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Questioning Loyalties - Evyn - 10-22-2008

[font=Courier New]Estranged
[color=orange]Chapter 1

November, 816 A.S.

Evyn stood wondering, not for the first time, how she had managed to get herself stuck in this situation. She placed her hand on the glass window she was staring out as another Kusari Naval raid was launched into Leeds. She winced as one of the Chimaeras was immediately engulfed in the ball of energy from Derby's main guns.

She smoothed her expression into one of military blankness as she heard steps walking behind her. She spun on her heel with military precision and saluted as Colonel Rukin strode down the corridor, coming to a stop in front of her. Dominic Rukin, one of several male superiors she kept getting stuck under, was your typical old-fashion man, nostalgic for the ways of the past where man had the absolute power. A belief he took to his job, unfortunately for her.

He looked down his long nose at her, for she stood at only a short five and a quarter feet tall, while a grating voice reminding her of the sound of wood scraping against cement came from his mouth. "What are you doing here? Admiral Nelles' speech begins in ten minutes! You're supposed to be in the assembly room Ensign Hunter!"

Evyn stood military straight, looking straight forward, rather than at his face, as Armed Forces protocol dictated. She tried to keep the disgust she felt for the man from her face. "Yes sir! I'll do so right away Colonel!" That seemed to provide the illusion of control that Rukin needed, for he walked off. She began walking towards Derby's command section. She had no intention of being present for boring Percy's speech, she had something more important to do, and she needed senile Percy busy for it.

Knowing she couldn't be seen wondering the ship when expected to be in the assembly, she chose to forgo the use of elevators and began the long flight up to the battleship's twelfth floor. Having to start on the forty-second meant it was going to be a long climb. By the time she reached the right floor, she was breathing hard from exertion. Peaking out around corners, she wormed her way through the floor to the senior officers section, careful to avoid areas covered by security cameras, which were much more numerous in this section of the ship. One by one, she read the name plaques as she passed the doors they were associated with. Finally she found what she was seeking. A door labeled with Fleet Admiral Nelles' name. As one might expect, it was locked with a keypad of some complexity.

She lifted a hand up to her neck and over towards her shoulder. There, a short way between neck and shoulder, and slightly behind, she depressed a small piece of what looked like normal skin. One most would not recognize it as anything but flesh unless they were looking for it. However, the small piece of material was not naturally made, but part of a not-entirely voluntary surgery.

Once pressed, the button activated a micro-computer that had been placed in her body during the surgery. It appeared to project a miniature display on her right eye, but she knew it was an illusion. The computer was connected directly into her optical system, projecting the vision straight into her brain, where it also captured, translated, and executed any thoughts directed towards the display. Allowing her to use it with her thoughts, as she would a normal computer with her hands.

Activating a module, an extremely thin film was brought from the side of her eye in a method that could be described as nothing but bizarre in the extreme, yet still painless. Her vision reddened and she looked down at the keypad. There, the residual heat left from Nelles' fingers as he had typed in the password marked several buttons. She resisted the urge to punch in random passwords until she got the right answer, and instead activated another module on her computer. It took the six keys showing the marks of Nelles' fingerprints and accessed all information available on him. Taking the six keys, the information about Nelles, the strength of fingerprint marks to determine which were likely pressed at which time in the sequence, as well several other factors, and then gave Evyn the top five possible passwords. She held her hand above the keypad, hesitating..


Questioning Loyalties - Evyn - 10-22-2008

Reluctantly, Evyn took her hand from the keypad. Getting myself caught won't help anyone, least of all me. She stood there several moments trying to think of any other way into the room, only to be frustrated by the lack of alternatives. She jumped as a sound came from down the corridor. Feeling a new sense of urgency, she returned to the keypad, trying to decide which password to try.

Gah, I'm an idiot! She deftly removed the panel covering the wiring beneath the keypad and studied it for a moment, bringing up a database of Bretonian lock systems stored in the micro-computer under her skin. After finding the one she believed to match that in front of her, she studied the diagram, noting the wires and matching them with those behind the panel. It would be much too complicated for her to actually override the lock, she didn't have the technical skills for it. But she could disable the wire connecting the keypad to the alarm system. After she located and cut the wire, a green one, she replaced the panel and typed in the password the display was declaring the most probable. Immediately she was glad for her caution, for the panel above the keys read; 'Invalid.' She began typing in more passwords. It didn't take long.

