■ SITE HOMEPAGE ■
optional music companion
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16+ | 25min-45min read time | warnings for death, hallucination, implied queerphobia, and manipulation.
》04:21 bridge audio
[Crew chatter in background. No other noteworthy sound is audible for the first several minutes.]
》04:25
[Sound of ALC drive powering off.]
SYS: Auxiliary power.
CANDY: Right.
[Crew chatter continues. Methodical engine flares consistent with a careful approach are audible.]
》04:26
PHOEBE: So how would you classify that?
CANDY: Fuck if I know. I guess just as a private beacon.
PHOEBE: The thing looks like that, and it's this far out of orbit. I dunnyo.
CANDY: Did you say dunnyo?
》04:27
》04:28
CANDY: Alright. I don't see any reason to stick around. Sate your hunch.
[Audible sigh.]
PHOEBE: Sorry to call you up here. I know it's not a great time.
》04:29
[Footsteps audibly leaving the bridge. Assume Candy.]
ARI: I'll take a coffee if you're up.
PHOEBE: What's your read?
ARI: It's still not any better than it was a lightyear out.
PHOEBE: Shit. Huh.
》04:30
PHOEBE: This is the right one?
ARI: No other coordinates would make sense.
PHOEBE: Then can I please have the ones that don't make sense?
[Ari laughs.]
ARI: Not how it works.
[Phoebe laughs back.]
PHOEBE: Do we wanna cargo it?
ARI: We got fuel. Your call.
》04:31
ARI: Miss one-man-show over here.
PHOEBE: Oh, you stuff it.
[Shuffling is heard near bridge mic.]
SYS: Cargo hatch deployed.
[Forceful sigh.]
》04:32
[The same intermittent engine flares are audible.]
ARI: Damn.
[Minor impact sound]
PHOEBE: Meowtherfucker!
[Candy is still outside of the room.]
CANDY: What was that?
ARI: Cargo.
CANDY: You're kidding!
》04:33
[Engine power is raised.]
PHOEBE: Candy, coffees.
CANDY: Working on it, your majesties. How big is that spacejunk you're picking up, anyway?
ARI: Standard size. Three feet tall with an eight foot wingspan on its solar panels.
CANDY: Like a tiny satellite, then.
ARI: A tiny satellite that's trying to communicate, yes.
》04:34
ARI: That has to be it.
SYS: Cargo shuttered.
[Shuffling is heard. Engines are killed.]
PHOEBE: Thank fuck. God.
CANDY: Coffee still?
PHOEBE: Please.
ARI: Please.
[All crew exits the bridge.]
》04:34 main audio
CANDY: Here you are.
[A brief kiss is audible]
PHOEBE: Thank you, wolfy.
ARI: Cheers.
》04:35
KYEZ: …Are we calling dibs on taking a look at it?
ARI: Are we that invested in this?
CANDY: Is anyone but Phoebe invested in this?
PHOEBE: Fuck off, babe.
[Laughter]
KYEZ: I'll head down for the airlock.
》04:36
PHOEBE: Cheers Ky. Can you share visual to the bridge?
CANDY: What?
ARI: It's just a beacon.
PHOEBE: No, it's a message that isn't meant for us in a machine that isn't ours. We have protocol.
CANDY: This is not like you.
PHOEBE: I swear I don't mean to be an ass. I just don't want to make a problem.
KYEZ: Sure, I can share visual. Here.
[Light electronic feedback is audible.]
CANDY: Hun, you've made the problem. You made it when you decided to drag us all out into dead space, towards some… garbage signal.
ARI: I'm on TV!
[Robotic laughter. Assume Kyez.]
CANDY: You and your dumb little horns, nerd.
》04:37
PHOEBE: Ky if you would head down to the hold, I'm gonna want Ari on the signal still.
ARI: Still?
PHOEBE: I don’t know. The signal might have a different look in a closed space.
[Footsteps are heard exiting.]
》04:38
[Coffee sip.]
CANDY: …Speaking of unlike you.
[Phoebe sighs and takes a seat.]
