IC

    That evening, as they dined on their hunted prey, Brenon addressed
the crew. "Well, we've got some decisions to make men. This is one I can't
make for you. To the north lies Slave City One, our enemies main base of
operations. As I see it we have two options
ONE: We can either sit it out here with the Kurabandi, and keep radio'ing in
to Streel with requests for retrieval; it'll take them weeks to get here
anyhow. So we can sit it out for a few weeks... OR...
TWO: We can try to liberate the remnants of the previous expedition from
Slave City One. In doing that we'd probably need to try and enlist the help
of the locals, those being the race you saw on the operating table. I've got
some ideas in that area but I need to know how you all feel about it.
    Course, which ever path you all decide on we'll wait til everyone is up to
full speed before proceeding."
    Telgar speaks. "I'm for going to Slave City One. If there's more to be done, then I can't just wait for Streel to pick us up. Of course, we need to make sure our supplies are stocked up and that each member is well rested, but on the whole, let's check out Slave City One and do what we can."
     Raleigh reveled in the festivities, but only for awhile. He was still very weak and needed his rest. The next day, he awoke and found the others discussing their options.
    Brennon seemed cautious about the upcoming mission, no doubt a bit wary of losing another team member. They had lost several good people on this mission, and come to close to losing a few more. He listened quietly as Telgar gave his feelings, not surprised that the confident Enforcer was not going to shy away from this fight.
    Finally, Raleigh spyed his moment and gave his two cents. In a voice that still didnt sound like his own, broken and raspy, he spoke. "You can count me in on the Pirate base. I don't think I could live with myself if I let these bastards continue to reap the rewards of the natives sufferings."
    That said, he bundled himself back up in his all weather blanket and listened in to what the others had to say.
    Payne turns to Brennon and says " I am with the others on this. I have a score to settle with them, and would love to out them out of action for good. It would be a bonus if we were to free any other slaves. I am ready whenever you are.

    Kah'liss spends the next day performing treatment on those who need it - display great skill, he succeeds in every way, with everyone, and announces the entire team will be ready to travel on the next morning.
    Raleigh enjoyed the next few days off, filling himself on fresh water and "Roller" steaks. If there was one thing he would not miss about this planet, though, was the Kurabundai. They were nice enough but damn did they ever smell!
    Finally the group had made a concious dicision to go on with the mission. He didnt relish the idea of possibly staring death in the eyes for the third time but would never leave his friends to go on without him.
    As the team gathered around the campfire to discuss possible options, Raleigh took a moment to look each man (or id) in the eyes (or eyespots). It was a good group he was with now. Each person knowing what their place was and well skilled to get their part of the job done. Now he knew what his brothers meant when they talked about their lifelong friends in the military. When you brave combat together, it brings you together in ways he couldnt ever have understood before.
    Addressing the group. "Ok, here's my idea. We need intel first and foremost. We boogie on up with some pirate outfits on and scope the place out covertly. The pirate outfits are in case we are spotted. They just may buy us half a second more to get the jump on the bad guys."
    "Now, Im guessing Zhirrzh is our man for doing some covert sneaking around when we get there. We should also send out Telgar to back him up should things get nasty. That's it...thoughts anyone?"
    As soon as conversation is done, Raleigh will turn in and get a good nights sleep. From there, first thing the next day I say the group hits the trail towards Slave City and we get the fun back underway!
    Payne, off in a corner by himself speaks. "I agree with Raleigh. This sort of endeavor will be FUBAR with out the proper intelligence. If you need my services, I would like to go along. I have not seen any action since before I came to this stinkin' rock." With that, Payne turns his attention to the rest of the company and finishes cleaning his weapons, a daily ritual which one would notice would not be the typical behavior of a run of the mill mercenary type.
     Telgar adds his thoughts on the mission. "Zhirrzh, I'll ride in the second Explorer just in case we have to separate during the trip over."
    On the trip over, Telgar thinks carefully about the task ahead. Intelligence was always a fun task. Telgar packs his backpack, ensuring that he has his IR goggles and magnigoggles secured within. Afterward, he makes certain that his weapons are still in top shape for the mission and then claims some SEU clips just in case.
     Brenon watched on as Kay'liss performed what he considered a miracle. By the end of day two; the party had been restored back to full health. Raliegh, amazingly was up and about. A little pale, but full of energy.

