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Post by Alkonost Storm on Jan 7, 2014 20:26:50 GMT -8
"Farewell and adieu, to you Spanish Ladies. Farewell and adieu, to you ladies of Spain. For we've received orders for to sail to Old England But we hope very soon we shall see you again..."
She was balanced on one of the masts, gazing out to the endless expanse of blue. After a few more seconds, her singing trailed off into silence and Trivia Acheron made to grab a line and swing down towards the deck.
"Check our bearings, Mr. Camp! How long till we reach our destination?" Captain Trivia Acheron of the Lyra Zephyr called out as she hit the deck, landing perfectly on her feet without so much as a stumble.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Jan 7, 2014 20:58:08 GMT -8
"Should be an hour or two, ma'am," the Equine Merman, Cyprian Camp said, as he looked at the map, "We're making wonderful timing. Adventure and treasure awaits!" He jumped up gleefully, stumbling a bit on his feet. He almost alwas spent his time in the water, with his tail. Legs took a bit of getting used to... as did the pants. Oh Lord did he hate the pants.
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Post by Penny Royals on Jan 7, 2014 20:59:46 GMT -8
"Oi!" A voice from behind the captain called out. Aurel leaned against the mast, having previously been occupied with his nails until she'd jumped down to talk to Cyprian. His arms were crossed, and he looked at her with a sort of mild, curious disdain. "Wot's that song you was singing?"
Hanging off the back of the boat, new-found legs kicking in the sea air, Odessa sat and watched the city disappear behind them. This was all very strange to her, being on a boat - she hadn't even hardly left home before, and now, here she was, off to some foreign parts no one's ever heard of before, a real adventurer! She kept her eyes peeled for other ships, but as of yet, they hadn't passed by any, at least after leaving the harbor. For the most part, however, her eyes stayed fixed on the spires rising from the depths of the ocean, the sun glinting off of their shimmering tops as they disappeared beyond the horizon. To her, it was the most unfamiliar and beautiful sight she'd ever seen, and she was enjoying this - the quietness, the calmness, and being alone.
Vincent's feet ached. It wasn't normal for him to be on his legs for long, and he never realized just how hard it was to keep his balance on a ship - especially if you're a person missing toes and having webbing, since there was nothing to really cling onto. But he was chipper, at least, smiling brightly and watching Cyprian as he worked, and listening to Trivia as she sang - new sights, new sounds, new people to get to know, it was something he'd wanted his whole life.
He was pretty aware when she stopped singing, dropping down close by to him and shouting out to Cyprian before being asked a question by Aurel. He didn't really want to ask, but he was glad the other man did - at least someone else didn't know what song it was, and he wouldn't be the one to look stupid for not knowing. As Cyprian spoke up, he couldn't help but repress a small laugh - it was exciting to see someone with so much unbridled (no pun intended) enthusiasm. He leaned back against the side of the ship, and listened to the rest of the conversation, eyes bright and intrigued.
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Jan 7, 2014 21:19:29 GMT -8
"It's an old sea shanty called Spanish Ladies. And that is Captain to you, Mr. Verne."
She turned towards Cyprian.
"One or two hours. I say we'll make it in less, with how strong this wind is and how fast the Lyra Zephyr can be."
As was typical of her ilk, Trivia, like many captains, adored her ship. And why not, when she was the fastest of her kind. True, she could be difficult at times but that was the way with all ships and the Lyra Zephyr was no different in this regard.
Right now, the weather was ideal for sailing: the skies were clear while a strong wind blew and they were not fighting against the currents but rather being pushed along. On that note...
"In thirty minutes we'll need to check the speed to see whether we need to furl to half sail or not. Can't be overtaking our destination, after all."
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Post by Penny Royals on Jan 12, 2014 12:25:11 GMT -8
She seemed to have caught the man off-guard then, as he stared at her for a moment (while Vincent snorted into his hands to try to keep himself from full-on laughing) before giving a deep, sweeping bow.
"Of course, m'Captain."
Odessa had reappeared from the stern, shyly peering out from the side of the cabin.
"Ma'am?" She called out, "Why are there no other ships around here? We're not that far out, are we?"
"Where even are we going?" Vincent asked, finally composing himself.