// the transcript on the bridge for the next minute has been deemed irrelevant to this case, and as such has been whited out.
// please remove this text fully before release.
PHOEBE: I'm sorry to wake you up so early. I remember how you used to be when I tried to wake you-
CANDY: Oh I would swipe at you.
PHOEBE: You would! I still have that scar on my neck.
CANDY: You've probably got a few more scars than that from my claws, dear.
PHOEBE: …Save it. Not around Ari.
[Laughter.]
[Shuffling is heard from the seats.]
[Pause.]
CANDY: He's gotta be clueless, Phoe.
PHOEBE: I just… [unintelligible whispering]
》04:39
[Laughter]
[Unintelligible whispering.]
CANDY: Try not to love me too hard, then.
PHOEBE: Candy! Shush please!
[Laughter]
CANDY: Ari, you catching all this?
ARI: [Distant] What?
[Phoebe and Candy whisper to each other unintelligibly.]
PHOEBE: We said are you catching the signal?
ARI: Nothing's changed.
[Kyez is heard speaking through a monitor in the bridge.]
KYEZ: Signal nominal?
》04:40
PHOEBE: Nyaminal as hell.
KYEZ: Great! Entering the cargo bay now.
[The sound of a distant hatch is heard, both from the screen and from lower-level microphone systems.]
KYEZ: There we go!
PHOEBE: Look at it. That thing is fucked.
CANDY: It looks like a goddamn shark attack victim! Jesus, I'm surprised those wings are still attached.
ARI: They're solar panels. Still no signal change.
PHOEBE: Still reading weak?
ARI: That's what I meant.
CANDY: No wonder! Look at it! I'm surprised it's even giving a signal at all.
KYEZ: Would you like it brought onboard fully?
PHOEBE: In a minute, Ky.
ARI: Candy, we're more concerned with how it's reading than the strength. Its signal decay is reading like it's much further out in space than… this. Beacons should switch to maintenance signals if something is wrong. We still need language match, as well.
[Candy is speaking over Ari.]
CANDY: Stardate one billion. Captain Rainbows has asked us to analyze a broken toaster. These are the voyages of the Starship
Ecstasy.
// remove if releasing. legal issue.
》04:41
ARI: Shit!
PHOEBE: Kyez, do you have any language match?
ARI: Phoe, the signal's gone.
PHOEBE: Hands off Ky.
KYEZ: My hands are off the beacon.
PHOEBE: Can you back away from it again?
CANDY: So much for your magical alien discovery, babe.
PHOEBE: Candy, please go make sure the deer is asleep. They don’t need any more stress.
[Footsteps are heard exiting the room. Assume Candy.]
ARI: That signal's completely stopped for the first time in weeks.
KYEZ: We're far enough into dead space. It may be out of power.
PHOEBE: Ky, check for yourself.
》04:42
KYEZ: The beacon has no power.
PHOEBE: Right, fine. Ky, bring it into the hangar. We'll see you downstairs soon.
[Ari enters.]
ARI: None of that was right. The signal went completely dead outta nowhere.
PHOEBE: Right, the power.
ARI: It shouldn't have lost power. Not so suddenly. I don't think Ky should have been touching it.
PHOEBE: Fuck. Right, okay. Well, still have our logs. We can plug Ky in and see what that language was.
ARI: Right. Be down soon.
■■■■■
》04:42 accommodation audio
// there's a conversation here held in i think one of the accommodation rooms. distant and hard to make out.
[Hyperventilation has been audible for the past few minutes. Assume Roe.]
CANDY: Roe? Are you still awake?
[Knocking on door, before it is heard opening and shutting.]
[Unintelligible]
CANDY: Hey, it's going fine. I didn't mean what I said earlier.
[Unintelligible]
CANDY: Fuck, it’s freezing [in here.]
ROE: It's [not a] good idea.
[A standard PTV AC unit is heard being adjusted.]
CANDY: It's nothing, we promise. Okay?
》04:43
》04:44
CANDY: I'm gonna [go.]
