Chapter 3: Heart of Steel
The Tram groans as the steel screeches and sparks while slowing to a stop. Before it stood the Flight Deck Station, empty and abandoned as they had left it.
"Clear." Isaac says, Cutter scanning the deck. He moves slowly, eyes open for any movement as Sora and Kairi follow him towards the nearby lift. The constant whistling of the ventilation echoed from the vents. The journey up the lift was quiet and uneventful. Even the groaning of the ship seemed to stop as the lift rose. Eventually, they arrive back at the Flight Lounge, the lights flickering on as they enter, along with another unwanted surprise.
Security request retrieved.
The ship announcement caught the trio by surprise as a hologram of Chen came to life. It shows him firing on the vent above him as a Slasher backs away from his attack. Only for the second one to come from behind and impale him with both of its arms. The three watch on in silence as the recording shows the Slasher pinning Chen to the cracked window before dropping him, the Slasher leaving the recording itself seconds later.
"Real nice of you, Ishimura. Like any of us wanted to see that again." Isaac grumbles as he leads Sora and Kairi back to the hangar. Stepping into the vast hangar, it was still as they had left it. The Kellion's wreckage had long since stopped burning as Johnston's body hung out the cockpit, blackened and charred with her arms missing. Putting the sight out of his mind, Isaac opens a comm to Hammond. "Alright, we're here. Where's this shortcut?"
"Give me a moment." Hammond replies. Soon, the vast hangar bay doors open as a light blue screen appears between the doors keeping the air from rushing outside. "According to this damage report, there is a cargo lift that is jammed open just outside the hanger. It should take you straight to engineering."
"Let's hope you're right." Isaac replies as the gravity in the hanger is turned off. "Sora, Kairi, follow me. We're going to be heading outside the ship for a bit, so DO NOT leave my side. Okay?" The couple nods at him as they activate the thrusters on their suits, gliding towards the screen before them. Stopping just before it, they could see the outside of the Ishimura, the dark, cold steel of the hull illuminated by the lights outside.
"Is that where we need to go?" Kairi asks, pointing to an open door with orange light not far from the hanger. Leading from it was a vast array of cargo, all ready to be taken on board.
"Yeah, that's it. Good eyes." Isaac comments before readying himself. "Get ready. We may have to link up at an air station out there." Sora and Kairi agree with him before activating the thrusters. Shooting themselves past the screen, the onboard air kicks in the moment they enter the vacuum, along with ice building up on the metal of their suits. Gliding towards the cargo lift, all they could hear was their breathing and the internal air counting down.
Just as they approached the entrance, two Lurkers crawled out to meet them with their combat tentacles ready to fire. Sora and Kairi blast them both with stasis, slowing them down as Isaac launches a grenade from his Pulse Rifle. While the shockwaves were useless in a vacuum, the shrapnel was not, as they tore through the bone and muscle of the Lurkers with no resistance leaving them devoid of their only means to attack.
Floating past the Lurkers, Sora and Kairi follow Isaac into the cargo lift. Below them was the lift itself, stuck halfway down the shaft as an opening in the side of the shaft allowed them to bypass the lift. All around them floated boxes, flammable tanks and dismembered corpses, painting a grim sight. But it was what was hiding underneath the lift platform that shocked them. A large fleshy mass latched onto the underside of the platform like a tree branch, erupting from the shaft wall.
Deciding to continue on as their air supply continued to drop, the trio floated past the mass of flesh even as it showed slight movement as it responded to their presence. Soon they found themselves at the bottom, passing through an airlock system as the air was flooded into the room.
"So, is this near where we need to be?" Sora asks as the airlock opens, revealing a dimly lit corridor. The lights flicker as power struggles to reach them.
"To be honest, I have no idea. I've never been to this part of the ship before." Isaac replies as they walk down the corridor. "Then again, Engineering was my area, so there are plenty of areas on the Ishimura I've never been to."
"Umm, we have a problem." Kairi suddenly says, pointing around the hallway corridor. Sora and Isaac move to join her only to see the problem. A giant mass of flesh was bursting through the next airlock door ahead of them. "That's the way to Engineering, right?"
"Not quite." Isaac replies, walking over to a second door. "This lift will take us down. I think. Would be nice if there was a working sign above it…." It wasn't the most convincing statement, but with time against them, they had no choice. Stepping into the lift, they slowly descended into the Ishimura just as the ship shook as something impacted its hull.
Warning. Orbital position compromised. Correct course immediately.
"That's not good. With us falling, the ADS won't activate to protect the ship." Isaac comments offhandedly as the lift comes to a stop. The couple looks at Isaac with tilted heads as he continues to mumble. "Why is the ADS not activating anyway? It should register the nearby debris as targets… Out of range, maybe?" A slight tap on his shoulder from Kairi snaps him from his thoughts as he sees the open lift door. "Oh, sorry. Was thinking on something."
"Don't worry about it. Let's just focus on getting the engines fixed." Kairi replies before she and Sora step outside the lift, Isaac following close behind. To his right, he could see the corridor leading to a Tram Station, while ahead was a small control room overlooking a much larger room filled with pipes and walkways. A sight he was all too familiar with.
"This is it, Engineering." Isaac confirms as he walks up to the controls, casting a disheartened glance at the dead controller slumped on the chair. "Time to find out what needs fixing." Before he could look it over, an audio log highlighted itself on the controls. Without thinking, Isaac presses the log.
"Engineering log, Acting Chief Engineer Jacob Temple reporting. Christ, still can't believe the chief is gone. It's all falling apart since the captain died. Everyone down to their last nerves. We thought the rioting was the worst of it Until those things came out of the vents. Their faces…fuck, those were my lunch buddies. Liz's friends. Old boyfriends. And out of nowhere, the engines are screwed. The primary's labouring and were haemorrhaging fuel. Fuck if I know why! I'm taking Danvers to try and fix it at the fuel depot. Got to keep the crew focused, or they'll crack. Temple out."