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
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Post by lovely corte on Jan 12, 2014 17:31:57 GMT -8
"To fuckin' proper riches and glory, cunt." Milo mouthed off from the side of the ship in reference to the man's question, his feet slapping against the deck of the sheet loudly. He scratched at his under arm as he walked, spear-gun and spears slung over his shoulder. "Go out for a blue and a bit of a fucking bend, mate. Come back and you're up to you're fuckin' eyeballs in ganga mutt."
Next to the man, his companion draped in a water-drenched tarp, slapped one hand over his bulbous face, wincing. The first words the man says and he uses the word 'cunt'. That was a real good first introduction.
Making sure to remain covered, the bulbous fish-man walked off to the side of the ship, the only part of his body visible to the others his clawed-hands and the luminescent orb handing from a slimy tentacle, protruding from the top of his hood.
"Oi, what?" He asked the man as he walked off, before he let out a hiss of air. "Oi, nah fuck ya' then dog."
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Jan 12, 2014 17:39:34 GMT -8
Cyprian side-eyed Milo, "If you're here for riches and glory, then you're hear for the wrong reasons," he said matter of factly.
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
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Post by lovely corte on Jan 12, 2014 17:51:37 GMT -8
"Oh, you one of them holier-than-thou dapto dogs, ain't ya?" Milo looked at the man with his bulbous, predator eyes before he looked towards the ocean once more. He started walking around the ship, inspecting it casually and going through a mental checklist. "Ya' here for some fuckin' divine intervention? Mate, ya' lookin' to get your mergina pushed in."
"Water ain't no place for some mutt-dog to go looking for a fucking hand-out without expecting a blue." He continued, pulling at some wood harshly, checking to see if it was nailed in correctly. It didn't budge and he shrugged, looking at the Merman once more. "Riches and glory, mate. A true fucking purpose."
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Jan 12, 2014 18:29:24 GMT -8
She seemed to have caught the man off-guard then, as he stared at her for a moment (while Vincent snorted into his hands to try to keep himself from full-on laughing) before giving a deep, sweeping bow. "Of course, m' Captain." Odessa had reappeared from the stern, shyly peering out from the side of the cabin. "Ma'am?" She called out, "Why are there no other ships around here? We're not that far out, are we?" "Where even are we going?" Vincent asked, finally composing himself. "I was going to save that for when we actually arrive but I suppose I might as well. All hands on deck!" Trivia called out, one foot slamming down onto the floor to get the attention of those below or in the cabins. "Come on now, we don't have all day!"
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Post by JW% on Jan 12, 2014 18:43:12 GMT -8
Lt. Cmdr. Wraye heard the thumping on the deck above and frowned. With everything suitably stowed down below, there wasn't too much he had to do at the moment besides watch over the supplies, and keep out of everyone elses way.
Still, the Captain was calling all hands to deck, so he snapped to and headed out. His soft flexible boots making gentle padding sounds against the floor and stairwell as he moved, and winced at the sunlight. His eyes were adapted to midnight zone layer beneath the ocean, and here out in direct sunlight he was actively pained, forcing him to the point that he felt he was walking around with his eyes closed just so he didn't have to look at all this painful light.
"Reporting." The Lt. Cmdr. said, snapping off a salute. His eyes blinked a few times, the dark layer protecting his actual eye making it look like he had nothing but black featureless pools instead of true eyes that tracked motion.
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Jan 12, 2014 18:44:15 GMT -8
"I'm here to discover the lost history from the Great Flood. That has always been my life... and I don't have a mergina! I have a... merpenis. Well in this form I do." Cyprian said.
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Post by Adlai Stevenson on Jan 12, 2014 20:24:14 GMT -8
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh better far to live and die, under the brave black flag I fly~"
Long, heavy footfalls made their way to the side of the ship, and a trail of red speckled the deck behind them. The trail had started from the putrid-smelling, dimly-lit inner workings of the Lyra Zephyr, criss-crossing from one side of the corridor to the other, making its way up the stairs and up onto top deck. The smell would likely hit those in the vicinity first, even more so than the stark, red contrast to the earthy colors of the sailing vessel.
". . . something, something--sanctimonious part, with a pirate head, and a pirate heaaaaarrrrrrt~"
Doctor Jules Aronnax lifted the large, rusty bucket of blood and innards over the side of the ship and emptied them, the sound of the internal organs in an external environment as musical to his ears as his own tone deaf rendition of an old Gilbert and Sullivan show tune.
