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Post by Talon on Dec 29, 2009 13:23:20 GMT -5
The pair of dropships rounded about the massive battleship knwon as Tenkyanon before one of the ship bays opened up, and the two shuttles lowered in backwards. The bay doors closed as quickly as they could as a stale green glow enshrouded the floor and every wall of the small launch bay, dozens of white-and-red battle droids filing out with medical equipment (though some had guns). The dropships opened up to allow the droids to shuffle aboard and haul the patients out, at least a dozen droids were required to lift Xeno onto a large cart-like platform, restraining her unconscious form with large metallic straps before they hauled her off without a moment's notice.
Daedalus and Myrr were taken through another set of doors, led up several floors in a sterilized elevator before they were forced into two seperate 20-foot, octagonal rooms, the floors and ceilings composed of hexagonal fluorescent-white 'lights'. There, they were disrobed (Daed had something to say about that before getting clubbed in the head) and repeatedly blasted with foul-smelling chemical sprays and stabbed with needles for various fluid samples. After a long, grueling, 3-hour process, the two were released (new clothes being distributed beforehand) into what seemed to be a small meeting room, being a steel-gray in color with several sofas and sets of chairs, a large, circular table set in the middle. A single window gave the two draconic humanoids a view out into space, an excellent view of the Moon provided in the window's upper-left corner.
Daedalus groaned, rubbing his head as he collapsed against one of the sofas, his arm-stump now slowly regrowing thanks to a cocktail of stem pack solutions and adrenaline mixtures. He stared out of the window as a voice over the intercom system blandly stated,
"Well, you two seem to be clean of Phazon, so you're free to go. However, your accomplice is in a critical condition, and surgery, research, and debriefing with her may take at least another 12 hours. You may stay for her sake if you wish; the Commander will be in with you in just a moment. Until then, please, make yourselves comfortable..."
Daedalus gave a foul snort, practically glaring out of the window as he did so.
"As if blowing my arm off wasn't enough... they had to put me through that misery... I assume you went through those ridiculous tests as well?" He inquired, glancing at Myrr.
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Post by Azure_Ghidorah on Dec 29, 2009 19:17:42 GMT -5
"Yeah... be glad you only have to go through it on the way in." Myrr replied, eyes distant as she had a hand on the wall.
'Xe... please be alright...' she thought, a tear falling from her eye.
"Myrr...?" Xeno's weary voice muttered in her mind.
"Xe!? Oh god, are you ok?"
"Tired as hell, head feels like I rammed into the moon for no damn reason... and annoyed at the fact that I'm only half awake..."
"Half awake?"
"Mind is up and running, body is still out cold..."
Myrr mentally nodded, understanding now, "You should probably go back to sleep, if you can't move your body..."
"Yeah..." the Psuedo Queen agreed, letting herself drift off to sleep again.
What neither of them noticed, was that the blue glow of the Phazon on Xeno's body was dimming, the linings of the mutagenic substance breaking up or outright vanishing.
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Post by Talon on Dec 30, 2009 16:26:24 GMT -5
Several minutes after Xeno went silent, the door to the small meeting room slid open, allowing Nocturn to stumble through, grumbling,
"Protocol, protocol, protocol..."
The slid shut behind him as he stood at the end of the table, then raised a hand as Daedalus began to rise to his feet, motioning for him to stay seated.
"I apologize for O'Malley, you two... we're getting really busy lately, and a possible Phazon outbreak is more than we can handle... thankfully, we're managing to do so. The other reason I'm here is to ask you two whether you're staying or going, as I'm sure you've heard about Xeno. So... I need to know whether or not to get you two accomidations."
He spun a hand impatiently, awaiting their answers. Daedalus scowled, then began to rise to his feet again. He'd tell them he never wanted to spend another second on this god-forsaken vessel full of asshole constructs... then he glanced at Myrr, and thought about her sister. Surely, Myrr would stay here for her. Shive'd be downright pissed at him for leaving both of them here unattended with all of these insane, mechanical pricks... and he sighed, sitting back down.
"I'll stay..." He muttered, glancing off to the side.
Nocturn nodded, and looked back to Myrr, awaiting her answer, though he felt he already knew.
