The Dive

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<h1>THE DIVE</h1> First playtest <h3>A game by Aubrey Wood</h3> [[Begin|The suit]] <<set $mental to "calm">> <<set $injury to 0>> <<set $sillyjess to 0>> <<set $strictjess to 0>> <<set $casualjess to 0>> <<set $medicated to "no">>

You inhale, gasping softly at the cold air of the surface. The sound is feminine. That makes you happy. [[Look around.|The Surface]] [[Look at Earth.|Look at Earth]] [[Look at the ship.|Look at the ship]] <<audio startsong play>>

You think of [[Arizona]], bathed in lilac. Brown desert scrub brushes your shins, blowing in a wind that is impossibly cold. It looks dead; but this is its natural color. Save for these growths of grave-looking vegetation in the lavender sands, this place is abrogate of cellular life. You hear the winds as they carry sand, see the particles whip in waves. Welcome to the surface of Duat. [[Look at Earth]] [[Look at the ship]] [[Walk toward the structure|Toward the Entrance]]

You tilt your head up to the dark, and look at the stars. There was a time when you couldn't do this. You've come a long way. Even without the suit. You cannot see Earth, even with the suit's zoom function. The display says it's that way; but it's too far away. Like tonguing a cut on the roof of your mouth, you try to imagine how much dark stretches between you and home, poking around your brain for pangs of panic. You remain satisfied with the answer you came to a couple of years ago; you simply aren't biologically equipped to fathom distances like that. You breathe in through your nose, and out through your mouth. [[Look at the ship]] [[Look around.|The Surface]]

You look straight up at the second moon, Ibis. Your visor activates a powerful telescopic zoom, to find the small research vessel in orbit. In the center of the salmon-pink disc hangs a hammerheaded silhouette. The suit helpfully identifies the idle Persepolis. She has borne you across the galactic ocean and delivered you to the shore of Duat. Staring straight up at the sky, especially at a celestial body, still causes anxiety to rush from the base of your skull to the coronal suture, to buzz in your fingertips and grip your heart. You look away from the ship and straight ahead once again. The suit warns you that your heart rate has spiked. [[Look at Earth]] [[Look around|The Surface]] [[Go back to the Ship]]

"Aggie?" Your voice is more nasal than you would prefer. But it's better than it used to be, and it's yours. A moment passes. "Hi, Jessica." "I want to come back up." Another, pregnant, moment goes by between you both. [[Breathe.|Are you sure? Ship]]

One foot in front of the other. Your boots make vivid impressions in the purple sand, and it's an effort to walk toward the structure. Your nanoweave cape flaps furiously, and the rim of its hood shudders around the edges of your vision. Facing toward the structure's entrance, you can see the first of Duat's moons, Thoth, a blue and waning sickle. The suit notices your heart rate is rising. When you reach the structure, you will be fine. [[Ten minutes pass.]]

"You want to--Is something wrong? Are you okay?" asks Aggie. Is something wrong? [[I forgot something.]] [[I'm too anxious.]] <<set $mental to "anxious">>

The suit tells you your heart rate has risen, just slightly. "Ahh, I forgot something on the ship." You sigh like a horse. "Be faster for me to just come get it." Aggie sighs too. "Jessie, come on. It's a complete waste of resources." "I know. I know. I'll be in and out, won't even de-suit. Okay?" "You should always de-suit." Aggie blows a raspberry. "I'll send down a pod. Come meet it." [[Jump]] <<set $path3 to "forgot">>

Fear is alive in you--but not rational fear, organic, manageable. Disordered fear. Physiological, quietly relentless. It clutches your heart, campfire fingers. It bubbles in your gray matter. Maybe you stared at outer space too long. Maybe you shouldn't have come here at all. "I've got ants in the brain," you tell Aggie. "I might freak out. I need to come back." "Okay." Aggie becomes your carer. "Are you sure you want to abort? Do you want to try taking a tab first?" The term 'tab' is superfluous. You won't take a tablet, the suit will directly synthesize benzodiazepine medication into your bloodstream. It has more than enough in reserve to knock you unconscious. [[Dope me up, babe.]] [[I need to come back.]]

You reach for your right forearm with your left hand. The suit's green-black skin reacts instinctively, peeling aside to offer up your arm console. You input the jump command. The flight backpack opens underneath your nanoweave cape and rockets erupt from your calves. You take the rifle up in both hands once again. You look straight up, at the Persepolis, at Ibis. Your heart rate spikes; the suit notices. With legs rigid and eyes starward, you rise. A white jetstream trails behind you, left by the shimmering orb of your burning jets. In the night sky of Duat, you are like a comet no one will ever see. [[Rise]]

"Okay," you breathe. "I'll drug up." The suit releases the medicine into your blood before Aggie can even answer. "Alright. There's nothing to be ashamed of, Jessica." In a few minutes you'll be cruising. The suit will metabolize other chemicals to compensate for the drowsiness and any other slightly impaired cognitive functions. Just cool, calm focus. "Think about how far you've come already. Remember, not only can you do this--you're the only one who can do this." <<if $path1 == "straightahead">>[[Continue]]<<else>>[[Toward the Entrance]]<</if>> <<set $medicated to "yes">> <<set $mental to "calm">>

"No. I need to come back. I think I might have a full-blown attack if I don't." You hear Aggie breathing, and very slightly hear her typing. "That's okay," she says with genuine concern. "We have the time. Just breathe. Are you okay to make the jump?" "Uh-huh." "Sending a pod to pick you up." [[Jump]]

You stood under the eave outside the cafeteria, near the magnet-locked gate. You saw mesas that looked like nothing so much as alien structures, red abandoned fortresses far away. Billowing clouds commanded the horizon like a fleet of warships, but above your head was the eave, and over that nothing but clear sky. You considered a short walk around the gardens. Much money and labor had been expended to give this place bright green life that did not belong there. You lit your cigarette. Be nice if it rained... [[Return|The Surface]]

You ascend, taking in more and more of Duat's endless lilac desert. [[Close your eyes.]] [[Keep looking.]]

Dr. Stevens had a painting above her chair. Swirls and sweeps of deep black dragged desperately with both palms covered in paint, against a background of many mixed, muddied colors. Written in red--with a finger or a paintbrush, you didn't know--in one quadrant, artistically haphazard: Full of sound and fury, signifying NOTHING. It was simple, an explosion of despair, an unsubtle cry for help. Dr. Stevens had painted it. "My absolute worst fear," you said, "Like... the worst situation I can think of would be... being stranded in a desert. Alone." "Don't you think lots of people would be afraid to be stranded in the desert?" You sighed a laugh. "Not the way I am. Right now I can't even go to the beach. I would just... I'd curl into a ball. I'd lie down and go catatonic, or something." Dr. Stevens doesn't stop smiling. "It's very unlikely you'll ever be stranded in the [[desert.|Keep walking]] You know that, right?" <<set $path1 to "straightahead">>

The structure looms. You are reminded of a single thick novel, a Mieville or your fraying copy of The Stand, standing straight up with its spine facing you. Perhaps it belongs to a titan and you are walking on a beach immense beyond description, and a few clicks to the right you will find the edge of a colorful towel spanning miles. Feeling the not-inconsiderable weight of your rifle, you begin to climb chalky lilac stairs. The remains of pillars litter the steps as easily as garbage. 'The lone and level sands stretch far away...' [[Approach]]

You cross the debris-strewn dais. A doorway as tall as four, perhaps six men waits at the base of the structure, rectangular, almost mirroring the edifice in miniature. It has two stone doors. One is slightly open, as if left slightly ajar by a giant. Only black inside.<<if $medicated == "no">> Black inside, black above. You picture every particle of dark, silently spinning. You picture every particle of you. A cloud of loose matter. Nothing more. Coming here was an awful idea.<</if>> You speak into your comm. <<if not hasVisited("Go back to the Ship")>>[[Go back to the Ship]]<</if>> [["This is Jessica."]] [["Condor One, this is Blackbird."]] [["Looks spooky in there. I quit."]]

[["Commencing dive one."]]

"Confirm visual?" "Feed is healthy," says Aggie. "It looks... it just looks dead down there, doesn't it? Not just empty, but... dead." You gaze into the black space ahead of you. Then, unable to restrain yourself, you flick your eyes to the sky. A momentary swell of vertigo, then you look back down, into the doorway. "It's not my favorite." Captain Gunner cuts in, husky and warm, though clipped. "Yes, suffice to say I will not be taking Marie on holiday to shithole-S429 anytime in the foreseeable future. Doctor Seagull, do you have any more pertinent observations, or shall we top it off with 'Duat is shit'?" "Marie?" lilts Aggie. "You mean your mistress?" "Marie is not my mistress, she's my secondary. I am tired of explaining the difference to you, Doctor Seagull. Blackbird, are you [[prepared to commence]]?"

You enter the yawning dark. You leave the wailing winds outside. They drop to a whisper and you are embraced by the kind of silence only known by the abandoned. You hear the crunch of each stone particle under every measured step with your boots, and the quaver in each cold breath you take inside the suit. Even with the darkvision, you see perhaps thirty feet of green stone ground. You heft up your rifle, and flick on its light. A beam, infrared--invisible to the naked eye, but bright as the moon to your visor--lands on a statue. Doglike, four-legged, you think of a qilin. It has no tail and no eyes, a curved mouth with a protruding tongue--now you think of Māori carvings, a taniwha. [[Look around]] <<audio :playing fadeout>>

You sweep with your rifle's light. The room is wide, and there are countless of these no-eyed taniwha statues, laid in rows. You wonder how long these things have been sitting here like this, inert. Down here in this backwater corner of the universe. You see something. [[What is it?]] <<audio veese play>>

It's on the floor. You train your rifle light on it and take a few steps closer. It's glowing. Looks light, plastic--it doesn't belong here. It's a glowstick. Like the kind of glowstick you throw down holes, or leave in tunnels to mark your way. Like the kind you brought with you. Just like one of those. The Veese are already here. [[Look up]] <<set $goBackTo to turns() - 1>>

A flash blinds you. The unmistakable light and sound of a Veese rifle discharging. White-hot pain explodes in your left arm, and then suddenly the limb plunges into darkness, leaving only the sensation of the molten stump. You stumble backwards, dragging your rifle like a caveman's club, and take cover behind one of the taniwha. More laser rounds voom past you, gorgeously bright. Two statues are decapitated. "Jessie? Jessica! Status report!" Aggie's voice is strained fit to snap. She is in no state to take control of this situation. Do you go by the book or handle this yourself? [[Say nothing.|Handle this yourself]] [["Condor One, I'm hit!"|I'm hit]]

You shut your eyes against the pain. You tell the lifeform in the strange non-language of thought, new arm. It agrees. You feel it like the limb is waking up from anesthesia inch by inch. Black and green matter molds out from the wound into a sword-like protrusion. It grows and grows. Soon you are at least able to clumsily hoist up the front of your rifle with the eldritch stump. Just in time for the two Veese to round the statue and face you, preparing to blast you into a pulpy smear. You roll up to one knee, stick the rifle right under the chin of one Veese and fire. There is a volcano belch of gore from their reptilian skull; a not-insignificant amount lands on your visor. They fall. The other has hopped back in surprise. You must deal with them, too. [[Rush them]] [[Shoot them]]

The lifeform does as you ask. Siphoning from the left shoulder muscles, the suit sends additional black-green bio to your right arm, causing it to inflate with bulk. You get on your feet, and now you are able to wield the plasma rifle in your right hand as easily as you would a service pistol. You swing around to face the reptilian Veese. Your impossibly swift recovery puts the fear in them. The darkvision shows their diamond-shaped eyes as green, but you know in truth they are yellow. You fire. The burst makes the rifle rattle and shake in your augmented hand. The muzzle makes a flashing clover of light. You hit one in the neck, the chest; smoking hot wounds peel open on their scaled flesh. They feel it. They stagger. But to drop the Veese for real, you've got to destroy the brain. <<if hasVisited("I'm hit")>>You take two hits, one in the belly and one in the ribs. The armor takes a good chunk of it; but just like them, you feel it. Your vitals flash red and a gentle siren in your helmet warns you. You feel the lifeform pooling out black across the wounds to undo the damage. <<set $injury to $injury + 1>> <</if>> [[Move forward]]

You try to shut out most of the journey upwards. You're rattled enough as it is. The dark within your eyelids, inside the warm suit, with your breathing and the deep rumble of your jets, is [[nostalgically calming.]] The suit blips that your pod is near. You tell it to fly you there automatically. The egglike pod meets you at fifty-thousand feet. You climb inside, and sit on a cramped bench the rest of the way to the Persepolis. [[Return to the ship]]

The desert grows larger. There is no limit to how far it can go. You keep climbing and it keeps becoming wider, longer, more sprawling. The sky seems to grow larger around it as the horizon begins to curve and you realize how punishingly, hopelessly small you are. Your heart hangs ragged in your chest, a uselessly tiny pinhead against the might of galaxies. You breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. You go high enough that you begin to see CB-843, or Osiris, Duat's black hole sun. That's all you can take. All your nerves burn. The world is ending. You look desperately for the pod, unable to find it in the black sky full of stars. You tuck your head into your collar and shut your eyes. The suit gently alerts you that your vitals are spiking, a soft alarm. At the same time it obeys your command to redouble the speed of its jets. The world is ending. Any moment now you and your consciousness will be annihilated, and with them everything else. The suit pings that the pod is near. You look carefully up and see its eggish frame perhaps a minute's flight in the distance. You shut your eyes and tell the suit to pilot you there automatically. You climb inside, and sit on an uncomfortable bench the rest of the way to the ship. [[Return to the ship]] <<set $mental to "panicattack">> <<set $path2 to "panicattack">>

Finished with your soda, you stuffed the empty plastic cup and the crushed can awkwardly into the seat pocket in front of you, then flipped the tray table back up. You were watching a romantic comedy on the seat-back screen, one you'd already seen. You didn't like watching new movies on planes. You looked out the oval window. Black, but for the moon, and the blinking red lights on the wing. Gazing in curiosity, you wondered why you couldn't see the stars from a plane. Your father's snores from two seats away were louder than even the omnipresent thrum of the jet engines. He had fallen asleep reading; his index finger holding his place, the airport paperback threatened to slip from his grip and fall on the floor at any moment. You took it and dog-eared the page to mark his progress and placed the legal thriller on the empty seat between you. He vocally hated your habit of bending pages, found it disrespectful, damaging. He was going to lose his place, you would argue when he woke up. Did he want you to simply do nothing? In another year, he would pass away. You were seventeen. [[Return|Close your eyes.]] <<set $mental to "calm">>

The pod shakes like a rickety elevator as it twists and locks into its docking slot in the Persepolis's girthy hull. <<if $mental == "calm">> You luxuriate in the ship's monotone drone, thinking of a slick paperback resting on a cushioned economy seat. <<elseif $mental == "anxious">> You impatiently drum your fingers on your thigh, armored fingertips making gentle indents into the skinlike black layer. <<elseif $mental == "panicattack">> Relief floods you and loosens the muscles in your skull. You are back under a real roof, back within safe walls, to a degree. But you won't be truly secure until you make it back to your quarters, make them dark, and retreat to your bunk <<else>> You impatiently drum your fingers on your thigh, armored fingertips making gentle indents into the skinlike black layer. <</if>> Outside there's a series of klaxons, the groan of the airlock shutting underneath you. Then the seal hisses on the pod door and you are allowed out. Bent over and back smarting, you climb out, hood and cape brushing against the pod's doorframe. <<if $mental == "panicattack">> You beeline for the suit's dock, fumbling with the fastenings of your nanoweave cape. [[De-suit]] <<else>> Let's get out of this suit. A shower would be nice. A quick ration, maybe an hour or two of shut-eye... [[De-suit]] <</if>> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio ship play>>

The neck seal of your helmet hisses and you pull the emerald mask free. You take a gasp of the recycled ship oxygen, cool, but much warmer than it was down on Duat. The black skin of the lifeform creeps back from your face, recedes from your cranium and down your neck. Your short brown hair is free again. You slip out of each section of the armor as the lifeform peels back and returns into you. You place them in their slots. You put back the boots and rifle last. The armor is sealed away behind fiberglass. You look at your right hand, watching--and feeling--the last visible ribbon of the lifeform receding into your palm like the tail of a slug. The decon chamber awaits. [[Go to Decon|Decontamination 1]]

Decontamination is routine and dull. You sit on another uncomfortable bench for several minutes in a chamber the size of an elevator, bathing in orange light and being sprayed with aerosol chemicals that smell like a hospital. Your skin uncomfortably tingles, growing to the sensation of a mild sunburn. You are grateful when it's over. Decon releases you. You take the personnel elevator to the main deck. So many little humming spaces... Gunner is waiting, arms folded, when the doors open. A handsome smile creases the boot-leather-brown face. "Jessica," he states. "Status report?" [[Well, sir.]] [[Shitty.]]

