Gothic Space Horror

1. Gothic Space Horror

   #241

   "Taget and Santiago are missing too Micky" Severin said. He was calm now, stronger and more focused. Just like the last time he had gone through this, he had found inner strength were there had been none before.
   
   "With all due respect Captain, but is this the time to argue about protocol?" Severin questioned the captain. His eyes looked sad yet determined .
   
   "Anyhow I can vouch for Ao. He has been with me all of the time. I have not seen Taget since we boarded this ship and I have not seen Santiago for a long, long time. Pockets and Pliers should be in the engine room. Let's try to contact them, shall we?" Severin rubbed his chin.
   
   "It has to be one among OUR crew, right? And what sick bastard would drag away that frozen corpse anyhow?" Severin pondered a bit. "Most of us moved in groups of two I guess! Pockets and Pliers, Micky and Hue, Me and Ao. That leaves you, Taget and Santiago as the only men alone sir!" Severin had moved behind Ao in case the captain would do something stupid, and was ready to run out the doorway.

2. Gothic Space Horror

   #242

   "I want everyone brought to the bridge immediately, and that means Taget, Santiago and the two engineers." the captain said, pushing past Severin roughly. "Hue, I want you to set her to rights before coming to the bridge, I will not have her left laying...open like that."
   
   The captain stomped up the corridor towards the bridge, a scowl on his face sour enough to clabor milk with a look.

3. Gothic Space Horror

   #243

   Micky watched as the Captain stormed away. She looked to Hue. "I'll stay and help clean her up." Micky then looked to Ao and Severin. "You two should stay together. Go and find the others, have them report to the bridge. Everyone needs to stay in pairs." Except for maybe the Captain, in the mood he was in he could prbably take care of himself.

4. Gothic Space Horror

   #244

   Severin stood watching the Captain as he departed. He clenched and unclenched his fists with ill hidden aggression. He looked at Ao and said: "Great, let us go get the others so the captain can shoot us on the bridge before the psycho-killer gets us!".
   
   Severin left the room and waited for Ao outside the open doorway. "Shall we search for Pliers and Pockets in the engine-room, or perhaps discover where Santiago or Taget may be hiding?". He nodded at Ao's newly acquired gun "I am glad Hue gave you that one!" he said. "Shall we blast open some weapons lockers before the Captain confiscates it? Then we can re-equip afterwards!".

5. Gothic Space Horror

   #245

   "Thanks, this whole buisness brings up alot of bad memories." Hue grabbed a smock and mask, "Your either going to wnat to stand back or grab a smock and mask because I'm not going to let Marney be put to space like that. But you might want to grab a bio-scanner from the tray there, search for any blood smaple, finger prints, or something that doesn't belong to Lt. Marney."
   
   Hue was struggling to keep his voice even, rage swirled in him, if he ever found that son of a bitch who did this, well the Captain would get to shoot him after Hue worked him over. He grabbed an epidermal laser mender and a clamp and set about fixing up Marney's corpse. He mended the opened rib cage, and set about restoring some form of order. He managed to mend the skin closed, even put a little effort in to making the seals look uniform at least. Marney certainy didn't look alive but at least she wasn't sitting open. Hue tossed the blankets sopped with blood and Marney's organs into small tube to the incinerator. Hue dumped his smock and mask washed, the whole procedure took less than forty minutes. He wrapped up Marney's body and slipped open one of the morgue racks and laid Marney's body in it, he closed it and locked it. That psycho wasn't getting back in there not with out the code Hue had as the sole medical officer.
   
   He checked the charge on the DX-2 then stepped towards the door, we should probaly get you a gun from the armory.

6. Gothic Space Horror

   #246

   Ao followed colored strips down the hallway towards the arms lockers.
   "I have the very interesting feeling that the corridor-devils are waiting for us," said Ao to Severin, quoting an old spacer's superstition. Corridor-devils were the evil spirits who lurked in the shadows of every ship's long, empty corridors and strange sub-passages. "Hey, Sev, I'm no detective, but, to me, Hue seemed to be skolking... I mean, acting it up. But then again, why would the murderer give me a weapon? Unless he's trying to throw us off..."

