March 02, 2001
New stuff here.
For the record Raleigh wants nothing to do with those things!
800 lbs Jackal/ Horses just seem a little to dangersous for my blood. Raleigh
will take a leak on the left front tire of the Explorer, get back into
the cab of his rig and watch the events from afar. If they get close, he
will fire up the rig and be ready to motor out of there asap!
As to Bud, just dont get crazy! I dont want to be picking you
up with a sponge! :)
BudRREEPboopboopboop nods to Raleigh and chirps an affirmation
as he looks
through the magnigoggles at the creatures.
Telgar looks over at Bud,"What do you make off it?" Before continuing,
the
thought of letting Kah'Liss stay behind sprang back into his head.
Was he just
trying to fill Kah'Liss's spot with Bud? 'I'll think about it later,'
he thought to
himself. Continuing further,"Do they look carnivorous or aggressive?"
Bud nods to Telgar and pulls out his notepad and journal.
For safety, Telgar grabs a Needler rifle and loads it with sleep
ammo. 'Not getting
caught offgaurd by another damned Voltronus critter. "Just in case,"
he says to Bud.
Taam speaks up. "Ah'm na'ry sure that them's beasties are frein'ly!
What's fer shure is that them's not commin' anywh're near Taam er his friends.
*spit* Perhaps blowin' em' inta E-chow ain't a bad idear. Fer
all we's know, these creatur's kin
chew thru durasteel like'n laser-blasts thru a Yazirian's glideflaps.
I says
that we stays on the safe side n' space tha' buggers. *spit*"
Taam takes a big lump of chaw and puts it in his cheek as he
raises his
g-rifle. If any of the creatures come any closer I want to blow
them to
pieces and let the rippers sort out what remains. If they mind
their own
business, I'll get back in the explorer and leave.
OOC: I think that since Taam was raised and lived
most of his life in space,
natural and native animals are very intimidating
and unfamiliar to him--but
he won't pick a fight if it doesn't *seem* necessary.
IC
Bud perks up at Taam's words. He emits a fould odor, looks
up from the
magnigoggles and bellows, "SCREEKgrock ...EEEEEErrrrrrpuble."
His polyvox
translates, "Oh heavens no! Please, good sir, do not harm the
beasts. They
are merely animals and not likely dangerous unless they feel threatened."
He
hands the magnigoggles to Daelstrom who approaches, obviously curious.
"Friendly or not, I don't think I would care to be anywhere
around
them if they start to stampede. As far as E-chow goes, I rather not
waste our time battling the wildlife," Payne adds.
Daelstrom lowers the magni-goggles and takes note of the herd
mentality,
'hard to break' he thinks to him self, not worth the time to train
probably..."Hey" he yells after seeing old Taam readying his Gyro-Jet
Rifle."lets not just go shooting at what we don't understand, O.K.
Old-timer?" with that he goes back to searching the horizon.
Bud concurs, "CHIRP SCREECH. Murmer murmer *fart*!"
His polyvox translates,
"Indeed. If we were to take hostile action against them, they
may stampede.
If we leave them alone, we may be able to observe them from afar.
I don't
believe it is terribly necessary to obtain any closer a look at them,
unless,
perhaps, we happen to pass closer to a few while in the explorer."
OOC:
[Jeff: At this time, I'd like to make at
least an attempt -- although it
will most likely be at a penalty, since exozoology
is not my *forte*, to say
the least -- at providing Telgar and the team
with as much information as I
can about the animals based on my distant observation
of them and my
knowledge of similar species on other worlds.
If my roll is unsuccessful, I
will at least provide the team with a recitation
of the obvious:]
<<Referee Rolls vs Analyze Animal Behavior>>
"GRUKburble WEEEEEEZ," Bud explains in his native language. His
polyvox
translates into proper Pan-Gal: "They appear to be mammalian quadripeds
of a
carnivorous or omnivorous diet, based on the outer structure of their
foresnouts, which less than likely houses sharpened fangs. They
are clearly
pack animals, possibly hunters based on their streamlined body and
hooked
hooves, but more likely scavengers, considering their failure to regard
us as
prey. They appear to be indigenous to this terrain."
OOC
Actually, Bud, you about summed up better than I could what you would've
discovered from the animals given your roll...
IC
Bud takes questions from the group if there are any and notes his theories
in
his journal. Once recorded, he nods to the group gratefully for
their
indulgence and prepares to move on.
"In-din-ger-nus ta tha' what? Ye means ta be sayin' that
Van Reybakk
cain't tell a threatnin' varmint from a Kurb'enda's tree house?
Fer all we's
knowin', a bunch a these Mermalian Quad-mopeds 'r as dang'rous as lightin'
Quickdeath farts--so ahm stayin' clear."
Taam jerks back the bolt-action on his gyro-rifle and leaves
it open so that
no-one else will think he's going to try something rash.
He instead takes a
dozer grenade and gets ready to toss that! Then he climbs
back into the
explorer and stares at the beasts through the window. HOWEVER,
if any of
them come closer than 2m from the vehicle he will begin throwing dozer
and
tangler grenades willy-nilly.
"Er'n by tha way Burp-Beep, I'm thinkin' that ye polys-vox is
needin' some
moderfercations. *spit* Ev'r since I blew a trans-seal
on me tin-can these
ol' ears has been depressurized, if ye gets me meaning. But I
got my Vox
turn't all tha' ways up, an' I kinna make out half tha's crap yous
said!"
