The Calm Before The Storm

[outpostcook]

 Something's been bothering Kinner. There's a visible unhappiness in the little cook's expression, even beyond his usual gruff attitude. He sits in the Plaza, thinking, for once not manning his fish shop. He's going after the Thing soon, and he's not completely sure what to make of that. He knows exactly how dangerous the alien is. Even if the Thing where he'll be going isn't exactly the same creature, it's close enough. In some ways, it sounds even worse. But he can't give up with lives on the line.

He's got a better idea of what to expect than most, but that's a small comfort. After all, the Thing incapacitated and devoured Kinner alive, without much of a fight. This time he'll be better armed and better prepared, but still. He's not exactly thrilled about facing the creature, even with help. And, he realizes with a hint of sickness, he'll be putting his new friends in danger, too.

Kinner, when push comes to shove, isn't scared to look death in the face, and it's Palmer's world, but it's everyone else he's afraid for. Horvath. Alex. Blaze and Ghost. Prometheus. Cricket. Cricket most of all, since the others have magic or other quirks to protect them. Cricket doesn't. Kinner would rather he die than Cricket.

At the very least, he won't make an easy meal this time.

"Have you ever had somethin' you didn't want to do," he finally asks, voice trembling a little, "but you had to do it anyway? Were you scared?"

Comments

[outpostcook]

“Yes. I’m sure I want to go forward,” says Kinner. Just because he’s scared doesn’t mean he’s changed his plans. If anything, he’s become even more determined than before. He isn’t going to let the Thing have its way in any other world. “Did the treatise give you any ideas, Prometheus? I’m willing to hear anything you’ve got. Palmer and I ain’t great planners.”

Kinner tucks the papers away. He’ll study them himself, maybe talk to Palmer to see if he has the details correct.

[liverfree]

"It's laudable how brave you're being, despite your fears." The Titan bites back a sigh, resignation in his eyes. "I only wish you weren't testing your mettle against such a challenging foe. This creature is unlike any that I am familiar with, save perhaps the Hydra."

He sits down, large frame settling into the couch cushions. "The Hydra boasted many heads, each one on a slithering, serpentine neck. Cut one head off, and another two grew in its place. Like the Thing, yes? Destroy part of it, and it only goes on to re-grow its lost cells. Hercules finally defeated it by heating a spear and cauterizing each neck stump so that nothing could grow from it."

"The key with the Thing is to prevent it from re-growing. Fire destroys its mass permanently. We need to suss out all aspects of it and destroy them. It would be easier on all of us if we could somehow force it to re-form into one mass, then we could surround it and destroy it in one go."

He frowns. "That's the trick, though. Finding the parts of it that have already shapeshifted into other beings. How many people are on Palmer's expedition? And how many animals?"

[outpostcook]

"Sounds a bit like the Thing, except I'm guessin' it's hard to miss a giant snake." Kinner's not that scared of snakes, but anything's frightening when it's enormous and has multiple heads. "That thing was real? Boy howdy, I'm glad there wasn't one of those in my world." Kinner's pretty sure there wasn't a Hydra in his world, or that would be terrifying.

Now Kinner's thinking. The Thing's ability to split itself off into different bodies is one of the creature's greatest strengths, and part of defeating it would mean finding and stopping all of the Things, however many there were out there.

"I think part of killing it is forcing it to expose itself. Fire can do that, or any kind of shock, though it won't go quietly when that happens. I saw what it did to our dogs when they started catchin' on to it."

"As for Palmer, there's twelve people on his team, counting Palmer himself. I don't know how many dogs there are exactly, but he will. The creature was most likely put in with the other dogs, so..." Kinner swallows. "They're likely either already infected or killed as possible hosts."

[liverfree]

"Yes, it was rather hard to miss." In another context, he would perhaps find some humor in Kinner's words, but there is no smile on his face now. The hydra was a giant, terrible monster that had to be taken down by a demigod, and he'd rather Kinner be facing that than the Thing. "I know the Thing is a much more difficult target."

He leans forward, his expression curious. "What sort of shock? Does any sort of injury work? A very good scare?" Maybe a giant Titan would be enough to do the trick.

"So the dogs are a loss, then..." He frowns thoughtfully. "Only twelve men... would it be possible to bring them all to the kennels? If we put the dogs down in front of them, if any of them were the Thing, they should be exposed, yes?"

[outpostcook]

"I'm not sure if that would work. If there were any Things present when we killed the first Dog-Thing, they knew better than to expose themselves. One of our men had an idea - taking blood or tissue samples and heating them. That would force the alien to expose itself, since the tissue would act as its own separate creature."

