Andrea entered the room cautiously, a phaser in her hand. She relaxed a bit as she saw that the others were there and were taking a moment to stand down and regroup. Cindy was right behind her, a phaser in her hand as well. Cindy was not as quick to relax, taking the time to look at every corner of the room.
Andrea holstered her phaser and said, "Cindy, come sit over here and let me help you. The replicator is functional, so help me to help you."
Cindy finally holstered her phaser as well, walking over and sitting down on a table, "This room is clear...for now. I'm convinced it is either in the access tubes or the life support systems."
As she sat down, a small tool kit appeared on the table next to her and she pulled her ponytail aside as she took off her top jacket, down to just an athletic support top underneath. There were a number of marks on her shoulders and back, including a small piece of metal in the middle of her back.
Andrea opened the small kit and using a light and a tweezers, she extracted the tiny piece of metal. She then completed the repair and attended her other injuries as well, which were mostly cosmetic.
Andrea remarked, "It is certainly easier to work on a patient that doesn't bleed. There, almost as good as new. How are your diagnostic results?"
Cindy turned and said, "Thanks, a few minor strains to some of the synthetic muscle groups, but my other repairs from earlier are still holding. I managed to get a recharge, so I should be good for a while. We just need to find that thing before it locates another crew member and begins replicating again."
Andrea glanced around the room and then asked Cindy, "Based on what you know about these things, what do your simulations show about where it might go or what it might do next?"
Cindy gave her a worried look, "Most likely tactic is for it to break down into smaller parts and hunt viable targets as multiple vectors."
Andrea winced and said "You told me about that, but I still find it hard to believe. It would deliberately rip itself apart?"
Cindy nodded, "It would. It might move slower at first, but it can drop off a limb like some creatures can drop off a tail. It can then sprout limbs and crawl away. The limb will eventually develop a new brain and then it can attack quickly, like a small animal might. The more damage you can do to the larger nerve centers, the more it slows it down, but every part of these things has the potential to grow and infect or absorb others, like some kind of evil viral thing that I've never seen before. What I don't know is how they are being controlled. The hive mind concept works to a degree, but in all such constructs, there is always a central control. It is a central brain or queen...or something. Until we find that, it won't matter how many of these things we kill."
Andrea gave a frown and a sigh, handing her the small repair kit. Cindy held it out in her hand and it vanished only to be replaced by a cup of hot tea that she held out to Andrea.
Andrea's eyes got wider and she took the tea, "Oh, thank you! I really need that right now. You always know how to anticipate my needs."
Cindy just gave her a crooked smile in return.
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OOC: I don't know if we're ever going to have a pulse or not, but I had just enough alcohol in me tonight to decide to drop a line in here, just for the hell of it.
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XO LtCmdr Samantha Waters
Lone Wolf
lonewolfdagaz@hotmail.com
