Steams too Good to be True - Part One

OOC - This has been written by Jamie and myself. We couldn't work out how to do it without spamming you with posts, so joined our writing together in one post. He's going to post part two later today. Also, somewhere there is a title that puns on Steam, Valve and Half-Life, but we just couldn't get there...

<Snip>

"Now. Prove yourself. Prove you are worthy to be aboard, and prove you are not the coward that records show you are. I should also point out that if you try to leave the engine room to help the others, I will detonate the station." Queeg added as an afterthought, before removing himself from the situation.

Jamie reached down to the toolkit that he had been given, and turned to face the computers that were attached to the engines.

"So.. What's actually wrong with you?" he asked the engines, checking the output data on the screen in front of him.

</Snip>

Jade stumbled through the door, looking around at the new room. A maze of cages and metal crawl spaces lined the deck in front of her.

"Hello Doctor Black, if you are hearing this then you have decided to play the game. You have your first choice to make. You can leave through the door to your left, or you can hit the button in the crawl space in front of you, releasing the plans for Mr Eastlick. Remember Doctor Black that your choice has consequenses, you will have to give up something if you wish to procede and help your colleague." The flicking monitor died again, the dinosaur bound figurene disapearing.

"Goddess give me strength to get through this." She muttered, getting down on all fours and entering the maze, approaching the button nearby.

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Meanwhile, Jamie wiped the sweat from his forehead, and tightened the bolts in front of him as he replaced yet another panel.

"How am I supposed to fix it if there aren't any symptoms!" Jamie cursed. Around him, he could hear odd echoes that sounded a lot like the final sounds onboard the SS Hercules before it blew - it was distracting, but nothing he couldn't ignore just now. He turned around to head back to the control panel to look for dodgy readings, but as he took his first step, he heard an odd noise from the far wall.

A panel had risen, and as he approached, he could see some paper inside. A rolled up sheet that looked a lot like a schematic - though he couldn't tell what it was until he unrolled it on a table.

"Huh." He mused. The schematic showed a passageway through the middle of one of the systems. A tight crawlspace that ended with a rarely used system. He took the clue, and opened another panel that headed that way.

As the panel opened, he peered inside. Jets of steam and whirring gears filled most of it, making the way difficult.

"Just run." said a voice behind him, making him spin around. Nothing. "You couldn't fix it before, why bother trying now?" came another voice, sounding like it was from inside the crawlspace. His resolve grew, and urged him onwards into the narrow, dangerous space.

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As she hit the button the door slammed shut behind Jade. She was trapped in the maze, whilst it was a linear journey to the end, she suspected that it wouldn't be that simple. On her hands and knees, wincing with every step and every pound of weight she placed on her tattered wrists she crawled forwards.

"Now what?" She murmered.

A monitor flickered into life next to a pair of handles. She saw Jamie in an identical maze, somewhere else in the giant station. His path was blocked by steam. She watched as he ventured forward, aproached the steam and gingerly experimented with it's heat. His face contorted into a surprised pain and he sucked at the fingers that had been too close to the jets.

Now Jade knew what her sacrifice was. She had to feel Jamie's pain so he could progress.

She grabbed the handles, offering a silent prayer to any Gods of heat and air that she could think of and pulled.

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Jamie took a deep breath. It looked like he had to crawl through the jet of steam, which, given the state of his fingers now, wasn't going to be much fun. He pulled back, ready to lunge through it and hope for the best.

He lunged, eyes closed.

Nothing.

He opened his eyes, in even more surprise than when he had burned his fingers. The steam was gone. Was it just a test? Did Queeg expect him to give up, and it was just a way to get him to turn around? Either way, he was through the first jet.

Jade however, had the opposite experience. The handles were connected to a reflow valve that redirected the steam jets. The steam forced itself onto her, finding resistance in its path where she was now held, both handles needing to be pulled at the same time, so there was no way to evade it. She screamed as her flesh burned, but the moment Jamie was through, it subsided. She looked further down the maze she was in, and could see another set of handles. There was no indication what they were connected to though...

<To Be Continued...>