[sb118-gorkon] Ensign Ethan Espinoza - Where Walls Once Stood
Ethan Espinoza
(( Dry Lab Complex, Gibaria Outpost ))
Chaos engulfed the lab in an instant. Many-legged things sprang forth, and so too did wiry, fleshy tendrils, lashing blindly into the fray. He barely had time to register the frenzy before -
Finch: Go!
The team stirred into motion all at once, diving through the doorway. A flailing appendage - maybe a vine - caught Ethan in the melee, disrupting his escape and rocking him sideways. The sudden collision with the doorframe rang his brain like a gong. He became a mess of limbs, tumbling to his knees before scrambling back upright, crashing into a table and spinning.
A phaser discharged, sharp and bright, and the smell of ionised air mingled with the stale oxygen. His tan cheeks burned red-hot as an energy web snapped into place, segments clattering together like a puzzle, sealing the creatures within.
Quite kind of the researchers to provide such an effective means of containment. A shame, then, that they hadn’t had the foresight to apply this caution to the gateway bleeding untold horrors into their immediate surroundings.
Finch: Isolation protocols. ::She wiped the sweat from her forehead, her voice a tad crisp.:: Powered by a back-up system.
Naledi: Crick Snap Pop Hiss… Is it alright? It is leaking fluid from it’s skin?
With a hand strapped to his aching ribs, and pressing beyond the sharp throbbing in his skull, the potentially mildly concussed Ensign nodded tiredly.
Finch: Response
Naledi: Tick Crack Pop Hiss… Can it proceed? More creatures may be dormant nearby.
Neathler: Agreed, let’s move, at this rate we’ll never reach the gate in time.
Espinoza: Don’t gotta tell me twice…
Finch: Response
Despite the containment field, the commotion within remained audible and violent. Wet, guttural cries echoed out, punctuated by the heavy lashing of something against leathery flesh, more a thump than a slap. The remainder of the lab, taxidermied mysteries and all, was steadily obliterated amidst the chaos.
In hindsight, now that his life was no longer in immediate peril, he realised he was rather irritated at not having gotten a proper look at the beast. It was more unnerving, having seen only a blur of hulking mass and countless limbs thrashing violently. Unfortunately, this was likely to serve as a ‘be careful what you wish for’ ordeal, as he suspected they’d encounter another much sooner than he’d like.
Naledi: Tick Snap Crack Pop Hiss Crack Pop Pew… Could the conduits be utilised as a sterilising device for the vines? Since the ones in the other room appear to be neutralised, could we start a chain reaction and burn all of them? All the way to our goal?
Neathler: That will only stop the vines, there’s still the creatures to consider.
Espinoza: I’d rather deal with one threat than two, but… we probably oughta consider the vines might be the only thing that’ll slow those things if more of ‘em show up.
Finch: Response
The thought of having to rely upon the vines disturbed him greatly, but thus far, they had been curious at best and apathetic at worst toward their presence. It would be wise to avoid presenting themselves as an enemy for as long as possible.
Further down the corridor they went, the eerie quiet stirring far greater panic than the raucous beasts ever could. At least they would know something was coming. Anything could be lurking here, in this terrible silence, and they’d be none the wiser.
Neathler: I don’t think anyone or anything will enter this lab.
Espinoza: Is that…?
Peering over Neathler’s shoulder, Ethan caught sight of what had drawn her attention. A macabre scene, frozen in time: a lifeless body sprawled against the window, starved of breath and life. Eyes wide, mouth wider, death itself couldn’t subdue the picture of panic that’d smattered the scientist's features in their final moment. If not for the blue tinge of their lips, the grey sheen of their skin and the glossy, milky finish to their eyeballs, he might have mistaken it for something caught mid-motion rather than truly gone. One hand remained splayed, fingers stiff against the glass, and Ethan noticed it looked as though they’d been reaching in their final moments for help that had evidently not come. He felt a chill settle in his chest as he finally noticed the wiry, twisting pulp protruding from their mouth.
Finch / Naledi: Response
Neathler: No life signs.
Espinoza: They’ll spread through anythin’... what a terrible way to go.
Finch / Naledi: Response
There was no point risking a detour into the lab. They pressed on, venturing deeper through the corridors. The place was in disarray where creatures had stampeded through. Shattered glass littered the floors, tables lay upturned and twisted, and metal frames were warped into grotesque, unrecognisable shapes. The vines had grown thicker here, he noticed. Many of the administrative rooms they passed were no longer rooms at all, but suffocated husks, consumed by dense, invasive xenoflora creeping relentlessly over every surface.
Ahead, the ceiling had been split and thick, wiry tendrils hung in dense curtains. A narrow passage lay between, and although he was confident they’d all get through without issue, he wasn’t certain this was the best option. A cursory glance suggested this was, unfortunately, the only option.
Neathler: That might be a tight squeeze.
Finch / Naled: Response
Espinoza: I guess I’ll take the greenhorn privilege of goin’ first. Watch my back, please…
Finch / Naled / Neathleri: Response
Ethan took a breath and stalked forwards. The vines quivered in anticipation, swaying ever so slightly in a corridor without wind. Twisting sidelong, he spared his team a glance.
Espinoza: If anythin’ goes wrong, maybe we oughta just put out a subsonic pulse, hope it disorientates ‘em, and run.
Finch / Naled / Neathleri: Response
He was having second thoughts now. Still, he steadied himself and pressed on, shimmying into the thick of the growth. Darkness closed in around him. As he edged deeper, robbed of sight, he realised the mass of creepers was far denser, and far deeper, than he had first assumed.The light behind him dwindled to nothing. This was a true, unnatural darkness, untouched even by the faint glow of illumination he had left behind. As he forced his way forward, he could have sworn he heard something like a faint whisper, indistinct and formless, scratching at the edges of his mind.
Espinoza: Take it easy… keep calm… don’t lose your mind right now. ::he mutters quietly to himself::
Wriggling free of the suffocating mass with a ragged, panicked breath, he stumbled forward, the vines falling away before him. For a moment he lingered, sucking in the stale air, eyes straining to adjust to the darkness ahead, only faintly lit by the occasional trickle of emergency lighting and equipment LEDs, half-submerged beneath writhing masses.
Where there should have been a clear corridor lined with metal and glass and the labs they were due to check, there was only xenoflora, thick, coiling, and utterly abundant. Vines as wide as his forearms (which were, if he did say so himself, one of his more desirable features) twisted together in dense, overlapping braids. They smothered the floor, swallowed the walls, and consumed the ceiling in a tangled, uneven mass. Bulbous growths thrummed faintly amidst the weave, and the air was heavy and damp, thick with rot and something… sweet?
There was no clear path. No visible structure left beneath the infestation. The corridor might have well been erased in its entirety. The vines shifted suddenly, tightening, as if aware of his presence.
Espinoza: Come on through, nice an’ slow. ::he calls behind him:: You’re, uh… probably gonna wanna see this.
Finch / Naled / Neathleri: Response