| abstract
| - A large area of ground has been flattened out and filled with thickly poured ferrocrete; yellow lines and blinking lights mark off landing pads, taxi lanes, and runways. A large building that serves as the small spaceport's terminal sits at the edge of the area, opposite the tall flight traffic control tower. Service crews stand by to help people through the decontamination corridor. To the west, far past the outskirts of the spaceport, lies the blunt Stubtooth Mountains. Word seems to have gotten out about what is going on... there is a lot of noise coming from the decontamination corridor. Boomer comes back out from the Athena, shaking his helmet back in forth. He stops, hearing the noise coming from the Decon Corridor, warily moving closer. ~I think perhaps we should all go aboard,~ notes Anorel with a slight undertone of concern as it hears the growing noise in the decon corridor. ~Ministry Cruyer, will you be coming with us now?~ Fortunately for Silvereye, he's not taking the decon corridor. The Demarian emerges from a smaller access next to the decon corridor that is flanked by marines in full combat gear. The Longclaw himself is still in his biohazard suit, but perhaps what is most remarkable is who is with him. Two smaller Demarian, kits by the look of them, are on either side. Silvereye holds one paw on either side of him and the kits themselves have small bags. The trio move straight for the Athena. Boomer is standing a little distance from the Athena, visor focused on the Decon Corridor, hand falling to the black stick hanging from his side. Kastaprulyi slips quickly to the boarding ramp of the Athena and suggests a greeting to Boomer. "Do Dana, the baby seem okay?" Kas inquires curiously. Renkek Kashaan arrives from Decon Corridor . Cruyer turns to Anorel. "Doctor, you have been made aware of our plans to evaucate the uninfected population? PHS and Demarian Militia officers will escort citizens who have tested negative here wearing biosuits. We'll need to test them again and then get them on a launch when it arrives. There may be some... tension, but we need to be absolutely certain that the uninfected population remains that way." "Beats the hell out of me." Boomer responds to Kas, "I walked in and she started yelling for me to get the hoop out. Still, everything seemed fine." He listens in on Cruyer's words. "How much tension, Cruyer?" Lack of title is obvious, if the reasoning behind it isn't. "You think they're going to riot?" ~I understand, Minister,~ answers Anorelezuixal. It's tentacles twitch slightly at the thought of violence. ~Now that the virus has been identified, it should not be too difficult to conduct tests. Do we have a medical scanner here?~ Kastaprulyi shifts direction to follow at Boomer's side. "What's a group that look like they're about to riot look like?" Kas queries. "The memory of Sanctuary and what happened to those left behind is still fresh." Silvereye responds to Boomer as he arrives near the Athena. The kits at his sides, both in less durable biosuits, look up at the big orange man, their tails totally still. "There may be trouble. Especially with split up families." The kit on the Longclaw's right tightens its grip on Silvereye's paw. Boomer, Kas, Silvereye, Anorel and Cruyer are near the centre of the landing pad talking strategy. The noises of a desperate mob drift in from the decontamination corridor, and it seems like its arrival on the landing pad may be imminent. How long Mika has been hovering in the hatchway of the IND Jackal is uncertain. She is slumped against the doorjamb, hands clasped before her, weight tiredly shifted off of one foot as she peers down the ramp and at the developing situation. Renkek Kashaan wa;ls into the landing pad and looks about as he does so proceeding towards most of the others where they're gathered and nods a greeting. The sounds of desperate Demarians grow closer and closer... "Well... I'm sure that..." says Cruyer. Then he sighs. "The truth is I understand Captain Tachyon has been trained in how to test for the virus. If you can find her she might be able to help you test the incoming patients." Boomer frowns, backing up slowly. "Not a fuckin' good thing. Not a fuckin' good thing at fuckin' all." A group of Demarian Militacats, PHS workers, and general vagabonds have gathered here to take in refugees. The Demarians in full combat gear turn away from the Longclaw, heading slowly toward the Decon Corridor's opening, guns held down low in a nonthreatening posture. ~Surely they will not riot?~ asks Anorel of Cruyer, a very concerned emotion being carried with the message. ~If they are already infected, what is the point of trying to get of Demaria? They will still have the disease, regardless of where they go.~ Kastaprulyi suggests a somewhat worried greeting to Renkek, remaining near Boomer as he back up. "Maybe we should give out comms, datapads," Kas offers uncertainly, "so people'll know what's happening, that other people know what they're worried about." Lind steps off the Athena, dressed in the bright orange PHS biohazard suit with the stripes of the Surgeon-General on the sleeves. He looks around the pad through his visor, then walks away from the ship. Amanda walks out onto the landing pad eyes searching for Cruyer and walking toward him as she sees him Mika's footfalls are heavy as she finally trundles on down the Jackal's boarding ramp, emerging at fore/port and trudging toward the PHSers with a sway in her step. One arm raises in a cautious wave as her head turns to size up the corridor. "S'um... s'goin' on?" Both a greeting and a legitimate question. Demarians begin to filter onto the decontamination corridor. The corridor is a bottleneck, and the Demarians are hardly proceeding through it in an orderly fashion, so they arrive on the landing pad slowly... but once they do, they run toward the orange-suited figures. Cruyer leaves Anorel to deal with Mika -- he nods in her direction at Anorel to indicate that Mika is who he was talking about. He speaks into his commlink. "Your timing is excellent, Lord Cochrane. We need every ship you