trans_9 | Rooting around in Stacy's innards (closed to Ian Chesterton and John Crichton)

"That's interesting." Once he was by the conduit Ian looked at it, listened to it and poked it. "I hope that doesn't mean something's wrong with Stacy." Unless it was taking by-products away from the reactor. In which case he wanted to know where it was going. "Let's follow it and see where it goes."

He started off down the tunnel, which got narrower as he went and the noise definitely changed - Ian was sure the floor was vibrating. He stopped and bent down to put a hand against it, although he couldn't decide if it was something to worry about. "I wonder if we can get a sample of this." Just in case, he'd brought some equipment, tucked in a pocket and when he poked hard enough, a little of the liquid the conduit was carrying oozed out and Ian caught it in a sample tube.

If there was something wrong with Stacy, they probably weren't equipped to handle it. And this time there wasn't a Pilot to walk them through anything either. John followed Ian deeper into the tunnel, waiting for Ian to get his science geek on (hell yeah, he even brought a sample tube - good man) and trying to listen above the sound of his breathing echoing in the helmet. It sounded like...something. He couldn't place his finger on it, John tilting his head even though that wasn't gonna make a difference.

He turned and - okay, that was weird. The way back was blocked with what looked like a membrane, slick and slimy.

"Uh, hey Ian. Take a look at this." John didn't trust trying to shoot their way out. Something told him Stacy wouldn't take too kindly to getting shot in her guts.

"Where did that come from?" Ian tucked the sample tube away and went closer to the membrane. He wasn't sure that poking it would be a good idea. "Maybe there is something wrong and Stacy's blocking it off." Which would be fine if they weren't on the wrong side of it. He looked back over his shoulder, but there weren't any tentacles ready to throw Ian and John around.

All of a sudden the ever-present noise and vibration stopped. Ian's breathing suddenly sounded so much louder in his helmet. Not least because it was also faster. "Do you think..." he began, but stopped when the noise started up again. But this time it was a different tone altogether - one that felt like it went right through him.

John could make a guess as to what that something wrong was.

"We get stuck here, we'll be pinned," John said. He couldn't say he was an expert at tactical assessment like, say, Aeryn, but he thought he knew a bad situation when he saw one and this was the dictionary definition. John picked one of the branches that split off from the tunnel, the one that he thought was least likely to have that sound coming from it.

"Let's not get stuck here." He wasn't sure how long the suits' oxygen supply would last, but they hadn't brought anything to eat or drink with them. And it would be typical if the omnicomms didn't work down here.

He followed John down the tunnel and the sound did fade a little, so they were heading the right way at least. But this tunnel was definitely pulsing, more so the deeper into it they got. Ian stopped and put a hand on the wall. "It feels regular, like a heartbeat." Which he hoped meant that it was supposed to do that.

"Could be we went too far. Didn't you say it sounds like no one's ever been down here?" John glanced behind him. "Maybe we're pinging as threats. Y'know, like foreign bacteria."

He didn't want to see what happened when Stacy decided she was sick and tired of some humans kicking about her if that was the case. The membrane back there kept bothering him, almost like it was meant to block off a potential escape route. John glanced down the way they came, trying to ignore that throbbing pulse he could feel through his feet and the floor.

"Think I'd feel a whole lot better if we could secure a fire exit just in case." AKA that was John's totally great plan. He was still down with exploring and trying to figure out a way to Stacy's core that the Daligig didn't seem to know about, but he also happened to want to get out of here alive, too.

"As far as I know no one's been down here." The idea that they might be foreign bacteria in Stacy is worryingly plausible. But if all that meant was they were thrown back to Engineering by tentacles that wouldn't be too bad. He just couldn't see how Stacy would manage it from here.

He stopped and looked around the tunnel they were walking down. "We can't go back because one end of that tunnel is blocked and the other narrows." Admittedly there were other tunnels branching off it, but there was no guarantee they would be better than this one. "Let's keep going and see where we come to." He started walking again.

The tunnel curved around and then abruptly split into two. Ian sighed. "This feels like a maze."

"So basically we're Aldrin and Armstrong." John said, half to himself. (By the way, he totally got dibs on being Armstrong). "Makes you wonder where it wants us to go then. Think we're being herded?"

Creepy thought. John found himself cradling that rifle even more now and he probably would've been white-knuckling it if he wasn't wearing the space suit. They'd probably made it a hundred feet down that tunnel when he saw something moving up in the distance, in that murky green gloom that had only deepened the further in they got. The chevrons lighting the way only bounced off the stuff like a fog rolling in from the beach.

John clapped a warning hand on Ian's shoulder, nodding at the shaping moving toward them. It didn't look human, not with the way it was missing the standard head plus four limbs arrangement, which made him inclined to consider it a possible threat.

"Perhaps." It was just as well John didn't need a reply because Ian wasn't sure who Aldrin and Armstrong were.

At John's hand Ian looked over at the shape coming toward them. "Maybe it just happens to be coming this way and can't see us," he suggested. It wasn't as if there was a very clear view. To humans eyes anyway.

