NationStates Jolt Archive


Curiosity killed the Fox. And her friends. And...

Kanuckistan
18-06-2006, 03:42
Hale University, Life Sciences Department, New Halifax, Planet Kyoto, "StarWars Galaxy"


Roxanne glanced up at the sound of footsteps, eyes returning to her flexi a moment later; 'Just another student - good. I wonder what's taking those guys so long? The professor will be in soon! I swear I'm going to kill-'

A dull thud suddenly interrupted the vixen's thoughts, more felt that heard; the solid hiss-clunk of the near by lab door's emergency pressure-seal immediately following, as piercing klaxons sounded.

Frozen, fear that they'd been somehow discovered flooded Roxanne's mind, before the realization of memory hit her, and dread overtook fear of mere expulsion; that klaxon wasn't part of the security system, it was the bio-hazard warning system! Then, the door...


Flexi discarded with any pretense of innocence, she quickly found her destination at the end of the hall, the door, locked, held stubbornly fast, refusing even the stolen administrators' code that had permitted their attempt - frustration blinding her to the implications, and giving rise to a growl that died just as quickly; yes! Someone was shouting from the other side of the door, muffled and scarcely audible tho it was to even her augmented ears - her friends had made it into the lock!


A half meter later, the sight that met her at the window was worse than not knowing - Paul stood before her, alone but not well; blood and fluid seeping from the hunam's eyes and ears and nose, flesh sagging on face and fists and frame as he pounded the door soundlessly in desperation. It seemed for all the world that he was... melting?


Eyes wide, ears flat, Roxanne staggered back in abject horror, helpless to save her friends beyond.


Then, suddenly, the klaxon changed, shifting pitch and pace; to her dread, the reason soon became apparent - a subtle, ominous hiss tickling the edge of her hearing...


---------------


Outside, Professor Kyver swore, mentally slamming the brakes as an incandescent wall snapped into existence before him, violently shearing the back off the car in front of his own and throwing both ends.

For a moment, he sat there in stunned silence, staring numbly at the isolated Life Sciences building in confusion over the sheer recklessness of the shield's activation - why, someone could have been killed! The safety protocols should have given them enough warning to stop, to get out of the way, unless...

Numbly, watching the driver ahead of him examine the damage to his car, Kyver suddenly realised that he was probably looking at a dead man.


-----------------

K2HN Morning News Broadcast


"Welcome back. Making headlines this morning, the Hale University Life Sciences Building has recently gone into quarantine. However, we have received reliable reports that, unlike past incidents, this may be a level four lock-down. With me now is Doctor Mike Donaldson, PhD, Professor of Midichlorian Studies at Hale University, to explain what this means. Mike?"

The camera pans as the smartly dressed feline newswoman looks to the side, coming to rest on the man in question.

"Basically, Susan, a level four lock-down is only initiated when something both air-transmissible and potentially fatal is detected as having escaped into the building's air. Normal safety measures are forsaken in shield activation to prevent a potentially fatal agent from entering the environment at large and possibly starting a pandemic, which would be consistent with video of the building's barrier field cleaving a car in half...."