crossing_lostrp | [Daniel] The Unpleasant Announcement

Daniel's reasoning made sense, but it still stuck in May's craw. Sure, they were support staff, sure, they were following orders, but from what she'd heard, some of them seemed to enjoy the suffering of their prisoners. Orders or not, fear of DHARMA or not, they'd had a choice.

(Alison had a choice, too. That's why I'm alive. And I don't think even DHARMA is scarier than Osborn.)

After a moment, she raised her hand. Yeah, it was completely grade-school, but with the murmuring going on it was probably better not to just jump in. "So what are we going to do with them, then? They might be support staff, but we're not just going to let them out around here, turn our backs and assume they'll be out of our hair?"

No one had told May about the last person they'd exiled from camp and what had really happened to her. She probably wouldn't have brought that up if she knew.

The expression on Aiden's face said it all. She thought Daniel had lost his fricken mind, if he'd ever had one. She sighed and tried to tamp down her anger, what wasn't glazed over with shock.

"Do you have any idea what that'll cost us? They'll know that we know, we lost any element of suprise we had. And for what? Do you honestly think they'll care they we let these people go? That they'll see our compassion and humanity and stop kidnapping and torturing us? People with the kind of power and lack of respect for life don't just stop all of a sudden. They esclate and you wanna give them back the added numbers?!" she shook her head in disbelief. Then she sighed.

"I appericiate that you're not the kind of man who wants to be the one to flip the switch...but regardless of the respect people have for you you don't run this island alone. This isn't your sole decision to make."

There he sat, a cup of coffee in hand as he watched, and listened to the announcement, his back straight against the chair. As the complaints began, all he could think of was the amount of work he could be doing, should be doing. Still, old habits die hard, and the scientist wanted to be present, as much as he didn't. He knew the value of meetings even if they meant taking minutes from that which required his full attention. How many times had he said 'I should be in that meeting', knowing full well the answer somehow would require some effort on his part.

There was another reason he was there, certainly. There for Dr. Jackson, for moral support, as it were. No one gets left behind. That's what they say... and he'd learned that it was actually true. Stretch that to mean a united front (any disagreements to be had with Dr. Jackson would be had behind closed doors-- yet another pip in the pro-column for the sleeping arrangements), though he was more than happy to establish that he was nobody's lackey.

Rodney's tones sound almost on the bored side, or that could be more... self-assured? "Oh, don't tell me you've never let the small fish go to get the bigger ones, detective? I got all my sleuthing knowledge from watching reruns of 'Law and Order', and even I know that." Oldest trick in the book, honestly. Atleast in the television transcript archives. "You know... we let them go, they go running home. Might even drop the shields so we can get out of here. You can't tell me that hasn't even occurred to you?"

Aiden pursed her lips.

"Of course, be we aren't in a place we can exactly call for back up. We have to assume we're out numbered. And you're talking about 'fish' singular. Daniel is talking about letting the whole damn catch go."

"I thought 'fish' was also plural?"
McKay looked at Daniel for a little input there, but it was only a glance. "And he said just the support staff. The ones that didn't know anything about whatever anyway. So, you're in favour of them drinking all our coffee, because I'm not." The scientist needed his coffee... an established fact of life. Caffeine coursed through the man's body.

Leaning against the wall to the right of the door, Raelle merely listened to the hubbub. The clicking of the cane alerted her to House's approach before he ever breeched the door. She arched a brow at his words. Huhn. Another arrogant, petty, bad-with-people Earther doctor. What a surprise...

If there weren't so many strangers around her, she'd probably grin. As it is, the most hint she offers of her amusement is the slightest tightening to her eyes that adds a faint glint to their dark brown depths.

Slowly, however, her lips pursed just a little. "Doctor Jackson?" Her voice was not loud, but it was pitched to carry. Her tone remained characteristically calm and reasonable. "Would it be helpful if Doctor McKay and I switched our priorities to fixing the transporter beam from the Dart? If these people are likely to provide a security risk—" and it seemed most everyone else thought they did— "they could be quite safely kept in the buffer for a time." She'd not want to keep them there indefinitely, mind, but it could be an interim solution.

George had listened silently, standing in the corner with her arms crossed. She didn't really give a damn what happened to the bad guys as long as they couldn't hurt Daisy or anybody else again. Not that she thought they'd voluntarily get within arm's reach of Daisy again.

By all accounts her rampage through the staff had put the fear of god in 'em. Or the fear of Daisy, anyhow. But now the conversation had taken a turn she didn't follow.

"Uh...what the hell are you talking about? Stasis?"

"Are you--are you talking about saving them in a computer file?"

Aiden huffed at McKay and his squabbing over semantics.