"Well, that explains the engines…" Isaac mumbles as he brings up the readout. Just like the Flight Deck, several images and schematics appeared before Isaac detailing the Engineering bay. All of them are in the red. "Guess he didn't get to the fuel depot, or something else came up…."
"What's up, Isaac?" Sora asks as he and Kairi stand next to him. Isaac glances at the two of them before motioning with his left hand at the images.
"Well, we have three problems, two of which are the same. First, we have zero fuel in the engines, meaning that the primary engine is offline. Without it, we will be dragged right into the surface of Aegis VII."
"And what's the other problem?" Kairi asks, glancing at the screens.
"That would be the Centrifuge. It allows the Ishimura to handle large loads and keep her in orbit. Without it, even if the engines were online, we would still crash into the surface just from the weight of the four trillion-ton payload she has picked up."
"What should we fix first?" Sora asks. Isaac glances at the screens before him, judging the importance of each problem before sighing deeply.
"Well, the primary engines will have to be done last. We can't start them without fuel or the Centrifuge online. As for those two…I'd say we handle the fuel first. The soon that's done, the better. But we will need Hammond to stabilize us from the Bridge."
"Better let him know." Sora says as the trio walk away from the controls and towards a preparation room on their left. Isaac nods before opening a call to Hammond, who, judging by where he was on the video, was next to a large chair.
"What's up, Isaac? Found the problem?"
"Yeah, but it makes no sense. The centrifuge is offline, and no fuel in the engines. We're on our way to fix them now, but we need you to stabilise us in orbit when we're done."
"Standing by. Fix it as fast as you can, guys." With a nod, Isaac closes the call as they enter the preparation room. Around them, hanging from hangers, were several suits covered in varying degrees of oil and dirt. Some were covered in blood and water leading towards the lockers and benches filling the room. Washbasins and shower cubicles stand cloaked in blood as water drips from the taps. Putting the sight out of their eyes as much as possible, the trio leave the room and enter the Machine Shop. A metal gangway snakes its way to the floor as orange lights glare from the darkness around them. Pipes and wires running over their heads. Moving to the ground floor, they come upon a man's last stand with dismembered bodies lying before him and giant saw blades embedded in the walls around him. His head had been split in two by one such blade, as the tool that caused the devastation lay in his hands.
A metallic handle connected to a rectangular guard hung from the dead man's hand while a giant yellow circle covered the right side of the device. Picking it up, Isaac grips the handle and activates the devices as the yellow disc swings under his arm. Inside, a series of circular-bladed saw spin around in anticipation. Ready to cave through whatever they were aimed at. Isaac contemplates the tool before turning to Sora, who is busy looking over the blood-stained door leading to a restroom.
"Sora, come here for a second." He says, signalling the young man over. Sora joins him before Isaac presents the tool before him. "I know the two of you have your weapons, but without your magic, they won't help you in these corridors. It's best if you have some other means of protecting yourselves." Sora tilts his head at Isaac before swapping Kingdom Key to his left hand. He picks up the tool in his right as an internal display flashes on the inside of his helmet just as Isaac begins to explain the tool. "What I've given you is an RC-DC Remote Control Disk Cutter or, as we call it, the Ripper. It can fire diamond-coated sharp tungsten blades at over 17,000 RPM or rotations per minute. In simple terms, it fires blades that can easily tear you in half."
"What?" Sora asks, taking a step back before looking over the tool again. "Then, why give it to me?"
"Because I trust you to not mess up." Isaac reveals as Kairi joins them, looking over the Ripper with intrigue and apprehension. "It has two modes. Normal mode has it fire a disk and keep it in place as it spins, while the second mode fires it out. The blades CAN and WILL ricochet around, so be careful. It's how the guy using this died from the looks of it." Sora and Kairi gulp at the description as they give the Ripper another look.
"Alright." Sora finally says with reluctance. "If you want me to use it, I'll use it. But for safety, I think I'll stand on the right. I don't want the blade to hit either of you." Isaac gives him a nod as Kairi places a hand on his shoulder. But before either of them could move, a Slasher charges at them from the shadows aiming for Isaac.
Seeing the charging creature, Sora aims the Ripper at it before pressing the trigger down. On command, a blade is fired from the Ripper and tears through the Slasher's left arm whilst stunning it in its charge. The blade then bounces off a metal beam behind the Slasher, slamming into the back of the Slasher. While it had lost much of its energy in the rebound, it was still enough to cut its way through the Slasher's spine and partly emerge through its stomach before it collapsed.
"Whoa…" Sora breathes as he looks over the Ripper again. "That was…fast."
"Well, now you know." Isaac replied dryly before gazing at where the Slasher came from. "Now, let's see where our friend came from first. Might be something we could use." Walking past the torn-up Slasher, the trio pass by a pool of blood hidden by the shadows before arriving at a hidden calibration room. Inside was a hologram of Nicole looking over an armless Slasher. "So, this is where Nicole went next." Isaac breathes as he looks at her, gazing longingly.
"Looks like it's a recording, like the one on the Medical Deck." Kairi says, looking around. "Do you think it can tell us where she went if we watch it?"
"Only one way to find out." Isaac replies before tapping his left arm. Soon the recording begins to play, with Nicole moving away from the table to grab something from the nearby bench just as she begins her diagnostics.
"Autopsy report, Dr Nicole Brennan. RIG identifies the subject as Junior Engineer David Swenson. The subject was dismembered after falling into machinery, allowing…." Sora and Kairi wince at the report while Isaac looks on in silence. Nicole grabs a scapple from a nearby medical table before placing it near the cadaver's chest. "God. So sorry, David." She drags the scapple across the chest before David, or rather the Slasher he turned into, growls at her as his body spasms and twitches. The sudden movement catches the trio by surprise as they step back in surprise along with Nicole. "Jesus!" Nicole places a hand on her chest to calm down before continuing her report. "Seeing some…post-mortem spasms." She grabs a syringe before digging it into the chest and retrieving a sickly yellow goop.