can send us to begin transporting evacuees on board. We'll be ensuring that they are all uninfected before they arrive, but your crew should be properly protected." Orange suited Marlan walks out from within the Athena. She looks out at the landing pad before heading down the ramp. Lines of cleared patients begin to form up to and are checked again as they are carefully shepherded onto the available ships. In the sky above, there is the sound of engines. RNS launches appear in the sky and descend towards the landing pad. They are in all shapes and sizes, from the large launch to the admiral's barge and small cutters. When they land, they disgorge officers in biohazard suits with the RNS crest - and a few marines armed with pulse rifles to guard the ramps. Boomer backs up the ramp, "I'm gonna.. uhhh, like, make sure the cargo is stored right on the.. aw fuck this, shit." The fat man turns, rambling up the ramp to escape what he obviously wants nothing to do with. ~We are currently screening uninfected Demarians for evacuation from the surface of the planet,~ casts Anorel to Mika as per Cruyer's instructions. ~Hopefully they will not become violent.~ Kastaprulyi rubs a few arms uneasily as Boomer takes off, shifting closer to Renkek. "Should I go somewhere else too?" Kas queries. Lind lumbers over towards the new RNS arrivals in his biohazard suit and snaps off a salute in reply to the one he recieves when his vice admiral's stripes are seen. He orders the Marines to circle the landing pad, and to cordon off the entrance, where it sounds like the mob might break through. Or, at least, he suggests it strongly, since he can't really order anything. But the marines are soon in place, and the doctor motions for refugees to begin loading onto the RNS small craft. A small cruiser breaks in from the clouds, carefully lowering toward the Landing Pad. Even as it does so, it sends messages earthbound. "LDF Peacemaker to Demarian Militia, permission to land and assist? I repeat, LDF Peacemaker to Demarian Militia, permission to land and assist?" Amanda stands next to Cruyer and watches the somewhat orderly throng. "we need to be especially vigilant. One infected individual and this whole whole thing goes from bad to worse Marlan comes down the boarding ramp, "The Athena's ready to start taking folks on board." she says onto the comm-chanel, "I suggest we start immediately." A few of the demarians in biosuits hesitate, looking back at the throng trying to push its way onto the landing pad. Others cry but most move forward, the process of scanning for the virus progressing rapidly, "It'll only be so long before we have to open fire if we're going to keep them out and then we'll have a real problem on our hands, da." There is a descending grumbling as the LDF Peacemaker's reactor and drives slowly power down. Silvereye has assumed a position in line for testing, two biosuited kits on either side of him. They cling to the fabric of his biosuit on his legs, heads turned over their shoulders at the encroaching mob. The Longclaw himself looks back, his expression unreadable. He pulls a commlink, flipping the channels. "Command, this is Longclaw Paintedheart. What is our security status? We've got more Sivadian marines on the pad than our own." The response is quick. "Infected Marines have been restricted from securing the landing pad. We are currently dealing with minor disturbances at the Compound and Medical Center. We are attempting to establish riot lines in front of the spaceport. Lethal force has been authorized to protect the uninfected." The communication snaps off, and a small contingent, the last contingent, of uninfected marines emerges from the militia hangar in full combat gear, marching orderly towards a point between the mob and the PHS. "LDF Peacemaker you are clear to land." Pavlo comes down the Athena's ramp right behind Marlan attention on the impending chaos. As Anorel's words echo through her brain Mika stops in her tracks, pressing a gloved hand to her reinforced plastic helmet and reeling visibly. "Don't. Christ," she mutters. "I got a bad 'nough blinkin' 'eadache as't is 'thout Floaty 'ere pokin' at me poor ol' noggin." It's here she pauses, her frown hidden behind her faceplate as she regars the others, green eyes finally landing upon Silvereye. Her voice is tired, *she* is tired, and everything about her slouched stance and unsteady weave spells it out for anyone with eyes or eyespots, but nevertheless, she asks in Cruyer's general direction, "'ow can I 'elp?" Renkek Kashaan nods to what all is said and looks about as he heads towards the Athena hopefully making it there before the potential rioters and such do. He sighs as he looks around. He makes it to the Athena's ramp and stands by one side of it. He doesn't go up the ramp yet however perhaps standing where he is to be a guide to those evacuating. "Thank you, LDF Peacemaker out." The large cruiser slowly pulls down into the Landing Pad, joining the transports of the RNS Marines, another ship on the suddenly crowded Landing Pad. The boarding ramps hiss out, and a small group of gray clad soldiers file out in a jog. Three, armed only with pulse pistols, file out ahead of another man in LTDF gear, pulse rifle in hand. "Set channels to LTDF, assist RNS and Demarian efforts in controlling the peace, stay near the ship. We're paying back our debts, guys." The crew members of the LTDF's flagship move out, feeling out where they will be most helpful, while Wiendrbac moves toward the largest prong of PHS members, directing a question to Cruyer soon after Mika. "How bad is the situation?" The infected Demarians are in too great a panic to be dissuaded by the Militia's show of force. Mothers carry their kits, holding them out toward the PHS officers beseechingly even though they are still perhaps a hundred metres away. Their voices cannot be heard over the din of everyone else. Cruyer turns toward the Demarians. "Ye gods," he murmurs under his breath. "Remember, ladies and gentlemen... our responsibility is to protect the uninfected citizens. Let's... try to stay focused." But Cruyer's