Sub-plot - Shifters - (Everyone who signed up)

[Evangeline Irvine]

"Why do you keep asking me what I mean?" Eva inquired coolly, arching an eyebrow in order to mask the sadness that overwhelmed her on hearing Sam confirm that he worked for UGAP. It wasn't like there'd really been any doubt, but sometimes wishful-thinking paid off. Just not this time.

"Yes, I'm working with R4," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Of course I am. I was going to from the get-go. They raised me. Besides, it's not like I'd want to work for UGAP anyway," she tacked on, sneering the organization's name as if it were something vulgar. Why would she work for terrorists, when she could actually help people?

Speaking of which... she eyed the monitors keenly, watching every move the shifters made closely. They certainly didn't want another mishap, not with Sean already dead. That would blow everything out of proportion. Only dimly did she register Sam talking to the other UGAP member, asking her if she were all right and such.

It wasn't until his words were directed back at her that Eva spun back to face him, her eyes alight with fury. "Excuse me? I'm working for the bad-guys? Have you been here for the last few months? Do you know what your precious UGAP has done?" This was unbelievable. How could someone have changed so drastically over the years? Sam had been such a sweet guy before, and now... she just couldn't believe it.

Noticing that he was struggling with the knots she'd tied to bind Julia, Eva bent down to pull her switch-blade from her shoe, tossing it to him. "Here. I think you'll have better luck getting her loose if you just cut them. I have a nasty habit of pulling knots too tight."

Beyond the fact that it would help him free Julia, it was also a symbol that she still trusted him, despite where he'd decided to let his loyalties lie. He'd see her giving it to him as a sign of peace, and understand that she wasn't trying to be horrible to them. That meant that he wouldn't try to kill her with it--at least, in theory. She'd been mistaken before.

[Sam O'Connor]

"Why else would I ask; I want answers," Sam shook his head slightly, getting frustrated that he couldn't undo these bindings despite his spindly fingers. "They raised you," he repeated, surprised. So, that was why she was living in that house with Louise? They were looking after her and preparing her even then? But why? He didn't understand what could be so special about one girl that they would spend all that time and effort seeing that she followed in their footsteps.

Of course she wouldn't want to work for the UGAP, not if R4 had been feeding her lies her entire life. What had they been saying? That the government were actually behind all those deaths? That they were the ones who were trying to stop all this destruction across the Universe, not the ones causing it? Eva was in for a rude awakening, and unfortunately, it seemed Sam was going to be the one to give it to her.

"My precious UGAP? R4 are the ones that have been exterminating millions of lives in the name of justice, not the government," he snapped back. This was ridiculous, how could they have screwed her beliefs up this much? They were heartless and didn't care who they effected. "Didn't you see the destruction on Delta Prime? That rift that swallowed a huge chuck of the city? That was down to your precious employers, not mine. They destroyed the lives of so many people that day and you're standing there brandishing your imperious finger at me?" He snorted, "and that isn't even the beginning of it." They'd done so much more that was worse.

He caught the knife in his hand, flipping it open and going quiet as he hacked through the bindings, them coming away a lot more easily now. Once her wrists and ankles were free, he checked that the bindings hadn't done too much damage, before tossing the knife back to Eva. "What are you even doing here?" he asked, rising onto his feet, "what are those things?"

[somerandomhippie3]

Julia continued to blink as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings. Arguing in front of her were Sam, a marvelous chef, and a blonde woman she didn't recognized. Peeking behind her, she saw holos filled with various cameras depicting the Venia. She was monitoring? Oh, she must be in league with the people who had tied her up.

Sam walked over, and attempted to untie her. Ni purred, rubbing up against him. "Hello to you, too. We're fine," she said quietly, her voice not accustomed to the room. "The cat more so than I." Cats could get out of anything. She rubbed her ankles and wrists, nodding to the blonde woman. Despite the fact that she had tied her up, she had still given them the means to get her out. Judging my her measured movements, that was what she had intended-- to let her out. Good intentions, but she wasn't quite sure yet.

