robberbaron
First Post
Oh yes, more please.
This is really brightening up my day.
This is really brightening up my day.
-
The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
[Spaceship Zero] Q-Ship (actually updated 19 May 2007)
- Thread starter Capellan
- Start date
Capellan
Explorer
"Blast Off!" - Part 12
"I have not found any evidence of mechanical failure within the radio systems." Archie reports, some minutes later, "However, there may be damage to the external transmitters or receivers, which I cannot assess from here."
"In any case, there's no need for concern." Fury assures them all, "I've set us on a course for Pluto, and we should be over the base in just a few moments." As the Captain speaks, the grey-blue surface of the icy planet can be seen spinning slowly below them. "We can set down where we did last time, then walk over to the base and send the message from there -" he breaks off suddenly, a frown creasing his normally unlined brow. "That's odd."
"Vot is it?" Gustav asks, peering out of the viewscreen, "I zee nothing."
"Exactly." Fury taps some buttons and twiddles some dials, looking concerned, "There's nothing out there. But all instruments say we should be looking right at the base."
"You lost it." Archie concludes mournfully, his visual receptors turning to the Doctor, "First, your socks. Now, an entire military base. This is really getting out of hand."
"Hush, Archie." S'Ondra hides a smile as she pats the robot on the shoulder, "I'm sure he'll work out what happened."
"Is it possible that we've come back to the wrong time co-ordinates?" Fury suggests, "All the spatial co-ordinates seem fine, but you mentioned that the Q-Drive uses time as well, didn't you Doctor."
"Ja. I am sure ze co-ordinates were correct, but it is a good suggestion to check zem." Gustav punches up a display and then pulls out a small notepad. After a few minutes of hurried scrawling with a well-chewed pencil, he shakes his head, "Ze calculations are all correct. Zis is ze right time, and ze right place."
"Any other ideas, Doctor?" Fury lifts the ship's nose and heads away from the planet at full thrust, "I'm setting a course back for Mission City, so we can see if it's missing, as well. But surely a boffin like you will have cracked this puzzle by the time we get there, eh?"
"I will certainly give it ze 'college try'." Gustav taps his lips with his fingers, frowing thoughtfully, "Perhaps it was caused by ze samples we took? If ze space matter in ze Andromeda Cluster has an unknown energy signature, it might have caused a slight fluctuation in the Q-Drive. Archie?"
"Analysis shows no energy unusual emissions from the space matter, Doctor." The robot replies, reading the results off a printed report, "The dust appears mildly energised, and given it's granularity it will be extremely difficult to clean out of the hopper, but all readings are well within the Q-Drive's compensation parameters." He flips a page and pauses, a light blinking on the top of his metal cranium, "There does appear to be a slight doppler effect on some of the readings, however. Is it possible we have somehow got out of phase with the universe?"
"An interesting theory." muttering under his breath about quantum singularities, the Doctor begins scribbling manual calculations into the notepad with his right hand, while punching up a copy of Archie's results with his left. "Mein gott!"
"Have you found something, Doctor?" S'Ondra leans over his shoulder, then shakes her head at the complex morass of symbols and numbers on screen, "Are you sure that thing's working alright?"
"Ja, the machine is fine." The Doctor shakes his head ruefully, "But zese results ..." he continues to scribble as he talks, the movements of his writing hand growing more and more jerky and rushed, "If zey are correct ... ach!" he breaks off with an exclamation.
"Don't keep us in suspense, Doctor." Fury twists in his chair to look back at the others, as Jupiter sails by the viewscreen, "What have you found?"
Gustav leans back in his chair and wipes what's left of his hair back with his hand,
"Ze spatial co-ordinates are correct." He reports, "As are those for ze time. But we are in ze wrong universe."
"The universe?" Archie sounds incredulous, despite still speaking in a monotone, "You didn't just lose the base, you lost the whole universe?"
Gustav shakes his head,
"It is not ze universe which is lost, Archie." He says in sombre tones, "It is us. I am a fool not to have seen it."
"I don't understand." Fury frowns, "How can we be in the wrong universe? You mean there is more than one?"