"Weather or not they know anything is not the point, they're still accessories to kidnapping and aggravated assault. Crimes they need to be held accountable for." She huffed again and crossed her arms over her chest.

"No, I'm saying...letting them go is not a good option. If your worried about running out of supplies then we need to find out where they were getting theirs. They have to be getting them from off the island we just have to figure out how we can get back in touch with the real world and let the authorities handle our prisoners."

Daniel removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. He counted slowly to ten before looking up at Aiden. House, he effectively acknowledged and dismissed. "Aiden, it should be blatantly clear to you and everyone else here that these people are above the law. The fact that they have technology that they shouldn't and information that they shouldn't all points to an organization that works outside of the law. These sorts of people don't get hauled into the precinct and questioned. They conveniently disappear and the cops and detectives who ask about them either develop really bad memories or disappear as well.

"And I'm not talking mafia or organized crime. I'm talking about shadow governments and conspiracies within conspiracies, organizations and people that officially don't exist. It may sound like a Hollywood movie, but it isn't. It's real and it's happening right out there in the world that we live in. Trust me, I've dealt with these organizations before and one even went up as high as the Oval Office before it broke. And you never heard a whisper about that, did you? Because you're not meant to, because no one is meant to and no one ever will.

"The only thing that will happen to these people when we get off this island is that either their people will make them disappear or one of those security agencies in the US government that most people like to pretend doesn't exist will. They *will never* get the trial or the hearing that you are holding out for."

"He's right," Damon piped up from where he sat quietly in the corner. Daniel blinked, surprised that he'd missed the man's bright red hair and surprised to see him more than five feet away from Claire and Aaron. "Your theory is great on the beat for the LAPD or the NYPD and your common criminal and drug pusher, but it doesn't work for the really big fish. People like DHARMA don't get punished by beat cops or the local DA. If they get punished at all, it's way above your head and by people who have the power to make you and your entire department disappear in the blinking of an eye.

"Ever heard of the NID? The NSA? The KGB? The Shadow Government? The World Allegiance*? Guess what, they're all real, they all exist and all those things that those 'crazy' conspiracy theorist say about them?" Damon paused and looked challengingly at the other woman, "They're all true. Every. Single. One. Of. Them."

Damon shook his head, "I'm not saying that I agree with letting them waltz off into the sunset, *but* I'm not going to hold onto some Disney Happy-After-Dream of them getting what's coming to them and landing in the slammer."

[OOC: *I made up that one, but figured that it was needed. Weave your own conspiracies about that one if you would.]

OOC: Sounds plausable to me, what does NID stand for again?

IC: Aiden huffed and shook her head, not sure what to believe. Her best friend had always been the conspiricy theory nut. But the idea that he could be right....

"Fine. Whatever. But we're not just letting them go. Why don't we try them here?"

"Yes, and we can't forget Area 51 and their little grey aliens, now, can we just get back to the topic. They're not going to stand in front of some tribunal, and-and-and..." The scientist's tones were dismissive, though the look in his eyes, well... no. He knew about everything Daniel was talking about, and as far as NID? Ha. Try aliens infiltrating the Trust. As the anthropologist said... up to the Oval Office.

Rodney looked up and over towards Raelle, his expression searching. It'd take some time to set it up, make sure everything was right, but it could be done. Temporary, certainly, but out of sight meant out of mind. And, truthfully, the last thing he wanted was to hear about another march out into the woods. Even /he/ wasn't fooled about that.

"Couple days, tops. Make sure we have a constant power source on it, which, thanks to the Doctor, we have two. Mine... and his."

Ripley tilted her head and decided to add her own two cents in.

"Look at the big picture, people. Even if they don't go somewhere they lower the time bubble, we could always tail them and find out where the bigger fish are located. Or how they get there. I'm almost back to full form. I could do it. If we know where their bolt holes are, we can scout it out, maybe hit them by suprise at a later date. This isn't about justice, or even revenge. This is war, and it's survival."

Aiden turned an smiled at Ripley. Now her I like.

"Now that sounds like a plan. I say we let one of them go, it only takes one to deliever a message that were gonna keep, and subsequently put the others in front of a firing squad." she suggested.

"Wether or not they'll care is unimportant, but let them know we're capeable." She shared with the group. Then she looked back at Ripley and tried to send her an 'I'm coming too.' look.

((OOC: Hey, is what Aiden just learned about the Others (http://community.livejournal.com/crossing_lostrp/109281.html?thread=3597537#t3597537) going to play into her reasoning? Or is she discounting that as Ethan lying? And yeah, May's so going to regret saying this, I know. Again: she's sixteen. Reposted to fix a typo. ))

May actually liked Ripley's idea - and wondered suddenly why Daniel hadn't thought of that.

