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View character profile for: Cassandra Jones
View character profile for: Jason Tanaka
Fungal Infection
Shimmying back up into the pillows piled at the top of her bed, Cass stretched languorously, her long legs sliding between the sheets; her toes snagging the folds of the duvet and pulling it down to reveal her naked body. She smiled and quirked her eyebrows. “Are you sure you have to go?”
Rackham looked pained as he finished buttoning up his jeans "Don't" he pleaded “I’ve got people relying on me”
Cass wrinkled her nose “Fuck ‘em - I’m better”
“Ha - You got that right” he gave up trying to find his t-shirt in the tangle of clothes on the floor and returned to the bedside “I’d love to,” he kissed her on the lips and slid a cheeky hand up her side to caress a breast “but I’m already late”
“Bollocks” Cass made an unsuccessful grab for him as he moved away “You just don’t want to get into trouble for being late”
“That too” he grinned “I’m already on report. Where’d my t-shirt go?”
“I think it went behind the sofa”
Rackham padded through into the living area “Got it! - Boots?”
“There and there” Cass pointed.
She watched him in silence as he hurried into his clothes. Taut, athletic. He’d turned up last night with a bottle of hard to get hold of vodka, heralding an unsubtle attempt at seduction, which she’d put up almost no resistance to.
“Mark?”
He looked up from lacing his boots
“I had a good night” Cass began.
In actual fact, it had been a great night - He was good company and the sex had been fantastic, but she had niggling doubts about whether he’d done this just to secure bragging rights about having bagged the ship’s chaplain.
Rackham smiled and got to his feet “Wanna do it again sometime?”
This made Cass smile back “Yeah...” she said slowly, appearing to ponder the offer and not wanting to seem too keen “Alright”
“Great” he moved back through to perch beside her on the bed and kissed her again “I had a great night too. How’s tomorrow night for you?”
Cass smirked “I’ll make sure I’ve nothing on”
“If you don’t, I will” he kissed her again “See you later gorgeous”
He let himself out, leaving Cass to sigh happily and roll back up in the covers, with a stupid grin on her face.
<snip>
‘This a ship-wide announcement,' announced Holly over the ship's intercom, ‘Could all personnel please report to your local Quarantine Station.'
</snip>
“Wha!?” Cass scrabbled upright amid bed covers in startled confusion; only belatedly realising that she must have fallen asleep again - It had been a busy night, after all.
She cleared her throat “What was that, Hol?”
<snip>
‘This is a ship-wide announcement,' said Holly again, ‘Do not approach those little mushroom buggers, they've gone off in the back of the fridge and smell a bit strange. Also, do not approach the toadstools. Report to the Medi-Bay if you have done so.'
</snip>
“No, seriously, Hol - What the fuck’s going on?”
“Captains orders” Holly bobbed on the monitor in the room “You need to boogie on down to the nearest Quarantine Station”
“Why?”
“Well, there’s an infestation going on, isn’t there?”
“Of what?”
"Funglings"
"Bollocks" Cass tiredly swung her legs out of bed "You just made that up"
"Did not"
"So what the fuck is a Fungling?"
"Well, they're your basic bipedal little toadstool; about six inches high; inch and a half wide; little arms and legs, and a bulbous, purple cap, just a little wider than it’s stem"
"Seriously?"
"Yep" Holly nodded sagaciously “Seriously”
"Unbelievable" Cass stood and stomped through to bathroom, leaving him to make another ship-wide announcement, urging everyone towards their nearest quarantine zone.
How or why this infestation had occurred, Cass had no idea, but after just getting back from that damned golf trip, what was wrong with just a leisurely day, full of pleasant memories of the previous night?
Dealing with a mushroom infestation shouldn't have had to feature anywhere in her plans.
Still waking up and irritable, Cass had just finished cleaning her teeth when a chittering noise behind her made her start and turn around.
Stood in the bathroom door were a small crowd of creatures, each standing around six inches high and capped with a glistening purple... Cass struggled to find an appropriate adjective, other than helmet.
"Hol?" she called, suddenly and weirdly aware of still being naked in front of these things "What are these, and why do they look like penises?"
“Attention all crew” Holly completely ignored her “Accommodation Deck A is now in lockdown”
“Aw, come on - that’s this deck!”
“Emergency clean-up and medical crews, please respond”
“These are Funglings, aren’t they?”
Hastily snagging a towel to cover herself, Cass backed away, up against the sink, as the the creatures advanced into the bathroom, led by a particularly ribbed and intimidating-looking specimen “Are they dangerous?”
Holly waggled his head noncommittally on the monitor in the other room “Eh - Kinda...”
“What!?” Cass snapped, a note of panic beginning to edge into her voice.
Fumbling around behind her, she blindly grabbed the first thing that came to hand and hurled it at the advancing creatures; the tube of toothpaste falling into their midst and immediately being torn apart in a minty fresh feeding frenzy.
With the Funglings serendipitously distracted, Cass took the opportunity to dart past them, into the main living area of her apartment.
Things were little better out there. Dozens of phallic fungi were marauding through the place, trashing everything and trying to eat anything they could sink their teeth into. A small crowd of them had already demolished most of the house plants, while others were fighting over the contents of the bin. The sound of breaking crockery emanated from the kitchenette.
As Cass skidded to a halt in the centre of the room, they all looked up from what they were doing to regard her with hungry little eyes.
Holly gazed down from the main monitor “I’d get out of there, if I were you” he said, helpfully.
Momentarily shooting a wistful glance towards the wardrobe in her bedroom, Cass briefly considered trying to grab some clothes instead of leaving, just wearing a towel, but quickly dismissed the idea when the Funglings from the bathroom swarmed out, shrieking wildly and, weirdly, now patterned in minty green stripes.
“What the fuck!?” Cass stumbled backwards nearly tripping, but recovering just in time to sprint towards the door, hotly pursued by the room full of Funglings, several of whom now appeared to be sprouting leaves from around their base.
Leaping over several groups of the critters, Cass barrelled through the door and straight into Tanaka, O'Malley and Pickman, bouncing off Tanaka with a loud “Ooof”, and winding up sprawled on the floor in an undignified heap.
“How fascinating” Pickman pushed his glasses up his nose as he peered down at the Funglings swarming towards them “They seem to be mutating”
<tag>
I was thinking that the Funglins would start to exhibit the traits of whatever they ate
They also look like knobs as well, because comedy
If anyone wants to jump in, please do :-)
</tag>