* * * * * * * * *
Xeno awoke to find herself floating in a 20-foot diameter tube filled with a thin, 'carbonated' blue-tinted fluid, the Pseudo-Queen free-floating in it's center with dozens of cables and cords attached to her. Dozens of medical droids were scurrying about the octagonal 60-foot room with tools and data charts, several of said droids watching Xe very carefully, chittering digits to eachother as they did so. The only doors leading into the room abruptly slid open, and all motion stopped as the head of Tenkyanon himself calmly strode in, yet at least four medical droids hurried out of his way in fear. O'Malley stopped a good five feet from the tank, and his pupil swiveled off to the side, noting a chart that stated Xeno's Phazon levels were dropping.
He glanced back at the stirring Xenomorph, spying her open eyes as he muttered aloud to her,
"Good, you're awake... I'd ask how you're feeling, but your vital signs inform me that you're already improving. I'm sure you'll be glad to hear that the possible containment problem at the lake has been completely taken care of- not a trace of Phazon left. Also... I may have good news for you. While we're not sure why you're... like this, we -may- have a cure for your Phazon Sickness."
His eye swiveled about, taking in the hybrid's vital signs once more, then looked back to her, arms folded behind his back.
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Post by Azure_Ghidorah on Dec 30, 2009 16:55:54 GMT -5
Myrr sighed, clenching a fist.
"I won't leave my sister, not till I know she's alright." the half dragon stated firmly.
Ever so slightly, he glanced at Daedalus, 'Maybe you have changed... Regardless... thank you...' she thought, knowing he wouldn't hear her.
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Xeno's eyes blinked a bit, as she mulled over what was said. "Thank goodness... Nobody's suffering right now for my mistake..."
The massive hybrid sighed, "'Cure', eh? I'd go for anything right now to get this shit out... It's screwed with my life long enough."
Xeno tilted her head, wondering what this 'cure' might be.
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Post by Talon on Dec 30, 2009 18:17:58 GMT -5
Nocturn nodded, replying,
"Well, since that's been taken care of, I suppose I'll lead you down to your rooms, shall I?"
With that, all three exited the room and headed down several hallways, Daedalus glaring at Nocturn's back the entire time as they descended an elevator down to the living quarters level. Nocturn punched open the passwords into two doors next to eachother, and showed the two into their 'luxurious' rooms. Even Daedalus was taken aback by how well-furnished the rooms were as Nocturn barked,
"Well, here they are. I hope you two don't mind rooming next to eachother for the time being. Anyway, I think you'll be able to see your companion within the hour, but we'll see. Until then, try to relax here... we'll send someone down if we deem her 'visitable', alright?"
With that, he literally ran back down the hall, entered the elevator, and was raised back up the shaft, leaving the two draconic entities to themselves. Daedalus's tail twitched constantly as he quietly looked over the room in somewhat-pleased surprise.
* * * * * * * * * *
The medical droids in the room all stared at O'Malley in surprise as he replied,
"I thought you'd be eager to hear that. Allow me to demonstrate... medical units, please, exit the room..."
The medical droids wasted no time in running, skittering, and floating out of the room, the door slamming shut behind them. O'Malley gave a slight laugh, then dozens of vents opened up across his body, the vents slowly glowing a neon-red as a multitude of small, almost sparkling motes of crimson light drifted forth from them and began to encircle O'Malley. In a slightly altered tone, O'Malley stated,
"These are known as Exitus Particles, and they are the by-product of my personal generator. From what I've determined, they are incredibly radioactive, but only have a lifespan of about 10 seconds at most. Their radiation is unique, and does not linger whatsoever, but it does effect cellular reconstruction and other energy sources, going so far as to interfere with circuitry."
He lowered his head slightly as he continued to stare at Xeno, and added,
"These appear to counter-act and destroy Phazon in any form we know of at the moment. These particles will adhere to the substance and 'fuse' with it, destroying it as they themselves fade out of existance. Still trying to determine exactly how it works, but as long as it does, you don't care, right? I thought so. However..."
The droid's ventilation ports all abruptly snapped shut, and the ebony machine lost his red, hellish glow as the particles around him began to fade away.
"We'd have to pump you full of these particles and continue cycling them out to make sure no bit of Phazon is left. Granted, there may be a few trace amounts of Phazon left, but they'll be dormant from that point, and even then, your systems may take care of them from that point. But this procedure will literally make you want to tear yourself apart- the pain will be that severe. You may even have cellular damage left over from it, but granted, we can take care of that as well. Whether or not you'll drop out of that Pseudo-Queen form of yours is beyond me... it may be permanent for all we know."
