trans_9 | [OPENING EDEN. CLOSED TO ASSIGNED SECURITY/COMMAND/SCIENCE PERSONNEL]

An arm reached out to the screaming scientist. Even if he was tethered, he seemed terrified beyond belief. Samus, although initially shaken by being hurdled out into space, quickly composed herself. After all, it wasn't the first time she had gotten yanked out into the vast abyss.

She grabbed Luis's arm and yanked him back with her. She wasn't gonna let people lose control on her watch.

Carol didn't even blink as the world around her went to hell. She heard the screams, the curses, the warning, and even the major's statement. But she was already in action. She had undid her own tether, it was useless for her anyways. She looked around, making sure the others were still secured and went flying at top speed after Indigo. Once she reached her, her expression was anything but friendly.

"We need to get the others back on board the ship, then we can work out what the heck just happened." Carol's arms were folded over her chest. She was fine in the environment, at least for a little while. "Get your force field around them so they can get better grips. Is there anything that blew out that we'll definitely need?"

Indigo swears to herself as she hears the others panicking, and is already working on the calculations for a patch field before Carol even comes up to her. She'd planned on snagging everyone by their EVA suits in an electromagnetic field and pushing them in that way, but scans revealed that Motoko's electronics were not sufficiently hardened, such an attempt would be fatal.

After several seconds of making sure her calculations are correct, she nods, forming a dome above the hole to scoop anyone still stuck too far out, and gradually smooths it out, so that there's a pink force field patching the hole.

Atmosphere slowly hisses back in, but it will be several seconds until it has enough oxygen to support everyone.

Ignoring Carol for now, Indigo scans what remains in the spacewalk, scowling as she notes that everything has been blown out. She looks out, but the Bleed interferes with her scans too much for her to readily tell anything. Finally, she speaks in a voice that starts off an odd mix between frustrated and horrified, but gradually bleeds into an emotional blank. "The bodies are gone. As are several tools, but nothing essential. Everyone seems to have everything important strapped to their suits." The suits she didn't see the point in them wearing. At least Motoko had the weight to keep them all on the floor, and the tether held out.

Indigo drifts down, landing on the outside of the Spacewalk, and inspects the damage done. The two smaller holes had grown, taking all of the material between them out. The resulting hole was much larger, and would take more power and material to repair. "I miscalculated." Her face betrays no expression, save for a scientific detachment, but her fists are clenched and trembling. "I didn't factor in the atmospheric pressure when I set the power levels of the fields." And the result tore chunks out. "That will have to be altered." She glances up at Carol. "I will, of course, take full responsibility for all of this."

With that, she stands and heads over to her field, pushing herself down until she's in the Spacewalk with the other crewmembers, giving each a quick scan to be sure they're safe.

Grace was shaken, but not hurt. All of her equipment had been )thankfully) strapped to her person, so she hadn't lost anything. She kept a tight grip on the line as she slowly made her way back to the others. Her mouth was pressed into a thin line and her heart was racing. That had been one of the most terrifying moments of her life and one which she was not keen to relive anytime soon. She glanced over the rest of the group. Luis seemed terrified and everyone looked a bit rattled, except for the Major and Indigo - although Grace knew enough to think that the other woman might possibly be hiding it all. Failure was never fun.

The pressure-drop collapsed and Motoko fell back into real-time as her micromachine systems counted down the differences between adequate oxygenation and her stored. The right amount came back into balance before she ran out, so the Major resumed breathing, quietly purging the excess. The line looped around her belt was still taut with the way the tethered ends had fallen, so she gamely disconnected herself before standing.

Careful hands touched sidearm and holdout gun to be sure the snaps holding them had held, then she turned to look at Indigo and in a tone that very calmly added an 'or else' informed her, "You're going to have to submit a more detailed report than that."

Edited 2010-04-08 02:09 (UTC)

Luis was still mostly on the ground, still clinging onto the tether that had for a moment very literally been his lifeline. Slowly, when it was apparent he wasn't about to go hurtling out into deep space, he settled down and was calm enough to look up and glance around at the others.

He didn't stay calm for long, though.

"Me cago en la madre que te parió! What in the name of Christ was that? We're all going to be killed! Don't you people look into this kind of thing before we throw ourselves out into the endless vacuum? Puta madre, are we going to get this thing open and get back to the ship, or is there going to be another MASSIVE DISASTER as soon as we do?"

Mistakes happen. Samus knew that. That didn't stop her from being perturbed at Indigo, though. She endangered the crew in a seemingly preventable incident. Yes, Samus was reckless at times, but she always made an effort to put the safety of those around her above her own.