"It appears so." Gustav nods, "It was only a hypothesis, before now, but scientists have long theorised that zere might be one universe. You see -" he flips to a new page of the notebook and begins drawing diagrams to illustrate his point, "Just as zere are three dimensions in ze physical world, zere are three dimensions of potentiality. I programmed ze Q-Drive to compensate for ze one potentiality dimension of which we humans - and Venusians - are aware: ze dimension of time. I did not zink to look for any more dimensions, but zey are zere." He gestures out of the window, "And now, so are we. I have done an atomic analysis on ze matter in ze ship, and found ze co-ordinate entries that define zese dimensions."
"So can't you just put in the 'potentiality co-ordinates' of our universe into the Q-Drive, and we can go home?" S'Ondra asks.
"Ah, leibchen, if only it was zat easy." Gustav shakes his head. "I have found ze co-ordinates of zis universe, now zat I have looked for zem. But I never did it for ze co-ordinates of our own universe. And without zem, we cannot go home."
"I have not found any evidence of mechanical failure within the radio systems." Archie reports, some minutes later, "However, there may be damage to the external transmitters or receivers, which I cannot assess from here."
"In any case, there's no need for concern." Fury assures them all, "I've set us on a course for Pluto, and we should be over the base in just a few moments." As the Captain speaks, the grey-blue surface of the icy planet can be seen spinning slowly below them. "We can set down where we did last time, then walk over to the base and send the message from there -" he breaks off suddenly, a frown creasing his normally unlined brow. "That's odd."
"Vot is it?" Gustav asks, peering out of the viewscreen, "I zee nothing."
"Exactly." Fury taps some buttons and twiddles some dials, looking concerned, "There's nothing out there. But all instruments say we should be looking right at the base."
"You lost it." Archie concludes mournfully, his visual receptors turning to the Doctor, "First, your socks. Now, an entire military base. This is really getting out of hand."
"Hush, Archie." S'Ondra hides a smile as she pats the robot on the shoulder, "I'm sure he'll work out what happened."
"Is it possible that we've come back to the wrong time co-ordinates?" Fury suggests, "All the spatial co-ordinates seem fine, but you mentioned that the Q-Drive uses time as well, didn't you Doctor."
"Ja. I am sure ze co-ordinates were correct, but it is a good suggestion to check zem." Gustav punches up a display and then pulls out a small notepad. After a few minutes of hurried scrawling with a well-chewed pencil, he shakes his head, "Ze calculations are all correct. Zis is ze right time, and ze right place."
"Any other ideas, Doctor?" Fury lifts the ship's nose and heads away from the planet at full thrust, "I'm setting a course back for Mission City, so we can see if it's missing, as well. But surely a boffin like you will have cracked this puzzle by the time we get there, eh?"
"I will certainly give it ze 'college try'." Gustav taps his lips with his fingers, frowing thoughtfully, "Perhaps it was caused by ze samples we took? If ze space matter in ze Andromeda Cluster has an unknown energy signature, it might have caused a slight fluctuation in the Q-Drive. Archie?"
"Analysis shows no energy unusual emissions from the space matter, Doctor." The robot replies, reading the results off a printed report, "The dust appears mildly energised, and given it's granularity it will be extremely difficult to clean out of the hopper, but all readings are well within the Q-Drive's compensation parameters." He flips a page and pauses, a light blinking on the top of his metal cranium, "There does appear to be a slight doppler effect on some of the readings, however. Is it possible we have somehow got out of phase with the universe?"
"An interesting theory." muttering under his breath about quantum singularities, the Doctor begins scribbling manual calculations into the notepad with his right hand, while punching up a copy of Archie's results with his left. "Mein gott!"
"Have you found something, Doctor?" S'Ondra leans over his shoulder, then shakes her head at the complex morass of symbols and numbers on screen, "Are you sure that thing's working alright?"
"Ja, the machine is fine." The Doctor shakes his head ruefully, "But zese results ..." he continues to scribble as he talks, the movements of his writing hand growing more and more jerky and rushed, "If zey are correct ... ach!" he breaks off with an exclamation.
"Don't keep us in suspense, Doctor." Fury twists in his chair to look back at the others, as Jupiter sails by the viewscreen, "What have you found?"