Aiden's suggestion of a firing squad brought that line of thought up short, though. "Wait a second, Detective -" (Use the title, just the title, you keep remembering her name wrong and you don't want to screw it up now,) "- how did we go from trying them here to putting them in front of the firing squad? You're kidding, right?"

That invited a Look of Death from the cop, and May pressed on before Aiden could add audio to the visual. "I don't have any sympathy for these guys. Following orders or not, they had a choice, and letting them walk free just like that is nuts." (I really hope you've got something else in mind,) she thought, glancing at Daniel hopefully. "If DHARMA doesn't care about these guys, wouldn't they just totally ignore the message? You can't get rid of roaches unless you find their nest, they'll just keep coming otherwise."

"Oh, this is fun, let's hear the topless teeny-bopper discuss tactics," House commented from the corner, making a show of leering at her. "You got a game plan yourself, or are you going to poke holes in everyone else's?"

"On second thought," May said, "I vote we lock them in a room with him for an hour."

OOC: She's doesn't trust him. But she will consider it as a possibility.

IC: Aiden laughed at May's suggestion to put the prisoners in with House. "Now there's an idea." she said, casting a teasing look to House.

"Look," she turned back to May "I didn't say we would shoot them," Though we could "just that we would claim we're going to. And yes, they probably wouldn't care. But they would know that we're playing by our own rules."

"Didn't I just say that?"

McKay looked around with a theatrically puzzled expression on his face. "I could have sworn I'd just said that. We let them go, they lead us to the things we want." He rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat, shaking his head. "Actually, I'm not sure anyone actually asked Dr. Jackson before they jumped all over him."

He cast a glance over towards the beleaguered anthropologist. It would be a whole lot easier if... Ah well. No sense going down that road. It's just them.

"And yes. We can store the really bad guys a computer, if that makes it easier for you to understand." The scientist had quite a few other options than out and out killing people, or putting them in front of a kangaroo court, regardless of the crime.

Dr. House pulled his head back, the smirk remaining, though it held far less humour than it had when he'd arrived. It sounded like a social experiment gone horribly wrong, and he didn't really want to be part of it. Here's hoping the 'right' decision is made, whatever it was. Granted, it was remarkable what man could do; did it come as a surprise? No. The Milgram Experiment.

May received a put-upon eye-roll before leaning against the threshold, both hands on the cane. There was little desire to enter the room fully, and should he want to leave, he didn't have to trip over the mass assembled.

"Before you all go damning the little people, I have story that every university student gets in Psychology 101. It's called 'The Milgram Experiment'. Take two rooms. Add one 'victim' in a chair, hooked up to wires. The other room is the 'control room'. Add money and the assurances that the experiment must go on, and you have people off the street more than willing to run a good wattage through the victim, complete with the shrieks of pain... even after upping the experiment and making the operator be in the same room."

Daniel was grateful for McKay's support, but he wasn't about to justify himself. This meeting was only an effort to go through the motions anyway; the decision had been made. He was pretty sure that with the announcement of releasing the prisoners that McKay and Raelle had likely figured out what the homing beacon he asked for was for. It would provide a quick and easy way to track their target – and DHARMA's source. One that didn't have to risk any more of his people.

What annoyed him was that no one seemed to get it. It didn't matter if they kept the prisoners or let them go; they didn't know anything that DHARMA didn't know. The prisoners weren't a danger to them; DHARMA would come back and try to take the bunker eventually if they released the prisoners or not – and the prisoners themselves were trapped as much as the castaways were. Yes, they had been compliant, but complaining was one thing; Daniel doubted anyone here had the courage or guts to carry out a sentence on them.

(And I want DHARMA to think we are that weak and lenient and forgiving.)

Unfortunately, he couldn't say any of that to the room at large. Along with DHARMA thinking that he was that much of a bleeding heart – (and once upon a time, I was so it has credibility) – the prisoners had to think so; and to be certain that it didn't get back to DHARMA that went double for most of the castaways.

(When did I start playing cloak and dagger?)

"I'm not going to sit for a kangaroo court. We have the people in charge, those who gave the orders, even if they didn't pull the triggers. We don't need to keep the rest of them. They can't give us any information, and they can't endanger us by giving the enemy information.

"But, in deference to the objections, that I've noted, we'll store them in the buffer. How long can they be held there, Rodney?"

Later, Daniel would take Rodney aside and inform him that there was to be a little mishap with the storing in the buffer: he wanted half of those prisoners free, more than half of them if at all possible.

See, remarkably, Rodney *got* it. He understood immediately, but he was in no position to announce the making of the homing beacons. Nope, that was Jackson's job, and if he wanted to announce it, sure. He was quite happy in the role of support, as long as he was recognized for it. Not hard. A pat on the back, a 'Thanks, Rodney', and he would be good.

