Miraculous Antidotes and Medibay Abandonments

Who: Keto, Tree, Wildflower
Where: Engineering
When: Shortly before the order to abandon ship
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OOC: Okay, sorry about my extremely sporadic participation, I've been snowed
under with essays, reading and other nasty things. I shall endeavour to catch
up. Anyway, on to the post.
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"Careful, don't drop it!" snapped Keto, as the Tree lurched to one side and
almost sent the delicately-balanced container hurtling over the side of the
catwalk to a seven storey drop.
"Look, he's trying to hold a glass container with two sticks! Why not let me
carry it?" protested Wildflower.
"Because at least this way there's a twenty percent chance of it surviving
intact," retorted Keto, "Ms Rimmer and I spent many hours perfecting this
antidote..."
"You watched Fawlty Towers reruns all that time!"
"...Ms Rimmer spent many hours perfecting it, so my point still holds. And
I'm not about to have it ruined when we're this close to the damn air purifier.
Watch your steps, both of you."
The trio approached the giant mass of machinery before them and towering above
them. Wildflower looked at it critically.
"It looks very complicated," she said at last, "Are you sure you know how
to..."
Keto reached round, grabbed the large glass vial and, without a word, upended
it over a small vent in the machinery, which swallowed it with a loud hissing
sound.
"There," he stated, "The antidote should now be on its extremely rapid way to
dispersing throughout the rest of the ship."
"Are you sure you should have poured it all in at once?" asked Wildflower,
peering at the vent, "It's still hissing a bit."
"Miss Wildflower, I am perfectly aware of what..." began Keto, then hesitated
as there was a high-pitched whine descending towards a low rumbling from the
machinery.
*RUSTLE!* exclaimed the Tree, and swept both the humans to the floor.
The whine descended low enough to cause the entire gantry to vibrate, then
from far above there was a crack that echoed around the nine-storey high
chamber. Then, with an almighty groan, the entire air purifier system wrenched
away from its supports and crashed to the floor below, sending a juddering
impact through the gangways above which the trio desperately clung to.
"...I am doing," finished Keto, when all was quiet.
The other two glared at him with their eyes and/or knotholes.
"Well, the good news is that the antidote should still have been dispersed,"
said Keto, standing up, "The bad news is that due to the air purifier being
temporarily disabled, the ship probably only has enough usable air for sixteen
more hours."
<< SNIP >>
Holly suddenly popped up on a nearby monitor and called "The Captain
has ordered a band on the ship, all crew to the E scrape pods and
please put a band on the ship..." as dozens of red lights started
flashing all throughout the Blue Dwarf.
<< END SNIP >>
"The second piece of good news is that our bad news is now of little
consequence," said Keto, his voice suddenly speeding up, "Everyone back to the
medibay, grab whatever you can and retreat to the hospital evacuation shuttle!
Move!"
<< Twenty Minutes Later, In The Hospital Shuttle >>
"Hurry up!" cried Wildflower, strapping both occupied medical beds down and
ensuring that neither Alota nor Tara would be likely to collide with the cargo
during the journey.
"One more trip and I'll have everything!" replied Keto, handing over another
armful of ointment bottles.
"We don't have time! Get in the damn shuttle!" snapped Wildflower, grabbing
the doctor by the collar and hauling him backwards up the ramp.
"Let go of me! I'm a superior officer!" protested Keto, struggling to
breathe.
"You're a moron is what you are!" said Wildflower, "Now stop struggling and
let's go!"
As Keto flailed wildly to escape, one of his arms caught the half-secured
buckle on Tara's medibunk, uncoupling it and sending the medibunk rolling down
the open ramp.
Wildflower and Keto ceased moving and watched as, in what seemed like slow
motion, the bunk with its recumbent passenger gained speed, hit the floor of the
cargo bay with a squeal of wheels under pressure, lurched alarmingly from side
to side, and then slammed into the opposite wall, sending Tara flying forwards
to smack into it. Both observers winced.
"That had to hurt," murmured Wildflower, as they hurried over.
"Well, she's got a pulse at le..." began Keto.
Tara's hand shot up and, with surprising accuracy, clamped itself around
Keto's throat.
"I think she's awake," observed Wildflower drily, prising Tara's hand loose.
The previously comatose woman blinked and tried to focus.
"Where...?" she managed, before passing out.
"Good news," mimicked Wildflower, "She's no longer in a coma. Bad news: she's
concussed."
"Barely an improvement," growled Keto, massaging his throat, "Let's get to the
shuttle and get gone."
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OOC: Tag! :)