He wasn't sure if he wanted to risk it though. "Perhaps we should try another tunnel." He turned round and started walking back the way they'd come. If the shape sped up or followed them into another tunnel, then they'd know it was a threat.

Remind John to catch Ian up to speed on the whole moon race thing.

John shot Ian a look. He thought the guy was pretty damn smart, but that wasn't one of his most awe-inspiring observations, in John's opinion. He'd gotten so used to the idea of humans getting shafted on just about every sense from sight to sound that hearing Ian saying (not even sarcastically) that the alien might be more blind than they were was downright jarring. John shook his head. He'd rather assume it knew they were there than hope it didn't see them.

At least Ian was showing the same common sense he'd expected of the man since he got to know him. That was a good idea.

John followed Ian, bringing up the rear. After a minute, he turned around and...there it was again. Closer. It was speeding up too.

"You got anything you don't mind losing?" John turned to Ian. He'd rather not shoot at it or get close enough to see what it did without having a test run.

"I have more sample tubes." Of course it was getting closer to them. It would have been too much to ask that it was benign. He pulled a sample tube out and threw it in the shape's path. It didn't hit the shape - Ian didn't want to annoy it. But it at least gave the shape pause - it stopped when it was directly over the sample tube.

"At least we know how to slow it down." It was hard to tell in the gloom, but he couldn't see the sample tube after the shape had finished with it. "I just wish I'd brought more sample tubes with me."

That wasn’t exactly comforting how the shape just…absorbed it. John didn’t want to see what happened if it tried that on a human. “Well, see what you can do, but I think we probably are gonna have to book it or try shooting it and hoping we don’t piss off Stacy.”

John didn’t think he needed to say outloud that they were going to be having a really big problem if they went with option two and that didn’t do anything. The shape continued to advance, like some creepy thing you pictured coming at you from out of the closet.

If Stacy took exception to them shooting it, then it would be best to leave that option until last. "Let's try and lose it first." He wasn't sure what senses this thing used, but staying still wasn't the best one to test and sight would be easiest. So he ran back down the tunnel, left a sample tube on the ground and then chose another tunnel that branched off that one.

Great idea. John took off after Ian, making sure not to slip on the sample tube Ian left as bait, and ducked into that other tunnel after him. It was a tight squeeze, and John couldn't take the feeling of being inside a giant blood vessel that could constrict at any moment. It took less than a minute for the shape to slurp over, investigate the tube, and then bend and ooze toward their tunnel.

Looked like it had their scent.

All they could do was run down this tunnel, although it was so narrow that they had to go single file. And halfway down it suddenly narrowed even more. Ian turned sideways and held his breath, waiting to see if it would pass. They couldn't go backwards, where the shape was and who knew what was ahead of them. But after a minute the tunnel widened again and Ian breathed. When he looked back he saw the narrowing was going along the tunnel and when it reached the shape it seemed to absorb it. Although he wasn't sure they'd seen the last of it.

"Let's get out of his tunnel before it does that again."

John would like to say he could finally relax, but this was just reminding him all over that they were surrounded entirely by Stacy - that thing could come out any where, any time. Maybe full on go IT on them. John's breath was fogging up the visor of his helmet as he swiveled, trying to listen or look for any signs of the walls bulging. It was so narrow that he had a hard time moving here. Not exactly a place he wanted to get ambushed in.

"I'm with you all the way on that." John blew out his breath in a sigh. "Let's book it."

He squeezed his way out of the tunnel after Ian. They were in a larger area, like a spider-web of hard material (cartilage?) and more membranes pulsing above their heads.

"How about up there?" Ian pointed up at the spider-web like structure. "If whatever that was only works on the ground then it might be safer." Might being the operative word. He reached up to touch it and found it was more springy than he expected. "I don't know if it'll support our weight." Perhaps it was best not to try unless they were desperate.

"We're not short on tunnels at least." It looked a little like a hub, with all the tunnels coming out of it, and more conduits carrying liquids. "I'd like to get a sample of one that looks healthy while we're not being chased."

John glanced up where Ian was pointing. It looked like a more organic version of the ceiling strats on Moya, and he had to hope it was just as strong -- at least strong enough to hold two grown men. Mentally crossing his fingers here. "If we gotta try that, you'll have to go first."

The gun was going to slow John down and he wasn't at the point he felt comfortable ditching it, so there was that. Besides, he figured worse came to worse, he could give Ian some cover. A few of the conduits throbbed overhead as something pumped into the core. With all the sounds Stacy made and the fact everything here seemed to breathe, it made it harder to keep track of what was Stacy being her normal self and what was that thing coming at them again. John was on red alert.

"Think we'd better figure out what it's supposed to do before we make another field trip," John said. He nodded toward the center of the hub, where there was a long column of what looked like glowing flesh growing up. "That leads up to the core, right?"

"I think so," Ian said, standing beside John and looking up. "I wonder if we can climb it." He touched the glowing flesh, but it bent far too much when he pulled on it. "So we need to find another way round. One of these tunnels must go up there."