When attention swings back around to him, he straightens in his chair and looks around the room briefly before bringing his attention back to the anthropologist. "In the buffer? Um... I don't know. We've never tried it, really. I have no idea how long it would take before the lifesigns began to degrade. It's not meant to be a long term storage, per se. Buffers are designed to be fluid, to be rewritten, not to hold information for periods of time. It'd be like-like... sending something to memory, then holding it there for days. The system will begin failing after a time."

McKay held up a finger to forestall any interruptions before he continued. "Now, we can put them into longer term storage, in... for lack of a better description for those assembled, a hard drive."

Easy enough to orchestrate the 'mishap'... and the seeds are sown.

"And according to the Stanford Prison Experiment if we screw with them enough we can make them our bitches." she mouths off to House. She likes House. Likes that if she has a bad day she can take it out on him and not feel guilty about it.

*click*
*click*
*click*

It was the unmistakeable sound of a cane hitting the ground in regular cadence. Dr. Gregory House, while a shadow most of the time, comes out into the sun on occasion. There wasn't much, truthfully, that occupied his time, and as a result, he spent a great deal of it alone. A baby, his mother... Man has been doing that sort of things for tens of thousands of years. Short of a medical emergency, mother is best with child, and vice versa.

Something, however, brought him out.

House stopped at the doorway and looked within, leaning on his cane. He had a decided smirk on his face as he took notice of people and the beginnings of raging emotion. Challenges, cross-attacks. This was the stuff of life, or rather... the perfect cure, if only fleeting, for boredom. Taking a dramatic draw of breath, the action caused him to lean back ever so slightly. Don't want to go too far.

"Ah... I smell a good fight. Did I miss anything? I hate being late for these things. Why work if you can't afford ring-side seats, right?"

Rose sat there, tense. Hell, she never let the Doctor get away his crap without stating her mind, she wasn't about to back down for Daniel Jackson.

She stood up. "Anyone think to ask us about this? The ones who were here, bein' held down, injected with stuff, tortured... they damn near raped Daisy. If the new girl's suggestion would work, I'm all for keepin' 'em in stasis or somethin' forever if we 'ave to."

Rose looked around for support. She wished the Doctor wasn't in the medical lab right now.

Or did he do that on purpose. He was tacitly backing Daniel as leader from the start. If he disagreed with Dr. Jackson, he wasn't going to argue it out in a big meeting. No, that wasn't like him. He'd argue with anyone and to hell with anyone who disagreed. Maybe he agreed with Daniel and didn't want to argue with her about it. Damn it. That she could see him doing.

Ami shuddered at Rose's outburst, and wished that she felt her friend's conviction. She squeezed Scott's hand and said in a tremolous voice, "I don't really care what happens to them. Throw them out, keep them, but ... as long as I don't have to ever see them again, I'm good with that."

"So, then we keep them in stasis, then, yeah?" Rose asked.

Ami shrugged. "As long as I don't have to ever see them, I don't really care one way or another what happens to them." Truthfully, the further away from the bunker they were, the happier she would be. She already slept easier knowing a good mile separated her from Ethan and Sakai.

Aiden look to Rose and Ami. She felt suddenly guily. So filled with anger her focus had been on punishing the bad guys, not healing the wounded. Doctors could only heal physical wounds she knew. She wish she didn't.

"They won't hurt you again. I promise you that."

Rose knew she wasn't going to get anywhere. Not really. It was obvious that minds were made up. And if the Doctor had absented himself... he had to agree with the descision. He was backing Daniel but bowing out for her sake. He was the bravest man she ever met, but a coward when emotional stuff got a bit tricky.

She heard Aiden's reassurances. That wasn't it. She was a little afraid of being hurt again, but she chose to travel, she'd been locked up and interrogated before, faced death. Although never actually been through as much pain, or used as a medical experiment. No, she just thought it was wrong to let criminals go free, AND to have them return to bite them in the ass. They might not offer any further information to their bosses, but Ripley was right... this was war. They were more bodies on the opposing side able to come at them with weapons.

She spotted Jack behind her, leaning against a counter in the kitchen, a cup of coffee in hand.

She looked at him, silently pleading for him to help her make them see reason. But he shook his head. He didn't avert his eyes or seem guilty about it. So he was backing this decision as well. Least he wasn't a coward about it.

She sat down with a huff, feeling another headache gathering behind her eyes. Great, a migraine. She never had them before. They were a byproduct of the shit done to her.

"I hate this damn island." She muttered.

She was assaulted by images of what could happen. The prisoners returning to their camp, their trackers getting captured as they were anticipated, the trackers not being captured and returning with news, an attack on this bunker, and attack on the enemy camp, deaths, blood, whose was unclear, no descision seemed fully right. Hundreds of permutations of possible futures roared into her mind. No one standing out as more likely just yet.