expression is horribly pained as he sees the approaching Demarians. Without looking at Mika he says, "Would you assist the doctor in testing the arriving patients. Leftenant Wiendrbac, glad you could join us... we might require your assistance protecting the uninfected patients." The sheer amount of thought noise', primarily from the panic that is beginning to sweep into the crowed, start to leak through Anorel's mind shield. A slight emote of guarded annoyance leaks out from Anorel. A slight squawk comes from it's life support belt as the speakers are turned on. Telepathy is more difficult and thus less effective in this situation. Kastaprulyi, finding Renkek busy, slips towards its captain instead. The little Centauran's worried emotional aura dims as it tries to block the growing mental cacophony. "Captain Ranix..." Kas's vocalizer queries over the suit radio, "Should I help with something outside Athena, inside Athena?" Lind stands near one of the RNS launches. He has set up two RNS Surgeons with testing equipment, "Let's keep this line moving. We have the first cutter almost ready to depart. Full hazard protocols on the Indy. Let's move, people." Meanwhile, the RMC specialists, under the command of a rather young subaltern, form in ranks to hold the crowd back, pushing, if they must, with their rifles, and shouting, "Back! Back!" While the front row is armed with riot gear, the back row ominously removes the safeties from their pulse rifles and releases their bayonets with a sickening *snick!* Amanda watches with groing concern of her own as the mob presses nearer "what is it they expect us to do. They only make things worse this way. if they go home at least today won't be their last Marlan walks towards the line of uninfected demarians. "They expect us to help them survive." Marlan replies to Amanda. Her head dips down and she stops, she shakes her head for a moment and then steps forward. Voice cracking slightly she then adds, "The Athena's ready. Start loading her up. Kas, Pav...Hoop it. Kas, Pav get folks on board and into the hold." she looks up again, "These folks aren't going ot hold." As the crowd of infected people starts to push furthur into the room a few of those uninfected people start questioning, "Can't you do something for them?" one asks. "Don't hurt them, they're upset. We all are, people are going to die." Silvereye and his kit companions reach the front of the uninfected line, the Longclaw gently pushing the two kits forward though they're reluctant to leave his side. Eventually they go, giving their keeping time to look at the worsening situation and the dangerous gleam of bayonets in the moonlight. With a low growl he turns back, ready to be tested again himself. The militia contingent has positioned itself between the Sivadian marines and the PHS workers, a distance that is less than comfortable. Watching the Sivadians handle their people has a few of the marines riled but their commander, a Bloodclaw with grey on his hackles, speaks a few sharp words to steady them. He unclips a bull horn from his belt, aiming it at the crowd and speaking in calm Demarese. "Return to your homes and designated treatment areas. Repeat, return to your homes. Lethal force has been authorized." As if to emphasize this the front rank of marines shoulders their rifles. The Bloodclaw reminds his command that he and he alone will give the order. Pavlo bites his lip and puts on a deretrmined look as the boy moves to the side and starts directing people up the ramp. It can be noticed that the boy has a stunstick hanging from his belt 'just incase'. "Zis way, please to mofe quickly." He says as he starts to heard the uninfected up the ramp once they have passed by the vairous checks. He's knocked aside briefly as someone slightly larger shoves by "Careful, is nyi beink race." The boy snaps and shoves right back. "Keepin line ordered." He repeats that in Demarese just to make sure. His voice quite loud suggesting he's turned up the volume on his biosuit's speaker system. Mika's shoulders slump. It's as if she was expecting the Minister to respond with 'riot control'. Alas, alas, and alack. No complaints, however, verbal or otherwise, as she removes her scanner and datapad from the eyelets about her waist. If she is unnerved by the sight of the panicking crowds, she gives no outward indication of it, at least -- not until a trembling kit fighting to resist a flood of tears is nudged toward her by the militiacat. Dropping to one knee, she tries to be as comforting as someone in a scary black envirosuit can be as she takes his paw, comparing his readings to those already stored in the PHS database. Renkek Kashaan moves to help kas and pavlo as well. He considers and adds as a comment towards pavlo when close enough "maybe if they're on board long enough, you could let some of the other boys that will be on board now play with your airplanes as well. Give them something to do while waiting." he smiles briefly as he guides the uninfected aboard as fast as possible. The LTDF Lieutenant Wiendrbac salutes the minister, a brief gesture, rifle still slung over his shoulder. "Yes, sir. We brought the Peacemaker earthside to assist in evacuation." His face is tense, obviously aware of the chaos around him. "Peacemaker has limited room for refugees, but we will take on as much as we can afford, sir." He nods at Amanda's question, frown lines deepening in his forehead. "They're scared and confused, ma'm. Logic doesn't apply much when placed against those emotions. I've read logged incidents where a patient's first reaction to a disease is shock, the next fear, the next fury, followed only by defeated resignation. I'm not sure which one this group belongs too, but I'm sure some of them resents the rest of us getting away without the disease. It's a natural impulse." The soldier in gray turns away, heading toward the line where the assorted military units have formed to hold back the desperate viral carriers, careful not to give a Demarian the opportunity to claw him, or even touch. Rifle is raised alongside the other soldiers, as his fellow LTDF soldiers