7. Gothic Space Horror

   #247

   Severin walked behind Ao when he suddenly started to shiver. Before he knew what was happening he was on the floor vomiting. He arose and wiped the vomit of his suit. He got dizzy and had to lean against the wall to avoid fainting.
   
   "Sorry about that!" he said before following Ao once again.
   
   When he felt a little better he answered Ao. "I have heard about the corridor devils!". Severin looked pale. "They are responsible for the disappearance of more than one lunar merchantship crew, or so I've heard." Severin paused for dramatic effect. During these circumstances he was willing to believe in any superstition.
   
   "Hue could have given you a damaged piece, so he could shoot you and claim self-defence without actually risk getting caught... I guess... We'll find out soon enough, won't we?".
   
   Severin entered the weapon locker room and stood aside so that Ao could get some unobstructed shots at the lockers.
   
   "But Hue has been with Micky all the time you know! You don't think they are together in this do you? Perhaps they have some sick and twisted desires, like those that the Morrino-Johnson couple had? Have you heard about them, you know... those moviestars that ate their fans after torturing them to death." Severin rubbed his broken nose and scratched his head.
   
   "I can't believe Morrino was in on it though..." Severin continued with a long rant about his favourite actor-singer and how he could not possibly have murdered anyone. After all he made such nice music!

8. Gothic Space Horror

   #248

   Micky had followed Hue's advice and had stepped back. Picking up the bio-scanner she used it to scan the room. Checking the pools of blood on the floor. She was looking for the oldest set of tracks, whoever did this had left the room before Hue and herself had arrived. Logic would state that in this mess the Killer would have gotten blood on their shoes and carried it out with them when they left.
   
   She did not look at Hue while he worked on closing Marney up. The sight had made her feel sick inside. A cold dread seeped into her bones. Hue had been the last one to see Marney alive. What if he was the killer?
   
   Oh how easy the seeds of distrust begin to sprout and bare fruit.
   
   He could have killed Marney before coming to meet up with Micky, Ao and Severin. She shuddered at the thought.

9. Gothic Space Horror

   #249

   Hue was really shooken up after having to fix up Marney, he half wanted to shoot the Captain for making him do that, he had liked Marney alot. Suddenly a huge feeling of nausea came over him, he dropped to one knee and looked down there was still alot of blood on the floors. All of the sudden the breakfast he had ate a while ago came up. He barfed till his stomach was dry then had to stop himself from gagging. Hue felt hiw head swirl, he had to sit down on his stool. Then he noticed it, there was from blood spattered on the desk but a piece of skin was there that didn't match Marney's skin hue.
   
   "Good girl." hue whispered, he snatched a spare bio-scanner from the shelve and scanned the piece of skin, "YES!" He shouted triumphantly. He looked at Mickey, "I found a piece of the basterd's skin, we got that sun-sen-nartche's DNA!"
   
   Hue took out a small metal vial that was a sample container and slid the skin and slid it into the bio-scanner. "We better take this to the Captain."

10. Gothic Space Horror

    #250

    Micky looked up from what she was doing. Having done her best to ignore the sounds of him regurgitating his breakfast. Hearing his dry heaves was troubling.
    A look was given to the place where Marney now lay. She whispered softly. "Alright Marney....will get that bastard now."
    She then looked to Hue. "Do the scan now." For all they knew the Captain might have killed Marney. She felt a little easier around Hue after his discovery. But that didnt mean he still wasnt a suspect.

11. Gothic Space Horror

    #251

    "I don't have anyone medical records from the Ballard, we're going to have to go around the crew one by one. Here I'll test myself first. See that reading that's the DNA we picked up." Hue slid his hand under the scanners eye, "Now next to that one is me, see no match. I am not the killer. Now you."

12. Gothic Space Horror

    #252

    Micky placed her hand under the bio scanner. Relieved that he wasnt a match for the sample he had found. She knew it would also be negative. Honestly Micky didnt have the stomach to do what had been done to Marney. "Lets check the Captain next."