Fortunately, this initial anger (if it could be called that) was hidden by her helmet. The hunter was given a moment to collect her thoughts. She reminded herself that mistakes do happen despite careful precautions. She reminded herself that the other members of the crew acted quickly and admirably to ensure the safety of the others. Mostly she got the hunch that Indigo didn't need a lecture on safety precautions right now. She knew what had happened. She admitted responsibility. That satisfied Samus for now.

What did not satisfy Samus was Luis' outburst. She held up her hand. She offered a simple, "Stop."

It wasn't angry. It wasn't mean. It wasn't demanding. It was a suggestion, calmly stated though if he chose not to follow it, she would unafraid to quiet him in other ways.

And at the same time, Samus was glad she heard the outburst. It was a reminder of how truly different the crew was. How unexposed they were to different situations. Her day's work was the breaking point of others. Likewise she had to keep sight of the fact that one day this inexperience would catch up with her. It bothered her. She pushed it to the back of her mind for the moment but perhaps she would do best to talk to one of the command crew about it...

Carol had to roll her eyes at Luis. He was being a bit over dramatic, even for her tastes. Then again, he probably had never been thrown into such a dangerous situation before. She was going to ignore it for now, and stayed outside of the force field. Someone had to stay back and make sure nothing else went wrong, and this way if someone fell out of the field, or if Indigo faltered. Well Carol could be there.

"I assume one of you are talented enough to get that door back open?" Her voice was a bit hard, but she didn't have breath enough for small talk. Plus she was holding back a whole lot of bitching that they just didn't need to hear her make. Though a part of her wanted to defend Indigo. Even the brightest minds in her world had made horrible mistakes. The Civil War, Hulk's return, the Invasion, Osborn... she could even list off about a hundred things that Pym himself had done wrong, and the man was one of the smartest men on the planet. But she'd save it for another time.

"Dr. Sera, such outbursts don't fit you." She gives him a chilly glance before turning to stare up at Carol, raising both eyebrows. "Are you sure you want to abandon the mission? Yes, we've lost the secondary objectives, but we can still scan Hydroponics." She sounds almost pleading, despite how she keeps her face nearly, nearly blank.

After a second, she speaks up again, without the pleading tone. "However, if you think it best that we scratch this mission, I can open the door again." She'd just rather this little outing didn't end on a complete failure. "I can support this field for a sufficient time enough to scan the area and then allow everyone to lead."

"If you think everything will hold, I'm all for giving hydroponics a look."

Despite the adrenaline rush, Grace was relatively calm again. She'd lived with danger on a daily basis for the last few years of her life - this wasn't that much different. The Bleed and vacuum would kill you just as dead as the air and wildlife on Pandora.

Sera was a civilian, and as such was completely within his rights to cry like a girl when things like this happened. As such, Motoko ignored him completely, and moved towards the improvised patch. A speedy scan showed no further damage, though...

"We'll move forward," she said over her shoulder, half to the room at general and half to Indigo. This was bad, but manageable, and so Motoko clipped the tether to herself again, once Luis' tirade had given her back the slack. They'd continue as planned, "But after this, we need to open a less vulnerable route to Hydroponics."

Trustworthy patch or not, a glass tube was a choke-point that could become something just a little more than merely 'deadly'. There would have to be a back door.

"Hold it." Luis seemed about through his little freakout, and back in business mode. He was probably not going to hear the end of that little episode for a while, but they could all kiss his ass, no normal person reacted with perfect calm after almost flying out the side of a spaceship, and he didn't care where in time and space they came from.

"No-- time out. 'Sufficient time' is not going to cut it. We don't go another inch until one of you spacemen can guarantee we are not going to have a repeat of this. What if the goddamn thing blows out again and we all get stranded over here?"

"You can never be guaranteed of anything, Dr. Sera. Risks will always be present, but sometimes they are worth taking," she said back.

As for that decision, she wasn't bothered one way or another. She was just here as security. To everyone else she said, "Whatever decision we make, I suggest we do it quickly."

Carol was at a loss here. For one, she could understand the want to continue with the mission. But on the other hand, they could seriously get someone hurt. Unless only the ones who could survive out in the bleed continued on. But then Grace couldn't. Carol wasn't sure if the major could either.

"If the doctor wishes to go back, I say we let him. The rest of us can proceed, if Indigo can hold the field long enough."

"I am more than capable of holding this field up." Indigo watches the others, gauging their reactions. It seems like the mission would continue, for now. "I would like to continue the mission. We can finish this now."

She looks at Dr. Sera and then looks at the others. "After this, we can spread the reports of a whole and healthy hydroponics bay to the rest of the ship. I can easily repair the damage done to the Spacewalk in a few hours, making it flawless. Faster if you'd like other Engineers to assist me now. All we need to do is get this all wrapped up and find out what to do with the creatures inside."

