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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1214460" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;Blast Off!&quot; - Part 14&quot;None?&quot;&quot;None.&quot;&quot;Damn.&quot; Fury shakes his head, then focuses on dealing with the situation, &quot;What are you picking up?&nbsp; Is anything alive down there at all?&quot;Archie's metal hands run over the console, entering commands.&nbsp; The computer chirps several times, then spits out a report with a clatter of percussion printing.&quot;Sensors report total biological life index is approximately seventy percent of the latest survey results from our Earth.&quot; As the robot reaches the last entries of the report, his visual receptors flash, &quot;However, nearly ninety-eight percent of the biomass consists of the same life form.&quot;&quot;Which is?&quot;&quot;Unknown.&nbsp; It does not match any listed life form in our database, but it appears to be some kind of mould.&nbsp; It is likely to be the cause of the planet's strange colouration.&quot;&quot;I think we need to go down there and have a look around.&quot; Fury says, pacing up and down the small cabin, &quot;Try and get a sample of this stuff.&nbsp; Can you analyse it, Doctor?&quot;&quot;Ja.&quot; Gustav nods, &quot;I haf very good instruments aboard zis vessel.&quot;&quot;What is the purpose of exposing ourselves to this unknown and probably dangerous substance?&quot; Archie gestures at the report, &quot;It seems likely that it killed all the humans in this reality, and at the very least it will be extremely unhygienic.&quot;&quot;We can wear our suits.&quot; Fury waves off the robot's concern.&quot;Besides, we need to find out about this stuff, in case it ever gets into space and reaches Venus.&quot; S'Ondra looks pensive, &quot;Humans are not the only people in the solar system, after all.&quot;&quot;Zat is settled, zen.&quot; Gustav claps his hands, &quot;Vere shall we land?&quot;Fury punches up a map on the console, and studies it for a few moments,&quot;I think we should avoid any major settlements,&quot; he says, &quot;There's no telling how safe all the buildings will be.&nbsp; We'll set down somewhere isolated.&quot; The Captain taps the console screen, &quot;Here will do nicely.&quot;Several minutes later, the Pathfinder swoops down into a rock-strewn quarry, somewhere in Surrey.&nbsp; Finding a relatively level area, Fury sets the ship down, then directs the others in donning their spacesuits.&nbsp; 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.&quot;I am quite old enough to look after myself.&quot; She reminds the Captain.&quot;Trust me, I've noticed.&quot; 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.&quot;The brown pigmentation of the planet clearly derives from this mould.&quot; He points at the substance in question.&nbsp; This is an easy thing to do, as literally everything in sight is covered in the brown substance.&quot;It looks almost furry, or fuzzy.&quot; S'Ondra observes, joining the robot.&nbsp; Her skin-tight suit is as supple as the lady herself.&nbsp; She frowns, &quot;Proper vegetation has spines.&nbsp; And it should be red.&nbsp; Or purple.&quot;Eventaully, the four emerge from the vessel.&nbsp; 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.&quot;This substance is unsightly.&quot; Archie moves away from the others, and swings up his arms, &quot;Permission to deploy plasma burners?&quot;&quot;I am not sure if zat is wise ...&quot; Gustav has already started unpacking a case of scientific equipment, &quot;It vould not do to damage ze sample.&quot;&quot;Look around, Doc.&quot; Fury gestures with his pistol, &quot;You're not going to run out of samples.&nbsp; I say we give it a try, see if this stuff burns.&nbsp; Useful scientific research.&quot;&quot;It's kind of spongy, but firm.&quot; S'Ondra reports, poking a nearby boulder with her finger.&quot;Leibchen!&quot; Gustav flaps his hands, &quot;Please do not touch ze strange growth!&nbsp; Ve do not yet know if it is safe.&quot;&quot;Permission to deploy plasma burners?&quot; Archie asks again, the bulky tubing of the fearsome weapons extruding from his forearms with a mechanical whir.&quot;Ja, OK.&quot; Gustav waves off the question with a weary shake of his head, still upset by S'Ondra's action.&nbsp; For her own part, the Princess grumbles, but stops poking the mould.&quot;Please stand clear.&quot; 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.&nbsp; It is only lightly charred, despite the superheated punishment it has just taken.Then it starts to bud.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 1214460, member: 6294"] [b]"Blast Off!" - Part 14[/b] "None?" "None." "Damn." Fury shakes his head, then focuses on dealing with the situation, "What [I]are[/I] 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?" "[I]Ja[/i]." 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 [I]Pathfinder[/I] 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 [I]everything[/I] 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, "[I]Proper[/I] 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. "[I]Leibchen![/I]" 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. "[I]Ja[/I], 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 [I]whoosh[/I] 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. [/QUOTE]

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