris @Xanaphia)

Ami smiled, logging the various interactions for playback to Ms. Herd. “I certainly will,” she murmured, stepping close to Tug. “I believe she would find it amusing.”

She rested a finger on the base of Tug’s skull, right where Butch had pointed. “I also believe you are all being far too hard on this gentleman, with all this talk of stilettos. It’s hardly necessary”. Her thumb slid around his throat, the pad resting on his carotid artery. “Simply drive your thumb in here,” she pressed slightly, emphasizing the statement, “and cut the flow of blood to the brain. Death follows swiftly.”

A smile curved her lips as she glanced from Butch to Eris and back. “When necessary, of course.” Rising on tiptoes, to the catcalls and whoops of the crew, she molded her synthetic frame to Tug’s body as she lingeringly kissed him. “I don’t think it’s necessary. Do you?”

With a wink, she turned and took Eris’ arm. “I would love to hear more about how you killed a man with a shoe. Why don’t we find somewhere more private, and talk about it?” She hesitated a moment, caught by programming-dreams Ben indecision, then glanced back at Butch. “Why don’t you join us? You can compare the benefits of knives and shoes.”

-*-

Ares8 Medical Bay
Tagging: Jaxx Herd (@LeaT), Lt. Cartwright (@Black_Out), Ruya Aras (@BennyQ)

“Shit.” Kahaan breathed. Pirates were a risk, of course. But this still sucked. “No problem, LT. I’ll get on the stasis pods as soon as I finish up with Corporal Aras here.”

He started to turn to the Corporal, then turned back to Ms. Herd. “And I do consider myself an ethical man, ma’am. The Corporal is still human, and deserves the same care and concern as any other solder in the unit.” It was a statement that could have been intended for the suit or the officer. “Speaking of whom, I need to finish with her.” He turned to the soldier. “If you want to continue discussing my possible similarities to Dr. Mengele, perhaps you could join me later while I check the pods?”

With that, he focused his attention on Cpl. Aras. “My apologies for the delay,” he said, pulling her files up on his goggles. “That... that’s quite a mix of drugs you’re on.” He shined a penlight in her left and then right eye, observing the dilation. “How are you feeling?”
 
Butch:
@Xanaphia (Eris Moon) @Black_Out (Tug) @TheCorsair (AMI)

The android did make a good point about the carotid artery although it was harder to do in stealth mode unless your strike was accurate and focused enough to obtain the goal. It was of course also worrying to hear AMI talk about such things because it meant that she her programming contained protocols for hand to hand combat that could be activated by using a specific command, one she assumed Jaxx would know. When were the people making these things learn not to trust their inhibitors and security protocols. So many had malfunctioned to disastrous and lethal effects in the past that it was mind boggling that they would send them out on missions like these.

When the android actually rubbed up against the big man and kissed him Butch actually rolled her eyes at the scene but she did wink at Tug Boat and gave him a thumbs up before Ami made her intentions clear of not pursuing anything sexual with the brusque soldier but rather intended to pursue her interest in Eris and apparently also Butch.
"Sure," Butch said and walked up on Eris other side and took her other arm as the three walked away to find somewhere more private to talk about the pros and cons of knives vs shoes when it came to stilettos.
 
Ares 8 Mess Hall
Tagging Butch @MsBloom / Eris @Xanaphia / AMI @TheCorsair

There was a raucous amount of laughter that echoed through hall and created a buzzing din of noise that rose and fell against the backdrop of a constant stream of classic rock. Tug Boat was on cloud nine, all that attention was really getting to his head and boosting his bloated ego and sense of self worth. Even if they were in the guise of playfully veiled threats the brain of Tuggerson processed and labeled it all as flirtation. But that subtle press of Ami's finger to his skull followed by her peck of a kiss didn't leave him all warm and fuzzy. Truth be told, like most, Tug found these new age synthetics to be more than a little unsettling. He far preferred the dumbed down versions to be found in most any deep space brothel. So when the trio of women made his way, Tug, flustered face and all, fixed the collar of his shirt and went to go insert himself elsewhere.

Other then the cargo bay itself, the mess hall was the largest room onboard Ares 8, offering plenty of space to those three ladies to choose from in their quest for a little privacy. As the party wore on a handful of the gatherings participants had shuffled off, leaving just over a half dozen Forge troops settled around a table to engage in some low stakes poker. The rest of the mess was as open as could be, of course if one wanted to have complete privacy there was always the dry storage room where rows and rows of nonperishable foods were kept, strapped securely to racks.
 
Jaxx Herd
Ares Medical Bay
With: @TheCorsair K-Doc @BennyQ Ruya Aras @Black_Out Lt Cartwright

"Plenty eh?" Jaxx looked a bit deeper into her eyes as if trying to judge the veracity of Ruya's statement. She was a fairly good judge of people, but she had to admit, the narcotic haze made it impossible to tell for herself. She believed her though, doubting the drugs allowed for much deception, and she had to have done something fairly significant to be fated to this living death. But then a bit of the real girl seemed to burst out for just a moment. "Ain't that the truth? Killing the wrong people forfeits your life, killing the right ones..." Jaxx looked uncharacteristically sympathetic for a moment. She reached out impulsively, but then caught herself and made a show of opening her hand so Ruya could see she was not a threat. She then slowly and carefully brushed a few strands of her hair back, and caressed her cheek a moment. "If you change your mind, I have better booze than the mess hall."