[Unintelligible]
CANDY: You don't mean that.
ROE: I don't want to lose everybody.
I don't want to lose my boyfriend.
CANDY: That is not what's happening, Roe, we're just gonna end up selling this shit as salvage.
[Pause.]
CANDY: I mean it. This is just a hunch that Phoe wants to chase.
ROE: Please listen [to me. You] keep putting me aside.
CANDY: Would you feel better if you came with us?
ROE: I would feel better [if I didn't have] to watch you all fucking kill yourselves.
// reconsider the above sentence before release.
[Unintelligible]
》04:45
[Hyperventilation is audible from inside the room.]
[Footsteps are heard leaving. Assume Candy.]
》04:46
》04:47
■■■■■
》04:48 hangar audio
[Two sets of footsteps are heard entering. Assume Phoebe and Ari.]
PHOEBE: I'm here! Sorry. Holy fuck, that thing smells fishy.
ARI: Space does have a distinct smell.
PHOEBE: Not what I mean - Ky, is it doing anything? What's with that?
KYEZ: No changes since we lost its power.
ARI: It didn't lose power.
KYEZ: What?
ARI: It didn't lose power. I have all the logs we took from it - nothing we caught from it reads like it was losing any power. Are you able?
[Pause. Assumedly, Kyez is reading the data.]
KYEZ: Just a moment.
PHOEBE: Ari, don't confuse the poor thing. The beacon could have, short-circuited. We don't know the details.
ARI: It's fine. Ky should know better than any of us.
[Minor mechanical whirr.]
PHOEBE: Clearly.
KYEZ: Is there a database of languages you'd like to pull from?
ARI: What's the parse time on this going to be?
KYEZ: It should be just under a minute maximum, given the information we have.
PHOEBE: All languages, all species, everything. Please.
KYEZ: Just a moment.
》04:49
[Footsteps as Candy enters.]
CANDY: Is he reading?
ARI: It's reading the data.
CANDY: Sure, it.
[Audible sigh.]
》04:50
[Candy's voice is impatient.]
CANDY: Fuck me.
[Pause.]
CANDY: It smells like fucking gunpowder in here.
PHOEBE: Something must be wrong with your nose. That’s fish for sure.
ARI: The parsing should be done soon.
PHOEBE: Ari, can you please turn on the ventilation systems in here? Get that smell out, now. It weirds me out.
[Ventilation systems can be heard turning on.]
KYEZ: This is dead space, we would simply be diluting the odor throughout the entire ship. Does this work for you?
PHOEBE: I’m not going to complain if my room smells like fish.
》04:51
ARI: [Singsong] Space garbage hunters.
[Footsteps. Assume Phoebe.]
ARI: Phoebe what is that.
[Phoebe's speech is muffled.]
PHOEBE: I'm gonna look at the beacon myself.
[Laughter]
PHOEBE: This is a safety precaution. We agreed that it smells funky.
CANDY: Sure, but I still get to say you're nuts. It's just some broken machine. This is why we don't do this shit at four in the fucking morning.
ARI: Nearly five.
[Groan]
》04:52
CANDY: Nice mask and gloves, missy rainbows. Cook me some meth over there while you’re at it.
// phoebe seemingly does not remove this mask throughout the rest of the transcript.
[Pause.]
KYEZ: Readings complete with no match.
CANDY: Oh, bullshit!
KYEZ: I-I'm sorry, Candy-
[He's interrupted as something is knocked over.]
CANDY: Ky, thank you for helping me demonstrate that this is a massive waste of my time. Of everyone’s time. Of Roe’s sleep schedule and comfort for the past fucking week.
ARI: Hostility, ladykiller. It was one scan. We still need to look at the data ourselves.
[Candy's tone gets aggressive.]
CANDY: No.
[Pause.]
CANDY: You do not get to call me that.
// whiting everything below out. this looks like interpersonal drama.
PHOEBE: Candy, please.
CANDY: It is too fucking early to be getting on my nerves about my sex life, Ari. I mean it.
ARI: Oh my god, okay, I'm sorry.
