01: Not Another Medical Drama (FantasyChic, MonkeyWrench)

[GreyWolfVT]

Max hesitates to add "I think that we need to face that the vault was not intended for us to stay in forever and we eventually will have to go on the surface as well. Though I fear admitting so will get me into more trouble with the overseer." again Max sighs knowing what he is thinking and fearing is right and not knowing what to do since his superiors have made it plain and clear that he should not openly be admitting this.

[Scott308]

Zachariah "Zack" Lofftin

Zack looks at the others, trying to figure out what they are talking about. Clearly, he has missed some important information. Are you...talking about leaving the vault? Do you really think "Overseer Dr." Munro is going to allow it? When were you thinking of leaving? I may be able to get us out, but if we go through with it, know that there may not be any return. I think I can get us to the vault door. I don't know how the vault door works, so I'm not sure if I can get it open, or close it again when open. We may need someone to close it behind us so the people up top can't get in. That person will risk the wrath of Munro if they help us. Do you have weapons? We'll need them.

[MonkeyWrench]

Quincy looks back towards Zach, his eyes crossing to max for a moment in confusion, perhaps believing that max had let him in on what was going on. "No decisions have been made yet, just planning our future moves. The end result is clear though, we need to at least deal with the surface in some way." He motions towards himself and Victoria, letting Zach take in the bandages and dried blood, "Sooner than later it would seem..."

[Scott308]

Zachariah "Zack" Lofftin

Zack sees the aftermath the battle left on Quincy and Victoria and is taken aback. Holy shit! That giant rat thing did that to you?

[MonkeyWrench]

Quincy nods his confirmation to Zach, "Caught us by surprise, we had nothing to use as a weapon. Luckily I was able to divert it's attention long enough for Victoria to get away, she ended up finding a fire extinguisher and saving me in the end." He chuckles at the last part, sending a smile Victoria's way. Quincy looks back to Zach, "This creature is far bigger than any "giant rat" but I fear that it is only the bottom of the food chain out there... If the radiation turned them into that then I can only wonder what else has been mutated out there."

[FantasyChic]

Victoria smiled at Quincy's compliment. She may not be the most physically perfect specimen, she may not be the most intimidating, but she would be damned if anyone harmed Quincy, or any of her friends or family for that matter. If she had a gun, she was damn sure she would have used it on the beast. This only cemented her belief that maybe the Vault isn't a permanent home. Maybe the risk was less than the reward for being on the surface.

[GreyWolfVT]

Max collects himself "Let's worry about that all later. For now we just need to go deal with the dissecting of a molerat, and likely the repairing of the space it broke in through."

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 21:35
Characters: Victoria James (FantasyChic), Quincy Barnes (MonkeyWrench),
Zack Lofftin (Scott308), Max Rokossovsky (GreyWolfVT)
Location: Vault 14, Medical Ward
======================================================

Doc Barnes sinks back into his chair and listens to the lengthy conversation of the young Vault Dwellers. Then he finally sits up and chimes in:
"You can defy Overseer Monro and find a way out. But I'm afraid, she will not let you back in afterwards. And, of course, you cannot go out unprepared and unarmed."

He shakes his head.

"I don't know, I just don't know, kids. I don't want to influence your choices----I mean, damn it, I WANT to influence your choices! I don't want you to do anything stupid! But at least I want to help you in some way. I cannot reason with Dr. Munro, but you can be sure that I can provide medical supplies from the cabinet here... But let's not talk about this right now."

He stands up.

"Let us head down to the laboratory. Quincy, Victoria, I will need you to assist in the dissection. I'm sure you can learn some valuable things. Max, Zack, you can come along too - or if you had other plans, you can pursue those."

[Scott308]

Zachariah "Zack" Lofftin

I'm going with you. There is no way I'm missing my chance to see that thing.

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 21:40
Characters: Victoria James (FantasyChic), Quincy Barnes (MonkeyWrench),
Zack Lofftin (Scott308), Max Rokossovsky (GreyWolfVT)
Location: Vault 14, Level 4, Laboratory
======================================================

There is much tentative talk about leaving the Vault, and it feels like that most of the "crew" of young Dwellers are set on ascending to the surface. But if they really want to do this, they have to put their heads together and decide on a course of action.

In the meantime, they head down to Level 4 with Doc Barnes.
If Max wants to do something else, feel free split off!

The laboratory is already prepared - the elder Rokossovsky did a good job. He covered the floors with plastic foil, prepared the various saws and scalpels on metallic trays. In the center of the hall there is an operating table, spot-lit by a powerful lamp. On it lies the motionless body of the molerat. Quincy and Victoria shrug as they see it.

Alex Rokossovsky greets them and says: "Sorry, kids, I have to discuss something very quickly with the Doc, after that we can commence the examination..." He pulls Doc Barnes away to and starts telling him something quietly, out of hearing range. More secrets?

For the autopsy, I will need Doctor skill rolls from Victoria and Quincy!
Zack and Max (if present) are observing.

[GreyWolfVT]

Max "I plan to come with as well Doc."

[MonkeyWrench]

Quincy stands with Victoria, near the dead creatures carcass. He gives her a small smile and a wink as he waits for his father and Alex to finish speaking in hushed tones. From then on he will help with the dissection...

Quincy Doctor Roll (60): [1d100] = 28

[FantasyChic]

Victoria suits up and stands next to Quincy as they prepare the dissection.

