Zhangku

IC: Souper Saladd The slug ignored the Zoltan as xhe drew their cards and waited for Ashley to start. If the Zoltan was not going to play, that was fine. She was likely going to be somewhat hostile towards Ashley due to her way of acting during that.....conversation earlier. Or perhaps Souper was just being a little hypersensitive at the moment. "Alright then. Ashley, go on ahead."

IC: Souper Saladd, Player Two "Well then" xhe said, "I suppose we'll play it that way then. Because you are the sickly one, Ashley, why don't you go first? That way you have the first opportunity to take us for all that we are worth...in a way, anyways" xhe added, saying a bit too much as usual. Xhe ignored Andromeda's comments as they were unneeded and unnecessary to what they were about to do either way. Despite that, xhe couldn't help but feel like Andromeda was...nearly hostile? Weird.

IC: Souper Saladd, Fish Goer Go Fish? Xhe'd played the game a few times, but as xhe didn't want to tell her...well, that xhe could not help but cheat with that game, perhaps it was best not to do that, "Perhaps Go Fish sounds good, but I am a slug. Aren't you afraid I'd cheat by scanning your mind for what cards you'd have?" xhe said as they watched her ears pop and lock. What the heck was it with these mammalian creatures and their ears being so big and perky?

IC: Souper Saladd, Game Player A bit confused by the cat human's sudden urge to play some sort of game, the slug shrugged, not really giving much of a care about that sort of thing. Who cared if they played a game? Honestly, to them life was a prolonged opera of terrible things and occasionally something pleasant. Xhe nodded, "Sure human, tell me exactly what you want to play. It better not be 'Salt the Slug', alright?" xhe assured them, knowing that they wouldn't say that anyway.

IC: Souper Saladd, Ignorer of People Who Talk Like They Are Not There Watching Estelle walk away to raid the slug's kitchen, they turned to Ashley, "Feeling alright? Is the person draining your attention currently causing you any problems, Ashley?" xhe said, trying to be a little careful. It wasn't like the slug chef could do anything with their imprecise powers, especially when the other slugs seemed distracted and forgetful as to why they were even here in the first place. Despite that, however, it could always be worse. Patting the shoulder of the catgirl carefully, xhe simply watched.

IC: Souper Saladd, Cookery Slug "Well this could have gone better, but yes, I'll keep an eye out on her. Well. I'll make sure Francis doesn't break her. Or the other one." Souper said, looking towards the hapless girl. If these was any consolation, she seemed a lot calmer than she was moments ago and if this could be fixed, well, Souper would do the best that xhe could. "Your mind is fluctuating, care to share with us exactly what the Agent in your brain is saying? I...don't know if this Agent can be removed." said the slug, worried. There could be some long term ramifications for this, xhe knew that much, but what? And were they related to what happened....it didn't matter, no time to think about the past.

IC: Souper Saladd, Mental Species Identifier So Ojeda was partially on board. That was good. Still not believing the Slug about the Human mind infiltrating Ashley? Not as good. Pinching their nonexistent nose-shaped protrusion, Souper looked at the Colonel and sighed, "I know we are nowhere near slug space. I am telling you that I can detect species based on thought patterns. Given that I have little choice in the matter of what I hear with my damaged thinkerbox, I think you should trust me when I say that it is a HUMAN mind, not a slug's. As much as I do not like the idea, Slug minds are a little more mucus-covered than this. It's crisp. Clean. Military, perhaps. And mentally it is loud enough to cause my hearing holes to ring slightly. And I've heard of this before, but only as a rumor. Astral Projection is rare, but there are Slug Legends that speak of it being at least possible."

IC: Souper Saladd, Brain Expert "Colonel..." said the Slug, "You know why I can tell it's an outside presence. My race is naturally telepathic. Something has hitched a ride in the young Cat-human's brain and it won't be knocked out of it easily. She is suffering greatly as a result of it's extended presence, the longer we wait to gather those that could possibly do something, the larger amount of damage is imminent in her brain. We don't know the nature of the intrusion, but with enough of us here...we can deal with it" xhe said, increasingly worried as Ashley mentioned a double.

