The Log of the HMAS Marigold: Parts I-V

[Evelyn Adler]

Mary hardly missed a beat.
"Oh, that would be lovely! It so happens, I've grown rather fond of my life!" she said so softly, that only Hawthorne could hear. For the first time, she seemed genuinely amused.
"In that case I would ask you, to stay just a step or two behind me, so that I can take care, you don't stumble into... something."

[Private Weasel]

"Ah"

Hawthorne suddenly freezes, his body tightening, but the charming and casual smile still playing across his face.

"Like now for example, I seem to have found a further pressure pad" Hawthorne beams a smile at Mary, "isn't this exciting?"

"Now, I'll wager that he original trap was an early warning system, However this little device is likely to be connected to...."

His eyes cast around, his body still rigid.

"... That little beauty on the wall. Jolly good, as long as I don't lift my foot, we don't all get blown up by what seems like an excessive amount of dynamite. Somebody be a dear and have a look around for something to defuse the blighter"

A bloody curdling howl echoes down he corridor towards them and in the briefest of movement Hawthorne pulls his revolver.

"In your own time ladies and gentlemen," he comments, surprisingly casually.

[walkthebassline]

Redburn strolls over to where Hawthorne is standing and draws his repeating pistol for the first time.

"I'm no good with explosives, but lets keep whatever's out there occupied. Hopefully someone will be along to disarm that nasty business."

[Evelyn Adler]

"Oh verdammt..."
Mary observes the explosives, just as the first Greenies stumble into view. There seems to be a neverending supply of them!
Firing at the oncoming horde, she speaks hastily.
"Right, here's what we do. I can't disarm this bomb, but it seems there will be a few seconds between release of that pressure pad and the explosion. When they reach the area around the second beam, we all retreat back to the room before. All except Hawthorne and me."
Taking out another Greenie with a single shot she adds in Hawthornes direction.
"I hope you can run really fast - and you didn't lie about that luck of yours!"

[Private Weasel]

"Worry not dear lady," Hawthorne remarks almost cheerfully, his words punctuated by shots from his revolver, "I am ready when you are, ladies first."

[walkthebassline]

Firing steadily, Redburn retreats back to a safe distance. Upon emptying the repeater, he draws his LeMat and takes his time shooting at the greenies, making sure every shot counts.

[MWBailey]

While the others kept the greenies at bay, the sergeant took it upon himself to help out with the booby trap."It's nice to see you two kids getting along," Rourke said in a slightly sardonic tone, "So in the interest of keeping your ree-par-tay to entertain us, I'll help you with that problem you're having. So saying, he used the edge of the saber to pry the cover off of the indicated device, and set about disarming the mechanism.

"There," he said, after a few minutes. "that should do it --!"

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Sparks flew from the wall and three gouges as from bullet impacts appeared in the wall's surface. Rourke ducked and whirled around, fanning four shots down the corridor; A man's voice screamed in agony, and footsteps ran away into the darkness ahead.

[walkthebassline]

Redburn had just finished switching the spectacles to a pair with golden lenses when he heard the shots and the scream.

"The game's afoot! Allons-y!"

He drew his sword and barreled down the hallway, his pistol and blade waving wildly.

[Evelyn Adler]

"Ich moechte nur ein einziges Mal..." Mary sighed softly, not finishing the sentence, but taking out another two Greenies as she spoke. "That bomb would have taken care of them so nicely! And who is falling in our back now? Where is that crazy flying kid by the way?"

[Private Weasel]

Hawthorne carefully releases his foot from the pressure pad, and risking injury to his wrist fires his oversized revolver down the corridor arm outstretched.

"Indeed," he agrees, walking over and plucking the deactivate explosives from the wall "nobody listens."

Glancing at his prize, he notices that whilst the mechanism for the trap was relatively complex, the explosives themselves are naught more than four sticks of dynamite and a few blasting caps.  Holstering his gun for a second he separates the explosive into two equal bundles, handing one to Miss Krueger. Whilst he doesn't say a word in this exchange, those who can see his features see a heartfelt gesture of thanks flicker across his usually bemused face.