She entered the fourth password her display gave her, and the door opened. Letting out a sigh of relief, she hurried in and the door closed. Conformed to her thoughts, the optical display switched to a set of numbers. The start time for Admiral Nelles' speech, projected finishing time, and the current time. Dismayed, Evyn realized that Nelles was already finished with his speech. Hoping that he would be delayed by the mass of other officers and well-wishers, she continued with her plan.

She quickly crossed the room to Nelles' office desk. She started the computer pad, then began rummaging through the desk drawers while she waited for it to finish its startup process. She pulled out several folders from his desk, flipping through the pages. She didn't take note of details, but read page titles, and anything else that popped out at her. She reached back and undid the hair clip holding her hair up. When let go, her mid-length red hair fell down over her shoulders and down her back. The clip came apart into two pieces after a small effort, then she refit them together into the shape of a long cylinder with a clear glass dome at the tip. It was, in fact, a camera. Another nifty little tool she was given for her tasks. A camera most easy to conceal, and to take into places where a camera would be, at best, disapproved.

She began taking pictures, disregarding the information she was capturing. She would have plenty of time to review it all later. For now she didn't feel like enjoying the next few weeks in a jail cell. She heard a beep and looked up at the computer. It was at a prompt for a account name and password. Fortunately she didn't have to go through an elaborate process to get passed it, she just pulled out a small computer plugin. Connecting it to an access port on the back, the plugin simply bypassed conventional computer uses and went straight to the computer's internal memory. It was an imprecise method, and prone to failure, but she didn't possess the hacking skills to get through a password. At least, not with so little time. Her boss could decrypt the information himself. I hope..

As she waited she finished taking pictures of the data in the folders, then after she finished that, scoured the rest of the room for any more information. She immediately felt a desire to try her hand at breaking into the safe tucked into a corner of the room, but knew there wasn't a chance in hell she was getting that open. And even if she did get it open, she'd have to do so much damage to it, drilling holes and the like, that the act would be obvious. She needed this information, of that there was no doubt. But she needed to have it without anyone else being aware that she did.

Finding nothing, she walked back over and stood behind the computer, nervously tapping her foot. Come on, come on.. Hurry up you damn thing! Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the small plugin made a beep that signified success. Evyn's nervousness had tensed her like a coiled spring. Immediately she snatched up the plugin, shut down the computer, redid her hair clip, and raced to the door. She peered out of the doorway, then walked as fast as she could down the corridor, back to the stairways. Once in the safer confines of the stairwell, she moved a little faster, heading back down to her floor.

She slipped her keycard into the door and walked in, falling down onto her bed, and staring at the ceiling. She let out a long pent-up sigh, a mix of exhaustion, relief, and guilt. A few minutes later the door opened and her roommate came in. Again Evyn wondered when she would manage to get her officer rank. Solo quarters would be much more convenient for what she was doing.

Her roommate walked over to the closet and took her dress uniform jacket off. Not surprising considering how uncomfortable the thing was. Her roommate, a woman of twenty-four, was of dark tanned skin and short black hair, named Sarah Hall. "Skipped another assembly I see Hunter."

"Yeah, was it as boring as I predicted?"

Sarah shrugged off her dress shirt, leaving her in a regulation-white T-shirt. She walked over to her cot and sat on it, grabbing a small computer pad from the table next to it. "Pretty much. Just the old man giving us yet another congratulation on our work and the promise of a great age to come. You know, the same old bull."

"Thats what I thought.. You know, if he really wants to congratulate us, maybe give us a promotion. Or, god forbid, a pay increase. At least then we'd be able to pay for something a bit better than the slop they feed us."

She continued to make the small talk required to fulfill her conversational obligations before setting down to sleep. As she was drifting off, a thought wormed its way into her mind. How the hell am I supposed to put a scanner on the outside of Glasgow?


Questioning Loyalties - Evyn - 10-23-2008

For the love of God, leave!

Evyn sat with her back resting on the inside of the door to the closet she had so smoothly jammed herself into. Outside of it was a secondary comm center. One she had planned on using to transmit all the information she had uncovered in Nelles' office, as well as the harddrive copy. She had already set the transmission to bounce off several communication relays before reaching its destination. And then these idiots barged in. She shook her head with disgust, which only reminded her how stiff her neck had become in the hour she had been stuck in a space big enough to hold cleaning equipment.. Not a human body.