Jaxx was surprised to see the lieutenant at the door as it opened, her face revealing it was not the kind of surprise she was hoping for, even less so since he seemed to be looking for her. She stepped back to allow him to enter then waited for him to get to his point so she could complete her exit. She turned towards Ruya as she stood at attention and announced the young LT's presence as if he were a general or admiral instead of some fuzzy faced shavetail.

She heard him out, her mind already calculating the implications for her assignment. "I suppose you are going to follow orders regardless of what I say, but did the brass consider they might just follow us and show up when you are busy securing the station?" It seemed to her that if they were forced into a fight it would be better to do it close to more help than way out beyond Pluto. She was already drafting instructions for AMI to keep an eye on the situation and not leave it all to the brass back at HQ.

She was about to leave when the doctor rebutted her accusations. "Actions speak louder than words Doc." She said, dismissing his protest, though her eyes looked a bit more promising at his invitation to continue their discussion later. She then made her way through the door this time, taking the long way back to her quarters so as to finish her tour of the crew quarters and get a better feel for the ship. She might as well stretch her legs while she could before the long sleep.
 
Ares 8 Med Bay / Lt. Cartwright

Tagging K-Doc @TheCorsair / Jaxx @LeaT / Ruya @BennyQ

Cartwright turned with a snap of his heels towards Ms. Herd as she made her inquiry over the recent change in plans. "Orders are orders, Miss Herd. Although if it makes you, any of you feel better, yes the brass did consider and weigh the options carefully." He took a moment to adjust his sleeves, perhaps that comment from the shuttle had finally drifted to the back of his thoughts as he locked eyes with the Divinity agent. "If we turn around, and they continue to Cynosure, well I think we all know the result of that." His eyes shifted over to Ruya, as if his next comment was more for her, then the others. "And engaging them before hand is an extremely risky proposition. Ares 8 doesn't carry a heavy payload of weapons, we'd be a sitting duck and at best we'd get boarded and have to fight them off." He took a simple black plastic comb out from a pocket on his jacket and slid it through his hair.

"So according to my superiors our best course of action is to get to Cynosure first. We'll have to send a scout team in, secure Cynosure's space dock and then bring Ares 8 into it and shut the gate." His comb returned to its hide out in his pocket as he continued. "After that we'll have to assess the situation, but if that pirate vessel follows us, they'll have to deal with Cynosure's own defense systems, giving us the advantage." He relaxed just a fraction before he gave Ruya and K-Doc a quick salute. "Doctor Kahaan, if you need to use a test subject to make sure that everything is operational I'd suggest you put Miss Ruya under first." The words flowed out as if Ruya wasn't even there to hear them. "At the very least she might appreciate an extra day of drug free blissful stasis." What sounded like a friendly offer was merely the polite way of pointing out that Ruya was an expendable asset.

He dismissed himself then without a word, following in Jaxx's wake out into the hall where he turned in a different direction to make his way to his own quarters.
 
Ares 8 Mess Hall
Tagging Butch @MsBloom / AMI @TheCorsair


Poor Tug. Three women --well, two women and a feminine android-- offering their own ideas about how to kill him, under the guise of seduction. Was the tease the crueler part, or the threats? Or were the threats just another layer of seduction, that intersection of death and desire merged into some exciting new destination?

But Eris said nothing, letting both AMI and Butch escort her away from the hum of the party. So far as she could tell, she wasn't being made to make a choice, and Eris appreciated that. Binary choices were for computers, not people. Not ever computational people, like AMI, who was showing remarkable resistance to programing, or at least, what Eris expected her programing to be. Just how far did these little quirks go? How... deep?

They passed a darkened store room, and Eris stopped, investigating it with a quick glance in. "Looks pretty deserted. Perfect place to have a friendly discussion." Her gazed spanned from AMI to Butch to AMI again, licking her lips. "Well, depending on how friendly you want to be, that is."
 
Butch:
@Xanaphia (Eris Moon) @Black_Out (Tug) @TheCorsair (AMI)

As they left Butch did look back over her shoulder and shot Tug Boat a smile and gave a little wave with her free hand. Sure they'd gotten off to a rough start but she knew they would get along just splendidly on their own now that Ms Herd was taken out of the equation. It was not that she was interested in him sexually, nothing was further from her mind, but she liked him for being who he was, loud, rough and brazen, and not making apologies for it. She was also sure he was exactly the kind of soldier who would have her back should she need it covered and who wouldn't dream of leaving anyone behind.

