Play@YSDC

Z-Day + 1 - 7:22 AM Mountain Time - Warren Air Force Base, west of Cheyenne, Wyoming
In the outer office-
Kathryn McCoy followed Colonel Everett down the hall to a stairwell at the end and then upstairs. The colonel opened a door on the landing that led down another hall. At the end was a door marked "General Cutter - Commanding Officer" that was flanked by two big Security Forces troopers. There was a door on the left labeled "Colonel Everett - Executive Officer," and one on the right that said "Lt. Colonel Carmichael - Operations Officer." Everett opened the door on the left and led her into an outer office. There was a closed door on the left wall of this room. A woman's Air Force uniform hung from a coat rack in the near right corner. At the back, a petite woman with short black hair and glasses sat behind a desk, wearing a captain's uniform. She stood up and saluted when her commanding officer entered.

"Ms. McCoy," said the colonel, saluting back, "this is Captain Dana Sorenson, my aide. Captain, this is Kathryn McCoy, the newest addition to our officer corps."

"A pleasure to meet you," said the captain with a smile.

In the outer office-
"Thanks, same here," said Kathryn. She walked over to the desk and shook the captain's hand.

"I'll be in my office, Captain," said Everett. "Help Ms. McCoy get changed into her new uniform. Let me know when she's ready, and I'll come swear her in." He opened the door on the left, walked through it, and shut it behind him.

Captain Dana Sorenson got up and led Kathryn over to the coat rack, where she took down the uniform and handed it to her. It consisted of a knee length navy blue skirt and a pale blue blouse. It looked about the same as the captain's uniform, though a bit larger. There was a pair of black dress shoes on the floor in front of the rack. "I also have your lieutenant's bars here," she said, taking a pair of insignia out of her pocket, each of them a slim gold bar. "They go on your shoulders. There's an optional cap and a pair of panty hose in my desk drawer if you want them. If you want some privacy, you can use the executive washroom down the hall."

"Thanks again," said Kathryn. "I'll be fine." She raised her arms and slid her tank top over her head, then removed her boots and slipped out of her trousers. "Can I call you Dana?"

"Well, you're not a lieutenant yet, ma'am, so sure, for the next few minutes, anyway. Then you'll have to call me ma'am or captain."

In the outer office-
Kathryn pulled on the skirt, put on the blouse, and buttoned it. Then she affixed the gold bars to her shoulders and turned around. "How do I look?" she asked.

"You could go on a poster!" said Dana. "Seriously, I wish I had your looks."

"No, you don't," said Kathryn, lowering her head. "Sometimes beauty can be a curse."

Kathryn raises her head and brushes off the memories and says,
"I guess I´m set. Next stop, captain? I do want my camera back, if possible..."

In the outer office-
"I'm sure that can be arranged," said Dana. "I'll see to it personally while the colonel is briefing you. First you need to be sworn in." She tapped a button on the intercom on her desk. "Sir, she's ready."

The door to the inner office opened and Colonel Everett emerged. "Excellent," he said, smiling at Kathryn. "That uniform fits you like a glove. It's as though you were born to wear it. I knew you were officer material. If you're ready to start, please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, state your name..."

She raises her right hand."I, Kathryn, Anne McCoy...",

In the outer office-
"Do solemnly swear," continued Colonel Everett, waiting for Kathryn to echo the words before proceeding, "to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic." When she had completed the oath, he nodded. "Kathryn McCoy, I hereby commission you as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Now you salute."

Kat speaks the words and finishes with a salute. She brushes her skirt and asks, "Next stop?"

In the outer office-
The colonel returned Kathryn's salute, then lowered his hand before she lowered hers. "Now I'll brief you on the situation, Lieutenant McCoy," he said. "We can talk in my office."

"Sir," said Captain Dana Sorenson, "Lt. McCoy has requested permission to have her camera returned to her. I'd like to go track it down and collect it for her."

Colonel Everett nodded. "Yes, good idea. She can pick it up after we're done." He stood aside from the door and motioned for Kathryn to enter.

"Congratulations," said Dana to Kathryn with a smile as she headed out into the corridor.

"Thank you, mam." Lt McCoy replies and walks into the office of Col Everett´s.