    That evening Brenon spoke with the Chief, requesting his assistance in their next endeavor. But to no avail, the chief would not budge. The 'Devils from the Sky' were out of their hair in his eyes. He was too foolish to see the long term goals of the pirates to know that they'd surely be back.
"Then I bid you fare well my friend. And I hope you are correct about the Devils.........."
With that Brenon extended his hand, the chief grasped his and Brenon could tell the chief was sorry to see them leave.
"We'll probably depart in a few hours. We appreciate all your hospitality my friend" Brenon bows as he exits.
     After his meeting with the Kurabandi chief, Brenon will gather his crew and explain what's to happen. "We're heading to Slave City One men. This is your last chance to bail, if you wanna stay here with the Kurabandi, this is it." No one took Brenon up on his offer.
    "Good, then gather your things......we'll be leaving in two hours. Telgar, you'll take explorer two, Raliegh, Payne and Bud will go with you. Raliegh will be your team lead. The rest will come with me. We'll distribute supplies evenly among the two explorers. So, say your good-byes and let's get the hell outta here."
    Brenon helps divide the supplies among the two explorers. Once everyone is piled in they'll take off. Brenon will put the prisoner in his explorer with him Zhirrzh(aka finger lopper) and Kay'liss.
    BudRREEPboopboopboop bid a sad farewell to each and every one of the
Kurabandai, and thanked them gratefully for their hospitality in the many
weeks he spent with them after his escape from the slave colony.  Bud emitted
a baleful bellow as he hugged, bowed to, and groomed the fur of each of the
Kurabandi in the typical manner of farewell among their species.  A foul odor
emanated from his pores and his body took on the vague shape of the
Kurabandai.  Gradually, sections of his pseudopate even extended in long
wisps, in imitation of their ceremonial feathers and horns.
    Lastly, he bid farewell to the chief, offering him a basket of dung beetles
as a parting gift...a gift he had collected over the many weeks of his stay
among them, in eager anticipation of the day he left.  Sadly, however, Bud
had hoped that when he left, it would be on a starship bound for Inner Reach,
where he would be joined by his his wife Blerp...How long had it been now?
Bud wondered, was she still in her female stage?  Indeed, Bud felt his own
metabolism changing day by day, his male stage slipping away and neutrality
setting in.  Soon, the onset of the female stage would come.  Without his
medications, he was helpless to stop it.  He feared that if he ever did
return to Inner Reach to his wife, that they would no longer be
gender-compatible.
    Bud thought of his children, Sprurt and tiny EAPeep.  Surely Sprurt had
developed into the first gender stage by now...but what was it?  Male or
female?  Bud didn't even know the gender of his own first born!  And what was
worse, he missed the event entirely.  A hideous stench wafted from Bud's
pores which caused many of the Kurabandai to recoil as the thought passed
through his mind that he would never see his children again.
     Bud nodded solemnly at Brenon's command, accepted his equipment dutifully,
and followed behind Raleigh.  Bud *hoped* against hope that Raleigh was a
capable commander and that Payne was as able a soldier as he claimed to be.
Sorrowfully, Bud thought of the lives that would be lost in the raid against
the slave outpost, and wondered what the great Dralasite pacifist philosopher
SCREEECHburp would have said about it.
    "Justified by the rescue of the enslaved," Bud thought, thinking back on
Chapter MCVII of SCREEECHburp's famous missive "A Humble Servant's Pensive
Misgivings About the Barbarism of War Viewed Against the Backdrop of the
Great Galactic Gestaldt."  He recalled the passage almost verbatim:
"Killing," SCREECHburp wrote, "though never necessary, does, at unfortunate
times, befall dralasitekind [later translated into 'sentientkind' in the
PanGal version].  When such tragedy occurs, quiet contemplation by those who
witness it must consider the benefit, if any, bestowed to the great galactic
oneness."  Bud only hoped he was not misapplying the passage to the impending
raid merely to justify it.  More strongly, however, he hoped that the lives
lost would not include him.
    Quietly, he marched on behind the others to the Explorer vehicles.
    Payne gathers his stuff, follows the crew off to the explorers.
Payne was lost in his thoughts on his journey. He was off on yet another
campaign. Payne thought back not to long ago. Colonial intrests of White
Light stood in the way of a minor mega corp from expanding. It was
fought over some pathetic little planet that he could not even remember
the name of.