"The chest contains a yellow bile seen in other specimens. I've seen this bile react to dead or bioprosthetic cells." Nicole's academic speech flew over the heads of Sora and Kairi as she placed her hands on the table while the sample was placed into a DNA reader. "The dead tissue is then absorbed, recombined, then…reanimated. The bile shares genetic markers with human DNA, and the growth on the walls." That last part caused the three to stop thinking as the implications of that weighed in their minds. "It's all connected to the Marker from Aegis VII. But how? Wait… Dr Kyne studied the Marker. But he has vanished… Unless he's with the survivors on the Mining Deck." She glances sympathetically at David before turning her back to the corpse. "You'll rest easy now, David. I promise. End log." And with that, the holograms fade away.
"That was…a lot to take in." Sora comments as the trio leave the room. "So that growth we saw is made of us?"
"That's what it sounds like." Isaac replies with a hint of bitterness. "How many people have been turned into that? At least I know where to look for Nicole's next position. The Mining Deck platform is right opposite the Engineering Deck, but with the lockdown in place, we won't be getting there anytime soon. Hope any survivors that are there can hold out until we get the engines running."
"So what are we waiting for?" Kairi asks as she leads them back to where they found the Ripper. Right beside a door leading to the Fuel Depot. "What we need to refill the engines is through here, right?" Isaac gives her a nod before opening the door. And immediately wanted to close it as a Leaper lurked on the other side feeding off a dead body. It screeches at him, and just as Isaac reaches for the Cutter on his belt, it leaps away.
"Alright, I'm not complaining." He quips as he switches the Pulse Rifle for the Cutter. "Watch your backs. This area is wide enough they could come from above." Sora and Kairi nod their heads as they follow him deeper in, the metal linking below their feet clinking under their boots. Dim yellow and white lights beam from the walls as a vast dark abyss yawns below them, smoke rising from the depths as an eerie fog. The walls themselves created an artificial maze, forcing the trio through narrow spaces. Eventually, they reach a small open area with a gondola before them, stuck halfway between them and the far side. On either end of the abyss were vast mechanical cylinders breaking through the smoke.
A Slasher ambushes them from the front only to receive a saw tearing through its left arm as Plasma sheared off its right. The Slasher stumbles back from the attack, tripping over the railing before falling into the vast darkness below.
"You're getting the hang of the Ripper quick there, Sora." Isaac points out as they approach the gondola. He activates Kinesis and drags it over to them before walking past and towards a small outcropping.
"Well, it's not that hard to use, honestly. Just point and press." Sora replies before glancing at the Keyblade in his left. "Although it IS kinda awkward to hold Kingdom Key in my left."
"Didn't you hold a second one in your Drive forms?" Kairi asks. Sora pauses before looking at her and shrugging his shoulders.
"Yeah, I did. But that was holding two Keyblades. I'm just more comfortable holding one in my right hand." Kairi hums to herself for a second before giving Sora a pass. While they were talking, Isaac had walked up to a console before typing in several commands. Then a device shot up next to him with a Kinesis symbol on top. Without missing a beat, he activates his Kinesis and drags it down to activate the refuelling process.
Refuelling sequence activated. Additional fuel required for engine restart.
As the A.I. talked, the cylinders began to rotate as they rose into the air. They continue to spin, swatting away the smoke like a fan before coming to a stop. Then the cylinder at the top spins around by itself, revealing an entrance hose as it continues to rise into the air.
"Okay, that's the North side done. Let's head on over to the South side and do the same." Isaac calls out to the couple before moving to the gondola. Only to find a problem with its size. "This is not good. It's too small for us to fight in without hitting each other."
"Don't worry. I think we have an answer for that." Sora says before glancing at Kairi. With a wordless nod, he throws Kingdom Key into the vast space before them as it transforms into a glider. It consisted of a long silver board with silver wings designed like angel wings, while Sora's crown is stamped right in the middle with a blue gem located at the front, while underneath are two golden landing gears.
A flash of light followed behind as Kairi imitated Sora's action, forming her own glider. It looked almost the same, except the main body was orange, while the wings were red with a yellow flow on each, with a yellow gem in the shape of a star at the front while a similar form was imprinted on the board. Underneath are two landing gears like Sora's but in an ocean blue.
With a joyful cheer, the couple hops onto their gliders with aged practice as Sora holds onto the Ripper in his right hand. Isaac looks between the two before shaking his head. "Right, forgot about that." He says before activating the gondola. It starts up, slowly crawling its way across the vast chasm as Sora and Kairi hover at the sides. Fidgeting on the spot, Isaac looked over both his weapons making sure each was loaded and ready as the gondola slowly passed the hallway point.
Just when it seemed all was well, a roar erupted from the other side. Through the smoke, a hoard of Slashers stood ready to attack as the gondola approached. Switching to his Pulse Rifle, Isaac launches a grenade at the horde with the blast destroying one and ripping the arms off three more. But it still left two more Slashers who gleefully took the spots before them until a saw blade from Sora slashes into one of the arms. The blade tears through the flesh and bone, yet the arm hangs loosely from the Slasher before Kairi grabs it with Kinesis. Without thinking, she fires it back at the untouched Slasher, the arm blade pinning it to the ground as Sora fires another saw blade at the other Slasher tearing off its other arm.
"Good shot, you two." Isaac complements as the gondola arrives. The pinned Slasher swings its arms furiously in the air aiming to hit any of them, only for Isaac to blast off both its arms with his Plasma Cutter. "And stay dead." A flash of light behind him told that Sora and Kairi had landed as they moved to join him. With a nod to both of them, they move on past the bodies and deeper into the area. Turning a corner above a ramp, they find themselves in a small area next to a locked room. A red power cable runs from it and towards the nearby outcrop.
