ViewScream: ☆ZRAEL

[idolpro]

The bulkhead seals behind you; there is a brief warning buzzer before THEMiS’s A.I. pleasantly informs you that you have been “quarantined for your protection.”

A specialized room is arrayed before you, and you suddenly find you are aware of not only of the game’s rules, but also of a limited collection of specialized knowledge suitable to your team’s Role.

---

ROLE: XENOBIOLOGY

---

Available solutions:

1. Elemental Spore Supply
2. Accelerated Gene Therapy Nanites
3. Bioengineered Xenomorph

To your right are a series of lockers containing changes of clothes to more Role-appropriate ones—though they still contain just enough elements to match your unit aesthetic. You may use these if you wish (if so, they will not disappear after the game ends). To your left, there is what appears to be a comms station. It seems you’ll be using this to contact the other units.

It quickly becomes apparent, in fact, that you will very much need their help—

---

Quick Links: How to Play | Rules | Bridge | List of Roles

Comments

PROBLEMS

[idolpro]

Psionics
There’s something at the corner of your eye—no, the other corner—no, it’s writhing beneath your skin—

Wait. It’s none of those things. All of this is just in your mind; there’s a creeping paranoia that borders on madness. Then you notice it: the broken canister in the corner of the room, its contents already dispersed. Whatever was in there is clearly beginning to work its way through your brain. The effects are easy enough to ignore, now that you realize what’s going on… but they’re only going to get worse.

---

Weapons
Red alerts on your monitor are always a good sign, right? What about alarm bells? Warning signs with hazard symbols that say "ENEMY DETECTED"? Hmmm, no? Not into it?

Well, you can do something about that! ... If you had operational weapons.

You can see several dots on the radar rapidly approaching—in fact, they’re surrounding every path past the sealed bulkgate. You peer through the window, and see the first of the swarm: many-legged, chitinous, its carapace shimmering green and purple as it chitters its enormous, saw-like mandibles. At least it’s only about the size of a large cat…. but it seems to be bringing hundreds and hundreds of its closest friends.

Hey, maybe you should get those weapons checked out?

Medical
There’s a prickling feeling over your skin, like an itch you can’t quite place, and


It starts with an itch, or a sneeze, or a cough. Whatever it is, it starts small—but it rapidly grows, in size and in seriousness. Itches spread, sneezes become more violent, and coughs become more frequent. Roughly around the time that your ailments pass the threshold into "moderately annoying and somewhat concerning", THEMiS's A.I. speaks in a pleasantly neutral tone:
"Space plague detected in air ventilation. Air quality has been compromised."

Then, completely unbidden, the A.I. continues to describe what this "space plague" is: "Space plague: a common form of airborne infection. The body's immune system is attacked and begins to break down with the introduction of this bacteria. Microorganisms grow at a rapid pace and consume the host, processing flesh into liquid nutrient until the bodypart is completely consumed. Fatality rate: 85%. Antibiotic recommended for continued survival."

The feeling's just getting worse. Hm!

DISCUSSION

[idolpro]

Re: DISCUSSION

[rollplayinghouse]

[This is actually now the third time Maki has had to deal with ignoring intrusive hallucinations, so after going stiff for a brief moment, she seems to have that things under control.

Then she coughs a few times. And winces at the screen.

After a few seconds of evaluation—]

I can talk to AlcheME.

Re: DISCUSSION

[carnivorouscarnival]

[ sullenly ]

They won't do shit for us.

Re: DISCUSSION

[rollplayinghouse]

You don't know that. I can at least talk to them.

[and after they get a call—]

...Future is now needs ours.

Re: DISCUSSION

[stakesthesame]

[ oh my grod this is the worst combination of things,

Just. Frozen. ]

Re: DISCUSSION

[rollplayinghouse]

...

[a hand lightly on her shoulder]

Re: DISCUSSION

[stakesthesame]

[ jumps, bristling ]

Wh-- what!

What.

Re: DISCUSSION

[avestan]

[oh we need medical help

rip us

just going to flop to the floor and hate everything]

Re: DISCUSSION

[poisong]

[quietly but frantically]

No no no no no no no no no no no.

Re: DISCUSSION

[stakesthesame]

[ ... gggooood she's got it bad too.

Coughing, roughly; ]

A-- ashes.

Re: DISCUSSION

[poisong]

[she's shivering, arms tightly wrapped around herself with her own nails digging into the skin]

We're screwed.

Re: DISCUSSION

[carnivorouscarnival]

[ scratching roughly at his own skin, enough to leave red marks, a spark of something unhinged in his eyes. CLEARLY not having a good time with these problems, yikes.

and when he looks at the list of units they're supposed to negotiate with, he kicks a panel in frustration. ]

Are you fucking kidding me...?

