“Could be something to do with it, like if that imbues his people with a unique blood antigen. We should probably use some of his plasma for the basis of a vaccine.”
Drake laughs, “It’s the getting him to willingly donate it that might prove the issue. My clanmates don’t exactly trust me with their DNA.” Drake laughs again louder and longer this time.
“Ah. Well, if you’ve got the right equipment for manufacturing antivenom back at you guys’ roaming camp I might be able to talk him into it, after plying him with a few drinks.” I shrug.
“Good idea, and if that don’t work I have some chloroform; it always works.” Drake smiled.
“Hell Drake, save your chemicals for more important experiments, I bet Giga’s breath could knock him right out; I know supplies are limited out in the field and access can be tricky.”
Giga Rex begged to differ: “I have Rupture Shots next to my nose. You don’t want him dead.”
“Well until we synthesize some antibodies for this, try running your purifiers on full.” Drake punched up his and made sure the AI knew to keep him from the mind affecting air.
“Sounds like a plan. Hey Drake, you don’t suppose you could direct your clan to send over a drop ship at some point? There’s another mecha I have that I think would be useful for when we’re going to try exploring the other side of that gate.”
“One of our new cruisers has been en route for awhile. It was recently built over at the Narian gate nexus. Should be here day or two.”
“Just one, Claymore, a Skriag. I have a theory that the Skriag’s ever-changing molecular body composition might be able to be set to phase in order to counter some of the mood altering gases and signals.”
“Good plan, the DNA is quite useful in my experiments too.” Drake moves his Antithesis farther up the canyon toward the pathway carved into the mountainside from his clones.
Giga is annoyed that his “know-it-all” brother will be joining us but I calm my mecha down pointing out that after he gets treated with the serum he should be fine to go through the gate too. “Drake, we can use a pipe to make a large needle to treat kaiju with the serum as well I figure.”
“How’s he feel about needles? I have a few from…. well... my extraction of DNA from a few of the living mechs.”
“Giga Rex is brave enough he won’t panic and as for Claymore, he’s too analytical to freak out over it.”
“Good good, some of my clones were roasted the last time I had them stick the needle into a Gigus.”
Giga Rex: “I’m not [a] baby; Other Gigus weak.” The sound of the mech’s laughing is somewhat disconcerting and it doesn’t help that his vocal cords have been augmented with a vocoder. He pauses to reflect though and asks Drake the following: “How [do] clones taste?”
“Like any flavor you want just tell me and I’ll make sure they taste like that.” Drake’s smile is fairly sinister as he glanced at one of his clones.
“Drake, please don’t encourage him” I respond while not helping but to wonder if Drake knew about the flavor profile from firsthand experience. I punch the coordinates to where Drake’s clansmen can fetch my Skriag and pass the datapad over to Drake “Said it should take a day or two, right?”
Drake looked at the coordinates, “Well a bit longer, now. but less than a week so plenty of time to make the serum.”
I try to turn in such a way that Drake has an easier time hearing me than Giga Rex. “I have a much easier time getting along with my Skriag than the Gigus. He can get a bit unruly now and then.” I raise my voice from the earlier whisper and change tone “So just show me where your immuno devices are and I can get started prepping the serum, alright? Getting Kai drunk shouldn’t be a problem, I’ve got a bottle of scotch that was aged on Vupa 6.” My turn to smile darkly.
“Right this way Myco right this way,” Drake’s laugh echoes through the canyon.
“I’d suggest watering it down and having only a shot at a time, pal.” I tell Drake, offering some from the flask I had in Auger’s cockpit as we make our way to the camp, using the cap to measure out exactly one portion. “You know the bat people there drink the stuff straight because their tolerance is stronger than a human’s.”
“Indeed, I’ve had a few in the lab for many tests…..”
“We won’t bother telling that to Kai though.”
The bat people age their scotch whiskey in barrels of wood from the few fruit trees that grow on that desolate and blighted world they call home and it imbues their liquor with its particular flavoring.
“OHh Kai! Drake and I wanted to congratulate you and celebrate the success of our dig with some whiskey. Please join us!”