She had just started opening her mouth for introductions, to try and stall the gradual increase of volume, when Sam asked why she was there. Realizing that this could possibly be useful, she shut her mouth, picking up Ni. If things got any worse, she'd jump in, but she wanted to know what was going on.

[Evangeline Irvine]

The longer she listened to Sam, the more Eva's head pounded. He truly believed what he was saying, and his thoughts echoed that, which really wasn't a surprise. But the strength of his conviction and the fact that his words countered her own beliefs made them harder to process. He wasn't right, was he?

"I... no," she argued weakly, scrambling to keep her footing in this argument. "No, you're lying, Sam. UGAP's been lying to you, and you're buying all their crap." Or is it the other way around? But she wouldn't believe it. Everyone she knew and trusted had told her otherwise. Theo, Louise, everyone. And yet, she trusted Sam, too. This just didn't make sense.

He blamed the rift on Delta Prime on R4, and she scowled and shook her head. "That was a natural occurrence. There was nothing we could have done--not that we didn't try." Can you verify that? The truth was, no. She hadn't been there. But Louise had, and the woman was practically a mother to Eva. She wouldn't lie to her. Would she?

Her head was really hurting now. She continued to scan the screens, however, only sparing one hand to reach up and massage her temple. This was preposterous. Sam had to be the misinformed one, not her. R4 were good people. After all, they'd been kind enough to raise her, hadn't they? They may have taken her away from her parents in the process, yes, but the Irvines couldn't have raised a telepath anyway.

Catching her switch-blade as Sam tossed it back to her, Eva tucked the knife into her shoe again and gave the monitors one last glance before turning to face him again, dubious. "I'm on a mission, obviously," she started numbly. She'd been so excited about this job at first, but now she was nervous and sick to her stomach.

Even if she couldn't reveal the whole plan, she supposed she could answer his question easily enough. At least they weren't still on the topic of R4 versus UGAP. The concept that the people she cared about and trusted were really the ones she'd been so upset with was simply too hard for her to succumb to, and so she wouldn't.

"They're shapeshifters. They can take the form of anyone, and in doing so attain all of that person's memories. In a way, they can become someone else. They have that person's DNA, their fingerprints, their habits, everything. For example..." She rewound one of the monitors until it was back at the point when the first shifter had turned into Julia to show them what she meant.

However, she kept her own eyes off the screen. Her conscience--not to mention her churning stomach--wouldn't allow for her to watch that again, not now that Sam had shed a new light on the subject. Her abhorrence was too strong. Sam had to be wrong. If he wasn't... what the hell was she going to do?

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam was more than pleased to hear that Julia was fine, he knew that when people were knocked out, there could be repurcussions, but she seemed to be okay for now. "Good, good," he said, the bindings tossed to one side, he tickled Ni behinds the ears, "never would have found you if it wasn't for Ni." Which was a strange thought, but hey, he was a telekinetic, stranger things had happened.

Eva was beginning to have doubts, he could see it in her posture, and hear it in her voice. He actually hated to do this to her, he didn't enjoy going round wrecking people's belief systems, whether he believed in them or not - but what R4 had done to Eva was wrong, and what they stood for in general was horrible. He didn't want Eva to be the enemy, not at all.

"I'm not buying any crap," he said, his voice a little calmer now as he could see she was getting flustered and he didn't want to hurt her, "we have proof, tonnes of it, on the ship's computers. Files about all the stuff that has happened over the last five months; the rift, the hostage situation on the Oceanic, the virus that crippled a school in Beta Cygni and the Venia crew, the wild fire, the most recent attack on the crew, trying to murder us all in our sleep. I can show you," he gestured to the screen. He wasn't completely computer illiterate, he should be able to bring up the stuff.

Sam edged closer to her as they were talking, cautiously and subtly getting nearer. "Shapeshifters? Wow." He'd never heard of anything like that before, except in fantasy books and stuff. He shouldn't be surprised really, if R4 could rip a hole in space through a city, then they could certainly do something like this.

She couldn't look at the screen. Despite how awful Sam felt for her, he was also a little relieved that she might be coming round. "Eva." Standing only a couple of feet away now, he reached for her shoulder, but hesitated part way, not sure whether it was the best idea. "Evy, you have to stop this."