Walking a few steps into the blood-soaked area, Sora kicks a small recorder by his feet and unintentionally activates it. "Last valve's done, chief!" A voice echoes from it, startling the trio as it plays.
"Progress report, filed by Jacob Temple. The engine problems aren't a malfunction. Someone shut off the fuel lines to the primary engine and damaged the valves to hell and back. We just wasted an hour trying to fix them. Now we need to restart the south refuelling station, but some jackass turned off the power and locked up the circuit breaker."
"No engines, we're going to hit planet fall soon… What now?" The other voice asks. Temple audibly sighs from the recording.
"Only one thing. There has to be a spare card around here to open the door. Either lying around or being held by someone. Go see if— Wait, you hear that?" Temple suddenly cuts himself off before what sounds like a fight breaks out from the recording as a Slasher's scream echoes over the cries of both men before the recording abruptly stops.
"Well, now we know more about why the engines aren't working. Someone wants the Ishimura to crash. They must be hoping that the impact would wipe out whatever was infecting the ship."
"But what about those who are still alive? They would be killing them as well." Kairi points out. Isaac looks at her before walking past towards the nearby door without saying a word. He glances at it, seeing the red lock hologram blocking the way before grunting in annoyance.
"Guess they didn't find one. Then again, if they did, we wouldn't have to be here." He mumbles before glancing at a nearby gangway leading up to the higher level. "There has to be a card we can use nearby. Let's head up." With silent nods, the couple follows Isaac to the next level. As they reach the top, a lone Slasher shambles not far ahead of them before leaping into the ventilation shafts. With weapons raised, the trio move forward as they manoeuvre through the maze-like design of the floor before arriving near the outcrop. To their right was a secluded working area with three dead bodies next to a table.
And on the table was the very card they were looking for.
"Alright, we found the card." Isaac comments as he places it on his belt. "Let's get into that room and power up the station. We don't have time to waste." They retrace their steps back to the room until Isaac's video comm flared to life.
"Isaac? Hammond? You guys there? Can you hear me?"
"Daniels?! You made it!" Isaac exclaims as Sora and Kairi join him, relief flooding their veins as Kendra appears on the video call, looking no worse for wear.
"Thank god, after the bridge, I thought…" Hammond begins, only to get cut off by Kendra.
"Glad to disappoint. I barricaded myself in the computer core. I can hear them, but I don't think they know I'm here. I've tracked down your RIGs Isaac. You guys are in Engineering, right?"
"Yeah. We're trying to get the engines running. But it looks like someone tried to do this on purpose." Sora says, to which Kendra raises an eyebrow.
"Sabotage? Guess they wanted to kill these things before they got off Aegis VII. Smart, but not while people are still alive. Looks like the path to the engines themselves is locked down. I'll get myself admin privileges. Maybe I can help."
"Do you think we could get them as well? Might make getting around the ship easier." Kairi asks with slight hope in her voice. Kendra smiled at her, but her answer was anything but.
"Sorry, Kairi. Admin privileges only work in the system, not for doors. Good thinking, but it wouldn't work." Kairi's shoulders slump in disappointment as Sora gives her a one-arm hug just as they arrive at the locked room. Kendra ends the call at the same time, leaving the trio alone once again.
Using the card to open the door, the trio step inside as Isaac makes for the power box. Only for him to loudly curse the moment he reaches it.
"What's wrong, Isaac?" Sora asks as he and Kairi join him, only to see the options listed to them on the screen. Options that made his stomach drop. "You have got to be kidding me…"
"No, I'm not." Isaac grumpily replies. "We have to redirect power from either life-support OR the lights. Either way, we will be at a disadvantage if these things decide to attack us." Sora folds his arms as he looks at the options before them. Did they really have only this choice, or could they…
"Go for the lights."
…let Kairi could decide for them already.
"We can use our Keyblade to light up the area, and you and Sora have ways to attack. It's a better choice than worrying about running out of air."
"It's not ideal." Isaac admits before turning back to the box. "But it will have to do." With a quick flick of a holographic switch, the lights turn off, plunging the trio into darkness before Sora and Kairi's Keyblades light up. They retrace their steps back to the outcrop, Isaac and Sora keeping their tools raised high for any ambush.
A vent is destroyed above them, with metal bouncing off their suits, but nothing falls from the hole. Pushing past it, they arrive at the outcrop with its systems at full power. Wasting no time, Isaac sets about activating the system as Kairi and Sora watch his back.
Refuelling sequence activated. Sufficient fuel to fire primary engines.
Isaac lets out a breath of air as he watches the vast machinery before him come to life, extending fuel pipes to containers holding fuel. Suddenly, the sound of a Ripper blade ricocheting behind him grabbed his attention. Spinning around, his eyes widen at seeing two Slashers and a Lurker charging down the ramp towards them.
Sora had already fired a Ripper blade at them, with one of the Slashers missing an arm while the other had lost its head to the ricochet. Unfortunately, the Lurker had managed to leap onto Sora before deploying its attack spines and slamming into his back. Kairi moved forward to help, slashing at the Lurker with her Keyblade and hitting it into the abyss below, only to have the one-armed Slasher swipe across her arm.
Seeing the two of them in trouble, Isaac furiously grabs his Cutter before firing on the one-armed Slasher. The bolts of plasma tear through the Slasher's arm before another slams into its head and sends it to the ground. Changing targets, he aimed at the second Slasher, with was flinging its arms widely at anything near it as Isaac shot out its legs. Removed of its head and arms, the Slasher falls to the ground.
"You two okay!?" Isaac asks as he approaches the couple, grabbing two Med Packs from his belt. He injects the mixture into their armour as the RIG lights on their back change from yellow to green once again.
"We are now…" Sora replies as he stands up with a slight wobble. "Thanks, Isaac. We didn't hear them coming until the last second." Isaac nodded at him before noticing how silent Kairi was being. Before either he or Sora could ask, Isaac's comm activated.
"Okay, I've got a fuel reading. It's only a quarter full, but it should be enough."