She habitably takes a seat in a chair of the office.

In the inner office-
Kathryn entered Colonel Everett's office, which was rather spartan, and he closed the door behind her. There was a window in the back wall with the curtains drawn. The left wall had a portrait of the President hanging on it, and an American flag was on a pole in the near right corner. The desk was made of fine oak and was fairly clean. A large leather-backed chair sat behind it, into which the colonel lowered himself. Kathryn sat in a similar chair that faced the desk from the other side.

"Lt. McCoy," began the colonel, "what I'm about to tell you is top secret and does not leave this room. You are not to share this information with anyone. For reasons you might not be aware of, I cannot be sure of who I can trust at this base - not even Captain Sorenson. I have no reason to suspect her, of course, just being cautious. She has always done an excellent job. One of the reasons I commissioned you is precisely because you are an outsider. You are to repeat this to nobody. Is that understood?"

Kathryn nods, "Yes, SIr. I´m aware of people turning from friends to enemies. I know what you are talking about, sort of."

In the inner office-
"I don't think you do, exactly," said Colonel Everett, "or at least I hope you don't." He cleared his throat. "I don't know if you've heard some of the rumors going around, but there is talk that the source of this crisis is extraterrestrial." He paused. "This is, in fact, true."

"Alien origin, Sir?" She nods. "I understand there was a meteor that struck our airfield, so I guess it came from space allright. So, I see what you say." She pauses. "How do we get rid of this outbreak, then? Whatever it is..."

In the inner office-
"I'm not certain we can," said Colonel Everett. "We may have to learn how to adapt to the new reality, or we will perish. We have had meteor strikes of our own in this area, and one of them disgorged small extraterrestrial beings. There are other creatures as well aside from those and the 'infected' that I think we both know are actually reanimated corpses, and they are not so mindless. It may be possible to reason with them, negotiate with them, coexist with them."

"Sir, may I speak freely? I heard of a giant worm… Sir, coexist? What´s your plan to do that?" She leans forward, listening.

In the inner office-
"Yes, of course you may speak freely," said Colonel Everett. "I have heard reports of the giant worm-like creature as well. That may actually be terrestrial, but there are more previously unknown species besides that. We are finding that extraterrestrial life is at least as diverse as life here on Earth, perhaps moreso. Some of these beings are extremely advanced and intelligent, with technology beyond our comprehension. The primary barrier we face is one of communication, but I believe we have a solution. Allow me to show you something."

The colonel stood up and swung the President's portrait out from the wall. Now that he had done so, Kathryn could see hinges on its left side, though the portrait itself and the colonel blocked her view of whatever was behind it. Still, the sound of something spinning back and forth made it apparent that there was a safe there. Colonel Everett removed something, then closed the safe and the portrait. He was carrying a large black thermos and a pair of tongs. He sat down once more and placed the thermos on the desk, then unscrewed the top and placed it on the desktop. Within the thermos was a hot, bubbling liquid.

"What I'm about to show you may be alarming, but do not be afraid," said Colonel Everett. He reached into the thermos with the tongs and pulled out the strangest, most terrifying thing Kathryn had ever seen. It had a long, snake-like body, but its head had four extremely thin membranous wings that spread out in all directions. It writhed as it turned towards Kathryn and opened its mouth, revealing four very sharp teeth that stuck out straight towards her. It let out a hissing noise.

OOC,[b]Kathryn[/b], please roll Sanity. Sanity loss for seeing the creature is 1/1d8. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, you must roll Idea. If you succeed at that roll, you go temporarily insane, but if you fail, you may act freely.

Compared to what she has been through previously, this Ripley - thingy with wings, is no biggie. "You got one, sweet." She recollects herself. "Alright Sir, now you´ve proven your point. Put that away, please. You said there are aliens we can communicate with. How - radio?"

In the inner office-
"But this is how we can communicate with them," said Colonel Everett. "This is a very special creature, different from the ones we were speaking about earlier. She - this one is a female of the species - is extremely intelligent, but her kind does not communicate the way Earth creatures do. She is a symbiotic organism. Her kind may look frail and small, but she makes up for it with a mind far superior to our own and her unique abilities. Earth is an extremely inhospitable environment for these beings, but they possess the ability to join with many other species - including humans. If she were to have a suitable host, they would be able to communicate directly by sharing thoughts. They would be able to share voice too, so that they could communicate with others by speaking. Can you see the possibilities?"