Upon spotting the commanding officer on deck, Jules snapped a quick salute with his massively oversized crustacean claw hand, which had happened to catch a bit of the organic material he had been dumping overboard into the briny depths below, festooning a portion of what looked to be intestinal tract over his shoulders and around his neck, further leaking blood and other bodily fluids onto his already thoroughly stained person.
"At your service, Captain!" Jules nodded curtly. "I was just, uhh . . ." the crab-man looked overboard at the pillowy cloud of blood and guts as it tainted the sea of pristine blue-green. He thought about a response for a moment, before shrugging, causing his intestine scarf to excrete another clot of organic material.
". . . forrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I am a Pirate King, and it is, it is a glorious thing, to be a Pirate King~"
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Jan 13, 2014 9:21:48 GMT -8
"At least make yourself more presentable, Mr. Aronnax; you still have those intestines on your person."
Quickly, she made a mental headcount to check that everyone was present and found it to her satisfaction.
"Alright, soon we'll be sailing over one of the sunken cities from way back in the day--the city of Pinnacle, I believe--when this world still had land. Naturally all expeditions are not without risk and this happens to be one of the most dangerous ones out there. You see, the city happens to be at the heart of a Tuska nesting ground. In addition, it's their mating season right now. Does that answer your question from earlier, Mr. Camp?"
It was a brief pause and apparently a figurative question that was never intended to be answered as she went on.
"We're to look for old technology. Mr. Camp can bring out the maps later to figure out a starting point."
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Post by JW% on Jan 13, 2014 20:33:23 GMT -8
"Captain." Lt. Cmdr. Wraye said sharply. "Despite Tuska nesting grounds, do we expect additional inhabitants?"
It was, after all, natural enough for the old cities to become much like artifical coral reefs. And in an age when people lived beneath the seas, old cities that had been swallowed up sometimes were renewed.
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Jan 15, 2014 10:02:18 GMT -8
"The usual coral-reef dwellers, I would say but it never hurts to stay on your guard. You never do know what lurks in the old cities, after all..."
Trivia trailed off into a brief silence as she went to the starboard side to look out into the water. So far, it all looked clear, which could change at any minute, she knew.
"In any case, furl to half-sail! Cut down on her speed!"
The briefing was over and it was back to work.
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Post by JW% on Jan 15, 2014 21:04:25 GMT -8
Lt. Cmdr. Wraye gave a snort, and went back below deck where it would be more comfortable for him, and where he felt he would be of the most use. At least until they arrived. His combat training might be needed, though he was more inclined towards dealing with intelligent foes rather than organizing a Tuska hunting party. And if it was a breeding ground, depending on if any where breeding, even a hunting party might not be enough.
"I'll be below Captain." He said, for formality sake. It wasn't like anyone couldn't guess where he was going, or see that he was indeed going there.
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
HE LOOKED AT ME! HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!
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Post by lovely corte on Jan 16, 2014 0:42:41 GMT -8
"Sure ya' do, mate. Then stand right there in front of me and whip out your cock, cunt. Right, lad." Milo laughed, before he arranged himself in a haphazard matter that was as close as the man was going to get to formality, pointing himself towards the woman and listening. "Tuska?"
Peaking up, Milo clapped his hands together once they were given their directives. He walked over to the hooded figure, placing his hands on his shoulders and bouncing excitedly.
"Tuska, mate! Fuckin' huge bulb cunts with flappy bits." He said, knocking the Fishman around. "Reckon couple of trench bogans can fucking bag us a Tuska?"
The reply came from a garbled mouth, although the resounding answer was "Yes."
Laughing, Milo followed the steps of the Captain of the ship, hands clapped together.
"Captain-Sheila, bit of a word, yeah?" He said, his heavy accent coming out. "About them Tuska cunts."
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Jan 16, 2014 20:58:00 GMT -8
"As much as I'd love to because pants are the worst goddamn invention ever, I know thats not something I should do in front of people I barely know," Cyprian said in reply.
"...Pinnacle..." he said to Trivia, "I've done an expedition there before with my..." he trailed off, at the mention of Tuska, "Do you have a fucking death sentence?" he asked the Australian, "Tuska aren't something to fuck around with."
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Post by Penny Royals on Jan 16, 2014 21:10:35 GMT -8
"Oh no... Tuska?" Vincent grimaced, looking up at the others. "My brothers have told me stories about them. They say that the best place to be around them is swimming in the opposite direction."