Drake smiled meaningfully at Myco as they drank with Kai. I make sure to water down my and Drake’s shot glasses at the makeshift bar but give Kai his portions straight. Any minute now, special metabolism or no…
I check my watch and motion to Drake to ask if Kai’s unconscious yet.
Drake was happy he had also taken something to counteract the alcohol, cause even watered down it was still potent, and the amount Kai drank was surprising before he slipped into unconsciousness.
I try not to slur my speech “See, puts ‘im out like a baby. Er’rytime }hic!“
The two friends haul Kai off to the lab to collect their serum sample.
“Wish I’d known about your anti-intoxicant pills Drake. Haha, liver woul’ be thanking me instead of cussing }hiccup{. I can hold him down on the table, if you get teh needle.” I hadn’t drank a whole lot but it was enough to dull my senses somewhat and would be a good few hours before reflexes were back to full capacity for fine motor. “Goddamned fruit bats, always make their liquor hextuple (6x) strength.”
“Just how I like to serve it to my clones before they run the minefield obstacle course.” Drake collects the samples.
I ask one of the clone assistants directions for the facilities so I can vomit and wash my face and return a bit more collected. “I’m not good to drive but I can spin the stuff down in a centrifuge and should be decent to help culture the antigens in about a half hour.”
Drake noticed that the clone directed Myco towards the minefield obstacle course and had one of his AI’s redirect him away from the course, Blue Wrath would need to go Gigus hunting by himself after being flavored accordingly (Mmm, schnapps!). After I got sober, I was running some dilution calcs on paper while the blood spun. “Hey Drake, that one clone of yours, Blue Wrath… hell of a sense of humor on him.”
“He’s not supposed to have one, he’s supposed to be a lab assistant.”
“If it’s alright with you, and it’s all the same, how about I have laughing boy blue there finish the rest of the flask, not watered down?” That should do it. The centrifuge beeps and I withdraw the tube racks from it once the cycling has slowed down enough. I pass the now separated blood and my notes to Drake’s part of the set up for him to do the next stage’s processing for the antivenom with.
Drake handed Myco something to add to the flask, “It’ll quintuple the strength (6*5 = 30x).”
“Giga, here boy! Uncle Drake has a snack for you. Candied clone. Savor it.” I nod to Drake “The kaiju’s liver will be large enough to handle that much alcohol, right?”
“I’ve never tried to get a kaiju drunk before… hmmmm….” A gleam in Drake’s eye. The screaming and crunching noise in the background is what I think it is. Giga Rex is happy. “That was good, but now I’m sleepy.” The Gigus curls up and takes a nap in an empty corner of the site.
“Two birds with one stone. Won’t have to deal with Giga while he’s sleeping and we can finish up this antivenom preparation.”
“Very efficient.” Drake laughs. “My next Blue Wrath will have that defect removed.”
“More like Blue Snark. Yeesh” I add while plating some of the cell cultures for Drake to put drops of the antigen-isolate on.
“Obviously, some contaminants fell into his batch when he was crafted.” Drake frowns, he did hate shoddy work, reminder use more railgun ammo on the failed clones/experiments.
“I’d imagine that if the live tissue cultures take, we’ll have the right concentrate to make counter serum with but it could take days for them to mature…. unless you have some method to speed growth?”
“Yes, the process I use to accelerate my clones maturation process should have it done in say eight hours long enough to get some shuteye.” Drake stretches.
“I should probably call it a day too. I packed a sleeping bag in Auger but that gas plays on people’s nerves. Mind if I turn in at you guys’ camp?”
“Go ahead, I’m sure the other Exile’s will be happy to talk to someone else for a change.”
“That might be a problem. Well, I did pack some more of that bat-liquor… one barrel… watered down seven ways, you figure?”
“No worries, you’re a guest you can share in our supplies, we have plenty, large logistical supply for our forces since there are now five clans to support and we’re spread out through several sectors of the galaxy at any given time.”
“A fourteenth per clansman wouldn’t be too heavy, I think. Eh, think of it as a ‘housewarming’ present. To go with the groundbreaking of your new lab.” I laugh a little bit. I was also hoping to unload my barrel of Vupan whiskey so that Auger’s cockpit would be less cramped on my trip back.
Submitted by Mycobacter, Drake Novum Scientist#712744, #706289