Babadon't Room Crawl

[piper90npcs]

[OOC: Please tag in to the assigned room. There will be at least one NPC tag to the thread per day. Remember that your characters can still use the network to communicate findings or questions to those still in the living quarters.]

Once word is out that the victim was dragged to the Rewards Lounge, the hires who’ve been cleared head are given permission to enter that rare knock-off paradise. Somewhere along the line, someone suggests splitting into groups, an idea that gets all the more appealing when they see that the Rewards Lounge has at least five suites to investigate, perhaps in case Corporate ever decided to enlist a stable of bootlickers and snitches to feed them intel on the other hires in exchange for feather beds and middle-shelf scotch.

It becomes clear that the intelligence they got was likely correct: there are streaks of black goo along to doorframe to the lobby room between all the suites.

Comments

[piper90npcs]

[And what a good idea to check the tub, because once the top is off, the stink of rot fills the room. There's ice cold black goo in this one, too, but rather than filling up the tub it just coats the sides, and there are...bulbs...jutting out of it.

Bulbs through which little embryos can be seen swimming around.

The laptop, unfortunately, is otherwise fairly well-encrypted, but that browser history sure is something. Nothing of interest on the notebook, either.]

[garmr]

Guts uncovers the tub with the flat gaze of someone who is too used to scenes of utterly grotesque horror. It's been a while since he's been hit with the stench of rotting corpses, though.

After a moment of observing the disgusting sludge in front of him, he turns back to the other two.

"Hey, anybody got a torch? I think this thing's started to lay eggs."

He suspects this particular goo didn't come from the human that used the room last.

[xrater]

Alia can crack open the laptop later. She wanders over, inspecting the bulbs with the casual interest of someone who can stop smelling things whenever they feel like it. "I don't have a flamethrower, no. But you did bring us some gloves."

She reaches down to take one of the bulbs and crushes it in her hand, grinding the embryos between nitrile-coated fingers. Funny, she's certainly taken on a role in the pro-choice movement since joining Jorgmund's workforce.

"I wonder if this is what popping zits feels like?"

[parannoyed]

Wash pulls a face because yuuuck. He is very much a bootshine kind of soldier. He's not exactly a germaphobe but he likes things to be very clean.

"I'll go get some bleach to pour on them, just to be extra sure they're dead."

Crushing them and then pouring something toxic on them might make doubly sure they're dead.

He goes back to the same supply closet that Guts got the gloves from and comes back with a bottle of bleach, to pour on the remains when Alia is done the squishing.

[goneawaymod]

[Good news! Pouring bleach on them kills them!

Bad news: the combination of bleach and ectoplasm-slash-goo-slash-placenta(?) creates a caustic, foul mushroom cloud of gas that smells like if you drowned a body in a swimming pool and then captured the most unpleasant scents from both the bloated corpse and the pool filter.

It's also liable to knock anyone who breathes it in longer than a few seconds out on the ground, with a little more leeway for people who are exceptionally large.]

[parannoyed]

Wash gets out his comm to film what's going on.

"We didn't find anyone but we did find this."

He points the camera at the crushed monster embryos fizzing in bleach.

"We crushed them and then poured some bleach just to be safe."

Then the cloud erupts and he backs away.

"Uh, thaaat's not good. Guts, maybe you and I should... should clear..."

Whump.

And then he's down, comm dropping out of his hand. It's still recording.

[garmr]

Guts, who had witnessed the eruption of the giant black miasma, had already taken a step back while Wash had been talking into the comm.

"The hell is that..?"

Feeling his body start to go limp, he attempts to back out of the pungent cloud in the bathroom. He only had a few extra seconds to be shoved through the door, and it didn't look like he was going to make it on his own.

[xrater]

It was disgusting work, but at least they had the gloves for it. And it really was a stroke of brilliance to add the bleach. She's turning to compliment Wash on it when the thick smoke envelopes them all.

Alia moves like a blur as soon as she realizes what's going on. She grabs Wash by the scruff of his shirt and the waistline of his uniform and propels him through the door with a quick fling. The air time's actually rather impressive, but she doesn't have the time to admire her own work, not with Guts acting woozy as well. She loops his arm over her shoulders and half guides, half carries him out of the room, stopping only to activate the fire alarm on their way out.

The sprinklers will dampen the smoke down, at least. If they work. But they won't do that laptop any good. Unfortunate, but she hadn't had the time to get that out as well. Alia slams the door shut behind her with a foot and presses Guts against the wall to support himself. "Well. I'd call that a valuable lesson."

[parannoyed]

Wash comes to after only a few seconds.

"I'm on the floor," he states the obvious, reflectively. It takes him a few seconds to register that Guts is out here with him, and that Alia is standing over them.

And also the sound of the sprinklers in the room.

Oh no, the gas must've been something nasty.

"Oooh noooo. That was...that was not smart, was it." It was not. "Can you go get my comm? The laptop's probably done for but the comms are water resistant."

He doesn't want to test how far that goes, though. And he wants that blackmail material.

[garmr]

Guts is going to spend his time recovering against the wall, miserable, looking like he was considering murdering Wash instead of the monster.

“Next time we’re getting the fire.”

[xrater]

"Yes, you are. Is it comfortable?" She's only gonna tease a little, though. "Stay still. Once I get your comm, the three of us are going straight to the medical center. There's no telling what nastiness might have been in that smoke or the long term effects it might have."

She turns and slips through the door. It's going to take her a minute, probably two or three, to grab the comm device and the laptop, and then she's back out in the hall with them.

The first person to comment on Wash getting her wet was getting a thumping.

"Right. Here we go." She sets the laptop on Wash's chest, then scoops him up in a bridal carry. "Now, Guts, do I need to carry you as well or can you make your way along? Be honest, skip the machismo."

[parannoyed]

"No, you don't have to -" but yep, he's being carried. "Okay."

He guesses this is his life now.

[garmr]

"I can walk."

Guts feels terrible, but he eventually manages to recover from heaving against the wall to slowly standing of his own accord. Okay. It's all good now. He's fine.

"Thanks for the save, though."

[xrater]

"Good. You know the way to medical." If not, he can follow her. "And it wasn't an issue. I couldn't just let you two choke to death or whatever else might have happened."

And she's off at a light trot, still slow enough that Guts' absurdly long legs shouldn't have any trouble keeping up. Really, she's kind of concerned that the embryos might spore or something, so x-rays are definitely in order.