Copper was a smart guy - Kinner trusts his plan. It's much better than anything Kinner himself could come up with.

"But it would be a good idea to gather up everybody in one place, and give the folks we know aren't infected weapons. That way we can overpower the alien if things come to a fight. It tends to get nasty when it's been outed."

[liverfree]

"They'd have to expose themselves, then," he agrees. "The jig would be up, as it were."

He sighs and rubs at his beard. This was becoming more complicated by the minute. "How are we to obtain these samples? I doubt Palmer's crew would submit to such a test willingly." He pauses. "Well, some might, but with such a creature lurking about, there might already be a healthy dose of paranoia among them."

"We should put the dogs down without anyone's knowledge, then. We can't let any human copies of the Thing know that we're onto its tricks until we have it reasonably cornered."

[outpostcook]

"They might have existing samples somewhere at the base, though we'll have to act fast before the creature realizes what the plan is. It might try to sabotage or destroy the samples before we can use them. I think some members of the team would be willing to cooperate. Palmer told me that there are a couple people we could count on to help us."

Kinner agrees that paranoia would complicate things. In any case, they'll need supporters within Palmer's crew. Palmer suggested his world's Copper and someone named Fuchs as people who could be trusted.

"That's a good idea - assuming Palmer's team didn't already put the dogs down. I hate doing it, but they're probably doomed anyway."

[liverfree]

"We should secure the lab as soon as possible, then. Perhaps that should be our first priority -- that and the dogs."

He doesn't look thrilled at having to exterminate a bunch of animals that never asked to be dragged into this mess, but Kinner's right, they're doomed. He gives the cook a small smile.

"You've already given this a lot of thought. I'm glad to hear it. This is not a situation to rush into blindly. Palmer will need to be the one to obtain allies, as we'll all be strangers to his crew, but if we can determine quickly that Copper and Fuchs are not copies, they'll be an additional asset. I'll contact Palmer and ask the strengths and weaknesses of both men. Is there anyone we shouldn't trust? Anyone who's likely to already be the Thing in disguise?"

[outpostcook]

"Those two are scientists, and they're the ones Palmer said would have the training necessary to help us identify and study the alien. Copper would have access to some of the materials, and Fuchs is a biologist. They'd know what to look for. There's Blair, too, but I don't trust him. The Blair in my world was not particularly helpful, and this one likely isn't much better. We should check Clark - he worked directly with the dogs, so it would have a chance to attack him."

Then again, Clark might be too obvious a suspect, drawing attention away from less blatant choices. A red herring. Kinner doesn't know if his Clark was replaced or not, though he suspects yes. Clark would have been an easy victim for the same reason as Kinner himself.

"If we'll be eating there, it's best to pack our own food and eat from cans. The creature can contaminate foodstuffs."

[liverfree]

Prometheus nods thoughtfully. "Yes, their knowledge would be invaluable, so long as neither is infected. What is it about Blair that you don't trust? How was he unhelpful in your expedition?"

He doesn't bother to ask about Clark. Regrettably, no matter how noble the man's character, if he worked directly with the dogs, he is likely also a lost cause.

"Yes, we'll bring our own food." The idea of getting infected by eating something is gross enough that he's not sure he'll have much of an appetite, anyway. "I'm already making a list of necessities. I can supply anything that you don't already have."

[outpostcook]

"In my homeworld, Blair was the one who wanted to thaw the alien. He wasn't a bad guy, I'd hesitate to say that, but he was put in a situation where I'm pretty sure he got infected. Though he did study how it worked, and his counterpart might have done the same."

While Clark's more vulnerable than most, Kinner doesn't want to give up on any of the humans if they can be avoided. If they're wrong about Clark...Kinner doesn't want to kill anyone unless he knows for a fact they're infected.

"We need canned food, enough for everyone. I've got some. Things that it's hard for the alien to gain access to, and things we can keep an eye on."

[liverfree]

"Too curious for his own good, hmm? If Blair is already infected, perhaps he left some notes behind of what he already learned."

Prometheus would rather not give up on any of the humans, either, but he's a practical Titan, and his concern is for his teammates first. Kinner and Cricket especially.

"I can acquire more canned food, no problem. What about clothing suitable for a sub-freezing environment? I assume you and Palmer are prepared, what about the others?"

[outpostcook]

"That's true. Palmer says Fuchs was Blair's assistant, so he might be able to point us to those notes. I'd talk to him first."

Kinner's dedicated some time to questioning Palmer about his camp and the resources available there, so they have a good idea of who and what to expect once they arrive there.

"The clothes are covered. Palmer told me there are spare winter coats for people who need them, both because of the cold and for disguises."