The two officers had come into the comm room, tripping over themselves, apparently very anxious to use the equipment she had so laboriously programmed. She had hidden herself in the closet when they insisted on making as much noise as humanly possible while they walked down the stairwell. It had only angered her more when she heard, with her ear pressed to the slit between the door and wall, what they were using it for. A call to their girlfriends on some God-forsaken planet. Maybe I'll free those women from their torture and just kill these fools. The galaxy will be better off without them. Regardless, it had been an hour since they had come into the room, and her knees and back were getting sore from having to hold herself up.

Finally she heard what she had been hoping for. The men were saying their goodbyes, and the women responded in kind. She heard the chairs roll as the men stood up and started walking out of the room, talking in loud voices and laughing all the way there. Though she had heard the door close behind them, she stayed still a couple minutes longer just to be sure. When she felt like the claustrophobia was going to drive her mad, she finally unlatched the door and slid it open. Fortunately, she found the center empty. This time she locked the door into the chamber, then returned to the computer console.

It took her twenty minutes to redo all of the programming that would ensure that the transmission's destination would remain confidential, then began the upload of the computer information and the photos taken of Admiral Nelles' files. The mental neural-net display captured her attention by putting mental pressure on her conscious. Not painful, but not easily ignored, the perfect alarm system. It let her know that she was due to report for her patrol assignment in under an hour. An hour she had to upload this information, write her report, send it, and then jury-rig a scanner package that could be detached from her ship and take up position on Glasgow Station's outer hull.

Again she cursed fate. Better to have never met him and not be forced into the troubles of having a family. She wished she had never been reunited with her uncle, for it only gave her more problems. She had enough to deal with just doing what her boss wanted, but now her uncle as well? She could barely keep up with the two of them. Iefan Eion, captain of the personal yacht Adamantine, was her father's brother. He had married a Kusarian woman long before the war between Bretonia and Kusari had erupted. He had a daughter of his own, Izanami Eion, who operated as his second-in-command aboard the yacht. He used that yacht and his position as a Bretonian-looking man with loyalty to Kusari to plan sabotage and smuggling against his former home. It was a plan that left him filthy rich. And there is plenty to make that man filthy.

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Focus on mission now, think about family later. She brought up a text transmission template, rather than using a voice program. If it was intercepted, the difference might be enough to stop anyone from discovering who the sender was.

Operation Precauzione Wrote:Buona sera, signore.

The operation was, in its initial phase, successful. Security measures proved to be greater than anticipated, but not unmanageable. Attached to this transmission are the results. All written and printed texts found in the office were photographed, and the computer's internal memory was copied to the Dispositivo successfully. However, there is some doubt as to whether it will transmit, and decrypt, successfully without corruption.

There was a safe found in the office, but I have neither the expertise or tools necessary to break into it, and any tampering will be detected, so I chose to ignore it.

Addio e buona salute a voi il mio signore.

She sent the transmission after encoding it in the week's preselected encryption key, then shut down the system. She removed any traces to prove she was in the room, even to the point of wiping the desk surfaces to remove fingerprints. Then she hurried out an up to the hanger where she could begin to work on her task for Iefan. Just thinking about the troubles she was getting into because of him conjured up black thoughts.

Non ho mai avuto, ne ho bisogno di famiglia a complicare cio che e a sinistra della mia vita.


Questioning Loyalties - Zapp - 10-25-2008

A short man with a rather technological (read: geeky) air about him stood in full BAF dress uniform in front of Admiral Nelles. The Admiral was sitting behind his desk, chin resting on his right hand, regarding the man with skeptical eyes. He was head of the CSD (Computer Security Division), and had been having his team run over the security of the Derby when he had run over a few breaches. On the desk in front of Nelles was an open file that was showing that the lock on the Admiral's office had been tampered with, as well as numerous heavily-encrypted, untracable transmissions being sent.

"Given heightened security codes during the past couple of years," the techie began, "I'd like to approach this cautiously."

"It could be nothing," the Admiral said curtly.

"Or it could be a Kusari spy," he retorted, though he tacked on a belated, "with all due respect, sir."

Nelles began nodding, slowly at first, then with gaining speed. "Yes, I see what you mean... I'll call someone. Dismissed."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Esther Carson entered the Admiral's office as if she owned the place, cocky attitude spilling all over the room. Nelles looked up, then gestured to the chair sitting in front of his desk. She spilled into it, and stopped just short of kicking her feet up on his desk.

