Lt JG Tess Evinrude - Dissolution

[Tess Evinrude]

((Posterior Dorsal Corridor, Cosmozoan))

He had stepped out of the suit's armored sabatons, grateful that they were designed to be worn over standard uniform boots. Just in time, as more ooze from the floor and walls merged into a larger mass, crawling over and inside of the discarded suit. Quentin, however, was not so lucky, and Tess could only watch as his friend's face disappeared.

Evinrude: Beck! Can you hear us? ::Tess frantically rotated comm channels and tried again.:: Quentin!

Grimacing, he reached forward to grab the sample container and medical wand before it could be engulfed.

Tucker: Can anyone tell me, just what in the hell is going on? Why did the ship just attack us? Could it see us as a virus? Thus fighting back? I’m no scientist, so I have zero clue about this (beat) hey are you listening? ::turns towards Tess::

Evinrude: Dammit Marty, he's in there! :: Hands shaking, Tess brought the medical wand to bear, adding its unique sensor package to his tricorder readings. Quentin, meanwhile, clad in rippling black, began to shuffle towards him.::

Tucker: This is messed up, is he in there or not?

Evinrude: Quentin, stop moving! Get---back away!

Tess stumbled backwards, eyes on his tricorder. Readings were strange. He wasn't picking up lifesigns within the ooze-covered suit, but he also wasn't seeing any sign of the suit itself, its materials or electronics. The sludge was emitting some kind of ferro-biological interference, both magnetic and reminiscent of a nervous system's pulsing signal.

Tucker: So, can you tell me anything, Tess? What’s going on, as far as my scans show, there’s no suit, no Beck, yet, we’re staring right at it?

Tess gave the engineer a brief look that read "are you serious?" But he quickly checked his attitude, remembering that Beck was Tucker's friend long before any of them had met. Distress manifests in different ways.

Meanwhile, Beck also seemed confused. His ooze-covered shape took a final step towards Evinrude, then stopped to stand perfectly still. He looked at each of the others and then froze, head tilted slightly as if listening to a faraway sound. It was deeply unsettling.

Evinrude: ::His tone was more gentle, but still breathing heavily.:: Marty, you're seeing what I'm seeing. And I am showing the same readings...either our scanners are struggling to penetrate the sludge, or--

Beck began to crouch, and Tess worried that perhaps there was something wrong inside his suit. If life support had shorted out along with comms, he could be asphyxiating.

oO Wait, he's not crouching...he's dissolving... Oo

The form quickly lost its recognizable shape, bubbling down into a formless puddle on the wet ground. The pile of sludge covering Tess' EV suit did the same.

Evinrude: The suit's...gone...

Tucker: Please tell me you figured out where it might have gone? So is Beck…um…..

Evinrude: There's no readings, no sign of...um... ::Tess blinked, his face a mask of distress.:: I'm...picking up t-trace evidence of composite polymer, metal...

oO Did it...digest him? Oo

Tucker: ::tursely:: I do not care, Lieutenant; we’re going to track him down one way or another. We're going to operate under the assumption he’s still alive. And we’re going to need to find him. Are you good with that?

Tess whipped his head towards Marty, his expression of worry hardening. He'd never heard the man snap like that, nor even raise his voice. It took every ounce of discipline not to escalate and fire something back. Emotions were high, and escalation wouldn't solve anything right now.

Evinrude: ::After a beat.:: Yes sir.

Tucker: Just before this happened ::he waved to where Beck had melted:: I was picking up more mechanical things than when we first beamed aboard. I’m talking, EPS conduits, though from what I can tell are part of the veins of the creature, or at least that’s my thoughts.

Tess took a deep breath. What Tucker shared was actually good news.

Evinrude: That could explain the presence of inorganic material in my readings. For all we know, this thing has a transporter room. Let's move.

Tucker: Actually, the first thing we need to do is contact Kel and the XO. I know we had a radio silence of sorts; I think they need to be in the loop. Second, we need to figure out a direction to go, and start looking for the doctor. I've already pulled up the previous bioscans of the doc. so we can look for that specific pattern, and of course his combadge tracker.

Evinrude merely nodded. Having never intended to remove the EV suit, he had dressed for comfort. Wearing a moisture-wicking uniform undershirt and simple trousers, without any pockets, he did his best to adjust his equipment load for travel. The scanners and sample container were clipped on to his tricorder lanyard, which he extended to fashion into a shoulder strap. The hand phaser was tucked into his waistband by the small of his back, like a hidden pistol in a crime genre holo-novel. He would have to hand-carry the transporter pattern enhancers.

Marty sighed, and activated his suit's comm system.

Tucker: =/\= Tucker to Kel and Raga. =/\=

After a moment, the commander's voice came through their suits' internal speakers.

Kel: =/\= We're here, but my group has sustained injuries as has our host. =/\=

Raga: =/\= Response =/\= (Optional)

There was a beat while Tucker seemed to prepare himself for what he was about to say.

Tucker: We’ve lost Doctor Beck.

Raga: =/\= Response =/\= (Optional)

[Optional Tags/End Act II for Evinrude]

--

Lieutenant J.G. Tess Evinrude

[he/him]

Operations Officer

USS Ronin

R240111TE1