13. Gothic Space Horror

    #253

    Severin casually glanced around the room while he was waiting for Ao. The Lunar was taking too long and Severin was getting impatient. All of a sudden he noticed the bloody handprint on the wall and realized that he had forgotten to scan the blood for DNA.
    
    "Blast!" he shouted and feverishly retrieved the pen with the sample out of the upper utility pocket of his suit. The sample had been ruined, even mixed with the disgorged contents of his stomach. Severin sheepishly threw it away, hoping Ao wouldn't notice.
    
    "I have to get a bio scanner Ao!" he said to the Lunar, before jogging away.
    
    The medlab was deserted and there was a dark and foreboding atmosphere in the room. This was where Marney had met her fate at the hands of a bloody butcherer. A shiver went down Severin's spine and the shadows seemed to reach out for him.
    
    "Well if he comes for me I'll get him good!" Severin boasted to the empty room. He threw a few punching routines and gave the empty room a threatening stare. Then the moment passed and the shadows once again seemed to hold dark mysteries. Severin felt so very small and alone.
    
    "A bio scanner! Biiiooooo Scaaaanneeeer!" Severin talked to himself in an attempt to feel better. He passed the blood stained metallic benches and surgical equipment, where he noticed a laser scalpel and put it in his lower utility pocket. It was certainly not a weapon, but given enough time it would cut through even the strongest alloy. It had a small transceiver that he adjusted to the frequency of his helmet. Now he could adjust length, strength and even the colour of the laser beam from the HUD*. At last he fetched a bio scanner, which he attached to his belt, before he ran back to the relative safety and comfort that the Lunar Ao presented.
    
    *(Heads Up Display)

14. Gothic Space Horror

    #254

    "Yeah," Amas jogged behind Mickey as they went to the bridge he kept his gun out and a careful eye behind. Once he made the stop because he thought he haerd something but decided it was nothing, they arrived at the door to the bridge. "Ok I'll go in infirst, just in case. He leaned away from the front of the door and reached out to open it.

15. Gothic Space Horror

    #255

    Ao flinched as the locker-metal burst, melted hyper-fast by bolts from the gun.
    One locker- nothing telling
    Two lockers- nothing telling
    Four lockers- nothing telling
    
    After a frustrating twelve lockers, Ao gave up, and consoled himself with drinking the slushy remnants of some sort of sweet drink that were in a canteen he found.
    As he swished the mixture around in his mouth, he considered the possibility that the liquid/ice he was drinking was poisoned. However, faced with dying by death-liquid or dying by knife, Ao would have chosen the former, assuming it was less painful.
    
    "Severin? You there?" said Ao to the empty room. He took another swallow of the mysterious drink. It was starting to leave a sickly aftertaste. He set it down.

16. Gothic Space Horror

    #256

    Severin entered the locker room just as Ao stopped drinking. "Hi Ao" he said in as cheerful a tone as he could muster. He looked in all the opened lockers and found nothing of value, beside the nude posters that had been halfway melted into the superheated metal. Severin nodded approvingly and commented on the good taste of the crewmembers before he walked over to the bloody handprint.
    
    He drew the bio scanner and proceeded to scan the handprint. His education had included half a semester of medical training so he was familiar with the design. Thus he expertly plotted the commands into the bioscanner and watched as the DNA profile was processed and a holographic image was projected. Soon the blood's owner would be revealed along with any discrepancies found, like traces of foreign DNA. While they waited for the calculations to finish, a process taking about 1-2 minutes, he chatted with Ao.
    
    "Oooh, Ao! I am so concerned!" he claimed, his voice filled with emotion. "I have experienced this before! Have you heard about the Moscow-Prague shuttle bombing? My father was the pilot of that ferry..." Severin choked and tears were welling up in his eyes.
    