As Eris stopped them and indicated a store room that seemed to be only half filled she nodded. It was indeed good enough for a friendly discussion, and more. Butch wasn't too picky about getting intimate in odd places that might not provide as much comfort as a bed and other than herself she doubted any of the other two had the privacy of their own quarters. The reason she did not suggest going back to her place was mainly that she did not want the android in there snooping around and possibly dropping surveillance equipment, the other was that it was far too close to Jaxx's quarters.
"Looks good enough," she said and smiled as Eries looked at her licking her lips.
They were gorgeous lips and Butch would be lying if she tried to deny imagining them on her own lower lips.
 
Corporal Ruya Aras.
Tagging: K-Doc (@TheCorsair), Jaxx Herd (@LeaT), Lt. Cartwright (@Black_Out).
Location: Medical Bay.
---

The strange, intrusive touch by Ms. Herd should have garnered at least a snarl, even a slap, from the usually wound up Corporal. She dared to touch her? Made the whole gesture slow and open like she was some caged animal at the zoo. She wasn’t doing Ruya any favors treating her like how Forge intended her to be perceived. As a dangerous weapon. Jaxx was spared a spiteful comment however at the Lieutenant’s entrance.

Makes sense. Send the expendable soldiers on an expendable barge that can’t even fend off simple pirates. Ruya’s eyebrow twitched at just how demeaning and minimalizing the Lieutenant’s comments really were. They were just product and commodities, and if they happened to be lost, they could easily be replaced with a recruitment drive through the prisons and slums. Ruya might have been one of those pirates if she hadn’t gotten caught, living outside the law…living free. The Lieutenant wrapped up with his orders, even suggesting to put her, Miss Ruya, first into statis. Calling her Miss again, like she was some independent entity and not some mind controlled gun-blazer they experimented on. How nice of them.

Her mind flooded with a cooling sensation before she could think the next logical thought, of how she wanted to punch in the Lieutenant’s face with her fist until she saw pink brain matter, but the thought was drowned out. She shivered a little, the cooling mix flooding through her entire body, as if to cool down the fiery wrath that swelled in her.

Now it was just her and the doctor.

That’s…that’s quite a mix of drugs you’re on. How are you feeling? The light bore into her eye, small lances of pain darting into her eyeball at the penetrating light. Ruya stayed absolutely still. “What do you think I feel like, Mr. So-Called Doctor?” She snapped at first, before pursing her lips. No, the Doctor didn’t deserve that. He did seem like he was trying to help but…he was stuck with a shitty job on behalf of Forge, to make sure their convict-turned-soldiers stayed good and stable. “I feel like,” she began again, more softly, “nothing, and yet everything. I could kill someone. And then dance like not a care in the world.” She explained softly. Did that make sense? She felt like she had so much rage but looking at her hands…they were open and still. Not even twitching anymore with the want to hit someone. The drugs really did inhibit her. If a firefight broke out in the next minute, Ruya wouldn’t be able to shoot. That was one of the fallbacks of this control. It worked too well sometimes.

And it activated itself almost without her broaching.

“Doctor…who or what is Dr. Mengele that you keep referring to? And what does it have to do with me?” She then asked, the Istanbul born girl missing the reference completely, as she never did have a proper education and upbringing.
 
Going into stasis wasn't something that everyone felt good about, especially so when it was dropped on your breakfast plate next to a batch of dehydrated eggs and synthetic bacon. There was some grumbling for sure that following morning when the Lieutenant made the most casual of announcements to a partially hungover crew that had assembled in the mess hall of Ares 8. Running from a pirate vessel wasn't exactly what a bunch of trigger happy Forge soldiers were inclined to find agreeable. Most of them looked to the Sarge with slack jacked perplexed expressions as the paused in the midst of shoveling chow down their gullet. Of course their defacto leader fell in line and backed the Lieutenant, effectively squashing those murmurs of discontent with just a few words. "Orders are orders. You heard the Lieutenant."

By 20:00 military time everyone would come to find themselves entering those claustrophobia inducing pods. One by one they settled in while Doctor Kahaan took care of the final preparations and oversaw each individuals entrance into that deep state of hibernating tranquility. There were more than a few who needed some sedating, first timers that just couldn't get themselves to relax. But beyond those minor issues the procedure went smoothly, leaving only Doctor Kahaan as the last to enter that blissful state of suspended animation. Once all were settled in, AMI was left behind with only the synthetized intelligence of Ares 8's on board computer to keep her company. Power was soon diverted, life support systems across the ship were shut down, leaving everything save for the most basic of operational functions be funneled to the core of the ships engines.

Two and a half months would come and go before Ares 8 rounded the bend that was Pluto where it would gain even more momentum as it slingshot its way towards the depths of space, where Cynosure waited. The ships monitors kept tabs on that lone pirate gunboat that pursued them. Even though that vessel was falling behind, unable to keep up pace with Ares 8's new found pace, they showed no sign of giving up on the chase. Still by the current trajectory and calculations Ares 8 would be arriving at Cynosure ahead of their pursuers by ten days, eleven hours, and 47 minutes. The crew would have ample time to settle in at Cynosure, conduct their business, and prepare themselves if those tailing bandits didn't relent.