"So what brings you back? Jitters? Forget your lucky rabbit's foot?" He's razzing you, gently. Don't take it personally. [[Can I talk to Aggie?]] [[I don't feel rested.|A nap]] [[Actually, I need a shower.|A shower.]] <</if>>

"Shitty," he repeats back, with concern. "That's not on, is it?" "Sir." "Is the mission compromised?" "No, sir." He shifts his weight to his other foot. "What can we do to get you back up to speed?" [[Can I talk to Aggie?]] [[A shower.]] [[A nap.|A nap]]

"Hot shower. It's cold down there." "When was your last?" "Before FTL jump, sir." He balks. "Not before mission?" "Sir." "Proper foul." Gunner cocks his head, indicating toward the aft. "Go on. Come check in with me before you head back down, yeah?" "Sir." You both nod respectfully to each other. He leaves you to it. [[Shower]]

"I think I need to hit the bunk for an hour, Captain." Gunner smacks his tongue. "Already burned some time coming back up. You sure we can spare it?" <<if $mental == "panicattack">> You feel hollowed out in the head. The steel cocoon of the Persepolis, with walls thick enough to keep out cosmic radiation, feels thinner than paper. [[I really need it, sir.|I need to nap]] <<else>> You're arguably alert enough to hit the surface again. But you've never been one to say no to some quick shut-eye. The mission won't fall apart. [[I'll keep it brief, sir.|I need to nap]] [[I guess not.]] <</if>>

"Aggie's not too busy, is she?" "I should hope not. Looking after you's just her job, after all." Gunner chuckles. "She ducked into the kitchen after your pod docked, put the coffee pot on. Not a proper cuppa in this fucking system, is there?" His accent is thick, he pronounces it 'cupper'. Gunner smiles, chewing his tongue. You make a small, breathy laugh. "I, I wouldn't know, sir." "Least you're honest." He tips his head to the fore and turns to leave. "She's probably waiting for you. Come see me after, yeah?" "Sir." [[Visit the kitchen|Talk to Aggie]]

You head down the uniform white hall, through octagonal portholes, to the washroom. You shed your gray skintight jumpsuit and hang it up on the door. The shower jets are operated by button. You activate the jets and blazing hot water attacks you from both sides. You wince. The lifeform comes out to defend you. Puddles of black skin form rapidly across your pale brown body, shielding you from the too-hot shower, protecting you from burning yourself. "It's okay," you say, though you don't need to. You push the controls to turn down the temperature. "It's okay." [[You find a comfortable warmth.]] The lifeform relaxes, but tonguelike black-green slivers remain protruding from your skin all around your body, writhing like leeches; licking up the water. The lifeform is hydrated and nourished by your regular digestion processes, but it has always enjoyed bathing with you. You check on your orchiectomy scar. The healing is going well. That's expected. You made sure it knew this was important. You're blasted with hot air to dry you. You dress, refreshed. <<if not hasVisited("Talk to Aggie")>>[[Visit Aggie|Talk to Aggie]]<</if>> <<if not hasVisited("Go to your room")>>[[Get some sleep|Go to your room]]<</if>> [[Go see Gunner]] <<set $mental to "calm">>

You creep down the hall toward the kitchen; the lighting feels granular, fuzzy, like static. You duck your head under the door and enter. The kitchen is not large, and you are. A dwarf fridge with stacks of dehydrated fare. A small sink. A machine that dehydrates the food in the fridge and turns it into something more appetizing. A bulky orange Huell coffee maker: the centrepiece of the entire deck as far as Aggie is concerned, the sun at the center of the Persepolis's solar system. And Aggie, scrunched over at a pull-out plastic table with a cup of coffee. No--two cups. She bounces in surprise at seeing you lumber in, curly black hair ruffling. "Jessie! Are you alright? Come sit down. Let me take your blood pressure." You make your way to the table, head brushing the ceiling. You squeeze into the plastic seat. "I made you some coffee. I know you didn't ask for any but. Just in case. You know. I'm sorry, I should have asked." [[Drink it.]] [[Don't.]]

Gunner tips his head, considering it. He doesn't push the issue any further. "No sign of the Veese at present," he concedes. "Channels will light up if anything enters the system. Go get some rest, then. Come and check in with me before you leave, yeah?" "Sir. Thank you, sir." Gunner departs for the bridge. You head down the opposite direction, toward your living quarters. [[Go to your room]]

"I guess I'll be fine. No use stalling the mission." Gunner nods. "We've seen no sign of the Veese, yet, but that doesn't mean we've got 'til Christmas. Appreciate your dedication, Jessica." "Sir." "Is there anything else, then?" [[Can I talk to Aggie?]] [[A shower.]] <<set $mental to "anxious">>

You climb the ladder to your quarters, and seal the square hatch behind you. Your room is sized somewhere between a walk-in closet and a capsule hotel room. You can stand up in it. Your bed is a shelf with a more-or-less rectangular window, currently shuttered. A mesh pouch clings to the wall holding your handheld, your e-reader, your Nintendo. There's not much else to speak of; temperature controls, a small comm console, a fire extinguisher. A diminuitive closet for what few casual clothes you brought--t-shirts, leggings--and your several matching jumpsuits. [[Get your handheld]] [[Get into bed]]

The coffee is dark; it will be bitter. You take a slow sniff, a lungful, before you sip. You adore the smell of fresh coffee. The coffee is earthy, but you taste the sweetener. "Thanks," you offer quietly. You smile. Aggie smiles back. [[Continue|Blood Pressure]] <<set $coffee to "yes">>

You push the mug away with a feather-touch. "Don't feel like the caffeine." Aggie nods. "Oh, of course. Not a problem." [[Continue|Blood Pressure]]

"Let me get a quick read of your vitals." Aggie becomes Dr. Priyati. She slides some things over from the far end of the table; a thin, see-through tablet computer, a little silver wristband with a black screen, a clasp that your finger goes into. "Oh... I'm fine. Really." "You come back from the surface of an alien world, I check your vitals." Aggie sticks the black plastic doodad onto your index finger. "Especially if something made you come back prematurely. How are you faring mentally?" She slides the wristband on over your fingers; her brown skin brushes yours. When your hands touch, a black-green sliver appears like a cresting dolphin on the ocean's surface, curious about a passing ship. It lashes her gently, enough to make her snatch her hand away in surprise, and then disappears into you again. All this happens in the space of a moment. "Oh!" Aggie yelps. "Is it...?" You chuckle a little, huskily. "It's fine." She takes your hand again, with admirable professionalism, and tightens the wristband. "Feeling lively, is it?" It's curious about anyone who comes close. It's protective. But it knows there's nothing to worry about from Dr. Priyati. You don't say any of these things, you just laugh again. Aggie waits. In a minute a red LED on the finger device lights up and you hear a beep. Numbers appear on the wristband, which Aggie checks against her tablet. <<if $mental == "calm">> "Blood pressure normal... Good. How are you feeling?" <<elseif $mental == "anxious">> "Your blood pressure is riding a little higher than usual. Is everything alright?" <<elseif $mental == "panicattack">> "Your blood pressure is a spike. Did you have an attack, Jessie? Talk to me." <<else>> "Blood pressure normal... Good. How are you feeling?" <</if>> Aggie takes the wristband and the finger-trap back. She looks at you with genuine concern. [[Nothing unusual.]] [[I'm not my best.]] <<if $path2 == "panicattack">> [[I freaked out on the way up.]] <</if>>

"I'm good," you say with a bracing sigh. "Yeah. Feeling pretty good." Aggie looks nonplussed. "Care to elaborate?" [[I feel ready.]] [[Not really.|I'd rather not.]]

"I'm kinda on edge, Aggie. I don't know... I don't feel good about this mission." <<if $coffee == "yes">>You take a sip of coffee. The caffiene probably won't help your nerves.<</if>> Aggie pushes her glasses up. "Okay. In what way?" [[I don't think I can do it.]] [[Never mind.|I'd rather not.]] <<if $path2 == "panicattack">> [[I freaked out on the way up.]] <</if>>

"I could tell something was wrong." Aggie sips her coffee. "Do you want to talk about it?" [[I'd been jumpy since leaving the ship.]] [[I'd rather not.]]

"I was nervous getting in the suit, nervous getting in the pod. I closed my eyes the whole way down." Aggie rests her chin on folded hands. <<if $path1 == "straightahead">>"I tried to just put one foot in front of the other. Then I was just... alone. In that fucking desert." <</if>> "I had to come back. I didn't feel ready. I just wanted to sprint back to my bunk. Hide in the dark, until we get back to Earth. Then on the way up I... I opened my eyes and I looked at the black hole." "You knew that would be triggering for you. Didn't you?" You give a guilty nod. Dr. Priyati starts cleaning her glasses. "You've done this before. Why do you think you do that? Deliberately overload yourself? Drive yourself to panic?" [[I can't help it...]] [[To challenge myself.]]

"I don't want to talk about it now. I just... I just want to focus on getting the mission done. Then we can unpack everything." Aggie frowns, very slightly. Most people, truthfully, wouldn't be able to read it as a frown. You've spent enough time with her, having conversations like this, that you can. "I understand. Well. Would you rather talk about something else?" <<if $coffee == "yes">> [[Let's just enjoy our coffee.|Don't talk]] <<else>> [[That's okay.|Don't talk]] <</if>> [[How are you, Aggie?]]

<<if $coffee == "yes">> Aggie takes her mug in both hands, her cheeks dimpling. You've seen this look; she wishes she could penetrate this shell of yours. "Okay." You both drink your coffee, and don't talk about anything. Occasionally you give her a slightly apologetic smile. She does the same. Sometimes she sighs. <<else>> "I think I should just go." Aggie takes her mug in both hands, her cheeks dimpling. You've seen this look; she wishes she could penetrate this shell of yours. "Okay." <</if>> You rise to [[leave.|Leave the kitchen]]

"Me?" Dr. Priyati puts her chin on her hand. "I suppose I'm holding up just fine. The trip was rather lengthy, and boring, but I busied myself with research, and even got a few minutes to read a book! I say the trip is long, but really, travelling faster than light... it's still so awe-inspiring. We shouldn't take such marvels for granted." She sips her coffee. "Besides, I'd much prefer a monotonous voyage burying my nose in some dissertation than, oh, having to deal with the Veese for example." [[What kind of research?]] [[What book are you reading?]]

<<if $coffee == "yes">>You slurp down the last of your coffee. The final couple of mouthfuls are extra thick and sweet. <</if>>You rise from the plastic table and give a clipped farewell to Dr. Priyati, who waves with her fingers. Behind you she prepares to pour herself a fresh mug; she is an engine that runs on the black stuff, heavily sweetened. You duck down to get through the doorway into the hall. [[Continue|Hallway]]

"It's like picking a scab," you elaborate. "Or... I just can't... accept what's wrong with me. That this has been done to me." "What has been 'done to' you? By whom?" "This illness. That I had my life taken away. That I was okay for my whole life, and then suddenly I'm practically invalid." "You've made strides. You live a fully functional life, now." "I don't feel functional." Aggie shifts her chair a little, spins her body to face you directly. She leans forward and folds her hands in her lap. "You told me that at the depth of your disability you had trouble leaving your room to take a shower. Now you are in the Osiris system." "Don't remind me." "I believe you are more than capable of performing this mission if you get back in that pod. With such a difficult disorder as yours, you would be well within your rights to develop a substance abuse problem. You will lose no valor if you cope by closing your eyes during flight, or taking prescription tabs, or stopping to meditate." [[It's your job to say that.]] [[Thank you.|I'm sorry/Thank you.]]

"That's the only way to get over this thing, right? Expose myself to what scares me? I shouldn't have to deal with this shit. It's just in my fucking head." "Saying the panic is just in your head is rather like saying the cancer is 'just' in your liver," says Aggie. "It is an affliction of your brain, Jessica." "I know that." "Do you?" She rests her coffee on the table. "Yes. But..." [[I hate being weak.]]

Aggie frowns. She's hurt. Or very good at acting so. "That's not how this works, Jessie. You think it's just my job to motivate you. To get the desired result," she explains carefully. "You think I'm just trying to keep you running like a mechanic so you can finish the mission. But I have feelings, Jessie. I wouldn't sign on to an assignment where I was ordered to exploit you, like a company asset. My primary task is to ensure you remain mentally sound, and report if you slip. If you reach a state where continuing the mission is no longer in your best interest." She takes a long sip of coffee while you digest her words. <<if $coffee == "yes">>You take a gulp as well. You like her coffee. She knows how you like your coffee. What else does she know about you?<</if>> "You think I'm just supposed to kick you until you can't run anymore, like a horse. But I care about how you're doing, Jessie." [[You think I'm crazy.]] [[Okay.]] [[I'm sorry.|I'm sorry/Thank you.]]

Aggie pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Ms. Ramos. I'm a professional. And even if I weren't, I don't have such a barbaric view of the mentally ill. You are not crazy. But you've admitted to me that this mission has put you under great mental strain before it's even officially commenced. I only expect it to treat you worse once you enter the structure. You are in my care, and your mental well-being is the reason I am currently on this ship. In this system. A billion miles from anything." [[Okay.]] [[I'm sorry/Thank you.]]

Dr. Priyati offers a cream-sweet smile. "Please, don't mention it. I know it's difficult to see me as a companion, and not a... a zookeeper. And as your doctor I should maintain a certain distance. But I hope you believe me when I tell you that you are more important to me than the mission." [[How are you, Aggie?]] [[I should go|Leave the kitchen]]

"If you say so, doctor." Dr. Priyati sighs. "Well." She doesn't know what to say after that. She sips her blonde coffee. You become cognizant of the strained silence. It bothers her more than you, though. She tries to find something on her tablet to become busy with. <<if $coffee == "yes">> You finish your dark, carefully sweetened coffee while staring into its depths, to avoid awkwardly staring at Dr. Priyati. <</if>> [[Leave the kitchen]]

"Normal people aren't scared of this kind of shit." "Normal people aren't scared of outer space?" Aggie balks. "My dear, I promise you your perspective on that is very skewed." "But normal people handle it. They deal with life. Instead of spending ten years afraid to leave their fucking house. Drop any other marine on Duat--" "Let me stop you there," Aggie cuts you off. "There are a host of reasons you are suited to this mission that are not fulfilled by a marine. We want you to act with a certain autonomy. But importantly, we expect you to display flexibility and compassion that don't come in the usual marine profile. You think that you're weak. Your history, in fact, shows a great deal of tenacity. You have reforged yourself, Jessica." [[It's your job to say that.]] [[Thank you.|I'm sorry/Thank you.]] [[Okay.]]

"I'm feeling good about this. I'm frosty. Nothing unusual to report, doctor." <<if $coffee == "yes">>You sip your coffee and smile.<</if>> "Yet you came back up," says Aggie, looking at you pointedly from behind her thick circular frames. "Are you sure everything's alright?" <<if $path3 == "forgot">>She levels a finger at you. "And don't tell me you forgot something, I know you're lying."<</if>> [[Uh huh.]] [[Well...|I'm not my best.]] [[I came to see you.]] <<if $path2 == "panicattack">> [[I freaked out on the way up.]] <</if>>

"All good here, doc. Just needed a shower." You grin. <<if $coffee == "yes">>"And a cup of coffee."<</if>> Dr. Priyati shakes her head and makes a little sigh through her nose. Her voluminous ball of hair jostles. "Well, you should get back to it as soon as possible, then," she chides you. "I'd prefer a nice, boring expedition over dawdling until the Veese arrive." [[How are you, Aggie?]] [[I should go, then.|Leave the kitchen]]

Dr. Priyati's eyes widen. She cants her head and looks at you warily. "Well, now!" She takes a punctuative gulp of her coffee. "Ms. Ramos. If there's anything you need to discuss, of course, I'm always here. Was there something in particular you needed to talk about?" [[I came to *see you.*]] [[How are you, Aggie?]]

"I'm too... I'm the wrong person for this. I'm jittery. I haven't seen action in over two years. You should send a squad, or something." "You know there are a number of reasons we can't--shouldn't--do that." "Then some other badass, I don't know. Not some... agoraphobic dumbass." Aggie frowns. "You're so very unkind to yourself, Jessica. If you spoke to me the way you speak to yourself, I'd punch you in the mouth." You laugh. "Yeah. Yeah." "Why do you think you do that?" [[I can't help it...]] [[I hate being weak.]] [[Never mind.|I'd rather not.]]

A sizeable circular door split diagonally across its diameter opens to allow you onto the Persepolis's main fuselage. You pass the doors to Gunner's modest quarters, the sick bay, Dr. Priyati's small lab--the main feature of which is a thick glass specimen holding tube built against the far wall, currently empty. The hatch to an emergency pod sits vigilant on your right, bordered by yellow and black striped lines. Gunner will not be in his quarters now; he'll be on the bridge. You pass through another circular portal into the hammerhead flight deck. Rectangular windows with rounded edges span its length, looking out on the blackness and its white diamond specks. An uncomfortable place for a conversation, for you. You cant your head down and try your best to shut it out. Gunner is at his station in the pilot's seat. He's deeply engrossed in something on the touch-screen computer console. He leans back in the cushioned seat and puts a fist to his mouth, sighing through his nose; frustrated. [[Sir?]]

"Every bit of information we have about Duat, of course. Which is actually quite a lot, but most of which won't be terribly useful to you." You lean on the table. "Like what?" "The makeup of its crust and core, the orbital path of its moons, projected history of its tectonic plate activity... As well as much, much speculation about what sort of life it would be able to support, given the presence of a structure clearly left by some kind of sapients, whom we can't find any current trace of." [[Anything useful?]] [[Any opinion?]]

"I'm digging into a quite old science fiction novel called The Rash. It was written perhaps thirty years ago. A large portion of humanity is infected by a sort of cordyceps-like fungus that affects the brain. They lose their autonomy, and begin congregating into these... they're sort of communities, I suppose. Colonies, made up of fungus drones. There's a violent response from humanity to prevent the fungus from spreading." Aggie sips her blonde coffee. "Then it's discovered that the fungus creatures are sentient--sort of--that in order to achieve full sentience, and propagate, they need hosts like us. Exactly like us. Otherwise they're just... spores. Mindless fungus. But when they bond to a human they become a full, complex individual. Suddenly things are much more complicated." [[No they're not.]] [[You're right.]] <<set $rash to "read">>

"Don't take your helmet off, for one." Aggie laughs. "No, actually, that's not entirely true. While we do have you running on a small oxygen supply in your suit, and the Captain and I wouldn't be able to breathe on Duat's surface, your lifeform seems to be doing a great deal of the work--filtering the native atmosphere. After a period of acclimation, it's feasible you'd be able to operate without the helmet." She leans back and taps her cheek. "Such a captivating specimen..." [[Cool.]] [[You were reading about the lifeform.]]

Aggie takes off her glasses and fogs them with her breath. She takes a microcloth from a pocket on her gray jumpsuit. Her face becomes intense, her manner expansive. "Given the presence of Duat's frozen oceans, of course it's elementary to presume there could at one point have been conditions for life as we understand it. Osiris does not provide enough energy to sustain a civilization like the kind we have on Earth." She puts her glasses back on and raises a finger. "But I have never been of the mind that alien life needs to be anything like humanity at all. Case in point--" She reaches out toward you gently. "My peers believe that when you encountered the lifeform, you found it in hibernation, that it had simply been sustaining itself on stored resources somehow, dormant in that crevice up until that point. That it's compatible with you because its basic building blocks are the same as ours. But--" [[Go on.]] [[You were reading about the lifeform.]]

"I don't think it's like us at all. Now that it's in you, its makeup is blended, it's formed a sort of symbiotic relationship with your genes, but... I think it was alive on that planet because it simply doesn't need the same things we need to survive." [[Why does it need me, then?]] [[Cool.]] [[You were reading about the lifeform.]]

"Nothing we make will ever be so grand as the universe... but nothing made by the universe will ever be so grand as we." "You are worth galaxies."

"It's verycool!" Aggie rubs her hands together. "Well, Jessica, I really am keeping you. We should get this mission on track as soon as possible. We'll have a chance to talk again soon, I assure you." She smiles. [[Leave the kitchen]]

Aggie stiffens and draws back just slightly. "I'll be blunt with you, Jessica." She puts her coffee down. "If I read anything about the lifeform on the trip here, it was nothing I hadn't seen before. I've read all there is to read about you and your lifeform." [[Why?]] [[That's fine.]]

