IC-Ep 4-Take the Long Way Home(Everyone else)

[smug_jaguar]

"I think our first move should be to disarm and contain them. That way, they will be unable to interfere with our journey home," suggests Heinrich.

"Once we have them immobilized, would it be possible to discern whether or not they are infected by a biological contagion, or purely under psychic control?" he then asks Bauer.

[Mr. Handy]

On the bridge, Juliette kept her eye on the scanners, completely oblivious to what was going on in the medical bay. The scanners showed nothing but empty space. There were billions of miles of it between Charon's Ferry and Earth. Even the asteroid belt was avoidable thanks to Pluto's odd orbit that was at an angle to the plane that contained the rest of the solar system. There were only hundreds of thousands of miles of empty space between the ship and Pluto.

Karin completed her examination of Heinrich.

"Maybe I could talk to Juliette - I mean Captain Desjardins," suggested Sofia. "I won't be able to speak to her in private on the bridge, but I can approach her when she goes off-shift."

Karin Bauer,[b]Heinrich[/b] was in excellent physical condition, and he seemed all right mentally. [b]Karin[/b], you may now roll Medicine and Psychology for your next patient.

[aine]

Karin finishes her examination of Heinrich, "Thankyou Sergeant, you are as fit as ever." She smiles and then says loudly, "Okay Hu, lets have you up next." Karin examines Hu and then continues to speak with her voice lowered."If we contain them then they will be released as soon as we hit dirtside. The General is the Kaiser's best buddy and it will be his voice against ours. It will be court-marshal, prison and happy Mi-Gos for all of us." Karin pauses to let this sink in.

'If we were certain there is no recovery of either men back to their true selves it would be an easy decision with a swift outcome. But I don't know how this mind-control thing is working; I'm fairly sure there is no biological contagion as yet. I'm not a physiologist and can't tell if the mind control is permanent. How can it work over such vast distances- surely it can't, otherwise they'd have reached us on Earth ages ago." Karin frowns, 'Should we search the ship inside and out in case we have stow-aways? Does anyone know Major Orlova's movements on Pluto?"

[Mr. Handy]

Karin Bauer,[b]Lt. Hu Xiang[/b] was suffering mild aftereffects of exposure to extreme cold, but he was recovering nicely and she was able to treat him. His mind was as strong as ever. [b]Karin[/b], you may now roll Medicine and Psychology for your next patient.

Xiang felt much better now that Karin had treated him.

[aine]

"Sofia, can you sit on the bed next please." Karin gives the others a chance to consider plans while she examines Sofia's mental and physical well-being. While waiting for the results to come through she opens the comm link. "Captn. Desjardins, this is Captn. Bauer. Could you visit the med bay for a check-up at your earliest convenience please?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Oh, that's an even better idea!" said Sofia.

Karin Bauer,[b]Sofia[/b] was in similar condition to [b]Xiang[/b]. [b]Karin[/b], your Medicine roll failed, so she did not get back her lost HP yet. However, you may try First Aid. If you succeed, she recovers it.

[smug_jaguar]

"I don't think it's a good idea to leave those two alone on the bridge,"says Kohl, leaving the med-bay to join the General and Chief on the bridge.

[aine]

Mr. Handy,Sorry, put two rolls in automatically by mistake so ignore second roll. 1staid: 75%[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3617428/]1d100=61, 1d100=63[/url]

Karin spends a bit longer patching Sofia up. "There you go, all better. Sergeant Kohl has a good idea; we should all get back to our normal duties for the moment so we don't arouse their suspicions. We must think of a way to get a message back to Earth about the Mi-Go colony on Pluto. Hopefully Captain Desjardins will have an idea about that."

[SSior.27]

Hu nods thanks to the doctor, still in thought. "First thing's first. Maybe you should run a diagnostic in them as well, standard procedure and the like. One or two of us could be here in case all hell breaks loose. Then we can deal with our return to Earth."

[Mr. Handy]

"We won't be able to communicate with Earth until we're much, much closer," said Sofia. "The signal strength is too weak out here with just the ship's communications facilities. The Styx Base communications array could do it like it did on the way to Pluto, but we didn't have time to bring it back with us. We'll have to get almost as close as the orbit of Mars before we can send them a message, and that will be nearly two months from now. Lt. Rose knows a lot about communications. If there's a way to amplify the signal somehow, she'd be the one to do it."