He slowly turned around and glanced at the multitude of screens and charts surrounding the tank as he finished,
"We can go through with this procedure any time. All I need is your confirmation or denial. If you confirm it, we'll start right away with a 97.5 percent chance of success. If you deny wanting the procedure, we'll simply pop a new PED into you and send you on your way. It's entirely... up... to you."
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Post by Azure_Ghidorah on Dec 30, 2009 21:21:27 GMT -5
"Go for it, like I said, I'm tired of this shit screwing up my life." Xeno replied, bracing herself as best as she could for when the operation started.
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Myrr sighed as a question started bugging.
"... Daedalus..." she started, turning to look at him, "I'm sorry, but I have to ask, why? Something's changed, its too obvious to ignore. Just like I had no tangible reason for Xeno and I to save you, I can't see any tangible reason for you to stay for her, given the 'hospitality' you were given... Can you explain where I cannot?"
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Post by Talon on Dec 30, 2009 22:42:45 GMT -5
O'Malley slowly nodded, then replied,
"So be it. Medical units, back in here. We have an operation to do!"
The medical droids all filed back in, their fear of O'Malley now overwhelmed by the fact they got to work at what they did back. O'Malley waved a hand and barked,
"Deploy the restraints. Remove the bacta, replace it with oxygenated water! Retract all surgical arms, deploy syringes 1-9; I want testosterone in arms 1 through 3, pain killers in 4-6 and refined Exitus in 7 through 9. Got it? Get to it!"
As the curious fluid drained from the tank, arms in the tank retracted and extended, coil-like clamps shot out and locked around Xeno's limbs, suspending her in the air before room-temperature water filled with bubbles billowed into the tank, allowing the hybrid to float slightly, despite being restrained still. New hoses were connected to Xeno and nine mechanical arms ending in syringes abruptly stabbed into Xeno's form.
"Operation debriefed in 3... 2... 1..." O'Malley muttered, raising a hand.
Every medical droid in the room abruptly issued several beeps, and O'Malley swiped the hand to the side, barking,
"Commence the operation."
Red, shimmering substance abruptly filled the visible tubes connected to three of the syringe arms, and undescribable pain rushed over every nerve and fiber of Xeno's being. Despite her thrashing and howls of agony, the restraints held her fast as the blue vein-like protrusions on her torso turned neon-red in brief pulses. Every so often, various clear fluids would fill the remaining arms and quickly inject it into the Pseudo-Queen's form, of which temporarily slowed her thrashings.
"Phazon levels down 3%..." O'Malley muttered.
He mentally scowled, knowing this'd take a while...
* * * * * * * * * *
Daedalus blinked at Myrr's question, then slowly glanced at her over his shoulder. He sighed, glancing at the floor, then turned away again, and replied,
"I... suppose I can. Whether you choose to believe me or not, Shive and I have... made amends... I saw the error of my old ways, and I rejected them... I realized what I'd done, and while I knew I couldn't change them... I wanted to make up for them. Shive's accepted me back, despite all the HORRIBLE things I've done to him in the past..."
He gave a slight smirk tinted with sorrow, and he rested a forearm on the nearby wall as he stared at the floor.
"We hadn't been brothers in well over a century... and we both wanted to put and end to it. So!" He abruptly whirled around and looked down at Myrr with an expression of uncertainty,
"I suppose the reason I stayed was because I know how much you both mean to him, and I couldn't stand to face him after I let you two go up here under such... 'sudden' circumstances with Xeno, not to mention these constructs aren't the friendliest. So for the time being... I guess I'm your unofficial bodyguard- you and your sister."
He shrugged, then turned back around to inspect the room further.
damn that's a big bed... even for someone of my size! He mused with an air of surprise.
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Post by Azure_Ghidorah on Dec 31, 2009 0:57:58 GMT -5
Myrr sighed, shoulders lowering at Daed's response.
"... Thanks... really..." she muttered to him. "I'm gonna turn in, no use just standing around..."
She winced as she walked into the room provided for her, looking up at the ceiling and muttering unintelligable words. She could tell Xeno was hurting badly at the moment, try as she might to hide it, Myrr could hear the howling screams of pain.