She felt sick, and suddently the light in the room was more than blinding, it was agony.

((OOC: Cut short because I need to get moving. Feel free to pick up.))

Okay, something was up here, May was sure of it. Useless or not, just letting the prisoners walk away (as opposed to dropping them off elsewhere in the jungle or tracking them) just didn't make sense, and Dr. Jackson had to realize that. But if he did, he wasn't telling, and the bickering was getting annoying.

She turned her attention to the others in the room as Rose sat down in a nearby chair with a huff, holding a hand to the bridge of her nose. May looked at her with sympathy, thinking the arguing was probably giving her a headache too.

But then Rose suddenly doubled over, squeezing her eyes shut and toppling to one side. May jumped up, barely managing to catch her before she hit the floor.

As the bickering grew, Ami focused her full attention on Daniel. Normally the man was hard to read, his shields were stronger than most and when she focused on him, she received an image of glittering water or a bright white aura. Not so today. Today his emotions and thoughts blared brightly and loudly, and when she focused on him, it was hard not to pick up on what he was thinking and feeling.

He had a plan. After all this time under his leadership, one would think that her fellow castaways would realize that - but they didn't. Apparently a few did, like Jack Harkness and Jon Murphy, but everyone else wanted to argue and debate. Even Megabyte recognized that Daniel hadn't gone off the deep end.

Normally in her state, Ami wouldn't have skimmed the surface, allowing the thoughts to roll off of her, but Daniel was broadcasting so much that all she had to do was focus on him and she knew what the plan was. He was planning to use DHARMA's own arrogance against them.

Ami gave Scott a mental nudge to get his attention, noting that her husband had been oddly silent for the whole meeting. Part of it was simply Daniel's presence, but she wondered what he was making of the man's announcement. /Daniel knows what he's doing, love,/ Ami told him. /Now, shield yourself for what I'm going to do next./

That earned a bit of curiosity from him. /What are you -/

She gave his hand another squeeze. /It's important, trust me and I'll tell you later./

Scott sent a pulse of compliance and understanding and she sensed her awareness of him dwindle. After giving the same order to Megabyte, Ami dropped her shields as much as she could and focused on the whole room. Concentrating and putting as much understanding and support behind the words, she empathically projected, /Trust Daniel./

Ami was only hoping it was enough when Rose toppled next to her, barely being saved in time by May.

(Please let that be a coincidence!)

Ami turned immediately, joining May beside Rose. That was a mistake. Touching Rose, focusing on Rose unshielded was like being hit with the force of an ancient, powerful mind. Recoiling, Ami slammed down her shields protectively and withdrew with a startled and alarmed gasp.

[OOC: Ami is not trying to brainwash anyone into doing anything. She's simply applying encouragement. Also, purplerhino, I'm playing this like Rose is having another attack of 'Bad Wolf.' If I'm wrong let me know.]

Scott had deliberately kept quiet during the debate. Most of it was pointless. Despite how wrong it seemed to let the "staff" go, it made sense. Ripley could follow them if she wanted. The bunker would be attacked no matter what was decided here. Too many of the DHARMA people had escaped. Strategy wasn't Scott's forte, and he was too emotionally invested in the prisoners because of what the bastards had done to the women to trust his own conclusions. So he simply listened and kept an eye on Ami's physical well-being.

The mention of this "buffer" that could hold people(!) was also a welcome distraction. (I'll have to see if I can tolerate McKay enough to convince him to let me help work on the thing.) Ami must have overheard the thought, because she grinned and squeezed his hand.

Ami's warning and the following empathic projection were a surprise. Then Rose collapsed, and Ami touched her and recoiled. Despite their narrowed link, Scott felt a psychic slap in the face as well. Shaking his head and wiping tears from his eyes, he wrapped one arm around Ami protectively. "What happened?" He scrutinized Rose's prone form worriedly. /I want to check on her, but... is it safe?/

OOC: While the above makes sense IC, the reality is that I've only just now caught up with this thread. *blush*

"Yes, and if you read the study with modern day application, you'd know that college students were more than happy to be the sadistic bastards as guards. A two week experiment had to stop after only six... count 'em, six days. Detective." The good doctor looked around the room, that unamused smile still painting his unshaved visage. "Kangaroo court, anyone? Or how about right to the firing squad?"

House waved his hand dismissively and began shuffling to go out the door again. He knew what was in the medical files, he'd seen with his own eyes what they'd done. Still, little Indians taking orders from warrior braves and chiefs. Well, more like warrior chickens and chiefs.

"Let me know what you're going to do. I'm going to go check on mother and child."

