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+--- Thread: ExMortis (/showthread.php?tid=47174)
ExMortis - Corsair - 09-19-2010
The Jelkanar was a versatile ship. It was an Osiris-class battleship, constructed by The Order in 812 and sold to the Corsairs in 814. Now it is a ship full of horrors, existing proof of the abominations humans can create. Two survivors made it off the Jelkanar and were picked up on Freeport 9. They had with them several information fabs. Data logs, security camera footage.. And with it all, they put together a horrifying story of defeating death.
ExMortis - Corsair - 09-19-2010
Originally created as a mobile space lab capable of defending itself, the Jelkanar was equipped with hi-tech scientific equipment, internal and external. The scientists aboard came from all walks of life, from Bretonian Order agents to Corsairs to Zoners. Several small projects were being pursued, mostly dedicated to medicine and radiation therapy. But when one project group discovered the secret to revitalizing withered, dead cells, the entire ship was dedicated to researching it further.
Nanotechnicians were to inject nanites into the bloodstream that would collect waste toxins created by cells and rearrange their molecular buildup into a kind of steroid, and inject this into the main blood processing chambers of the heart. Small-scale tests on rats showed promising results, so it was given the go-ahead to produce a larger-scale version for humans.
The design was reworked so that the nanites could react to new diseases and toxins that might be introduced into the system. And so Patient Zero was given the nanites. After approximately fifteen minutes, a toxin was introduced into the system. The nanites reacted swiftly to remove the poison, and soon after, Patient Zero was feeling healthy and fit again, though a disturbing increase in heart rate was recorded. The nanites were deactivated, and the design went back to the production lab.
"If only things had stopped there.." Said the survivors, "We would have been fine, and hundreds of people would still be alive.. Or rather, they would have stayed dead."
ExMortis - Corsair - 09-19-2010
The new design, instead of injecting a steroid into the heart, created instead an anti-body that was intended to attach to cell nodes and leech the waste material from them, converting it into a regenerative chemical that kept the cell operating at maximum capacity indefinitely.
"This is when things started going wrong" The survivors said. "The new patient reacted well to the nanites at first, able to work 100-hour shifts. A quarter more of the crew took the nanite injections, so we had about 125 people running around working endlessly, like machines.."
After the 100 hour mark, each crewmember developed schizophrenic behavior, like paranoia, short temper, and outright hostility. The crew was shocked when one crewman smashed his skull into the wall, and in the autopsy, found a high deposit of a chemical waste in the brain.
The nanites were deactivated, and the crewman returned to normal within 24 hours, scans showing that the chemical had dissipated into the rest of the body. "But then," the survivors said, "That's when the dead crewman came back. His skull was cracked wide open and his brain squelched as it rattled around the cavity. His eyes -saw- you. And when they locked on you, they didn't go anywhere else."
The undead crewman attacked the doctor, and through the security camera, saw how the zombie transferred the disease. It took a scalpel and slashed the doctor, who was using whatever he could as a weapon. But the zombie reared its head back and spat at the doctor, a viscous clear liquid. It splashed on the doctor's cut chest. The doctor doubled over, screaming. Then, as soon as it started, it was over. The doctor stood and walked out of the room. Patient Zero followed him.
ExMortis - Corsair - 09-19-2010
The first few infected were trapped in a storage shed by panicked scientists. Security guards erected a barricade from which they could fire on the zombies when they busted through. But there was no pounding, no screaming from the shed. Just a silence that scared the crew more than the sounds the infected usually made.
Then, the door opened. Normally. No smashing. A zombie was seen holding a security card in the reader. And it cocked its head at the guards, and its mouth pulled back to reveal perfectly white teeth, dripping with a clear slime. The four zombies shambled out of the room towards the stunned scientists. When they put their hands on the barricades, though, the guards opened fire. Two of the four zombies were blown back, sizzling holes in their foreheads. The other two spat, long strands of clear liquid splashing on to the guards' faces. The other guards turned and fled, as their comrades' screams slowed down and their breathing shallowed out. They stood and faced the zombies, their pupils slowly fading to white.
Doors were locked, barricaded, welded shut. Now most of the crew were out of scientific uniforms, and instead in security gear with masks. All crewmen had a pistol or rifle. "We were in the water filtration room," the survivors said, "When we decided to put together an escape plan. The escape pods were out of the question, as we were on the other side of the ship. We decided to call for an emergency shuttle, since the communications' room wasn't more than five minutes away."
But as they made their way to the communications room, a rasping came from the ship-wide intercom. "We will not let you leave." The words were rough, they tripped on one another, like the tongue was unused to forming words. Every survivor stopped. That was one of the infected speaking.
ExMortis - Corsair - 09-19-2010
Cardamine was on the ship, of course. For research purposes. Some of the projects before had been working on a cure, or studying the longevity effects. But when the infected found it, they immediately had a use for it. As soon as a zombie got its hands on some, the virus got to work on modifying it, using the complex molecular structure as a base for developing itself. With Cardamine, the virus could evolve rapidly. Which it did. Zombies sought out other infected and passed this new strand of virus to them, until one strand emerged that could communicate with each other strand by a kind of pheromone. This was worked on, developed further, until that pheromone became a sonic signal that each Zombie could use to communicate.
