nexus_crossings | (no subject)

(no subject)

There is a large orange tabby cat exploring around the Nexus. He seems to be looking for someone in particular. Now, that in itself is not unusual.

However, this particular tabby cat is wearing a make-shift holster around his belly and there seems to be a Starfleet phaser encased in the holster. Only the top of the phaser is visible to the eye... but it looks covered with soot.

The cat is also being followed by a glowing blue light very closely.

After a few moments of being frustrated of not seeing anyone's face, from where he is on the ground... the orange tabby cat jumps his way up a few different Nexus fixtures, until he is higher up. He stares around the Nexus and makes a soft meowing sound. Almost questioning.

Anyone care to try to answer his question.

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Crookshanks meows, agreeing with that statement. He soon arrives at his destination. A Nexus zoo. He rubs up against Jim's leg. He thinks they can find what they need here.

A zoo? Huh. Jim looks the place over as they step inside the gates. He and Crookshanks aren't the only visitors, though the foot traffic is light enough that it doesn't feel overly crowded. The animals on display seem to come from all sorts of planets and universes - some Earth animals, he recognizes, and is that a griffon in one pen? The Vulcan le-matyas, as well, are something that catch his attention. Others are wholly unfamiliar: a neon-colored plantlike creature that floats on the breeze, an amphibious creature whose anatomy is so bizarre and eldritch that it actually physically hurts to look at, a tiny furry creature that moves so fast he can't see anything more than its color.

It's fascinating stuff, and he makes a mental note to come back sometime. But sightseeing isn't in the cards today. They have a mission to complete, and no idea when the deadline is.

"Come on," he says out loud to the kneazle. "They've got to have a reptile section someplace, right?"

Crookshanks is already on the move, heading down a path deeper into the zoo. The signs along the path indicate that he is heading towards the reptile section.

And they soon arrive at an artificially cave area, where the reptiles are left in a natural setting. Crookshanks moves carefully, sniffing every now and then, until they arrive at a large indoor cavern, that has an information sign about the Basilik.

He meows at Jim. As if declaring their victory.

This enclosure is... pretty damn big. There's an odd sheen to the barrier keeping the as-yet unseen creature inside, as well, and the reason why becomes somewhat clear as Jim rapidly reads the sign.

"Up to fifty feet in length... exceptionally venomous fangs... anyone looking directly into their eyes causes instant death," he reads out loud, muttering under his breath. No wonder the healer hadn't ever heard of anybody taking one down. And why the zoo would need to have some kind of visual shield between the patrons and the magical snake inside. It's probably bad form to kill your customers, after all, and who knows how the anti-violence field would handle this kind of thing?

"Okay, I'm not dumb enough to go sneaking into a giant death snake's house. There's gotta be someone who looks after the animals that might be able to hook us up."

Crookshanks flattens his ears slightly. He could easily sneak into the den, quickly and efficiently. But he can't tell Jim that and wouldn't want the human to worry about him. Or try to follow him.

He looks around. And meows upon sighting a janitor. Perhaps that human will help?

Worth a shot, anyway. If nothing else, perhaps speaking to the janitor will distract Jim enough that the kneazle can sneak inside, if he'd like to try anyway.

"Excuse me," Jim calls out to the other person. "I've got kinda a weird question. Do you know how I could get my hands on a scale from this bad boy here?" He punctuates it by waving vaguely towards the basilisk enclosure.

The janitor frowns. It seems he gets the question far too often. "I'm sorry. But we are very careful with disposal of the creature's scales."

Crookshanks flattens his ears again. He makes his move to disappear down a hallway, while both Jim and the janitor are occupied.

"Careful? Are they a biohazard or something?" What the hell does Hermione need it for, if that's the case? This is getting weirder and weirder all the time, and if this wasn't apparently an emergency, he'd have a lot of questions.

Crookshanks' departure goes unnoticed by the captain, who isn't expecting the cat to go sneaking in to play with the giant murder snake.

"Not a biohazard. But a Basilisk skin is armoured like that of a dragon's, which deflects spells cast upon it. And we get too many in here, asking for the item, for its special properties in spells and potions." The janitor answers.

Jim frowns deeply. Should've expected that. If they let just anybody take scales from the poor thing, especially if they aren't dropping naturally over time, it wouldn't have any left, and that sounds probably fatal. Not to mention cruel. But if he can't get the actual item in question, maybe he can at least find out what people use them for. "What kind of special properties?"

"That depends son, if the potion is one of the Dark Arts or not. Typically, they are used to bolster a shielding or warding spell. But the Dark Arts... they can tap into the poisonous traits of the King of Snakes, and use it as a weapon."

Crookshanks by now has gotten into the den of the basilik, and found one of his scales that was shed by natural process. He picks it up in his mouth. Then heads back to find Jim.

"So you don't sell them in case someone's planning to use 'em for evil." That... makes sense. And it's a sinking feeling that he might not be able to get this for Hermione, even though it sounds like her intention is more like the first option. Who would just take his word for it? Hell, even he wouldn't.

"Sorry I can't help you." The janitor moves on, to the next section of the zoo.