    "Now this. My mother couldn't take it and joined reverend Joshua Kane and his apocalyptic brootherhood of Christ Reborn in New Berlin." Severin was unaware that tears were running down his cheek. "Last I heard both mother and my oldest sister were in his harem, a group of some forty women called the 'Concubines of Christ'. Evidently they believe that the reverend is going to father the new Messiah through one of these women, and it is the reverends unpleasant duty to sire sons until Christ is reborn" Severin laughed with obvious disdain. "I only get holomails every other month now, and the holomails just contain the reverend and his promises of salvation. No news about my mother and two original sisters." Severin's head hung low and he was blushing, ashamed of his family history. Ashamed that he had told the story to a stranger that he barely knew.
    
    "Look" he said, pointing at the holographic projection of the owner of the blood DNA.

17. Gothic Space Horror

    #257

    DNA scan complete
    
    Compiling date and reconstructing DNA strand
    
    Searching for match in database
    ...
    ...
    ...
    ...
    No matches found in Ship Database
    
    Trace anomalies detected
    Asymetrical Topoisomerase proteins
    Adenosine tri-phosphate levels elevated 15% above normal
    Synth-Insulin detected
    

18. Gothic Space Horror

    #258

    Ao shifted uncomfortably as Severin related his dark family history. He couldn't boast anything quite so interesting, besides being kicked out of the house by his gay-hating father.
    
    "No matches? Who's blood is it?" he wondered aloud, looking at the scanner screen. "Synth-insulin.. High ATP levels... Severin, I've got an idea! Let's test the others for synth-insulin and high ATP levels! If anyone has them, we know that they left this print!"

19. Gothic Space Horror

    #259

    Hue ducked into the bridge with Mickey. He looked around the consels were all a glow with activity. But the Captaion did not seem to be around, Hue checked around but found no sign of anyone.
    
    "Captain?" He called, "Mickey didn't he say he would be here, where the hell is he off to now. This is starting to look suspicious but why would the man start killing his own crew?"

20. Gothic Space Horror

    #260

    "I dont like this at all Hue." She looked around. "Captain?" Glancing back to Hue. "He said he would be here."
    
    "Let's go find Ao and Severin." Thinking that maybe they should leave the bridge. The idea that the Captain had killed Marney was not settling well with her.

21. Gothic Space Horror

    #261

    "Well, what have you found?" The captain said, having slouched down deep into the plush console of the captains chair. He looked more wasted and haggard than before. The holoprojectors showed views of the Ballard, another showed ambient radiation levels.
    
    "I could stand for some good news, the fission core is in the process of melting down now, since it jammed in the ejection channel, it was cut off from the coolant system. The internal sensors already detect that there has been thermal damage to the ejection channel. In something like ten hours, the fission core is going to melt a hole into the ship, dumping it somewhere in the vicinity of the starboard ion drives, and fuel tankage."

22. Gothic Space Horror

    #262

    "We have a way to find the murderer, we have his DNA in this scanner. Me and Marney are not the murderer we came here to check you, then the rest of the crew." Hue stood there fixed in a way one hand free in case the Captain went for the gun, Hue was sure it was him.

23. Gothic Space Horror

    #263

    Severin nodded in agreement. "It might just be Marney's blood and she might just be a diabetic" he said. "Well, let us go fetch Santiago, Taget and the mechanics, ehhh? I can't wait to meet the captain again."
    
    Severin followed Ao out of the room.

24. Gothic Space Horror

    #264

    "You can scan me, but you'll never reach that gun partner." Stern said, noticing the way the Hue's hand hovered near the butt of the gun. Unarmed, the captain extended his palm for the DNA scanner.
    
    *****
    
    'Aloo?" Santiago said, slowly walking up the corridor of the ship, his breath still steaming out in front of him. Near the core of the ship, it was comfortable and warm now, but out near the hull, it was still cold, damnably so for someone born on an island, in the Caribbean. He was alone, heading towards the main hanger of the ship, where the various shuttles were located.

25. Gothic Space Horror

    #265

    "Alright," Luke held the scanner up to the Captain, and it the DNA profiles...

26. Gothic Space Horror

    #266

    Micky watched as the Captain stuck out his hand, waiting to be scanned. Noting Hue's slip. She knew he mean to say 'Micky' not 'Marney'. But such slips were to be expected under such stressful situations.
    