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Post by Talon on Dec 31, 2009 15:16:53 GMT -5
Daedalus stood in the doorway to his room for at least ten minutes after Myrr had retired to her own room. He finally broke the silence by muttering,
“I’d have felt bad leaving you two here under these conditions regardless…”
The door slid shut behind him as he entered his room, the sound of armor hitting the floor apparent from the other side.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Medical droids scurried about frantically around the tank, some issuing shrill screeching noises in their panic. O’Malley still stood in his exact same position, arms folded across his chest, for the past few hours since the operation started. He continued to glare at the Pseudo-Queen’s vital signs and Exitus-to-Phazon ratios, the former rapidly spiking and declining back and forth, while the latter slowly tipped in numerical values.
Four hours, and Phazon is only down 31 percent… at this rate, she may not make it… her heart rate is far too high… she might make it another two hours, tops… damnit! Why can’t we speed the process up?! More Exitus would just tear her apart faster… she can barely handle this amount as it is, despite her regenerative factor. he mused, claws digging into his biceps.
He paused, glancing at the vitals, then back at his biceps as his nanobots repaired the damage. He was silent, then barked,
“Eh… why the hell not. Boys! Lower arm number 10. I want to try something…”
* * * * * * * * * * *
((12 hours later))
“Myrr, Daedalus… you may see her now.” O’Malley’s voice muttered faintly over their room’s intercom system.
Upon their exiting, they were escorted up several dozen floors by a trio of battle droids before coming to a stop in a hallway, where they underwent a short ‘cleansing’ protocol involving what seemed to be a form of radiation, then they were ushered into a fluorescent-white room, an octagon in shape with a 60-foot radius. Surrounded by a vast array of holographic screens and several medical droids was a 20-foot diameter tank, filled with some sort of clear, teal fluid. A large mass of bubbles hid the occupant of the tank from view as O’Malley strode forward from the side, hands folded behind his back as he barked,
“The operation… … … was a success. Granted, your sister’s going to be VERY sore for the next week or so, but she’s been completely cleaned of Phazon. Oh, wait… you were never told.”
Daedalus scowled at that before O’Malley reiterated,
“We found a way to destroy Phazon. Naturally, I devised a way to use it on your sister, but only if she agreed. She did, and despite being put through incredible suffering, she held fast, and came out fine.”
He turned to the tank as the bubbles began to clear, and he muttered,
“We’re currently siphoning out the operation’s leftovers… she should be awake soon, though.”
Daedalus issued an inaudible sigh of relief, musing,
That's a relief... but... did it do anything for her current shape?
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Post by Azure_Ghidorah on Dec 31, 2009 17:11:49 GMT -5
As the hybrid came into view more, she seemed to have completely reverted back into the Xeno everyone was familiar with...
Save some changes... Parts of her hair seemed to be held up and stiffened, forming a crude outline of the crests her large Psuedo-Queen form possessed, her tail remainde bladed from beginning to end, and her exoskeleton was more jagged then before. Her teeth also appeared to be somewhere in between her normal self's teeth and her Psuedo-Queen form's fangs.
Myrr was going to sigh in relief, until she noticed just how badly Xeno appeared to be.
"My god... it looks like she was mauled by several monsters..." she muttered.
Xeno coughed slightly, eyes opening as wide as she dared, which was very little at all.
"Myrr..." she whispered, then hacked again, wincing. "Ugh... I'm... not in the best shape right now... It... It worked... didn't it?"
The half-dragon sighed, "Yeah, it worked... looks like that crap won't be messing with you again..."
Xeno just sighed, relieved with the response, resting again.
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Post by Talon on Dec 31, 2009 17:49:02 GMT -5
O'Malley continued to stare down the nearest console before nodding, then he muttered aloud,
"She's good to go. Empty the tank."
The multitude of hoses disconnected from Xeno's body and retracted, their ends clearly melted by her acidic blood. The fluid in the tank then began to drain rapidly, leaving Xeno dangling by several cords. The glass walls of the tank receded into the floor, and several medical droids hovered forward, disconnecting the restraints as a fourth droid brought about some sort of hovering cart, and the three gently placed her onto the device.
"She'll need at least another 24 hour's worth of rest before she's even fit to start moving again, so you may as well stay here until then. I'm told Nocturn showed you your quarters, so you know the drill. The intercom system will connect you directly to me, so if you need something, feel free to ask." O'Malley informed them, waving them off.
One of the medical droids went to grab the cart's handle, but Daedalus interjected before it could, muttering as he grabbed the handle,
"I got it."