"Might come in handy, eh, Miss Krueger?"

Hawthorne glanced down the corridor once again, his eye following Redburn's mad charge.

"Time to save the day?" he suggests.

[Stella Gaslight]

Starling followed Redburn's mad charge.  He had saved her life and if she was one to repay her debts.  He had found the source of the howling and was about to be swarmed.  There was a strange figure in the center of the throng.  Tall, strangely formed and nearly black it brought with it the smell of adeep wet grave left to moulder.   Perpairing a brace of darts she ran to his side.  "May I have this dance?"

[walkthebassline]

Redburn drew himself up as he saw the mass of bodies. His LeMat swung forward, the shotgun barrel blasting the head off the nearest greeny. His sword once again swung with reckless abandon, his whole body pirouetting as he avoided the grasping hands of the horde.

"You may certainly have this dance madame. But do be careful; it seems these ruffians want to cut in."

Shots from the revolver punctuated the slices of his sword. He was in heaven, a leaf on the wind. Nothing mattered anymore; not his family disowning him, not his many debts and penniless prospects, not even the Fairy herself. All that mattered was the sword and the way it danced.

[Evelyn Adler]

"It's a hard job, but someone has to do it!"
Mary winks, reloading her gun. Hey eyes were sparkling; one could believe Hawthorne had just suggested a dance at a ball.
"Let's go then!"
She starts making her way slowly down the corridor, firing round after round while she walks.

[Stella Gaslight]

"Well I shan't let them. My dance card is quite full at the moment."  It felt so easy swinging with him between volleys of darts.  Slowly noting the reactions that each greenie had Starling started understanding the differences between them.  If they made it out of this alive then she would have to wright a paper about about this.  Starling had tried to peg the strange one in the middle over and over but it seemed more aware than the mindless horde.  "I think that one in the middle is directing this some how."

[Private Weasel]

Hawthorne walks along side Mary, swapping pistols briefly to it's until now unused duplicate strapped to it's belt. The solid eight bore shells from the oversized revolver making bloody work of the charging monstrosities.

"Miss Kruger, I must compliment you on your marksmanship. Exceptionally fine grouping!" he remarks as he depletes his second pistol in an now airborne greenie, "I have read your file, Miss Kruger, however I believe it simply does not do you justice."

Forcing his hand into a pocket once more, and bringing out another handful of shells, he flips open his gun with practised ease.

"Would you mind awfully covering me whilst I reload my revolver and then perhaps I might return the favour?"

[Evelyn Adler]

Most likely it's just a trick of the light, but for a moment it almost looks like Mary is blushing.
"Oh, thank you for the compliment! Of course I'll cover you, while you reload!" She blows away another Greenie.
"That file you speak of - must have been awfully boring, hasn't it?"

[walkthebassline]

"I do believe you are correct Ms. Starling. Keep it distracted while I see what I can do."

As darts continued to fly around him, Redburn darted between two lumbering bodies and sliced through the neck of the pretentious monster. The being dropped like a flour sack but Morgan realized he was suddenly surrounded. Turning back the way he came he tried to quickly cut a path back out.

[Evelyn Adler]

"Redburn's in trouble!"
Mary fired off a few rounds in quick succession. Two of the Greenies dropped dead, but suddenly half a dozen heads were turning in her direction.
She tried to fire another shot, but suddenly the rifle was jammed. Cursing, she dropped it, and drew the revolver.

[Private Weasel]

"Boring? Not at all Miss Kruger," replies Hawthorne reassuringly, pushing the last shell into the revolver, "Well educated, fluent in half a dozen languages, combat training, beautiful. We gave serious consideration to trying to recruit you ourselves."

Clicking the drum back into position, he lets of a barrage of fire fly at the now oncoming horde.

"I believe you might have their attention," he announces happily.