House didn't make all the way around, however, as he noticed the women in the corner... and Rose effectively collapsing. His manner and mien shift into a more professional mode as he swings around rapidly, the action forcing him to hold on to the door jam briefly to get his balance once more before making his way towards where the girls were sitting.

((OOC: Don't know if Rose is still conscious - I'm assuming it's a Bad Wolf attack too - but I'm keeping it vague. Hence, no mention of standard first aid procedures, which May would know but it depends on how Rose is reacting.))

May noticed Ami's distress, but only peripherally; she was too focused on Rose and keeping the other woman from hitting her head on the floor. Since Rose had been more than halfway out of the chair by the time May had caught her, she opted to ease Rose down to the floor, running through the immediate first aid steps she knew. "Rose? Can you hear me?"

"Move, people!"

She looked up as House approached, suddenly all business. He'd switched from snark to serious in under a second. Well, he was a doctor, and if he knew what he was doing it didn't matter if he was a jerk.

Know your ABCs. Kindergarten teachers sang the song in their classroom, and the medical profession easily and happily co-opted it. Airway, Breathing, Circulation. Take care of those, and the rest, well, was up to the professionals... in the best case scenario.

"Move.. let me through..." House had read this one's file, most definately. There was stuff going on in there that he'd only read about in the random sheets coming from K. Erik Drexler's office out in Washington in the late '90s. 'Unbounding the future', he'd written. Nanotechnology is on the horizon, he'd said. No one could have dreamed this up...

"Rose..." The doctor 'in residence' glanced at Ami, at her startle, and groaned inwardly, casting a more meaningful look at Scott and muttered under his breath, "Take care of her please." He doesn't need an infirmary filled again, thankyouverymuch.

"Rose... can you hear me." Certainly no question, not with the inflection he's got. Fingers go directly to the neck to check the pulse. Something's got her rate up, and at this point, he's got to crosscheck his times in the chart of these attacks. "I need to get her out of here..."

Wiping at his mouth in frustration, he'd have been able to do it himself before the shooting. Now? He didn't care what anyone'd said. He had damage, it had maimed him, and with it, the commensurate pain. Can't carry a usually healthy woman while fighting with a cane, much less barely managed pain. "Anyone volunteering?"

Blaise moved in beside Dr. House, none too gently pushing his way through some of the gawkers. He knelt and slid his arms beneath Rose, surprised at the heat he could feel coming off her skin. He gathered himself and picked her up.

"Make way, people!" he called. "Your lab, I assume?" he said over his shoulder to House, and already ignoring whatever snarky retort House was certain to make.

"Somebody get the doors for me," he added, heading for the nearest one.

Grateful for Blaise's intervention, May was up like a shot, nimbly ducking the crowd to get to the door and hold it open for Blaise and House to get Rose safely to the infirmary.

"Where's the Doctor?" she asked Blaise as he carried Rose out into the hallway. "I can go get him."

Nooo... in this case, snark was not high on the list of House's things to do. Let Rose get comfortable, get her restabilized, then talk snark. Until then... "Yes. On the bed, shoes and socks off, shirt loosened." Nothing constricting.

House rose slowly and painfully, making sure that the sergeant had the young woman completely, putting what was probably an ineffectual arm under in the attempt to support just in case. It was more a 'just in case', and one that he knew wasn't really necessary. Still, it was what it was.

With a violent shake of his own head in the aftermath of his burst of speed in a vain attempt to get a grip, the medico on call began the slow path from the room, his hand rising in a dismissive wave, his voice called out as he left the meeting. "Carry on, carry on... don't mind us."

Jack had gone through military training, and the four years of academy required for the Time Agency. He knew tactics, and he knew about crowds and group mentality. Ripley was right, this was war. Daniel was making a sound military decision. He rather hoped the man had a way of implanting tracking devices. It would make the idea all the better. Besides, he wasn't advocating letting the real monsters go.

That Rom guy should never get out to play his twisted little mind games.

Rose was angry, defiant and disappointed. But she was a smart girl and would see the sense in this given some time. Besides, it was very personal to her. She needed time to cool off and think without her gut reaction being involved. He met her glare unflinching. Because he had faith she'd come around, and because his own conviction was as strong.

Things moved forward a bit more when Rose went down.

People crowded, they always did. Wheather it was a need to try and 'do something' or out of train wreck curiosity, it made getting to Rose damn difficult.

"Let me through." He pushed someone, just a bit, to get in there, but House was already on the case and Blaise, bless him, had Rose in his arms and was heading for the medical lab.

She was having another attack, she could die. May better get the Doctor. How much did House really know about what was happening to Rose? Could he grasp it?