Gustav leans back in his chair and wipes what's left of his hair back with his hand,
"Ze spatial co-ordinates are correct." He reports, "As are those for ze time. But we are in ze wrong universe."
"The universe?" Archie sounds incredulous, despite still speaking in a monotone, "You didn't just lose the base, you lost the whole universe?"
Gustav shakes his head,
"It is not ze universe which is lost, Archie." He says in sombre tones, "It is us. I am a fool not to have seen it."
"I don't understand." Fury frowns, "How can we be in the wrong universe? You mean there is more than one?"
"It appears so." Gustav nods, "It was only a hypothesis, before now, but scientists have long theorised that zere might be one universe. You see -" he flips to a new page of the notebook and begins drawing diagrams to illustrate his point, "Just as zere are three dimensions in ze physical world, zere are three dimensions of potentiality. I programmed ze Q-Drive to compensate for ze one potentiality dimension of which we humans - and Venusians - are aware: ze dimension of time. I did not zink to look for any more dimensions, but zey are zere." He gestures out of the window, "And now, so are we. I have done an atomic analysis on ze matter in ze ship, and found ze co-ordinate entries that define zese dimensions."
"So can't you just put in the 'potentiality co-ordinates' of our universe into the Q-Drive, and we can go home?" S'Ondra asks.
"Ah, leibchen, if only it was zat easy." Gustav shakes his head. "I have found ze co-ordinates of zis universe, now zat I have looked for zem. But I never did it for ze co-ordinates of our own universe. And without zem, we cannot go home."
Capellan
Explorer
"Blast Off!" - Part 13
"You lost the whole universe?" Archie's servomotors whine in distress, though his voice remains as carefully modulated as ever.
"It is more zat we are lost." Gustav defends himself, "Ze universe is still in ze same place."
"We just don't know where that is." Fury muses, then shrugs, "Let's head to Earth and see what's there. Maybe we can make contact with the humans in this universe, and establish relations."`
"What about the Venusians?" S'Ondra suggests, "Why don't we go to my people?"
"Princess, I'm not going to turn down any help we can find." Fury adjusts the ship's course very slightly, "But Earth is between here and Venus, so I suggest we go there first."
"Agreed." S'Ondra graciously nods, "I just wanted to make sure you were not forgetting me - my people, that is."
"We can check Mars on ze way to Earth." Gustav suggests, "And see if zey have founded Wells City here."
"Course is already laid in, Doctor." Fury jabs some buttons to punctuate his words, "Just sit back, relax and leave the driving to me. Sleep if you can: I'm going to push to maximum speed, but the trip will still take twelve hours."
In the event, Fury manages to shave half an hour off his estimate, but Mars proves as barren as Pluto.
"There are no signs of recent habitation." Archie reports, as he checks the scans, "The last intelligent life on this Mars was the canal-builders."
The Pathfinder moves on through the dark expanse of space, now closing rapidly with the blue and green ball of earth: except ...
"Does that look wrong to anyone else?" Fury frowns through the viewscreen.
"Ja." Gustav's eyebrows beetle together as he frowns, "Ze colour of ze land masses is not correct."
"They're all the same shade of brown." S'Ondra confirms, "It's a bit drab, but less ugly than that sickly green you usually have."
"Scan for signs of civilisation, Archie." Fury instructs, bringing the ship into a high orbit.
"Scans show construction and urban patterns roughly equivalent to those of the early nineteenth century." The robot reports.
"What was the population of Earth during that time?" the Captain asks, his eyes gleaming at the thought of all those women he's never met.
"If zeir technology is limited to that of the nineteenth century, it is unlikely zey will be able to assist us." Gustav points out.
"True." Fury acknowledges, and swings the Pathfinder's nose away from the planet, "Let's check Venus. Maybe they're the advanced ones, in this universe." Then, suppressing a grin at S'Ondra's inarticulate sputters of rage, the Captain engages the engines.
The Princess does not fall silent until Venus half-fills the view screen. By then, it is clear that this planet appears almost identical in this universe to the one they call home. An irregular swirl of white clouds obscures some of the surface, but the areas that can be seen - which is more than half of the total surface - have the familiar mottle of brown and red, interspersed with occasional patches of virulent purple.
"No signs of civilisation." Archie reports, as Fury opens his mouth to ask the question, "Sensors detect no artificial structures of any kind."
