Carpathia IV: Episode 159 - Tricks and Traps
Shuttle Bay, Vashta Ship
Aboard the shuttle, nobody knew what would soon transpire aboard the Shadowdancer. Sylvar, Ramei, Amenaru, and Teek had only just left the ship and Aire hadn't yet paid his visit to the atrium. Their only focus was the Vashta ship and whatever dangers it contained.
Any of the excitement of Captaincy faded as Sylvar's shuttle approached the Vashta ship and he dreaded the thought of walking the halls of one again. Nevertheless, it was his duty and responsibility and he steeled himself for whatever tricks and traps they were sure to encounter. He put on a brave, confident face, so he thought, as the shuttle neared its destination. On the way, they passed a shuttle from the Cerberus
As they approached, the Cerberus shuttle turned to follow. While the shuttle prepared to set down, Sylvar felt a hand on his shoulder, one that appeared that of a human's or elf's, but also an abundance of fur and claws. To his other side, Ramei leaned in close and whispered.
Ramei: Hey, I know what faking confidence looks like. Done it myself more than a few times.
Sylvar: Am I that obvious?
Ramei: To someone like me, yup, but hang in there. You don't have to carry all the responsibility alone. And remember, if you don't know something, just say so. That's why we're here, to solve problems together.
Sylvar: Thanks, Ramei. I'll remember that.
Teek cut engines on the shuttle and drifted into the bay slowly, setting down with a gentle thud. The Cerberus shuttle, close behind, did the same moments later. Sylvar waited by the door and, with a quick rub of his hands and a deep breath, he opened it and stepped out. Though he knew Vashta ships were near perfect copies of each other, he still wasn't prepared for the familiar sights, sounds, and smells. The shuttle bay itself was identical to the two ships had had experienced, the only difference that it was Nyana's symbols that decorated the walls. The deck and ceiling were all adorned with the same shiny, dark grey metal which ominously reflected the red lights that lined the walls.
Sylvar: I never thought I'd set foot on one of these again.
Teek: It's very intimidating, just like the outside.
Amenaru: I guess the appearance is not just for enemies, but for their own crew.
Sylvar took a few steps forward, separating himself from the group, and then turned so that he could speak to them all.
Sylvar: Okay, everyone!
Sylvar paused when everyone looked at him, now knowing that the Vashta ship was nothing compared to the intimidation he felt now.
Sylvar: Um... I'm... um... Captain Pendergast. We have two goals, engineering and the bridge. If we have control of those two sections, we can control the entire ship. I think our first goal should be engineering. It's closer and the microsingularity core needs to be managed or it will lose containment and explode. With engineering under our control, we will be able to affect at least some of the other systems more easily while we head for the bridge. I have worked on two ships like this one and... um... yeah, they are nearly identical, but not completely. Some of the traps might be different. There might be some I've never seen before. Keep a watch for any strange readings on your scanners. The traps are, at least, not secret.
Sylvar hadn't realized until the end that he hadn't taken a breath through the entire speech and now inhaled sharply.
Ivy: Captain, how was it that they were able to evacuate their crew with all these traps in place?
Sylvar: The traps can be deactivated from the bridge. Nyana can do this. Possibly Lamia. Maybe a few others. Traps automatically reactivate after a certain time but the function can't be used again for awhile.
Ramei: Jeez, these people are paranoid. This is no way to live.
While Ramei spoke, Sylvar noticed Commander Tyler making faces at him and moving her head around strangely.
Sylvar: Oh! Um... Everyone, this is Commander Tyler. She'll be the first officer.
The shuttle bay echoed with the sounds of acknowledgement, all of them saying "Commander" at nearly the same time.
Ivy: Looking forward to working with you.
From there, Sylvar went around, starting with Teek, on his left, and then Amenaru and finishing with Ramei. He let Ivy introduce the crew from the Cerberus, four other officers, including one of their nurses for medical support, since the Shadowdancer could not spare any.
Sylvar: In that case, I suppose we should go. I'll go first, but give a shout if you see something strange on your scanners. I guess that might happen a lot until you're familiar with these ships. It's better to be safe, though. Believe me, it's better.
Sylvar absentmindedly fiddled with his earpiece that he affixed to his deaf ear as he finished his last sentence.
The team creeped down the corridor, scanning in every direction they were capable of pointing.
Ivy: Periodic fluctuations in the power nodes.
Sylvar stopped and turned to Commander Tyler, who pointed at one of the nodes on the ceiling.
Sylvar: Time between fluctuations?
Ivy gave a few taps to her scanner.
Ivy: 6.38 seconds.
Sylvar: That's the normal fluctuation rate. If that drops or becomes irregular, let me know.
On they continued, scanning this, scanning that. Some time later, they turned at a junction, Sylvar stating that was the direction of engineering. Shortly thereafter, Ivy tapped Sylvar's shoulder.
Ivy: Captain, time between fluctuations has dropped to 4.94 seconds.
Sylvar gave a nod and began to creep forward even more slowly than before.
Sylvar: I was just about to ask about that. We're nearing the engineering trap now. I just need to figure out which type it is.
Sylvar took studious care examining the walls, one step at a time until he finally found a crevice, almost imperceptible in the black bulkheads.
Sylvar: The trap is right in front of us, maybe ten meters. This is one of the system access panels for it. The other is on the opposite side of the trap and we have to figure out how to get through it.
The others peered down the corridor, but only saw what appeared to be more of exactly the same corridor they were just traversing.
Teek: Looks the same as everything else.
Amenaru: Except that I can't scan past ten meters here.