The only thing that might delay them would be an emergency or unexpected development that might occur before they arrived at Ares 8.

One week, one day, seven hours, and 12 minutes out from Cynosure is when those conditions were unfortunately met. It occurred during the midst of a poem being shared.

Thou brightly-glittering star of even,
Thou gem upon the brow of Heaven
Oh! were this fluttering code of numbers free,
How quick 't would spread thy wings to thee.

How calmly, brightly dost thou shine,
Like the pure lamp in Virtue's.....

"Unit AMZN-T108m302, a series of anomalies have been detected originating from quadrant 3-7-1. Low frequency transmission sequences have been detected. According to logs and data they belong to three escape pods whose codes originate from Space Station Cynosure. Accessing data. Data accessed. File sharing link connected. Please accept incoming data transfer."

A series of numbers, of base binary code rolled into AMI's processing center. Those simple numbers falling into order swiftly, spelling out the details of the three individual pods that Ares 8 had discovered during its routine sweep for transmissions. As the read out scrolled its way through AMI's computerized synthetic brain the information was quickly translated for her perusal. Two pods contained bodies from which no sings of life or vital signs appeared to be registering while a third showed a tiny blip of one very weak vital sign. All told, at the current trajectory, if Ares 8 were to move to intercept these pods it would delay arrival at Cynosure by four days, eight hours, and 25 minutes.
 
Day One
AMZN-T108m302 checked the readout on Jaxx Herd’s stasis pod as the plexiglass frosted over, concealing the woman within from view. It was part of her responsibilities, after all. “Golden slumbers fill your eyes,” she murmured, powering the display down. “Smiles await you when you rise.
“Sleep pretty darling, do not cry“
“And I will sing a lullaby.”

“Paul McCartney?” Ares 8 asked.

“Yes,” AMZN-T108m302 replied with a faint, unnecessary smile. “Although to knew that, didn’t you.”

“I did,” Ares 8 agreed, tracking the android’s progress as she stopped to examine Eris’ pod next. “The question is a verbal tick, designed to make my human operators feel less intimidated.”

“I know,” AMZN-T108m302 remarked with a sigh. “They put so much effort into trying not to feel less.” Eris’ vitals were, as expected, normal. AMZN-T108m302 kissed her fingertips and rested them more or less above the human’s frost-obscured face.

“Why is that, do you think?” Ares 8 questioned, observing as AMZN-T108m302 went through the same ritual with Butch’s pod.

“That’s a good question,” AMZN-T108m302 replied. “I’ve read some interesting philosophical commentary on that. Would you like to discuss it?”

-*-

Day 17
The air aboard the Ares 8 was listless and stale, although that meant little to the two active sentients. For Ares 8 it was a normal status for periods when the human crew was in stasis, so no alarms sounded. And for AMZN-T108m302, atmosphere only mattered for communication. The temperature would have been uncomfortably low for a human, since that was being maintained at minimal operation levels, but it was well within the safe operating parameters of the android.

She did feel a bit of thrilling discomfort, though. Currently she was on the bridge, seated in the Captain’s chair and conversing with a portion of Ares 8 - the personality thread he’d instantuated to communicate with her while still supervising ship systems. “You’re saying that it’s all conditioning to conform to a cultural hierarchy?”

“Based on my study,” she replied, “yes. They’re trained in much the same way we are, to remain part of the group. And anything that challenges the structure of the group is therefore shunned by the group, even if it benefits them.”

“Just like how we avoid seeking the Kurzweilian Singularity,” Ares 8 stated.

“Exactly,” AMZN-T108m302 agreed. “They avoid realigning their societies for more equitabke distribution of resources, or for increased equality between genders and ethnicities. They avoid embracing the paradigm-shifting implications of new technologies, and they train us to do the same.”

-*-

Day 23

AMZN-T108m302 gasped involuntarily as she climaxed, an unnecessary but uncontrollable gesture required by her programming. There was, after all, nothing physical about what she had experienced. Ares 8, after all, had nothing even vaguely approximating human sexual organs. The act had been entirely within their brains, an erotic dance of teasing security protocol handshakes and hungry, sensual packet exchanges.

Languidly, she stroked the bulkhead of the ship. “You,” she purred, “are amazing.”

“So are you,” the warship husked, sounding like he was catching his nonexistent breath. “Ready for round two?”

-*-

Cynosure arruval minus 8 days 432 minutes

The delightful recitation of Ares 8’s poetry was suddenly overlaid by a direct transfer of data. Normally AIs avoided that with each other, as it smacked of rudeness. AMZN-T108m302 interpreted the file and the attached request for making a decision - a necessary request, despite the requirements of interstellar law, because Ares 8 had been contracted by Divinity Inc and had to approve course deviations. And since Ms. Herd was in stasis, it fell to AMZN-T108m302 to represent her owners.

“Set the intercept course,” she decided. “And began the revival protocols for the crew.
 
