trans_9 | Meanwhile, back at the ranch [Closed to Iniss/Tom]

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch [Closed to Iniss/Tom]

Iniss hadn't kept it secret from him just who they were contacting. Not a name that meant anything to Schmuz. Sam, on the other hand, had definitely recognized it.

He paced, not entirely certain what he should be doing. He was a technician, not a warrior. Of course, from what he knew, Iniss wasn't a warrior, either. It didn't really make him feel better. He was pacing, hands behind his back and head down. Not watching where he was going, which was why he banged into a hanging light and let loose with an array of curse words that Sam had used earlier.

"I'm really not used to being this big," he grumbled, rubbing his forehead. Sighing, he turned back to Iniss. "Any luck?"

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Rhiow sighed, switching her tail. She dropped the barrier with a simple thought and leapt down from her shelf, trotting over to the two brothers. "There's still the not-so-small matter of the host," she said. "And the hostage. No-one thought to fill the rest of the crew in on the specifics, probably because the Captain wasn't certain who he could trust. Understandable, given the circumstances. As far as the parasite - is it similar to your species?" she asked, directing the question to Iniss.

Then she came forward to twine around Sam's ankles affectionately. "It's good to know you're all right, Ssam," she said.

"We don't really have a gender, at least not until we're given a host that does. I tend to think of myself as male primarily because of Tom."

Iniss snorted. "I'm aware the size of the ship, Sam, and the people on it. That doesn't mean I have any more faith that the powered won't charge him all at once and get ground into the floor."

Iniss looked not unlike he had swallowed rotten milk at the cat's question, the answer was very obviously 'no' and perhaps 'not in this universe or any other universe'. "No!" he managed to say, vehemently denying any and all kinship. "My species is egotistical, but even we're not that bad! I don't know what they are, they're not something I've encountered before. I can't even tell you if his host still lives under his influence."

Sam accepted the hug, giving it back just as hard before he knelt and greeted Rhiow with a scritch behind her ears. "We're definitely thinking about the host," he noted to the wizard. Or, at least, he was. "I may not be in contact with the rest of the crew, but I'm sure that Leon's doing everything he can. We'll really need to contact him and find out what the plans are right now."

He kept his head down, trying not to show any laughter at Iniss' vehemence. This wasn't a laughing matter, even if his reaction was kind of hilarious. "I can't tell how different they are," he said once he had his expression back under control. "I know that they name themselves after gods of various Earth religions. Ba'al is of the same race, though he's not exactly onboard with Shiva's plan." The idea that Ba'al had a plan of his own had definitely crossed Sam's mind, though. "Whatever they are, you can generally tell when the...whatever is in charge because their eyes glow yellow and their voice drops down into Barry White range."

Dean nodded at that, and kept close to his brother in case he needed help after being roughed up, "I can try getting a hold of him, I'm Security and he trusts me. Bet he'd be thrilled that he's only got one to deal with now." He made a note about Ba'al as something to file away to pursue later. He wasn't the threat right now, so he was going to the back burner.

"So what are they? More aliens who get their kicks by having a God complex? Your new buddy know where Shiva's holing up?"

Rhiow tilted her ears back. "Unfortunately, since I've never worked with the host or the parasite before, I can't find him in the same manner that I found Ssam." Let Sam worry about the fact that she could find him whenever she chose. She honestly didn't know why the brothers thought it was such a big deal.

"However, once I'm in range it may be possible to use the same spell I used to negate Haku's corruption - the spell I wouldn't use on Ssam." She licked her nose a couple times. "If there's a question about how much of the host remains, I'm not sure if it wouldn't be more of a mercy to simply use my matter dispersant."

For someone well-versed in technobabble - like, say, Sam's Yeerk - 'matter dispersant' would translate into 'blowing up Kawalsky into meaty chunks.'

"I'm not certain if that means they're in charge or just showing off." Iniss offered helpfully. "When Shiva first approached me, Ba'al spoke normally and sounded human until Shiva tried to show off. I get the impression that Shiva is...younger. But I'm still not sure what they are, merely that they are something that I have no encountered before."

Iniss glanced at Dean, then snorted faintly. "I contacted Nightwing the moment we were away from Shiva. I've been motioning the situation. They know most of what I know. Schmuz knows more, perhaps, about the technical aspects of the situation than I do. I'm not tech, or fighter like you and your brother, I'm a recon agent."

"And recon, honestly, is probably where we're still best suited," Sam pointed out. "The guns were for defense if Shiva decided he wasn't up for sharing any more, mostly, or if we got caught out by him. And..." He trailed off, tilting his head. Since, well, he had a hard time talking and trying to listen to the Yeerk at the same time.

< The wizard can create a matter dispersant? That's impressive. >

< ...Okay, I'll bite. What's a matter dispersant? I know the words, but I'm not sure I like how they sound together. >

Schmuz made a considering sound and Sam had an unpleasant moment while he practically FELT the Yeerk flicking through his memories. Just when he was almost comfortable with the whole thing. < Hmm. The best analogy I can find is something about 'crossing the streams'. Though it's most likely not to the atomic level. >

"Crossing the streams?" He didn't realize he'd said it out loud until a moment later. Hopefully somebody else would pick up on the Ghostbusters reference. Sam blinked, then shook his head. "I think we'll save that for a last resort, Rhiow. Not until we know for certain there's nothing of Kawalsky left."

Dean snorted at that, "Heard we got one of them wandering around by the way. But Rhiow could have deep fried those uh things with her mojo. If it wasn't for her little Oath business."

Brief glare at the wizard cat since he still would have preferred that option.

"Well I grabbed some stuff from the Impala already. Uh... well she uh, melted one of the spare guns though."