"Swimmin' in the opposite direction's lucky, if you's a fast swimmer," Aurel sneered, "But for most of us, the best place to be's safe on a boat. I don't think it's safe."
"I've seen some Tuska..." Odessa replied dreamily, "I talked to one once. Or at least, I think I did."
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Post by Fiery Firefly on Jan 16, 2014 21:16:53 GMT -8
Cyprian lowered his head, his normal cheerful demeanor gone, "...I lost my wife to them."
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
HE LOOKED AT ME! HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!
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Post by lovely corte on Jan 16, 2014 21:46:37 GMT -8
"Mate, a couple of fucking baubles in the ocean aren't going to do fucking shit. They can suck me off at the next station, ya dog." The Australian man-fish replied, pulling at some panel on the side of the ship while he waited for a reply. "Just gotta' bag one. Maybe a baby. Smart as they are, couple of trench bogans can get it done."
Cicero stood up from his section of the ship quietly, pulling his water-soaked tarp over his frame tighter, padding over to the rest of the group.
"We don't have enough crew, Milo..." The round figure mumbled, just barely audible and seeming to contain a mixture of speech and an odd gurgling sound, as well as a wet slapping sound. "We... we also aren't sure if any of these people can help."
"Nah, we'll be alright. See, look. We got Mergina Lad, couple of top notch cunts. We'll be right." He mouthed off, pointing at all of them. "Best place to be is on the boat, right in the middle of them, hunting some fucking ace game, mate."
"Sorry about your old lady, mate." Milo apologized, looking at the man. "Tough, aren't ya? You'll be right, mate."
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Jan 16, 2014 23:56:18 GMT -8
"First and foremost, I gave the order to furl to half-sail and it hasn't been done yet. As your captain, when I say jump you all better do it! Step lively, already!"
Trivia then turned to Milo.
"Also that's Captain Trivia to you, Mr. Joki. And if this is about hunting some tuska, you can forget it: we stick to the mission and nothing else. Am I clear?"
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Post by Penny Royals on Jan 21, 2014 15:43:09 GMT -8
Everybody moved to (varying degrees) of work to furl the masts, getting the job done probably sooner than expected.
Once the job was done, Vincent moved over to the edge, glancing down into the waters below.
"...What are we gonna do if we meet them down there?" He asked.
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Post by JW% on Jan 21, 2014 17:10:09 GMT -8
"Not if." The quartermaster said, coming back up into the light, his eyes squinting under amphibious eyelids. "When. If this is a spawning ground then they are out there. We have a bit of gear that might help below." He looked up. "Captain, with your permission, I'll distribute gear and brief the users on it's capabilities and a few things to watch out for."
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Post by Alkonost Storm on Jan 25, 2014 19:32:53 GMT -8
"You have my permission, quartermaster. How many of this gear do you have on hand?"
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Post by JW% on Jan 25, 2014 20:43:48 GMT -8
"We have suits enough for five divers, and chemical sprays for ten dives, that means two each." Lt. Cmdr. Wraye said. "Or ten divers making one dive each, if five of them don't mind taking a chance of getting stung."
He went below, where the suits were boxed up. On the wall hung a picture of a jelly with a thicker growth in the central bell.
"That is a Tuska. That is not what you have to worry about." Wraye said. "By undulating their bell they can travel at speeds surpassing most adapteds water speeds, though in relative terms, considering their size, they're quite slow. The most dangerous part is the tentacles. Nerve toxin soaked micro quills on the tentacles will paralyze and kill by drowning anything they brush up against and manage to sting. Once paralyzed and drowning, the tendrils pull the body up into the bell where stomach acids get to work. Assuming you don't drown, say you're lucky enough to be caught with your gills open, you get to enjoy the sensation of having each layer of your body melted off of you."
"I'm sure all of you know all this already. It's a Tuska, you know what the creature is. What you might not know is that they're intelligent enough to communicate. If one of them detects you, they will tell all their buddies about it. Even if that one doesn't feel like chasing after you, the others might make an effort towards it, and they're organized enough that they can close off escape routes intentionally in order to capture prey with minimal effort. Fortunately, they're limbs and body require a liquid medium... they can not lift their tentacles out of the water, and they can't lift their bell very far out of the water. That means, unless we really upset them and they start making an effort to tip over the boat from underneath, once you're out of the water your safe."