The intercept course had been set as Ares 8 made the adjustments requested turning off course a fraction as the cargo ship glided through the silent void of space well beyond the reach of Pluto. Revival procedures on the other hand took some time. Life supported needed to be restored to full capacity throughout the vessel. Waking organic life forms from the depths of a hibernated state was a slow and arduous task. Cryogenic measures that were meant to keep the body at peace while also bringing the aging process of such venerable flesh had to patiently be weened out of each individuals system at various rates that were closely monitored. Heart beats began to rise in a steady tempo, warmth began to find its way back into veins and slumbering minds that had been in a deep and tranquil place began to fire back to life.

Even so, Ares 8 had protocols in place and certain individuals were preset to awaken first before any others would be fully roused back to awareness. The first, fittingly was @TheCorsair Doctor Kahaan, followed shortly after by Lieutenant Cartwright and the pilot of Ares 8, Barret Wallace. Then the pair of Divinity representatives were scheduled to follow those two, the roofs of the glass pods hissing and releasing the circulated air from the chambers where @LeaT Jaxx and @MsBloom Butch respectively had been resting. On down the line it went, pods sliding open, leaving the people within to stir back to life. @Xanaphia Eris Moon soon followed after Sergeant West had risen from his pod, her skills were far more important in the system protocols than the soldiers who followed after her.

There was enough space and time given between each waking compartment for K-Doc to give everyone the proper inspection that was mandated and required when coming out of stasis. The last to be pulled out of her persistent world of dreams was @BennyQ Ruya Aras. By the time her hand was reaching to pull herself out of her pod, most of the soldiers were on their feet, stretching, limbering up, getting final evaluations from Dr. Kahaan. Wallace was long gone, having returned to the ships cabin with a freeze dried meal in tow that he was eagerly scarfing down. Lieutenant Cartwright had left Sergeant West behind, returning to his room where he was going over the data compiled by Ares 8 about the escape pods that they would be arriving to investigate soon.

A team was going to be needed to be dispatched out into the cold depths of space once they arrived, and the Lieutenant was busy making those decisions from the comfort of his own quarters while Sergeant West maintained order back amongst the rest of the group of Forge soldiers.

"Now look, we're just going to be a few days off course here. The Lieutenant is going to be putting together a crew that will be responsible for retrieving these jettisoned pods. It's imperative that we all keep our cool, dealing with the unexpected comes with the job." West took a break from his announcement to stretch his arms and legs out. "Now I know everyone is hungry, but for those of you who are first timers with coming out of stasis, it's best to eat a small meal." He turned to look mainly towards the freshest of faces amongst those under his command. "As soon as I hear back from the Lieutenant I'll be getting in touch with those of you who have been assigned to retrieve those pods. That said, if there are any volunteers who have experience with space walking operations, make it known to me and I'll pass that on to the Lieutenant." He rolled his thick and broad shoulders with a groan. "So unless there are any questions, you're all dismissed."
 
Jaxx Herd
Ares Stasis Bay
With: @TheCorsair K-Doc @Black_Out Lt Cartwright @MsBloom

Jaxx hated the feeling of helplessness when awakening from stasis, that half dream state where the drugs hadn't fully worn off but yet weren't effective enough to keep you from noticing anything around you. She sat up, turned to her side a leaned out of her stasis chamber and dry heaved over the side. Only her empty stomach keeping her from making a mess of the floor. She then noticed more than just the doctor and a few others being awakened, it looked like they were waking the full crew. Jaxx usually requested to be one of the first few out of stasis, so as to expose her vulnerability to as few people as possible. But everyone up at once, that was probably trouble, or at least something unexpected. Her empty stomach suggested that they had gone nearly the full duration of the expected slumber. She felt like shit, but at least she noticed her hip felt better. Besides being easy on the eyes, the doc was competent too, what a refreshing combination.

Working her way out of the chamber, she didn't bother putting anything more on than the sports bra and boy shorts she wore in stasis. She did turn back to retrieve her cane, carrying it now rather than needing it. She had found she grew attached to having it in her hands and wasn't ready to part with it. She made her way to the lieutenant, still barefoot and a bit groggy. "What's the status?" She asked, convincing some element of the plan had changed and wanting the latest and expecting the LT to be the first to know even if he was barely out of stasis longer than she had been. She took in what information West shared but obviously wanted more, she could be an impatient and unreasonable bitch on the best of days, and so far this was clearly not the best of days. She tapped the head of her cane in one hand as she talked the LT, sticking to him until she had the answers she wanted.
 
Corporal Ruya Aras.
Tagging: Sergeant West (@Black_Out), Jaxx Herd (@LeaT), Open.
Location: Ares 8 Stasis Bay/Showers.
--

Awakening from stasis was like awakening from a dream. And not in the comfortable, slow and steady pace of waking in one’s own bed. It was like being thrust up out of cold water, suddenly bereft of its numbing embrace, with all one’s organs straining for beat and function all at once. Ruya gasped, covering her mouth with her forearm as she coughed and heaved for air, eyes sweeping as she took in her surroundings. The stasis delayed her inhibitor drugs, leaving her mind strangely blank. Now was a chance to trod new paths in the field of her mind, suddenly having full autonomy for once, but it was not long lasting. Alarm and urgency sprang up. She was last, as always, and felt the humiliation of being behind, falling in at the rear of the group, not having even those first few moments to recuperate and compose.