"That's good to hear, Hammond, but we still need to get to the centrifuge. Whoever wanted to sink the Ishimura really did a number on the fuel lines."
"Understood, but move fast, Isaac. Aegis VII's looking damn close out there." Closing the comm, Isaac began to lead the couple back to the control room. Crossing back over the abyss, they move through the maze of catwalks before finding themselves before the glass windows of the control room. The door nearby was locked due to a fuse. But just as Isaac destroys the fuse to unlock the door, Kairi catches a shadow flying over the corpse in the room. Her eyes widen as she sees a mass of flesh hover over it before latching on like a parasite.
"Sora! Isaac! Infector!" She cries, pointing into the room. The two look at her before Isaac slams the door open, rushing inside with his Pulse Rifle. They could hear the Infector doing its work on the corpse as they turned around before all three of them blasted it with Stasis.
The combination of three lots of Stasis slowed the Infector considerably before Isaac opened up with his Pulse Rifle on both it and the newly made Slasher.
"Nice call Kairi. That would have been a nasty surprise." Sora complements, placing a hand on her shoulder. Kairi gives of a small chuckle as Isaac walks over to a nearby elevator.
"This lift will take us down to the centrifuge. We will need to go through a decontamination room first, but it shouldn't take long."
"If you think so…" Sora comments before he and Kairi join him in the lift. The ride down lasted about a minute, during which another vibration shook the ship, an indication of their limited time. Eventually, the lift reached the bottom, opening up to a corridor with a glass floor. They step onto the floor and head down, only for Kairi to suddenly stop and look at her feet.
"Urgh…I'm leaving footprints in blood…." She comments, seeing the trail of prints she and the others were leaving. Not to mention the blood that was stained on their suits as well. "I'm glad we can smell anything with these helmets on. We must stink."
"Not going to argue with you on that." Isaac wisely says before opening a door leading into a room with white lights. Drainage vents line the floor in a star-shaped pattern, while metal pipes with sprinklers and shower heads line the ceiling. A table and basin lay in the centre of the room, with rectangle windows lining the walls. A locked door lays on the other side as a holographic display hovers over the table. Without missing a beat, Isaac activates the middle station.
Instantly, the room is plunged into darkness as shutters obscure the windows. Metal grates block off the doors as an orange light begins to spin at the top of the room. All the while, meatal screeches and scrapes together.
Decontamination sequence activated. Please stand by.
Soon, water falls from the sprinklers and shower heads, pouring over the trio as a mist forms inside the room. The water flows over them, taking away the blood and grit that was building up on them before washing away into the vents below. It would be a fleeting moment, but having their suits marginally clean again felt good.
Until they heard the sound of banging outside the room. Along with the grunts and growls of the creatures outside.
"Oh fuck. Centre of the room now!" Isaac calls out, standing in front of the table. Sora and Kairi quickly join him, eyes glued to the walls around them. The growls outside are soon replaced by metal ripping as the vents above echo with movement. All the while, the decontamination continues, no doubt registering the approaching ambush as a hazardous anomaly.
Soon, they struck.
The first to attack was a Lurker, who quickly made itself invisible by jumping into the rising mist surrounding them. Even with Sora and Kairi's Keyblades, the light only made the mist most solid than transparent. Soon, Slashers burst in from above, their hulking forms shrouded by the rising mist.
But it also made them easy targets as Sora and Isaac opened up on them with their tools. But while they dealt with the Slashers, Kairi continued to look for the Lurker. Dimming the light for her Keyblade, she caught a glimpse of the attack tentacles hovering in the mist, aiming directly at Sora and Isaac's blind spot.
Not even bothering to think, she throws Destiny's Embrace towards the Lurker, the mythical weapon slicing through the tentacles with ease. The Lurker cries out in pain as it loses two of its appendages before leaping onto the wall to run. But Kairi was not going to let it.
Blasting it was a shot of Stasis she resummons her Keyblade before firing a ball of fire towards it. Despite it being the beginner level, the Fire spell was more than enough to finish off the Lurker as it fell to the ground in a billow of smoke.
As the small fire was quickly put out, the orange lights turned back to white in a flickering state. The shutters and grates also moved out of the way, albeit slowly and stuttery, as sparks fell from the ceiling. Blood pooled away as the water flowed through the grates, leaving water-soaked corpses behind.
Decontamination sequence complete. Thank you for your patience.
"Don't think this will work ever again. They must have damaged some of the wires up there." Isaac points out to the falling sparks. Sora and Kairi gaze upward, seeing the large holes made in the ceiling above them. They shudder at thinking they could have been under them when the attack happened. Quickly following Isaac out of the room, they pass through a small waiting area before entering into a circular hallway. One half plunged into darkness, the other still illuminated by lights. In front of them was a sign pointing to two sides of the centrifuge, north and south.
Nothing that the south way still had lights, the trio decided to take that path. Only to wish they had taken the north path.
Coming up to a corner turn, they find to their shock, a giant hole in the wall, with the metal indicating that something had burst out of it. Blood soaked the entrance and the hallway, with the glass alongside the right wall broken and cracked. Following the trail, they found another hole the same size as before to their growing dread, equally covered in blood.
With the remains of some crew members lying just outside the hole alongside an audio log. Using Kinesis to grab it, Isaac holds onto the log as they continue on to a bulkhead door. Quickly moving inside, Isaac opens up the log to find, to his surprise, a request from Jacob Temple to one of his co-workers. Asking them to fix the Centrifuge while also taking any weapon they have.
But the more he looked at it, the more he wondered.
"How long has this been happening? Days? Weeks? A whole month? This log sounds as though it was made just before we arrived…." Isaac mumbles as Sora and Kairi wait at the next door. He glances at them before putting the log away. "Sorry, just thinking about something. Let's move." With a press of his hand, the bulkhead reveals a large circular room.
