"Natives," Zhirrzh mumbles, a grin slowly spreading across his face. He watches carefully as the strange beings make their way closer. He studies their behavior for a moment, then voices his opinion.
    "The fact that they've separated five members of the group to approach us first suggests that they aren't hostile." Zhirrzh hesitates, then adds, "At least for the moment."
    Zhirrzh begins to form a hazy plan in his mind. "If we can establish communication with these beings, then they might be able to either provide us with information about the missing expedition, or intelligence about the pirates we've been fighting."
    Pulling his eyes away from the approaching natives, Zhirrzh turns to Brenon for orders.
    Brenon agrees with Zhirrzh. "Five, they're sending five, that would suggest that possibly they know how many we are in number. And if that is true, then their gesture of sending only five could be quite peaceable. Nonetheless, we all should be armed. Zhirrzh and Telgar, I want you two to get suited up(Brenon hands Zhirrzh a Gyrojet Sidearm)he sees that Telgar
already has two las pistols on his person; and meet with them, show them your open palms as a sign of good will. Leave your ChronoComms on so we can hear what's happening. If things appear to be getting dangerous then I need one of you to put one of your hands behind your head. This will signal that you're in danger and in need of immediate assistance. Do not go further than 30-40 yards. Raliegh, grab the wheel and keep the Explorer running. Kay'liss prep some smoke and frag grenades in case it get's ugly, also have your medical supplies on hand. GO!" With that Brenon hands Zhirrzh and
Telgar each a frag grednade then slaps them on the arse to send them off.
    Brenon immediately hooks his Warteck up to his Econopack and sets his rifle to 5 SEU. He will leave the side of explorer open and will play gunner if the situation demands it.
        Telgar makes sure he has an extra clip with him for his pistols.  He sets the two laser pistols to 2 SEU and double checks the positioning in the holsters so that he will be able to snatch them out easily when he needs to.  Telgar accepts the frag grenade and finds a place on his person to secure it for later use.  With that, he puts on his shades and sees if Zhirrzh is ready to go as well.
    Raleigh climbs up into the cab of the Explorer and starts the engine. Wouldnt it be great if once, just
once, they could meet somebody friendly on this dustball. Looking back, he watches Telgar and Zhirrzh
get ready...
    Zhirrzh runs a mental checklist of his equipment to make sure he is ready for a confrontation.
    G-jet sidearm, check...ammunition, check...grenade, check...holo screen, check...skeinsuit, check...knife, check. Satisfied, Zhirrzh pulls his sungoggles down over his eyes and steps out behind Telgar, giving the Enforcer a confident nod. He leans in close to Telgar and whispers briefly.
    Zhirrzh is about to start toward the approaching "ambassadors" when he stops. "Grow beyond just thinking like a soldier," he thinks, chastising himself mentally. Reaching back into the Explorer, he pulls out a poly-vox and straps it to his throat.
    Raleigh smiles and gets the big Yazirians attention. "What, you dont speak 'Octopi'?" He grins sheepishly, hoping Zhirrzh isnt too stressed out that he takes the joke the wrong way. "Be careful out there," he adds, "both of you."
    Completely satisfied that he is ready, Zhirrzh starts a brisk and confident walk. As he gets to within 50 meters of the party, he moves his arms slightly out from his sides and shows his palms forward.
    The five Octopi stop perhaps 15 meters from Telgar and Zhirrzh. At this short distance, you see that they are heavily adorned with dyed feathers, face paint, and a few of them have arcane tatoos about their body. They are carrying primitive weapons - spears, javalins, bows. Four of their tentacles straddle their dinosaur-type mounts, and the other four hold their weapons, which they all simutaneously lower in a symbolic gesture.
    The center Octopi nods towards the two, and its four arms begin moving in bizarre patterns. Although it is apparrently trying to communicate, the message is lost on Telgar and Zhirrzh. When it is apparrent this form of communication fails, the Octopus creature spends a few moments studying the two. Zhirrzh attempts a few hand signals and gestures of his own, and it is equally apparrent the two races are not understanding.
    The Octopus creature then rears up on the dinosaur, barking out a few high pitched squeals.  A few of the others answer with squeaks, all directed towards the two before them. They quiet down after a moment, and look on, waiting. One of the riders seems to snort, and the dinosaur seems to fidget.
    Zhirrzh looks back wearily to Telgar who is standing a few meters behind. Damnit, I'm an Explorer, not a New Frontier diplomat, the Yazirian muses. He turns back to the creatures. "We come in peace and mean no harm to you," he says half heartedly, knowing fully well that the Octopi are as clueless as he is himself. He glances down at the Poly-Vox on his throat, seeing its flickering lights. He knew it was beginning to store and process what little of the alien language it has heard, but it could be hours, days, weeks even before it could accurately decipher the language.
    Finally, the leader of the group rides a few meters forward, barking a few high pitched, short statements. It makes sure it has the attention of both Telgar and Zhirrzh before continuing. He looks to Zhirrzh, and another shorter tentacle protruding from the back of its neck begins writhing back and forth. It edges his mount back to the other octopi and nuzzles up close to another. The two octopi lean close to each other, the backs of their heads meeting. Their short tentacles seem to mesh with each other. The leader gestures to the connection with two of his limbs, and the two begin speaking in short shrieks in unison.
    After a few moments of this behavior, the leader disconnects and turns his mount to face Telgar and Zhirrzh. It dismounts while the second octopus reins the dinosaur in. The first octopus begins slithering towards Zhirrzh, slowly. Having left his weapons at his mount, he looks straight at Zhirrzh, his tentacle on the back of his neck moving slowly back and forth...
 
 

OOC
      "Well, this is another fine predicament you've gotten us into now, Stan"

I'm going to let you guess at how to respond - if you like you could roll for Intuition and see if Z can understand the situation, but it may be better to RP it yourself as you see it....
 

Jeff