( open ) our ag wing's back and you're gonna be in trouble (hey now! hey now! our ag wing's back)

[initiates]

Date & Time: October 31st, 3313, 11:59PM - November 3rd, 3313, ????
Location: Agriculture Wing, Moon Base to start. Cafeteria, warehouse, docking bay, VR rooms, Transport Pad, or Observatory later on.
Characters: Any & all!
Summary: Space Zombies are allowed out of the Agriculture Wing, slowly revving up their systems to try and infect and absorb as many of the Transports (or 12 Initiative Members) as possible.
Warnings: Log will be locked for potentially graphic violence. Please warn in threads should the violence or gore become graphic.
Notes: Specify a date and location in your top comment. You may specify multiple dates/locations. Specify a time if you wish as well.

Everything is a success at first, from the cool rush of air out of the Agriculture Wing once the doors are fully unlocked, to the heady sense of accomplishment for finally moving forward on something good for the long-term usability of the Moon Base. It's intended to remain a resource, after all, but not be a permanent home. Fraying tempers and the sense of cabin fever descending on Transports continues to showcase how important it is to get back down on Earth to regain some breathing room.

There's little enough dust between all the unmoving, unlit structures, many even supporting the barest dried husks of what once grew there. Upon the lightest touch, they disintegrate, turning into a dust that falls to the ground. The silent rows will be reclaimed and turned into functioning units, based on Transport efforts, and Transport time invested in the project.

There's just one problem. Something stirs in the reclaimed wing, among tangles of hosing and wiring. Skitterings and movements that make no sense for a long abandoned Moon Base. The further in Transports go, relying on magic or technology to generate light past the bare minimum maintained by the base, the more disturbing sights they may run into.

Of course, the most disturbing of all might be lying just around the far corner -- but don't worry, it's only a flesh wound. Try not to get surprised in the machinery, caught suffering from not looking up or caught making out with anything unsavory this holiday season, Transports. We need all of you to stay alive!

We can't bring you back right now!

Comments

[khajidont]

[Why is it that he is in the middle of a zombie invasion, but he's finding himself regularly more frightened by his fellow Transports than the legitimate monsters? Since when has everyone else been so regularly, efficiently violent? Metahumans, he can handle, but it's not like he regularly sees Wonder Girl or Supergirl crush spines with their bare hands.

Or seen them doing it in formal ware. It's like he's walked into some sort of amalgamation of a horror movie and an action movie, and everything is terrible.]

Uh...

[His eyes flit from the corpse and back to Coby.] Nope. No protection needed here. I, uh, I got it covered.

[chore_boy]

[Thoughtlessly, Coby inspected his gloves to see what was left on him. They were leather and ultimately a bit resistant to damage with him coating them in his will, but blood had always been something very good at seeping into small, barely cleanable crevices. When he seemed satisfied with his attempt to keep them bare of the grittier parts of the affair, Coby nodded towards Jaime.]

That much I understand. However--

[He craned his neck, somewhat surprised on his own.]

Even if you're strong, this experience can still hurt you.

[khajidont]

[Jaime, on the other hand, isn't nearly as meticulous with his own gore covered armour. He has no idea how it works when it slips back into his skin, but he's hoping most of it disintegrates. He scrapes one finger through the blood splattered on his chest, a little self consciously, and regards Coby with some confusion.]

Well, yeah. These things are pretty intense. Everyone's gotta be careful around these things.

[chore_boy]

I can exercise much less caution with them. Rather-- [It wasn't about strength. The weakest person in the world could kill the strongest beast with the right tool. With conviction and calmness. Really, the one thing they needed to part with was hesitation.]

If I exercised more caution, I wouldn't be able to save anyone.

[khajidont]

Uh... huh. [The dude just crushed one of their spines, so Jaime really isn't going to argue with him wanting to use less caution than the others.]

I mean, yeah, saving people's the end goal here. I'd just be careful for their teeth. We can't do a whole lot of saving people if we end up as one of them.

[He doesn't know that for a fact, not at all, but he's watched enough zombie movies. It seems a lifetime ago, curled up in his living room sandwiched between Paco and Brenda as they unsuccessfully flick popcorn at each other, utterly unconcerned with the creatures on the screen.

He is never watching a zombie movie ever again.]

[chore_boy]

I'm aware. Though, if they try to bite me or get anything on my skin, it won't work out very well for them.

[Despite himself, Coby was finding himself being somewhat grounded by what Jaime said. It was simple and clear cut. He was thinking of surviving and helping people survive. So, he took that much to heart and he leveled his gaze towards the other hallways, putting his hands behind his back in brief, muted silence.]

...Do you want a break?

[khajidont]

[This guy seems pretty cocky, Jaime can't help but notice. His beliefs are grounded in something, that much he can't contest, but this sort of confidence in this kind of situation? He's not so sure anyone can be this confident here in a different world, not even the strongest heroes on his own Earth.

He doesn't issue any more warnings, however, merely regards him with a tilt of his head.] No, no, I'm good. Everyone's gonna have to take a break to sleep if they keep coming at this rate, but I've totally got a few more hours left in me.

[chore_boy]

[It was confidence that came with his ability. Coby needed a clear, level head to use Observation, so arrogance went a long way with it. Near hand in hand. He let his eyes settle across the room, darting to a number of places, seemingly nowhere if Jaime were looking. For all he knew, he could have been looking at a fly.

Though, he had been doing plenty to pinpoint the inner 'voices' associated with those creatures.]

That's good. Though, if you're in the thick of these things already, I don't suspect you'll be the type to stop for a break even if it's needed.