"No. Death is not imminent.” River leaned over and looked at Jack, her brown eyes locking with his blue. His own widened for a fraction of a second before he brushed it off. River continued, "Lost. Find the breadcrumbs home. New pathways, open and flooding. Flooding and drowning. She swallowed up the sun and some of the fire remains. Lets her see as it blinds.”

"Do you know what's happening to her?" Jack spun and took River by the arms. She didn't tense, and he wasn't being rough.

"She's becoming." River half whispered.

"Becoming? Becoming what?" He was feeling rather desperate right now.

"What she was meant to be. Time abhorres a vacuum. There's a balanve, and one of the tools was taken out of the equasion, till only a fragment remains. A loose screw. She will help rebuild. She made herself. And now the wolf is huffing and puffing to make the house of bricks."

"River, honey, you know I like you, right?" Jack smiled.

River beamed at him.

"But you're totally off your nut." He left her there to follow after House.

Ami was shaking off whatever shock she'd gotten from Rose, so Scott guided her out of House, Blaise, and Jack's way. He'd caught some of River's ramblings, as well. Those and the gold motes swimming across Rose's eyes chilled him to the bone. The Doctor needed to know right away.

/Damon!/ Scott 'shouted,' shielding the thought from Ami. The redhead didn't react, so Scott poked him telekinetically. Damon scowled and looked around who'd prodded him. Scott caught his eye and tried again. /DAMON!/

/What?/

/The nanites are active again. Find the Doctor and tell him. There's not much House can do for Rose./

OOC: In case anyone's wondering, Scott's not sure who knows about the nanites, so he's playing it safe.

Scott's words about Rose dismissed any annoyance Damon might have felt from the telepathic shouting and telekinetic prodding. He gave the other man a nod, and hurried from the cafeteria on the heels of House, Blaise and Jack. Realizing that he could make progress a lot faster if he didn't follow behind them, he ducked into the first room they passed.

After a moment of concentration, he fixed on The Doctor's location and teleported directly into the lab.

"Doctor!" Damon announced his presence without any preamble. "The nanites are active again. Rose needs you." All right, so the last probably went without saying, but he wanted to cover all bases.

Rose was vaguely aware of someone catching her, and she was able to crack her eyelids just enough to make out May and Amy, then Scott, but the light was too much as she closed them all the way again.

She couldn't grasp her own thoughts. Percentages, variables, equations working through the probabilities she'd seen, narrowing down the most likely. It hurt.

"M' head. It's math, and possibilities and... it's killin' me." She managed to half whisper.

Someone was carrying her, but she didn't know who, or much care. It felt like her ears should be bleeding. She felt cold tears slide from her eyes to her hairline.

She half opened her eyes, trying to get her bearings. The lights overhead were blindingly bright. In her brown eyes, speks of glowing gold flickered, tiny dustmotes of light.

"I think... I need... a doctor."

This is not Bad Wolf. This is the affects of what Bad Wolf and the nanogenes have been doing. New neural pathways have opened up allowing her to see possible timelines, probable outcomes. Not like a person considering the future, but actually seeing things unfold based on certain variables. Much like a ... well... a Gallifreyan. But she doesn't know how to control it or suppress it.

For the sake of game play, this also triggered a sudden burst of nanogene activity as well.

Hey, Rodney, been working on those nanogenes at all? LOL.

((OOC: Gah! Almost double posted again! I'm just guessing on where the heck the Doctor is.))

She was already running before Rose spoke, once Blaise's shrug indicated he didn't know where the Doctor was. Fine, she'd just have to check everywhere.

May dashed down the halls, checking in doors for the Doctor. Laundry? No. Control room? Of course not, he'd see it on the monitors.

Oh. Of course.

The lab door was, predictably, closed. May knocked on the door before opening it. "Doctor? Are you in here? Rose just collapsed!"

It was Rodney who had suggested an EMP. But the trouble with those were it was damn hard to set off a small, localised one. He was willing to shut down everything electronic in a quarter mile if he had to with Rose's humanity, if not her life on the line. But it was only a temporary measure. They still needed to extract the little bu...

Recalibrating the sonic screwdriver wasn't usually that hard. Unless you had substandard supplies and tools, of course.

Damon's appearance didn't so much as make the Doctor flinch/. He just looked up at him expectantly. After all he wouldn't teleport without good reason. The last time he had...

"Doctor!" Damon announced his presence without any preamble. "The nanites are active again. Rose needs you."

Right. Looks like Damon had been elected doomsayer.

Ignoring the clenching he felt in the vecinity of both his hearts the Doctor snapped the casing back onto his favorite tool and gestured to the door. "No one's seen Pierson since this morning. Best get House then..."

Damon cut him off, "He's already got her, heading for the medical lab."

He was efficient, and possibly talented. Too bad he was an ass and an adict as well. "Then we'll need Rodney as well. Hopefully we can go something to stop this once they're done this round."

