01 ☮ voice

[wordsthatkill]

Hngh.

[ Yeah, that's pretty much all you get to hear at first – a grunt, followed by a long delay of him trying to figure out how this gadget works. It's tricky and he doesn't have the patience, but given what else he's seen and heard so far, this seems almost insignificant in comparison and not quite worth his ire. Because really – space zombies. ]

Okay. Sure, I'll run with this for now. This thing's working, right?

[ Part of him still wants to believe this is a crazy dream—but even so, he's gonna be a professional and deal with it gracefully. For now. Provided this isn't gonna be dragged out. ]

Not that I particularly appreciate being kidnapped to fight for somebody else's cause without so much as proper contract conditions being negotiated first, but whining will get us nowhere, will it?

Given the circumstances. Bad timing all around, it looks like.

Anyway, I got the gist, but there's still a lot of things I don't understand – most pressing matter of all being the question if and how we're gonna get rid of this infestation, or whatever you wanna call it. [ Of course he's still gonna skim the archives later, but first impressions and especially first hand accounts go a long way. And really a zombie-free station would be kinda nice right now. ] So tell me about what you know, what's important – what can be done right now. About yourself, if you feel so inclined, I'd rather get to know my comrades. Unless you'd like to postpone introductions, which is fine by me.

Me, I go by Big Boss, but Snake's fine.

Comments

voice;

[thorny]

[Rose is taking a very brief (and rare) break from diving into the zombie hordes, and it shows in the faint tiredness in her voice and the fact she's using voice at all. she always prefers text, but right now simply speaking is a bit less effort]

I'm afraid that I'll have to take a raincheck on the icebreaker games. As to the zombies, you'll have to inquire to someone more scientifically minded for a large-scale eradication, but I can at least provide practical pointers for helping to keep the horde from spreading.

[she sighs. it's good anger management, but Rose knows they can't fight zombies forever and not personally knowing how to fix it is a little frustrating for her]

They'll keep coming at you unless you remove or otherwise immobilize their limbs as well as their head. It necessitates a little creative combat, but it's perfectly manageable.

voice;

[wordsthatkill]

[ 's all good. being somewhat helpful is better than not being helpful at all. ]

Well, maybe a science person happens to hear this and incidentally also has an idea or two as to how we could go about this mess.

[ that's a pretty broad hint. also good for assessing just how capable people here are.]

Head and limbs, huh? Sounds like a close combat weapon would be much more suitable for the task, then.

[ hm, gonna go grab himself a machete if bullets to the head dont cut it. ]

voice;

[thorny]

Assuming that the only unoccupied people of science aren't from the Initiative, of course; if that is the case then we may be holding our breath for far too long. Either way I'd be interested in hearing what they have to say.

[yeeep, getting those Initiative digs in whenever she can. even necromorph apocalypses can't stop her]

But yes, all of the extremities need to be dealt with. I haven't seen many people using ranged weapons so I can't speak to their effectiveness, but I've been getting on perfectly well with quick thinking and some needles.

voice;

[wordsthatkill]

Perhaps... I don't suppose we have an estimate concerning the numbers of these things, where they come from and if their... condition... is transmittable. I was hoping that if all else fails, it would still be possible to outlast and eliminate them by hand. Not the most elegant or fastest solution, I'm sure.

[ well let him tell you he's using ranged weapons and the main problem with them is YOU RUN OUT OF AMMO QUICK ]

Needles?

[voice]

[highfrequency]

[At first there is nothing. No speech. Raiden just holds his tablet in his claws and stares into the middle distance. Big Boss? The Big Boss? The one that had started all the bullshit back home?

How does he even begin this conversation? He has to say something, right?]

...I have no idea what the fuck is going on.

[....useful.]

[voice]

[wordsthatkill]

[ enjoy big boss being blissfully oblivious to your general irritation, raiden. ]

Yeah, I think a lot of people feel that way right now.

[ a very helpful reply indeed, but hey, what did he expect. ]

That's not particularly conducive to survival, though, so if you have any ideas, as vague as they may be...