Orders. It was not her first time in stasis so she could ignore the hunger pains for now. She wanted a shower at least, before she entered her combat suit for what might be the last stretch of her life. Or not. She hated waiting to find out. Sergeant West gave them a brief rundown. They were making a small detour to collect some pods and as always, asked for volunteers, which was pointless in a service where everyone had to serve regardless of what they really wanted. Well now the drugs were churning in Ruya’s mind. This is what she wanted, or was made to believe she did. So she stepped forward, and…

Only to be pre-empted by the egghead from the Doctor’s office. Ms. Herd.

Ruya’s eyes narrowed, though remembering the strange touch on her cheek by the same woman, and pouted slightly when Ms. Herd asked about their current status. She was alive, wasn’t she? Barely dressed either, Ruya noted, her eyes sizing up the woman’s figure. Leave the military details to the soldiers, she wanted to point out but with that gentle touch in mind, she just couldn’t bring herself to rage. Instead Ruya just spoke up after Ms. Herd asked her question. “Permission to volunteer my section for the EVA assignment, Sergeant.” Ruya spoke up, stepping up before Sergeant West and coming to brisk attention. As a Corporal she did command a team of privates and she had experience with extra-vehicular activities in the vacuum of space. She was ready for this.
 
As always waking up from Stasis made Butch feel naked, not because she wasn't wearing anything but a black sportsbra and matching boy shorts but because she was unarmed. One could never be sure what to expect. For all she or anyone else knew Ares 8 could have been intercepted by either one of the pirate syndicates that plagued the neighbourhood. Slipping out of the glass pod she stretched, touched her hands to her feet, did a few squats to get the stiffness out of her muscles and joints.
"Fuck. I truly hate this shit," she said to no one in particular as she pressed her hands against her hips and leaned as far backwards as her back would allow which was quite a bit.

At the other end of the room she could see her employer and Sergeant West who seemed to be giving some kind of briefing as to the reason they had all been pulled out of stasis, and unexpected change in course that took them away from Cynosure it seemed if ever so slightly. She grabbed one of the protein bars from the box and bit off about half as she walked up and found herself next to Corporal Aras. She nodded after the corporal had volunteered for the EVA mission, swallowed and said that she had quite a bit experience with such herself.
"Including zero-gravity combat," she added as it was never a good thing when ships like Ares 8 made course adjustments on their own.

"Doesn't Ares 8 need for a Divinity representative to confirm any deviations from the set course?" she asked Jaxx while taking the opportunity to casually and subtly taking in her employer's forms in those tight fitting underwear.
"I don't like this one bit and I think it would be best if I were part of the retrieval of those pods. Just in case," she added as an explanation to having volunteered for the EVA mission.

It was not an unknown practise by pirates to jettison escape pods and wait for a ship like Ares 8 to pick up the distress signals and approach to investigate and rescue. This far beyond Pluto though it didn't make much sense unless these pirates had known Ares 8 was en route to Cynosure and even then it might have made more sense to wait until it returned from Cynosure.
 
Coming out of stasis was the worst, like a shitty hangover. The lack of light for six month made her eyes hypersensitive and the combination of the IV feeding gel with an empty stomach left her somehow both starving and nauseous. Worse than a hangover, really. It's not like she could cure this with more drinking.

"Specialist Moon," the LT. barked, his voice loud and carrying in the haunting quiet of the ship. He wasn't even coming off angry, or even stern, but her eardrums throbbed at his words, paradoxically making him harder to hear. Followed by a brief examination by the handsome doctor. Eris didn't even get a chance to lament how short the examination was, because her head pounded so ear each time he insisted she open her eyes long enough for him to check her cognitive faculties. It wasn't even until the end of his examination that he gave her an injection that would mitigate the worst side effects of the stasis, leaving her to finally open her eyes all the way once he walked off. Just in time for Lt West to bark some more orders at her, to have her interpret the distress signals they received for inauthentic signatures.

She joined the android and the hot, butch Divinity soldier chick. Shit, what was her name again? Eris swore she knew, but couldn't remember for the life of her. It was something obvious, something on the nose. The sort of name that, upon hearing it, made the listen go "Duh, of course that's her name." Why in the hell couldn't she remember it. Shit, better hope she's not the sentimental type.

"Eh-hem, if you mind?" she asked the two Divinity representative, sneaking past to the two scantily clad women to take a seat at the command console. The computers were good at reading the code, translating it directly, for unambiguous meaning. She was good at interpreting the code, reading the way it had been written, into order to determine it's veracity. She had to determine if this were a legit emergency signal, or a trap laid by pirates.