Being in the communications business Kathryn sees this as a possibility... but facing the reality of hosting an Alien species is staggering. "Host? Who would do that? You sir? We couldn´t force anyone to host that thing."

In the inner office-
"No, of course we can't," said Colonel Everett. "It's a monumental decision. I would be willing to do it myself, but she does not consider me an acceptable host, and her reasons are unfathomable to me. Perhaps she only wants a female host." The alien creature stared at Kathryn with her beady black eyes, her needle-sharp teeth pointed at her. "I think she likes you, though. I don't know if you would be willing, but please consider it. There really isn't anyone else I can trust with this who would agree to such a thing. These beings have considerable knowledge and power. In the wrong hands, it could be a disaster. A poor choice of host could doom us all. But I trust you, if you wish to take that step."

"Sir, respectively no, sir. I can not see myself as hosting that...thing. Neither do I think we should. Better incinerate that specimen. My thoughts." Kathryn now stands up getting ready to leave the room. "Am I dismissed, sir?"

In the inner office-
"She may be humanity's only hope," said Colonel Everett. "She can also probably understand everything we're saying." He sighed and brought the creature back over to the thermos, lowering it in and opening the tongs.

Then the creature surged out of the thermos and flew across the room towards Kathryn! Luckily, it wasn't moving very fast.

OOC,Since you both have DEX 14, you'll need to roll initiative to see who goes first. The creature got a 95, so if you get 94 or less on 1d100, you may act now. If you get 96 or higher, you must wait for the creature to act first. If you get exactly 95, please roll another 1d100 and I'll roll again for the creature.

Backing up to the door, Kat makes a split decision to bolt though the door.

In the outer office-
Kathryn threw open the door and darted back into the outer office. The flying creature pursued her only a short distance behind, following her before she could close the door behind her.

"Hold absolutely still, Lieutenant!" called Colonel Everett. He hurried around his desk and over to the door. "She's attracted to movement! And whatever you do, don't open the hall door! We can't let her get loose!"

OOC,[b]Kathryn[/b], it's your turn to act.

McCoy having been ambushed in this way by Col Everett doesnt´t believe a Word he says. She sees the alien follw her closely. In the run she turns and prepares a back hand swing at the pursuing entity. The hours at the squash qourt make this maneuver quite natural. Albeit the target is a bit larger than ususal.

Attack:

In the outer office-
The flying creature darted aside, avoiding Kathryn's swing, but at least she distracted it enough to throw off its aim. It darted past her and turned around for a second pass.

Colonel Everett raced across the office and seized Kathryn in his powerful grip. "I said, hold still," he hissed. "Are you trying to provoke her?"

OOC,Your turn, [b]Kathryn[/b]. You may attempt to parry the Grapple with a Grapple of your own. The base chance is 25%. You may also attempt to Dodge, but you may not then attack if you try. Whether your defense succeeds or fails, you may then act.

Feeling the grip grow tighter, Kat tenses up and tries to wrangle out of Everett´s grip. Not losing focus on the evasive flying wasp, she punches at it again, the aim is dead on. "Don´t you touch me!", she screams at Col Everett, Eyes ablaze with hate for being cornered in more than one way in the confined space.

OOC:

OOC,Unfortunately, [b]Kathryn[/b] does not have any points in Grapple, so she only has the base skill of 25%. That attempt failed to dislodge the colonel, but the punch is a good hit. Punches are not impaling attacks, and for a critical success you would need to roll 5 or less. If you had Martial Arts you could do extra damage on higher rolls than that, but you only have the base of 1% there.

In the outer office-
Colonel Everett maintained his iron grip on Kathryn, but she was able to swing her fist and connect solidly with the alien that was flitting around her. She did it some serious damage, but not enough to polish it off. Still, she could see that it was fragile and very vulenerable to injury. A couple more solid hits would be able to finish it.