"Now, I've called you here because we have concerns that someone is breaching security... we don't know who or why, that's your job. You're doing this off-the-record, don't wanna alert anyone or force them into hiding. You'll be working alone, as well... any questions?"

Esther just smiled, and leaned forward. "Am I chasing a ghost?"

The Admiral looked at her blankly, then responded with a 'dismissed'.


Questioning Loyalties - Evyn - 10-25-2008

Evyn wiped her oil-smeared hands with a borrowed rag and stood up to look at her work. An utterly ridiculous-looking contraption strapped to the underside of her Templar like some cancerous growth. The sooner I can be rid of this thing the better..

The package consisted an Enhanced Scanner array wired into a miniature generator, bolted onto the sides of a hollow metal box. All six sides had a small maneuvering rocket, which got their fuel from the supply filling the inside of the box. Then the whole thing was grasped in the hand of a retractable claw she had attached to the underside of the ship. Lastly a data storage device connected to the scanner and to a small transmitter. It would save all information it gathered and then send it to any Kusari comm system it detects, as well as the Adamantine, should it come into range.

A movement to the left caught her eye and she watched as a woman around her age walked into the hanger. She strode towards a Manta fighter resting on the floor at the far end of the hanger, away from the space reserved for military vehicles. She watched her with curiosity and a fair bit of suspicion. She had landed in the hanger just half an hour ago and had immediately been spirited away for a meeting with Admiral Nelles. She didn't know what the meeting was about, but routine bounty hunter contracts weren't usually handled by a Fleet Admiral.

She shook her head and tried to push out the suspicions out of her mind. My god I'm turning paranoid. They'd be running crew investigations if anything had been detected. She turned back to her project and double checked all the connections, doing a quick start on the scanner to ensure it would activate properly. Missing a ladder, she grasped the wing of her Templar and hopped, pulling herself up on top of it. Then she stepped onto the top of the ship and walked over and dropped into the cockpit.

She double checked the small box attached to the bottom of her control board. It consisted of nothing but two buttons and a switch. The switch did nothing but control the retractable claw that held the device. The green button activated the whole contraption, and the red would activate a small explosive that would ignite the ship fuel in the container. If activated, the explosion would consume the entire device, ensuring no evidence could be gained from it.

Evyn settled back into her seat, relaxing for the few minutes before she and her wingman were due to begin their patrol. She noticed the Bounty Hunter leave her Manta and walk back out of the hanger. That left cold worry in her stomach. She should have been launching to complete whatever job she had been assigned, that she was not indicated that whatever her job was, it was something done on the battleship, not outside of it. Then again, it might just mean that whatever she is doing, she can't start it yet.

A familiar pressure began pressing on her. She grabbed her headset and fit it onto her head and held her hand out of the cockpit to catch Sarah's attention. She saw her look over and nod, then put her own headset on. A small beep came through the speakers to let her know that Sarah's headset was online and receiving.

"Alright, once passed the Glasgow, then over to LD-14. Launch."

She grasped the joystick and her Templar rose gracefully into the air. She punched in the thruster and shot through the opened hangerbay door and into space, turning towards Glasgow station, her hand poised above the silver switch.


Questioning Loyalties - Zapp - 10-26-2008

Esther had had to run back to her ship to get a few things, but she quickly returned to the Admiral's office. Of course, he hadn't invited her this time, and she wasn't going in - she was examining the lock. It was your standard keypad, though the combination seemed to include a longer string of numbers. She was there to determine how tough it would be to crack. With something like this, she knew that going head-on wouldn't work, and she figured her mark (if indeed there was one) would've known that as well.

The files on what security protocols had been breached included what wire had been cut. Esther figured they had fixed it up already, but she still wanted to take a look. Pulling a small screwdriver from a small pocket hanging from her belt, she pried the panel open. The wire that had been cut was right there, and there was...

Esther pulled out a pair of small scissors and cut three wires. The door to the office slid open. Not a professional lock-pick, then... Esther thought to herself. That means probably either he's green, or flunked lock-pick school, which is doubtful...

Of course, at this point one very peeved Admiral Nelles came storming out of his office.

"What, I'm investigating?" Esther said in a rather brusque manner. "Not like I'm breaking in..."