All around, debris and corpses floated in the zero gravity environment, while to their right, a huge mass of flesh tore the catwalk in two. On the other side were the controls, while on their far left was a lift heading down to a lower level.
And in the centre was the centrifuge itself. A large cylinder with a conical top and bottom, with two long arms connecting to two more cylinders on either side of a large circular platform. On both sides of the room, resting on tracks, were two large generators that were supposed to power the centrifuge but instead were disconnected and spinning in place.
"Okay, let's do this fast and quick. Sora and Kairi, you each take one generator and guide it back into the centrifuge. You'll have o use Stasis first to slow it down before reconnecting them. I'll stay up here at the controls and keep an eye out for any Leapers or Lurkers. Once you're done with that, head back to the airlock."
"Why the airlock? Shouldn't we join up with you?" Kairi asks. It was strange to him to suggest they split up, but his answer quickly told why.
"When I activate it, this whole area will be plunged into a vacuum. And since the catwalk is destroyed, I'll have to run around on the bottom to the second lift. That means having to dodge the centrifuge itself." Isaac reveals. He was not going to put them at risk of getting flattened by the centrifuge.
"If that's the case, then either me or Kairi could use our gliders to pick you up. They can work in a vacuum, too, you know." Isaac could look at Sora for a few seconds before facepalming himself in stupidity.
"I completely forgot about those." He admits, much to his embarrassment, and the couple chuckles. Shaking his head, he quickly sorts himself out. "Okay, you kids, get moving and be ready. Once that starts up, the air will pull anything not tried down with it."
Not wanting to stand around, Sora and Kairi activate the thrusters on their suits and take to the air. They each move to a separate generator before firing Stasis at them. The spinning connector points dramatically slow down as the couple pull their respective generators into the centrifuge. With a satisfying clang, the generators reconnect to the centrifuge and power it up.
Kairi then quickly retreated to the entrance, with Sora activating his glider and moving near Isaac. With a single nod, Isaac activates the centrifuge. Lighting sparks down from above, slamming into the centre of the centrifuge as red lights light up all across the arms. Sparks fly as power flows through the device before it slowly starts to spin. Then the floor below opens up to the void of space, sucking out all of the air within the room. Isaac and Kairi grab onto the railings to steady themselves as Sora struggles to fight against the suction on his glider.
Eventually, the room is emptied of all air as their life supports activate on their suits. Sora holds out a hand and helps Isaac onto his glider, the magical craft negating the artificial gravity in the room.
Centrifuge activated. Re-establishing balance with tectonic load.
The Ishimura announces in their helmets as Sora and Isaac join Kairi at the entrance. Moving into the airlock, they wait for the air to return before Isaac opens a call to Hammond and Kendra. Just as they opened the second airlock to leave.
"Hammond, Kendra. We got the centrifuge online. That should buy us some more time."
"Glad to hear, Isaac. Better hurry, though. We only got an hour at most before we hit the point of no return. Kendra, how're things on your end?"
"I've almost got the way to the engines unlocked. By the time you reach it, I should have it—"
"SORA!" Kairi's sudden cry surprised all three as Isaac looked over at them. To his horror, a giant tentacle made of bone and muscle had grabbed onto Sora's right foot. The inside of which had several human heads. Sora tried to free his foot, smacking it with Kingdom Key, but all it accomplished was the tentacle flinging him into the air and slamming him onto the ground.
It then began to drag him away.
"OH SHIT!" Isaac shouts as he and Kairi chase after it, dreading to think about what will happen. Hammond and Kendra both cry out to Isaac, asking what is happening. But he tuned them out, focusing only on saving Sora.
Thankfully, he was not dragged far as he had slammed Kingdom Key into the metal floor, bringing his kidnapper to a halt. Yet it continued dragging him as Kingdom Key tore into the floor slowly.
Kairi blasts the Drag Tentacle with stasis slowing both it and Sora down before swinging her Keyblade at it. Only for it to bounce off harmlessly. She stares at it in shock before trying again, only to receive the same result.
As Isaac looks on, he turns his gaze to the Tentacle before his eyes fall on a pulsing yellow sack halfway down. With no other option to lose, he aims his Cutter at the sack and fires. The moment the super-heated plasma makes contact with the sack, it explodes, slicing the Tentacle in half as it retreats into the hole it came from, leaving Sora behind with the other lifeless half.
"Isaac! Come in! What the fuck is happening down there!?" Hammond yells into the comm as Kairi and Sora embrace on the floor, panting hard. Isaac himself was breathing deeply before turning his attention to the comm.
"Some giant fucking Tentacle came out of the wall and tried to drag Sora into it! Don't want to even THINK about what would happen if we didn't stop it."
"Are you saying we have giant Tentacles that can drag us off to worry about now!? And what about Sora? Is he fine?" Kendra asks, shaken by the news as Hammond curses loudly on his side.
"Yeah, he is. Shaken but alive. Give us a moment, and we'll head to the engines." He ends the call before walking over to the two, still sitting on the floor. "You two alright?" Isaac asks gently, placing a hand on bother of their shoulders. They stay silent for a few seconds before slowly rising to their feet, not letting the other go.
"I…I will be…." Sora says slowly, his voice shaky. "Thanks for that…"
"Don't mention it." Isaac responds before moving forward. Cutter raised. "If you need a few more seconds, stay behind me. I'll take point." The couple doesn't argue with him as they retrace their steps back to the control room. Along the way, Isaac couldn't help but feel concerned at what he saw. He knows how strong their Keyblades are, able to slice through any foe they've seen so far. But to simply bounce off those? It was both worrying and concerning. Worrying as to how they would respond if another one attacked. And concerning as to how many were inside the Ishimura in the first place.
Warning. Orbital position approaching critical. Correct course immediately.
And the announcements were not helping either!
"Kendra, have you got the door controls unlocked yet?" Isaac asks into his comm, staring at the locked door in question. Until it goes from red to blue with a small click and chime.
"Does that answer your question?" She asks smugly before changing her tone. "How are Sora and Kairi doing?"