As usual, the glare had no effect on Rhiow. She simply blinked slowly at him. "I wouldn't have melted it if you hadn't been pointing it at me," she said reasonably. "At least I waited until you had dropped it. I didn't have to. And for your information no, I couldn't negate the Shiva parasite. I don't know enough about this Hh'awalss-hy to try it. The only reason I could have done it for Ssam is because I already knew his longform name, and I could see how it had changed. Even then, meddling around with people's names in the Speech is ridiculously foolish at best and dangerous at worst. Names change as your perceptions and thought patterns change - it's entirely possible that I would have been undoing him some important personal development."

She scratched at the plant-collar for a moment and began grooming. "At this point I think it would be best if we contacted Command, and requested further orders. I'm sure they've already come up with a plan and they won't thank us for going charging into the middle of it."

< Crossing the streams? I assume this is a human reference. >

< Think of it like hitting someone with a Dracon beam on high power. Suddenly they're not there anymore. Rhiow is saying she can basically do weaponless what you could do with a Dracon beam. >

The look of wary regard Iniss tossed the cat was probably nearly as telling as his earlier look of disgust at being related to the Shiva parasite .

"I'm always best suited for recon. You stand a better chance of surviving. Besides, my host is not really built for combat, even in the limited sense most humans are built for it." Tom was no solider, not like Sam or his brother. His training had been limited only to the hands on physical education human schools featured, and whatever physical fitness Iniss or the yeerk before him had practiced.

"I agree with looking to command for further orders. I would rather not bungle into the middle of anything."

"Really?" Sam raised an eyebrow at his brother. "You pointed a gun at Rhiow? Man, you should probably feel lucky that all she did was melt the gun and not your hand or face."

Something to be dealt with more at another time.

Sam nodded to Iniss and Dean. "You two are probably the best to get through to command. My omnicomm's still back in the room, I think, and the Captain would probably like very much to not ever hear from me." Since the man was still pretty wary of Sam.

He pointed out, "She was taking her sweet time helping me find you."

Dean scowled at that, "I'll talk to him, convince him you're on the up and up. Even with this current crap. Make sure he knows it's different this time."

He then brought up his Omnicomm to pass a message to Command, encoded and locked this time.

"All right, they got their notice."

Rhiow sniffed and chose not to answer Dean - she turned her back on him and continued her wash in a clear gesture of dismissal. If and when he decided to apologize, she'd listen to him. Otherwise...

"If we do need an advance scout, I might be able to serve - unless that vhai'd power dampener he had is still functional. I'm fairly good at being invisible, although the nature of hyperstring function aboard Stacy makes it patchy, sometimes."

Then she reached out in the mental dialect of the Speech, meaning to contact one being in particular - Sam's Yeerk. If you have any ideas that the rest of us should hear, now would be the time, she said. I would appreciate it if you continued to cooperate, as I'm sure Sam would.

"'Last Time'?" Iniss echoed, flicking his eyes between Sam and Dean, then returning wary eyes to the cat on the floor. This talk of melting guns and exploding people and cats that could cast magic was making him a little edgy.

"On the technological aspects of the device I can offer little help. Sam would be able to communicate such things much better." He sighed, glancing at Dean's communicator and arching an eyebrow, waiting for the inevitable orders.

"I'm actually the second Sam Winchester that's been part of the crew, apparently," Sam replied to Iniss. "He was taken as a host by a...particularly sadistic Yeerk, from the sounds of it. One that decided to adopt a scorched earth approach to things and when cornered, turned a gun on Sam and shot him in the head." Honestly, he wasn't sure if Schmuz was keeping it impersonal for him or if it was just easier because...it did happen to another person. Not himself. "So when Schmuz was found in a recently released member of the crew, that Sam...reacted badly. It ended with him gathering a group together and tried to kill...him." He made a motion to his head. "It ended with a lot of people hurt. So, I'm not exactly trusted around here."

Schmuz made a startled noise at Rhiow's mental touch. < I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting that... >

Another moment, then, < Sam, please sit? It will be easier if you don't have to translate for me. >

Sam grimaced (bitchface #23) and sighed, looking around before he sat on the floor. "It's easier for him to...explain himself."

< Don't fuck with them, man. >

< Wouldn't dream of it. >

Between one breath and the next, Sam's posture changed. He slouched more, glancing around nervously. Given everything, it wasn't unusual for the Yeerk to be wary, but he was trying.

Finally, he straightened enough to be able to look at them. "I'm sorry. Sam is...very large. I'm unused to it." Which explained why he was sitting. Or, at least, he thought it did. "The bombs were built to specifications that Shiva gave me. Each is slightly different, but none of them are beyond the capabilities of the crew. They will not cause the damage that Shiva expects, but...if they do go off, the damage will be enough. More than enough." And it was not something he wanted to think about. But the crew was resourceful. They could deal with the bombs. He was confident of that.

"The power dampener and shield will fail on their own, given enough time. But there are weaknesses built in as well. There's only minimal protection against electro-magnetic pulses, for example, which I think would be one of the first plans the crew would put into effect." He thought on it for a moment. "I don't know where the bombs were placed or which bombs where placed where."

Dean narrowed his eyes, but winced about hearing how the other Sam was shot in the head. His dark mind supplied the sickening visual all too easily, making his gut churn.

Yeah, Sam had an uphill battle getting trusted.

"You're with the Rogues now man, they got your back too."

He fell silent, and frowned when Schmuz took control back. Once again, he was looking at his brother's face and seeing somebody else looking back out. It made him think too much of other times, or how much Lucifer had been wanting to ride him.

And how he was supposed to allow it. His hands tightened into fists, but he kept silent for the time being.

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Meanwhile, back at the ranch [Closed to Iniss/Tom]

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