"That's not complicated. They're parasites," you say, with finality. "They should torch the hive, or whatever. The colonies. Or find a cure. You don't get to live at the expense of someone else." "Some people in the book do consent, once they learn the whole truth," says Aggie. "But not nearly enough, of course, just a few individuals. But I think it's very complex. I agree, of course, with your basic point--without consent you cannot assert your life over another's. But a whole species that must subsume another just to achieve basic quality of life... don't they have a right to some kind of existence?" She shakes her head. "A discussion for another time. I've kept you long enough." [[Alright.|Leave the kitchen]]

"That's really interesting. Can they infect anything else? Animals, plants?" "They grow into mushrooms on their own--that's how they're originally found and breathed in. They can take animal bodies, but then they're only as intelligent as animals. They don't want to be animals, they want to be sapient creatures. Humans. They deserve some kind of life, don't they? But to ask a percentage of humanity to give up their own bodily autonomy..." Aggie fluffs her hair. "It's very difficult. But we'll have to talk about it again soon. We should really get this mission on track as soon as possible." [[I'll get going, then.|Leave the kitchen]]

Aggie exhales. "Good. I'm glad to hear that." She visibly relaxes. "I've only your care in mind, Jessie. You're a very special patient." [[I should go.|Leave the kitchen]]

"For a start? You have an alien living inside you and I'm endlessly interested in that," says Aggie. "And I'm lucky enough to be in a position now, where I have access to all the available clinical information regarding this... this amazing symbiotic bioform. I won't apologize for taking a professional interest one of the greatest scientific discoveries since the faster-than-light engine. But that's not the whole of it." Aggie--no, this is Dr. Priyati speaking--leans forward, and takes your hand, gingerly, with both of hers. [[Let her.]] [[Pull away.]]

Her fingers wrap into your palm and she presses her thumbs into your knuckles. Black-green stalks rise from the skin of your hand, swaying gently, sometimes experimentally brushing Dr. Priyati's brown skin. When they do this, you can feel it--they are part of you. The doctor remains calm, if rigid, looking down at the strange appendages, then back up to meet eyes with you. <<set $aggietouch to "yes">> [[Continue|You're my patient]]

You take your hand away and cross your arms, rubbing your biceps as though you're cold. Aggie looks down for a moment, and sighs. She rubs her forehead. "Ms. Ramos..." [[Continue|You're my patient]] <<set $aggietouch to "no">>

"Ms. Ramos, you are not just a shipmate or a curiosity to me. You are my patient. I won't lie, I consider myself very fortunate to get to work closely with you--and your alien--but your well-being comes first. Always. So whatever there is to know about the two of you, I'm going to know it. I'm going to be the authority on Jessica Ramos. Are you alright with that?" <<if $aggietouch == "yes">> Her thumb rolls against your knuckle bone reassuringly. <<elseif $aggietouch == "no">> She shifts nervously in her chair. The chairs in here all of a sudden seem very hard and uncomfortable. <</if>> [[Alright, doctor.|That's fine.]] [[I'd prefer you didn't.]]

Dr. Priyati frowns. "Then we may have a problem, Ms. Ramos." She suddenly becomes occupied with something on her tablet. "I shouldn't keep you any longer. We really need to get this mission on track. You should get back to the surface ASAP." [[Fine.|Leave the kitchen]]

"We simply don't know yet, Ms. Ramos," says Aggie. "And you've been reluctant to submit to invasive testing--which is fine," she quickly adds. "That's your right. Honestly, there's a great deal we might not know until after you're dead." She wags her index finger. "It reminds me a little of this book I'm reading, actually. You and your bioform are quite symbiotic of course, so it's not really the same, but... hrrm." [[What book are you reading?]]

Out in the main hall, you remember the Captain's request to come see him. It didn't sound urgent, though. [[Go see Gunner]] <<if not hasVisited("Shower")>>[[Shower]]<</if>> <<if not hasVisited("Go to your room")>>[[Go to your room]]<</if>> [[Back to the pod]]

You take the elevator down to the pod bay. The fiberglass containing the green armor hisses as it retracts. You put on each piece, the lifeform snaking out of your skin and filling in the gaps like a polymer. <<if $mental == "calm">>You're refreshed. You suit up with confidence. You pick up the rifle with gauntleted hands as though hoisting a lance ready to pierce the heart of a dragon. <<elseif $mental == "anxious">>You're as ready as you're gonna be. Put your head down and get it done. Just like any mission. <<elseif $mental == "panicattack">>When you slip the helmet on you can hear your own labored, almost pleading breaths inside of it. Like you want to cry. The thought of jumping out of the pod again...<</if>> Suit donned, shoulders enrobed, stock of your rifle tucked into your elbow; you enter the pod. [[Drop]]

"Yeah," Gunner mumbles. "You right there, Ramos?" He closes what he was doing on the computer, and swivels in his seat to face you. "You wanted to see me, sir." "Yeah." He's still rubbing his bearded chin. He looks away for a moment. "What do you reckon of all this, Jessica? How are you feeling about this assignment?" [[Pretty good.]] [[No opinion.]] [[Not great.]]

"Confident. I think the objective is noble. I think I'm the right person for the job. We should be able to pull it off." Gunner nods. "Good. Good. Confident is good. I think it's good work we're doing. Necessary." He nods some more, thoughtfully. He smacks his tongue. "Listen, I'd like to discuss something with you. It's sensitive. I'm nervous even showing my hand by asking, to be honest. Can you keep something between us? Not bring it up with Dr. Priyati?" [[Sir.|I can keep a secret]] [[I wouldn't be comfortable with that.]]

"Just doing what I'm told, sir. Get in and get out, as far as I'm concerned." Gunner purses his thick lips and nods. "That's what they like in a marine. At least you're the right tool for the job, hey?" He smirks. "Listen, I'd like to discuss something with you. It's sensitive. I'm nervous even showing my hand by asking, to be honest. Can you keep something between us? Not bring it up with Dr. Priyati?" [[Sir.|I can keep a secret]] [[I wouldn't be comfortable with that.]]

"I'm anxious. I don't know if what we're doing is right. I don't know if I'm the right person for the job. I don't feel good about going back down there." Gunner nods sympathetically. "That's fair. That's understandable. For what it's worth, Jessica, I think you are the right person. The only person. And I think it's necessary, what we're doing. If we don't do it, then the Veese will." Gunner leans forward, props on his knees. He looks at you squarely. "Listen, I'd like to discuss something with you. It's sensitive. I'm nervous even showing my hand by asking, to be honest. Can you keep something between us? Not bring it up with Dr. Priyati?" [[Sir.|I can keep a secret]] [[I wouldn't be comfortable with that.]]

"Good, good. Alright." Gunner glances out the windows into the beyond. Then back at you. "There's a real fucking problem, Jessica." [[Sir?|A real fucking problem]]

"I don't think we should be keeping secrets from each other, Captain." Gunner steeples his fingers and nods, pressing his tongue against the inside of his lips. "Right, then. Forget I said anything. Really." <<set $aggiesecret to "refused">> He pivots his chair back around, and wakes up the computer again. "You ought to get back down. Let's get things rolling properly, shall we?" [[Sir.|Leave the bridge]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

You pass through the circular portal and leave Captain Gunner to his puzzling. The diagonal door hisses and clamps shut behind you. <<if $aggiesecret == "refused">> Your heart thrums. You squeeze your hands into fists, then out again, stretching your fingers. You head toward the elevator to go back to the pod, back to the surface. [[Back to the pod]]<<else>>Aggie is here in the hallway, ducking into her lab. She sees you, and lifts her hand, a small wave, before touching the console to open the door. [[Say nothing.]] <<if hasVisited("A real fucking problem")>>[[Get her attention.]]<</if>> <</if>>

"At some point since we entered the system, we've not been in contact with command. Maybe not the entire time since we left. I've been sending messages back and forth with a bloody computer program. I figured it out when the thing started repeating itself. A little AI, just pretending to be..." He shakes his head, annoyed. "So nobody's been checking the system for Veese craft, nobody knows we got here safe, nobody back home has heard from us in I don't know how long." [[Are we back in contact now?]] [[Who did this? Why?]]

"No we aren't. Whatever program I was talking with also blocked communications back to command. That's what I've been arguing with here, trying to get us back online." He taps the console, a little harder than is necessary. [[Who did this? Why?]]

"Well, I can't make a call on that yet, Ms. Ramos. But I will just say that I am not ruling out Dr. Priyati, yeah?" [[What about me?]] [[What about someone back at command?]]

"Either of you are suspect, both having access to the flight computer... but, I made a call on this one which I hope I won't live to regret." Gunner crosses one leg over the other and leans back in his pilot's chair. "You're a bit of a loner, Jessica. You were a marine. Your only lingering allegiances--that I'm aware of--would be to command. You haven't got a sordid past, or unsavory associates, or any seditious tendencies on file. So I ruled you out as a suspect. I hope that doesn't make me a complete numpty." [[What about someone back at command?]] [[But you suspect Aggie?]]

"I would much prefer for that to be the case--a saboteur back at base. It's less likely because whoever did this would need the passwords for access to the flight computer, which are held only by myself and Dr. Priyati. A very competent hacker could cut through that as well, of course." He looks out the windows again, leaning over with his fingers laced together. "But, then they would have no control over what happens to us, and the mission, once we arrive here. Doesn't seem very efficient. There are more direct ways to jeopardize this mission." [[So you think it's Aggie.|But you suspect Aggie?]] [[It's still possible.]] [[What about me?]]

"Agatha's a bit spotty," says Gunner. "She's cleaned up her act, done a good job of putting distance between her and old co-conspirators, at least on her resume. She's got a very attractive set of skills, especially for this mission. But the girl's... I don't want to say she's trouble, but she had something of an anarchistic phase. Ties to far-right extremism, nasty stuff. There was a foiled plot to bomb a space station resort about fourteen years ago that some suspect she had a pivotal hand in, but she walked, no evidence. If they would've nailed her for that she'd still be inside." [[That doesn't sound like Aggie.]] [[Why wasn't I told about this?]] [[Cool.|I approve]]

"It is... but I just..." He shakes his head slightly, licks his lips. "I don't see it. Not yet." [[So you suspect Aggie.|But you suspect Aggie?]] [[What about me?]]

"She's done a lot to reinvent herself since then. Doesn't like to talk about it, and fair enough. Far as anyone can tell nowadays she just wants to help people, and I'd be happy to leave her to it. But..." Gunner runs his fingers across the computer console. "It's the old one about a tiger changing its stripes, innit?" [[Thank you for telling me.]]

"It's on file for certain higher-ups--I'm her superior on this assignment, so the big boss had a sit-down with me about it. Since she was never convicted of anything serious, command just treats it as a college activism phase and lets her be, doesn't make it a big deal. She does good work. But..." Gunner runs his fingers across the computer console. "It's the old one about a tiger changing its stripes, innit?" [[Thank you for telling me.]]

Gunner quirks an eyebrow. "Takes all sorts, I suppose." He doesn't sound sincere. "Lot of stuff in that file of hers I just couldn't see myself getting on board with, though. Seems like they would just replace an imperfect system with something worse." [[Thank you for telling me.]]

Gunner exhales heavily. "I hope I haven't made a mistake." He sits up straight. "You ought to get back down, Ms. Ramos. Not a word of this to Agatha, yeah? I haven't got enough to single her out yet." He swings his chair around and wakes up the computer console. "Let's get this thing rolling. Comms are still working, thank Jesus." [[Leave the bridge]] <<set $aggiesecret to "quiet">>

You wave back. Aggie offers a small smile. She disappears into her lab and the door seals behind her. Your heart thrums. You squeeze your hands into fists, then out again, stretching your fingers. You head toward the elevator to go back to the pod, back to the surface. [[Back to the pod]]

"Aggie, wait." She turns. "Oh! Yes?" You approach. She looks up at you curiously. [[Warn her.]] [[Accuse her.]]

"Gunner thinks you did something to the flight computer." Aggie turns her head in confusion. Her brown eyes peer up at you, eyebrows furrowed. "I don't understand?" "He thinks you may have sabotaged our line back to command, and he asked me not to tell you." Now her eyes widen. She looks to her right and her lips thin thoughtfully. They smack gently and she chooses her words carefully. "Thank you, Jessica," she says politely. "That's quite ridiculous." <<set $aggiesecret to "warned">> [[Okay.|Okay, Aggie]] [[Did you do it?]]

"Gunner knows what you're up to." She startles. "Excuse me?" "You sabotaged the flight computer. You're the only person who could have." Dr. Priyati balks, making a face like she's just walked into a room full of fresh dog shit. "Excuse me?" You cross your arms. She looks up at you; she's feeling the difference in your height. She backs away. She shakes her head, pursing her lips hard, biting down words. "Completely insane," she mutters, quite loud enough for you to hear. "Absolutely ridiculous." She disappears into her lab and shuts the door behind her. The console on this side bleeps and turns red. <<set $aggiesecret to "accused">> [[Go back to the surface|Back to the pod]]

Aggie offers a small smile. She disappears into her lab and the door seals behind her. You head toward the elevator to go back to the pod, back to the surface. [[Go back to the surface|Back to the pod]]

Dr. Priyati makes a face, ducking her lips, perturbed. "I have no idea what he's on about. We'll talk about it more later. Alright?" [[Okay, Aggie.|Okay, Aggie]]

The shower in your room at the clinic responded well to the temperature controls, not like your shower at home. Got hot fast, could be tuned precisely for comfort; at home, it sometimes took several minutes to warm up and there was perhaps a quarter inch between getting too hot and freezing. The pressure was strong, too, and you'd soak your face in it, drink it. Feel truly cleansed. Healthy. You found the clinic shower strange, in spite of its efficacy. There was no tub or dividing glass separating it from the toilet and sink, just a thin polyurethane curtain hanging from a rail. The water went everywhere, all across the tile. It put you in mind of a cell block or a barracks. That thought didn't depress you, as it once might have. It comforted you to feel part of a system, part of a plan. When you couldn't see an end to your suffering, it kept you afloat, to believe the clinic's plan would eventually begin to alleviate it. Your stay at the clinic was the first time you could remember actually showering every day. Sometimes twice a day. You tended to do it around lunch. You liked to put your handheld on the sink, and almost every day listen to the same song. 'Me and Mrs. Jones', covered by Daniella Miraj, an old soul song from over a hundred years ago. [[Return|Shower]]

You dig your handheld out of the crosshatch pouch, and take it with you to bed. <<set $handheld to "took">> [[Get into bed]]

You climb into the alcove and get on top of the blanket. When you nap you like to do that. Ostensibly it stops you from getting too comfortable and oversleeping, but really you're a weakling when it comes to the siren call of the pillow. You will oversleep. <<if $mental == "calm">>Would you like to [[open the window?]]<<elseif $mental == "anxious">>Do you want to[[open the window?]]<</if>> <<if $handheld == "took">>Would you like to [[look at your handheld?]] <</if>> [[Settle in]]

You push a thick black button. The shutter recedes upwards. You see Duat by the peculiar light from its black hole mother, that odd flying saucer bend of white and orange. Duat has continents the lilac of the desert you walked on, and oceans of black-blue ice. Looking upon the universe like this, from the safety of glass and a solid container, you feel mostly fine. But it frustrates and embarrasses you, thinking about the simple freedoms the illness took away.<<set $window to "open">> <<if $handheld == "took">>Would you like to [[look at your handheld?]]<</if>> [[Settle in]]

You thumb your handheld awake. There's not much you can do with it here, out in the space-boonies. Ship's not connected to lasernet for discretionary purposes. You browse through some photos; some old, like still-a-boy old, and most more recent. You started taking a lot more selfies after coming out. You wish you took more photos with friends; you wish you had more occasions to take photos with friends. You wish you had more friends. The agoraphobia dropped a nuclear bomb in your life that you spent a decade recovering from, and the last couple of years you've mostly been in and out of labs and doctor's offices. You know it's not your fault. But then why did you have such a hard time making friends in the corps? This is shitty to think about. <<if $mental == "calm">>Would you like to [[open the window?]]<<elseif $mental == "anxious">>Do you want to [[open the window?]]<</if>> Would you like [[something to listen to?]]