[1d100] = 3 Target 19

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 22:10
Characters: Victoria James (FantasyChic), Quincy Barnes (MonkeyWrench),
Zack Lofftin (Scott308), Max Rokossovsky (GreyWolfVT)
Location: Vault 14, Level 4, Laboratory
======================================================

The Vault Dwellers once again note the mark of the branding iron upon the creature. Doc Barnes carefully cuts out that segment of skin and places the sign between glass plates and into the freezer.

branding iron mark.png (141.59 KiB) Viewed 1106 times

The superficial examination also shows, that the molerat's been through some tough times. Its skin shows plenty of claw and teeth marks, at places there's scar tissue, covering wounds of recent origin (Doc Barnes estimates them to be 2-4 days old, depending on the creature's unknown regenerative capability).

They put on medical masks, protective gloves and aprons, and the autopsy commences. Doc Barnes, assisted by Victoria and Quincy (and sometimes also Max and Zack, when they need to move the heavy, rigid body), first opens up the body of the beast. A putrid smell fills the air - the creature, it would seem, was rotting, decaying alive. Doc Barnes removes some of the heavily mutated internal organs for further study: a bloated liver, a sample of the spongy lungs, the bloated heart. The temperature rises under the bright light.

Victoria and Quincy see that Doc Barnes' scalpel-welding hand is trembling. The two young Vault Dwellers look at each other, than Quincy steps forward, and gently takes the scalpel from his father and makes the next needed incision. Victoria applies a tube to siphon away the excess blood and fluids. Doc Barnes wants to resist at first, but understands, that two young "assistants" are able to concentrate more than him. Still, they need his knowledge and directions, so he doesn't step back, but shows where to cut, where to saw, where to puncture the malformed carcass.

The autopsy reveals the contents of the molerat's stomach. Embedded in brownish slime (the Vault Dwellers swear to never consume cocoa flavored soy again!), they find all kinds of rubbish: rusted bottle caps, unidentifiable plastic debris marred by stomach acid, small bones and even teeth.


The actual digestible content is a bare minimum... The molerat's belly is stuffed full with waste. It's possible, that it would have dies sooner or later from simple lack of nutrition. It just couldn't eat any more. If it was responsible for the dead rats, that'd explain why the rodents were only chewed up, but not consumed.

"These foolish creatures, they eat anything," Doc Barnes states the obvious.

At this point, Zack notices an interesting item in the stomach contents of the molerat: a small, black, oblong box or case, rather similar to the one he'd held in his hands just a few hours ago. The case shows heavy wear, the stomach acid'd already gotten to it, but haven't dissolved it yet.

[GreyWolfVT]

Max pointing out the black box "What the heck is that? These things really do eat anything they can don't they?" thinking about it for a moment "Hey Zack these things could do your job for you by the looks of this ones stomach contents it already was." Max jokes and elbow nudges Zack.

[Scott308]

Zachariah "Zack" Lofftin

Yeah, thanks for killing this, you guys. Maybe I could have trained it so I wouldn't have had to go to work. He picks up some of the junk (including the black case) and makes a show of wiping them off and giving them a cursory exam before throwing them in the trash. Man, I can't believe that a living creature would swallow so much uneatable junk!

Maybe he should keep the bottle caps. He'd have a bankroll for when they get up top.

[Fulci]

======================================================
3/6/2117 - 22:40
Characters: Victoria James (FantasyChic), Quincy Barnes (MonkeyWrench),
Zack Lofftin (Scott308), Max Rokossovsky (GreyWolfVT)
Location: Vault 14, Level 4, Laboratory
======================================================

Zack, true to his profession, rattles through the stuff from the molerat's stomach, then tosses the whole heap into the trash.
For a split second Max gets the feeling that Zack slips the corroded black box into his pocket and throws out the rest of the junk.

The autopsy drags on and the killer beast becomes an interesting specimen. Doc Barnes directs Victoria and Quincy in the task of opening up the creature's head and examining the brain. He wants to find out whether radiation or pollution had any effect on it.

But it was a long and heavy day, and the Vault Dwellers, young and old, are getting tired. Doc Barnes covers up the molerat with a plastic bag and with the help of the others, places it into a freezer box. The samples taken from the carcass are now in sealed containers, in the freezer as well. The blood-stained plastic sheets are crumbled up - Zack will have some work with them tomorrow, properly disposing of them.

"Let's get some sleep..." Doc Barnes says, finally. "Take care, youngsters. You done well today," he says, meaning mostly Victoria and Quincy, but also the rest of the team. He checks his PipBoy: "We are past curfew now. Don't get caught or you might get into trouble. You should go straight to your rooms."

How could one possibly fall asleep after a day like this? The young Dwellers feel like everything turned upside down today. They learned so many hidden, obscured facts about the Vault's life. About their seniors lying to them. About the surface. And they are all intrigued, in one way or another, by the surface. A dangerous, vast place, so unlike the Vault they are confined to.

They all feel they need to discuss their future actions - first thing tomorrow. Or even tonight - who cares about curfew?!
Maybe call Lawrence as well, as the young mechanic was there too, when they found out some of these secrets.

Nothing will ever be the same.

[Scott308]

Zachariah "Zack" Lofftin

Curfew? Whatever. Munro knows we were here with Doc Barnes, so we should be able to get out of trouble.

[FantasyChic]

Victoria scoffs, "I frankly couldn't care less about what the Overseer thinks. She's hiding something and she's been the least honest out of all the adults. She's supposed to look out for the Vault. I don't know about you all, but I don't feel very looked after." She cleans herself up and takes off her protective gear, "We need to discuss moving forward. I still think leaving the Vault is the best course of action. The issue is how we go about doing that."

[GreyWolfVT]

Max looks around nervously "Perhaps we should discuss this elsewhere Victoria. Not all of our present company is in agreement openly with out thinking. If you catch my meaning." Max indicates the other security personnel in the area. "Perhaps even though we are here with my father and Doc Barnes we are still not excused from curfew. Though I am sure we can find more suitable location to continue this conversation."