He tugged her gently round to face him. "I don't know what your plan is exactly," he said, "but one man is already dead, and these Shapeshifters pose a threat, not only to the rest of the crew, my friends, but also thousands more innocent people if you stop us from doing our jobs. You can see the UGAP as the enemy," he told her, "but the people on this ship are good, they're preventing the deaths of our familes, friends, and millions of other people on a daily basis. You trust me, right? Trust them too." He looked right at her with his large brown eyes.

"Stop this, please."

[somerandomhippie3]

Julia smiled sweetly, petting the cat lovingly. "Someone's getting a bowl of cream when this is all over," she purred in the cat's ear. Ni purred back, then decided she had been petted enough, and pranced off somewhere. Julia rolled her eyes, and turned back to the scene playing out in front of her.

Eva, as she was called, was insecure. That much she could tell. Eyes flicking, fidgeting, not looking at herself... She knew the feeling. Luckily, Sam seemed to know what he was doing-- his demeanor was textbook perfect. She'd have to give him an honorary shrink badge later, if she could find her paints again.

She glanced over at the screen, and her brows shot up. Was that her? She had thought all the security footage was being streamed, not replayed. Sneaking around the edge of the conversation, she peered at one of the holos. No, that wasn't her. She- or the person that looked like her- was wearing entirely different clothes. She'd never actually thought of that outfit combination before-- smart impersonator. She wondered vaguely if that was what her hair looked like from the back, and leant closer.

[Evangeline Irvine]

Things had gone downhill from bad to worse in a matter of seconds. Eva didn't want to listen to what Sam was saying. She wanted to behave childishly and shover her fingers in her ears, and scream so she couldn't hear him. What really killed her was what wanting to do that meant--it meant she knew, deep down, that he was right.

He gestured to the monitors then, as if asking permission to show her, to prove without a doubt that he was right. She frowned and shook her head, not because she was still arguing with him, but because, despite her better judgment, she was going to try something she normally didn't--she was going to go on trust.

When he called her Evy she almost turned around to look at him, a little surprised, but she held back. Only when he touched her shoulder and turned her for himself did she face him, listening as he spoke. When he mentioned one man was already dead, she glanced down at her feet and closed her eyes.

"That wasn't supposed to happen. The shifters weren't supposed to kill anyone--I gave them strict orders not to. If I'd known... I never even got to meet him." Sensing the mild confusion that was bubbling around Sam at those words, she clarified. "Sean is--" she broke off, glancing back at the Sean shifter on the screen. "Well, he was my brother."

Once he'd finished speaking she finally looked up, blue eyes meeting brown, and she sighed. Helping UGAP would mean forfeiting her life in R4's eyes, but if Sam was telling the truth, wouldn't it be worth it? She thought she'd been helping the good guys all this time, but if what he said was correct... she had a lot to compensate for. More than she could accomplish in this life time.

"I... don't know if I can," she admitted fretfully, turning back to the monitors. She looked at the other woman, Julia, for a moment, before turning her eyes on the screen she was watching. It was the shifter version of her, talking to another person on the crew. Eva heaved another sigh. "They're not androids, I can't simply shut them down."

Taking a deep breath, she rolled back her shoulders. If she was going to die, one way or another--R4 would certainly finish the job, if UGAP didn't--she would rather it be doing something in the best interests for others. "As far as I know, they've only gotten to Sean, Julia, and your T.E.M.P. and as much as it'll freak everyone out, we'll have to go in there and gun them down. You up for that?"

[Sam O'Connor]

"Oh Jesus," slipped from Sam's mouth when she said that Sean had been her brother. He believed her straight away, despite who she worked for and why she was here, he had no reason to doubt anything that she said. "I'm sorry." He'd thought finding the man was traumatic, her 'minions' accidentally killing her own brother (well, she hadn't intended for him to die anyway) must be horrible.