As soon as his units landing craft opened its door to the troop
compartment they were assulted with a barage of fragmentation gernades
and weapons fire. Some poor sods never made it off of the landing craft.
The unit fought for every inch of ground it could under severe enemy
fire.  From a craeter he could see men around him dying. Moans of agony
and puddles of blood were all around him.  To his left, a young man who
just arrived to the unit days ago cried for his mother clutching to the
spot where his leg had been. Next to him was another newbie vomiting at
the sight of blood.
    As Payne made his way to a grove of trees he met up with a
fellow sergeant from his regiment. The two men looked for a way to take
out the gernade launchers. A plan was set. As the two made their way to
another crater.  The gernade launcher was within striking distance.
Paynes fellow sergeant, Cyrus, set an explosive charge. Cyrus went over
the top of the crater just as an explosion went off outside the crater.
Cyrus body fell to the ground, his head rolling to the bottom of the
crater, with an icy death stare in the direction of Payne. Quickly,
Payne got to Cyrus' explosive and heaved it into the enemy position. The
explosion silenced the enemy gernades.
    The enemy seeing that they were about to be overrun, retreated
from their trenches.  Soon the regiment took possesion of the trench.
Payne and the rest of the troops dug in, using dead enemy soldiers as
soft cover from which to help protect them from incoming fire.  The
enemy was being pushed back, but they would not go easily. The smell of
death and decay was all around.
    This was a sight Payne was all to familliar with, the battle in
all of its horror played over and over in his mind as he sat alone off
in some corner of the explorer, knowing he would be at the gates of hell
yet one more time.
 

IC
    The Kurabanda greatly appreciate BudReeep's gift of dung beetles, showing great surprise and thanks. It was clear he had been working on the gift for quite some time. In return, the Kurabanda present each of you necklaces adorned with the teeth of the hunted Roller, as well as small provisions of berries and other medicinal herbs for your journey. You are wished good luck, and are welcome back anytime. Those who shared in the epic conflict between the 'Demons from the SKy" will go down in the history of the Kurabanda; The names of Euromada, Juramanu, and Moloashu will be shared with the Frontier names of Brenon Marou, Raleigh Thoms, Kah'liss, Zhirrzh, BudReeep, Telgar Voronwe. T.J. Payne, being freed from the outpost, is also remembered for his daring in the hunt, and the Kurabanda have come away with a new respect for the Frontier races.
    Once the Explorers are loaded, Brenon pulls out the map that was printed at the Outpost. After looking it over a few minutes, he finally curses. "Damn, how the hell are we going to get there?" He pulls everyone together to go over the map. Knowing how this the Bachanda forests are, it will be impossible to travel through it. The chance is there that you may be able to drive the boundaries before it gets too thick. Even there, it appears you will have to cross a river at some point. After looking over the map, you realize how isolated the Outpost was. That Jetcopter looks like the only way to easily get from one place to the other. When you destroyed the Jetcopter weeks ago, you did more damage than you realized. No wonder they evacuated most of the prisoners. Until they receive another Jetcopter, travel between the two bases appears very long, with no direct path between them...
    Asking the Kurabanda for maps of the area, they provide you details to the north. As far as crossing rivers, they say you may be able to find fords throughout, but the Kurabanda have set up vines/twine bridges for their own crossing - nothing that would help an Explorer.
    So, check the maps --
        Team map is here.
        Pirate map is here.
Dont forget that each hex is 10km, so it will be quite the journey.

    You will assume travelling on the boundaries of the forest is traversable terrain. Once the forest thickens, as you know, the floor becomes so twisted with Bachanda trees that Explorers would have great difficulty travelling through, if at all.

So, think on it and let me know. Your options seem to be taking the boundary of the lake north, then cutting east when you hit the hills, OR head east to the far eastern side of the forest, then cutting north  in a near B-line to the Base...