CANDY: Fucking act like it! I'm sick of you dragging your jealousy into everything we do.
PHOEBE: Jealousy? What jealousy?
ARI: I'm not jealous. It was a joke, Candy.
CANDY: Phoe, you would know. He doesn't shut up about you. Or about us!
PHOEBE: Babe, I really don't want to do this here.
[A canidae growl is heard. Stomping as Candy exits the conversation.]
ARI: Okay, okay. Let's move past this.
PHOEBE: Please.
[Footsteps are heard as the conversation is moving. Assume Phoebe inspecting the beacon.]
ARI: Ky, What was all that time for?
KYEZ: What?
ARI: That was five minutes, and you didn't find a match?
KYEZ: I'm sorry, my parse time only came out to around thirty seconds.
[Metal is heard being pried apart. Assume Phoebe inspecting the beacon.]
ARI: What do you mean it was thirty seconds? That doesn't make any sense.
KYEZ: …I read the current time as 4:50 A.M., Is my internal clock running slow?
》04:53
[Candy is speaking over both of them. Distant from the others.]
CANDY: Phoe this is a joke. The robot said it's nonsense. Are we done here?
KYEZ: I have found patterns in the information, and it's a standard looping message. It's just not a language we have information about.
PHOEBE: Ky, what the fuck is inside of this?
CANDY: What is it?
PHOEBE: It's like a mold. Or something. Pink.
KYEZ: I noticed nothing of the sort when I brought it in. Please don't touch that.
PHOEBE: Well it can't be new. Ari, get over here. Do you have any idea what this shit is?
CANDY: Please don't tell me you found a fucking alien.
[Pause.]
ARI: Huh.
KYEZ: Can I see?
ARI: Not an alien, Candy. Just looks sticky and old. I think it's just some… mucus or gel used in construction.
PHOEBE: Not so close, Ari. Ky get ready to grab a sample.
ARI: Is there information on who this belongs to, or can we-
[A loud crash is heard on all audio systems.]
// the loudest of these is from the accommodation mic? your opinion needed.
// classify as cause of death if taking major revisions. shipwide error?
CANDY: What the fuck was that?
ARI: Shit.
KYEZ: No information attached to the signal anywhere. I saw nothing noteworthy on the beacon itself.
PHOEBE: Candy, I need you to wake up Roe and make sure we aren't in contact with any debris outside.
CANDY: They're awake. I'm gonna make sure they aren't the one that just made that fucking sound.
ARI: Right. Anything about the beacon?
PHOEBE: I'm not worried about the beacon right now. Roe is more important than that.
》04:54
ARI: Where can I help?
[A loud crash is heard on all audio systems.]
// all same
SYS: Engine three offline.
PHOEBE: That! Engine. If we need to get back to a station then we've got to make sure the ALC drive is still working.
[Hurried footsteps from all.]
PHOEBE: Ky, somebody should stay with the beacon. I need to check on the hull.
KYEZ: Right, sorry. Please let me know if I can be of assistance elsewhere later.
[Pause. Footsteps heard exiting. Assume Phoebe.]
KYEZ: Make sure Roe is okay.
PHOEBE: We will.
■■■■■
》04:50 accommodation audio
[Crying and hyperventilation are audible. Assume Roe.]
ROE: Please.
[Pause.]
ROE: Oh my god, Candy. I [can’t let] that [be the] last thing you hear from me.
》04:51
ROE: Fuck. [I’m so sorry].
[Pause.]
ROE: Are there roses? What the [hell is] that smell?
ROE: [Unintelligible.] Maybe it’s old books.
[Pause.]
ROE: Oh, god, I’m tired.
》04:52
ROE: Ky? What’s happening?
[Unintelligible.]
// unknown voice
ROE: …Oh my god, I’m so happy [to see you]. [Unintelligible.]
》04:53
ROE: Can we go, now?
■■■■■
》04:55 accommodation audio
CANDY: Roe?
[Candy's voice becomes extremely panicked.]
CANDY: Oh my god.
CANDY: No no no no no.
