Kadaeux
Bruce recoiled from the machines contact and the images it showed him, it was going to take time to process it through the pain of the disconnect.
He didn't think he was dead, or if he was this was kinda a boring afterlife. "Fuck..." He couldn't stand and his ears were ringing, he could see the concern on some faces and he felt his pistol still in hand. Stunned though he was and his mind on fire he had the sense to disconnect the cable from the console and himself. He collected himself knowing he was not in a great state. Unwillingly saying it louder than he intended he 'muttered'... "We are so fucked."
Crimson Glacier
Rowan's attention shifted to the man introducing himself as Michael Rogers, his request for a map was simply met with a shake of his head as Dr. Raven addressed that they were just in the dark as he was. There was that name again, but Rowan kept his attention on Rogers; looking to stare at the mention of the name was bound to cause trouble. Best to not show any reaction to it. He started walking over towards Bruce as Cigma approached the man, stating that they would have to wait it out and would need parts to repair the console. "I'm with Dr. Raven on this one, we don't know what might be on the other side of that door; and we can't rely on, Bruce was it? To come out of there unscathed." As he approached however the man was ejected backwards, reeling from his interaction with the console as he started immediately vomiting a mixture of his last meal from years past, stomach acid and blood. Not exactly a clean sight. He wasn't a medic, but Cigma had made it clear that she would be of some help for him so Rowan rushed to his other side and prepared to hold him proper to allow her the opportunity to diagnose clearly. His previous intentions of a check-in dashed, and it seemed like having him take point venturing forward would be a no-go for the foreseeable future. As Bruce muttered out a few cursewords Rowan stayed near, moving quickly to the side adjacent Cigma so he could prop him up better against one of the pods. She had made it clear that she would be capable of helping him in some way, so he made space for her to do just that. "No medical experience but I can help keep him steady and monitor his pulse while you do your work, you're not looking well Bruce. Hold off on explaining anything till we make sure you're in good condition." He remarked, looking over his the rest of him to gauge any additional wounds, and eyeing the gun for a moment to ensure he could stop him if he went to fire a shot. Who knows what the console did to him?
Tami
The moment Bruce's body was ejected backwards, her iris-less blue eyes glowed a lighter blue. Her movements became faster, more fluid, as she approached her subject with caution and examined the mechanical wiring and metal bits on the base of his neck and head. With a nod, Cigma thanked Rowan for holding Bruce down, given that he still kept trying to act like nothing was happening. Cigma was familiar with this behavior when she worked for her past... employers. She knew she only had to acquiesce and make the subject feel like they were in control. "Bruce, was it? It's okay, pal. You did good, you did great. You need to stay still now so I can take a look at you, then we go off searching for your power armor, aye?" Cigma had noticed the veteran speak and tried to mirror him, as a way to exude safety. "Whatever you saw can wait. We need to heal you." Cigma then approached the spot where Bruce had barfed, smelling it and taking note and returning to Bruce and Rowan. "Bruce is deafened but it should fade with some rest and time. He is severely disoriented and likely cannot stand... But I can fix that if you give me a moment to create some chemicals with my med kit." Cigma pushed Bruce's head forward a bit, focusing on his implants. "Whatever happened in the program triggered the implants to burn him internally, hence him puking blood and the smell of burnt flesh. He might have some type of internal damage but I would need a medical station to perfectly pinpoint what is happening there. We need to take him to one as soon as possible." She then turned to Rowan, motioning for help to try and lift Bruce up.
Machina
Of course he'd also get badly hurt. Bruce. When the man came out of whatever trance he'd been in since he plugged into the console, it... looked as bad as it was, probably. Essek followed the others who sort of positioned around Bruce, Cigma and Rowan. we are so fucked he said. Fantastic, wasn't this day going great?. "Is there... anything we can do to help?, besides what uhm, He, Is doing?"They asked, hoping. And also just realising this man had not said his name. Or... had he?. Er, whatever... Other things were more important now, like helping Bruce move towards their next destination. Which was now probably going to be a medical bay. Maybe it wasn't even wise to move him, if his status was that bad. But the medic, AI or no, had the last word in that matter.
Kadaeux
Bruce followed Sigma's face, unhearing and trying to make it easier for them to help him. He jawed for a second trying to collect himself, it was hard, he felt his attention sliding occasionally. Concussion? No. His implants still tingled. "Listen." He concentrated on one of the things he'd been shown. "The ships security drones have been deployed." He was half shouting, instinctively raising his voice to try and hear himself over the deafness. "The AI can't control them, and they're attacking anything that it occurs to them to attack."
Tami
Cigma stopped for a second. Her eyes tuned yellow this time, flashing a couple of times before she responded. "The priority is getting you to medical bay safely first." She then addressed the party. "My fellow companions, it seems as though things are worse than we thought. The ship's security drones had been deployed and the AI can't control them anymore; they're attacking anything that crosses their path at this point. Now..." Cigma stopped, then continued. "We are going to need everyone's help to make it out there. I would suggest that our first stop should be the medical bay, so we can heal Bruce and then get his power armor, as it seems needed even more given these circumstances. We need all the AI Specialists and weapon-focused individuals we can get. Will you help us?"