"Off," you tell the main lights. "Two hours." It becomes dark. The alcove becomes your refuge. You face the wall and duck inward. <<if $window == "open">>A million lights from eons past dimly illuminate your small space to a gloaming gray.<<else>>The only illumination comes from the pale blue emergency lighting lining the ceiling and floor, and the comm console.<</if>> You retreat into the cool pillow. <<if $mental == "panicattack">>You wish the mission was over. You wish you were leaving Duat. You wish you were far, far away from here...<</if>> [[Your sleep is dreamless.]] <<set $mental to "calm">>

"Jessica?" "Mmmnn," you groan. The lights are still off. You tuck your knees up. "Jessica," Gunner's voice coaxes over the comm. "Eggs and bakey, Ms. Ramos." A brief pause. "Jessicaaa." You sit up, rub your eyes. You yawn like a cat. You reach over to the comm. "Sir." "There's our girl. What say we get moving, hey?" "Is there really bacon and eggs?" "There is not." "Fucker." You lift up the hatch and climb down the ladder. <<if not hasVisited("Shower")>>[[Shower]]<</if>> [[Go see Gunner]] <<if not hasVisited("Talk to Aggie")>>[[Talk to Aggie]]<</if>> [[Go back to the surface|Back to the pod]] <<set $mental to "calm">> <<audio :playing stop>> <<audio ship play>>

You thumb to your music app. [[Rain sounds]] [[Noise music]] [[Classical]]

You conjure a palm-sized downpour. You have always, emphatically, preferred the real thing. But you won't get much of that in space. You're not sure you can remember the last time you heard real rain... [[Noise music]] [[Classical]] <<if $mental == "calm">> Would you like to [[open the window?]]<<elseif $mental == "anxious">>Do you want to [[open the window?]]<</if>> [[Settle in]] <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio rain play>>

Enveloping static fills the space between ethereal windchimes and something like the rhythmic knocking of a bamboo fountain. You've probably listened to this album fifty times. It well accentuates the monotonous drone of the ship. [[Rain sounds]] [[Classical]] <<if $mental == "calm">>Would you like to [[open the window?]]<<elseif $mental == "anxious">>Do you want to [[open the window?]]<</if>> [[Settle in]] <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio noise play>>

Your classical playlist is easy to drift off to, but additionally, listening to the stuffy old scores while in your ship billions of miles from home gives you a strangely invigorating sense of connection to your humanity. From Newton's apple to the FTL engine, here you are, turning the latest page on the story of man. "Fucking pretentious," you scoff, out loud. <<if $window == "open">>As well, though, looking out the window at space while hearing the meticulous and bright string melody soothes you, gives you a kind of reassurance in the balance of... well, everything. You gaze out at the silently, glacially unfolding universe.<</if>> [[Rain sounds]] [[Noise music]] <<if $mental == "calm">>Would you like to [[open the window?]]<<elseif $mental == "anxious">>Do you want to [[open the window?]]<</if>> [[Settle in]] <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio classical play>>

The pod rumbles and shakes as it hits the atmosphere. You take deep breaths, close your eyes. Try to remain centered, on this uncomfortable bench in this cramped pod, careening toward this desolate planet in a nowhere corner of space. "Ready to jump, Jessica?" Aggie asks in your ear. "As I'll ever be." The pod door opens. Howling wind blows and roars on blackness and stars, and the orange-white rim of Osiris. You don't hesitate. You rush and swan dive. [[Fall]] <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio startsong play>>

You are flying. You engage your back and leg jets. Your cape flows behind you. You are a superhero. There was a time when you couldn't even leave your bedroom. When you come close to the surface, you swing your legs down and brake. You make a comfortable landing, blasting a little crater in the purple sand. You breathe the cold air. The structure is just ahead. You've touched down almost close enough to touch it. "Landed," you tell the comm. "Moving on." [[Head toward the structure|Keep walking]]

"Acknowledged, Jessie," Aggie assures you from orbit. "About to enter the structure. Am I clear?" Gunner answers. "Read you lima charlie, Blackbird. You may proceed with entering the structure. Please try to maintain radio etiquette going forward, I know you've not been in marine uniform for some time but I try to run a clean operation. Over." "Sir. Roger, sir. Over." You tap your visor to switch to darkvision. The lilac world of Duat washes to emerald. [[Continue]] <<set $casualjess to $casualjess + 1>>

You tap your visor to switch to darkvision. The lilac world of Duat washes to emerald. "I'm about to enter the structure. How copy, over?" You hold your voice high in your throat, remember to push 'over the pencil'. "Lima charlie, Blackbird," Captain Gunner states pleasantly. "Over." "I can hear you, Jessica," says Aggie. [[Chide her]] [[Move on|Continue]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

You hear Aggie snigger-snort over the comm. You can also, somehow, hear Captain Gunner pinching the bridge of his handsome nose. "Blackbird." He pauses to rub his temples, you know it. "Marine." "Sir." "I know it's been a spell since you've been in uniform. But please. My blood pressure. Over." "Understood, sir." You suspect Dr. Priyati is discretely covering her mouth. You tap your visor to switch to darkvision. The lilac world of Duat washes to emerald. [[Continue]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>>

"Say again your last, Seagull? Over?" "Yes, let's have a little fucking decorum, shall we, Doctor Seagull? Over," Gunner agrees, playing up his exasperation. Aggie sighs. "Seagull reads you loud and clear, over." "Civvies, sir. Over." "Least someone around here's got their booties on." "You forgot to say over, over," Dr. Priyati points out with snide satisfaction. Gunner doesn't give her the satisfaction of a response. [[Continue]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

Aggie glances down at her cup, then back at you. The lifeform tells you that her heart rate raises slightly, she gives off a little more warmth from her skin. "Ms. Ramos! We'll have plenty of time for fraternizing when the mission is over. It's a long trip back to our system, after all. But perhaps we should focus on our professional duties?" [[Never mind. How are you?|How are you, Aggie?]] [[I should get going.|Leave the kitchen]] <<set $aggiecrush to "yes">>

"I'm taking fire. I say again, I am taking fire and I'm pinned, over." Veese blaster bolts sizzle over your shoulder. Aggie's voice is shrill in your ear. "Jessica! Get out of there! Oh, my goodness--is that your arm?" "Negative, Blackbird. Are you in any shape to engage? How badly are you hit? Over." You hear the Veese keening and screeing. You look down at what remains of your left arm. A coat of blood has spattered your chest and cape, as well as the corner of your visor. You must fire back. [[Regenerate]] [[Send mass to the right arm]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

You tell her nothing. "Blackbird," says Captain Gunner, calmly, sternly. "Confirm presence of hostiles. I say again, Jessica, confirm hostile presence, over." You hear the Veese keening and screeing. You look down at what remains of your left arm. A coat of blood has spattered your chest and cape, as well as the corner of your visor. You must fire back. [[Regenerate]] [[Send mass to the right arm]] <<set $casualjess to $casualjess + 1>>

You keep the pressure on. You keep your eyes right down the sight, and keep firing. You advance. The first Veese drops to the ground, face lit up with bright green-white shreds in your nightvision. The other lizard turns tail and flees for the ample cover of the taniwha statues. Your boots come down over the body of the fallen Veese. Hot white blood pools about the thick neck on the stone floor. You feel the suit begin the not-painless process of growing back your left arm. [[Tap the brain|Double-tap]] [[Hunt for the other one immediately]]

You don't wait. You capitalize. The Veese tries to fire at your lunging form and they shoot wide. You tackle them to the stone floor. You're on top of them. They're pinned. You drop your rifle and go for the knife sheathed on your left hip. They're trying, futilely, to center up their own gun at this close range. It's stupid and pointless. You jam the blade into their brain like their skull is a melon. The Veese goes limp, their rifle clattering on the ground, blood covering your hands and face, glowing white in the nightvision. Both brains destroyed; neither Veese getting back up. Well done. [[Continue|Both dead]]

Your arm is still reforming and you can't hold your aim steady. You pepper the single remaining Veese, but they slip away into the cover of the statues. Sensation wriggles in what feels like the beginning of a new thumb. "Blackbird. Status report. Over." [[Answer.]] [[Hunt for the Veese.]]

"I've returned fire. One target down. Lost visual on the other. Over." "Acknowledged, Blackbird, proceed--" <<if hasVisited("I'm hit")>>You feel the burn of two bolts in the left shoulder, then the weight of a Veese body leaping out of the dark and toppling you to the ground. [[Continue|Bitten to death (Game Over)]] <</if>> <<if not hasVisited("I'm hit")>>You pay for the distraction. You feel the burn of two bolts in the left shoulder. You wheel to face the Veese. They charge, shrieking at you, out of the darkness. [[Shoot the legs]] [[Shoot the head]] <</if>> <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>> <<set $injury to $injury + 1>>

You ignore the comm. No time. Rifle up, you hunt. You double-time it, but don't rush. You don't want to get caught out. You swing your rifle left, right. Check everywhere with the infrared flashlight. You point your light down long, dark paths, between the innumerable taniwha statues. Minute dust dances in the beam every which way you look. A minute passes. Then another. [[Continue|One Veese escapes]]

You and the Veese wrestle on the stone floor like badly-behaved children. The lizard screams in your face, shit-stinking breath steaming your visor. "Jessica! Jessica!" Its palm slams repeatedly up into your chin. Your helmet's seal breaks with a soda-can burst and the Veese pushes it off you. The face, you think, urging the lifeform. Cover our face-- You don't think it fast enough. The Veese's alligator-like jaws snap into your flesh, into your bone. Into your forehead, your eye socket, your cheeks. They crush. You're not sure if you're screaming. The lifeform is rushing to your aid, trying to force the Veese off, get into the bite wounds--but it's pointless. The venom is in. The pathogen can't be fought. It's right in your skull already; it slices through your blood-brain barrier in seconds. The last thing you acknowledge hearing with your conscious mind is the tinny sound of Aggie screaming your name from inside the discarded helmet. <<back[[Try again|Look around]]>>

You can't hope for a pinpoint shot with your arm still a horrific mess. You spray and pray for the lower half. It works a treat. The rushing Veese topples forward like a puppet with its strings suddenly cut. God, the noises these things make. Worse than nails on a chalkboard, worse than babies crying. The Veese drags itself along on its ruined kneecaps, blood trailing behind it glowing white on your nightvision. This shot is fish in a barrel. You blow it away; face, brain, everything. [[Continue|Both dead]]

You aim for the head. You can't hold your rifle steady with your half-formed hand. You shoot wide. Out of the dark the reptile comes lunging for you, screaming, knocking your rifle clear out of your grip and toppling you to the ground. Ferocious claws scrape at your armor. The creature's violent keening makes it hard for you to think. It snaps with its jaws. If those fangs get bare skin, you're gone. [[Continue|Bitten to death (Game Over)]]

The hall of qilin statues falls mercifully silent. No more Veese gunfire, no more Veese screeching. Now you just hear your labored breathing. Your breaths comes slower as you disengage from the combat. Your heart rate, in the bottom left corner of your visor, still shows continuous knife-point spikes. Fingers are forming at the end of your regrown arm. The skin is beginning to come back; it's fresh, pink, pale. Doesn't match the rest of you at all. The Captain clears his throat softly. "Status report, Blackbird." [[Both hostiles are neutralized, sir.|Both are dead sir]] [[Nothing but net.]] <<set $veeseduo to "bothdead">> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio exploration play>>

You hear a keening, a screech, somewhere quite distant. You wonder if it's just an echo. Scratching feet; like rats in the walls of a house. The second Veese has run away, from you, and your gun. "Son of a bitch." Your blood is still up, and now you're paranoid. That one will warn the others you're coming; he might set a trap for you, too. The Captain clears his throat softly. "Status report, Blackbird." [[One hostile unaccounted for, sir.|One dead sir]] [[I'm rusty.]] <<set $veeseduo to "onealive">> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio exploration play>>

You point your plasma rifle downwards, like a shovel. You aim straight for the brain. You execute a pair of triple-shot bursts without a moment's pause, making a white starburst on the dusty stone. One Veese not getting back up. Your regrowing arm tingles and throbs uncomfortably, as though waking up from anaesthetic. You don't have to hunt long for the remaining Veese; out of the dark the reptile comes lunging for you, screaming, knocking your rifle clear out of your grip and toppling you to the ground. Ferocious claws scrape at your armor. The creature's violent keening makes it hard for you to think. It snaps with its jaws. If those fangs get bare skin, you're gone. [[Shove your arm in its mouth]] [[Draw your knife]]

You sweep with your mounted flashlight. You take hesitant steps between the eyeless quadruped statues. You've lost track of both Veese. It seems they've fled. They will warn the others that you're coming. They might also come back for you. The Captain clears his throat softly. "Status report, Blackbird." [[Lost visual on targets.]] [[Fucked, sir.]] <<set $veeseduo to "bothalive">> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio exploration play>>

You jam your armored forearm between the Veese's powerful jaws. You feel the crushing pressure. But they're nowhere near sharp enough to penetrate to your skin, not strong enough to break your bone, through the suit. Your left arm isn't regrown yet. You don't have a hand. But you've got enough of it back that maybe... You try. You shove your regenerating, black-green stump down there and the lifeform gloms to the knife handle, grows around it, getting as solid a grip as you could ask for. You pull the knife free and jam it sideways into the Veese's skull. It slides in like a pin to a pincushion. The lizard abruptly ceases all movement, its considerable weight slumping onto you. You wriggle around underneath. You roll the body off. You push to your feet. [[Continue|Both dead]]

You slump against a taniwha statue. "Both of 'em got away, sir. Over." "We've got a real situation on our hands, then. They'll alert their comrades. We might be walking into a nest of the bastards." Dr. Priyati pipes up. "Captain, you know we have no intelligence to suggest they live in nests." "Far as I'm concerned we have no intelligence suggesting they don't live in nests." "Actually..." "Call it a figure of speech, Doctor Seagull, my concern is our asset's preparedness to walk into a concentrated force of these bloody things." "Sir." You breathe out. That came out instinctively and sounded too deep. You raise your pitch. "I'm prepared." That was a little better. Gunner exhales, hard. "Alright. Proceed." [[Continue|You should come back]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

"Completely fucked the dog." "Well let's not mince words, marine." "Lost an arm and both hostiles got away. Complete disaster." You hear Gunner curse softly, trying to hide it. "That's a real problem, Jessica. They'll be off to tell their mates." "Probably the deepest shit I've ever been in. Never lost a whole arm before." You breathe laborously, burning off the adrenaline. "Finger and thumb, once." [[Continue|You should come back]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>>

The fear from your quick recovery didn't last long. You tag the injured one again, but the other holds their ground. You walk straight into oncoming fire. First they blast one of your knees out, then shoot a smoking hole straight through your visor and into your brain. You crumple. The lifeform cannot rebuild your brain. You will not be buried. You will decay to a skeleton inside the suit, in this old tomb in a distant system. <<back[[Try again|Look around]]>>

You set on the trail of the fleeing Veese without hesitation. Every seccond counts. This room is gigantic, and deep dark, and there are so many of these damn statues. You listen out for the telltale sounds of scrabbling, clawed feet; throaty, reptilian screeching; or, worst-case scenario, laser fire. You move slowly, and quietly. You find yourself coming around in a circle. The spill of brightly-illuminated blood lies at your feet once more, but now there is no Veese. They have healed enough to pick themselves up and move on. You'd better hope they both don't turn right around and surround you. [[Continue|Both escape]]

You try to go for the combat knife sheathed on your left hip, but with only the one arm you have nothing left to fight off the reptile, and it leaves you vulnerable. That was an unwise move. [[Continue|Bitten to death (Game Over)]]

"Brains confirmed destroyed, over?" "Brains destroyed, sir. Over." <<if hasVisited("Shove your arm in its mouth")>>"I'd like a proper tap on that last one, just for my own peace of mind, if you don't object. The knife kill. Over." "Oog," Aggie quibbles. "Is that necessary, Captain?" "It certainly is, Doctor Seagull. I've seen them come back from worse. Proceed, Blackbird." You turn and gaze down at the departed Veese. The reptilian eyes are unsettlingly vacant. You fire. The head bursts like a rotten pumpkin.<<else>> "Surely you saw all that mess," says Aggie, shuddering. "Blugh."<</if>> "Well done, marine. Top job." You look at what remains of the lower jaw, the confetti of brain and skull matter. Just matter now, like these qilin statues, thanks to you. Will the bodies rot? There's some kind of air here--the Veese can breathe it, and so can you, thanks to the lifeform--but truth be told you don't know if that's enough. All the microbes around here are inside of you and the lizards. Could you rot, in this alien air? You're woolgathering. Ask the doctor later. [[Continue|How is your arm]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

You squat down next to the Veese body, examine the destroyed head. The rest of the lizard is cocooned safely in its smooth, armored uniform; you'll simply have to touch the gore. You reach out, and press your nascent finger-stalks into the ruined pulp of the lower jaw and neck. The lifeform appears on your skin like a rapidly-growing mold. In under a minute it has engulfed the entirety of what remained of the Veese's head and disappeared underneath the neck of its armor. The black-green stuff seethes and sucks. In another minute, it recedes back into you. Everything above the Veese's shoulders has been picked clean; it even took some of the spine and the entire remaining jawbone, leaving clean, almost artful cross-sections. "Got a tune-up, Captain." You flex your new, finished hand for the camera. You crack your knuckles. Your hand looks just the same as its predecessor but for the light, Caucasian-esque tone of its skin. The rest of the Veese biomass has been taken and stored away as muscle and fat deposits. [[Continue|Cover your arm]] <<set $injury to 0>> <<set $squeamishjess to "no">>

The lifeform communicates with you, in its unusual, wordless way: the Veese pathogens aren't communicable in this fashion. The bite, the venom sacs, are the only known method of infection. It will disintegrate the heavily keratinized reptilian epidermis, the muscles, maybe some bone--calcium, collagen and the like... break it down, turn it around and make it usable for you. Remake your arm. How that actually progresses in your head is more like "Veese... sacs... no. Touch lizard... eat... make. For you." Yet you gather the nuance, the implication of the particular roughness of the reptilian skin, the cleansing process of the lifeform's digestion. You needn't be concerned about catching Veese. [[That sounds disgusting. I won't do it.|That's disgusting.]] [[Save the corpse in case we need it later.|Saving it for later.]]