"Better. So long another one of those things doesn't attack us." Isaac replies, glancing at the couple before returning to the door. "Will contact you when we reach the engine room." Closing the comm, he opens the door into another airlock room. Motioning Sora and Kairi over to him, he leads them into another zero-gravity room with two large fans spinning in the walls. A catwalk stretches out towards the next airlock as boxes and limbs float around them. As they travel across, Kendra contacts them again.
"Say, guys, I cracked the secure files. CEC was here for more than just a mining claim, huh?"
"What do you mean?" Hammond cuts in, his voice and tone suddenly defensive.
"This outbreak started on the colony after the miners dug up some artefact. Something alien. When the miners found it, they reported hallucinations, paranoia, suicides… One high-profile case was of a miner named Sam, who was there when the artefact was dug up. Went down into the mines with some of his buddies and then turned on them. Apparently, they did the same to him first if video footage was to be believed."
"That's impossible. We have not found any trace of any other intelligent life. If we did, it would have been instantly reported."
"But it WOULD explain why this place was restricted. Earth Gov Orders, after all. And the Ishimura brought this 'Marker' on board anyway. Like it was all part of the plan." That caused the trio to halt in their steps as they neared the exit.
"Wait, Kendra, did you do a list on the crew of the Ishimura? We know that the Captain and some of the Medical Officers are Unitologists, but what about the rest of the crew?"
"Hold up? The Captain was a Uni? That explains a lot…." Kendra admits quietly as Hammond takes over.
"About that, I did do a roster check, and what I found was disturbing. A lot of the high-ranking officials on this ship were Unitologists. In fact, a good half of this ship are Uni's. This screams less of a CEC op and more of a Uni op."
"But how did they get so many onboard? Wouldn't CEC stop something like this?" Kairi asked as Isaac stood quietly in anger. An audible sigh from Hammond told her it was more complicated than either she or Sora would think.
"I don't know. But I sure as hell gonna ask when we get back. But first things first, get those engines running. Kendra, think you can find out more about where the 'Marker' is?"
"Will do." With that, the call ends as Isaac opens the bulkhead door. Only for the sound of heavy machinery to blast them in the ears as they enter the next room. Bellow them, said machinery was running at full steam while a wall of flesh stood between them and the door out, along with a suspiciously glowing yellow blob on their side.
Not thinking, Sora fires a saw blade at it, destroying the blob. What followed next was interesting. The wall of flesh seemed to boil as it pulsed and twisted before exploding and clearing the door. With a small cheer that went unheard from the sounds below, the trio entered through the door before halting in their tracks.
Before them, instead of a metal corridor, there was a hallway of flesh and sinew before them. Bulging sacks and stands of flesh cover the walls, floor and ceiling, while an unfortunate soul, dressed in an engineer outfit like Isaac but without the helmet, was consumed by the mass.
And in his hands was a tool that caught Isaac's eye. A red cylinder tank connected to a metal holder with a pipe running towards a nozzle connected to a trigger. It was a PFM-100 Hydrazine Torch Flamethrower, with extra fuel canisters lying nearby. Gently taking from the corpse, he turns around before handing it to Kairi.
"Here, this should be a good replacement for your Fire Spells. The Hydrazine Torch, or Flamethrower for short, can easily match what you used to use. Just be careful when pointing it. The flames it can shoot out can melt rocks."
"Uh…right." Kairi says with a nod, holding the Flamethrower in her right hand while Destiny's Embrace is placed into her left. "Does it have a special function like Sora's?" Isaac places a hand on his chin.
"If I remember right, these newer versions can create a flame wall. Could be useful when we need to run or make a chokepoint." Kairi slowly nods as Isaac starts to make his way down the hallway before coming to a stop. "Things are getting tight. Best put your weapons away." He motions his head to a think opening, just wide enough for them to move through sideways. Sora and Kairi look at each other before giving reigned sighs, following after Isaac as he makes his way through the gap. Progress was slow, with the flesh material sticking to their boots.
Passing by a vent, they freeze in place as a Slasher rushes past, hunting for anyone still alive. After waiting a few seconds, they continue on, slowly making their way through until reaching the exit. One by one, they enter into a vast room, not noticing something is stuck on the wall next to them.
Turning around, Kairi was soon face to face with a legless torso stuck onto the wall. A torso that screamed at her, trying to grab her with its arms as she backed away in shock. Without thinking, she brings up the Flamethrower and fires it at the torso, burning it and freeing the soul trapped in the wall.
"You okay?" Sora asks as he joins her. Ripper aimed at where she fired.
"I am." She replies quickly before walking away from the flames. "It was a person stuck on the wall. He or she tried to attack me with their arms. I just reacted on instinct." She pauses for a second before looking over the tool in her hand. "And I hate that I did so…" Sora wraps an arm around her as they turn around to join Isaac. Before them was a vast vertical room with several catwalks acting as floors. While all around them, the fleshy growth had all but taken over the room, blocking catwalks and covering doors and lifts.
"This is getting worse by the minute." Isaac comments before noting an audio log nearby. He picks it up before activating it, hoping it holds something more about the growth.
"Engineering log—my last log." Temple's voice rings out, sullen and beaten. "Temple reporting. I can't reach anybody on RIGlink. I think my team is gone. I found the Kinesis module that someone used to bust the centrifuge. Burned out. Who would sabotage the Ishimura at a time like this? I'll report to the bridge if anyone is left. Then I'll find Elizabeth and get us both the hell of this ship."
"I hope you managed to do that, Temple." Isaac comments as the audio log ends. Placing it back on the ground, he looks over the railing and down to the bottom floor. A pinkish-green mist wafted through the area, obscuring his vision, but he could still make out some lifts that were still working. "Come one. There are some lifts still working. We need to get to the engine room now."