"Are there life signs?" S'Ondra bites her lip.
"Many." Archie scrolls through a report, "Your home planet has well over fourteen thousand catalogued life forms, all of which are in evidence. It's very untidy."
S'Ondra swallows a most unladylike curse,
"Are there any life signs for my people?"
"There are." The robot nods, "But they are scattered in small groups, and substantially less numerous than in our own universe."
"Sounds like Earth is our best bet, then." Fury spins the ship through one hundred and eighty degrees.
"What? We came all this way for one quick look?" S'Ondra glares.
"Ze Captain is right, leibchen." Gustav places his hand on her arm, "Our main goal must be to return home, and ze Earth seems to offer us ze best hope for assistance."
S'Ondra subsides, nodding her resigned acceptance of the logic. Drawing in a breath, she punches up a view of Venus on her console, and watches it silently as the ship speeds back toward the Earth.
"She misses her home, doesn't she?" Fury observes.
"Ja." Gustav looks mournful, "And her family even more. She lost zem all during the fighting. I could save only her." The older man makes his way back through the cabin, pausing briefly to give S'Ondra's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Three hours later, the Pathfinder sits once more in high orbit above the Earth.
"If ze technology here is in ze nineteenth century, zere is probably nothing to be gained from hailing ze planet." Gustav remarks, "Zey will not have ze receivers or ze transmitters to communicate. Archie?"
"Scanning." The robot toggles some switches on his display, then thumbs a button several times, "No radio signals."
"What about carbon emissions?" Fury suggests, "The industry of this time was coal-based, wasn't it?"
"Ja," Gustav nods his approval, "Zese people obviously would not yet have nuclear power. Ze carbon emissions should tell us where ze most advanced areas are."
"I am not detecting any carbon emissions." Archie's tone is flat, but his concern is evident, "There is no sign of functioning industry of any kind."
The crew share a look of concern. Each knows the next question that must be asked, but it is Fury who takes the plunge, his voice cracking slightly as he says,
"How many human life signs, Archie?"
"None, Captain."
"You lost the whole universe?" Archie's servomotors whine in distress, though his voice remains as carefully modulated as ever.
"It is more zat we are lost." Gustav defends himself, "Ze universe is still in ze same place."
"We just don't know where that is." Fury muses, then shrugs, "Let's head to Earth and see what's there. Maybe we can make contact with the humans in this universe, and establish relations."`
"What about the Venusians?" S'Ondra suggests, "Why don't we go to my people?"
"Princess, I'm not going to turn down any help we can find." Fury adjusts the ship's course very slightly, "But Earth is between here and Venus, so I suggest we go there first."
"Agreed." S'Ondra graciously nods, "I just wanted to make sure you were not forgetting me - my people, that is."
"We can check Mars on ze way to Earth." Gustav suggests, "And see if zey have founded Wells City here."
"Course is already laid in, Doctor." Fury jabs some buttons to punctuate his words, "Just sit back, relax and leave the driving to me. Sleep if you can: I'm going to push to maximum speed, but the trip will still take twelve hours."
In the event, Fury manages to shave half an hour off his estimate, but Mars proves as barren as Pluto.
"There are no signs of recent habitation." Archie reports, as he checks the scans, "The last intelligent life on this Mars was the canal-builders."
The Pathfinder moves on through the dark expanse of space, now closing rapidly with the blue and green ball of earth: except ...
"Does that look wrong to anyone else?" Fury frowns through the viewscreen.
"Ja." Gustav's eyebrows beetle together as he frowns, "Ze colour of ze land masses is not correct."
"They're all the same shade of brown." S'Ondra confirms, "It's a bit drab, but less ugly than that sickly green you usually have."
"Scan for signs of civilisation, Archie." Fury instructs, bringing the ship into a high orbit.
"Scans show construction and urban patterns roughly equivalent to those of the early nineteenth century." The robot reports.
"What was the population of Earth during that time?" the Captain asks, his eyes gleaming at the thought of all those women he's never met.
"If zeir technology is limited to that of the nineteenth century, it is unlikely zey will be able to assist us." Gustav points out.