    Silently she wondered what the Cpatain had meant about Hue not reaching his gun. The Captain seemed to be unarmed.

27. Gothic Space Horror

    #267

    (OOC: Is the game still going?)
    
    Pockets was scurrying around engineering, trying to figure out why she felt so creeped out. She'd been on dead ships before, on salvage runs. Dead ships always freaked her out, but none as badly as the Celeste was. Ever since they had gotten everything onboard the Celeste, she had been in engineering, running every diagnostic she could think of, and trying to figure a way of fixing the Bally. It was probably too late now; if it was still jammed, it was melting down. But it pissed her off.
    Finally, she admitted to herself that she couldn't do anything else here, and decided to go help the others. For reasons she couldn't adequately explain to herself, she grabbed a big magnet-torque spanner fully half as long as she was tall. It would serve as a weapon if necessary. She left engineering and headed towards the bridge and medbay.

28. Gothic Space Horror

    #268

    Micky waited to see what the bioscan would say. Was it the Captain or someone else on board? And where was the body of the guy they had found on board? Too many questions and no real answer.

29. Gothic Space Horror

    #269

    (OOC: Yup, we're still going, just at a slightly reduced pace)
    
    The bioscanner disappointed the medic and the pilot. The tissue sample was not a match to the captain, not even close. Stern looked at them, a tightness in the corners of his eyes, and the sides of his mouth.
    
    "Let me guess, you found a sample in the medlab, and you think I killed Marney. Well, I didnt, and I would guess you either found a flake of the corpsicle. As for the rest of the crew, is there any other location on the ship that we have been in more than the MedLab, perhaps the bridge maybe." He scowled at the two.
    
    "Where is the rest of the crew? Where are my damned engineers, and my shuttle pilots?" he said fiercely.

30. Gothic Space Horror

    #270

    Micky stared at the Captain. Letting him snarl if he wanted to. She was just relieved that he didnt match the sample.
    "Wait just a minute Captain. With what has been going on, everyone, and I mean everyone is a suspect. The three of us have been ruled out as the one who killed her. Better safe then sorry sir. Hue and I were checked as well. There is no way in hell that there was a living person on this ship before we boarded her."
    Pausing a moment.
    "And for the record I seriously doubt that the frozen corpse is some sort of self re-animating space zombie who likes to play with knives. So that leaves our crew. One of us had to have killed her."
    Scowling back at him at his last statement. "Maybe if you got over your little pity party and left the bridge or used your personal com you might know where the hell your crew is. We were following your orders to search this ship for 'survivors'. We've been doing what you told us to do. Sir. And now we are having to hunt for a killer." Glaring at the man.
    She then looked to Hue. "Let's go find AO and Severin. Check them as well.Then we can go and check on Pockets and Pliers." Most likely those two were doing their jobs with no clue that a murderer was on board.

31. Gothic Space Horror

    #271

    Pockets hurried down the passage towards the bridge. Sounded like there were people in there. She stuck her head in. It looked like Hue and Mickey were about to leave. "Hihi. I've done everything I can do in engineering twice. I couldn't find anything wrong with her." She did not add that she had done three extremely thorough checks; the problem with the core on the Bally was still upsetting her. She still felt like she should have caught it. Then she noticed the tension in the room. "What's been going on?"

32. Gothic Space Horror

    #272

    Pliers, who was in a different section of the engineering bay doing his own routine checks, had heard Pockets leave, and glanced out into the room she had been in, which was now empty. He offered a faint shrug to himself before exiting too - his own work finding nothing wrong with what he could see. He entered the bridge some three minutes after Pockets, and peered at the people in there - they did not seem their usual selves.

33. Gothic Space Horror

    #273

    Hue remained silent for almost a minute staring unelieving at the bio-scanner, then he gave a frustrated snarl and shoved it in his pocket. "Your fucking lucky it isn't you because you sure have a way of alienating everyone from you."
    
    Officers that didn't look out for their troops often had their orders carried out but without a certain regard for the officer's life. "Micky's right get off your ass and help us find the killer, sometime, we've been doing all the work out there while you've been doing God knows what up here."
    