help escort the cleared patients toward the Athena, having so been directed by some of the PHS health crew. The infected Demarians don't seem to feel they have much to lose. Hundreds of them are now pushing against the riot line. One mother tries to hold her kit out to the PHS officers. "Please! You were wrong, she's not sick! Test her again, take her with you! You were wrong!" she cries. The Demarians try to push through the line... A few dozen of the Demarians manage to break through the riot line and run towards the nearest ship -- the Peacemaker. "Bloody hell," shouts Cruyer, mostly to himself. He jumps on the spot in anger and clenches his gloved hands as he sees the infected Demarians get through the line. "This is very unfortunate," observes Doctor Anorel as the chaos in the landing pad begins to reach a boiling point. It is obvious to the Centauran that violence and bloodshed is inevitable. "Minister, I will prep the Athena's med bay to receive injured. I hope that it does not come to that." It then floats up the boarding ramp. Kastaprulyi returns a muffled feeling of acknowledgment to Marlan as it starts toward the healthy patients arriving at the ship. "Maybe you could go rest until everybody's on the ship..." Kas offers. The little Centauran drifts along with a few to the end of the boarding ramp, keeping its orange-sleeved arms close to its body. It inquires of one who seems reasonably well-posessed, "What's a song that a lot of people'd know, that they could sing together?" Lind puts the last few refugees onto a small cutter, until it is completely filled, then watches as the hatch is closed and the ship arches off into space. He moves to the next line. "Quickly now, we haven't much time." He ignores the plaintive pleas of a nearby mother with her kit, "Go home! It will be safer for you there!" he says, through the speaker of his suit. Then he trots over to the next line. The RMC Marines are not enjoying holding back the crowd. Nor are they hating it. They simply do it, because they were told to do it. That's the way specialists are. The lieutenant, however, seems to very nearly have tears running down his cheeks as he orders, "Push them back! Rear rank, prepare to fire! We have to protect these ships!" Amanda gets a look of panick on her face. "they'll contaminate the uninfected area. get them back Marlan's voice is thick with emotions. She holds the scanner in her hand as Silvereye steps up, "You're quick. Get those kits on board Silver. Hurry." She lifts her gaze to the folks pushing their way through the decon corridor. She looks distracted, gaze shifting there often as she works. "Athena security, report to the landing pad. Pav, Kas, Keep boarding." she orders forcefully on the Athena's comm channel. "They're acting like kits. They're going to infect us all!" A crass demarian answers from the middle of the uinfected line. Someone shoot them." he says in a panicky voice. "They're trying to save their kits!" another argues with him. None the less they all begin to push slightly, trying to speed up the line into the ship. "Doc, by our counts we have 1,500 of 2,500 on board." a PHS officer says into the comm. As the Sivadian line breaks the Bloodclaw in command of the marines reacts without hesitation. He points his sidearm at the running Demarians, and the marines with their rifles on their shoulders take aim. They have to wait, turning slightly so as not to shoot the Sivadians in the back. "Wheel and open fire!" He commands, and as a true commander will not order his men to do anything he would not do himself the Bloodclaw squeezes off the first shots, followed by a whole firing line. But these are creatures of free will and some deliberately shoot high, unwilling to kill their people. Others, be they warriors, servicemen, cruel or cowards, take their aim and attempt to stop the breakthrough. Silvereye winces as the shots ring out behind him. "It's better that it was us who fired first." The Longclaw says sadly, looking towards the kits. "That's Nightshade, Mika. Give me good news." He waits to be scanned himself. "Shit!" The expletive rolls unchecked from Mika's tongue as she scoops Nightshade up and cradles her to her chest, an automatic, thoughtless reaction to the first shots being fired. The poor frightened kit flattens her ears and looks desperately to Silvereye, fur standing on end and pupils completely dilated, while Mika fumbles with her datapad and skims the results. "Goddamnit. 'urry't up!" she barks at the device, throwing the occasional glance up at the chaos threatening to unfold. "Negative! Negative. Get 'er outta 'ere." "Breach!" John yells, voice at maximum, attempting to get his point across. "God forgive us." Moisture turns brown eyes blue, though the rest of his expression is chiseled stone, rifle following the fleeing group of Demarians, the weapon bark followed by it's bite, a beam of focused energy headed toward one of the many ships racing toward his organization's cruiser. Eight Demarians are obviously spooked as their compatriots are shot down, but they continue to run for the Peacemaker, now seeing it as the only option. Renkek Kashaan continues helping Pavlo and Kas for now. He goes as fast as possible to get all the uninfected loaded. He turns to look at the others trying to break through as well. He shrugs and goes back to helping. "Come one move it, up the ramp." he says as friendly as possible to the Demarians. And then there were seven Demarians running toward the Peacemaker, as one of them is cut down by Wiendrbac's weapon. Of the remaining seven, three are mothers holding kits, two are very young and the other two are male Demarians in their prime... apart from their imminent transformation into slugs. They realize that their destination is shooting at them and all seven disperse, running in random directions. Meanwhile, more Demarians take the opportunity provided by the distraction to try to break through the RNS line... ...and they succeed. Demarians begin to gush into the cordoned off area, some of them running toward the Athena, others toward one of the RNS cutters, still others try