Chapter 2: The City

[Mr. Handy]

Since Hattie is in charge, Sam says nothing and defers to her.

[DrPeterson]

"Don't! Don't shoot! Or whatever it is, you do with that finger."

This definitely wasn't what Hattie was expecting contact with the races of the Universe to be. And she had had no formal training in this. Sweat beaded on her brow and she turned a furtive glance towards Sam before looking at the Jane-creature again.

"I can't decide this for my companions. We'll need to discuss it. Would you be so kind as to give us an hour?"

[Supercape]

There was a pause, as the winds of Titan blew uncaring across the ice and rock.

"I shall wait..." same the reply.

The horror seemed to power down, or go into hibernation. The flesh seemed to freeze still, the liquids slowed to a turgid pace, so slow they hardly seemed to move at all, lest one examined the tubes most closely. The eyes lost any shine they might have had, and the whole body became motionless, staring to infinity.

[DrPeterson]

A shiver runs down Hattie's spine and she looks at Sam.

"Let's go inside."


She starts moving back the way they came and patches into the station's radio system.

"I want all personnel to convene in my office, ASAP."

[Mr. Handy]

Sam hurries alongside Hattie. "Maybe we should meet in the infirmary instead," she suggests when they are well away from the abomination that used to be Jane. "Not everyone in there can move around so well, and we don't want to leave anyone injured unattended."

[DrPeterson]

"I agree, let's hurry back indoors."

[Supercape]

A little later

"Jesus..what is that thing?" said, Bloom. He was staring at the grainy black and white air lock camera, where the alien cyborg thing had frozen in what looked like hibernation. It was possibly dead. Who could tell? it just looked like a hunk of deformed frozen flesh, pipes and nails.

"I mean...I'm not sure I want to know..." he said, wiping his brow.

His patient remained under heavy sedation.

"Give them rest" he explained. "I don't think Ron's state of mind is too good. Between Bob Dylan frying him and the pain killers he is on. And, to be honest, I never liked the guy anyway" he said, jittery.

"Don't record that!" he added, for Boss' benefit.

"I am afraid I am programmed to record everything, Doctor Bloom...."

"Well put it under classified patient information then! Not to be released to Ron as it would damage his mental health...."

"Anyway" he said, returning to the conscious crew members. "I don't want to expose him to anything that would fracture his already unhinged mind. Heavy sedation for now..."

[Mr. Handy]

"No, obviously he can't go anywhere," says Sam. "Jane - or that thing that used to be her - said that our communications with Earth would be destroyed, as the aliens don't want their presence known. We already sent the message at the speed of light during a lull in the EM storm, and it should have gone through. Maybe they did block it somehow, or that could have been a bluff." She tries to think how long it would take a ship from Earth to reach Titan.

[DrPeterson]

Hattie sighs and looks at Ron's body for a moment, lost in thought.


"No ship from Earth or any of the outposts could reach us in time, Sam, we both know that. I wasn't lying when I said it outside. I don't think this a group choice we can make. The way I see it, there are only two options. Either we choose conflict or we choose to go with the Jane-thing and see what these Mi-Go are up to. I can't, I won't force anyone to choose either way, to each his own choice."

She looks at everyone present and continues.

"I'm going to try and make it to the Shelter. There is a ship there that could help us break orbit. If we manage to engage the autopilot. And if we manage to distract those Mi-Go long enough..."

[Mr. Handy]

"I know a ship won't reach us in time," says Sam. "I was thinking more in terms of making sure Earth is warned in case we don't make it back. There is one way we could distract the Mi-Go: if at least one of us goes to the city while the rest go for the ship. Whoever does that clearly won't be leaving on it, though. They'll also need an ace in the hole. These Mi-Go looked vaguely fungoid, and you're a mycologist. Maybe you could whip up some sort of fungicide weapon that anyone going to the city could smuggle in, just in case."

[DrPeterson]

"I'll need to have a look at that weapon, maybe there's some trace material on there. If I find out their structure, we might be able to engineer a viral agent that would react with their spoors and infect every individual it encounters. If we had a few months and a dedicated research team, that is. We have an hour before the Jane-machine will want an answer. I'll see what I can scrounge up."


Hattie hurries around the lab, gathering some gear and places the weapon under an isolated microscope and issues some orders before turning her attention to the microscope.

"Dr. Bloom, prepare commander Drake for transportation. Sam, you can drive the ATV, Seth, Bob, whatever, you're a pilot, you said, think you'll be able to course correct in case something goes wrong with the autopilot?"

Spoiler:

DrPeterson rolled 1d100:
63

[Mr. Handy]

"You got it, Hattie," says Sam. "I'm ready to get off this rock as soon as you are."

[aine]

(Seth has returned quietly and been watching the playback from the camera.)
He sighs, "I'm not an astro-pilot; gravity only. But I've been on and around various craft all my life so I'm probably your best bet. It'll have E-EAP anyway if it's to get you off this rock: I've activated those once or twice. The T-prop is all ready to fly; we just need an excuse to use it without being swarmed by these Mi-goes."

Spoiler:

Emergency EVAC Auto Pilot