She walked off right then, to her next destination, leaving a blustering Nelles behind her, searching for some train of logic to bludgeon her with. Unfortunately, he found none before she was gone.


Questioning Loyalties - Evyn - 10-26-2008

Quote:>Run devStart

-Device activating...
--Computer activated
--Maneuvering rockets activated
--Transmitter activated
--Scanner activated
---All Systems Activated

>Run devScan

-Scanner Online
--Build test activated
--Build test complete
---Scanner Activated

>Run devAttach

-GPS Device Activated
-Rocket Systems Activated
--Device orientating
--Device relocating
---Target location reached

>Run devTransmit

-Transmitter Online
--Frequency A11026
--Frequency A21057
--Frequency D1744
---Connected

>Run devStatus

-Scanner Active
-Transmitter Active
--Auto-Update? Y/N

>Y

--Interval
1 - 5 Minutes
2 - 10 Minutes
3 - 60 Minutes

>2

---Auto Update On / 10 Minute Interval

~Scan Results:
Bretonian Transponders
7 Templar-class Fighters. 2 Gunboats. 1 Dunkirk-class Battleship.

Kusari Transponders
2 Chimaera-class Fighters.

Border World Exports Transponders
2 Transports. 4 Startracker-class Fighters.

>Close devManager

Evyn leaned back, letting out a sigh of relief. Finally she was done. It had been a six-hour job to get everything she needed for it to work. Writing the program during the night, building the device, dropping it near Glasgow without being seen, and activating the various modules needed to make it run.

She itched to get out of her cramped fighter cockpit and take a shower to clean the smell of sweat from her hair, but she had one last thing to do. Using her fighter's access to the Derby's military information services, she hacked into Admiral Nelles' network account. She used the username and password she had found while reviewing the photos she had taken in his office. She also did some transmission rerouting with her own fighter's systems so that any backtracing would be sent back towards the Derby's own communications systems and end there.

After that was done she went into the security division and from there, to the hangerbay section. She set a delayed-effect order towards the computer system to disable the hanger cameras for a period of 60 seconds. She sent the command, then dropped out of her cockpit, landing on the hanger floor. She strode to the fighter's cargohold and opened it. She fit a pair of black gloves over her hands, then opened a black box tucked in the corner of the cargohold. Inside was a bright silver dagger.

It was devoid of any decoration, and the blade had a serrated edge that was common for many daggers of this size. Made privately on Malta, it had nothing that would let anyone trace it back to her. It had been given to her in case she ever had to assassinate someone as one of her assignments, or kill someone if they discovered what she was doing. It was the latter, or rather, the fear of it that prompted her to get it now. She slid it into her jacket's pocket so no one would see her holding it.

She stood there a moment more, pretending to be occupied with something in the cargohold. Once she was sure the cameras had been deactivated, she glanced around the hanger to make sure no one was watching, and then ran across the floor towards the Manta resting in one corner of the room. She jumped and grabbed the edge of the cockpit, pulling herself up to it, then reached into her pocket. She laid the dagger across the pilot seat in the Manta and let go, dropping back to the ground, then ran back to her own ship's cargohold before the cameras reactivated. To any security teams, it would appear as if she had never moved throughout the entire camera deactivation.

If she doesn't get the hint, then that blade's brother will find her gut the next time we meet..


Questioning Loyalties - Dieter Schprokets - 10-26-2008

Nelles recieved the transmission from the Minister of Defense in his office. His eyes only, save the MI6 agent in his office. He had an air about him. Like this was all a game. Except in this game, sometimes you killed people, then incinerated their bodies in furnaces, then returned to a Kusari ball and danced with the Emperor's niece. Then stole a Chimaera.

James Ralston's face was on the viewscreen. It was not a happy face. It was very red.

"Nelles, do you want to tell me why you personally involved Esther Carson at this point? Normally agents are assigned to tasks by relevant superiors, such as, oh, the MINISTER OF BLOODY DEFENSE!"

Nelles gulped, and made some noises which were cut off by the unhappy Minister.

"You will now do as Mr Stephenson asks. The objective is to determine who is spying on you, and to do that, they need to believe they remain undetected. If possible, we need to turn this spy. He will accomplish that. And as for Esther Carson, she might as well remain involved now. Mr Stephenson, can you control her?" Ralston spoke past the Fleet Admiral, who was now going to be a helpless observer in the investigation process.

"Yes sir. She can be of some use. I am not concerned about her involvement."