their luck at the Peacemaker. Fifty, perhaps a hundred make it through almost immediately, with more on their way. "Oh my god," says Cruyer. "Oh my god," he repeats. "We can't do this... we can't do this... better to leave the uninfected here than to... to slaughter the... oh my god." He looks toward Lind, his expression ashen. "Admiral... what do we do? For the love of... what do we do?" His face is pure panic. The disadvantage, of course, to the clear visors is that patients can clearly see when their primary care providers are losing it... "You should go in the airlock so you can get in the safe ship..." Kas asserts with the unfortunately immature timbre of its vocalizer. Kas twitches at the gunshots fired. The little Centauran accelerates quickly with its arms trailing up the side of the queue that ascends the Athena's ramp, apparently in an attempt to herd felinoids. Lind looks back shocked as the Demarians break through the line. "Get those people aboard and launch!" he orders the RNS ships, as they try to stuff as many people as they can onto the ships. Then, he orders, "Close the hatches. Take what we have. Go." He begins to run towards the Athena. The marines, on the other hand, know they must cover the retreat. The Lieutenant shouts, his voice cracking, "Open fire! Fire at will!" The Marines begin to open fire on those who have broken through the cordon. Marlan's voice is bordering on panic, mierznykovy accent thick, "GEt them on board! HOOP it get them on board now! Oh God. Athena security, shoot to kill." her voice catches, "Kill them. John there's not enough on board! we need, we need to get more on board!" Uninfected demarians start pushing past the doctors, trying to make their way onto the ships before the hatch is closed. "Do not abandon us in this place!" shouts one Demarian as he lopes along with several compatriots in the direction of the Athena. "Your tests could be wrong!" he shouts. "It could all be a mistake! I was inside when that blast happened!" One of that Demarian's friends seems not too interested in asking permission to board. He draws a pair of wicked-looking daggers from sheaths at his hips and roars furiously, prepared to cut down anyone who stands between him and access to the Athena. Silvereye darts forward as soon as he's test, taking Nightshade from Mika and cradling the kit in one arm. He turns back to the other kit, shouting his name. "Wintermane!" He calls, and the little one comes running into the Longclaw's waiting arms. He hauls up their precious cargo, making for the Athena's ramp. He can't even spare a look over his shoulder. "Outbreak! Outbreak! Outbreak!" The Bloodclaw calls into his commlink while firing his side arm at the approaching crowds. The code is heeded by his marines, three of whom rush forward and lob tear gas grenades into the crowd in a vain attempt to slow their progression. "Retreat while firing!" The Bloodclaw shouts again, and the contingent starts to slowly back pedal while squeezing off rounds. Again, some, if not most, can't bear to kill mothers and their kits. Pavlo charges his way up the ramp with his stunstick crackling in one hand a rather grim determined look on his face, Ungstiri Tough, as he tries to clear the way for the members of his crew to get aboard too. "All LTDF soldiers, pull back to the Peacemaker! Prepare armanents for clearing action, we still got breachers crowding the Peacemaker!" Wiendrbac sets his rifle again, aiming to kill, fires at the Demarian that draws daggers to attack the Athenauts, then swings the gun and begans to run toward the cruiser, followed by only two men who fire off shots to break the few that are still pooled near the Peacemaker. The third is no where to be seen, lost in the flash flood of terror that was the Demarian mob, but no time is offered to mourn him, since the underprotected LTDF soldiers aren't exactly in a good situation themselves. RNS officers jump into the launches. They begin to close the hatches, desperately pulling a few more uninfected up over the closing doors before they shut fully. One by one the Sivadian ships begin to leave, some packed, some only half full. One desperate mother thows her baby kit through the narrow opening of the closing hatch. Mika is not Athena security, but the second Nightshade is in the Longclaw's arms, she stows her scanner and draws her weapon. The knife-wielding Demarian is washed with red as green eyes carefully sight him from behind her faceplate, and without so much as a word, she slaps her free hand over her wrist and pulls the trigger. She is shooting to kill. "Take my young one!" cries a Demarian father, hauling a wailing kit under his arm like a running back hefting a football toward the goal line. He waves frantically, trying to get Marlan's attention. "He's just a kit! I will stay, but please - please take him!" Renkek Kashaan runs up the ramp as well standing on the other side of the ramp of the Athena than Pavlo motioning for any remaining uninfected that can to get aboard fast. He watches as the scene evolves as well. He doesn't do more than nod a greeting at any of the boarders that speak to him. He helps any that may need it across the small thrsehold from the ramp to the inside. As a politician, Cruyer always knows which way the winds are blowing. Even in the grips of absolute panic, he can tell that at the moment he is facing a category five hurricane that threatens to prematurely end a promising political career. He turns and runs toward the Athena as fast as his lightweight biosuit will allow. "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" he calls, waving his hands wildly. Kastaprulyi dives off the side of the boarding ramp as the knife-wielding Demarian lunges. The little Centauran remains hanging in the air at that height (with its arms tucked in as tightly as the biosuit will allow), what it judges to be a safe distance away. The Demarian leading the charge of compatriots toward the Athena hears the snicker of metal before the dagger-wielding Demarian gives his battle roar. "NO!" the leader shouts. "Not that way!" He's leaping to tackle the dagger-wielder