He went around the room, looking down the tunnels to see if any of them sloped upward. There were a couple that sloped down, which was interesting and he definitely wanted to investigate later, if they had the chance. Finally he found one that went upwards. It didn't necessarily mean it continued to go upwards, but it was looking more likely than any of the others.

"I think that's the tunnel we should use to get out of here," he said, pointing to it. If the blob came back again they wouldn't have time to choose a tunnel.

Then he turned his attention to one of the conduits. It didn't have an opening anywhere and Ian didn't think that taking his penknife to it would be a good idea. He followed it round, looking for a tap on it.

Okay, so they'd both decided which way to book it if - when? - that thing came back and tried to absorb them. He could go with a plan like that.

"Hey, over here." John glanced over his shoulder to make sure he didn't have that blob suddenly materializing behind his back, then gestured Ian over as he pointed as a spot on the other side of the large conduit. "Check it out."

It was feverishly warm to the touch. A lot of Stacy was, but this felt different. More give here, like some of the sections you had to touch to open some of the smaller doors. John kept a look out as he gave Ian a chance to investigate, trying not to look nervous and spook himself and Ian. Probably a good thing they both had these helmets on - he couldn't get a good look at how Ian himself was doing here.

Ian was too interested to be nervous. He touched the spot John pointed to and frowned. "Is it supposed to be that hot?" he wondered. There was what looked like a join in the conduit here, so Ian put some pressure on it until it tore a little. He collected up some of the liquid and watched as the liquid in the conduit flowed faster, presumably to compensate for the leak. He hoped that hadn't done Stacy too much damage. He put a finger over the hole, which helped, but it wasn't as if he could stay here and do that. "Do you have anything to seal a hole?" he asked John.

John winced at seeing the little tear, the liquid oozing out a little too much like blood for his comfort.

"I'll check." John patted himself down. The thing about space suits was there wasn't much room for pockets and in the end, the only thing he had was the strap that was attached to the rifle he'd dragged down all this way with them. After some struggle he managed to get it off, passing it to Ian and hoping they could make it out of here in once piece. Something told hi it wouldn't be that easy.

He turned again to check their backs. The throbbing sound had picked up in pitch since Ian opened up that small tear in Stacy, as if she was becoming aware of the tiny little aliens poking around her insides and was deciding he wasn't gonna have none of that. John tapped his foot on the floor, white-knuckling the gun and trying to keep a poker face so he wouldn't set off Ian. Ian wasn't the panicking kind of guy - most of it was for John's benefit.

"Uh, Ian." John said.

One of the walls was bulging out toward them.

Ian looked round from where he was tying the strap around the conduit. "I think it's time to go," he said and finished off the tying. He hoped it wouldn't be so tight to stop the conduit from working, but tight enough to stop it from leaking. They didn't really have the luxury of waiting for Ian to take time checking.

As soon as it was done he ran off to the tunnel he'd discovered earlier. The bulge in the wall had already got a lot bigger and was looking like it might split off into a separate blob any minute.

There's nothing quite like a bit of what looked like certain death chasing you to help you run. Ian ran along the tunnel at a speed usually reserved for a flat surface.

The tunnel twisted around and the gradient increased. By the time it opened out into a room Ian was panting hard. But the view was worth it and the blob hadn't yet caught up with them. There was a tall structure that ran from the floor to the ceiling - and perhaps further than that. It pulsed regularly, pushing liquid along the conduits running from it.

Time to go was right.

John was a bit slower than Ian, between dragging around a rifle and being just overall bigger than the other man, and there were some places in the tunnel where he had to turn sideways to do that awkward side-step so he could get through without inching along. He tried not to imagine the tunnel constricting on them. He finally caught up with Ian, fogging up his visor's shield and wishing he could wipe it from the inside. Damn things needed to come with windshield wipers.

Or defrosters.

"Whoa," John said, eloquent as ever. "Talk about Vatican sized."

He stepped forward, slung the rifle under his arm, and grabbed at one of the fleshy knobs poking off from the column. It was a lot more stiff than he expected and looked like it'd hold a human man's weight. John glanced over at Ian.

"Hope you're good at climbing," he said. If Ian wasn't, he was probably gonna get really good today. There didn't seem to be any tunnels but the way they came and it was either up or John tried shooting at the blob (or Stacy's version of a white blood cell? Who knew?).

"I've climbed trees." This was probably more like tree climbing than rock climbing, which Ian hadn't tried. With the blob chasing them it was academic - he was sure he would find a way to get up there and away from it.

"I'll go first. You shoot it if it gets too close." So far they'd only seen the blob move along the ground, but that didn't mean it couldn't float upwards if it needed to. It had already made it to the top of the tunnel, so there was no time to waste.

Ian stepped onto the first knob and hauled himself up. They were further spaced apart than a ladder, but at least they didn't have branches in inconvenient places. He was a couple of feet up when the knobs started getting slimy. "Ugh." There's some sort of slime up here. Not that they were in a position to stop, but the slime gradually got worse and he was having to wipe it off the visor with his arm - which was also slimy so it just made the whole thing a blurred mess.

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