It seemed to shrug, then whirred off as O'Malley led them back out of the medical lab, and a pair of battle droids directed them back down to their rooms. After placing Xeno in Myrr's room, the droids hauled the cart back up the elevator, leaving the three to themselves. Daedalus gave Xeno a blank, almost apprehensive look, muttering,
"I know what they said, but... is she gonna be okay...?"
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Post by Azure_Ghidorah on Dec 31, 2009 22:29:04 GMT -5
Myrr sighed, glancing at the sleeping Xeno.
"I wish I could answer that... but I can't... Only Xeno can answer that, and even then we won't know for sure..."
The half-dragon shook her head, letting Xe rest on the bed.
"I... just don't know what to do... I hate feeling so helpless..."
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Post by Talon on Dec 31, 2009 23:22:46 GMT -5
"I guess we'll just have to wait for her to wake up, then..." Daedalus muttered in response.
He sighed, staring at the unconscious hybrid's face with a look of slight worry, before placing a clawed hand on Myrr's shoulder. He looked away and stated,
"Well, worrying about her's not going to help anyone. C'mon, let's go find something to do..."
With that, he led Myrr out of the room and slid into his, punching the intercom button. A droid responded, and Daed barked,
"Hey, uhh... s'there anything for us to -DO- here?"
"Why of course! Your floor has a pool system, a greenhouse, a cinema, a workout room, an arcade, a spa, a cafeteria... surely at least ONE of those interests you? If not, you can always tour the ship's facilities." The droid replied in a seemingly jovial monotone.
Daedalus scratched his cheek, staring at the floor as he mused over the list. He glanced back at Myrr, shrugged, then inquired loudly,
"Oh. Alright, uhh... map?"
"At the end of the hall, next to the elevator."
Daedalus blinked, and glanced over roughly four doors away, allowing a strangled sigh to exit his lungs as he spotted said map straight away.
"Ahh... thanks..." He grumbled.
"No trouble!" The droid replied, cutting the link.
Daedalus strode over to the map, eyes skimming over it for a split second, then he shrugged and walked past Myrr, thumbing at it.
"I'll be in the weight room if ya need me..." He stated nonchalantly.
With that, he headed down the hall, dissapearing behind one of the large set of chrome doors near the other end of the hallway.
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Post by Azure_Ghidorah on Jan 2, 2010 20:11:43 GMT -5
Myrr sighed, hanging her head, before referencing the map and heading over to the pool.
'Xe... you better pull through this... I don't know what I'd do if you went and bit the dust... even if for only a while' she thought, reaching the pools and diving in as soon as she could, swimming several laps to try and get her mind off the potential severity of the situation.
'Life just seems to love flipping you the bird, and you never really did anything to deserve it... Its not fair that you have to take so much hardship...'
She mentally sighed, finally leaving the subject to rest as she swam.
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Post by Talon on Jan 2, 2010 20:25:47 GMT -5
Meanwhile, Daedalus was repeatedly jabbing what appeared to be some sort of cushion-like punching bag, a series of numbers scrolling across a screen next to it. With each punch, the numbers rose higher, and climbed to the point where a nearby droid started shrieking hysterically, the machine bending inwards slightly. As he jabbed the device with closed fists, he pondered with a scowl,
Man... that Xeno girl's had it really rough... first that wierd stuff infects her... then that abrupt mutation... now that surgery looks like it basically killed her... sounds like she's been through hell and back.
...
I know what that's like... still, she's got Shive, right? ... though... if I know women... she probably doesn't like sharing...
One last punch sent a flurry of sparks flying from the back of the machine as his hand went through the device, and he blinked in surprise.
"Whoops."
* * * * * * * * * *
The remaining hours passed by more quickly than expected for Daedalus and Myrr, and certainly enough, O'Malley sent down several troopers to escort a recovering Xeno and her companions back down to the launch bay, where they were sent onto one of the 'nicer' dropships, and shipped back home as smoothly as possible.
"I'll drop you off as close to the city as possible, roger roger!" The pilot barked from the front of the ship.
"That has got to be the worst speech impediment I've ever heard..." Daedalus muttered, sitting on one of the seats.
His arms were folded, chin on his chest and his eyes closed as he waited for the ascent back down to earth. From time to time, he'd slit open an eye and glance across the ship at Xeno, then he'd make a slight shrug and close the eye again. It wasn't long until the shuttle started to shake through the layers of atmosphere...
((End thread))
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