Numbers

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Dammit. The reminder of how little time and how few options they had to remedy the situation without killing some of their own men brought her out of her philosophical pondering and into the crude reality that was this universe that was more-or-less ruled by death in one way or another. The typical, crass Lasedri had reinhabited her body, and she made sure to instate the order she saw fit. By any means, she would save her people or make the biggest mess in trying to do so.

She looked from side to side at her medical assistants and noted the expressions on all faces--grim. "Yeah, private channel is go ahead." A faint buzz in her ear came from one of the officers, telling her about another possible solution to this deadly puzzle. It could affect all of them here, however, and it was certainly not a choice one made without seeking out other options.

The Benefactor flipped her comm frequency to one that would be directly transmitted to Corruck and no one else. She sighed deeply, an emotional suppression of everything that was bothering her at this point. She needed to focus and be the steel-loined woman everyone thought her to be. As small-picture as some may have found this predicament, it was by no means one to be dismissed simply. Whatever she accomplished in these dire hours could determine her influence and reputation as a leader for years to come. "Alright. You have me now. Tell it like it is."

[member="Corruck Kazen"]

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Corruck had been holding his breath as he waited for the response, he let out a sigh of relief as he changed channels to a direct connection. He looked around as he did so, making certain that no one was looking to get his attention. He noticed only that most of the people were still at the closets, looking for any sort of suit that could be used. The others were trying to keep themselves busy in other ways, some trying to get the computers up and running. He turned his attention back to [member="Geneviève Lasedri"]. He felt a bit lost for words at what to say. He didn't want to make Gen try anything too dangerous.

"The men are holding out well. I was a bit concerned for a bit there. They are looking for any suits now that might work. Sorry that I didn't take that precaution. Should have thought of that. I am very sorry to have gotten us into this mess. If necessary I can bring this building brought down."

He wondered if that was perhaps a bit too theatrical. If Matchbox would see that as silly. He did not truly care though. His words were true. He didn't want to endanger any more people, he again thought to the incendiary weapons. He could have the entire room burned and everything inside dead in a matter of moments. He however did not want to do that. He wanted to live just as much as the next person. Even so, he had the will to accomplish the task if he decided it was necessary.

"We could have everyone on your side of the door step out, and then have the people on my side go out and get our suits. We could then vent the entire structure and then those of us who have been infected can be put in quarantine on a ship, maybe in an airlock. The walk to the ship will probably sterilize the outside of our suits. Of course that would also open the possibility for the ship to be infected. You have any ideas?"

He spoke with a calm once more, this time it was more easily fabricated. His mind was already over the initial shock of knowing he was going to die. Now he was somewhat at peace, though he wanted to speak to his crew. The Recalcitrant would need people to work with, he was sure that the Rebels would be glad to keep them in their midst. At least he hoped so.

 

[Geneviève Lasedri]

Corruck's thinker was still turning, at least. Apparently the virus, as fast-acting as it was known to be, did not hit too hard initially and there was still time to work out what needed to occur to save the affected Rebels. The original mission was on the back burner, replaced by the more urgent objective to defend their own men from the unseeable. But could Gen have prevented this desperate situation? Was she not supposed to be able to 'see' things beyond what was available to the common, naked eye? There was something special about her, a few had told her. Some sort of transcendental mental hocus pocus that made her more valuable as a person than many others. But what good had that done her? What good had that done for others under her authority?

Nodding solemnly, Geneviève voiced her agreement with her general's plan. "If you've only got an hour left, I think that's the best course of action we've got." It sounded like her brand-new ship would have to become a flying hospital for a while. "We'll cook something up." They would let Corruck and his crew return and board Intangible in spite of their sudden infliction. from that point, she had an idea that might solve this ugly problem, but she would need the help of some more knowledgeable people to make it work. Hopefully the clock to defeat the virus was not running out as quickly as the Marines' air supply.

Slowly, Gen and her accompanying assistants backed out of the building and let the trapped men follow their unit leader's command. Things were looking up for now, but the battle was not over yet. And they had not even engaged an empire.

[member="Corruck Kazen"]

 

[Corruck Kazen]

Corruck listened to the voice of his leader. He was not gifted in the ways that she was, he simply had experience in areas that others did not. He could feel the tension in her voice, he wished that he could soothe any uncertainty she may have been feeling. He was glad to leave this place, even though he doubted that his fate would change much from what it would be if he stayed. He felt that he had failed his leader, probably the first time that had ever happened. He felt guilty, that he had been unprepared, that he had not accomplished the objective. It was a cruel twist that this had all occurred on a seemingly simple mission. Now he was here with little in the way of hope of actually being cured.

He thought about the virus that was even now multiplying within his body. His cells were being turned into miniature factories, spewing out more of the virus. His body was not fighting quick enough. The virus was out of control and he could do little to contain it. He wondered if the virus first attacked the immune system, that would make it near impossible for his body to do anything other than lose this battle raging within. If that was the case then it would be unlikely that he could be healed. Perhaps bacta, but even then. The best solution would be to have B cells that identified the virus and could create the antibodies necessary to slow and stop the spread injected. The likelihood of those even being identifiable was so small as to be laughable. Corruck wondered if there ever had been a vaccine produced for this, or if it had died out too quickly and was left to the history books.

Once given the all clear, Corruck moved quickly, ordering his people to get moving and leave everything that was not important. Someone still kept the deck cards for whatever reason. Another person was looking more jumpy than before and Corruck prepared his blaster in case the man should prove to have succumbed to the virus. He made certain his weapon was set to stun, as far as history had shown that he had read the plague had never directly caused death, instead making others kill them.

"We are heading out. Opening first door." He signaled the person and the door was opened slowly. This time there was no pressure difference, so there was no hiss like when they had first entered. The men were all out quickly and he personally shut and locked the door behind them. He sealed it before walking to the front of the group and leading them back the way they came. It would have seemed very much like the walk in, except that the silence was different. Instead of being the professional quiet of military men moving with a mission these were men who now had death in mind and were contemplating their last moments in this world.

When at last they reached the exit airlock Corruck did not have to issue any command. The men silently moved to their suits and pulled them on, the sound of moving fabric was the only real sound that they could hear. It was a mere five minutes before everyone was ready and Corruck spoke again to [member="Geneviève Lasedri"], "Alright suited up, we are exiting the facility."

Corruck was the last out the door, the group was waiting outside, not a single smile could be seen. It was depressing and he thought about something he could say, but nothing came to mind. He had no words of comfort, or compelling speeches. He was not a man of words, or so he liked to believe. He did not think of himself being especially eloquent and did not believe that words could have done anything at this time. Instead he nodded towards the ship. As they walked towards it he felt something strange.

It was like his focus was fazing, his attention seemed to slip and everything appeared to be very unreal. For a few moments he could not really see the world around him, then it started to clear. But something was wrong, he was not on an asteroid walking towards a ship. He was walking on Praesitlyn making his way to the command bunker. He saw one of his crew mates from the Recalcitrant, funny he could not remember the person's name. He just kept on walking, knowing that there was some reason for it.