My Head is an Animal

Posted on Fri Jul 9th, 2021 @ 7:20pm by Alden Loxley & Alison Bliss & Daiyu & Chloe Waltz PhD & Kindra Graham

Mission: I Ain't Fraid of No Ghost...
Location: Ghost - Fortune's Echo
Timeline: November 1

"Ali - Echo - y'all there?" Alden's voice flooded through the Firefly's PA system. "We got trouble. Stay locked down and keep checking the perimeter. Ali - hit me up on a private channel, please."

----

In the Echo's main airlock, still in their vacc suits, James and Alison had the crate as secure as it could be while inside the confines of the ship. That did, however, mean they were trapped in a small space with whatever was inside. And whatever was inside was making some godawful noises - growls, wierd groaning whines and uncomfortable cries.

On the bridge, Chloe had the means to reply to the incoming call from their Captain, while Kindra wrangled Daiyu in the main body of the ship.

"Bie Woo Lohng." Alison cursed and looked at James, but her hand on the gun relaxed. "Whoever is on the bridge, talk to Alden and tell them we've got something alive in a box. We are going to open it. If he knows something we should know before we do that... now is the time." She sighed.

"Echo's here, Alden." Chloe responded to the call from her captain. "But Ali is a bit busy right now. She says they got some kind of animal in a box. They're in the airlock right now, about to open it."

"Chloe, switch to channel Delta for me," Alden ordered gently. He waited for that to happen her end, then once he was speaking privately and solely to Chloe on the bridge, he told the engineer what he'd wanted to inform Alison. "Whatever happened here," the Echo's captain said. "Looks like Reavers." He let that sink in for a couple of seconds then continued. "Everyone we've found so far is dead. Messy dead. But now we've got gunfire so we're checking it out. Let Ali know, and do whatever it takes to keep everyone safe. If you move position let me know when you can, okay?"

Chloe listened on channel Delta. Now - she grew up in the Core. She didn't believe the reavers were real. But she respected Alden, and she wasn't going to be one to make that decision for the rest of the crew. Either way - 'messy dead' was never a good thing. "I'll let her know," Chloe responded over channel Delta. "Stay safe."

In the Echo's kitchen with Daiyu, Kindra poured water from the kettle into two cups, each with a teabag. At the sound of Alden's voice on the PA system announcing trouble wherever he, Jonas, and Whit were, she did her best to maintain her external calm, for Daiyu's sake. But she was worried for the men away from the ship and concerned for those in the airlock. What manner of creature had Alison found in a box on a planet like this? She removed the tea bags and set one of the mugs in front of Daiyu. "Let this cool a little before you drink it, mei-mei."

Rather than wait, Daiyu threw back a sip of the piping hot tea. "I like it hot."

While Kindra and Daiyu sat in the kitchen, Chloe reached for a radio to speak with Alison. "Alden said something about reavers on that planet. Or some 'messy dead'. He told me to let you know. I don't about that, but I'd, uh, be careful. Whatever's in that box might be dangerous."

Reavers... Alison winced. Feeling the shiver running down her spine, she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Her instinct was to flee but she knew that acting on it or even showing it wasn't beneficent here. Not with all those people looking up to her. "Got it. Then let's see if that is our lucky day and we get a puppy in a box." She responded lightly to Chloe and glanced at James. "Were you a good boy this year James? Maybe that is your Santa's gift, stuck in customs on the border?" She joked and pulled her gun. Just to be sure. Armed, she moved to open the box.

Inside, Ali and James could see two conflicting things and a mess of motion for a split second. Both objects were small and completely coated in blood, but only one of them leapt in their direction as they stood covering the banal container with its mysterious unspoken message.

One was a severed head - human - and fresh. Eyes closed, fair hair matted with dark fluid, face filthy and scarred.

The other was a startled mongrel puppy in that teenage stage of youth, gangly legs and awkward turn circles failing to help him as he struggled to escape the confines of the crate. All four paws skidded as far across the metal decking as Ali and James allowed him, even as his tail was shoved firmly between his legs. Big dark eyes watched them suspiciously and he growled deep in his throat.