"Took out the other. Over." "Right. Well that's put a fly in our jam, hasn't it. He'll be off to tell his mates. There's no telling how big of an operation they've set up already. Proceed with utmost caution, Blackbird, over." "Roger that, sir." [[Continue|How is your arm]]

You pop the seething thermal clip from your rifle; it jumps like a spring and lands, glowing, on the ground. Like the Veese glow stick that preceded this whole mess. Fresh ones, cool to the touch as clay and carbon-black, sit in sleeve-pouches on your waist; you'll need to finish growing back your hand to reload. Gunner exhales, exasperated. "Blackbird, I'm an Aussie rules man, I don't know from nets. Can I take this to mean the hostiles are neutralized? Over." <<if $strictjess >= $sillyjess>> "Affirmative, sir. Just riding a little high on the adrenaline." "Well. Nice work, marine. But keep your head about you." <<else>> "Just like exercises, boss." "I, I can't work like this. I simply can't."<</if>> [[Continue|How is your arm]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>>

You pound your plasma rifle with your regenerating stump, and pop out the red-hot thermal clip. Fresh ones, cool to the touch as clay and carbon-black, sit in sleeves on your waist; you'll need to finish growing back your hand to reload. "Haven't held one of these in a while. One target down, the other slipped away." "Bugger it. Now one of them's gone to warn the others, I wouldn't let them get the drop on you again," Gunner warns. "Or you'll lose more than an arm, I expect." [[Continue|How is your arm]] <<set $casualjess to $casualjess + 1>>

You flex your nearly-formed, unarmored fingers. They tingle. Your arm is just about done. You figure you can do without vamping off another body for the time being. You'll be looking lean--you suspect your ribs are starting to show underneath your chestplate--and if you take another laser in the side you're absolutely going to need to feed. But for now you're still standing. You can leave this one here in case you need it later. As you think all of this, the lifeform considers it. It disagrees. It would rather see you fat and healthy now. It doesn't have much of a mind for tactics. (You've been frequently told by researchers working on you that it doesn't have a mind at all.) "It'll heal, Captain. Proceeding with mission, over." "Acknowledged. One problem, however." [[Continue|Cover your arm]]

Some part of you--the part that is now inhabited by a wriggling black-and-green alien--sighs, indignantly flails, huffs its frustration in the back of your peculiarly plural mind. You've had this argument before. The lifeform is only trying to protect you, nurture you, keep you healthy and strong. The lifeform dearly wishes you would get over it and let it perform its perfectly natural functions. Your refusal to comply makes the lifeform annoyed, and persistent. You experience that in the way one might have a fiendish craving for chocolate, or a cigarette. A dopamine itch for lizard-man flesh. "Walking it off, Condor." Aggie sighs. "I'm biting my tongue." "Your call to make, Blackbird. One small issue, however." [[Continue|Cover your arm]] <<set $squeamishjess to "yes">>

"How is your arm, Jessica?" Aggie asks pertinently. "Are you able to...?" You look at the incomplete ruin of your left hand. Fingers are forming. The skin is beginning to come back, like moss on a log; it's fresh, pink, pale. Doesn't match the rest of you at all. The visual feeds back to the ship. "Stabilizing." You flex what there is of the still-forming fingers. Completing the arm will take much stored fat, sap you of much-needed energy. Without a Veese corpse to siphon off, you'll be running on fumes. "I'd like Jessica to come back to the ship," says Aggie. "She's badly injured. She needs protein." "Negative, Doctor Seagull. Time has just become a pressing factor in this operation. Blackbird, you are to continue the dive unless you require immediate medical attention, please acknowledge instructions. Over." <<if $strictjess >= $casualjess>> [[Roger that, Condor One.|Cover your arm]] <<else>> [[Got it.|Cover your arm]] <</if>>

"That new arm looks like a good place to get bitten," says Gunner. "Can we do something about that?" You were thinking the same thing. The alien agrees. It promptly emerges, swirling around your regenerated limb until the pale skin is hidden and your whole arm is black. It feels like a too-tight rubber glove all the way up to your bicep. "So fascinating," breathes Dr. Priyati. "Could she just cover herself with it? Stop anything getting in. Seems prudent." "If she covers too much of her body she'll overheat," says Aggie. "The suit is designed to balance armor coverage with the lifeform as efficiently as possible. It's all in the supplementary material, Captain, you really should have a look." "The suit manual? Seemed like a doorstop. Need a PhD in bloody biochemistry to get past the first page." "I'd have been happy to go through it with you..." "Just spoil the ending for me, save time, Seagull. Who sits on the iron throne?" "Really, Captain." [[Continue|Go deeper]]

"Jessica, how is your arm?" asks Dr. Priyati. "Let me see it." You look at the incomplete ruin of your left hand. Fingers are forming. The skin is beginning to come back, like moss on a log; it's fresh, pink, pale. Doesn't match the rest of you at all. The visual feeds back to the ship. "Stabilizing," you say, flatly. You flex what there is of the still-shaping fingers. "If possible I'd like for you to return to the ship," says Aggie. "You're badly hurt. You need protein." "Negative, Doctor Seagull. Time has just become a pressing factor in this operation. Blackbird, how are we handling your arm situation? Over." Your arm throbs. You feel the lifeform reaching out, experience its... you call it hunger, but it doesn't feel like hunger the way you know it. To you it's like an intrusive thought, like 'run your finger across this light switch', or 'steer your car into oncoming traffic'. It's telling you, there's a Veese corpse over there, and we need nutrients. [[Absorb a Veese]] [[I'm not doing that.|Go without]]

It's time to continue the dive. You search the qilin-statue chamber with your infrared flashlight, plasma rifle hoisted forward and ready. You hold up the front end with your left hand, wrapped protectively in skintight black like the long glove of a ballroom dancer. The trigger and stock are in your right, that arm encased in layers of alloys and composite plastics. You find at least one exit to this huge chamber, in one of its far corners. A squared archway leading into darkness. <<if $veeseduo == "bothdead">>Another Veese glowstick lies impotent within its breadth.<</if>> "Keeping radio chatter to a minimum going forward, Condor. Need to stay alert." "And quiet," agrees the captain. "Roger that, Blackbird. Out." [[Go this way]] [[Keep looking]]

You walk down a short hallway, and it isn't long before you come to a wide flight of stairs leading downwards, into more dark. Carvings on the wall near your ankles depict something resembling waves or quarter-moons. Much of the masonry is cracked and crumbling. [[Go back|Go deeper]] [[Go down the stairs]]

You keep searching. There's got to be more to this chamber. You find another exit, much the same as the first. This one is caved in beyond use. Entropy is laying claim to the abandoned structure. It is sagging under the weight of time such that the cracks are beginning to show. It would be wise to claim your objective and leave swiftly. You head to the other set of stairs, and descend. [[Go down|Go this way]]

Descending further into another crypt-like hallway doesn't give you any more clues as to the original purpose of this place. Is it a crypt, some kind of tomb? A temple? You infer some religious purpose, comparing it to similar structures on Earth; you can't help but think of the pyramids in both Egypt and Mesoamerica. All entreaties to the gods, places to connect with the beyond. To inter--or contact--the dead. You put away your train of thought. Following the wall, a repeating pattern of relief carvings depict blank, life-sized humanoid figures. Their heads are upside-down triangles. Halfway down the hall a huge crack appears, a silent, shattering lightning bolt through one of the humanoid reliefs. Pointing your light down the hall, you can see another set of stairs, wider, but no less dark. <<if $veeseduo == "bothdead">>You see another glowstick resting at the top of the stairs.<</if>> [[Inspect the crack]] [[Use the stairs|Go down more stairs]]

You descend a flight of broad, curling stairs. Intricate patterns decorate the walls. You think you must go down two stories. You cannot see around the corner. You step carefully. Soon, very faint light throbs up ahead and the stairs come to an end. They open into a high-ceilinged chamber the size of a church or theater, complete with a curving balcony. The light comes from the dim lanterns of a small Veese encampment. <<if $veeseduo == "bothdead">>[[Examine the camp|Stairs Jessica advantage]]<<else>>You don't have time to stare. They're prepared for your arrival--eagerly awaiting, in fact. Rectelliptical white muzzles brighten, about to fire. [[Engage the Veese|Stairs Veese advantage]] <</if>> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio veese play>>

You point your light into the crack. It goes straight through to another room on the other side. Even with your armor plates on, you think you might be able to squeeze through. [[Go back|Go down the stairs]] [[Slip through the crack]]

You try and fit yourself through. Black arm first. You drag your rifle in your right hand. You hear your cape scraping the stone at your back, the gun clattering as it follows you through. You suck in your stomach. <<if $squeamishjess == "yes" or $veeseduo == "bothalive">>You're rather thin at the moment, mass depleted from that skirmish--you don't have to suck very hard.<</if>> For a minute, you're wedged in there pretty tight. Stuck in the dark, your visor unable to gather any errant light. You shift and shuffle, and you make it. <<if $veeseduo == "bothalive" or $veeseduo == "onealive">>[[Continue|Bomb goes off]]<<else>>[[Continue|Bomb safe]]<</if>>

You step out onto a long, curved balcony of pillars and arches, overlooking a great dark chamber the size of a large church or theater. Then you see the flash of a muzzle, just in time to jerk away, the laser shredding the air so close to your face and shoulder that the lifeform rushes to your skin in response. A fist-sized chunk of stone explodes from the wall behind you. <<if $veeseduo == "bothalive">> <<set $veesecamp to 5>> There's so many of them, half a dozen maybe. The enemy fire is overwhelming. You cry out; a bolt sears across your side. <<set $injury to $injury + 1>><<elseif $veeseduo == "onealive">><<set $veesecamp to 4>><</if>> You reach cover behind one of the pillars. You carefully peer out at the battlefield for a quick assessment of your options. Among the crates and cables stands a cylindrical generator. If you aim carefully... [[Shoot the generator|Blow up generator 1]] [[Play it safe|Fire from cover]] <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio veese play>>

You step out onto a long, curved balcony of pillars and arches, overlooking a great dark chamber the size of a large church or theater. The shape of it, the architecture briefly pulls at a thread of memory like a fingernail, when you were young and [[still on Earth.]] Then you take stock. The light comes from the lanterns of a Veese encampment. A half-circle tent three or four meters long stands to the right. A dozen or so large durable crates of who-knows-what rest everywhere. Half a dozen lanterns connected by cables rest on top of them. The cables lead to a generator, humming away idly. Most importantly, there are three armed Veese standing around doing nothing. [[Shoot the generator|Blow up generator 2]] [[Pick one off|Snipe one 1]] <<set $veesecamp to 3>>

You fire on the cylindrical generator. The machine blows, and one Veese soldier goes flying like a ragdoll from a blue-white fist of an explosion. You wince from the noise, blinking away from the flash of light. You look back down on the camp. The other two have somehow vanished in the confusion. The blown generator has made a dense cloud of charcoal-colored smoke that is now spreading across the camp. You've got hostiles unaccounted for. [[Take cover|Move behind a pillar]] [[Switch to thermal|Try to spot the target]] <<set $generator to "blown">> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio veese play>>

You thumb the selector switch to go to single-fire mode, pick a lizard, and stare down the sight. The lifeform, wrapped around your left arm like a silk glove, assists without asking by holding your aim perfectly still. You pop a reptile straight through the skull. The others shriek and look feverishly for the source of the shot. While they're panicked you might have time to take out another one. [[Take cover|Move behind a pillar]] [[Press the advantage|Try to pick off another]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio veese play>>

You take cover safely behind a pillar. <<if lastVisited("Blow up generator 2")>>It's quiet. You hear your breath, feel it warm the air around your mouth inside the helmet. You're wasting time.<<else>>Pulse bolts lash the stone, sending detritus flying. The architecture is old and fragile, and you should not rely on it for long.<</if>> You can easily force control of this situation, with aggressive action. [[Jump down from the balcony]]

You slowly exhale. You try to get a bead on a second Veese, but they're moving around frenetically, frantically searching--for you. You take another shot--and shoot wide, hitting a crate. You curse. They see the laser cut through the air, and quickly ascertain your position. They lift their bulky rifles and fire back. An elliptical pulse bolt cuts your shoulder painfully. [[Take cover|Move behind a pillar]] [[Jump down from the balcony]] <<set $injury to $injury + 1>>

You activate your thermal vision, hoping you can get a bead on the missing reptiles. But it's no good. These cold-blooded creatures are unique, needing practically no body heat to survive, able to persist in the most austere environments. In the throat of this towering old edifice, cold as the grave, you'd be looking for a glimpse of a dim blue blob. Through the smoke, you get nothing. An elliptical pulse bolt appears out of the dark, vooms through the air and slices your left shoulder. You curse, wheeling back behind the safety of the stone pillar. The suit sends black mass to the wound to try and stem the blood flow. You'll have to go down there and fight the little shit yourself. <<set $injury to $injury + 1>> [[Jump down from the balcony]]

You poke your head out, and take aim for the generator. The lifeform, wrapped around your left arm like a silk glove, holds your aim steady. You fire. The machine blows, and two Veese soldiers go flying like ragdolls from a blue-white fist of an explosion. You wince from the noise. A dense cloud of charcoal-colored smoke begins to spread across the camp. <<if $veeseduo == "bothalive">><<set $injury to $injury + 1>>There's just too many of them! You pay dearly for leaving cover. Another plasma bolt pierces your right shoulder. <</if>><<if $injury >= 3>> [[Continue|Too many hits Game Over]] <<else>> The Veese continue to blast away, chipping chunks off the pillar. This position won't remain tenable, but moving isn't safe, either. [[Move|Change cover]] [[Stay behind cover]] <</if>> <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>> <<set $generator to "blown">>

You play it safe. You get into a firefight with the Veese, peppering their camp with careful bursts. You manage to pick one off with a lucky headshot; they stayed out of cover too long and you made them pay for it. But the lizards have you pinned down. Chunks of stone are flying off your pillar as the Veese pulse bolts hammer it like hail. How are you going to shift the balance, here? [[Look for a new position|Change cover]] [[Stick it out|Stay behind cover]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>>

Your vitals flash red and the warning siren trills. You drop to one knee and clutch your side; you've taken too much punishment. The lifeform rushes to cover the wounds, tries with a little success to dull the pain. You feel your heartbeat in the blood that pumps out of the holes in you. You can't stay awake... <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

Moving isn't safe, but staying behind this shrinking pillar is worse. You break into a sprint across the balcony, heading for the next stone pillar. Shots fly past you and hit the wall. They'll lead the next one. A bolt slices the air above your head just as you duck, and slide into the safety of the pillar. [[Shoot back|Pick off another]]

The pillar thins. Its value as cover is now next to useless; a bolt pierces your nanoweave cape and through to your left shoulder. <<set $injury to $injury + 1>><<if $injury >= 3>> [[Continue|Too many hits Game Over]] <<else>> <<if $veeseduo == "bothalive">> You take out another one. The odds are shifting. But you can't stay here. <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>> <</if>> You need to move. [[Seek new cover|Change cover]] [[Jump down from the balcony]] <</if>>

You're wresting control of the encounter from the Veese. You have time to lean out, carefully line up a shot, and pick off a lizard soldier with a single burst. It's time to go down there and finish this. [[Jump down from the balcony]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>>

Now you're in another long, narrow chamber. You step over the remains of a stone body; the debris of the torso and arms. It takes you a moment to identify the sundered head. You tell it by the eye and mouth carved into one side, on the bulbous skull. The right half of the head is missing. When you look up, you sweep your flashlight and see a dozen or more statues like the broken one at your feet, complete and standing silent on plinths set in arched alcoves. Point your flashlight down the passageway and you see even more. Behind you, too. Some are missing hands, their heads, an arm. Cracked and worn by the passage of time. Their thick triangular heads remind you of, but are not exactly like, hammerhead sharks. An immense fist of noise rattles your skull and makes your heart skip. The world in your visor bleaches white. Then you feel like you're being beaten, pummeled and forced to the ground by an implacable mob. The suit protects your bones from breaking, your skull from caving in. <<if $injury >= 1>> [[A trap.|Can't crawl out Game Over]] <<else>> [[A trap.|Crawl out]] <</if>>

Now you're in another long, narrow chamber. You step over the remains of a stone body; the debris of the torso and arms. It takes you a moment to identify the sundered head. You tell it by the eye and mouth carved into one side, on the bulbous skull. The right half of the head is missing. When you look up, you sweep your flashlight and see a dozen or more statues like the broken one at your feet, complete and standing silent on plinths set in arched alcoves. Point your flashlight down the passageway and you see even more. Behind you, too. Some are missing hands, their heads, an arm. Cracked and worn by the passage of time. Their thick triangular heads remind you of, but are not exactly like, hammerhead sharks. You find a narrow doorway at the end of this chamber. Something out there seems faintly brighter than in here. [[Go through|Balcony Jessica advantage]]

"Blackbird... Blackbird? Please respond, over." "Jessica!" The hunks of stone have crushed all the air out of your lungs. You push and pull against the floor, struggle to move your shoulders. The lifeform tries to reinforce your muscles with what little energy your body has left, give you the push you need to drag yourself out of the cave-in. It's no good. The voices in your ear warble as if through a thick membrane. You slip out of consciousness. [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]

You hear the wind get punched out of you, hear yourself wheeze when you hit the floor. You drop your rifle. You're dazed. You feel like a god has their foot stuck in your back. A cave-in. Those Veese set you a trap. "Blackbird. Blackbird, are you still with us, over?" "Jessica! Are you alright?" You take a difficult, labored breath. "Affirmative, Condor. Just... a hiccup." The lifeform sends help to your arms and legs, bolsters the muscles and bones trying to free you from the pile-up. The stones shift by centimeters. You scrape and wriggle. It takes a minute, but you manage to claw yourself out from under the fallen stone. You shake yourself off, try to get your bearings. You pick up your gun again. "You'll have alerted them, if there's more," says Gunner. "They might be coming for you. Watch yourself, yeah?" "Copy that, sir." You find a narrow doorway at the end of this chamber. Something out there seems faintly brighter than in here. [[Continue|Balcony Veese advantage]]

The school got you great seats, near the stage, but you really wanted to sit in one of those booths. "I'd really love to sit in one of those," you said, elbow up on the seat next to you, tipping your buzz-cut head up at the private boxes. You glanced back to Sarah for approval. She chuckled. You wanted to steal the seashell pin out of her dirty blonde hair and let it flow down to her shoulders. [[Continue|Italy 2]] <<return "Stop thinking about this.">>

You had had what could be called an actual conversation with Sarah in the hotel lobby, before the opera, among the clamor of your fellow students; she had explained that Carmen was one of the most accessible operas for beginners, and you said that was good news for you, because you were a meathead. She laughed, and disagreed--said you were just fifteen and you had read Dhalgren. She knew a fact about you. You had only read a quarter of it, of course, and you corrected her, and she said "Well, still." You didn't manage to sit next to her on the bus. You were sitting next to her now, in the theater. You were taller than her and in your suit sometimes during that opera you felt like a man, taking a woman out for a good time. Other times you felt like a fifteen-year-old sitting next to a seventeen-year-old, dreaming. Just dreaming like an idiot. You looked at her a lot during Carmen. If she ever looked at you, you did not catch her. She watched that opera with the same intent, studying eyes as she did the painting; when you sidled up beside her, dreaming just as vividly, not breaking her gaze then, either. That's what this has been about. Not Sarah; that [[painting.|Italy 3]] <<if hasVisited("Stairs Jessica advantage")>>[[Stop thinking about this|Stairs Jessica advantage]]<</if>><<if hasVisited("Balcony Jessica advantage")>>[[Stop thinking about this|Balcony Jessica advantage]]<</if>>

<img src="images/venus.jpg"> Were you jealous of her hair? Maybe so. It was a hologram, not the real painting--the real one had been destroyed in the fire from a Veese attack, along with another 40% of the museum's collection--but you yearned to reach out and feel the texture of her skin, the curve of her belly. It was her face, though, the pink cheeks and strong jawline, that you standing and staring long after Sarah had moved on. You took a shower in your hotel room. Drying yourself, walking carelessly naked past the bed, you peered down at the Birth of Venus postcard you'd bought, resting there. You looked at yourself in the closet's full-length mirror. You approached the mirror, towel slung around your neck. For no conscious reason, you pushed your chest together to make breasts. You tilted your head and pouted your lips just a little, adopting a wistful expression. You cocked your hips, set your feet like you were standing in the clamshell yourself. A knock at the door frightened you into hiding. "Fuck!" "Housekeeping?" a man's voice asked in a heavy Italian accent. You swallowed. "No! No, not right now, thank you." <<if hasVisited("Stairs Jessica advantage")>>[[Stop thinking about this|Stairs Jessica advantage]]<</if>><<if hasVisited("Balcony Jessica advantage")>>[[Return|Balcony Jessica advantage]]<</if>>

The shape of this chamber, the pillars and arches of the balcony, briefly pull at a thread of memory like a fingernail, when you were young and [[still on Earth.]] Then you take stock of the Veese camp. A half-circle tent three or four meters long stands to the right. A dozen or so large durable crates of who-knows-what rest everywhere. Half a dozen lanterns connected by cables rest on top of them. The cables lead to a generator, humming away idly. Most importantly, there are three armed Veese standing around doing nothing. Two of them are right next to the generator. The opening move is obvious. [[Shoot the generator|Blow up generator 3]] <<set $veesecamp to 3>>