"True." Fury acknowledges, and swings the Pathfinder's nose away from the planet, "Let's check Venus. Maybe they're the advanced ones, in this universe." Then, suppressing a grin at S'Ondra's inarticulate sputters of rage, the Captain engages the engines.
The Princess does not fall silent until Venus half-fills the view screen. By then, it is clear that this planet appears almost identical in this universe to the one they call home. An irregular swirl of white clouds obscures some of the surface, but the areas that can be seen - which is more than half of the total surface - have the familiar mottle of brown and red, interspersed with occasional patches of virulent purple.
"No signs of civilisation." Archie reports, as Fury opens his mouth to ask the question, "Sensors detect no artificial structures of any kind."
"Are there life signs?" S'Ondra bites her lip.
"Many." Archie scrolls through a report, "Your home planet has well over fourteen thousand catalogued life forms, all of which are in evidence. It's very untidy."
S'Ondra swallows a most unladylike curse,
"Are there any life signs for my people?"
"There are." The robot nods, "But they are scattered in small groups, and substantially less numerous than in our own universe."
"Sounds like Earth is our best bet, then." Fury spins the ship through one hundred and eighty degrees.
"What? We came all this way for one quick look?" S'Ondra glares.
"Ze Captain is right, leibchen." Gustav places his hand on her arm, "Our main goal must be to return home, and ze Earth seems to offer us ze best hope for assistance."
S'Ondra subsides, nodding her resigned acceptance of the logic. Drawing in a breath, she punches up a view of Venus on her console, and watches it silently as the ship speeds back toward the Earth.
"She misses her home, doesn't she?" Fury observes.
"Ja." Gustav looks mournful, "And her family even more. She lost zem all during the fighting. I could save only her." The older man makes his way back through the cabin, pausing briefly to give S'Ondra's shoulder a gentle squeeze.
Three hours later, the Pathfinder sits once more in high orbit above the Earth.
"If ze technology here is in ze nineteenth century, zere is probably nothing to be gained from hailing ze planet." Gustav remarks, "Zey will not have ze receivers or ze transmitters to communicate. Archie?"
"Scanning." The robot toggles some switches on his display, then thumbs a button several times, "No radio signals."
"What about carbon emissions?" Fury suggests, "The industry of this time was coal-based, wasn't it?"
"Ja," Gustav nods his approval, "Zese people obviously would not yet have nuclear power. Ze carbon emissions should tell us where ze most advanced areas are."
"I am not detecting any carbon emissions." Archie's tone is flat, but his concern is evident, "There is no sign of functioning industry of any kind."
The crew share a look of concern. Each knows the next question that must be asked, but it is Fury who takes the plunge, his voice cracking slightly as he says,
"How many human life signs, Archie?"
"None, Captain."
Capellan
Explorer
"Blast Off!" - Part 14
"None?"
"None."
"Damn." Fury shakes his head, then focuses on dealing with the situation, "What are you picking up? Is anything alive down there at all?"
Archie's metal hands run over the console, entering commands. The computer chirps several times, then spits out a report with a clatter of percussion printing.
"Sensors report total biological life index is approximately seventy percent of the latest survey results from our Earth." As the robot reaches the last entries of the report, his visual receptors flash, "However, nearly ninety-eight percent of the biomass consists of the same life form."
"Which is?"
"Unknown. It does not match any listed life form in our database, but it appears to be some kind of mould. It is likely to be the cause of the planet's strange colouration."
"I think we need to go down there and have a look around." Fury says, pacing up and down the small cabin, "Try and get a sample of this stuff. Can you analyse it, Doctor?"
"Ja." Gustav nods, "I haf very good instruments aboard zis vessel."
"What is the purpose of exposing ourselves to this unknown and probably dangerous substance?" Archie gestures at the report, "It seems likely that it killed all the humans in this reality, and at the very least it will be extremely unhygienic."
"We can wear our suits." Fury waves off the robot's concern.
"Besides, we need to find out about this stuff, in case it ever gets into space and reaches Venus." S'Ondra looks pensive, "Humans are not the only people in the solar system, after all."
"Zat is settled, zen." Gustav claps his hands, "Vere shall we land?"
