//------------------------------// // Retaking the Ship // Story: Mother X: Father // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Once Moondancer was a little more calmed down, the group continued deeper into the ship, everyone staying as close together as possible and keeping all noise to a minimum, as even the slightest warning of approaching danger would be greatly appreciated in the situation, and none wanted to let it go unnoticed. When the path seemed to dead end, the group made their way into a side room with a hole open into space and barricaded themselves in. Larice turned optic lights on as bright as he could, giving them an oasis of light in the darkness to take a few breaths in to calm down and gather themselves. "So now what?" Zarbol asked as the others calmed down. "There's an open vent," Alinivar pointed out. "Someone small could go through the vents and see if they can find a way to open a path for the rest of us. Or we could return to the ship-" "We would have *bzzt* to walk," Larice spoke up. "My Recall ability is *click* non-functional. Presumed signal jamming." "Well, that's reassuring," Alinivar murmured sarcastically. He turned to Col. Saturn, Zarbol, and Moondancer. "Any volunteers to try the vents?" "I go," Col. Saturn spoke up, his nose wriggling. "I make less noise, can sneak. Though weapons noisy..." "I'll go with you," Moondancer spoke up firmly, though her voice shook with fear. "This place was my home, and I know every inch, even the vents. I can guide you through, and I don't think any of us should go alone." "Should not send more *bzzzt* into vents," Larice indicated. "More people means *whrrr* more noise, more attention." Moondancer swallowed convulsively, but nodded firmly. She followed Col. Saturn into the vent as quietly as she could. The vents were even darker and narrower than the rest of the ship had been, with only a very low green light illuminating the paths...and partially hiding the plants that wandered around the vents. Rather than using light to maneuver, Moondancer sent out an ultrasonic pulse and read the return vibrations to silently guide Col. Saturn through the vents to some of the controls. She pitched the sound to high for her to hear, and luckily the plants couldn't hear it either. The tiny green sprouts wandered around the vents, popping up to block paths and search for the pair. Col. Saturn froze any time that happened, keeping himself between the plant and Moondancer. Once the plant ducked back into the floor of the vent, the pair moved on as quickly and silently as possible. Moondancer had to bite back a scream and clutch at her chest as the PA went off on their way back to the group. "They're crawling around... In the guts." At that point, neither of them could hold back and they made a mad dash for the open vent back to the rest of the group. Moondancer threw herself into Alinivar's tendrils and Larice's arms, shivering in fear. Col. Saturn slumped to the floor, panting for breath. "Feeling better?" Alinivar asked softly as Moondancer started to calm down. "No..." she whimpered softly. "But we have to keep going..." Nodding, Alinivar set Moondancer down. Undoing their barricade, they moved onward. The switches Col. Saturn and Moondancer had flipped opened doors further down the path. The first one led into a small room with a crashed console. The PA beeped as they entered. "What are they doing in there?" the voice asked curiously. "That's a weird room. That's not one of my rooms." "Sounds like we're safe in here for now," Alinivar murmured as he walked up to the crashed console. "Doors and lighting maintenance, huh? This should help us get further if I can get it working...ah!" He pulled out one of the five Reboot Orbs they'd managed to collect, placing it into the console and booting it back up. "Emergency function active now? Well, that's a start." He turned back to the group. "Want to take a break here, or keep going?" "Keep going!" Moondancer insisted quickly. "I...I don't want to stay here any longer than we have to..." Alinivar glanced around, and saw the nods the others gave in agreement. "Alright. Let's go." As they left, the PA beeped again. "They're doing something... It's bright in here. I don't like it. All crewmen..." The voice lost its seeming playfulness, becoming angry. "Find them." "Looks like things are going to be rougher as we go," Alinivar murmured. "Alternatively," Larice spoke up, "the plants could be *click* weaker." "We can hope so," Moondancer murmured softly. As they moved deeper into the ship, the infected Starmen and plant creatures were more numerous and aggressive, giving the group the impression of being actively hunted. They moved as swiftly as possible, trying to ignore the PA announcements as they came. "Oh, I guess they're in the big room now. It's alright. You don't have to fight them. They're kind of dangerous. Stepping on vines carelessly." How whoever was at the controls seemed to know where they were at all times with the systems down, they couldn't guess. None of the possible answers were very pleasant to think about. They eventually made their way into the old Starman quarters, where Larice had once lived. As they entered, another announcement came. "That's not a very nice part of the ship. They're in the wing I found some of my friends. They can all make friends, I think. Visitors, if you're listening...can you try not to step on anything alive?" Larice visibly shuddered. "The other Starmen...*click click*...only those of Super rank or above can teleport...only I had the experimental engine...without those *bzzt, whirr* the others were trapped..." "And...we abandoned them to this..." Moondancer sobbed softly. "This is our fault..." "Then that makes it our job to fix it," Alinivar stated simply, gently pulling his friends close to comfort them. "We find whatever's pulling all these plant strings, corrupting ship and crew...and we put it to an end." "Without getting corrupted ourselves," Zarbol added softly, worriedly.