However, Kathryn was vulnerable too. The horrid thing swooped in on her and plunged its sharp teeth into her neck! The pain was intense, though she was not seriously injured. That was not the worst of it, though. To Kathryn's horror, the thing wriggled and burrowed its way into her flesh. Colonel Everett pinned her against the wall and clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her involuntary scream. His look darkened as his eyes met hers. "Do not struggle, my dear," he whispered. "It will hurt less if you do not resist." She was helpless to do anything but stare as it vanished into her, its tail whipping back and forth before it too entered her. She felt sick to her stomach, and then an intense pain shot through her head.

OOC,[b]Kathryn[/b], please roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 1d4+1/2d10+1. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, you must roll Idea, and you must fail that roll to avoid temporary insanity. Also, please make a Resistance Table roll pitting your POW of 17 against the alien's POW of 21. This gives you a 30% chance of success. Only if you do not go insane and succeed at the Resistance Table roll may you act, but you are still being held fast. You can no longer attack the alien, as it is inside you now, but the colonel is a valid target. However, you cannot try to punch him, as he is pinning your arms.

Kat feels a presence within and can´t function properly - as if she´s not totally in charge.

In the outer office-
Kathryn tried to bring up her knee into Colonel Everett's crotch, but her muscles no longer responded to her. Agony shot through her brain as she fought for control over it with the monster in her head...fought, and lost. She could still see everything that was happening, though her vision faded slightly, as if she were watching through a thin sheet of gauze. She could still hear, and her other senses worked. But she was powerless to do anything as the alien entity within her violated her mind. It was almost unbearable, and in spite of all her terrifying ordeals to get to this point, she knew with a certainty that this was the absolute worst thing that had ever happened to her, the worst thing that possibly could happen. Back when Gardner had had her, she had thought that nothing could be worse than rape, but now she knew that she had been wrong. She would have been better off dead. She would have been better off had she never been rescued from Gardner and was still his captive, subject to his cruel desires. For Gardner could only possess her body, but he could never have her mind. This presence in her head had both of them firmly in its grasp, and it was far, far crueler than Gardner could ever be...

OOC,I'd like for you to play both [b]Kathryn[/b] and the alien queen inside her from this point on. [b]Kathryn[/b] won't be able to do much other than think, though there are subtle ways for her to influence the alien. Playing the alien is a big challenge, but I think you're up to it. When you interact with other PCs, you'll have to be careful not to let on that [b]Kathryn[/b] isn't herself, and you may find yourself working in opposition to them. Don't start posting for the queen yet, as there's a lot of information I'll have to give you before you can even think about doing that. You'll need to know about her powers and abilities, her motivations, and her vast knowledge first. It'll take me some time to put all of that together for you, and there's a good chance I won't be able to finish it on Sunday, in which case it will need to wait until next weekend.

OOC: Within, Kat screams, "Noooooooooo!" As she drifts off in a daze. A Dream it must be a bad dream, like the one she always had had on the summers at her uncle´s farm. She goes to that place, up in the barn where she could be alone. Safe from it all.
Everything.
Gone.
Just echoes of what had been.
A spider crawling up the panel of the ill built barn. Falling down on the back of her neck.
The pain when it bit her.
Warren Airforce Base.
Warren - a place to get lost in, that´s where she´s at. It now becomes clear to her that she had entered that rabbit hole.
Kat let her senses go, surrendering.

Darkness, Kat only sees darkness. What seems to be blacker than black is shades of grey in layers over an obsidian background. She can make out the dark grey form that must be Colonel Everett.

The grey gets eaten by the black.

Kathryn McCoy dwindles down even deeper in the black abyss.

Her mind goes back to the control tower. "This is NSP Seven-Eight-Romeo to tower. Do you copy? Over."
Kat feels the heavy breathing of Corporal Anthony Gardner down her neck. "Can this get any worse?" she had thought to herself at that moment. Now, she knows that it sure could.

Not being in control is very much so worse.

The being is probing her every memory. Gleaning at every secret. Finding all the dark places she has hidden away, way far back in her forgotten abyss called self.

Escaping the scene in the tower, Kat feels her *self* leaving the body and moving towards the ceiling.
Below, Gardner, McCoy, Flynn and Alvarez can be seen.
Then only Dawkins in her perch on the roof.