just as the shots are fired by Wienderbac and Mika. Wienderbac's shot tears through the back of the Demarian with the blades. His eyes go wide as the leader grabs him by the arms, and the blades clatter on the tarmac. He's just starting to sag when Mika's shot hits the leader, whose movement to stop the other Demarian put him into the path of the blast. Fading fast, hit through the heart, the leader lets go of his compatriot and then both Demarians topple onto the ground. Lind has run towards the Athena, "Marly! We have to go! We have to get our people out of here, with the uninfected we have. Get your people on the ship. The marines will cover the retreat! Go, that's an order!" Marlan's hands reach up to grab her helmet, "STOP IT!" she demands desperately." "agrun korfka gorg kevkiev" " she drops the scanner and starts backpeddling towards the ship, gaze remaining fixed on the chaos by the decon corridor. As Lind's words slip through the comm Marlan's voice becomes more coherent "Get on board. Everyone get on board" she orders in teary voiced mierznykovy laced standard. "My kit!" shouts the Demarian with the young one held under his arm, still waving at Marlan as he scrambles toward the Athena. "Take him, please! You can cure him!" Silvereye hits the ramp and moves aboard as fast as his legs can carry him, both kits clutching him to the point where their claws are threatening to compromise his biosuit and then the skin beneath it, but he doesn't seem to care. He's on board. The marines are doomed. Their backpedal cannot keep up with the surge of Demarians and their shots have no stopping power. In the end they are swamped, the front rank and their Bloodclaw commander dragged down and trampled. The rear rank tries to from a riot line, using each other to stay upright, but they too soon succumb. "They're MURDERING OUR PEOPLE!" shouts a particularly grumpy-looking Demarian with a grizzled gray snout and a ruff of beige fur. "Allies of our so-called Imperator are MURDERING OUR PEOPLE! Is it not bad enough that we are infected by *their* kind? Now they shoot us like we are nothing more than grikthu lizards perched on rocks! TAKE THEIR SHIPS! In Altheor's name, TAKE THEIR SHIPS!" Pavlo reaches out with his free hand and grabs Marlan by the back of her suit, part protection part reassurance, at least that's what the boy hopes for as he backpedals up the Ramp. "C'mon Marly." Lind shouts through the commlink, "Let's go, Minister, time to get out of here. All PHS Forces, withdraw to orbit. We'll regroup at Waldheim and come back when we have a cure." He grabs hold of the Athena's ramp railing and begins to back up it. The crew breaks through, LTDF soldiers pooling into the hands of their compatriots, Wiendrbac the last amongst them, scaring off the last few Demarians nearby with focused fire, scorch marks appearing on the Peacemaker's armor. The boarding ramp is closing even as the Lieutenant climbs aboard, roaring into his commset. "Lift off! Seal the door, all security members standby for any stragglers that attempt to follow!" "Aye!" shouts another Demarian in response to the rabble-rouser calling for hijacking. "And once we take their ships ... STORM THE IMPERATOR'S ESTATE!" This gets a rather enthusiastic response from the disgruntled crowd. "If he's even there!" decries another Demarian. "For all we know, he's fled offworld already!" At Pavlo's words Marlan just says a tearful, "We'll be back" before turning and running. She pulls Pavlo up off the ground starts up the ramp to the airlock. "CLose the hatch. Close the hatches behind us. Close the hatch!" As fast as she can, and assuming she meets no interference, Mika clump-clump-clumps as fast as she can toward the Jackal, her trusty 1311 ready and waiting to voice its deadly objections to anyone who intends to stop her. If she makes it to the boarding ramp, she is barking orders at the ship's daemon to retract the boarding ramp before she's even inside the damn airlock. Cruyer nearly stops when he sees the Demarians fall in front of him. He reaches the Athena and virtually dives into the hatch. He's frightened, of course, but those close to the hatch might seen the green tinge his face has taken on. Kastaprulyi remains in a motionless blue-and-orange ball by the ramp, waiting for Pavlo to reach the hatch controls. "CHARGE!" shouts the grizzled Demarian, now that the riot control line has collapsed. Suddenly, he's leading dozens of furious furballs armed with sticks, uprooted signposts, crate lids ... just about anything they can get their hands on ... and they're running with all haste and merciless anger toward the ships attempting to flee offworld. Lind climbs up the ramp, and makes sure that the Athena's contingent is all present. "Captain..." he says, his voice cold, but a bit tight. "Get us out of here before we're all killed." In the middle of the angry mob the black clad marines again resurface, this time nothing more than broken heaps born aloft as grisly standards for the raging mob. Pavlo reaches out and tags the controls as soon as Marlan pulls him into her arms. Renkek Kashaan stands near the entrance to the athena and nods as eh goes inside to get away from the oncoming charge. He helps anyone going on the athena get aboard as well. "PUll up the ramp!" Marlan orders as her and Pav get within the hatch, "Pull up the ramp!" she sobs, "John you've got command. Get us out of here john. Get out of here." Amber warning lights wash across the the airlock core, while a cooler white illumination floods up from narrow floor recesses, splashing the textured panels and built in cabinets and racks. Sized for a workteam and their gear, the airlock is ample and almost generous. Sturdy steel recessed lockers are set against the port and starboard walls, while five multi-purpose EVA suits stand in polished brackets. A heavy duty cargo style switch box cycles the airlock. Below the floor panels can drop down and extend on heavy hydraulic struts, forming a boarding ramp. At the fore a wide steel ship's ladder rises up to a small platform and pressure hatch, leading into the ship proper. Lind runs