//
reconsider keeping this segment in. stressful for surviving family if we release. situation here is unclear.
[Candy is shouting.]
CANDY: No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
CANDY: Roe?
CANDY: Can’t fucking breathe. …Please be okay. Fuck.
CANDY: Roe? Are you in here?
[Candy's voice is no longer panicked.]
// unsure why.
CANDY: Roe?
CANDY: …Roe, we need to know you're safe.
》04:56
CANDY: Where the hell [unintelligible].
》04:57 bridge audio
[Candy is making an announcement through ship-wide comms. Audible on all audio systems.]
CANDY: Roe, we need you in the hangar.
■■■■■
PHOEBE: Can you all see this?
CANDY: See what?
PHOEBE: There's a light blinking on this beacon.
CANDY: Fuck right off with that.
KYEZ: There's no power to the beacon. Did something change with that mold?
ARI: Wait. Slow the fuck down. Seriously.
[Footsteps are heard leaving the room. Assume Candy.]
ARI: Can the beacon come last, please? We have more important things to discuss.
PHOEBE: Right, sure. Go ahead.
KYEZ: The engine damage, please.
ARI: It was super minor. We had corrosion over one of the interior panels and it triggered the emergency shutdown.
PHOEBE: Minor fucking corrosion made a sound like that?
ARI: As far as I know. It could have been the system shutting down.
PHOEBE: No way.
KYEZ: If I may, there's no way we could have experienced corrosion to those metals.
// don't know what to do with this. the story will need to be redone completely soon.
PHOEBE: There's got to be more damage somewhere. Candy should have found it and told us. She just ran off.
》05:01
[Ari sounds increasingly panicked.]
ARI: Fuck. I think something is seriously going wrong.
PHOEBE: Kyez, I want you to figure out if that shit in the beacon is, like, releasing spores. Or gas.
[Kyez walks to the beacon.]
ARI: Where the fuck did Candy go.
PHOEBE: I don't know. …Fuck. We need to seriously consider evacuation. I'm getting scared.
KYEZ: The material inside of the beacon seems to be dripping out. I see nothing unusual. Though I have no explanation for the lights.
PHOEBE: That's impossible, then.
ARI: I told you that it didn't lose power, didn't I?
KYEZ: What?
[Ari no longer sounds panicked.]
ARI: Kyez, right here in the hangar. I explained this to you just fifteen minutes ago. There's no change of power in the logs we've gotten from this beacon.
PHOEBE: Whatever! Fuck the power. Assume this is a magical beacon that runs forever. I don't care.
ARI: Phoebe. We've got to calm down. It's early. We're probably making ourselves delirious.
PHOEBE: God dammit.
[Something is thrown against the floor.]
// must be her gloves. they were found beneath debris at the retrieval site.
// whiting out irrelevant conversation throughout the next few minutes.
ARI: Phoe, do you remember when we found the signal?
[Audible sigh.]
PHOEBE: Of course.
ARI: Before Candy. Just after we caught that faraway distress signal.
PHOEBE: …And I thanked you for your hard work that day.
ARI: In the cabin… And you-
》05:02
PHOEBE: Okay. Don't remind me about something that isn't going to happen again. That was a long time ago, now.
[Laughter]
PHOEBE: I mean it. And this is not the time. Nothing's funny right now.
ARI: It was only a few weeks ago. And you looked so cute like that, Phoe. It was such inconvenient timing.
SYS: Engine one offline.
// unsure why this was ignored.
ARI: Don't you want to go back to that time we had, hun? Before this?
PHOEBE:
I'm getting a real goddamn headache from this. I've moved on, you do the same. Drop it. Let's focus.
KYEZ: Phoebe?
PHOEBE: Yes?
KYEZ: Is there anything you need me to be doing at this time?
ARI: No, Ky.
PHOEBE: Ky, power on the escape shuttle.
ARI: What?
[Kyez is heard opening a large shutter, distantly.]
PHOEBE: What the fuck do you mean, what? We just asked Kyez if something could have gotten into the ship. We're losing track of our crew.