Veese lasers shimmer and shriek past you, hammering the stone steps like a hail storm. You twist in time to avoid being hit; two bolts tear a hole in your cape. [[Move back|Back up the stairs]] [[Look for cover]] <<if $veeseduo == "bothalive">> <<set $veesecamp to 5>> <<elseif $veeseduo == "onealive">> <<set $veesecamp to 4>> <</if>>

A well-placed triple-shot burst blows the cylindrical generator. Veese shrieks mix with the ear-splitting boom. The lights go out. You see at least one of the Veese caught by the explosion, thrown against the ground with its limbs ragdolled. Neutralized, but not dead. They will heal and get back up in short order. The remaining lizard, on the opposite end of the camp, hisses and fans out a neck frill, threatening you. It fires three oval projectiles at you. You twist away. The bolts whip past and slice smoking dents in the stairs behind you. The generator explosion causes a sizeable cloud of thick gray smoke to spread around the camp. [[Stay put and shoot back]] [[Shoot while moving in]] <<set $generator to "blown">> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio veese play>>

This position is untenable. You back quickly up the stairs while returning fire. You manage to hit a couple of crates. The fire stops; the creatures organize and give chase. You can finally take a moment and observe the odds. <<if $veesecamp == 5>>Looks like there's about five of them.<<elseif $veesecamp == 4>>You count four.<</if>> You can try and hold them in the stairwell, or run. Maybe you can find a more defensible position. [[Flee]] [[Back up and fire back]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>>

The nearest available cover seems to be the big crates in the camp; the Veese themselves are using some of them. You charge forward, firing back, ready to slide for the scant safety of the nearest crate. It's a hopeless situation; you're overwhelmed. Pulse fire cuts you down in your tracks. You drop your rifle, and fall to the stone ground full of holes. The Veese crowd around you, and blast away at your maimed body just to be sure. <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

You drop to a knee and aim for the head. The Veese takes cover behind a crate. You suppress. Whatever is in the box has smoking holes in it now. The lizard then takes off--its claw-footed run reminds you of a bird--and disappears into the cloud of smoke caused by the explosion of the generator. You fire blindly into the smoke. You don't know if you hit anything. [[Take cover behind a crate|Take cover behind a crate]] [[Move into the smoke|Veese in the smoke]] [[Circle the camp]]

You fire one burst after another while keeping a careful pace toward the camp. The lizard takes cover behind a crate, then darts behind another one when you've shot the box full of glowing white holes. You can't get a bead on them, but for now you have control. You step over one of the Veese knocked aside by the generator explosion. Almost as an afterthought, you point your pulse rifle downward and tap the skull with a quick burst, exploding it like a rotten pumpkin. Now, back to the other one. [[Take cover in the smoke|Veese in the smoke]] [[Take cover behind a crate|Take cover behind a crate]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>>

You move with purpose into the charcoal-colored fog. You can see the tip of your gun, but not much else. Fingers and wisps of smoke whip and swirl around the beam of your infrared light. You switch to your thermal vision. Your own arm lights up red and yellow, and your gun hot as a microwave; but you see nothing else. These cold-blooded creatures are unique, needing practically no body heat to survive, able to persist in the most austere environments. In the throat of this towering old edifice, cold as the grave, you might get a glimpse of a dim blue blob. Through the smoke, you get nothing. Hearing the scratch of claws behind you, you whip around and fire blind. You shoot wide. A dark blue form knocks you to the ground, and you feel your helmet wrenched loose. [[Fight back]]

You stick your left hand in their gaping, shrieking mouth. You take hold of the lower jaw. The suit sends you some extra strength, just to ensure you a good firm grip. The jaws snap shut on your hand; the teeth can't pierce the second skin. The creature claws at your hand, your arm, your face. Your right arm is freed. You reach for your combat knife. It worked before. It's a fine strategy again. You jam the blade into the side of the lizard's skull. It collapses against you, twitching. You push them over. Drool from their slack mouth stains your armored shoulder. You flip over, and crawl toward your plasma rifle. <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>> <<if $veesecamp >= 2>> You take a blow to the head. What next? [[React|Overpowered game over]] <<else>> You recover your gun and replace your helmet. The lifeform recedes from your face and neck. "Status, Blackbird," Gunner asks calmly. "Good to see you made it," he adds. [[Execute remaining Veese 2]] <</if>>

With your free hand, you go for the combat knife on your left hip. It worked once. It leaves you open. The Veese grabs your shoulders and slams your exposed head against the stone, dazing you. Then the clawed fingers are in your mouth. Piercing your tongue and lower gums... The creature rips off your lower jaw. You hyperventilate. You feel yourself screaming. The lifeform floods you with calming chemicals. It can fix this, it promises. This would kill a normal person, but not you. You try to fight your way out from under the lizard. You grow high and bleary from the lifeform's attempts to soothe. The Veese draws a simple sidearm, a pistol, and jams it under your upper jaw. You are executed. The suit cannot repair your brain. <<back [[Try Again|Go down the stairs]]>>

You duck behind one of the bulky crates. Staccato rifle blasts carve its corner. You peer around the side, sweeping the breadth of the camp with your infrared flashlight. <<if $veesecamp >= 3>> You catch a glimpse of one mark darting out of the smoke cloud. Before you can fire, you hear the rasping shriek of another one behind you and to the left. You swing around. Your world is suddenly far too bright. You take two blasts in the chest and crumple to the ground. [[Continue|Overpowered 2]] <<else>> [[Continue|Survey the camp]] <</if>>

<<if lastVisited("Two Veese remain stairs")>>You need a safe place to reload and regroup.<<else>>This is useless. You're outnumbered. You need a choke point.<</if>> You turn and sprint up the stairs. The lifeform gives you inhuman stamina. This only puts you on par with the Veese pursuers. You hear them screeing in the stairwell behind you, their claws scratching on the stone steps. You reach the hallway. You don't break stride. The crack in the wall you saw earlier blows open in an explosion of debris and dust. A horned Veese slips out. They look left and right. They catch sight of you and lift their rifle. [[Engage them]]

You back carefully up the steps, putting the enemy around the corner. You cannot see them; but they cannot see you either. In a moment they reappear, swarming in the stairwell like a <<if $veesecamp == 4>>four<<elseif $veesecamp == 3>>three<</if>>-headed hydra. Your left is safely shielded by the stair column and you may be able to hold them off while they're clumped like this. [[Look for another strategy|Shoot stone]] [[Focus on the enemy|Skirmish]]

You slow your sprint. You train your rifle on the ambusher. You fire, but they duck and weave forward and you only graze them. They are blocking your path forward. You hear scratching footsteps behind you and whip around; the other Veese have caught up. You are in a pincer. You fire at the one in front of you, and hit them in the chest. They stagger, but they shoot back and hit you as well. You take shots in the chest and in the back. You fall to your knees. The Veese surround you, and fire until there's nothing left. <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

You keep the fire coming, and so do they. They're tightening the gap between you. You need to make some kind of play, here. You think of all the crumbling masonry you've witnessed during your exploration. You quickly examine the walls, the ceiling. What luck: an unhealthy-looking crack runs like a thick vein just overhead. You back up until the Veese are beneath it, and spray the ceiling. Torso-sized hunks of stone rain down, burying two of your pursuers. You see one of them have their skull crushed like a melon. <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 2>> <<if $veesecamp >= 2>> <<set $injury to $injury + 1>> The others press on, heedless of their comrades' misfortune. You feel an oval plasma bolt sear your chest. A black scar melts into the green cuirass.<</if>> <<if $veesecamp == 2>> [[Two left.|Two Veese remain stairs]] <<elseif $veesecamp == 1>> [[One to go.|One Veese remains stairs]] <</if>>

You shoot, and shoot, and shoot. You hold your ground, ceding and repositioning on the stairwell inch by inch. You even drop one of the lizards. But it's no good; your thermal clip is about to burn out. You need to swap it. And when you do, that's when they get you. They swarm. Just as you jam in the new clip one of them leaps on you and your pulse rounds hit ceiling. They crowd around and blow you to pieces like fish in a barrel. <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

You and the single remaining Veese soldier push each other to a stalemate. They're too agile, and you're too adept at using your small amount of cover. Neither of you can gain any ground. There's a problem, though. Your thermal clip reads 94% heat. You have maybe a dozen shots before you need to reload. There's no way to do it discreetly; they'll capitalize. You think of two strategies. You can try and disarm them with a precision shot. Or you can charge them--maybe the suit could give you the physical edge to overpower them. [[Disarm]] <<if $squeamishjess == "no">> [[Charge them|Bulk up and charge]] <<else>> [[Charge them]] <</if>>

You hold off the two remaining Veese. It's a stalemate. Nobody gains ground. But your thermal clip reads 90% heat. You're going to have to stop and reload--and that's when you'll die. 93%. 95%. You have two options. [[Find another position|Flee]] [[Switch to single-fire]]

The clip can take enough heat for maybe a dozen more rounds. You have to make them count. You thumb the selector switch to single-fire mode. You sidestep out into the middle of the stairs. You look down the sights. The lifeform covering your left arm assists without being asked by holding your aim perfectly still. You pop one lizard straight through the eye; a blood firework, grainy white in your nightvision, bursts behind their head. You duck and strafe to your left in anticipation of the remaining Veese firing back. A pulse bolt lashes the air over your right shoulder. You come up, level your rifle again, find your mark and fire. You miss by a hair. You swiftly readjust, and fire again. This time you nail them. It's quiet again, but for your near-panicked breathing, which you now hear perfectly. "Yes!" Aggie yelps in your ear, making you jump. "Yes! Thank the gods, Jessica!" <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp -2>> [[Continue|How many Veese were there? 2]]

This one-on-one game of grab-ass is getting nowhere. You're gonna take the bastard down. As you prepare to charge, the lifeform sends mass to your leg muscles and upper arms. Then you close the distance like a rugby player at a sprint. You hit the Veese so hard they drop their rifle, and slam into the wall, their skull bouncing off the stone. You take two steps back and level your rifle, carving a smooth path of bullets from their sternup to their head. Splattering the wall with blood, the last remaining Veese drops to the steps. "Yes!" Aggie yelps in your ear, making you jump. "Yes! Thank the gods, Jessica!" <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>> [[How many Veese were there? 1]]

You sidestep out from cover. Moving to your right, you take careful aim, not for the Veese's body, but for their weapon. Their bulky pulse rifle makes for a wide target. With a single burst from your own rifle you destroy theirs--it blows apart in a shower of electrical sparks, causing its user to leap back and shield their face. This piece of standard-issue Veese weaponry is powerful, but flimsy. With the time you buy from surprising them, you line up a clean headshot. Veese blood paints the ancient stone wall, and the enemy drops to the steps, landing at an awkward angle, an undignified death. "Yes!" Aggie yelps in your ear, making you jump. "Yes! Thank the gods, Jessica!" <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>> [[Continue|How many Veese were there? 1]]

This one-on-one game of grab-ass is getting nowhere. You're gonna take the bastard down. You wait for the moment the Veese stop firing, and charge. You cover the distance in an agonizing two, perhaps three seconds; you feel the weight of the milliseconds sagging between you and the lizard, you curse the heaviness of your armored legs. If the lifeform had some more mass to work with... You slam into the lizard and push them against the wall, but you're no match for the natural physical strength of the Veese. They swing their rifle butt and knock you across the face, putting just enough distance between the two of you to blast you in the head at point blank range. The remains of your helmeted head resemble a shelled nut. <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

With your ears perked for any sudden clicking of claws on stone or throaty reptilian growling, you anxiously begin your search of the Veese camp. <<if $generator == "blown">>You search by the invisible beam of infrared flashlight.<<else>>The lanterns placed around the camp provide some light, and you experimentally turn off your nightvision. For the first time you see the interior of the structure in color.<</if>> You move to inspect a crate that has been riddled by pulse fire. A lantern has fallen to the ground, lying on its side, unharmed. You pop the latch and lift the lid. "Rations," you report to your comm, peering down at the tightly-packed containers. A number of them have been damaged and sprayed a syrupy <<if $generator == "blown">>goo or sauce<<else>>brown goo<</if>> all over. [[Choose another crate]]

You wheel around to the left. You arc around the encampment, firing periodically into the smoke. You neither see or hear any sign of your opponent. After completing a semicircle around the camp, you step over one of the Veese knocked down by the generator explosion. Almost as an afterthought, you point your pulse rifle downward and tap the skull with a quick burst, exploding it like a rotten pumpkin. Now, back to the other one. [[Take cover behind a crate|Take cover behind a crate]] [[Search the smoke|Veese in the smoke]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>>

The remaining unconscious Veese woke up. You have neither the time nor are you in position to do anything. A clawed foot steps on your back, shoving you into the stone. A Veese rifle blows your head open at point blank. <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

The foam between your forehead and the helmet is slick with sweat. Your breaths are coming heavy. You search the camp for the last Veese, the one thrown by the generator explosion. <<if $strictjess >= $casualjess>> "Situation stable, Condor. Just one more thing..." <<else>> "Just a second, sir." <</if>> You find the remaining Veese warrior face-down at the foot of the canvas tent. You feel a brief spike of anxiety noticing that they are gently moving, gurgling, staring out from glazed eyes. A guttural squawk comes out from between scaled lips. [[Put it down,|The Deer]] you think. And then you do, splashing blood on your armored boots. "All hostiles neutralized, Captain." [[Investigate camp]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio camp play>>

It's dead quiet. You switch to thermal vision, but you don't expect it to be much help; these cold-blooded creatures are unique, needing practically no body heat to survive, able to persist in the most austere environments. In the throat of this towering old edifice, cold as the grave, you might get a glimpse of a dim blue blob. Right now, you see nothing. You speculate the target must be hiding in the smoke cloud. [[Shoot into the smoke|Spray n Pray Game Over]] [[Wait for the smoke to clear|Wait for smoke]]

You stand, and fire with as much confidence as you can muster into the smoke cloud. You sweep at chest height, aiming to hit a nice solid chunk of center body mass. Four bursts, five. You receive no indication that you hit anything except tent canvas and stone on the far walls. You feel, suddenly, exposed; like there's miles of space around you, between you and safety. You're out in the open. You look for new cover. You don't make it. While you were spraying into the smoke, the Veese repositioned entirely, and you gave yourself away. You feel a punch of white-hot heat at your back, lasers shredding through your nanoweave cape and hitting your armor. You drop from the force, barely hanging onto your rifle. You try to get back up, but what must be the Veese's foot lands in your back and pins you to the ground. Without hesitating they shoot you in the back of the head. <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

You sit still, poised to fire, waiting for the cloud to dissipate. The lifeform, wrapped around your left arm like a long glove, assists by holding your aim steady. You wait. The smoke will not clear. You need to go looking for the mark. You get up, and prepare to go hunting in the smoke--and a dazzling pulse bolt rips across your solar plexus. They were more patient. <<set $injury to $injury + 1>> <<if $injury >= 3>> [[Continue|Blasted to death Game Over]] <<else>> [[Fire back]] <</if>>

You suck it up. You can take it. You fire back into the smoke, where the shot came from. You hear the target shriek. That's as good a sign as any that you hit. You advance steadily and keep firing, aiming to put so many holes in the bastard he can no longer stand. Then you'll have as many luxurious seconds as you like to finish him properly. Eventually the reptilian shrieks stop, and you take your finger off the trigger. The stone chamber, you comprehend in that moment, is enormous and hollow. You feel its breadth and emptiness. In the thinning smoke you find the writhing Veese, riddled with smoking pulse rifle wounds, holes pierced through its frills. If you leave it here for five minutes, the armor will still be shot to hell but its wounds will have sealed up and it'll be back on its feet. You destroy the head, and remove that possibility. "Status, Blackbird," Gunner says calmly in your ear. "Everything under control, now?" [[Continue|Execute remaining Veese 2]]

Your vitals flash red and the warning siren trills. You drop to one knee and clutch your side; you've taken too much punishment. The lifeform rushes to cover the wound, tries with a little success to dull the pain. The frill-necked Veese comes sprinting out of the smoke on clawed feet and batters you across the face with the butt of their rifle; even through the helmet, you are briefly stunned. Knocked for a loop long enough for them to blow your head off. The remains of your helmeted head resemble a shelled nut. <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

"Jessica," says Gunner, "Fantastic you made it. Status?" <<if $injury >= 1>> You hold your side, and grunt. <<if $sillyjess >= $strictjess>> "Fucked up, but walking."<<else>>"Taken some fire, Captain. But ready to proceed."<</if>><<elseif $injury == 0>> You pop your neck.<<if $sillyjess >= $strictjess>> "They had me in the first half, I'm not gonna lie." "But you are on top of the situation, Blackbird?" sighs Gunner. "Sir."<<else>> "Unharmed, Captain. It got hot down there, but I'm in one piece. Over."<</if>><</if>> You pop the spent thermal clip, and graciously take your time loading a fresh, cool one. "Glad to hear it, Blackbird. Let me get some details for the record. Visual was complete chaos." "Sir." "You descended the stairs, and found a Veese installment." "That's right." "But you neutralized the threat? Did you get a head count?" [[There were three Veese.|Veese count 1]] [[There were four Veese.|Veese count 2]] <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio camp play>>

Jessica fails to account for a missing Veese. "Roger that. Logged." Gunner clears his throat. "We've yet to ascertain the size of this Veese operation. Recommend sweeping the camp for any useful intel and returning to the Persepolis for fresh armaments. Then we can discuss a way forward." "Sir." [[Investigate camp]] <<set $sneakyveese to "unprepared">>

Jessica correctly counts that one Veese is missing. "One is missing," you state. "I counted four." You look over your shoulder, at the dark up the stairwell. "Nasty, sneaky little buggers," says Gunner. "Stay on your guard, yeah?" "You shouldn't speak of them so..." Aggie pipes up. She seems not to know how to finish her sentence. "So what, Doctor?" "Your language. It's just... dehumanizing." "Have you not noticed they aren't human?" Dr. Priyati sighs, and does not press the matter. [[Investigate camp]] <<set $sneakyveese to "prepared">>