IC: Souper Saladd, the Explainer Turning immediately to the Colonel, xhe immediately explained everything that they knew, "Well, it started back after we finished with the slaver. While Ashley was in the medbay, I sensed something was off. Something in her head told me to buzz off, and said that she might be mentally torn apart if I pried, so I waited until recently when she was healthy again to not risk anything. I should've told you, yes, but at the time we had more things to worry about then a POSSIBLE problem. You can punish me after she is better. Today, I went to talk to her about it so that I could bring the situation to her attention. The thing in her mind caused her to collapse. I can tell you this much, it was a human that was somehow in her head. The ringing is STILL inside of her. I am not sure how to remove it and I suggest you get the other slugs here. Individually we are useless, but perhaps together we can manage this. I don't know of any human organizations that would do this to a person, but something tells me we should find out as soon as possible."

IC: Souper Saladd "Thank the gods that might or might not exist" Souper murmured as xhe began to slink away. As much as xhe wanted to help Ashley feel better by being by her side, it was more important to tell the Colonel about this. Stopping at the doorway, the slug turned around and moved back to beside Ashley, "Doc, if you wouldn't mind, could you PLEASE get Colonel Ojeda down here. Or at least someone who reports to the Colonel?" said the slug, putting a hand on Ashley's arm, "It's going to be okay, Ashley" xhe said, turning back to the genetically modified human.

IC: Souper Saladd, Answerer to Questions "It's quite complicated, Doc. She was talking to someone who wasn't actually physically here. Now do not confuse that with schizophrenia, her mind shows no connection to that human disorder. What I mean is that another presence entered her mind in order to interact with her for an unknown reason. As soon as I threatened to go to the Colonel, she relented, as apparently something upset her about what the presence was saying. It was a male presence, I'm sure of it, human. Not sure how, but a human is using psiionics to beam their consciousness into her. I think. Now do a CAT Scan of her brain or at the very least get the Colonel. And get the other slugs if you can, we need all the experts here that we can muster" Souper explained, as fast as possible, glad that someone finally paid attention to them both.

IC: Souper Saladd, Carrier of the Unconscious Just as the slug began to help Ashley down the hall to where Ojeda's quarters might be and then Ashley slumped to the ground. As soon as that happened, the slug felt an enormous about of mental energy. Oh no... Picking up Ashley, xhe immediately headed to the medbay, "Help! Ashley, she...she's been attacked with some sort of mental attack." xhe declared as soon as the slug entered the room. By the time he'd put the girl on one of the free beds, it had been a few minutes. This was worrying. Who was capable on board the ship who could do this without them noticing? No one. So who could have done this? She was going to tell the slug something before she passed out, but what? The slug turned to the doctor,"Get the Colonel down here. We have a situation."

IC: Souper Saladd, Friend to Humans Moving forward, the slug hugged the slightly taller human and wiped away the tears dryly. "Now now, child, things will be alright. You have to trust me. Let us alert the Commander together. We must not let the others panic. So you need to calm down until we can get to the Colonel at the very least. Alright? Everything's going to be alright. I will make sure of it" the slug said, taking Ashley's hand and leading her down the hall. They were headed to the Colonel's quarters, where she was likely at the moment. Ojeda would know what to do. If she wasn't available, xhe'd go to wherever was necessary. This was not a good thing in the slightest. Not at all.

IC: Souper Saladd So she was going to play this particular game, was she? Well, something told him that xhe was going to have to tell the commander now. "You are not a very good liar, Ashley. I detect nervousness in your thoughts. Do not lie to me about this. Would you rather talk to me in a peaceful manner, or would you prefer to act the cool dude? Because either will end with me alerting our CO about this, and I am pretty sure you don't want your career ruined with marks of insubordination, or worse, sabotage. I have no idea what that voice is asking you to do, but given that I am 95.7% sure you are not schizophrenic, human, I believe it is a detraction. We have had to deal with not only Mantis Saboteurs, but also a slavership. Who knows what is next for us? And for you to be harboring this secret is like you believe we are on some sort of bad television shows where people do not act rational in order for the story to progress. We are NO ONES tools. Now tell me. What. Happened."