KYEZ: What?
ARI: Miss captain, so quick to throw a uniform back on and run off to her work, huh?
PHOEBE: Ari, I'm not going to listen to you right now. This is nothing like you. Something's going on. You don't ever bring this shit up. Stop being a creep.
KYEZ: Phoebe, please confirm your last order.
[Footsteps are heard exiting. Assume Ari.]
PHOEBE: Right, yes. Sorry Ky.
》05:03
PHOEBE: …The shuttle.
KYEZ: Yes ma'am.
[Phoebe breathes like she's strained. Her voice is still muffled by protective equipment.]
KYEZ: Phoebe.
PHOEBE: Good news please.
[Footsteps are approaching Phoebe].
PHOEBE: Ky don't fuck with me now.
KYEZ: Please keep your respirator on, captain.
PHOEBE: Why? What do you mean?
[Pause.]
PHOEBE: You have never called me captain the entire time we've been on this ship together, Ky.
PHOEBE: Kyez, say something.
KYEZ: It felt appropriate.
// whiting out this dialog as well.
// might as well toss the rest of the document.
KYEZ: You're tense, Phoebe.
》05:04
PHOEBE:
There's a lot of pressure right now, Ky. I think we need to go. Please tell me you've finished the preparations for the escape shuttle.
[Robotic laughter. Assume Kyez.]
KYEZ: You don't get this full of stress often. We have plenty of time. ...If it would help, I can offer you more-
PHOEBE: No. No. If I hear one more fucking word about shit I did before Candy I'm going to open this goddamn cargo bay and kick you into space.
KYEZ: I apologize. I didn't know that encounter would be a sore subject.
[Audible sigh.]
PHOEBE: It isn't usually, Ky. I'm sorry, that wasn't kind of me. We can talk about that after we get out of here. That was fucking months in the past. Before Candy.
KYEZ: …And before Roe and I.
PHOEBE: Right.
KYEZ: Do you still want to?
PHOEBE: Do I still want to what?
》05:05
PHOEBE: Either you mean escaping or adult subjects, Ky. Talk to me.
KYEZ: I apologize.
PHOEBE: Focus. This is serious. Please try to make sense.
KYEZ: Something is wrong. I'm going to board the shuttle.
PHOEBE: No, hold on. We aren't going until we all can get back here. We're gonna need to round everybody up. Come with me.
KYEZ: Phoebe.
PHOEBE: Take my hand if walking is getting hard. Okay?
[Pause.]
PHOEBE: Fuck it, let me carry you.
KYEZ: Phoebe.
PHOEBE: Come on, Ky. We’re not going to leave eachother behind. Okay?
KYEZ: Phoebe, I need Roe.
PHOEBE: Nobody is getting left behind. Nobody. Not Roe, not you. I promise.
KYEZ: Alright.
[Footsteps exit the room. Assume both.]
■■■■■
》05:03 hall audio
[Hurried footsteps. Assume Ari.]
ARI: What the fuck am I thinking?
ARI: What’s even fucking wrong with me today?
[Footsteps stop.]
ARI: What the fuck?
ARI: Oh my god.
[A grunt is heard. Ari is panicked.]
ARI: Fucking pink bullshit everywhere!
ARI: Fuck it. Leaving the boot. Fuck it. Fuck it.
[Uneven footsteps exiting. Assume Ari has abandoned his footwear.]
[Pause.]
[Footsteps entering. No assumption.]
// this must be what we hear with candy shortly.
VOICE: Kyez?
[Footsteps exiting.]
》05:04 cabin audio
[Uneven footsteps entering. Assume Ari.]
ARI: Thank god.
》05:05
[Weak sobbing is audible.]
// just barely
VOICE: I don't know what you mean.
CANDY: I said stay the fuck back. I'll fucking kill you right now.
VOICE: Take deep breaths. Nothing is wrong.
[Pause.]
CANDY: Let me into the accommodation area right now.
VOICE: Why?
》05:06
CANDY: You aren’t Roe. I need to make sure they’re okay in there.