[voice]

[highfrequency]

Right...

[Raiden continues speaking as if he's in a trance. This whole situation suddenly feels surreal.]

All I know is those things aren't human... Well, not anymore, anyway.

You can cut off their heads and they'll keep moving. Seems like burning them's the only thing that's kept them from getting up again but if we keep doing that we're gonna lose oxygen. Fast.

[voice]

[wordsthatkill]

Limbs in addition to heads, right?

[ yeah, he will definitely a sword or something of the sort. his knife literally won't cut it. ]

Hn, that does sound like a problem. No other known weaknesses? I was thinking -- the biggest disadvantage I see right now is how small and cramped the station is, doesn't leave you much room to move and maneuver; but if you somehow manage to get these things outside you could easily turn that into an advantage. Not that I expect them to die out there, but it'd be an improvement.

voice;

[getoffmyearth]

Shoot, keep shooting until they stop coming? Eventually they're only so much pulp. It's gross, but it's working well for me.

[Because you have a blaster, Peter.]

voice;

[wordsthatkill]

And you haven't considered that they might not stop coming? I'm not getting the impression that their numbers are dwindling.

voice;

[getoffmyearth]

[What, Big Boss, you never faced an unstoppable infinite army hell-bent on killing everything before?]

I would say it must be Tuesday. So I'm not sure what about that formula should change if they're not stopping. There's only so much strategy to putting down something with no higher brain function.

voice;

[wordsthatkill]

[ Actually, no. ]

Yeah, except it's gonna wear people out before long if this doesn't stop. Don't know about you, but I'd rather not have the undead as my permanent neighbors.

voice;

[hashtagyolt]

Does a kidnapping for you usually involve a contract negotiated in advance... Snake?

voice;

[wordsthatkill]

Oh, sometimes.

[ It's complicated okay. Especially if you're constantly surrounded by liars and backstabbers and they all just seem to enjoy tying you up. ]

Anyway, point being, I don't usually do this without adequate compensation, and right now I fail to see what I might be getting out of this. Except a whole lot of zombie blood all over my suit.

voice;

[hashtagyolt]

We have different definitions of kidnapping.

And, actually, since we've definitely been kidnapped, I don't think there is anything you're supposed to get out of it. I'm not happy about the zombies either --that kind of thing is so three years ago-- but expecting compensation is probably a stretch.

voice;

[wordsthatkill]

Yeah, I figured that'd be too much to ask for. I'm supposed to trust these guys' words and fight for my 'homeworld', out of the goodness of my heart.

[ he gives a long suffering sigh. ]

An additional incentive would've been nice, that's all.

[Voice]

[small_berserker]

I don't even know how they all got on the moon with us. Aim for the head when you're trying to take the zombies down. That works pretty well.

[Lily pauses.]

Oh, and my name is Lily. Um...do you prefer Big Boss or Snake?

[Voice]

[wordsthatkill]

Maybe they were here all along.

[ well, he's heard about the agriculture wing; but still, so many... ]

Head works, but not for long. Lily's a nice name. You can choose your own name for me.

[Voice]

[small_berserker]

Maybe...but that's still a lot of zombies to hide without anybody noticing them before. I'm wondering if the United Earth sent them up to attack us or something.

[Otherwise, it's pretty sloppy on the Initiative's part to not notice zombies. Did no one do a perimeter sweep?]

Thank you. I think I'll call you Snake, then.

voice;

[doubleoohbaby]

Big Boss and Snake: When one ridiculous nickname just isn't enough.

voice;

[wordsthatkill]

Really?

[ did u just ]

voice;

[doubleoohbaby]

I was going to try mixing the two, but 'Big Snake' sounded a little too compensating.

voice;

[ported]

I'd fight other fights if people paid me but they can't even give me that. It's a little frustrating!

voice;

[wordsthatkill]

You're telling me. 'Frustrating' is putting it mildly.

voice;

[ported]

If there was a way to make up for that, I'd be pretty satisfied.

[Apparently, being brought to random places against her will doesn't really matter to her.]