IC: Souper Saladd, Slug Cook The slugperson, of course, noticed when he heard Ashley get up, so looked a little more nonchalant than they should have. It was obvious that Souper was planning on visiting, if not spying in. For now, it seemed, they could only worry about the mental presence that was tormenting the poor girl, "Hello Ashley" said the slug, "I suppose your visitor came again? Talking to one's self isn't healthy, especially when it actually is another person inside of you. Or is it a different presence this time? No matter, I have no idea what you were talking about, but I need a reason from you as to why I shouldn't just go to the Commander of this mission and mention that we have a castaway in your noggin?" the Slug said, grating as usual as xhe talked far too much.

IC: Souper Saladd There it was. That ringing in the slug's mind that told them that the voice in Ashley's cranium was back at it. The one that had threatened the slug, more or less, by bringing up Souper's past. Back before the name change. It was a silly name, sure, but it was exactly what the slug needed to get into society. Humans liked funny names. The slug had worked at a restaurant owned by humans before all of this. Still technically did, although the owner of the place was more than understanding about it. Despite that, however, Souper was more worried about the mental focii in the human female's mind. Having already prepared the day's meals, the slug immediately headed over to Ashley's room and waited outside, waiting for it to dissipate again. Or at the very least, stop causing the ringing in the slug's brain to sound like a thousand slime bells ringing at once.

IC: Souper Saladd THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT TROUBLES ME. I WILL BE WATCHING HER. IF YOU HARM HER, WE WILL HAVE THINGS TO TALK ABOUT IN PERSON, HUMAN. Souper said, deducing the foreigness as a human presence. It wasn't a slug, they didn't act like this. They were far too communal to lie about this. Putting their "foot" out of the door, the slug let it shut. For now xhe'd watch over the injured human. Perhaps she'd talk to the slug about it later, perhaps not, but this foreign presence was agitating to say the least. The bit about knowing Souper's past, however...this was equally troubling. Had to be human government. But WHICH human government? The colonists or Earth's? They were deserter Earth scientists that had done research on the slug, but who would know, really? It was known to the Earth Government by this point...so it had to be them, which was suspicious...

IC: Souper Saladd Glaring at the voice, Souper held the crack open mentally, the slug's mind acting like a foot in the door, I. AM. USED TO PEOPLE TELLING ME THAT. WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, HURTING MY COMRADE WITH WHAT IS LIKELY TO BE NONSENSE? said the slug, the damage to it's brain in the past making it so that it's psionics were...very loud.

IC: Souper Saladd While the slug had not been privy to the whole exchange between Ashley and the Agent, the slugperson could still detect something was off. The worst part of this was that out of all of the slugs here, Souper was the worst with being able to control their powers, by far. Nonetheless, detecting and figuring out what was in Ashley's head....well, the chef was confident that they could do that. Breathing in calmly, the slug's antennae began to vibrate lightly, the slug's whole body tensing up as the concentration was built as strongly as it could, given Souper's situation. The disturbance could be a threat to the whole crew, so it was for the best that the slug work on this, as otherwise no one would be able to find out. The other slugs were busy, and no one else here really had the experience with...foreign entities trying to access their mind. The slug was reminded of his time on his home planet...and shuddered. Never again. Never Again. The concentration didn't lapse, surprisingly, and as the slug focused harder and harder, they could swear that they were almost there to crack what the heck this was...

IC: Souper Saladd A little confused by the thoughts emanating from the young woman, the slug touched their own antennae, a bit self-conscious, "They aren't slimy at all" xhe muttered, looking angry for a moment before the feeling passed, "It's alright. The sensation is different for you. If I were to touch your arm, I'm sure I'd have the same reaction if I'd never touched a human army before. You are unwell, you should try to limit your movements" Souper said, still more worried than anything else.