to the airlock comm, and slams it to contact whoever might be on the bridge, "Lift off! I don't care where, just get us bloody well off the ground." Then he sighs as he waits for decontimation to finish. Marlan releases Pavlo as she gets on board and leans back against the bulkhead in her suit. The rioting Demarians start banging their weapons on the hulls of the Athena and the Jackal. Some cling to the landing gear. Others run toward the RNS launches with hammers and wrenches, banging on thruster gimbals in an effort to sabotage them. Cruyer rushes in and leans against the wall. The sound of heavy, rapid breathing can be heard from the speaker of his suit. His eyes are closed and his head is back... and his mouth is closed to prevent his lunch leaving his stomach. Renkek Kashaan doesn't bother removing his suit and goes towards the bridge once decon is finished. Kastaprulyi shifts toward the ceiling in the middle of the airlock, out of the way of the packed refugees, only reluctantly extending its arms for the decontamination procedure. The little Centauran keeps its emotions muffled behind the protective shield still. Pavlo stays close to Marlan when she puts him down. "korfka kevkiev" From his tone the boy is more concearned with how Marlan is coping than with what happened out side, but he could be trying to distract himself. The kits are back on their feet, for the moment their tears shocked away. Silvereye holds one paw from each, guiding them through decontamination. The trio are totally silent and the Longclaw sags, barely going through the motions. Lind waits for what seems like an eternity until the light changes to indicate decontimaination is complete. Only then does he crack his helmet and begin to remove his suit. "I doubt they'll do any damage..." he says, with a frown. But once he has gotten rid of the biohazard suit, he runs towards the bridge. When the decontamination process is over, Cruyer rips off the headpiece of his suit and contaminates the airlock again by vomiting on the deck. He gasps for breath but he can't seem to stop retching. Marlan's helmet snaps to the airlock door as the banging begins. She reaches up to crack her helmet, "Pav get to the bridge." she replies in a shakey voice. "All of you. Get to the bridge!" she orders roughly, her gaze snaps to Cruyer but she doesn't move, "Get to the bridge." she repeats. Renkek Kashaan nods and goes towards the bridge, not stopping along the way. He says nothing in response as he leaves. "Captain Ranix?" Silvereye interjects, looking towards her from behind his visor. "Where should we go?" He asks, pulling the kits closer to him. Kastaprulyi unlocks and twists off its bell cover, shakily trying to drop it onto a rack without hitting any of the rescued Demarians. Kas keeps silent still. Lind opens the hatch and says, "I'll lift us off. We can decide where we're going when we get off this bloody landing pad." Lind's voice is still very tight, and his eyes are red and bloodshot. But he makes his way into the Athena. Pavlo quiclky divests himself of the biosuit Ungstiri training kicking in and starts for the inner door and then the bridge as ordered. Marlan looks blankly at Silver for a moment before swallowing, "pav, get them to my quarters then get to the bridge." Silvereye bobs his snout, "I'll see them there. They're my responsibility." Then the Longclaw, or maybe civilian now, trudges off. Cruyer's weak stomach recovers a little and he nods weakly to Marlan. He drops his helmet on the floor and, as if in a daze, walks toward the bridge still wearing the rest of his biosuit. Kastaprulyi starts wiggling out of the biohazard suit's sleeves without coming down from the ceiling, a trace of its confusion beginning to leak though. Compact and smoothly efficient, the bridge of the Athena is crafted in a double tier of concentric workstations. One enters low, rising up a tall ship's ladder into the center of the primary station well. On this level the three main consoles are nooked, their monitors stacked in rigid rows beneath the polycomposite viewscreen panels, a chaos of rainbow telltales reflecting off each brightly polished surface. The portside workstation monitors the ship's engineering functions, mirrored on the starboard side by the ship's armscomp console. Forward, central, is the sharp "u" of the navigator's station. Behind, on the upper tier, overlooking the whole of the bridge is the captain's command station. Cool white light illuminates the space, from recessed fixtures hidden against the ship's structural framing. The flooring is set with modular metal panels, providing access to the avionics, computer and other flight systems concealed below. A narrow gangway leads aft and down to the ship's main corridor. Renkek Kashaan walks in and towards the engineering console for now. He nods and watches the readouts there for now. Cruyer enters the bridge with a dazed expression on his abnormally pale face. He is still wearing his biosuit, though he has lost the helmet somewhere. The phrase "million-mile stare" doesn't do his stare justice. Lind stands near the conn, having just launched the ship. He is speaking into the comms, "Negative, Jackal. This is Vice Admiral Lind. All ships should go to Waldheim. We can't risk landing any contaminated vessels on another planet. If even one of those Demarians is infected, it will be bad enough, but we can't spread the plague." He turns and looks over his shoulder, "Minister." he says, with a nod of his head. Cruyer doesn't acknowledge Lind, or really anything. He just stares at the viewscreen. Renkek Kashaan looks to Lind "Shall I set vector to waldheim sir?" he does move from the engineering console towards the navigation console. Lind nods, "Yes, get us out of here. We'll get back to Waldheim, then we can see if we can't find a cure for this." The doctor stands there, in the one piece undergarment that he wore beneath his biohazard suit, "I look ridiculous." he remarks, "I need to go change." Kastaprulyi drifts up from the corridor without a word besides its shocked and confused mental aura. The little Centauran hangs in the