Following Isaac to a nearby service lift, they descend to the next floor. Taking a right turn, they find another pulsing orb on top of a mound of flesh blocking the way. Taking aim with his Plasma Cutter, Isaac shoots the orb, destroying it and the mound, clearing the way forward. Only for a horde of triangle-shaped flesh crawlers to appear from the mound and charge towards the trio.
Moving to the front, Kairi activates the Flamethrower in her right hand, disintegrating the attackers in a torrent of flames. Deciding not to question these new Crawlers, the trio continues to the second lift. A Slasher tried to ambush them by playing dead but was easily spotted by them before they got near it, with Sora using the Ripper to slice off its arms and head. Stepping onto the lift, they could hear the sound of a malfunctioning door beneath them.
But as they reached the bottom floor, another variant stumbled out of the green fog before them. It looked like a Slasher, but its arms were bent fully upward and hung limp. While from its stomach was a giant pulsing yellow sack that seemed to squirm with movement. After their past few encounters with glowing sacks, Isaac assumed it to be a weak spot. Only for his assumption to be proven wrong, as for the moment he fired at the sack, a horde of Crawlers emerged from the Slasher's stomach.
They were only stopped when Kairi activated the secondary function on her Flamethrower, igniting a flaming wall in front of them that destroyed the Crawlers. The Slasher attempted to walk around it, only to find a saw blade ricocheting towards its arms and head from the side.
After taking a moment to calm themselves, and politely tell Isaac to think before firing on the sacks of Pregnant's again, the trio move past the malfunctioning door after a blast of Stasis. Moving through the tight corridor, they could feel the vibrations intensifying as their time became critical. But eventually, they finally reach the engine room.
Before them, on their left, was a giant machine of steel, towering over them as it connected to a large circular device spanning the entire room. On their right was a series of platforms and ramps, with a control station on the upper level. And prowling around in the darkness before them was a horde of Slashers.
"We don't have time to fight them all. Keep them distracted while I start up the engines!" Isaac tells them before running forward, ignoring Sora and Kairi's cries of alarm. He Blasts a Slasher's leg off before shooting off an arm as he sprints up to the higher deck. Sensing his presence, the horde begins to advance on him before Sora, and Kairi rush up the ramp after him, with Kairi setting down a flame wall to block them off.
Warning. Re-entry imminent. Initiate primary engine ignition.
"I know!" Isaac shouts in annoyance as he rushes to the controls, blasting another Slasher with his Plasma Cutter before furiously typing in commands onto the console. Sora and Kairi rush to his side, using their tools and Keyblades on any remaining Slashers.
Ignition sequence initiated. Please stand by.
"Come on, come on, come on…." Isaac mutters to himself as Sora and Kairi finish off the last of the Slashers. Pipes hiss, and tubes crack as power rushes through the engines while fuel is pumped into the chambers. The circular machine above them spins to life, churning and pumping to the sound of a heart.
Priming ignition chamber. Please stand by.
The machine spins faster and faster, the pumping sound increasing in both its sound and frequency.
Finalizing pre-ignition checks. Stand clear of exhaust vents.
Steam blasts out of the nearby vents as hot air rushes out, clearing away the debris as the machine reaches its maximum rotation.
Engines ready. Please confirm ignition order.
With time running out, Isaac all but slams his fist onto the console to confirm the command.
Engines firing.
With a humongous blast and roar of a lion, the cylinder above them erupts into flames as the fuel within it is ignited. The flames shoot outward towards the end of the room, disappearing into more cylinders as the engines roar to life. They could feel the ship lurch forward as though a giant hand had come along and given it a push. Seeing no more point in staying, the trio leave the engine room just as Hammond opens a video call to Isaac with pure relief on his face.
"Guys, you did it. The Ishimura is moving again."
"No thanks to whoever sabotaged the fuck out of these engines." Isaac replies with bitterness and exhaustion in his voice. "I can understand if they wanted to do this to kill all these things onboard, but I prefer to live than death."
"I agree. There's no saving her, but we can at least get out of here alive. The autopilot is set to take us into geostationary orbit…"
"Wait, you're going to take us through the debris field?" Kendra suddenly asks with alarm in her voice.
"That's what the Asteroid Defence System is for." Hammond replies nonchalantly.
"But the ADS is offline! I've got the system readouts right here!" Kendra replies with growing alarm as horror falls upon the others.
"But, if the ADS is offline, then doesn't that mean we will collide with the rocks outside?" Kairi asks, although she was already aware of the answer.
"If so, could all the damage we've seen have been caused by that?" Sora adds, eyes wide behind his helmet.
"Sora's right. The Ishimura is in a rough shape. A couple of bad strikes could finish her off!" Isaac comments as Hammond looks on with worry, stress and anger.
"Shit! Daniels, give me all the data you have. I'll try to change course. Isaac, you and the others disable the lockdown at Engineering and head up here to the bridge. You'll be better at this than I am."
With the call over, the trio head through the nearby door leading back to the security station. A path that was blocked from one side due to a fuse. But just as they neared the control room, Isaac's comm call flared to life.
"Isaac? Where are you? It's me, Nicole…."
"Nicole? I'm here, Nicole!" The comm ends before Isaac can speak anymore. "Damn it!" He slams his foot into the ground.
"Isaac, easy." Sora says, placing a hand on his arm. "You heard her. Nicole is still alive. We can find her if we keep trying to track her."
"He's right. And she may try and contact you again." Kairi adds, placing her own hand on his arm. "Have faith." Isaac takes a moment to breathe before calming down from his frustration.
"You're right. I can look into the Mining Deck later. We need to get the ADS online right now, or we are dead." He gives a sad chuckle as they move down the corridor to the Tram Station. "Trying to fix a sinking ship which is trying to kill you simultaneously. What an irony." He shakes his head as they reach the Station, the shutters blocking the tram entrance. Deactivating the security at a nearby terminal, the shutters retract as the tram arrives. Stepping on, Isaac presses the icon for the bridge, sending them on their way there.
Hopefully, the ship could hold out until they got there.