"No, what you have to worry about are these." He flipped the picture to something that looked sort of hairy larva. "This is a Tuska baby. They reproduce asexually and sexually both, and from a sexual union the mothers egg will release one of these creatures. If we're going into a mating bloom, then you're likely to see these around. And they are still able to communicate, though probably on a less sophisticated level. Still, a baby screaming always brings the parents. As they grow up, they start to get bigger and look like this..." A change of image, now a polyp that looked like a small tower with tentacles extending from it. "This is the next stage of their life cycle. The larva finds a suitable spot with reasonable protection yet exposure to currents, and takes root. Half the cilia dig in and latch, the others grow longer to create arms. From here they get bigger and bigger..." Another change to what looked like a huge tower... now layered like it had floors and windows. A person was added for scale purposes. The thing was the size of a skyscraper. "This is what you have to look out for. This is the final stage before the Tuska split off from their structure and divide themselves out into the medusae life stage that you are probably most familiar with. We will be walking through a city of these structures."
"Fortunately, we have five suits, armored enough that the nerve toxin spikes will not be able to penetrate to you. And, we also have this stuff..." He opened up a bucket of foul smelling slime. "Certain fish have been known to adapt to a symbiotic relationship with jellies, and this is an artificial version of the mucus they excrete through their skin. A thick enough layer of this and the Tuska will stop thinking of you as food, and instead view you as harmless furniture or a pet or something."
"I will be walking the divers through how to put on and operate their gear. Do we have any questions?"
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Post by Penny Royals on Jan 26, 2014 16:50:55 GMT -8
Vincent timidly raised his hand, glancing at the others.
"...Which of us will be diving, Sir?"
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Post by JW% on Jan 27, 2014 0:14:21 GMT -8
Wraye turned to the Captain to answer the question of who would dive... while he had reviewed the crew as best the information he had been provided could allow him, he really didn't know them well enough to make such judgements offhandedly.
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lovely corte
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Lindsey Looseflaps
HE LOOKED AT ME! HE LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!
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Post by lovely corte on Jan 27, 2014 1:58:01 GMT -8
"Checking out your mad gear, cunt. Pretty fucking geed to go out for a blue with some of this shit, yeah." Milo said, clapping his hands together and laughing as he inspected the hardware. Personally, Milo had a spear gun created from salvaged scuba tanks, a home-built air compressor and metal poles. This was a step-up above what Milo was used to. "Oi, mate. I'll suck you off at the next station any day."
"Oi, nah cunt. I'm pretty geed for this mission, lad. You gotta' let me on." He continued, rocking on his feet, hands dug into his pockets, inspecting the presentation carefully, taking mental notes. Most of this he knew already. He'd wanted to hunt Tuska for a long time. "Me and Cicero. We'll wreck shit, mate. Mothers."
"I-I'm... the suit won't fit me." Cicero whimpered slightly, pulling his hood away and revealing the hideous face he was born with. Jagged teeth, bulbous eyes and the lure in front of his face glowing brightly. "Plus... you guys can all out swim me. I'll be better off on the ship."
"Oi, nah you come good, cunt." Milo said, looking at the man for any other justifications. "You're a good shot. Oi, you cunts should see him. Fuckwit can nail a cunt square in the head with just a spear gun on a moving boat. Mothers."
"I'll... remain with the ship. Make sure that the ladders are ready for a quick escape." The bulbous Fishman informed. "With... medical attention, if necessary."
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Post by JW% on Jan 27, 2014 18:45:57 GMT -8
Wraye gave Milo a look as though he wasn't sure about this mythical 'khunt' creature. Milo spoke of it often, yet didn't even seem to know if it was a verb or an adjective, rather implying that he didn't really know what one was.
"The suits are modular." The quartermaster pointed out. "Your body is... difficult to work around, but we could take apart a suit and use only the necessary parts to armor you, or anyone else here, no matter their mutations." These suits were made for adapteds after all, though they took the human form as a template, and would allow a normal, non-water adapted human to dive just as well. "The question would be if you are needed on this mission, which doesn't involve hunting, or even fighting, any Tuska. Just surviving in their vicinity while searching. I'm not judging who's suitable, the Captains word is good enough for me here."
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