VOICE: What are you talking about?
VOICE: Candy.
[Gunfire is heard throughout the next minute. Assume Candy's.]
[Candy is screaming.]
》05:07
[Gunfire stops.]
CANDY: Please…
[Candy's voice is still frantic. Yelling has subsided. She's begun to sob.]
VOICE: Wait. Candy, Candy.
[Sobbing continues.]
VOICE: Oh my god. Candy, it’s me.
CANDY: Ari?
VOICE: Candy, I'm so sorry.
CANDY: Why, why, why, why, why?
CANDY: What the fuck is happening to you, Ari? To Roe?
VOICE: Do you feel warm?
CANDY: I can't do it. I don't know where I am. Everything’s pink.
VOICE: Do you feel that? Do you feel warm? Do you want to come closer?
// whiting below. unusual and irrelevant.
[Pause.]
VOICE: Don’t you love the smell of gunpowder?
CANDY: Sure. I guess. I don't know what you mean.
VOICE: I know you could change for me.
CANDY: What?
[Pause. Candy stops sobbing.]
CANDY: What the fuck did you just say?
VOICE: We could learn to share her, Candy. We could figure something beautiful out. Something for all of us.
》05:08
VOICE: Candy?
VOICE: Phoebe will be safe in here too. You’ll be safe in here.
[Gunfire resumes.]
[Hurried footsteps exit the room. Hyperventilation is audible. Assume Candy.]
■■■■■
》05:07 hall
[Footsteps. Assume Phoebe and Kyez.]
PHOEBE: Those two have barely been gone for five minutes and there's not a trace of them.
KYEZ: Phoebe.
PHOEBE: You get one chance to not say something weird.
KYEZ: Phoebe.
PHOEBE: Yes, Ky.
KYEZ: I'm feeling unwell.
PHOEBE: Right. Hang in there. Remind me if you respirate.
KYEZ: Artificially so. The air around us is a necessary dielectric in several points of my design.
PHOEBE: Right. Whatever. Stop breathing, right now.
》05:08
PHOEBE: What the fuck is that?
KYEZ: I don’t know. It’s viscous. Is it that same-
PHOEBE: It's some kind of mucus, or blood, or something.
KYEZ: Thicker than either. Pink. Please don't touch it.
[Gunfire is audible in the distance.]
KYEZ: Shit.
PHOEBE: Fuck! This way.
》05:09
// audio is at a halfway point between the hall and main audio systems. some conversation unintelligible.
CANDY: Phoebe!
PHOEBE: Candy, we need to evacuate right now. The escape shuttle [is ready]. What the hell is on your face?
CANDY: No, no, there's [something wrong]. With Ari, and with Roe. We can't leave.
KYEZ: What were you shooting at?
PHOEBE: Where the fuck was Roe?
[Pause.]
PHOEBE: Hey! Hey, Candy. It's okay. Focus [on me].
CANDY: I feel hot. I don't know what the fuck is happening. I know it was them. [Stammering] I heard their voices.
Ari made some shitty advance at me, he-
PHOEBE: Show me, okay? Take me to them.
CANDY: Don't touch me!
[Phoebe grunts. Assume she was pushed backwards.]
PHOEBE: Fuck!
KYEZ: No!
[Footsteps exiting hurriedly. Assume Candy.]
KYEZ: Phoebe, I can’t move.
PHOEBE: Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
KYEZ: [Phoebe].
PHOEBE: Get me out of this shit!
KYEZ: [Phoebe].
[Phoebe is heard struggling. She screams.]
PHOEBE: Ky, you [need to get up] right fucking now. Please.
[Unintelligible.]
[Phoebe's voice is now desperate.]
PHOEBE: Kyez, that's an order, I don't care how hard it is.
》05:10
[Unintelligible.]
PHOEBE: Say one thing other than my name.
PHOEBE: Kyez, I can't fucking move.
PHOEBE: Fuck. Please.
[Sobbing is audible.]
PHOEBE: No, no, no, no.
[Unintelligible.]