By this point, they had basic cognitive skills. They communicated with one another, coordinated hunts to capture survivors. After a dozen more were added to their ranks, their ability to progressed increased dramatically. More bodies to connect.
They were not gruesome to look at. Save for their open wounds where they were infected, white eyes and clear slime from their mouths, they were not the stereotypical 'Zombie'. They stood erect, and had eliminated their shuffle. Walking and running was easy for them, though they occasionally stumbled and fell.
They began trying words, learned from each human's brain. A kind of Zombie 'conference' where the infected all stood in a ring, emitting a constant hum. This hum became words, random garble until they located the words that described them. "Exxxxx.. Exxxxx... Mortisssss.." Was what they began saying at the end of the conference. "We.. Ex Mortis.."
ExMortis - Corsair - 09-19-2010
Renald Jamine and Lizbeth Bove cowered in the water purification room as the voice spoke. "They speak?" Renald whispered to Lizbeth. "Okay. Well. We gotta think. Can't panic." He continued, "Comm room is a bust. Can't go there. What about the cargo deck? I remember there were some Bounty Hunter escape pods in there we picked up when they sent the bomber wing after us. We could open the pods, remove the Hunters, trigger the emergency airlock, and use the pods to get back to safety. Freeport 9 is just a couple of hours away."
Lizbeth nodded. "But how are we gonna get to the cargo deck? I'm -not- going out in the halls anymore. They patrol it, looking for.. People like us." Renald looked around the room. "The air vents. We can use them to get to the engineering deck, and take the stairs from there to the cargo room." Lizbeth looked doubtful. "What if they hear us and just wait for us in the cargo bay?" Renald fingered his pistol. "I'm not gonna' let them get in the way.
The two stood, and located the air duct to escape the room. It was near the ceiling, so the two had to climb on top of the water purification vats to get near the grating. Renald anchored himself and fire four shots, one in each corner of the vent. The grating dropped to the ground, making a loud rattle. Renald holstered his pistol, looked at Lizbeth, then back to the vent. He jumped, arms outstretched. He slammed into the wall and his fingers hooked the ledge. Grunting and straining, he walked up the wall and wriggled into the vent. He couldn't turn around to help Lizbeth, it was such a tight fit. He could hear her jump, and climb into the vent. Her smaller frame gave her an easier time of it. Renald flicked on his shoulder light and began to crawl, trying to be as quiet as he could.
ExMortis - Corsair - 09-20-2010
The vents were dark, save the beam of light from Renald's shoulder. He and Lizbeth said nothing, they just kept moving, turning left and right based on what they could see through the occasional grate. When Renald whispered, "We're above the engineering room now. I can see some others down there." Lizbeth's eyes were round and fearful. Renald watched the figures below. He could tell they were infected, and.. It was hard to see through the grate, but he thought they were looking back at him. Only one way to tell. He pried open the grate. It made a lot of noise. There was an opening just large enough for him to stick his head through. He yanked it up just as a glob of slime slapped the opening of the grate. He readied his gun.
He laid his belly on the opening and continued to crawl until his toes touched the edge. He took a breath, and pushed back, dropping his legs through the gap, and dropped down, hanging from the grate. The ExMortis took a step towards him as he dropped to the ground. He raised his gun and they stopped. Nothing was said. They just stared at each other. When Lizbeth mimicked his actions and dropped beside him, holding up her gun as well, did they retreat, closing the door behind them. "They- they think." Said Lizbeth. "They know when to run away. God, we gotta get off this ship." Renald nodded. "Cover me. I'm going to rip -everything- off the computer. Camera footage, lab reports, everything. This can't ever happen again.".
He accessed the terminal. "I can get all I need from here. I've also set the cargo bay to vent in five minutes. I'll be done here in three." Lizbeth was busy shoving desks, cabinets, anything, to block the door the ExMortis had left through. Renald had just finished ripping the computers' information to a Neural net fab when the door slid open, and words came from behind the barricade. "We will not let you esscape."
Renald did two final things before shooting the console: Deactivate engines and weapons. "Lizbeth, get the escape pods open! Kill the Hunters inside." She did so, running down the metal staircase to the cargo bay below. The cargo pods were sitting near the center, next to crates of food, water and medical supplies. She used the control panels on their sides to open them, and as the Bounty Hunters sat up, shot them in the temple. She had just hauled out the second body when Renald sprinted into the room and jumped into a pod, closing the door on top of him. Lizbeth had just done the same when a hissing signaled the cargo bay being vented. There was a lurching sensation as their pods were dumped.
The survivors entered coordinates for Freeport 9 into their computers and their escape pod engines flared to life, abandoning the Jelkanar behind them.