*************

Back to the office at WAFB.

In the outer office-
Kathryn's eyes flashed, indicating that Akna was now in control of her new host. Colonel Everett released her and smiled. "Does she please you, my love?" he asked.

"She's formidable, dear. A mind to my liking and she's slowly accepting me as a part... Poor thing. So much darkness." She twirls around stretching her arms above her head and looks into Everetts's eyes.

She lets her hands come down and trail the Colonel's uniform down to his buckle. She kneels before him. Looking up at him from her crouched position she whispers, "Do you have a snake here or are you just happy to see me?" She un-belts his uniform and stands up so that her breasts brush him all the way up. Kisses him on the lips and giggles. "She'll suit just fine. Perky and savoury. The way I like it."

Kathryn McCoy,What is all this? Voices... memories... that tingling feeling... I feel vibrant.. elated... powerful and... good. She can't remember feeling this well since those unspoiled years on the farm. Before... it.. had happened... in the barn. Now she or rather the alien was in control. And Kat has no problem with that. It was better than be in no control fumbling when all really was lost anyway. She decides that for now, her alien I has the reins. She drifts back to let what happens happen. Content. Less scared. Reinforced.

In the outer office-
Colonel Everett grinned widely, emrbacing Kathryn and returning her kiss passionately. "I'm glad you like her," he said. "She pleases me too. It has been far too long, my darling." Then he kissed her again, sliding his tongue into her mouth. Akna could feel her wounds healing. Now that she was in a host once more, she could take advantage of and enhance its natural healing abilities. Kathryn had done some real damage with her punch, but it did not take long for Akna to fully mend herself. The host body still had the entrance wound, but that could wait a little.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door from the hall outside. "Sir, is everything all right in there?" asked a man's voice.

OOC,You only need to put [b]Kathryn[/b]'s thoughts in spoiler buttons when you're in a thread with other playable characters. You may just have them in the open in this thread while you're by yourself if you prefer.

Kat lets go of the buckle and moves away from the colonel. "Thanks for the tour, sir." She straightens her uniform and waits for the colonel to assure the knocker that things are quite alright.

In the outer office-
Everett reluctantly broke off and went to the door, opening it. Two SF troopers were there, the same ones Kathryn had seen outside General Cutter's office. "Everything's fine, men," he said.

The men saluted. "We thought we heard shouting, sir," said one of them.

The colonel returned their salutes. "As you were. Yeah, that was me on my radio. Some incompetent boob screwed up, and I had to ream him. One of the drawbacks of being the XO. I have to be the bad guy so General Cutter doesn't have to."

"Right, sir." The men walked away, and Colonel Everett shut the door. He turned back to Kathryn. "Now, where were we?"

"About here.." Kathryn uses the memory bank both visual and sensory to guide her next. She kneels in front of Everett, slowly pulls out his belt - dropping it to the floor. She pushes the colonel backwards to the shelves - only yanking him back by the lining of his pants, effectively pulling them down. She assesses the status and treats Everett to the same as her uncle used to want it in the barn.

"Is this the right way?"

Inside herself, Kat cringed and swallowed.

"Salty." she comments, stands up and turns to leave the closet.

In the outer office-
The entry wound on Kathryn's neck closed up, and it was as if it had never been there.

Colonel Everett took out a small packet from his pocket and tore it open, revealing a small round object made out of latex that Akna recognized as a condom from accessing Kathryn's memories. If the host were to become pregnant from another host, the child would have all of their ancestral memories. Such a thing was dangerous, which is why it was forbidden. "It pays to be prepared," he said. "Let's go into the inner office, where we won't be disturbed."

Akna followed Chaak into Colonel Everett's office, inside she looses all clothing, seating herself on top of a desk with filing cabinets beneath. "This is like when we were at the pyramids, Kukulan, my love." She smiles. "Just need some gilding..." She squeezes her breasts and crosses her arms letting them perch there. "Come and explore." She whispers.

In the inner office-
"That takes me back," said Chaac, grinning as he closed and locked the door behind them. Kathryn could only watch horrified while he and Akna used her body for their pleasure. This was worse than with Gardner. At least then she had had the option of resisting, however futile it might have seemed. Now she was truly powerless, unable to move so much as a finger with her own will.

