Beruut, who hadn't stopped tending to Falkris glanced at Kala as she argued against taking any samples, before returning his gaze to his patient.<span style="color: yellowgreen">Do not over think these machines. From the feeds I saw, although unusual and observably technologically advanced, these creatures remain primitive in nature. This ship, however, has a highly sophisticated and advantage cyber warfare and countermeasure  suite. Your fears are unfounded.</span><br/><br/>When Kala begrudgingly responded that signal dampeners should be used, again Beruut glanced at her.<span style="color: yellowgreen">Precisely why they need to be examined. We must understand our adversary, if for no other reason to than to kill it more efficiently. And you have nothing to fear of contagion.</span>He lifted a vial of something to the light, looking at the liquid within before loading it into an injector.<span style="color: yellowgreen">I have handled more deadly viruses and pathogens in my schooling than most of you humans are aware of in your lifetime.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: yellowgreen">Falkris, please inhale slowly.</span>He said to the Turian. The commander did as ordered, coughing and wincing as his chest rose slowly as his lungs inflated with difficulty. Beruut watched carefully, omni-tool scanning his the laceration on his chest.<span style="color: yellowgreen">Hm, you'll live. I'll need to set your ribs and carapace, but it shouldn't be long.</span>The doctor looked at his other injuries and pursed his thin lips.<span style="color: yellowgreen">I must concur with Shira'Va Vas Acheron. Sustaining these injuries could have killed you easily enough. Your not as young as you used to be.</span><br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Everyone boarding the elevator went through decontamination before the elevator took them to their respective floor. Ashana, with a great deal of effort, pulled herself to her feet. She held onto the crawler for support while she tried to regain stability on her exhausted legs. After a moment, though, she was walking, slowly, back to the elevator.<br/><br/>Cantenelli, Firas, and Sorv remained in the cargo bay to help collect and destroy the remaining husk fragments, most of which still flopped and twisted with a ghostly remnant of life. Firas kneeled down in front of a most intact husk body, who's head had been removed in a flurry of point blank gunfire, while its torso was riddled with holes. He waved Sorv over to help him move it.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">Sorv,</span>Firas began in a whisper to keep their conversation private.<span style="color: blue">What happened down there... at the doors.</span>He grabbed the husks arms which jerked in reaction, its two remaining fingers clawing at the air. Firas made a point to avoid its grasp.<br/><br/>Sorv was quiet for a moment as he grabbed its remaining leg.<span style="color: darkorange">I'm not sure.</span>He muttered back as they lifted it.<br/><br/><span style="color: blue">You're not sure?</span>Firas repeated, in blunt disbelief.<br/><br/><span style="color: darkorange">I don't remember, exactly. From when I got to the doors and called you over to when I was running out of them... it's hazy.</span>Sorv said, as disturbed and confused as Firas was. The Turian watched him closely, but didn't press the issue. The two dropped the husk in the growing pile of limbs. One of the crewman arrived with a flamer unit to begin burning away the blue sludge that the husks had spewed like blood when injured.<br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Ashana held the helmet loosely in her hand, staring straight ahead in the elevator as the voice inside repeated, "Decontamination in progress." She closed her eyes every time the wall of blue light passed over her, a reflex that she was too tired to override. The brief hissing of the blue substance that had spattered her armor as the light came in contact with it was an inconsequential comfort.<br/><br/>When the elevator had finished decontamination and cleared her, it rose steadily to the crew deck and opened. She took a step out and stopped in the hall. She looked right, to the door leading into her quarters, but instead went left. The door to the shower opened and she stepped inside,dropping her helmet in the hall.<br/><br/>It took an immense amount of effort to remove the EVA suit. She was beyond exhausted, her every muscle over taxed, and the layer of sweat that had formed did not make the task easier. She had to tug her arms out of the sleeves and shimmy her hips to push the suit down the swell of her ass. She finally managed to tug the boots off and left the suit there on the floor beside her helmet. She walked into the showers utterly naked, and braced herself against the wall under one of the shower heads before keying it on.<br/><br/>It was a blast of cold water on her blue skin that made her gasp and tense. She leaned on the hand against the wall, closing her eyes with her head down, the shock of the cold hit her, raining down her body, the muscles of her back, the swell of her breasts, her smooth toned abdomen, down her legs, rolling of her ass and between her thighs. She stared down at the now wet floor, past her breasts and her stiffening nipples.  Her breath was caught in her chest by the cold shock. After a few moments the water began to warm, the pipes running to the shower heating as the warm water ran through them. Her vision blurred and she closed her eyes, feeling the warm water run across her, felt the warmth soak into her body, lull it into relaxation. She leaned against the wall, hear head resting against it while she felt the water, and nothing else mattered to her. Not the artifact or Cerberus, not the dig site or the husks. It was all a distant memory now beneath the cascade.<br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>Beruut's work on Falkris went on until Milenya arrived with the samples. He looked back, then nodded to the tech lab.<span style="color: yellowgreen">Ah, good. Anywhere will do. Small containment units in technology lab. Should be easy to establish fail safe decontamination measures.</span><br/><br/><br/>***<br/><br/><br/>On the bridge Mickey was busy uploading a warning message to the comm buoy, and erasing their ship from its registry. The armory was empty, even more so than usual with most of the M-8 Avengers missing from the racks. The pull of rack that the EVA suits had been in was left open, five of the suits still neatly set and awaiting use.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>