"Jessica," says Gunner, "Fantastic you made it. Status?" <<if $injury >= 1>> You hold your side, and grunt. <<if $sillyjess >= $strictjess>> "Fucked up, but walking."<<else>>"Taken some fire, Captain. But ready to proceed."<</if>><<elseif $injury == 0>> You pop your neck.<<if $sillyjess >= $strictjess>> "They had me in the first half, I'm not gonna lie." "But you are on top of the situation, Blackbird?" sighs Gunner. "Sir."<<else>> "Unharmed, Captain. It got hot down there, but I'm in one piece. Over."<</if>><</if>> You pop the spent thermal clip, and graciously take your time loading a fresh, cool one. "Glad to hear it, Blackbird. Let me get some details for the record. Visual was complete chaos." "Sir." "You descended the stairs, and found a Veese installment." "That's right." "But you neutralized the threat? Did you get a head count?" [[There were four Veese.|Veese count 3]] [[There were five Veese. |Veese count 4]] <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio camp play>>

"Four. Two pinned under the cave-in, two shot in the head." "Roger that. Logged." Gunner clears his throat. "We've yet to ascertain the size of this Veese operation. Recommend sweeping the camp for any useful intel and returning to the Persepolis for fresh armaments. Then we can discuss a way forward." "Sir." [[Investigate camp]] <<set $sneakyveese to "unprepared">>

You think. Two under the stone, two shot in the head... "One is missing," you state. "I counted five." You look over your shoulder, at the dark up the stairwell. "Nasty, sneaky little buggers," says Gunner. "Stay on your guard, yeah?" "You shouldn't speak of them so..." Aggie pipes up. She seems not to know how to finish her sentence. "So what, Doctor?" "Your language. It's just... dehumanizing." "Have you not noticed they aren't human?" Dr. Priyati sighs, and does not press the matter. [[Investigate camp]] <<set $sneakyveese to "prepared">>

You leap over the edge of the balcony, falling two stories with your cape flapping behind you. The armor's pads and joints effortlessly absorb the impact of your landing. You hit the floor of the chamber running and raise your rifle, ready to meet the enemy. [[Continue|Two Veese remain]]

<<if $generator == "blown">> The smoke cloud has sent your vision of the battlefield, frankly, to shit. You can't find the remaining Veese. You slow your approach, advancing carefully toward the loose collection of crates and cables. [[Continue|Smoke fight]] <<else>> You take cover behind one of the large, durable crates. They pin you down; you have a strong position, but two against one is still formidable odds. One of them is standing next to that generator you saw earlier. That seems like the way to break the stalemate. [[Shoot generator]] <</if>>

As you step gingerly toward the edge of the cloud, you hear a guttural shriek. You hear it milliseconds before a Veese warrior with a horned crest comes sprinting out of the smoke on superhumanly agile feet. Their clawed hands are outstretched, their teeth bared. They lunge. It was enough time for you to react. You swerve out of the way and duck, firing in a clean arc. You draw a line from their neck to their pelvis. They fly to the ground as if thrown. You move fast. You descend on them and shoot the head. You do it twice just to be sure--this one's skull is bulkier than usual. Then you pivot back toward the smoke. [[Search the smoke|Hide in the smoke]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>>

A well-placed triple-shot burst blows the cylindrical generator. Veese shrieks mix with the ear-splitting boom. A dense cloud of charcoal-colored smoke begins to spread across the camp. One of them goes flying like a ragdoll. A plasma bolt bites you in the side. The longer you draw this out, the worse it's going to go for you. You need to finish it. <<set $injury to $injury + 1>><<if $injury >=3>> [[Too many hits Game Over]] <</else>> You lose track of the remaining Veese in the expanding smoke cloud. [[Search the smoke|Hide in the smoke]] <</if>> <<set $generator to "blown">>

You move with purpose into the charcoal-colored fog. You can see the tip of your gun, but not much else. Fingers and wisps of smoke whip and swirl around the beam of your infrared light. Hearing the scratch of claws behind you, you whip around and shoot blind. <<if hasVisited("Smoke fight")>>Chalk up another one.<</if>> The reptile runs, screaming a war cry, straight into your line of fire--and drops. You stare down at its motionless bulk, making sure you got it in the head. One shot seems to have gone into its mouth, out the side of its skull and through its wide, papery neck frill. You're pretty sure the brain is beyond repair. You swallow and bite your tongue. You blast it one more time just to be sure. "Status, Blackbird," Gunner says calmly in your ear. "Everything under control, now?" [[Continue|Execute remaining Veese 1]]

The foam between your forehead and the helmet is slick with sweat. Your breaths are coming heavy. You search the camp for the last remaining Veese. <<if $strictjess >= $casualjess>> "Situation stable, Condor. Just one more thing..." <<else>> "Just a second, sir." <</if>> You find the remaining Veese warrior face-down at the foot of the canvas tent. You feel a brief spike of anxiety noticing that they are gently moving, gurgling, staring out from glazed eyes. A guttural squawk comes out from between scaled lips. [[Put it down,|The Deer]] you think. And then you do, blood splashing on your armored boots. "All hostiles neutralized, Captain." [[Investigate camp]] <<set $veesecamp to $veesecamp - 1>> <<audio :playing fadeout>> <<audio camp play>>

You drop your rifle. The smoky air stinks. Face, you think quickly while you fight off the Veese's snapping jaws. The suit crawls up your exposed neck and across your face to protect you from a potential bite. It thrashes at your cheeks with its claws, and drags away black-green slime, which is quickly replaced. The creature pins your armored right arm to the ground with surprising strength. It screams at you, flaring its huge fan of frills. [[Grab their open jaw]] [[Go for your knife|Reach for knife Game Over]]

Your vitals flash red. The warning siren trills. In your dazed vision, you see three reptile heads surround you, as if welcoming you to Hell. Then you see the peculiar muzzles of their alien rifles. They blast you to pieces. <<back [[Try again|Go down the stairs]]>>

It was your first time holding a gun. Its weight pulled the carrying strap into your shoulder; it was old-fashioned, real solid ammunition, not lasers. It was cool. Solid black, a sophisticated sight mounted on top. Your cousin and uncle each carried one just like it. All three wore silencers on their barrels. "Woo-loo-woo!" Your cousin cupped her hand around her mouth and made an impressive bird call. Uncle Ryan smacked her on the shoulder. "Shut the fuck up, Shan!" She snickered, loudly smacking chewing gum. You were supposed to stay absolutely quiet; it wasn't actually hunting season. That's why you were walking out there the back way through the forest, and not driving. Your cousin, taller than you and pretty as a valkyrie, elbowed you in the ribs. "Jeez, you're a skinny little shit, #######." She ruffled the wool beanie covering your ratty, long hair. You took the bullying without complaint. [[Continue|The Deer 2]] <<return "Stop thinking about this">>

"Beautiful," said Uncle Ryan, "Isn't he?" "Gaylord." Ryan looked over from his rifle sight and scowled at Shannon. "You little cuss." She grinned and laughed through her nose. She eyed down her sight at the buck. You copied her, gazing at the deer through the crosshairs, red dot in the center. You leaned away and tried to look at it from far away, instead. Your breath fogged in front of your face. Shannon's rifle made a gassy pop. The deer convulsed, kicked up its hind legs and bucked like a frightened rodeo horse. It took off into the trees. Ryan hit her on the shoulder. "You fucken missed." "No I didn't! I got it." "You just grazed 'im." "No! I got him. I got him in the neck. Come on." Shannon shook your shoulder. "Come on, dumbass." [[Continue|The Deer 3]] <<if hasVisited("Execute remaining Veese 1")>>[[Stop thinking about this|Execute remaining Veese 1]]<</if>> <<if hasVisited("Execute remaining Veese 2")>>[[Stop thinking about this|Execute remaining Veese 2]]<</if>>

Shannon had hit him true; the buck left a blood trail. You followed it for twenty, perhaps thirty minutes. You were beginning to get tired of walking, but you didn't say so. "There!" Shannon yelped. You found the buck collapsed against a snowbank. The bullet in its ribs had finally sapped the last of its strength, and it failed to climb this final, small hill. Its side rose and fell rapidly, blood trickling out of the hole in its side and into the snow. It made you anxious, made your own heart race in sympathy, watching the deer cling desperately to life. "Put it down, Shan," said Uncle Ryan. Shannon bit her lip. "Make dumbass do it," she said through a dry throat, kicking your ankle. "He hasn't fired all day. That was the whole point, right? For him to shoot something?" Your eyes widened. Uncle Ryan looked at you. "You want to, #######?" "I mean, [[sure|The Deer 4]]?" <<if hasVisited("Execute remaining Veese 1")>>[[Stop thinking about this|Execute remaining Veese 1]]<</if>> <<if hasVisited("Execute remaining Veese 2")>>[[Stop thinking about this|Execute remaining Veese 2]]<</if>>

Then before you knew it you were staring down the barrel at the buck's skull, its oblivious wet eye blinking at the unfeeling sun. You were swallowing lumps and licking your dry lips. Your aim kept wavering like a ship on choppy water. "You need help, #######?" asked Uncle Ryan. "Come on, dipshit. Half my friends at school iced their first deer before they got their period." "Shan, shut the fuck up." "I'm just sayin'..." "Easy does it, #######. Right through the skull." You closed your eyes as you slid your finger over the trigger. Then you opened them again. No. You would at least look while you did it. You owed the creature that much. You squeezed and the gun leapt in your hands, the stock punching you in the shoulder. The top of the deer's head became a ragged, strawberry jam-looking mess. You breathed out shakily. "Good job, #######, good job." "I thought he wasn't gonna do it." "Shut the fuck up, Shan." You kind of hoped it would be the last time you held a gun. <<if hasVisited("Execute remaining Veese 1")>>[[Return|Execute remaining Veese 1]]<</if>> <<if hasVisited("Execute remaining Veese 2")>>[[Return|Execute remaining Veese 2]]<</if>>

You pick another crate, a long one. "Guns." You pass your left hand curiously over a Veese rifle, feeling the ridges of its large muzzle. "Reckon they're settling in?" Gunner asks. "Seems like they want to set up a forward base. Over." [[Couldn't say, sir.]] [[Not for long.]]

"I don't know why they'd want to stay. Over." "Finding out just became a priority," says Gunner. "Blackbird, do me a favor and check the tent. Over." [[Inspect the tent]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

"We'll burn the fuckers out before they can set up their little nest." "Strong attitude, Blackbird, I'll stick a gold star in your report for enthusiasm. Over." "Thank you, sir." "We haven't ascertained the size of their operation yet. It might just be this rickety little camp, or there might be a hive of them. You're one marine, Jessica. Over." [[Understood.]] [[I'm a vampire slayer, sir.]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>>

The tent is long, semicircular and black. You approach from one end. The flap is unzipped. Breathing quietly, you gently push your way in, the business end of your plasma rifle preceding you. The tent seems to be empty of any Veese. The Veese don't seem to sleep on cots or in bags or anything resembling the comfort you're used to as a human being. There are simply seven flat, thin mats, not unlike you'd see in a gym, laid neatly on the stone. You wonder if they even take their armor off to sleep, in these tight confines. "On their homeworld they slept on grass and sand," says Aggie, noticing you staring at the accommodations. "The mats must provide just the right amount of softness." The sleeping arrangements seem direly uncomfortable to you, but right away you recognize the purpose of the objects casually strewn around the mats like toys. You can't tell what some of them are, but right away you think: belongings. A knapsack, a container of half-eaten rations, a toothbrush of all things, a tablet computer. This tent housed army grunts and these are their things. "A toothbrush?" says Aggie, suddenly alight with emotion and agitation. "Is that--was that a toothbrush?" [[Yes, ma'am.|The toothbrush]] [[Who cares?]]

"Stowing the bravado, Captain. Over." "Not all the way, I hope. You'll need some of that tartiness if you want to survive this. Over." You smirk. "Roger that, sir." "Blackbird, do me a favor and look into that tent, would you? Over." [[Inspect the tent]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

"The soundtrack to my life is permanent stoner doom metal and Veese screaming in agony. Even during meals. Over." "Really, Jessica," says Aggie, her disapproval well apparent. "I'm afraid I have to concur with Dr. Seagull on this one. Blackbird, if you can hear me over the downtuned eight-stringers, would you mind investigating that tent for me?" [[Inspect the tent]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>>

"It sure is a toothbrush. What are you thinking?" "This could be an unprecedented glimpse into the inner lives of the Veese." "We have our mission, Doctor Seagull, we need to remain focused." "Jessica. Let me see the toothbrush." Gunner balks. "Are you having a laugh, Agatha?" "Pick it up. Let me see it." [[Pick up the toothbrush]]

"Probably a piece of garbage." "Pick it up, Jessica, pick it up." "Dr. Seagull, is this really a prudent use of time?" Gunner sounds irritable. "This is extremely crucial strategic intelligence, to say nothing of the anthropological significance. Jessica, pick up the toothbrush." [[Pick up the toothbrush]]

You pick up the toothbrush and hold it close so Aggie can see it. It's made of neon green plastic twisted with purple and has a tongue-cleaner pad on the back of the head. You twist it and turn it carefully so she can see each bristle. "Satisfied?" asks Gunner. "How do you suppose they got this, Captain? Why do you think they have it?" "Scavenged it from a dead human, I imagine. Liked the pretty colors." "They're not--" Dr. Priyati takes a breath to calm herself. "They aren't a mindless horde, Captain, and I wish you would acknowledge that. They are organized and intelligent. Look at Jessica's surroundings, for goodness' sake. This Veese had a toothbrush because it wanted a toothbrush. To clean its teeth. We are dealing with an intelligent race." [[We can reason with them.]] [[No we aren't.]]

"If they're enough like us to brush their teeth, maybe they're more like us than we thought. Maybe we can learn to talk to them. I see what Aggie means." "They operate spaceships and laser rifles," says Gunner, impatiently. "I don't see what's special about a toothbrush." "Up to this point we've presumed the Veese to do nothing but infect, and kill, and spread," explains Aggie. "This toothbrush makes the difference, Captain--please excuse me--the difference between a Borg and a Klingon." Gunner smacks his tongue. "Could you translate that into Doctor Who for me?" "I--no, I can't," Aggie admits, sadly. When Gunner exhales it sounds as though a sarcophagus lid is pressing all the remaining air out of him. "Jessica, it's your prerogative." He adds "Over," numbly. [[Aggie is right.]] [[The toothbrush is a waste of time.]]

"Cavemen cleaned their teeth," you say. "This doesn't prove anything. If we find toothpaste, then we have something to talk about." "Then bring it back," says Aggie. "I'll test it. I'll see if there's evidence of recent toothpaste use." You can practically hear Gunner rubbing his forehead, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Agatha, you cannot be serious." "I'm invested in this. This is a milestone discovery. Humanity views the Veese as single-minded, killing carnivores. To suggest they entertain such worries as hygiene, or even vanity? Captain, Jessica must bring me that toothbrush." When Gunner exhales it sounds as though a sarcophagus lid is pressing all the remaining air out of him. "Jessica, it's your prerogative." He adds "Over," numbly. [[Aggie is right.]] [[The toothbrush is a waste of time.]]

"I'll bring you the toothbrush, Aggie. I think you might be right." Aggie breathes out in relief. "Thank you, Jessie. Really." "Make it quick, Jessica." You take a couple of minutes looking for something suitable to wrap the toothbrush in. You can't find anything. You put it in your belt next to your spare thermal clips. Aggie protests, but it's the best you can do. [[Continue|The food]] <<set $toothbrush to "yes">>

"We don't have time for this. Sorry, Aggie." The pause before Dr. Priyati speaks is brief, but in it you hear the frustration of quiet surrender. "You are both glossing over a... an unheard of scientific, potentially diplomatic, discovery. I hope you understand the weight of your inaction." "This isn't a scientific nor a diplomatic mission, Dr. Priyati," Gunner answers, keeping a level head. "This will all be recorded in the mission logs, including the discovery of the apparatus. Please feel at liberty to add your own commentary." "Of course, Captain," says Aggie, bitterly. [[Continue|The food]] <<set $toothbrush to "no">>

You search the rest of the tent. You pick up the tablet computer you noticed earlier, a chunky gray thing. A minute's fumbling with it and you figure out how to bring something onto the liquid crystal screen. Its display is primitive, monochrome. The letters on the random page of text are made up of the Roman alphabet and Mandarin Chinese. Though you're able to read the characters, they spell nonsense, monosyllabic Veese language constructed in the mutated remains of a Wernicke's Area. Like building a shelter out of the shattered bricks of a destroyed castle. A castle they destroyed themselves. There's a container in the corner of the tent that you notice on your way to leave. It's like a smaller version of the crates outside, one you could carry under one arm. Its latch is undone and its lid peeking slightly open. It's like you smell something delicious. You're drawn to it. No--the lifeform is telling you to go look in that box. You, we, need to go look in there. It's important. [[Look in the crate]]

You kneel down, and flip up the lid. Inside there's a vacuum-sealed bag. You lift the corner and feel its consistency with your thumb. The contents are gelatinous, mushy, and black. The lifeform is buzzing around your mind. You both know what this is. "Jessica?" says Aggie. "Is that...?" "Yes." You snap the lid shut and pick up the small crate. You move mass to your right arm so you can aim your rifle with one hand. "What is it, Blackbird?" "I'm coming back to the ship, Captain. We'll talk about it there." [[Leave the tent|You are holding a baby]]

You are holding a baby. [[What?]]

The left. [[Okay, good.|A crying baby]] [[Drop it|Drop the baby]]

The baby in the crook of your left arm wakes up gently from a nap. She makes a cranky groan, batting her round fists at the air. She's hungry. What will you do? [[I have no idea.]] [[Offer my breast.]] [[Drop it.|Drop the baby]]

You're right. You're carrying the crate. You gaze down, nonplussed, at the crate. Well. Okay. [[Continue|Seeing things]]

Thankfully, you're not holding a baby. You're holding a crate. You always were. Weird. [[Okay, good.|Seeing things]]

Would that even work? You've always had trouble thinking of your breasts as real breasts, even though you grew them yourself. Is this even your baby? She's so brown. Why not? Whatever twist of circumstance put this baby in your arm must also have made you her mother. Your armor is in the way, of course. You'll need to take it off. [[Put your rifle down]]

What in the world? You don't want this thing. You lazily twist your forearm and let the infant fall to the ground. You watch its limbs bounce, its soft skull hitting the stone with a sick thk. How do you feel about that? [[Continue|The crate again]]

You're holding a baby now. [[Okay.|A crying baby]] [[No, I'm not.]] [[In which hand?]]