[Stella Gaslight]

It was staring at her like it knew what Starling was up to but it was too busy dogging her her darts and sending more of its brethren at her to do much of anything.  "Come on stranger don't you want to dance?"  It sent another wave and howled for more this mosquito was being rather bothersome.

[Evelyn Adler]

"If we make it out of here alive, remind me please, never to use another Winchester, will you do that for me, Hawthorne?" Mary pressed between clenched teeth as she fired at the six or more Greenies coming through the corridor towards her. "Cover me, while I reload, please!"
Without waiting for an answer, she flips open the revolver and starts pushing shells into the chambers. Suddenly she adds almost pensively "You did make the last part up, didn't you?"

[Private Weasel]

Hawthorne steps forwards to cover the lady as she reloading, letting off the final shot into the chest of another charging monster, sending it lifelessly backwards into a second beast.

"Recruiting?" he asks, holstering his now empty gun and drawing the fresh revolver, "No not at all, we are..."

There is a pause as Hawthorne squeezes the trigger, taking the head clean off the second undead as it climbs to it's feet.

"...always on the look out for talented young agents of a.. " he pauses drawing a bead on a greenie further back, injured but still mobile, lumbering its way towards Ms Scott, who's attention he noticed was focused on a wily looking adversary, "...persuadable nature."

A shot rings out, the injured yet offending undead's is spun in full circle before landing heavily and lifeless to the ground.

"Of course, this was before we realised you were already employed. But it was certainly a consideration. Or did you mean when I said you were beautiful? That wasn't in the report, bit I feel it could do with an update when we get out of this."

Hawthorne throws Mary a sly glance and smiles, before raising his pistol towards her and firing.

[Private Weasel]

"Behind you!" he breaths urgently, stepping round Miss Kruger to see the body of a Greenie fall from an open service hatch above her head.

"Cunning little blighters aren't they?" he exclaims, "I must apologise, that was a close one."

[The Corsair]

At the bridge end of the ship he found a small hatch and a ladder that led to a narrow alcove in the walls of the command room. It was in this alcove Joe now stood, looking at a bridge crew's worth of greenies. Obviously one of them had bought the infection to the bridge where someone sealed the entrances so no greenies could move in or out. It seemed like an attempt to contain the infection. Knowing the state of the rest of the Dagger it was clear that the attempt had failed, possibly before it had even been tried.

So Joe would have to get a heavy shot to the heads of each he imagined. It was a shame he had chosen to test the Bolt Bullet carbine rather than any of the more explosive weapons, the effect of electricity on the greenies was unknown but his best guess is that it wouldn't do a whole lot. He managed to slip his gun in to his hands despite the narrow space and stepped out, taking aim at one of the infected. The noise of moving and exposing himself in the light was clearly the level of notice the greenies required to realise he was there and the creature he was aiming at swung itself madly towards him, as did the dozen or so other greenies.

The first trigger pull could not have produced more surprising results. It hit the greeny in his sternum, piercing the bone and sending a shock through the surrounding muscles, which obviously hit its spine. The infected ensign went rigid and dropped flat on its back, now only capable of making a few gurgling sounds and frothy groans. Something in the fungus' chemistry made it a massively effective conductor. The small shock had the ability to hit and fry every nerve. If it weren't for their already heavily damaged brains he imagined the shock would short out brain function entirely. He snapped off the next five shots with no hesitation, producing similar results even when the creature was shot in the arm or leg. If the greenies had such a thing as a weakness, it was electricity.

[Evelyn Adler]

Alert, Mary stepped back, just in time before the lifeless body of the infected slumped to the floor.
"That was close! And for a moment I almost... well, thank you Sir!" Avoiding his eyes, she tucked a strand of hair, that had come loose, behind her ear, then suddenly whirling around she shot two rounds, each hitting one of the last two approaching Greenies, who both dropped dead.
"I think we should see, if Ms Starling needs assistance with that thing over there!"
Picking up the rifle again, she added "Oh, by the way, do they still claim in those files, that my mother was that horrible hungarian opera singer?"