IC: Souper Saladd Not even moving, the Slugperson reluctantly let her grab their antennae, as uncomfortable as it was for her to touch them. They were VERY sensitive, but at the same time, Souper knew that causing the human to panic was the worst thing that the slug could do. Bending their head so that she could grab them easier, however, was something that Souper knew that they should, despite the immense discomfort caused by grabbing of the antennae, do to comfort the ailing human, "Not to tightly" they said, tensing up as the human's fingers arrived. Cold. It felt very cold.

IC: Souper Saladd Heading over to the frightened Terran, Souper could feel nothing but distress and a certain childish fear. Wondering what they could do to help, Souper got a wet, warm rag and xhe used it with great effect; The slug leaned her down and lay it across her forehead, "Child of Earth, you should be happy that I was able to get the Colonel here. She is in bad condition, but she will live. As will you. We'll make it through this. I've been through much worse and came out alive, and I'm just a cook. If necessary I will dispense with the stories of happiness that will make your human heart swell and then unswell, because according to the books I've read it is not good to keep swelling after that" the slug spoke, speaking oddly quietly and softly, as if the slug was talking to it's own child.

IC: Souper Saladd Clearly, the complete lack of thought emanating from the Colonel should have told Souper that she was out, but it seemed to them that they couldn't really care less. Lifting up the Colonel as nimbly as possible, he hefted her up to a flat sitting area, keeping the leg up while he made the rest of her body lay flat. Human blood was seeping out, so the slug got to work. Opening up the syringe so that the needle was properly adjusted, xhe plunged it into the needed area, squeezing out the nanites into her system. Knowing that the slug would regret this later, Souper began to excrete some mucus from the membranes in their fingers, slippery enough to remove pretty much anything from anything else. Normally this form of evolutionary slime would be used to trip up pursuers, but today it had a different use. Squirting the fluid around the wound, Souper was able to slowly lift the leg, slipping it off slowly from the crystal. After making sure that the flesh around the crystal would make way, the leg was eventually able to be moved from the floor to right above the crystal, where Souper hooked it around and right back to the floor next to it. Getting out a special sponge that the slug had in case xhe accidentally "Mucus'd" something, the slug took a minute or two to clean the wound, to prevent any sort of infection that would be caused by the alien substance entering her system through a wound. Ripping a part of the officer's left sleeve, he made sure the strap was clean, warming it up first with the heat from the pistol, and wrapped it around the wound tightly. No need to have the superior officer bleed out as a result of negligence. After cleaning up everything else, the slug hoisted her up carefully, holding the officer bridal style as xhe took her to the medbay, laying her down on a bed, "I've secured our officer. She looks to be in critical condition" the slug said flatly, wishing to not show that xhe was worried.

IC: Souper Saladd This day had already been extremely stressful for the slug. First they'd been shot at after nearly gathering all of the cooking ingredients that the slug would need for a few months (They'd been successfully salvaged more or less, due to the sealing system in the bag), then Souper had been thrown into a APC vehicle in a way that crushed some of the harder things beneath the slug's soft-looking body, and on top of that, several of the others were thinking so loudly about the amount of pain they were in that the Cook now had a slight headache. However, there were more important matters to deal with. As everyone still seemed extremely shell-shocked by the experience of being boarded (The slug had remained calm the entire time and had stroked their crystal-pistol to make sure that any mantis that got in would be shot full of face-melting death), the Chef heard a cry for help from a nearby hallway. The Colonel, Ojeda, needed help. Grabbing a vial of nanites that weren't currently in use by one of the many injured, the slug slipped by the majority of the idle crew, ignoring the fact that they were going into imminent danger if any of the mantis were still on board. Yawning, xhe arrived at the Colonel's side, holding up the vial, "The chef is here to serve you some medicine. The doctor is busy tending to the patients, here you are" Souper said as xhe handed it over to the wounded officer.