A soft meow comes from Crookshanks, to get Jim's attention. He is sitting there, with a large scale under his paws.

They have the ingredients now. Would Jim want to come with him, to help his witch?

Jim does a double-take. Is that...? It is. What the hell, Crookshanks.

"You know what, I don't want to know," he decides, shaking his head. The cat can't answer him, at least not in a way he understands, and he doesn't know how long they have to get these things to Hermione anyway.

The message had said to give the ingredients to Crookshanks, but that does present a minor problem. "How're you gonna carry all this back with you?"

Crookshanks flops on his belly, where he nods to a little pouch on his holster. The pouch has been enchanted with the same size accommodation spell that Hermione uses on her own little beaded purse.

All right, he supposes that makes sense. Jim wraps up the herbs in the paper, and tucks them carefully into the pouch with the scale. "There you go. Better get it to her fast. Sounds like she needs it ASAP."

Crookshanks looks up at Jim. Meowing softly. The human doesn't want to come with him?

Okay, he may not have ever had a pet, but part of being in an intergalactic community means you get good at guessing the nonverbal stuff, and there's clearly something else Crookshanks wants to say. So to speak. Jim frowns, unsure of why the cat is hesitating. Isn't this an emergency?

"Do you need backup?" Is that even possible, he wonders. If Hermione had to shut the door somehow... but crazy as it sounds, Crookshanks has pretty good judgement, all things considered. Maybe he knows something that Jim doesn't.

Crookshanks chirps a meow in response, twirling around Jim's legs. He knew that this human was smart enough to understand.

He heads to the door, to leave the reptile section of the zoo, but pauses to make sure that Jim is following behind.

If Jim had still had doubts about the kneazle's intentions, they're banished by that look over the shoulder, a silent 'are you coming or what?' that comes across loud and clear.

Well. If he's heading into unknown dangers, it's a good thing that Crookshanks has a phaser, because Jim doesn't. He pauses only to unholster it from the cat's odd little pack, feeling more reassured about the impromptu mission with a weapon in hand.

Crookshanks waits until Jim can claim the weapon that was given to his mistress by the other Jim who visits the Nexus. He knows that the human will know how to use it.

Then he heads off, towards the centre of the Nexus, where all the doors are located. With ease, he leads Jim to a door that looks like it belongs to an ancient castle. There is a soft glowing green light underneath the door.

He scratches at the door. Twirls around in a circle. Then scratches at the door again.

A tiny little kitty-door opens for him. He meows at Jim, as if asking him to wait please, before disappearing into the kitty-door.

The green glow gets brighter for a moment. Then the door slams open, Hermione wielding her wand to hold back a spell as she backs out of the door. Crookshanks keeps by her feet, watching carefully. "Expecto Patronum!" She casts, and the otter appears before her, swirling around her wand to collect more and more light. Then the otter swims forward, pushing forward a shield of light with it, pushing the spell even further back from the door.

"Jim!" Hermione sees that he is standing there, from the corner of her eye. "Close the door!"

Jim keeps the phaser at the ready, and when the door slams open, he swiftly raises it to point directly at the person on the other side before he identifies her. He can't tell what the otter is doing or what she's facing, damn near blinded by the light shield it's emitting, but he's pretty sure this isn't the time to ask either.

He lunges forward at Hermione's shout, quickly sidestepping her to grab hold of the door with his free hand and slam it shut.

There is a force behind the door that pushes back, and it will take Jim's entire weight to keep the door closed.

Hermione moves to her knees, where Crookshanks is waiting for her. She opens his pouch, pulling the items out one by one. "Oh Brilliant! You got everything."

She places a wooden mortar and pestle on the ground, and starts to use it to grind up the spell ingredients one by one, placing the finished product on the center of the parchment of paper. She is casting a continuous spell as she works.

Damn, he wasn't expecting that. Jim braces his body against the door, feet planted firmly against the floor to get maximum leverage. He starts to lift the phaser to weld the lock shut... but this is Hermione's door. He can't do that. It's not his right.

"Think you'd better hurry," he calls to her instead, not really able to devote the time to focus on what she's doing. Whatever's on the other side of this door really wants to get through, and it's taking a lot of effort to hold it at bay.

And Hermione doesn't respond to his statement, knowing how dire the situation is right now. She has been battling to keep this spell contained for quite some time, while Crookshanks was on his hunt. And she is tired, but the job is not done yet.

With all the spell ingredients finely ground into a powder, she twirls her wand, forming a mini vortex into the air. She stands up, slowing controlling the vortex, until she can guide the spell towards the door. "Colloportus!" Hermione casts another spell. The spell slides into the cracks around the door, forming an almost welding effect on the edges. A black slime starts to pool at the top of the door, and slowly moves its way down.

"Back away Jim..." Hermione crosses her arms, watching her spell work to lock the door solidly. It is a combination of a shielding, warding and welding spell that that the door is protected three different ways. And the black slime covers more and more of the door, the pounding on the other side subsides, until the spell has completely blocked off whatever was trying to get to the other side.