"Blackbird? Blackbird. Do you copy?" You shake your head very slightly. <<if $strictjess >= $casualjess>> "I copy, Condor. Over." <<else>> "I'm here, Captain." <</if>> "Have you had a comm malfunction, Blackbird?" [[No, I'm fine.|Everything is fine]] [[I'm not sure what that was.|Everything is not fine]]

Then it's the crate again. It was always the crate, of course. Thankfully dropping it on the ground didn't pop it open. You stare down, frowning, at the crate. Oh well. [[Continue|Seeing things]]

You place your weapon softly on the ground. Then, with one hand, you finger around the neck-seal of your helmet, preparing to remove the suit. [[Continue|The baby disappears]]

The baby vanishes. You are holding the crate. You always were. A deep ache, a yearning, gapes in your heart. Do with it what you will. You are also deeply embarrassed, and grateful that the team on the Persepolis didn't see you removing your helmet. Your gun, though... [[Continue|Why did you put down your gun?]]

"Jessica. Jessica, can you hear me?" You realize Gunner's voice has been there the whole time, you just didn't care. "Sir. Yes, sir." He sighs. "Thank goodness. Are you back with us?" "I think so." "Ramos, is everything okay down there? Why did you put your gun down?" "Jessie, please. Is something the matter?" Aggie urges. There's no avoiding this. [[Let's talk about it on the ship.]] <<set $baby to "locked">>

"You certain, Blackbird? You've just been standing there ignoring us and gawking at that box. <<if hasVisited("Drop the baby")>>Then you.... dropped it. <</if>>Are you feeling all there, Ramos?" "Jessica." Aggie speaks up, her voice softer and more concerned than Gunner's. "Are you alright?" [[Yes.|I'm fine.]] [[Let's talk about it on the ship.]] <<set $baby to "unlocked">>

"That was... something," you blurt, uselessly. "I didn't like it." "You seemed to go zombie on us for a minute there, Ramos," says Gunner. "Is everything okay down there?" "Jessie, what's the matter?" [[Let's talk about it on the ship.]] <<set $baby to "unlocked">>

"Fine." You start back toward the stairway out of this gaping chamber. "Don't worry about it. Heading back to the ship." "Jessie," urges Dr. Priyati, "if you're experiencing anything unusual..." You say nothing. [[Continue|End demo]]

"No time to get into it now. I'm heading back up." You start back toward the stairway out of this gaping chamber. "Roger that, Blackbird. We'll send your pod and I'll get the coffee brewing. Out." [[Continue|End demo]]

<<cacheaudio "startsong" "music/01 acronycal.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "veese" "music/05 Dismutase.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "exploration" "music/02 atoms of the mass.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "camp" "music/06 Spacedawn.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "ship" "music/07 Triassic.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "noise" "music/09 Glade.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "classical" "music/chopin.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "rain" "music/rainsounds.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "end" "music/10 Crystal Clouds.mp3">>

Thank you for testing this early draft of THE DIVE. Jessica's story will continue soon. Follow me at <a href="https://twitter.com/BrieWoodFiction">@briewoodfiction</a> on Twitter for updates. All feedback is appreciated. Music was graciously provided by <a href="https://autotectonic.bandcamp.com/album/cosmic-sessions">AUTOTECTONIC.</a> <img src="images/autotectonic.jpg"> <<audio end play>>

The suit is womb and mother, shelter and shawl; cape and cowl. You know outside it is cold, but you are warm. [[Breathe.|Breathe]]

You get out of the pod. You pull back your hood and deactivate the helmet's seal. It hisses. You breathe gratefully like it's fresh air. It's not. The lifeform peels away from your left arm like a wave receding from the shore. You take off your nanoweave cloak, your armor, your boots. You compare the lily-white of your regenerated left arm to the sun-baked brown of your right. <<if $toothbrush == "yes">>You slip the toothbrush into the pocket of your jumpsuit.<</if>>You stack the armor into its rack, hang up your rifle last. The fiberglass seals it away. Tiny machines will be able to patch up the cloak, buff out the dings, the scarring of laser fire. <<if $injury >=2>>Maybe even caulk up that great silver-black gouge across the solar plexus.<</if>> But the arm is gone. [[Go to de-con|De-con 2]]

You take a seat in the decontamination chamber. You hate decon. You hate the too-bright orange light of the little steel room, and the uncomfortable tingling burn--you're not sure if it's the light that causes the tingling, or the chemicals they spray you with. Most of all you hate being forced to sit still in a tiny room for several long minutes with absolutely no method of escape. You try to take the time to practice mindfulness, like the therapists are always telling you. You can't. The smells, the light, the cicada-like buzz of the chamber, it's all too distracting. But you have something better than mindfulness, better than meditation. You have the battle-haze. The light fades. The door opens and you're allowed onto the personnel elevator. [[Continue|Elevator ride]]

The crate hangs heavy in the crook of your arm on the ride up. Your head is swimming with thoughts. And like a good marine, you push them down. You're in the battle-haze. Your mind is a deep lake, and you sit on top of it in a rowboat. All day, you contend with giant storms and sea monsters; but when you go into battle, the water calms. The leviathans go to sleep. And when you come out the other side, you can finally get some fishing done. The elevator hums. You shut your eyes. You ride. <<if $aggiesecret == "quiet">>[[Ride|Meet with Gunner quiet]]<<elseif $aggiesecret == "warned">>[[Ride|Meet with Gunner warned]]<<elseif $aggiesecret == "refused">>[[Ride|Meet with Gunner refused]]<<elseif $aggiesecret == "accused">>[[Ride|Meet with Gunner accused]]<<else>>[[Ride|Meet with Gunner null]]<</if>>

The doors slide open. Captain Gunner is waiting there to meet you. His smile is warm. You like Captain Gunner's smile. "Jessica. Status?" [[Systems nominal, captain.|Systems nominal 1]] [[You need a shave, sir.|You need a shave 1]]

The doors slide open. Captain Gunner is waiting there to meet you. His smile is warm. You like Captain Gunner's smile. But something is missing from it right now. It feels more... professional. Forced? No; you're imagining it. You knnow you overanalyze every personal interaction. Stop worrying about it. "Jessica. Status?" [[Systems nominal 2]] [[You need a shave 2]]

The doors slide open. Captain Gunner is waiting there to meet you. His thick lips are twisted into a grimace. His arms are folded. "Jessica," he begins, calmly, "did you say something to Aggie, did you?" His accent is comically thick and almost distracts you from what he's actually saying. [[Yes...]] [[About what?]]

Gunner winces like he's been pricked with a syringe. He thumps his fist on the wall. "Jessica, what would possess you to do something so meatheaded?" "I... I don't really know, sir. It's the shocker in me, I guess." Shocker; slang for the interstellar marines. Gunner looks away, making a face. "Well, I didn't want to be the one to say it." Gunner rubs his rough, unshaven jaw. "It's done now," he says. [[So what now?]]

"About what? The computer, Jessica, you accused her of tampering with the comms." [[Oh. Yes.|Yes...]]

Gunner looks at the ceiling and takes a bracing breath. You can tell he feels like he is talking to an idiot. "Now? Nothing. She locks her quarters and won't be in the same room with me. Now, best case scenario, whatever she's trying to hide from me she's too spooked to carry on with it. Worst case she does a better job of hiding it." He exhales quickly. "So what's in the box?" You heft the crate, placing your other palm on it. "Come on. Let me show you." [[Continue|Kitchen meeting]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.

It's true; his usually close-cropped beard is starting to overtake his cheeks. The captain gives you a nonplussed smirk. He rubs his bristly jaw. <<if hasVisited("A shower.")>> This from you, Ramos? Did you finally get that shower?" "Yes, sir." "Wash behind your ears?" "Sir." "Glad to hear it, you foul woman. Cheeky bint."<<else>> "That's hurtful. What did I do to deserve that?" "Nothing, sir." You grin. "Nothing besides fail to keep myself magazine-ready after a week of no sunlight. And copping shit from a shocker, no less. Cheeky bint." Shocker; slang for the interstellar marines.<</if>> You smile. He laughs. His laugh sounds the way a good cigar smells. "Jessica, listen. About that thing I mentioned earlier. I'd like to revisit it." [[Sir?|Can we talk?]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>> <<set $gunnercrush to "yes">>

Gunner grins. "Never seen a shocker operate like you did down there. You took a career ending injury and walked it off like a bee sting." Shockers; slang for the interstellar marines. "That's all the alien, sir. I'll pass along your compliments." He shakes his finger. "Nah, nah. It was all you that got back up and kept shooting. I've seen fresh tinnies fill their rubber jockeys at the first sight of a flesh wound. Not even theirs. You're like a... I don't know." The battle-haze. "Machine?" You offer. "Machine, I suppose," he laughs. "I'm not much of a poet." The conversation reaches an abrupt end. Again you feel anxious, like he's putting on his friendliness, wearing it like a suit for your benefit. Gunner clears his throat. "What's in the box, Ramos?" You heft the crate, placing your other palm on it. "Come on. Let me show you." [[Kitchen meeting]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

"I would really appreciate if I could discuss this with you. Strictly between us. It's important. I think I need your help." "Without telling Aggie, sir?" you ask. "That's right." [[Okay. You can tell me.]] [[I can't do that, sir.]] [[I think she likes Italian food, sir.]]

"Good. Excellent. Alright." He checks over his shoulder, in the direction of the kitchen, then turns back to you and leans in close. "There's a real fucking problem, Jessica." "Captain?" "At some point since we entered the system, we've not been in contact with command. Maybe not the entire time since we left. I've been sending messages back and forth with a bloody computer program. I figured it out when the thing started repeating itself. A little AI, just pretending to be..." He shakes his head, annoyed. "So nobody's been checking the system for Veese craft, nobody knows we got here safe, nobody back home has heard from us in I don't know how long." [[Are we back in contact now?|Are we back in contact? 2]] [[Who could've done that?]] <<set $gunnersecret to "yes">>

"I don't think we should be keeping secrets from each other, Captain. With respect." Gunner tilts his head from side to side thoughtfully. "Well, that's just it, isn't it." He sighs. "Anyway. Forget I said anything, then. Really. Why not show me what's in this crate of yours?" [[Continue|Kitchen meeting]] <<set $aggiesecret to "refused">>

Gunner grins. "Never seen a shocker operate like you did down there. You took a career ending injury and walked it off like a bee sting." Shockers; slang for the interstellar marines. "That's all the alien, sir. I'll pass along your compliments." He shakes his finger. "Nah, nah. It was all you that got back up and kept shooting. I've seen fresh tinnies fill their rubber jockeys at the first sight of a flesh wound. Not even theirs. You're like a... I don't know." The battle-haze. "Machine?" You offer. "Machine, I suppose," he laughs. "I'm not much of a poet, I'm afraid." He rubs his bristly jaw. "Jessica, listen. Before we confer with Dr. Priyati, there was something else." [[Sir?|Can we talk?]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

It's true; his usually close-cropped beard is starting to overtake his cheeks. The captain gives you a nonplussed smirk. He rubs his bristly jaw. <<if hasVisited("A shower.")>> This from you, Ramos? Did you finally get that shower?" "Yes, sir." "Wash behind your ears?" "Sir." "Glad to hear it, you foul woman. Cheeky bint."<<else>> "That's hurtful. What did I do to deserve that?" "Nothing, sir." You grin. "Nothing besides fail to keep myself magazine-ready after a week of no sunlight. And copping shit from a shocker, no less. Cheeky bint." Shocker; slang for the interstellar marines.<</if>> You smile. He laughs. His laugh sounds the way a good cigar smells. "Jessica, listen. Before we confer with Dr. Priyati, there was something else." [[Sir?|Can we talk?]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>> <<set $gunnercrush to "yes">>

<<if $sillyjess >= 3>> Gunner looks at the ceiling and sighs. "Bloody hell, are you always on, Ramos?" You clamp your lips. "Sorry, sir." "Forget it. Let's see what's in this box of yours, yeah?" He turns, heading down the sterile white hall to the kitchen. [[Continue|Kitchen meeting]] <<else>> Gunner catches himself about to laugh in spite of himself and chokes it down just in time. "No, she's already proven extremely prudish to the concept of polyamory, that'd be a fool's errand." He quirks his brow. "Italian you said?" "Yes, sir." "Yes, that could account for that cute tummy of hers." He slaps his thigh, loudly. "Fuck, that was extremely unprofessional of me. Back on topic. Jessica, can I share something with you privately?" [[Okay. You can tell me.]] [[I can't conceal anything from Aggie, sir.|I can't do that, sir.]] <</if>> <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>>

"Well that's just it. I can't make a call on that yet, Ramos. But I will say that I am not ruling out Dr. Priyati, yeah?" [[What about me?|What about me? 2]] [[What about someone back at command?|Someone at command?]]

"No we aren't. Whatever program I was talking with also blocked communications back to command. I haven't had a spare minute to try and fix it." [[Who could've done this? Why?|Who could've done that?]]

"Either of you are suspect, both having access to the flight computer... but, I made a call on this one which I hope I won't live to regret. You're a bit of a loner, Jessica. You were just a marine. Your only lingering allegiances--that I'm aware of--would be to command. You haven't got a sordid past, or unsavory associates, or any seditious tendencies on file. So I ruled you out as a suspect. I hope that doesn't make me a complete numpty." [[But you suspect Aggie.|Suspect Aggie?]]

"I would much prefer for that to be the case--a saboteur back at base. It's less likely because whoever did this would need the passwords for access to the flight computer, which are held only by myself and Dr. Priyati. A very competent hacker could cut through that as well, of course." He looks down the sterile white hallway again. "But, then they would have no control over what happens to us, and the mission, once we've arrived here. Doesn't seem very efficient. There are more direct ways to jeopardize this mission." [[But you suspect Aggie.|Suspect Aggie?]]

"Agatha's a bit spotty," says Gunner. "She's cleaned up her act, done a good job of putting distance between her and old co-conspirators, at least on her resume. She's got a very attractive set of skills, especially for this mission. But the girl's... I don't want to say she's trouble, but she had something of an anarchistic phase. Ties to far-right extremism, nasty stuff. There was a foiled plot to bomb a space station resort about fourteen years ago that some suspect she had a pivotal hand in, but she walked, no evidence. If they would've nailed her for that she'd still be inside." [[That doesn't sound like her.]] [[Why wasn't I informed of this?]] [[Cool.|Cool 2]]

"She's done a lot to reinvent herself since then. Doesn't like to talk about it, and fair enough. Far as anyone can tell nowadays she just wants to help people, and I'd be happy to leave her to it. But..." Gunner leans against the closed elevator door. "It's the old one about a tiger changing its stripes, innit?" [[Thank you for telling me.|Thanks 2]]

"It's on file for certain higher-ups--I'm her superior on this assignment, so the big boss had a sit-down with me about it. Since she was never convicted of anything serious, command just treats it as a college activism phase and lets her be, doesn't make it a big deal. She does good work. But..." Gunner leans against the closed elevator door. "It's the old one about a tiger changing its stripes, innit?" [[Thank you for telling me.|Thanks 2]]

Gunner exhales heavily. "I hope I haven't made a mistake." He tips his head in the direction of the kitchen. "Let's see what's in this box of yours." [[Kitchen meeting]] <<set $aggiesecret to "quiet">>

Gunner grins. "Never seen a shocker operate like you did down there. You took a career ending injury and walked it off like a bee sting." Shockers; slang for the interstellar marines. "That's all the alien, sir. I'll pass along your compliments." He shakes his finger. "Nah, nah. It was all you that got back up and kept shooting. I've seen fresh tinnies fill their rubber jockeys at the first sight of a flesh wound. Not even theirs. You're like a... I don't know." The battle-haze. "Machine?" You offer. "Machine, I suppose," he laughs. "I'm not much of a poet, I'm afraid." He rubs his bristly jaw. He checks over his shoulder, down the sterile white hallway that leads toward the kitchen. "Jessica, listen. Before we confer with Dr. Priyati. That thing we discussed earlier." [[Sir?|That thing we discussed]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>

It's true; his usually close-cropped beard is starting to overtake his cheeks. The captain gives you a nonplussed smirk. He rubs his bristly jaw. <<if hasVisited("A shower.")>> This from you, Ramos? Did you finally get that shower?" "Yes, sir." "Wash behind your ears?" "Sir." "Glad to hear it, you foul woman. Cheeky bint."<<else>> "That's hurtful. What did I do to deserve that?" "Nothing, sir." You grin. "Nothing besides fail to keep myself magazine-ready after a week of no sunlight. And copping shit from a shocker, no less. Cheeky bint." Shocker; slang for the interstellar marines.<</if>> You smile. He laughs. His laugh sounds the way a good cigar smells. Gunner checks over his shoulder, down the sterile white hallway that leads toward the kitchen. "Jessica, listen. Before we confer with Dr. Priyati. That thing we discussed earlier." [[Sir?|That thing we discussed]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>> <<set $gunnercrush to "yes">>

Gunner leans in, lowers his voice. "I still haven't managed to get us back in contact with command. Haven't had a minute to work on it since you dropped." He frowns. "Navs are fine as far as I'm aware, I should be able to steer us home just fine, even if I can't get comms back up by the time you're done on the surface. But I'd like to have our saboteur ferreted out before then, yeah?" "You still think it's Aggie?" "She's still my number one suspect." <<if $aggiesecret == "warned">>You swallow and try not to let the lines of your face betray you. You're a decent liar.<<elseif $aggiesecret == "quiet">>You nod.<</if>> [[How can I help?]]

Gunner shakes his head, blows air in frustration. "How would you feel about beating it out of her?" [[Frown at him]] [[Flex your arms]]

He barks a laugh. "No no. Only joking. Goodness, you'd make hamburger of the poor girl. No, but if you get a chance, maybe some old-fashioned snooping around her quarters, check her computer, like. As I understand it she's not an especially hygienic user." You tip your head. "What, like, crumbs in her keyboard?" "No--" Gunner rubs his forehead. "No, she leaves tabs open everywhere and doesn't change her passwords, like. It's on her record. Blimey, you shockers. Shocking, is what you are." You can't help laughing. It comes out too genuine for you to modulate the tone, so it's deeper than you'd like. You put your hand to your mouth. "Right, now let's see what's in this box of yours, shall we?" [[Continue|Kitchen meeting]] <<set $sillyjess to $sillyjess + 1>>

He covers his mouth to hide the snorting. "I'm sorry. Your face. You look so disappointed with me." "I am, sir!" "Don't worry, only joking. <<if $sillyjess >=3>>Thought you'd be able to tell, you're the comedian.<</if>> But really, I'd like if you could look around the doctor's quarters, maybe poke around her computer if you feel particularly sneaky. She's poor enough at computer hygiene that it's made a point of in her dossier." You tip your head. "Hygiene?" "Means she leaves tabs open everywhere, doesn't change her passwords enough, like. Anyway, just if you feel you can do it without getting caught." He claps and rubs his hands together. "Now, let's see what's in this box of yours, shall we?" [[Continue|Kitchen meeting]] <<set $strictjess to $strictjess + 1>>