Alison froze briefly with conflicting emotions and reflexes. Finally, she slowly straighten up and the gun in her hand went back into the holster. Looking at the cowering puppy, she made a long exhale. "Great, this actually was the third guess I had in my mind as to the box's content and the first actually positive one." She added deciding not to say aloud the other two options, which included Daiyu's crazier sister or a Reaver monster. "It's all right." She said softly to the puppy and extended her hand in non-threatening way so the dog could smell her and hopefully with it no ill intent. She glanced at the severed head trying to guess if it was it someone local, someone tortured or maybe a Reaver.

With a cant of his head, the puppy regarded this human with a very real concern. He didn't move in either direction, but regarded Alison from a distance. Behind him, the state of the human remains made it difficult to determine origin of any kind - there was no sign (at least from this distance) of piercings or tattoos.

"It's all right... boy." Alison said again softly toward the puppy. "Nobody will hurt you." She made a slow step closer until she finally touched the puppy and gently petted it feeling it was shaking. Turning to James, she motioned at the door. "Go get Daiyu and tell her to bring some milk or something else to drink for the dog." She said quietly and then scooped the pup. Cradling it, Alison petted it while looking at the head. It didn't look like it was a Reaver. So maybe someone local?

When James came back with Daiyu in tow, there wasn't time to obscure the severed head before Daiyu could see it.

She put her hands to her face and screamed a shrieking wail that was accentuated by the claw marks she left in her own cheeks.

"Cheong Bao Ho Tze. And here I thought it would be a good idea." Alison winced and patted the puppy to keep it calm. "Silly me." She murmured and ignoring wails she said with her normal voice. "James, could you get rid of the crate and the head. I guess I'll have to feed the dog." She said and finally turned to Daiyu with her teeth clenched. "SHUT THE FUCK UP!" She finally yelled looking at Daiyu before moving past her and to the galley.

"WHY... IS THERE... A HEAD?!!" Daiyu screamed between wailing.

Kindra had lingered in the galley after Daiyu hurried off with James. She put away the teacups and anticipated the young dog's arrival in the galley. A puppy was sure to lift everyone's spirits. At the eruption of Daiyu's screams, Kindra hurried to the cargo hold.

Chloe closed and locked the door to the bridge when she heard Daiyu screaming. She didn't hear gunshots, so that was a good sign, right? Still, she didn't trust whatever was going on down there, especially in that young woman's head. She told herself that she was locking the bridge so nobody could gain access to it, or take control of it, but really she was just glad to have a wall between herself and Daiyu and that box.

Ignoring Daiyu, Alison headed up the stairs toward the galley to clean the dog and feed it. The woman nearly killed a man with bare hands by ripping his face off and now she was reacting like a schoolgirl. Alison's patience for Daiyu just like that run out for the rest of the day.

Kindra passed Alison on the stairs, giving her and the puppy a regretful smile. The half-grown canine had something dark and sticky in its fur and needed a bath, but who wouldn't love the chance to care for a puppy? Then she saw the source of Daiyu's hysteria, and gasped. Whoever committed that atrocity could be in the vicinity or even just outside the ship, or maybe confronting Alden, Jonas, and Whit right now. "Wo de tian a."

She grabbed Daiyu's wrists to stop her clawing her cheeks, though some damage was already done. Probably why Daiyu's face was scarred, was a passing thought. Kindra physically turned Daiyu away from the crate. "Mei-mei, don't look at it," she urged. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up while James, uh…" She looked over Daiyu's head to catch James' eye, "Takes care of things."

"The body!" Daiyu cried out. "They ate the body!"

That particular reason for a head to be in want of a body had not even occurred to Kindra. Until then. Kindra swallowed the sudden nausea that had not surfaced at the sight of the head alone. "Let's, both of us, try not to look at it, 'kay?" On closer inspection, Daiyu's fingernails were even shorter than Kindra's… like they'd been worn off just a few days ago. She led Daiyu toward the stairs, remembering how the young woman reacted to the prospect of medication. "These scratches don't look too bad. Best to use an antiseptic wash in the infirmary, but I think soap and water would do."

Daiyu allowed herself to be led along by the hand as she descended into whimpering predictions of a fate worse than death. Words like "rape" and "devour" could frequently be heard in the mix.

The crate and offending head pushed back out the airlock onto the planet's surface, James torched both, a little oxygen, his lighter and some of its fuel catching fire well enough in the sheltered proximity of the ship to destroy the evidence. Controlled burn, swift and sanitary. Then the younger Ezran headed to locate the two women again, ready to support, but unwilling to break up the Daiyu-Kindra support system.

-----