■■■■■
》05:10 hangar audio
[Footsteps enter the hanger. Assume Candy.]
CANDY: …No.
VOICE: Candy?
// same voice as before. no match to roe. assume candy is incorrect.
CANDY: No fucking way. You're not gonna do this to me right now.
VOICE: No, no, I need to explain.
[Candy is shouting.]
CANDY: You are not Roe. You're that same fucking pink thing that Ari became. I'm gonna throw up.
VOICE: Candy.
》05:11
[Candy is sobbing.]
CANDY: I cannot fucking kill you, Roe. Not even like this.
VOICE: You would do that?
[Pause.]
VOICE: Candy, this is Roe. Nobody’s going to die. Okay?
CANDY: No no no no.
VOICE: It's okay. Breathe. It's just a different kind of Roe.
CANDY: I saw you dead. I walked into your fucking room. I saw what you are now and I saw you- Roe's- I saw them covered in it. That pink shit. They weren't you. You aren't them. Fuck.
[The voice is speaking over Candy.]
VOICE: Candy. Candy. Candy. It's okay. This is a misunderstanding.
CANDY: The beacon. That stupid fucking beacon. I still need to eject it.
[Pause.]
CANDY: Roe, I need you to move.
[Pause.]
[Candy screams.]
VOICE: The gun, Candy. Put it down.
[Several gunshots are heard over frantic running. Assume Candy.]
CANDY: [Straining] That fucking slime is everywhere!
VOICE: Candy, please listen to me. The beacon won't change this. Please.
[Candy continues to scream. An indistinct noise is audible.]
// it sounds like boiling oil. there are no standards on noting this.
VOICE: Candy, listen to me.
[Candy is panting. The noise continues. She sounds unwell.]
VOICE: This is Roe. We're both trying to help you.
CANDY: Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!
[Gunfire.]
》05:12
VOICE: Candy.
CANDY: I can still remember.
VOICE: Candy.
CANDY: I can still fucking remember. You aren't Roe.
VOICE: Can you still smell it?
CANDY: No.
[Candy's sobbing increases in volume.]
VOICE: What do you feel?
CANDY: I'm terrified and I'm alone. Fuck.
VOICE: Candy. Listen to me. Breathe.
CANDY: It's burning me. Roe, I'm dying. Please. Please. Fuck.
》05:13
VOICE: Better?
[Pause.]
VOICE: Candy?
CANDY: Fuck. Fuck you. I need to kill you. You’re going to take everybody in the ship.
VOICE: Tell me why you need to kill me.
[Pause.]
》05:14
CANDY: I don't know. I can't remember.
VOICE: Okay. We're almost there. Does it still hurt?
[Unintelligible].
PHOEBE: Candy?
[Unintelligible.]
PHOEBE: Candy, please. Please help me. Oh my god.
[Voice has no match to Candy. Assume she is mistaken.]
VOICE: Phoebe, I’m so sorry.
PHOEBE: It hurts. Please. Fuck. I need you to help me up.
VOICE: No, no. That’s going to make it harder.
》06:02
PHOEBE: It really hurts.
VOICE: I know it hurts. I’m sorry this has been so hard on you.
PHOEBE: Does it end?
VOICE: Yes, honey.
[Pause.]
PHOEBE: Thank you.
》06:03
PHOEBE: What does it feel like? Once I’m done?
VOICE: It’s warm. We’re safe in here. All of us.
PHOEBE: Does it smell like fish?
VOICE: Don’t you love the smell of fish?
[Pause.]
PHOEBE: I love you more.
VOICE: I love you more.
[Laughter.]
》06:04
VOICE: Almost there.
》06:05
VOICE: Nice and easy.
VOICE: I feel like I can breathe again.
// voices are indistinguishable.
VOICE: You did so well, too.
》06:06
VOICE: Is it okay?
VOICE: It’s so pink.
[Laughter]
》06:09
[Giggling can be heard on all remaining audio devices.]
》06:10
[The armory audio systems have gone out.]
》06:13
[The hall audio systems have gone out.]
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■ SITE HOMEPAGE ■