"Good." answered Ralston, and his anger subsided a bit.

"Percy, Dammit", he said. "You can run a battle group better than anyone, but this cloak and dagger business, its best left to the professionals. Understood?"

"Yes sir." answered a chastined Nelles. The MOD signed off.

Nelles turned to the agent. "What now?"

The agent got something out of his briefcase. "Roll up your sleeve." The Fleet Admiral frowned, but complied, then winced as the unneccessarily large hypodermic was used on his arm.

"You WILL tell me what that was, right?"

The agent put the needle in the disposal chute, smiling.

"You were just innoculated against the virus which has been dusted on all relevant items in this room. And don't worry, I've already also vaccinated that girl who comes on Thursdays when your wife is at Rotary." Nelles face reddened.

The agent finished packing his items, then explained further.

"Prior to the last visit to this office by our "friend", I used the virus powder on the most relevent items, including your keypad. Its not fatal, but the disease exhibits specific symptoms, and the viral DNA can be used to finger the quarry."

"Our little spy is about to get quite ill."


Questioning Loyalties - Zapp - 10-27-2008

Esther's next stop was, of course, the communication blister which had shown up on the same security sweep. It was a bit of a dead end, but not without its own fruits. She reviewed the transmission logs - of course it didn't keep message recordings, but it kept who sent what when. Right before the blip in security (where, of course, no logs were) was a transmission of some size, visual and audio. Before that transmission, however, was another blip in security, smaller so it had gone unnoticed in the shadow of the second, larger hole.

How odd, it's almost as if... Esther looked around, for... there, a door off to the side. She walked over and opened it. A cleaning closet... not big enough for a human to hide comfortably, but definitely big enough for a small person - perhaps a woman? - to fit with some difficulty. Definitely too small for a hulking man.

Satisfied that further searching would garner no more information, Esther set out for her ship. She was done here, for the moment, and had more than one job on her plate.


Questioning Loyalties - Evyn - 10-31-2008

Evyn curled into a ball as another pain-racked cough came from her throat, and crimson blood dripped from the napkin covering her mouth. Things definitely weren't looking good. The only upside she could think of was her recent promotion to Lieutenant, and by extension, solo quarters. At least Sarah wasn't here to be yapping about her sickness. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, except that yesterday she had collected some of her blood and ran it through a filter she had 'borrowed' from the medical facility.

Whatever it was she had coursing through her, it definitely wasn't natural. Now she just had to hide her sickness long enough to scour the medical facility for the antidote, if there was one, and then get out with it. She stumbled over to her desk and pulled out two syringes. One filled with synthesized adrenaline, and another was filled with a manufactured immune system. It was made genetically identical to her own immune system, and would temporarily strengthen it.

She sat on the chair and waited for the fluids to work their way through her veins, then stood. She walked across the room, and more steadily than before, opened the door. She set off towards the medical bay, taking a circuitous route and always checking her backside to see if anyone was following her. She was only a few hallways from the medbay when she turned a corner.. And found herself face-to-face with Esther Carson.

Her step faltered and her hand twitched, almost reaching for the knife hidden inside her uniform's sleeve. Willing her foot to continue, she resumed walking normally and relaxed her hand. She passed Esther, giving her a brisk nod as greeting, and hurried down the corridor. She took a turn at the next corridor and from there, made several other course changes. All the while watching for any sign of Esther, or anyone else, following her. Finally she reached the medical facility and slipped inside. Avoiding the medics, she went to the storerooms at the back of the complex. From there she began her search for the antidote.

The filter she had taken had already given a suggested drug to counter the poison, and she spent the next twenty minutes looking for it. During that time the injected white cells began to wear off and her symptoms were returning. She searched as fast as she could, for if she was coughing up blood in the middle of the medbay, there wasn't much a way to keep it a secret. Finally she found what she was looking for. A small vial filled with blue liquid. There weren't many, it looked like only six or so glasses, so she was a little worried the absence of one bottle might raise attention. But she had no alternative, so she grabbed it and left the medbay.

By the time she reached her room her hand was already covered in coughed-up blood. Her hand shaking, she grabbed an empty syringe from the desk and filled it. Trying to steady her hand as much as possible, she jabbed the needle into her leg and pumped the antidote into her system. Dropping it, she let her back rest against the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Her head fell forward and another cough came from her throat, drenching her hand in blood.