After about an hour, they finished up and got dressed. Then he stopped what he was doing when he heard something on his radio. "I'll be there as soon as I can, Colonel Smedley," he said, switching off the channel before speaking to Akna. "That was the base security chief. Apparently they arrested the leader of a group of traitors on the base while we were...otherwise occupied and have been interrogating him, and an emergency has arisen that requires my attention as well as that of the base commander. This should prove interesting. You should accompany us, my Queen, if you're ready to interact with the humans."

OOC,[b]Kathryn[/b], please roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, please roll Idea. Regardless of whether or not [b]Kathryn[/b] goes insane, [b]Akna[/b] may act freely.

Kat is shaking... She almost breaks inside. She would have broken in a thousand pieces if it wasn't for the fact that she had been cracking a little for so long. Now, it was just as going through the motions. A little less her. A bit more something else...

Akna tidies up the uniform and replies, "Yes, Sir!"


"Was that good?" "Should that have been Yes, Corporal!?"

In the inner office-
"Colonel, not Corporal," said Chaac. "A corporal is a low rank, and they don't actually have any in the Air Force. Colonels are just one step below generals. Other than that, either is correct. Human ranks can be confusing, and I suppose your host's memories are incomplete on the subject. You're a second lieutenant. You can tell by the single bars on your uniform's shoulders. If you meet any officer of a higher rank, you need to salute, and they salute you back. Any enlisted personnel must salute you, and then you salute them back. That should cover the basics of military protocol for now. Your host is only newly commissioned, so any mistakes will be excusable. Let us go." He opened the door to the outer office and led Akna through.

In the outer office-
Captain Dana Sorenson was again seated at her desk, and a familiar looking-digital camera was upon it, along with a holstered 9mm pistol and two extra magazines. Akna saluted, the captain saluted next, and the colonel saluted last. "What's up, sir?" Dana asked.

"An emergency has arisen," he said. "Lt. McCoy and I are going to one of the observation rooms in security to meet with General Cutter and Lt. Colonel Smedley. Hold down the fort until I return."

"Yes, sir. Lt. McCoy, I managed to locate your camera, and I also brought back a sidearm for you."

Kat nods at the captain and takes the proffered camera and pistol, pocketing the extra mags. "Might record the party with this... Are you attending Sorenson?" While asking, she holsters the pistol.

In the outer office-
"That's Captain Sorenson," said Dana, though she did not seem too upset. "I realize that you're new to all this, but in military protocol you need to address superior officers either with their rank along with their name, or as sir or ma'am, depending on gender. You can refer to enlisted personnel by name only if you wish, though you may optionally include the rank as well then. And they have to call you ma'am or Lieutenant. No, I won't be going along. The colonel just ordered me to stay here."

"We'd better leave now," said Chaac. "Colonel Smedley said it was very urgent."

"Yes, Captain." Kat feels sheepish. She moves out, following the lead of Colonel Everett. "I wonder what urgent matter is about to be handled..."

In the hall-
As Chaac and Akna exited from the office, the door at the end of the hall opened and a tall, determined-looking man in a spotless uniform stepped out of it and approached them. He had star-shaped insignia on his shoulders, which Kathryn knew meant he was a general. He had short gray hair and looked to be about sixty years old, but he was still somewhat handsome.

"General Cutter, sir," said Colonel Everett, saluting instantly.

Kathryn pays attention and follows Everett´s lead. She skips the formality but stands in salute and introduces herself. "Lt McCoy reporting, Sir!" She feels as if she´s an imposter, which is quite accurate.

In the hall-
"Pleased to meet you, Lieutenant," said the general, returning the salute. "I'm General Cutter, the commanding officer of this base. I see you've already met my right hand man. We'd better get down to security pronto. From the sound of things, it's extremely urgent." He led them to their destination, in the basement of another building.

OOC,[b]Kathryn[/b], you are moving to the thread linked below. Please do not read any posts in the new thread above the one in the link. Also note that there is another active player in your new thread, so you'll need to try to maintain the pretense of not having an alien inside your head. ;)

Investigation