Fury punches up a map on the console, and studies it for a few moments,
"I think we should avoid any major settlements," he says, "There's no telling how safe all the buildings will be. We'll set down somewhere isolated." The Captain taps the console screen, "Here will do nicely."
Several minutes later, the Pathfinder swoops down into a rock-strewn quarry, somewhere in Surrey. Finding a relatively level area, Fury sets the ship down, then directs the others in donning their spacesuits. It's possible he spends just that little bit longer than necessary in assisting S'Ondra, who stiffly informs him to attend to his own safety.
"I am quite old enough to look after myself." She reminds the Captain.
"Trust me, I've noticed." Fury murmurs, but does as she requests.
Archie stares through the viewscreen, his status lights blinking under the clear plastic hood he has donned for the expedition.
"The brown pigmentation of the planet clearly derives from this mould." He points at the substance in question. This is an easy thing to do, as literally everything in sight is covered in the brown substance.
"It looks almost furry, or fuzzy." S'Ondra observes, joining the robot. Her skin-tight suit is as supple as the lady herself. She frowns, "Proper vegetation has spines. And it should be red. Or purple."
Eventaully, the four emerge from the vessel. Fury takes the lead, his atomic pistol in hand, while S'Ondra and Archie walk on either side of Gustav: half protecting him from danger, half blocking him from rushing off without them.
"This substance is unsightly." Archie moves away from the others, and swings up his arms, "Permission to deploy plasma burners?"
"I am not sure if zat is wise ..." Gustav has already started unpacking a case of scientific equipment, "It vould not do to damage ze sample."
"Look around, Doc." Fury gestures with his pistol, "You're not going to run out of samples. I say we give it a try, see if this stuff burns. Useful scientific research."
"It's kind of spongy, but firm." S'Ondra reports, poking a nearby boulder with her finger.
"Leibchen!" Gustav flaps his hands, "Please do not touch ze strange growth! Ve do not yet know if it is safe."
"Permission to deploy plasma burners?" Archie asks again, the bulky tubing of the fearsome weapons extruding from his forearms with a mechanical whir.
"Ja, OK." Gustav waves off the question with a weary shake of his head, still upset by S'Ondra's action. For her own part, the Princess grumbles, but stops poking the mould.
"Please stand clear." Archie intones, and then there is a whoosh of flame, as several gallons of super-heated plasma bursts from his forearms, spraying across a wide arc and igniting everything it touches.
The flow of plasma cuts off and Archie swings his arms up, a curl of smoke emerging from the twin barrels.
Slowly, the flames die out.
Impossibly, the mould seems all but untouched by the fire. It is only lightly charred, despite the superheated punishment it has just taken.
Then it starts to bud.
"None?"
"None."
"Damn." Fury shakes his head, then focuses on dealing with the situation, "What are you picking up? Is anything alive down there at all?"
Archie's metal hands run over the console, entering commands. The computer chirps several times, then spits out a report with a clatter of percussion printing.
"Sensors report total biological life index is approximately seventy percent of the latest survey results from our Earth." As the robot reaches the last entries of the report, his visual receptors flash, "However, nearly ninety-eight percent of the biomass consists of the same life form."
"Which is?"
"Unknown. It does not match any listed life form in our database, but it appears to be some kind of mould. It is likely to be the cause of the planet's strange colouration."
"I think we need to go down there and have a look around." Fury says, pacing up and down the small cabin, "Try and get a sample of this stuff. Can you analyse it, Doctor?"
"Ja." Gustav nods, "I haf very good instruments aboard zis vessel."
"What is the purpose of exposing ourselves to this unknown and probably dangerous substance?" Archie gestures at the report, "It seems likely that it killed all the humans in this reality, and at the very least it will be extremely unhygienic."
"We can wear our suits." Fury waves off the robot's concern.
"Besides, we need to find out about this stuff, in case it ever gets into space and reaches Venus." S'Ondra looks pensive, "Humans are not the only people in the solar system, after all."
"Zat is settled, zen." Gustav claps his hands, "Vere shall we land?"
Fury punches up a map on the console, and studies it for a few moments,
"I think we should avoid any major settlements," he says, "There's no telling how safe all the buildings will be. We'll set down somewhere isolated." The Captain taps the console screen, "Here will do nicely."