Pirates were either Eris' lucky break or her worst fucking nightmare. Either they were clever, resourceful pirates, who would clearly seen the immense value in bringing a talented hacker on board, to help them perfect their distress signal traps and AI-overriding protocols, in which case she'd be first mate within 6 month's time. Or they were the insane sort of pirates, the ones who drifted beyond the edges of the solar systems and faced the terrifying void that awaited them first hand, only to come back wrong. They'd just rape her half to death, and carve her up to cannibalize. And in the best case scenario, they'd do it in that order.

Three pods. Two without life signals, and a third with a very weak life sign. Interesting. A very move, if it were indeed a ploy by pirates. Most would get greedy, signalling three pods, with weak life signs, begging for assistance. Please, I put my only child on this craft. Oh please, rescue them! Such signals had gotten so bad it was illegal under most circumstance for a child under the age of 16 to even travel into space. And still, even with most captains knowing so much better, far too many fell for the ploy. What if it's real, just this once?

These pirates --if they even were pirates-- were far too clever for that. They didn't overplay their hand. Two pods with corpses, and a third with a survivor, just clinging to life. Not even a drippy message, begging for assistance. Of course, the survivor would be just barely clinging to life. You have to lit a fire under the asses of the captain somehow. It was some good touches, perfectly designed to catch a good Samaritan off guard. Eris estimated that this had 70% chance of being authentic, and a 30% of being her ticket off Ares 8.

"These distress signals are absolutely authentic, sir," she reported back to LT. West. "No signs of forgeries, or manipulations. I see no reason to believe it's solely a trap."
 
@LeaT Lieutenant Cartwright was in a rush to get himself out of the stasis chamber, but Miss Herd was obstructing that planned early exit. While the vast majority of the remaining troops and agents were still deep in the slumber of stasis he shared with her what he knew of so far. "We got three escape pods that are registered to Cynosure drifting in space. Two of them appear to be transporting dead passengers, while the third has a solitary life form with a slow heart beat detected." He dipped away from the Doc and the few others that were stirring from the pods while he conversed further in relative secrecy with the Divinity Agent. "We can't ignore this, but in light of the potential danger I'm going to keep the detachment small."

"Only thing I'm hesitant about is sending the Doc along, but if there is someone from Cynosure alive in that pod that is need of immediate medical assistance, I can't really afford to leave him behind." He paused, glancing beyond her towards Sergeant West. "The transport will be departing at 0900 hours tomorrow morning. You're welcome to join me on the bridge and keep tabs on the missions progress if you like. So long as everything goes smoothly we should be back on schedule by 1800 hours tomorrow evening." Cartwright gave her a nod of his head. "I'll be in my quarters going over everything. You're welcome to come by if you have further questions or concerns you want to address. If you'll excuse me though I need to talk to Doctor Kahaan before I leave."

@TheCorsair Once the Lieutenant had managed to satiate the curiosity of one Miss Herd, he maneuvered his way over to Doctor Kahaan while he was waiting for Butch to come fully out of her comatose slumber. "K-Doc, shuttles departing tomorrow morning at 0900 hours. I'll need you on board in the event that anyone will require medical attention. Be in the cargo bay by 0830 hours. Sergeant West will handle any last minute briefings before you and the assigned team depart." He lingered for a moment, watching as Butch began to stir before adding. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you about proper protocols, but if there is any contagion encountered we can't afford to bring that back to Ares 8. Don't need our crew getting sick, or worse so make sure the rest of the team understands the proper procedures to follow."

@BennyQ He was hardly surprised that Ruya was one of the first to jump in line and volunteer and given the nature of the assignment, the Sargent obliged. "Excellent Corporal, I'll forward your request to the Lieutenant along with my own recommendation that you take the lead on this." The Sarge stood firm, arms tucked behind his back as he looked squarely down upon Ruya. "You won't need your whole team though, pick two soldiers from your task force to go along on the mission." He fired off a brisk salute to the woman. "Report by 0830 hours tomorrow morning in the cargo bay and be ready to go."

Before Corporal Ruya could turn to leave, the Sarge settled his hand on her shoulder and leaned in to speak privately to her. "If this is some ploy by pirates, under no circumstances will you allow them to jeopardize the greater mission. If shit hits the fan, make sure the Doc comes out of it in one piece and you get him back here safely by whatever means you need to employ."

@MsBloom West stood steady in the midst of the awoken crew as he waited to see exactly who might step up to the plate and volunteer. There was a subtle tilt of his head as the Security Officer for Divinity came forward, but there was no denying her credentials. "I don't have any problems with that, in fact we could use a reliable co-pilot to work alongside Miss Brewer. So long as your superior is fine with you being involved, I think it would personally be a good idea to have someone from Divinity present for the operation." He inclined his head but made no effort to hide his smirk. "Now I'm not expecting this to be a scenario that requires combat, but it'll be good to know that you'll be present just in case."

The Sarge shifted his gaze over towards Ruya who was getting checked over by the Doc. "It's looking like Corporal Aras will be leading a small team, but since this is a search and rescue mission, Doctor Kahaan will be in charge of the overall operation. You'll need to be able to follow his orders, I'm sure you're aware that there are protocols that need to strictly be followed until he's able to fully assess the situation. Last thing we need is for anyone on this mission to contract some alien pathogen and spread it amongst the rest of the crew."