[khajidont]

Well, no, not if I'm in the middle of a bunch of these things. [He grins at Coby, a flash of white, human teeth behind the armour.] But I've been escorting a buncha people to the safe zone already, so maybe I'll end up staying at some point.

[Not as soon as he ought to, certainly, but it's the curse of the young and foolish to overestimate their own abilities, and Jaime is no exception. His energy will eventually flag, however, and there is only so long that the Scarab will bear that risk.]

[chore_boy]

I'm glad. [Even if he didn't look the part, Coby swelled with admiration. Jaime sounded younger than he did. He was more worried than he was, but he was still immensely principled. Despite his own strength, it was clear he was worried only about the welfare of other people. That was the point. He was worried and that concern was always a positive to Coby.]

Thank you for being a good man. In a war such as this, you may be one of the most necessary people to fight next to.

[Not so much for the sake of strength, Coby thought--rather than having someone who represented the morality he wished to embody, himself.]

[khajidont]

[Jaime blinks at Coby, bewildered - and heartened - by the sudden praise. Sometimes praise is harder to hear than insults, especially when they can do so little in the face of so much, but it warms him anyway.]

Aw, [he says, almost as if saying aw shucks, but he's not quite that cheesy. Something in his face does gentle, however.] C'mon, you and practically everyone who can fight is doing the same thing. We've got lots of good people here.

[chore_boy]

I can't say for certain if you're right or wrong. [Coby said this, though his thoughts weren't at all uncertain. He knew what the truth was--that strength had nothing to do with benevolence or consideration. The strong would fight for whatever reasons they chose and only by luck alone with a choice handful of people do it at the expense of their own blood.

After all, he knew more people on the side of normality who could be defined as altruistic and good. On his own side...]

But, I'll be grateful, either way. In return, what can I do to help you, here?

[khajidont]

[Unaccustomed to war - and accustomed to superheroes - as Jaime is, he tends to operate underneath the belief that those who fight beside him wish to end things as much as he does for the sake of everyone who cannot fight. He will be disillusioned of this notion someday, perhaps, but innocence is his for a while yet.]

What you have been doing. We need to get rid of these things. [It's an easy enough answer, though it does give him pause. This guy is strong. As intimidated as he is, they can use that.] D'you know where they've been coming from all this time?

[chore_boy]

I only know about what they are. Their specific origin is unknown to me, but I can tell you which direction they'll be heading nearby. [At that, Coby took a deep breath and shut his eyes. Though it looked as if he were poising to meditate, his awareness went anywhere but simply inwards. Coby extended it far outside of his own personal perspective.]

We have a fairly simple goal. If you'd like to assist me, then we'll need to head... [His hand raised, pointing in the direction towards the vegetative nursery. They wouldn't get too close to it going down that hall, but then Coby had never quite read the blueprints of the ship. Besides, there were plenty of zombies in all halls that way.]

[khajidont]

Too bad. It'd be nice if we could just herd them outta the airlock.

[Nevertheless, he's happy enough to take orders - Coby seems to know what he's doing. Jaime waits patiently as Coby pauses, figuring that he's using whatever other superpowers he's got in his arsenal to inform him of something, and nods once he speaks again.]

Sure thing. Let's do this. [He doesn't wait before moving determinedly in the direction Coby pointed, armblades at the ready for the first zombie to come bolting his way.]

[chore_boy]

[Coby, reaching into the shoulder of his jacket, loosened his arms somewhat. Though he was taking it off, there was a hidden set of leather straps by the neck of it, from which he drew out a saber. It wasn't a double-edged blade as one might have expected from the handle. The curve at the end gave it the impression of an officer's blade. The tip was given a triangular shape, making it a weapon designed for the purpose of thrusting jabs.

It was perfect for someone on horseback, though doubly perfect for a combatant made to move quickly. As Coby turned it over on his palm, he watched the hall and stopped. In the darkness, his eyes bounced around and around for a target.]

That would be nice, though I imagine it would be nice in the long run to avoid depleting oxygen.

[Though, Jaime had a point. What were they going to do with the bodies? Coby shuddered at the thought, his sword still pointed formally.]

There. They're going to throw themselves to our left. They see the light behind us.

[khajidont]

[Jaime frowns in response to Coby's point. He's pretty sure that each room is individually sealed off by the massive doors that mark corridor from corridor for that express reason, but to let out that many zombies would mean keeping them open for that much longer.

Something to think about later, perhaps, when they're not in the heat of battle.]

To the left? [He asks, glowing eyes darting over to where Coby's pointing with that sword of his.] Got it.

[His own blades lack the finesse or purposeful design of Coby's sword, but they get the job done - not that Jaime is even remotely aware of what the designs of different blades actually mean.] So they're attracted to light, then? [He asks between grunts, lunging forward to get the first blow in. Then, jokingly:] All we gotta do is put me in a dark room.

[chore_boy]

[Only after he had been speaking to Jaime awhile did he realize that he missed Helmeppo more than he thought. Someone who put a placid, cheerful spin on the grief they went through. Smiling in the midst of something tragic had been something Helmeppo had somehow been able to do in recent months... as far as he could remember, anyway.

Jaime didn't act remotely like him, but he still carried a cheerful tone like his friend. Sadly, Coby didn't want to feel human in the middle of what he was doing. Joking and smiling reminded him that, if he had met these creatures before, they probably would have been people he would have sacrificed his life to save. Fortunately in the dark, it would have been tougher for Jaime to see the regret on Coby's face as he followed in course, the point of his blade splitting one of the necromorph's skulls, cutting it in two pieces. Two had advanced at them, falling to both. Jaime's own attack had been swift and methodical, clear that he knew what he was doing.]

If only... If you think about such things, it's unfortunate. No matter what, we were too late, weren't we?