Several minutes later, the Pathfinder swoops down into a rock-strewn quarry, somewhere in Surrey. Finding a relatively level area, Fury sets the ship down, then directs the others in donning their spacesuits. It's possible he spends just that little bit longer than necessary in assisting S'Ondra, who stiffly informs him to attend to his own safety.
"I am quite old enough to look after myself." She reminds the Captain.
"Trust me, I've noticed." Fury murmurs, but does as she requests.
Archie stares through the viewscreen, his status lights blinking under the clear plastic hood he has donned for the expedition.
"The brown pigmentation of the planet clearly derives from this mould." He points at the substance in question. This is an easy thing to do, as literally everything in sight is covered in the brown substance.
"It looks almost furry, or fuzzy." S'Ondra observes, joining the robot. Her skin-tight suit is as supple as the lady herself. She frowns, "Proper vegetation has spines. And it should be red. Or purple."
Eventaully, the four emerge from the vessel. Fury takes the lead, his atomic pistol in hand, while S'Ondra and Archie walk on either side of Gustav: half protecting him from danger, half blocking him from rushing off without them.
"This substance is unsightly." Archie moves away from the others, and swings up his arms, "Permission to deploy plasma burners?"
"I am not sure if zat is wise ..." Gustav has already started unpacking a case of scientific equipment, "It vould not do to damage ze sample."
"Look around, Doc." Fury gestures with his pistol, "You're not going to run out of samples. I say we give it a try, see if this stuff burns. Useful scientific research."
"It's kind of spongy, but firm." S'Ondra reports, poking a nearby boulder with her finger.
"Leibchen!" Gustav flaps his hands, "Please do not touch ze strange growth! Ve do not yet know if it is safe."
"Permission to deploy plasma burners?" Archie asks again, the bulky tubing of the fearsome weapons extruding from his forearms with a mechanical whir.
"Ja, OK." Gustav waves off the question with a weary shake of his head, still upset by S'Ondra's action. For her own part, the Princess grumbles, but stops poking the mould.
"Please stand clear." Archie intones, and then there is a whoosh of flame, as several gallons of super-heated plasma bursts from his forearms, spraying across a wide arc and igniting everything it touches.
The flow of plasma cuts off and Archie swings his arms up, a curl of smoke emerging from the twin barrels.
Slowly, the flames die out.
Impossibly, the mould seems all but untouched by the fire. It is only lightly charred, despite the superheated punishment it has just taken.
Then it starts to bud.
Capellan
Explorer
"Blast Off!" - Part 15
Strange pink pustules form on the skin of the charred mould, then swell and burst, spraying a fine cloud of brown spores into the air.
"Fascinating." Doctor Gustav rushes forward, using a small handheld sampler to suck up the cloud of spores, "Vot an amazingly adaptable life form."
"Fire didn't work." Archie's arms slump to his side.
"There, there, old man." Fury pats the robot's shoulder, "We've got a few more tricks up our sleeves."
"I don't have any sleeves."
"For instance, we've got my atomic pistol." Fury gestures with the aforementioned article, causing both S'Ondra and Archie to duck. Gustav is too busy trying to scrape up a sample of the mould. "Let's see how this mould likes that."
The Captain makes an adjustment to his weapon, then targets a nearby rock and fires. The pistol unleashes a yellow-green beam of energy, which strikes the rock squarely. Nothing seems to happen, but Fury keeps the trigger depressed, and the beam continues unabated. Slowly, the rock begins to glow white, then shimmers and disappears into thin air.
"Fabulous." Archie notes, "If we apply this on a larger scale, we can save the whole world by disintegrating it." He pauses, "Though that would make it easier to clean."
"So it's not an ideal solution." Fury shrugs, "At least we know something will work. And I'm sure our boffin -" he nods at Gustav, "- will have all the answers soon enough. Right, Doc?"
"Ja, of course." Gustav answers distractedly, not even looking up from his continued efforts to scrape mould samples, "I will eat it soon, leibchen."
S'Ondra rolls her eyes,
"I knew he never listened to me when he was working." She mutters, stalking off along a nearby path, which wends its way out of the quarry. Fury, watching her departing derriere with an approving tilt of one eyebrow, turns back to Archie.
