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[color=ff4f61]"Mmmmmmph!"[/color] With a muffled cry, Rose flailed, dropping her gun and falling backwards. She winced as she landed on her shoulder, already sore from recoil. On instinct, she gripped and pulled at the creature's sludgy body to no avail, then stopped. No. Bad idea. If she accidentally pulled the mask off along with the Nox, and it recognised her as human... It didn't bear thinking about. Yet, with Cedar hurt, and with her lungs straining for oxygen as the mask pressed against her face, someone had to do something.

More than Fluke was doing. Rose had tried to brush off his jibes and passivity, but now irritation simmered. Why watch them if he wasn't going to help them? His duty may be mission control, but surely he could do something in a pinch. As could Archer. For the gods' sake, it wasn't like either of them were far behind.

As the Nox covered Rose's ears and the speakers, Cedar's offer sounded garbled, but she got the gist of it. Even with all the ways it could go wrong, it was their only real option, unless Fluke had some tricks up his sleeve - and actually bothered to use them. With some difficulty from the writhing mass of shadow, she nodded. [color=ff4f61]"That'd be great,"[/color] she tried to say, although her words came out as an incoherent mumble.