"If I wasn't prepared to take risks, I wouldn't have gone to a planet where the air will kill me in four minutes or less," Grace quipped sardonically, "Let's keep moving. That way we can at least get something out of this."

"You may be willing to take risks, amigas, but I am a representative of command crew and I will not put lives on the line for this," Luis said, his voice growing a bit sharper now.

"Guarantee me this is going to stay, and give me the specs. Or we are turning around and leaving. Now."

"Doctor Sera." Indigo's voice drops to something that could be use to freeze nitrogen. "I am a twelfth-level intellect. I could hold this field in a combat situation while reciting your entire DNA sequence backwards, which, I assure you, it isn't that interesting. I do not lie, and when I told Ms. Marvel that I could keep this field up, it was not exaggeration or hyperbole. I am holding this. I will continue to hold this. Comprende, amigo?"

"With all due respect to your twelfth-level intellect, I'm not quite sure how much I trust your ability to hold this."

He gestured at the door to hydroponics. "But if you're sure, then by all means, proceed."

Carol really wanted to scream at this point. But refrained.

"God I hope there's something to hit behind that door." She muttered it to herself, but she was sure the others could hear it.

Indigo turns and walks stiffly towards the door. There's a button next to it, and it's a sliding door with a window full of greenery inside, but vines block the view of anything significant. "If you would set up your equipment here, you'll probably be able to scan. I've picked up at least five life forms of varying sizes, but there's too much plant life and the construction of the ship keeps my own sensors from getting a clear view."

She steps aside and gestures for Grace to do her thing.

Grace rolled her eyes. The bickering irritated her more than their near-death experience. She hated seeing her colleagues get hurt or killed, but she also hated pointless bickering. She approached the door and began setting up. A few button pushes there and...

"Whoa," she breathed, voice soft even over the radio, "...it's huge. The size of Yellowstone, maybe Yosemite. Lots of plant life. Lots and lots of plant life. Think there's some larger animals too..."

Motoko gave Indigo a look. Whatever points she'd won when she admitted her own fault immediately, she'd lost when she chose to bicker like a child with her section head.

"What do you estimate the upper limit?" she asked Grace, thinking only of how difficult they'd be to kill. Biodiversity was one thing, giant carnivores that would attempt to kill them all were quite another.

This was only a test. Just a test—to see if you could handle it later, you know? When you’re flying through space and you have to go outside for a few minutes, or you have to land and you’re cruising over oceans and continents at four times the speed of sound, you have to be able to keep a level head, get rid of those irrational phobias and take control, like you said you could if only you were in control of the situation.

Unfortunately you were not in control this time. You’ve failed the test.

There was a sharp, quiet gasp over the communication lines as Dustin awoke, still standing, the legs of his suit locked and glued to the floor. Moments after the shields failed he’d activated a series of powerful magnets in his boots; he was only in the air for a few seconds before the realization of what had just happened hit him like a brick wall, causing his various phobias to kick in, and kick in they did. Dustin was unconscious before he hit the ground.

He was awake now, of course, and extremely embarrassed. Dustin quickly shook out his nerves, deactivating his suit’s magnets when he noticed that gravity had been restored, more or less; eventually he was able to keep his legs from shaking long enough to approach Hydroponics, and, thus, the Major and Indigo. He so far deliberately ignored the others—they weren’t the ones who dragged him into this mess. I mean, after he dragged himself into this mess.

Speaking of which.

“The hell just—“ Dustin took a deep breath, convincing himself that getting angry with the Major would probably result in most of his remaining bone structure to break in every way possible, therefore such a course of action was not a smart idea. “—What—What have we lost? The bodies? Please tell me we saved one of the bodies.”

Carol wasn't very interested in the science part of this trip. She had always left the sciencey bits up to Tony, Hank, or Reed. She was one of the ones who liked to hit things, then ask questions. Which was how she got mixed up in Tony's Civil War. Actually it was how she had gotten mixed up in everything in her life. Right from the beginning with Mar-Vel, to the end with Osborn. Maybe she should start thinking more about all this stuff, if it meant that maybe her life would be a bit easier.

She shook those thoughts away quickly. Pym had Ultron on his back for the rest of his life, Tony's brain was a lethal weapon to the planet, and Reed had so many alien enemies it wasn't even funny. She let out a loud sigh right as the doors opened. Her eyes widened behind her mask as she took in the sights of the place.

"It's the Savage Land... or some alien hybrid version of it." Her voice didn't shake, but she was mentally running back to the ship. If this was Stacy's form of the Savage Land, she didn't want to know what she had in there. Could the Brood be hiding in the woods? Carol gulped soundlessly at that thought. God she really hoped not.

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