Machina
The ship security drones have been deployed The AI can't control them and they are attacking anything it occurs to them to attack "Oh we actually are fucked." Said Essek, moving towards the nearest cryopod or wall to rest their weight against it. They didn't even register what Cigma said. Bruce's words still echoing in their mind. And probably off of the walls of the ship since he'd been fucking shouting. "Shit, shit, shit..." They brought their hands up to cover their mouth, letting go of the knife they'd been holding and letting it fall to the floor. Sure they were an explorer, sure there had to be a logical solution. Like not getting shot... but it only meant that if anyone else had gotten out of the pods before that they may have been shot. If the drones were attacking whatever, then there had to be things to shoot at. How on the universe had this happened??. Deep breaths, calm own, except it wasn't working very well. Because suddenly it was very real they might all just die. Or find dead people, important people who were needed to run this ship... or not. Or their families, and Essek wasn't even sure which option was less awful.
Kestrel
“So that’s where.” Isabel hummed to Bruce’s explanation, brushing off her dust-ridden fingertips as she joined the group. There was a single quiver to her voice as her gaze passed over the unnerved Essek and the hairs in her neck stood up. “The system’s lagging, most of this girl’s resources are being drained and if I were to place bets, those drones are why.” Isabel interjected, then nodded to Cig. “She’s right about one thing, we’re going to need to work together, but…” She took a deep breath, “Ships like this don’t exceed using 50% system capacity even when in battle. This here is pushing her limits. We aren’t just risking those drones putting holes in us, we’re biding our time until other functions start faltering. There’s got to be some kind of communications system around here, if I can intercept the signal or at least mask us from the drones, we might be able to move more freely.” Isabel stared down at Bruce. A blur of anger and disgust briefly flashed across her face. “Bruce MacNamara, was it?” She kneeled down to meet his eyes. Her nose wrinkled as she leaned in. Fuck, this close he even smelled like him. In a hushed tone she spoke to Bruce “I’m not gonna tell you to trust me. Only thing you need to put your faith in is that, whatever’s messing with the ship, gives less of a fuck about overloading life support than I do.” Isabel held up her hand, “Lend me the gun.”
Kadaeux
Bruce watched the womans face trying to make sense of her talking, but with his hearing impaired couldn't understand anything except the extended hand. "No. My gun stays with me, I'm deaf, not blind."
Kestrel
“Oh for fuck’s sake.” Isabel cursed, she rummaged her pockets to check for her pen. She held up her left palm as she wrote out right in front of Bruce 'Life support is failing. We move or we die.’
Kadaeux
Bruce nodded. "Doesn't mean I can't use my gun." He grunted, he'd managed to gather his thoughts a bit, "The drones aren't the only thing. This console, Marlyne ripped its guts out. The damage in here was her, and another group of people, fighting some third party." He looked and pointed at the door that had opened. "That leads to the engineering bay, or at least Advena says it does."
Kestrel
Isabel nodded and inked a message below her last: ‘Communications?’
Kadaeux
Bruce considered it, "Engineering bay should have access to communications functions but I don't know. Advena is really disjointed right now. She's under attack by Marlyne and wants us to save her. If we do our best to do that, I believe Advena will help us as much as she can."
Machina
Listening to them as they spoke gave Essek something to focus on besides their impending doom. And they calmed down a little, mainly focusing on the inconsistencies between Bruce's words and what had just happened. "Wasn't Marlyne the one that woke us up asking for help?, why would she be attacking the ship's AI?." They asked, takin a step forward. Their foot hit the knife they'd dropped earlier. And so they crouched for a moment to pick it up.
Kestrel
Isabel groaned as she shook her head at Essek. “We don’t have the time to fish for answers, if I can access communications I might be able to tell you more, but the logs on this console are corrupted. Can you get Bruce up and help point his gun in the right directions? We’re going to need it.”
Sostos
"I will admit our firepower is... suboptimal." Rogers pondered out loud, crouching down to Bruce's current elevation. "Mr MacNamara is likely our main weapons specialist at this point, but he's going to be a liability until we can fix him up. We have a choice here - trust this Marlyne or don't. Either way, there is too much we don't know. My suggestion is we split into two groups, one will try and get the communications systems up and running, and the other to get the medical bay. If we secure those two aspects, we'd have a better shot at regaining control of the Advena. Question is, who's going where? Heck, we don't even know where either of those are." Rogers was used to having a certain amount of authority simply because he served as a leader his whole life but he did know he was at a disadvantage with people whom he didn't trust and didn't reciprocate that same trust - he'd have to mask him orders as suggestions for now.