Another thought crossed his mind then; Sean was the only one on board that had some sort of powers like he did, the man was a telepath, so he could hear peoples' thoughts. If they were brother and sister then maybe... could she possibly be like Sean? Could she hear his thoughts right now? That'd be weird. Not a bad weird really, well, as long as she wasn't listening all the time, otherwise his comprimising thoughts might send her running... or might just explain why she'd smirked so much the first time they'd met.

Anyway.

It was a huge relief when it finally seemed like she was on board. If she'd turned round and said no, then he didn't know what he would have done. Pinned her down and tied her up? That wouldn't have seemed right at all. Incredibly dodgy actually. He shook his head at himself.

"Gun them down?" Sam squeaked with alarm. Hastily, he cleared his throat and found a pitch of voice that more than just dogs could hear. "I mean, uh, yeah." He coughed, "that was really convincing, wasn't it?" If he could have facepalmed right at that moment, then he would have. Stop being such a girl he told himself.

"We're going to need help with T.E.M.P." he said, "seeing as she's a hologram, we're going to need one of the engineers to help. Probably Hollie, if anyone could get it out of the system, she could." Which was the truth, the woman was a whiz with computers. "As for the others, yeah, I'll help." Casting a glance over his shoulder, he wondered whether Julia was going to help or not, or whether she was able to after being knocked out like that.

Sam wasn't really so sure about the guns idea, but he had another trick up his sleeve. "If you'll be so kind as to open the door."

[somerandomhippie3]

Julia almost gasped as Eva said her brother had been killed. Oh, poor thing! She had siblings, and she couldn't imagine losing any of them, as annoying as they could get. She was almost tempted to reach out and hug her, but decided that might be a bad idea. So, she stayed where she was.

Sam and Eva started discussing battle plans, and Julia found herself leaning away. If anything was going to be done, she didn't want to be gunning anyone down, ever. It was really not something she enjoyed seeing, or doing-- it seemed so horrible. So, instead, she curled up in the chair, waiting for them to open the door so she could tag along behind and get out of harm's way.

((I think that's probably where the real Julia'll end-- she's not going to be doing much, unless you need her to. If you do, she'll stick around, but I think if not, it'll probably just be the shifter, until it's gunned down. If that's OK with you guys, of course!))

[Evangeline Irvine]

Their reactions to her announcing that Sean was her brother was stronger than Eva had expected--and also far more sympathetic. She'd thought their primary response would have been shock. "I... thanks?" She hadn't meant to make it a question, but this was one of the few times when anyone had shown any actual compassion toward her.

Sam's mental ramblings then spiked off the charts, and she curiously listened in for a moment before arching an eyebrow at him. "Didn't I tell you I'm a telepath?" Thinking back, though, she realized that she hadn't. She'd been too afraid she'd lose him as a friend if she told him, even if he was a telekinetic. "Huh. Well, yes, I am." With that settled, she through her mental walls back up and turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

Eva threw Sam a bemused look when his voice shot up about three octaves, and snorted when he tried to cover for himself. "Yes, gun them down. Unless you want to ask them nicely to stand still while we inject them with an overdose of phenobarbital so they'll go peacefully, in which case, I'll sit back and watch."

Unlocking one of the drawers in the desk, she pulled out three guns and handed one to each Sam and Julia. Thumbing the safety off and then back on, she listened as Sam proposed a plan of action, and though she wasn't crazy about the idea of meeting the crew, even just one person, she knew she probably wouldn't have much of a choice. Nodding, she went over to open the door.

"You'll have to lead the way to where this Hollie character is," she pointed out to Sam, peering out to make sure the bay was empty before glancing back as Julia who was holding her gun like it was a poisonous animal. "You can stay here, if you'd rather," she said with a shrug, "We could use someone keeping an eye on the monitors, anyway. Just keep in contact over the comm."

With that, she stepped outside and paused in order for whoever all was going to come with her to come along.

[Sam O'Connor]

Well, that pretty much answered all of his questions. "No, nope, you left that detail out between the milk and cookies." He wasn't persecuting her for it, that would be hypocritical. But now he definitely knew that she was a telepath, he figured she probably already knew a lot about him, quite a lot of stuff that he didn't let on to anyone else.