Re: DISCUSSION

[constellationprize]

[ scratching at her throat - a little too aggressively to be idle, but stiffly, hand only shifting from its position as she's shaken by her coughing, keeping her eyes firmly shut ]

We should . . .

The units we can help, too...

Re: DISCUSSION

[rollplayinghouse]

Okay, so... What do we want to do?

We're giving one to future is now for sure, and then they're helping heart soldier, who is helping Baritones, who promised to help us with Psionics. I know that's not the best, but... well.

We promised a trade with LiLiS for Medical, but John says we should give it to Bad End or AlcheME instead.

Avante is giving us weapons for free, so we have a third one.

Re: DISCUSSION

[carnivorouscarnival]

[ hff... ]

BARiTONES is definitely going to fuck us, but too late to do anything about it now.

... Is there any benefit to only keeping the last one?

Re: DISCUSSION

[rollplayinghouse]

Not really. One wrong solution won't help us.

But we could double up on any of the units who needed our help to make sure it works, since some of them will be broken.

Re: DISCUSSION

[stakesthesame]

Don't... listen to John, he's an idiot.

Re: DISCUSSION

[rollplayinghouse]

I'm not really interested in saving him if he doesn't want to be saved.

Re: DISCUSSION

[poisong]

What is—?

[HUFFS... which transforms into frantic coughing]

What stuff are we giving away and what do we have left?

Re: DISCUSSION

[constellationprize]

[ from the doodledia sadness-wigout corner, without turning around or looking up ]

I...

[ a cough, ]

I - did WILD CITY, all of theirs... are they gone...?

TURN IN

[idolpro]

Re: TURN IN

[rollplayinghouse]

Elemental Spore Supply -> pep!pep!

Sending the Elemental Spore Supply to pep!pep! to combat their slime mold or whatever the heck they've got going on. It's an elemental, right? So clearly it can just set that junk on fire? Yeah, that's what's happening. Burn, baby, burn.

Accelerated Gene Therapy Nanites -> future is now

The nanites enter the slime monster's bloodstream and quickly deconstruct it at the genetic level, dissolving the slime into dust and leaving behind only a cute kitten.

Bioengineered Xenomorph -> AlcheME

The xenomorph knocks all their heads together and then drools on them. The head trauma and bioengineered saliva fixes their broken brains.

TECH RECEIVED

[errours]

Your fellow idols/very real space professionals have come to your aid, or at least tried to!

You receive the following Real Space Technology:

Problem type: Psionics
Tech received: Telekinetic Probe
Description provided: This is a long, rather nasty-looking device similar to what a surgical probe would look like. Thankfully you're not sticking it anywhere unconscionable. Instead, there's a needle on the end injected at the base of the skull -- a telekenetic force will disperse into the brain through blood vessels and combat against hallucinations, paranoia, what have you.
Result: Success

Problem type: Weapons
Tech received: Antimatter Blast Cannon
Description provided: Shouldn't cause too much structural integrity to the reinforced walls of Xenobiology labs, but should cause plenty of damage to the matter-based carapaces (and also innards) of the infestation.
Result: FAILURE

Problem type: Medical
Tech received: Vascular Nanite Reparatory Fleet
Description provided: [no explanation provided]; apparently your vascular system gets some reparatory nanites
Result: Success

RESULT: THIS IS GOING TO HURT

[errours]

But in the end, there’s still that one last problem…

---

Your weapons are not repaired—worse yet, the bulkhead is starting to buckle and shred under the pressure of those gnawing mandibles.

It seems like there’s no end to the swarm, nor the insistent, terrible scraping sound of jaws against metal bulkhead, chiseling away at the inches of thick metal between you and certain death with the occasional audible hiss of the acid secreted from their jaws melting through the floor outside. Even barricaded across the room, you can see them clambering over each other, piled high enough to be visible through the plasteel window.

Then, there’s a concert of awful tearing sounds of the last few millimeters of metal being ripped away from the door, and then a riot of chittering is all you can hear as the swarm pours through the widening gap. The sickly-sweet smell of acid-burnt flesh fills the air as the creatures fall upon you. Do you scream when one rips into your thigh with a spray of blood? Another in your arm? Another—

There’s a musical chime, as if THEMiS’s AI were clearing her throat.

“THEMiS Trademark Nanite Immune System: Online.”

Did you know that millions of nanites beat hundreds of space army ants in a fight?
You do now. Unfortunately, those injuries you’re left with? Those are on you.