"Say, do you think any of that stuff could have got on the ship?" he asks, in a nonchalant tone, "Maybe someone should check - that stuff looks pretty dirty."
A series of red lights flash across the robot's metal body, and then Archie turns and rushes back to the Pathfinder.
Fury, after a quick glance at the oblivious Doctor Gustav, heads after S'Ondra.
He finds the Venusian Princess standing at the top of one of the quarry's cliff faces, staring off across the drab landscape of undulating brown mould.
"What are you looking for, Princess?"
"There's a village over that way." S'Ondra points. Fury squints in the direction she indicates,
"You sure? It all looks the same to me."
S'Ondra sighs,
"Humans. You're all blind." She glances back down into the quarry, where Gustav and Archie are both busily engaged in their respective obsessions. "I was planning to go and take a look."
"Would the Doctor be happy with you wandering off?"
"I don't need his permission for everything."
"I'm very glad to hear it."
"Put your pistol back in your holster, Captain."
Fury stares at the Princess for a moment, then - when she indicates his atomic pistol, still clutched in his hand - flushes and holsters the weapon.
"Thank you." S'Ondra cradles her heat lance under one arm, "Given the scans, I doubt we're likely to meet anything dangerous, and I wouldn't want your weapon going off accidentally."
Strange pink pustules form on the skin of the charred mould, then swell and burst, spraying a fine cloud of brown spores into the air.
"Fascinating." Doctor Gustav rushes forward, using a small handheld sampler to suck up the cloud of spores, "Vot an amazingly adaptable life form."
"Fire didn't work." Archie's arms slump to his side.
"There, there, old man." Fury pats the robot's shoulder, "We've got a few more tricks up our sleeves."
"I don't have any sleeves."
"For instance, we've got my atomic pistol." Fury gestures with the aforementioned article, causing both S'Ondra and Archie to duck. Gustav is too busy trying to scrape up a sample of the mould. "Let's see how this mould likes that."
The Captain makes an adjustment to his weapon, then targets a nearby rock and fires. The pistol unleashes a yellow-green beam of energy, which strikes the rock squarely. Nothing seems to happen, but Fury keeps the trigger depressed, and the beam continues unabated. Slowly, the rock begins to glow white, then shimmers and disappears into thin air.
"Fabulous." Archie notes, "If we apply this on a larger scale, we can save the whole world by disintegrating it." He pauses, "Though that would make it easier to clean."
"So it's not an ideal solution." Fury shrugs, "At least we know something will work. And I'm sure our boffin -" he nods at Gustav, "- will have all the answers soon enough. Right, Doc?"
"Ja, of course." Gustav answers distractedly, not even looking up from his continued efforts to scrape mould samples, "I will eat it soon, leibchen."
S'Ondra rolls her eyes,
"I knew he never listened to me when he was working." She mutters, stalking off along a nearby path, which wends its way out of the quarry. Fury, watching her departing derriere with an approving tilt of one eyebrow, turns back to Archie.
"Say, do you think any of that stuff could have got on the ship?" he asks, in a nonchalant tone, "Maybe someone should check - that stuff looks pretty dirty."
A series of red lights flash across the robot's metal body, and then Archie turns and rushes back to the Pathfinder.
Fury, after a quick glance at the oblivious Doctor Gustav, heads after S'Ondra.
He finds the Venusian Princess standing at the top of one of the quarry's cliff faces, staring off across the drab landscape of undulating brown mould.
"What are you looking for, Princess?"
"There's a village over that way." S'Ondra points. Fury squints in the direction she indicates,
"You sure? It all looks the same to me."
S'Ondra sighs,
"Humans. You're all blind." She glances back down into the quarry, where Gustav and Archie are both busily engaged in their respective obsessions. "I was planning to go and take a look."
"Would the Doctor be happy with you wandering off?"
"I don't need his permission for everything."
"I'm very glad to hear it."
"Put your pistol back in your holster, Captain."
Fury stares at the Princess for a moment, then - when she indicates his atomic pistol, still clutched in his hand - flushes and holsters the weapon.
"Thank you." S'Ondra cradles her heat lance under one arm, "Given the scans, I doubt we're likely to meet anything dangerous, and I wouldn't want your weapon going off accidentally."
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