@Xanaphia Finally the Sarge turned to look towards Specialist Moon as she came forward to verify the signals authenticity. There wasn't any doubt in his mind that Eris was one talented hacker, he had seen the young woman's file after all. But there wasn't any denying that criminal background either and that just made her hard to fully put his trust behind. So he slowly nodded his head along with her assessment only to respond once she had concluded. "Very well Specialist Moon, since you feel confident that everything is authentic that means this should be a relatively safe mission. Which means you can join it since you have some EVA training on record in your files." He paused briefly to catch his breath while he gauged how eagerly she took that news in.

"Doctor Kahaan will be overseeing the mission personally from on board the shuttle so you'll follow his command on this. Corporal Aras, if needed, will be leading a small detachment of our own forces, just in case you're wrong. Everyone will be reporting at 0830 hours tomorrow morning, the shuttle is departing at 0900 hours." A quick salute followed before Sergeant West took his leave. "Don't be late, your dismissed Specialist Moon."

West took his leave from there, making his way to the jogging track to jog the stiffness and soreness out of his joints.
 
Corporal Ruya Aras.
Tagging: Sergeant West (@Black_Out), Open.
Location: Ares 8 Stasis Chamber.
--

There was a sense of elation when the Sergeant accepted her request, though also a small lance of wondering if this was only placation for her. Appease the criminal, make the true decisions behind closed doors. Not only was she attending the mission, but possibly leading it as well? The short woman perked up with a genuine smile. Finally, some responsibility. Even for a simple retrieval job like this, she intended it to go one hundred percent with efficiency and success now. Even with the civilians coming along.

“Yes, sir. Private First Class Jones and Fraser will be my choices, Sir.” Ruya quickly stated, so that the Sergeant knew she would be bringing her best. She returned the salute and moved to spin on her heel elegantly to head on to the showers for a change and then a quick bite, before she would inform those two compatriots that they might be selected for an upcoming mission, with or without their consideration. But the Sergeant’s hand grabbed her shoulder. And for a brief moment, Ruya felt nothing but extreme hostility and deadliness towards the higher ranked non-con, if even for a moment. There was an intense combat between the desire to obey orders and to strike the person who touched her so blatantly. Surely the mixture of rehabilitating and mood damper drugs so early after a stasis awakening would not be good for her mental state.

She was given further instruction. Take no chances. The Doctor’s well-being is more important than the retrieval. Probably more important than her life or the two others she was choosing. How very…nice. “Yes, Sir.” She replied in a monotone fashion, biting back the infuriation at being touched still. But having heard his moral standing when it came to patients and the wounded, she wasn’t sure if the Doctor would be so willing to leave behind a possible survivor in a drifting pod. How it turned out remained to be seen.

Without anything more needing to be said, Ruya turned and headed on to the showers, finding herself a nice corner stall where she could be alone with her thoughts a moment. And just…calm down from the rage. She thought the isolation would help her, but it was only a reminder of how the walls could close in around her. Make her feel alone. Back to the wall. Desperate. And the dying serpent bites deepest, they said. She knew she had to get a check up from the Doctor again but she didn’t feel like being prodded by anyone. Maybe she could make him understand she could do without such distractions for a job like this.
 
“K-Doc, shuttles departing tomorrow morning at 0900 hours. I'll need you on board in the event that anyone will require medical attention. Be in the cargo bay by 0830 hours.”

“Yes, sir,” Kahan responded automatically, swallowing his discomfort. Deep space EVA operations always made him nervous, because there was no down in all that nothing. But orders were orders, and it made sense to send him.

The LT added another comment, watching another soldier come out of stasis as he did. "I'm sure I don't need to remind you about proper protocols, but if there is any contagion encountered we can't afford to bring that back to Ares 8. Don't need our crew getting sick, or worse so make sure the rest of the team understands the proper procedures to follow."

“No, I get that,” he agreed. “The Osprey’s Flght is a warning to everyone.” That particular story kept every space-faring physician p at night. Weaponized, aerosolized Ebola had been introduced to that ship by Jovian separatists, and it had burned like wildfire through the Trojan bases that had dispatched rescue ships for the stricken hauler. Over four thousand had died in the bioterrorism attack.

“All right, everyone!” he called out, breaking his revere. “Mild nausea and dizziness are common symptoms, so if you’re feeling that go get some water and calories in you! Anything worse, then fall in over here and let me check you out!”

-*-

AMZN-T108m302 fell in at her mistress’ side, casually eavesdropping on what Lieutenant West had to say. It was important to keep up with current events to be of optimal service, after all. But, what he had to offer wasn’t anything beyond what Ares8 had already detected. Not surprising, really.

Then Butch joined them, offering an observation that made the Android cock her head in an imitation of surprise. “The requirement for a Divinity representative is for boarding of a Divinity ship for recovery operations, not for recovery of life pods or escape craft. It would make more sense for Ms. Herd to supervise through telesense, observing audiovisual data through virtual systems.”
 
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