    He felt Micky's hand on his shoulder, wanting him to leave with her, "One sec. Pockets Marney is dead, some one stabbed her.." His voice trailed off a look of unbridled rage flashed in his eyes, "We're trying to find the son of a bitch that did it. Come over here and place your hand in the scanner no one is above suspicion. You too Pliers."

34. Gothic Space Horror

    #274

    Micky look to Pliers and Pockets. Relieved that they were still alive. She avoided looking at the Captain. Knowing that at the moment all she would be able to do is glare at the man.
    Removing her hand from Hue's shoulder. So much had happened in a short amount of time. The Bally had to be abandoned, the corpe-sicle was missing,and Marney's brutal death.
    She lifted her head as it an idea came to her. "Hue, was Marney still working on the autopsy when you left the MedLab?"
    If she had been there was a chance that the recorder had been on when Marney was attacked. At every autopsy the one preforming it kept an audio log of their findings as they worked. Some even used visual recorders as well. Most ship MedLabs were equipped with them.

35. Gothic Space Horror

    #275

    Severin arrived at the bridge at long last, stealthily sneaking through the doorway. He and Ao had been delayed because they heard a noise and had hidden beneath a table, but the strange noise had faded and that had been just fine with them.
    
    When they arrived at engineering they heard footsteps leaving and had stalked the source. When the person had entered the bridge, they had followed and now they were all gathered, well nearly all.
    
    "Looks like we are together again, all except Taget and Santiago!" Severin suddenly exclaimed, startling some among the gathered crowd.

36. Gothic Space Horror

    #276

    Pockets stood completely still and toyed with the idea of going into shock. Way too much had happened, and it happened too fast for her to keep up with. But she got a grip on herself. She was a professional; she may be a somewhat spastic professional, but she would do her job. She was smart enough that she wasn't mad at Hue's request. They had to eliminate everyone as a suspect. It wasn't as if there was anyone else. She put her hand out for Hue to scan, knowing she didn't have anything to worry about. She hadn't left engineering except to help lug stuff, and she hadn't been anywhere near Marney.

37. Gothic Space Horror

    #277

    "You over-wrought bastard." Stern said, standing up to his full height to peer down at Hue with all the wrath that 30 years of service in the Terran Navy could muster. "If this was a military ship I would have you flogged for insubordination." He took a step towards the crewman.
    
    "Yes, there are still floggings in the naval corps. Discipline has to be maintained, doubly so when you have a crew of hotheads like you. I should have you locked in the brig for bringing weapons aboard this hip. That makes you the prime suspect in my book Long. So put away that stupid bioscanner. You've got her damned blood, and whatever the dead body shed. Didnt look like there was much struggle, she wasnt alarmed. Again, that says you, holding the bioscanner."

38. Gothic Space Horror

    #278

    Ao put a palm to his forehead, then spoke up.
    "Can't you see, captain? This is just what the killer wants! It's like an old filmvid! The killer is trying to split our loyalties- y'know, "divide and conquer".
    He shot a threatening glare at Long. "Go ahead. Scan us all. I can bet you that it won't indicate any of us."

39. Gothic Space Horror

    #279

    Micky turned and glared at the the Captain. "Maintain your tone Sir." Micky did well to try and keep so much venom out of her voice. "Along with flogging comes the rule that allows us to replace you as Captain should you be deemed unfit to lead. Which by any standerds..you are."
    Stepping over by Hue once more. Still looking at the Captain. "What in Gods name have you been doing since we came aboard this ship? Besides mourning over the dead crew of this vessel. WE are the ones who have been moving all over the stinking vessel in search of people who are obviously not here. Chasing a bunch of ghosts and now a lunatic. So until you step up, Captain, and start acting like a real leader. I suggest you keep your mouth shut." Looking to everyone else now. "Let's get this beast moving again. The sooner we get home the better."

40. Gothic Space Horror

    #280

    "Look, it's workin already," muttered Ao, stepping back alongside Severin.
    He whispered in Sev's ear: "We need to get out, now."

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