1.05: Manta Down

((wip))

Before heading to Richmond and possible re connection with The Resistance the group head to the crash-site of the Manta that they managed to destroy during the Attack on Carisbrook Park. Finding the downed spacecraft more intact that they expected, the group set up a perimeter and find that a whole made by the blast of one of their rocket launchers has made a hole large enough for the group to get inside. Jack Barnes and Trevor Sampson brave the interior of the alien craft and discover that all across the interior of the ships hull is the same (except larger) membrane that was discovered inside the captured Drone, and that the entire ship is one massive cybernetic organism, part machine and part organic. After exploring the ship the two manage to find a control room with a dead Stalker in it, moving toward a pair of what appeared to be stasis pods. The creature had died from blood loss due to a large part of the bulkhead which was sticking out of its side. Though the room had strange fleshy protrusions that could be controls - and certainly something that resembles a pilots chair - they are initially unsure how to get it working. From the ceiling is a mass of wires that culminate in a piece of transparent headgear with a dozen Brain Slugs floating around in it. Exploring the remainder of the ship they discover an Engine Room that houses two massive transparent egg-sack like generators each with containing a huge swirling ball of energy. When Jack is able to accidently interact with the ships controls in the Engine Room he activates the hanger door which opens the back of the ship up and he motions to the others that it is safe to enter. Daniel Cooke and Dayton Gray enter the ship and Daniel tries to get to grip with the control room. Trevor begins suffering an unusual reaction to the remnants of the atmosphere inside the ship and when Jack points out to him that his skin is going oddly patchy he (reluctantly) goes to see Dr Constable who treats him with UVB phototherapy, seeing as the nearest diagnosis she can compare it with is an acute form of Vitiligo.

In time and with considerable determination Daniel is able to bring the damaged ship back on-line at least partially, and begins deciphering the alien language. At a point when he has acquired enough of their language to have a basic understanding of it, he uses the ships database to inquire about the two pods and discovers that they are material cataloging and replication devices, and makes the assumption that the alien was heading to it to try and heal himself but never quite made it before its injuries got the better of it. After Daniel is able to use the pods to identify certain materials and learn some of the human equivalent of words in the alien language, he is able to ascertain that Trevor may be able to cure his skin condition by going in the pod and, somewhat disturbingly the alien pod has Human DNA on file. Trevor decides to give it a shot after Dayton calls him back into the ship and sure enough, after going through the pod not only does it cure him of the skin condition but also eliminates an undiagnosed hereditary heart condition that Trevor was not even aware of. Daniel uses the pods to discover the true name of the Brain Slugs (being 'Nethek') and also the true name for the Stalkers: 'Vel'. By using this information and some cross-referencing with the ships database, he also discovers that the aliens use an energy source that they call Netherwrack. It is this energy that powers their weapons and ships, but it is unclear whether they are connected to the Nethek Brain Slug or whether it is just a vocabulary coincidence. After some negotiation Dayton decides to use the pod to try and re-grow his severed arm but due to a lack of organic material the group use metal instead; specifically the hyper-light allow the aliens use for their metal. He ends up with bionic arm. Seeing as the pods can recognize and determine anything on their records Trevor recommends putting Nayomi Willis in them to determine is she carries Nethek as her late mother, Leigh-Ann Willis did. Ben Noble, Nayomi's guardian, is less than happy with that and demands he get put through first to show her there is nothing to be afraid of. Both come up clear for Brain Slug infestation. Daniel discovers that the ship is organic but not sentient, and requires a pilot to operate it, a pilot who is in turn controlled by the Nethek in the head-piece that comes from the ceiling of the craft. After some discussion the Nethek in the control-harness are destroyed. Having gleaned all they can from the ship and wary of being discovered by The Invaders or Bandit raiding parties, they leave the downed Manta and start their journey toward Richmond.