[aine]

Karin frowns, "Drat, I'd forgotten we'd only a small relay on board. The General is an excellent pilot so he could easily fly Bruce and him home with us safely out of the way. We must contrive to leave a message secretly on board to warn Earth. Even if none of us make it. You're right Lt Hu, I'll check everyone on board." Karin opens the comm unit, "Major Orlova, Maam. The med bay is now free for your examination if you would care to make your way down." She switches it off. "Okay, as soon as she arrives everyone else scram. Lt Hu, as Major Orlova is your boss would you mind staying? I'll want your opinion of whether she is acting her normal self or not. Here, sit at this computer and pretend to be doing something on it."

[Lynx]

Juliette frowned as the message came through about a medical check up. She had not seen any combat and was feeling fine. She looked up at General Pryce. "Have you ordered a full check-up on all crewmembers sir? As I have seen no combat I do not see the necesity of a medical check up at this stage. Or are you bringing her back on the Persephone so that we will be without medical attention the entire trip home?"

[Mr. Handy]

"I did not order it," General Pryce told Juliette. "Captain Bauer is doing this of her own initiative, but it is not a bad idea. You may go to the medical bay. I can take the helm. The Persephone will remain docked unless we need to detach her for some reason. That will conserve fuel."

"I'm on my way," Major Orlova reported over her communicator. "Let's go," she said to Juliette as she headed off the bridge.

[smug_jaguar]

Sergent Kohl passes Juliette on his way to the bridge, trying his best to throw a meaningful glance her way. He then continues to the bridge, saluting both the General and Chief before taking a seat in whatever available chair.

Mr Handy,Kohl will keep a close eye on both the Captain and the Chief, and will have his hand as close to his sidearm as possible without it seeming suspicious. He is especially watching for any attempt to interfere with the ships sensors or navigation.

[Lynx]

As allways reluctant to relinquish the control to anyone else, Juliette transferred the helm to the General and headed towards the Sickbay with Major Orlova. She winked at Heinrich as he passed her. And as she saw Sofia in the sick bay she smiled at her. "Good work on overriding the Bases system private Torres. Hope you did not recieve any permanent damage in the fight against the monsters." She looked at Captain Bauer and a trace of uncertainty could be seen in her face as she said: "You are checking everyone up, Captain? Might I ask why?"

[SSior.27]

Hu nods and goes to a terminal where he can keep the screen somewhat hidden and have a good look at events.

[aine]

Karin looks up as the Captain and Major enter the medbay. "Thankyou for coming down. This is just a general examination so I can record your health for the journey home. Captain, I'll check you first. I know you didn't have any combat but you did head out onto the planet surface and we've all hit high-stress levels recently." Karin scans Juliette and asked her the necessary psychological questions. "Thankyou, all done. Could you wait here until I've done the Major, it won't take long." Karin then repeats the process with Major Orlova.

Mr. Handy,Juliette: medicine/psychology [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3620851/]1d100=69[/url] [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3620852/]1d100=70[/url] Maj. Orlova: medicine/psychology[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3620853/]1d100=45, 1d100=10[/url]

[CrackheadC.]

Alison follows the Sergeant to the bridge and takes a seat next to him, leaving the doctor to do the convincing.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, ma'am!" said Sofia, smiling at Juliette. "I'm glad Sergeant Kohl was able to make it back to the ship after all. I just wish Lt. Barrett could have made it too. I'm fine, now that I've had my checkup."

Karin Bauer,[b]Juliette[/b] seemed in good health, both mentally and physically. So did [b]Natalia[/b], though she was a little shaken from her encounters with the Mi-Go. She was displaying normal human emotions, including some anxiety, but also relief. [b]Natalia[/b] did seem to be keeping part of herself hidden, but politics being what they were, that was probably healthy too.

Heinrich watched the general pilot the ship on the bridge. The sensor and navigation displays continued to function normally, and Charon's Ferry maintain her course while accelerating at a constant rate of Earth-normal gravity.

[aine]

Karin looks at Hu to see if he has any remarks about his superior but she is reasonably happy to proceed. She bends down to look at Hu's screen while she talks quietly to the major and Captain Desjardins.
"Do you remember when General Pryce ordered the death of Colonel Patel? It wasn't a combat situation but she was shot out of hand. The General is under the control of the Mi-Go; the Colonel realised this and so the Mi-Go had her destroyed. LT Colonel Bruce is also similarly affected. I am absolutely certain of this now."