Phenobarbital was a big word; it was slightly worrying how much she knew about killing people. "IIIIII think we can go with gunning them down," he agreed with a nod. It wasn't going to be pretty, far from it. If he managed to get out of this day without being scarred for life (and still alive), he'd remember not to book any more time off for a while. This day had spiralled into crazy, hiding in the kitchen was definitely his preferred option from now on.

Sam didn't think Julia was going to come, if anyone was going to be against shooting people, it would be the ship's psychologist - she wasn't exactly rambo after all. And neither was he. "All right, follow me."

He took off at a jog, figuring that time was of the element right now; the longer they left the shifters to their plan, the more danger they were putting everyone in. They weaved around the corridors to Engineering, Sam skidding through the door to the Computer Technicians' office. "Hollie," he breathed, catching the wonderful girl's attention as he walked over to her, "we need your help."

Hollie looked at him with a quizzical brow. Sam wasn't usually the type to run in and ask for help, usually she was the one that hurried into the kitchen in search of food. "Huh?" "We'll fill you in on the way." Seizing her hand tightly in his, he lifted her out of her chair in one movement, and made sure her feet were planted firmly on the ground before making his way to the medical bay, checking that Eva was still following.

"Explain," Hollie demanded as they scurried along - she had no idea where she was going, or what was going on. "There are shapeshifters on board," he told her, "they've taken over three people, Sean, Julia and T.E.M.P. The first two we can take care of, but T.E.M.P. we need your computer expertise." Holly looked in his direction like he was completely crazy. "Yeah, I know. It's nuts. But you can have all the buttercream frosting you like if you help us."

Hollie wouldn't begrudge herself frosting, but she had another question. "Who's us?"

[somerandomhippie3]

Julia raised a brow as Eva said she was a telepath, but didn't question it. Then again, it did make sense. The way she held herself, the way she looked through people, not just at them. Seemed her shrink skills only worked after the fact. Oh, how useful.

Eva then tossed her a gun, and she looked at it painfully. Yuck. How uncivilized. Thankfully, Eva said she could stay here, so she nodded, almost tossing the gun down on the desk. Kicking up the comm, she nodded to the two as they left, and slipped a pair of headphones on. Oh, she felt so World War Three right now.

Chuckling a little as Sam literally threw Hollie off her chair, she booted the comm into action. "Breaker, breaker, rubber ducky," she said just for kicks, before continuing. "Okay, from what I can see, T.E.M.P is up in the medical bay, along with two Seans. They're talking and playing with medical equipment, which can only bode well. Have fun."

[Evangeline Irvine]

Sam set off at a jog, leading the way, and so thumbing off her safety again, Eva kept close behind with her gun at the ready, though pointed at the floor. Putting all her faith in her friend, she followed him blindly. They'd taken so many unexpected turns that she was sure she'd be effectively lost by now if she'd been alone.

From what she could tell they'd reached engineering, and he ran into an adjacent room. Inside was a lone blonde woman who looked up upon their arrival, though her eyes didn't seem quite to focus on Sam's face. And then they were off running again, Sam filling the other girl in as they went. The earpiece Eva wore went off at the same time, and Julia's voice chirped in her ear.

She was about to relay the psychologist's message to Sam and say that they ought to head to med bay when his thoughts informed her that they were headed their anyway. Beyond that, the other blonde--Hollie, apparently--asked a question that called for Eva to answer. Sighing, she sped up a little so she wouldn't have to talk as loud for her to hear.

"I'm here as well," she explained quietly. "My name's Eva. I'm here to help." For now, that explanation would have to suffice--the whole crew would get the gruesome details soon enough anyway. Before long, they'd reached the medical bay, and Eva stepped in front of them. Clearly, Hollie was blind, so despite the fighting spirit she seemed to possess, it would be a bad idea for her to go in first. As for Sam, he didn't seem keen to use the gun if he could help it.