Teek took another look at his own scanner and waved it in front of him.
Teek: You're right. There must be a dampening field.
Meanwhile, Sylvar had the access panel off the wall and now studied the contents.
Sylvar: Commander, let me see your frequency scans.
Ivy handed over her scanner and Sylvar only needed a moment studying the sin waves before making an announcement.
Sylvar: Okay, everyone, the good news is that I know this trap. The bad news...
Sylvar reached into his bag and pulled out a rubber ball, one about the size of a human fist. Anyone who happened to peek down into his bag while it was open would have noticed there were several in there. Sylvar tossed the ball down the corridor and, about 15 meters down, the bulkheads slammed together with crashing, ear-splitting force. Everyone but Sylvar jumped clear off the deck, with Amenaru and Ramei nearly hitting the ceiling.
After remaining smashed in place for several seconds, the smashy smash bulkhead walls slowly retracted until they reached their usual positions, awaiting their next victim and leaving the squashed remains of the ball tumble to the deck in bits.
Ramei: At least it's quick. I'll give it that.
Sylvar turned his attention back to the control panel and started tinkering.
Sylvar: It's controlled by a laser lattice. From this end, I should at least be able to make it visible. Problem is, to completely deactivate it, we need to coordinate efforts between this panel and the one on the other side.
Just as Sylvar finished, the lasers became visible, lattice, just as he said, that spanned five meters of the corridor ahead with no gaps that any of them could fit through.
Sylvar: I hate this one because it means that we'll have to cut our way through the bulkheads and make a passage around this contraption before we can start dismantling it. That will take hours.
Amenaru: I think I can get through. How high off the deck is the lowest laser?
Everyone gaped at Amenaru with crinkled brows.
Sylvar: Looks like 15.1 centimeters, but what makes you think you can crawl under that?
Amenaru grinned and let out a giggle and then, to the wonder of all, started to shrink until he disappeared into his clothes. Only a few in the group knew what was going to happen next, and, indeed, a fluffy tortoise-shelled cat emerged from the clothing.
Amenaru: I can squish myself down flatter than that!
The group from the Shadowdancer wasn't too fussed about what they were seeing, but the Cerberus crew could do nothing more than stare with mouths agape.
Ivy: What the hell did I just see?
Amenaru: That would take some time to explain.
Ramei: Short version is one of the demigods we met accidentally did that.
Amenaru: I can change into other things too, but since I'm more used to this form, I thought it would be safer.
Ivy: Sensible... I guess. I wouldn't know, really.
Sylvar pulled another ball out of his bag, the biggest one he had. This time, instead of tossing it down the corridor, he rolled it down the floor. This one passed through the trap without setting it off and rolled merrily down the corridor until it was out of sight.
Sylvar: This is doable, but, of course, dangerous. We have an alternative, so I won't order you to do it.
Amenaru trotted up close, though not too close, to the laser lattice and pressed himself down onto the deck, feet flat, ears squished, and tail down, now looking like a fuzzy catpuddle with his head the tallest part of him. He shuffled around a little, sliding across the deck in little spurts. As he did so, his tail wagged, flipping back and forth, though stayed pressed to the deck.
Amenaru: I can do this. Anything else I should know?
Sylvar: Whatever happens, just stay flat.
Amenaru: Okay, here I go.
After a deep breath, Amenaru started shuffling forward slowly, dragging himself by alternating between his two front paws. Creeping along, he entered the first part of the laser lattice area and nothing happened. The others couldn't bring themselves to move or breathe as they watched Amenaru slide across the floor. Still, everything seemed to go well until he was about halfway through the trap and his tail started acting up. No longer swishing back and forth with each slide, but now doing little flips, rising a couple of centimeters off the deck.
Amenaru: I'm starting to think this was a bad idea.
Teek: Mind your tail, Amenaru!
Amenaru: I know! I know! It just seems to have a mind of its own sometimes!
Amenaru slid forward faster and still the others watched, wringing their hands together while his tail became even more excitable.
Ramei: Your tail!
Amenaru: I don't know if I can control it any more!
Sylvar: Just go as fast as you can!
Eschewing caution, Amenaru now slipped himself forward at a rapid pace, squiggling back and forth like a fuzzy snake. First his head crossed the border to the other side, then his body, and then, just when everyone thought he was safe, his tail gave one last flick up into the air and tripped the last laser in the lattice. There was a crash, and nobody could see Amenaru anymore with the bulkheads pressed together. Some screamed. Some gasped. Ramei covered his eyes and turned around. The few seconds it took for the bulkhead walls to retract seemed like days, but eventually revealed Amenaru, seemingly whole, aside from a little bald patch on the tip of his tail, and scrunched up like an accordion on the other side, shivering so hard that little bits of fur ejected themselves from his body. He glared at him with his gleaming, red eyes as big as hubcaps.
Amenaru: I... I... I... am n... never doing that ag... ag... again!
The others took their time to collect themselves. Upon hearing Amenaru's voice, Ramei turned around and spread his fingers apart so that he could peek through. Just as everyone let out a sigh of relief, the bulkhead walls slammed closed again with another catastrophic smash, sending the group all jumping back in unison, this time with Ramei falling to the deck.
Ramei: Fuck those walls! Raa... Fuck!
Sylvar: Amenaru, get away from the trap. Your shedding is going to keep triggering it!
Amenaru gave a shaky nod and sidled away from the trap.
Sylvar: No more unnecessary risks. Take your time recovering. The good news is that deactivating the trap will be easy now that you're over there.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