Tami
Cigma observed as Isabel approached Bruce and sighed repeatedly at his stubborness. She smiled internally; obviously this lady was not used to dealing with military types. "Don't worry, miss." Cigma said. "We will take good care of this old pal here and make sure he doesn't shoot his own foot. You'll have better luck gathering the others to search for Communications." Cigma glanced at Michael Rogers, nodding. "This man is right. I'm sorry, I don't think I heard your name. What should I call you, sir?" She then motioned to Dr. Raven to come closer. "It would appear you and Bruce have some common history to share. He's going to need all the help he can get, so I think it would be advisable for you to switch places with Rowan and help me carry him to med bay, wherever that is." Cigma stopped again and turned to the group. "Are any of you Engineering experts? We might need one in case the med bay is shut down. We don't know in which state it currently is."
Sostos
"Rogers, Michael Rogers." he replied succinctly, there was no need to give an in-depth introduction, they could do that if they had time after surviving. It was somewhat comforting to have a competent AI amongst the ranks since he felt most at home working alongside them. "And when it comes to tech, I'm more an... expert in AI. We should split up according to what we do best - how many medics, people who can fight, people who can work with machinery. Two balanced teams at least should be good since we have no map we're going to have to spread out." Rogers looked around, counting nine people total - one of which, Bruce, was down. "One team of four, and another team with five, including Mr... MacNamara I believe would be the most optimal strategy at this point. Who's got means to defend themselves? We have two doors to go through."
Machina
"Fish for answers, really?“ Muttered Essek, going to help Bruce stand when they realised that they'd need both hands to do it. "If we split up, how do we keep in contact, hm?" They said, a bit louder. So Rogers would hear. The knife wasn't going to do any good in their hands now if they were supporting Bruce. So they offered to hand it to Isabel. "Here, it won't be any good in my hands right now. Do you want it?"
Sostos
A Bavethjan... a race that Rogers was familiar with simply because they were so heretical in their rejection of artificial beings. Rogers reminded himself to be civil. "The goal would be one team manages to get the Advena back online so we can use their communication systems throughout the ship. If need be, we can also just use this room as a meet up point in case of emergency - we can't be restricted by hypotheticals and have to act. I trust that you understand that we don't have the luxury of taking it easy... I'm sorry, what was your name again? " Rogers replied.
Machina
He did have a point, and he sounded... Sure of himself. What Essek couldn't really say about themself right now. "Its Essek. Or Dr. Essek. And I guess that's better than nothing, smaller groups would also have a better chance at survival in these damned conditions." They said, looking at the old man.
Crimson Glacier
Rowan helped the man to his feet along Cigma, and watched as Isabel approached and made a show of requesting his firearm. While a good idea to relieve him of it, as it would most certainly be needed elsewhere should the security drones make an appearance a veteran like Bruce was clear that he wasn't parting with his firearm - despite the injuries. As Essek drew near and Dr. Raven offered to switch places with him he nodded, "My thanks, as far as security goes I can help with that matter. No firearm," He said glancing towards Bruce, but it had appeared he was nearly deafened and he wasn't facing him when he was speaking. "But I have a light taser, might be enough to shock one's circuits if we get the drop on one. I do have training with firearms if we manage to find another, an armory shouldn't need much power if we can locate something like that while looking around for the med bay or communications."
Kadaeux
Bruce accepted the aid to stand, the experience was a bit dizzying, but tolerable. He looked around at the team. "Whatever our plan is, we need to reach engineering first. Advena opened that door when I asked if she could help us reach it. We don't know where anything else is. The Engineering Bay should have a map of the ship, if only for the necessary damage displays."
KenżaSheep
One moment everyone was calmly discussing wether or not to split up. Then Bruce decided to pop out of the console and the talk of splitting up became more urgent. Why it was so important they break into groups was beyond Ziva, but she didn't dwell on too long. Bruce was very clearly hurt. Ziva, however, was not the first medic to get to him. Cigma was. The alien was more than content to let the AI handle this work, since Bruce clearly had some augmentations that a metal human was likely better equipped to deal with. Ziva watched idly while Isabel tried to communicate with the wounded Bruce, but the man's replies were rather on the loud side, causing the alien to shake his head, sensitive ears amplifying the noise. She was thankful when the one they called Rogers began pondering out loud, explaining the plan everyone else had been trying to contribute towards. At the question of skillsets—who was a medic, who specialized in offense, etc.—Ziva stepped closer to the huddle of people gathered more-or-less around the main console. "Healer," the furry being stated, standing up on her hind legs a moment before dropping back down again. "I am healer. Not for fighting. For running and flying."
Sostos
Rogers glanced at the newly opened door and took what Bruce said into consideration, if they actually can follow a path to the engineering room it'd be better to remain as a large group, splitting up only when needed. "If Mr MacNamara is correct is saying that we know the path to the engineering bay, we should head there first together- a map is priority one, we can familiarise ourselves with the surroundings and that'll let us work out where everything else we need is. Which means we won't need to group off... yet - if we find a fork in our path we might need to split up, so I think we should come up with the most effective groups in case such a situation arises. If anyone ends up isolated from the main group I say we set this room as our designated meet up point to retrieve them. Any objections?" He looked around at everyone to see if they had anything to say before setting off. Rogers was glad that they wouldn't need to split up and just hope to stumble upon a useful room, though if they did end up searching around the Advena blind, two groups was still the best solution in such a scenario. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that.