The door just so happened to be open slightly, and so she peered through the crack and into the room. Just as Julia had told her, the shifter T.E.M.P. and the shifter Sean were there, playing with the medical equipment and murmuring to each other. When her eyes fell on her brother's body, set haphazardly on one of the cots, she looked sharply away. She'd deal later.

"All right," she mumbled, looking back and Sam and Hollie. "They already know me--there's a chance they might trust me for a moment, seeing as they won't realize how odd it is that I'm on board right away. That'll give me a chance to gank the one who killed Sean, and then I'll distract T.E.M.P. while you two figure out how to flush it from the system."

After a pause, she turned to Hollie and asked, "Will you be able to use the computer in here to figure out where the shifter masquerading as Julia is?"

[somerandomhippie3]

Tuning her headphones in and out, Julia finally managed to find a good frequency without too much static. Things never really changed that much, it seems. Watching over the screens, her eyes followed the group they passed from one screen to another, stopping to pick Holly up on the way. She smiled a little as she watched. Ah, spirit.

"You're right on the edge of the camera, so be careful," she warned Eva. "If something happens, I can't tell right away. Oh, and I'm in the kitchen, so there's only one." She paused, and tuned everything up. "Hollie dearest, sorry to keep pestering, but the holos. Can you hook them up to the first bunker? Give me a nice map to play with? I'm a little bored as it is." Man, was she feeling useless.

[Sam O'Connor]

Sam had heard what Julia had said over his own comms, which he had remembered to turn on once they were out of the room; it wouldn't have been very helpful otherwise. The 'breaker, breaker, rubber ducky' comment had made him want to laugh, but he would keep focused and serious, for the time being at least. Too much was at stake to be joking around over the comms. Witty banter could wait.

He had purposefully not answered Hollie's question this time, letting Eva do it instead. The woman was a human lie detector, what with being blind and her hearing making up for that, so she'd be able to sniff out his babbling and nervousness in an instant. Eva on the other hand, kept it short and simple. "All right," Hollie accepted, figuring it probably wasn't the best idea to pick over the information she was given while she was being dragged around the corridors at high speeds by a beam pole with legs. She trusted Sam, if he was hanging around with this woman, then she must be okay.

Eva stepped in front as Sam gently brought Hollie to a halt, keeping a tight hold of her hand. He noticed her reaction to Sean's body, and grimaced for her. This wasn't going to be easy, for any of them. "Okay," he nodded, that was probably the best plan. Not that he wanted to see anything else killed today, but it was all they could do really. "I'll get Hollie to the computer terminal and protect her there, just in case something goes wrong." He was fully capable of defending them, even if he didn't use the gun he'd been given.

Hollie was quickly processing all the questions and information that was thrown at her, making a mental list of stuff to do, in what order, and how quickly. "Locate bunker and hook ship's bioscan system there, then remove a lifeform from the computer system, got it." This was completely bat-shit crazy, but if she could pull it off, then she deserved one hell of a lot of kudos, among other things.

"There's another entrance round the corner," Sam told Eva, "I'll take Hollie in that way while you deal with the others." With a quick nod, he pulled Hollie away, coming up on the door. "Sorry about all this," he said quietly to her, feeling like it was her fault from dragging her into this mess. But they really needed her help. Once they were inside, they skulked over to one of the computer terminals on the far side of the room, and he sat Hollie down, standing watch as she began tapping furiously at the screen, her hands moving like a blur.

Jiving her comms with the computer so she could hear the feedback from her movements was simple enough, then she busied herself with sorting out the bioscan. "Okay," she said over her comms to Julia, "you should have complete access to the system now, and can track the shifter's whereabouts. I'd imagine they have different biosignatures to the humans on board, try body temperature and other attributes until you find one that distinguishes them from the others." Wrestling shifter T.E.M.P. from the system was going to take a little longer.

"Uhh," Sam piped up quickly, more to Julia than everyone else, "if my signature reads a little different to everyone else's ignore it. Part Ilosian, we're a little warmer than the average human." Apart from the officers who had read his file, no one knew that he was half alien. Hollie raised her eyebrow at him slightly but continued. She wouldn't judge, she was different too, after all.

((Sorry for the length of this post xD Replying for two people.))