The Doctor heard a knock at the door as he reached for the handel. "Doctor? Are you in here? Rose just collapsed!"

He opened the door, revealing himself and Damon. "So I heard. Thanks. Someone get Rodney. He can be helpful when it comes to this."

Will delete the below comment if it's contradictory.

((OOC: Coming from here (http://community.livejournal.com/crossing_lostrp/111632.html?thread=3619856#t3619856) and here (http://community.livejournal.com/crossing_lostrp/111632.html?thread=3622672#t3622672). Re-threaded to make this less confusing.))

Fortunately, the Doctor was in there, and already heading for the door as she opened it. May jumped back to allow him to pass, with Damon right behind him.

Damon.

Who was in the kitchen when she left.

Wait a minute.

"Hey--" she began, but the two men were already running down the hallway.

She stood there for a second, blinking. Had she been mistaken? Even with a couple stops to check rooms, he couldn't have beaten her there without her noticing. Confused, May took a second to stick her head into the lab, glancing around for any sign of secret doors or anything that looked remotely like a transporter pad. Nothing.

After a moment's thought, she decided that she didn't want to know and hurried after them.

Rose's collapse provided an excuse for Daniel to break up the meeting. He'd said what he wanted to say, planted the seeds and hopefully it would trickle down to the DHARMA little people.

Watching House scurrying to help also brought another thought to mind and Daniel cast his gaze around the cafeteria. He hadn't seen Dr. Pierson since the day before yesterday. It took a moment to recall that the man had been curious about the Wraith darts and had said he'd head off to the beach to get started on one of them - without McKay hovering over his shoulder.

Not that Pierson would be more use to Rose than House; she needed The Doctor.

"Has anyone seen the Doctor?" Daniel asked the room in general.

"Damon went to get him," Scott supplied. The hesistancy in Scott's voice wouldn't have been noticeable to anyone who wasn't listening for it.

(I'm really going to need to talk to him,) Daniel noted as he nodded in acknowledgment of the man's words and his gaze slid past Scott to connect with Jon's. Jon was giving him a look that echoed Daniel's thoughts.

One step at a time.

Don't wait on me.
House is gone, I'm good with Rodney being told
off-camera to hit the OR/lab. :)

Scott didn't like the implications of the look Jon and Daniel exchanged. "The talk" was coming. Scott took some solace in the fact that he could empathically steer the conversation in another direction or simply avoid the men if he chose to. He wouldn't be in serious trouble until they got off the island.

Pushing the depressing thoughts aside, Scott peered down at Ami. /I want to see if the Doctor and House need a hand. Do you want to come along, or should I take you back to our room?/

Ami noticed Scott's discomfort as he spoke to Daniel, and she didn't miss the look that Daniel exchanged with Jon. But Scott didn't mention it, so for now she didn't mention it either.

/There's not a whole lot I can do for Rose,/ Ami admitted sadly. She wished that there was something she could do for her friend, but Rose's problems were so far out of her league that it didn't bear contemplating.

/You go on,/ Ami gave his hand a squeeze, sending a pulse of love and affection. /I'll be fine. I think I'll just sit about here for a bit. I don't feel like sitting around in the room right now./

/I don't blame you,/ Scott 'said' with a sympathetic smile. He gave her a quick, light kiss. /Back soon./ Then he strode out of the cafeteria in the direction of the medical lab.

EXIT SCOTT

[Daniel] The Unpleasant Announcement

[Mayday] Say what?

Re: [Aiden] Say what?

[McKay] Yes, he said it...

Re: [Aiden] I say we have a gold fashioned fish fry

[McKay] English lessons?

[Raelle] Huhn.

[George] Say what?

Re: [Aiden] Insane running aslyum?

[Daniel] The Facts of Life

Re: [Aiden] I knew I wouldn't like this.

[McKay]

[Ripley]

Re: [Ripley]

[Mayday] One extreme to the other

Re: [Aiden] Roach on a stick

[McKay] No one asked him?

[House]

[Daniel] Plots within Plots

[McKay] What's not to understand?

Re: [House]

[House] Get ready to RUMBLE!!!

no subject

[Ami] Numb Indifference

Re: [Aiden] I wish I didn't understand

[Rose]

[Mayday]

[Ami]

[Scott]

[House]

[Mayday] Medic?

[House] The doctor is in

[Blaise] Right here!

[Mayday] Right here!

[House] Coming through

[Jack]

[Scott]

[Damon] Getting the Doctor

[Rose]

OOC:

[Mayday]

[Doctor]

OOC

[Mayday] Double take

[Daniel] Class Dismissed

OOC - I'm done. :)

[Scott] *gulp*

[Ami] Staying Behind

[Scott] On my way

[Scott] gulp