back, shifting its arms uncomfortably now and then. The bridge hatch opens and Marlan steps inside wearing a mint colored PHS uniform. Her eyes are red and puffy, hands shaking ever so slightly. Despite that her shoulders are thrown back. She takes two steps onto the bridge and orders with forced calmness, "Report." The bridge hatch opens and Marlan steps inside wearing a mint colored PHS uniform. Her eyes are red and puffy, hands shaking ever so slightly. Despite that her shoulders are thrown back. She takes two steps onto the bridge and orders with forced calmness, "Report." Cruyer is standing on the bridge staring at the viewscreen, his face white as a sheet. He has been standing like this for quite some time without change but the calmness of Marlan's voice causes something to break. The minister sniffs once, then twice... and tears roll down his cheeks. Renkek Kashaan nods and proceeds to get a vecotr. The forward view becomes a wash of shimmering silver as the spindrive field wraps about the ship, allowing it hyperaccelerate outbounds ... Renkek Kashaan looks around "around 24.5 minutes." Kastaprulyi suggests a faint greeting to Marlan, but remains floating quietly by the back of the bridge. Boomer comes into the bridge, helmet of his biosuit removed, looking worn out. He hangs back with Kas, since the bridge is out of his usual area of business. Lind turns, his own face a bit drawn. "We're on our way to Waldheim, and I've ordered the other ships to follow us. I didn't allow them to go to La Terre in the interests of avoiding additional contamination. Now, I am going to put some clothes on. Your ship, Captain." He turns to walk off the bridge. Marlan nods to Lind then turns her gaze to Cruyer. "Get off my bridge. That's an order." she says, voice not angry but forceful. She heads towards the command console "When you pull yourself together, come back.", she reaches up for the ladder, hands visibly shaking. Boomer for once, has nothing. No foul mouthed interjection, sarcastic interruption, or smarmy comment. He's silent, watching Cruyer's breakdown only briefly, turning his head away to stare at the floor with a weary sigh. Cruyer can't obey orders right now. He's trapped in a world in his own mind and doesn't show any evidence of being aware of what is going on around him. He crumples into a chair and continues to sob. Kastaprulyi rubs an arm. "Maybe we should go check on the other guests..." Kas mentions quietly. Marlan's eyes close for an instant and the foot she'd raised to go up the ladder drops to the deck before reaching the second rung. Instead she turns and steps twoards Cruyer, squatting down in front of him. Lind turns angrily and walks back towards Cruyer. In a move that will likely get him cashiered, he raises his hand and, if he's not stopped, slaps the Minister a good one. "Get ahold of yourself, man! Enough of this blubbering! We have a job to do!" Cruyer is in no position to stop Lind, being more or less unaware of his presence. Right over the squatting Marlan, Lind's hand connects with a *crack!* on Cruyer's cheek. Marlan's gaze snaps up, emotions finding an outlet, anger. She's unable to stop Lind's slap from her position but that doesn't stop her, "Stand down!" she barks, standing. Cruyer's left hand almost involuntarily rises to his cheek. He looks up at Lind, his eyes still wet but he has stopped sobbing. He's back. Lind glances at Marlan, "I outrank you, remember?" Then to Cruyer, he says, "Sorry, Minister, but we need you with all your faculties in tact. We're on our way back to Waldheim now." Boomer looks up at the pop of flesh on flesh, the rotund Athenaut eyes narrow. "Leave the miserable fucker alone, Lind." Boomer sighs, obviously not caring about rank, turning back to head into the crew area, sliding his helmet back on. "I'm going to check on the refugees, make sure they're as fuckin' comfortable as they can be." Marlan's left hand clenches at her side, "Get him off my bridge." she says before turning to head to the command console again, "Just get him off my bridge." "Yes..." says Cruyer softly. He swallows, then nods. "Quite right, Admiral... need to get back to Waldheim... need to cure the plague." He manages a good old Sivadian stiff-upper-lip sort of smile. "Jolly good initiative," he says weakly. "I'll help with checking on them," Kas adds with a less confused tone, dropping its arms to a normal posture Silvereye steps through the whoosh following the opening of the bridge door, expression set and grim as he makes his way into the Athena's nerve center. "What's the situation?" He asks, voice calm but forceful. He looks between Lind, Cruyer and Marlan, seeking an answer from any one of them. Pavlo frowns when he sees the carry-on between Marlan, Lind and Cruyer, and just shakes his head as he heads for the engineering station, someone might hear the boy mutter "Grownups" though. With a shattering of silver starbursts, the spindrive field collapses, returning the ship to normal space. Lind nods, "Good." Then he turns away from where Cruyer sits, to Marlan, "Captain, get ahold of yourself. We're all a bit stressed here. Now, I was going to put on some clothes. The rest of the crew will carry on seeing to the refugees, and we will continue to Waldheim. Once there, we will transfer the Refugees into Quarantine in orbit until we are certain that none of them manifest symptoms. Provided that proves to be true, we will then find someplace safe to relocate them. In the meanwhile, we have a plague to cure." That should provde enough of a report, for with a nod, he again tries to leave. "I think... I think I should change as well," says Cruyer. The natural instinct here might be to look down at his inadequate attire, but Cruyer studiously avoids looking down -- to the point that standing up is a little bit awkward. Marlan once more reaches a shaking hand to the command chair's ladder. "We are *at* Waldheim" Marlan replies tensely as Lind speaks and the viewscreen changes. She moves up the steps to the command chair, "All stations report." See also: Overrun
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