I'll'n do tha' changers ta yer Vox myself, pe'haps, some'thin'
with a
full-memb'rane speaker-suit." (you can see Taam thinking about
the necessary
power supply and modifications in his head)
"En ern'y event, *spit* what's more than clear is'n that Taam
ain't gonna 'nd
up as Mermalian Quaderped chow."
OOC: You guys notice that the running board and doorframe of the explorer
are
totally covered in tobacco juice.
IC
Payne turns to Taam. "Oh come on Taam, put the dozer down. They
mean
us no harm and and are probably more afraid of us then we are of them."
Payne walks away singing "Wiiild Horses couldn't keep from Crystal
City
orwhereeverelseweresuppossedtobelookingfor."
Ooob-a-loom remains quiet through the whole episode, keeping
a eye out
in the other direction for whatever it is on this Godforsaken planet
that eats carnivorous, 800 lb, horse like, mammals.
"There's always a bigger fish" he mumbles to himself as he guns
the
engine and climbs back up through the gears of the Explorer, making
sure
to try and keep at least several hundred metres from the edge of the
herd. As the explorer bounces along the uneven terrain Ooob-a-loom
turns to Payne and asks him about Heavy Weapon mounts.
"Do we have any on the explorers? Are they the swivel
kind that give
a 360 degree arc? What about armour for the gunner?" ANd
just
generally tries to maintain a conversation about topics he thinks the
enforcer might be interested it, anything with a practical or mechanical
bent that will keep his mind of the weird flesh eating horses
"Ya know this planet really gives me the creeps, so many unusual
life
forms."
Payne walking past Oooob, "Yeah, ain't that the truth. Them
Humans
are by far the creepiest."
Taking a look through his magnigoggles, Brenon examines
the
herd...."Ob-la-boom...Raliegh, fire up the explorers and prep for departure.
We'll stay long enough for Bud to catalogue the species and record
them in
his records. Bud, do you by any chance have anything like radio tracking
devices, etc...? Something you could tag animals with. Just thinkin
it might
be useful for the groups that come down after us. But I don't want
to do it
is we have to get too close to those things..."
BudRREEPboopboopboop chirps a negative response. He has
only what he obtains
from the party's store of equipment.
When Brenon goes over to the other explorer to give them the
word...he
notices a thick brownish substance on the floor board of the explorer...the
smell was that of a strong tabacoo type chew..... "Ehh...Taam....could
you
do us a favor. You see that window there. Think maybe you could open
that
from now on an start spittin that direction? Thanks..."
Brennon can barely hear Taam's reply because he refuses to open
the window of
the explorer.
"Ye says you's got som kinda problem wit' mah chaw? Well,
I ain't gwin ta
open this here winder 'till we're well clear a' these can'tankrus beasties.
*spit* 'n youse better na't let thems come close ta me or mah
stuff in tha'
trailers. 'less yous wants a lungful 'a dose that is. . .*spit*.
Ah ain't
tol'ratin any beast that cain't talk one tongue a 'nother.
Alser, Ah dunna wha' ya don't like me chaw'in cause this here
stuff es great
fer yer skin--specially BurpBeep an' Ooohbers. Ef youse want's
a try--ye'll
see what kine a good it does fer yer stam'na and gen'ral he'lth-- 's
gooooood
stuff! *spit*
Taam holds up a shining chunk of brown leaves the size of a
human fist and
offers it to anyone who wants some. He has a plastic cylinder
full nearly to
the top with the stuff--and there's no end in sight to his supply,
so he's
very willing to share. He suggests to the dralasites that they
simply hold
it against their skin since they can't actually chew it, but makes
sure that
they don't consume any because it might kill them . . .
OOC
Hey Jeff, Telgar has some NET Tracers. Would
that suffice for Brenon's
purposes? Also, what is the range on the NET
Tracer gun?
Telgar, your NET Tracers might in fact work to
transmit a signal 5km in radious, and it will do so for 3 months time...But
they won't easily stick to the horses as they would a wall or something
- the adhesive doesn't work well on fur. Then of course you'd have to be
close enough to attach it somehow. I wouldn't say the NetTracer's range
is anything more than 30 meters.
NEW STUFF
Just as the sun drops on the western horizon, forcing
the drivers to stare directly into its bright rays, Raleigh points. "There!
Look at her!"
Everyone in the Explorer stirs and follows Raleigh's gaze. Those in
the second Explorer see it as well. As the vehicles reached the top of
another Rolling hill, there lay silouhetted against the sun the legendary
Crystal City. The trucks stop and everyone piles out to get a better view.
What may've once been a thriving city is now mostly rubble. The Edestekai
were indeed correct; the few buildings that remain standing are clearly
built of some crystalline material - as the sun's rays bouncs along their
walls, you are given a glistening display of colors.
The city itself is still a good 5km away, far enough to
remain unseen but still close enough to watch the light show. The Edestekai
explained that the "Messengers of the Gods" live in underground complexes,
and if you were to reach the city unopposed, you would have to search for
the large underground entrance. Messengers have explained this to Priests
in the past, confirming that their living in caves was the God's chosen
way to live.
The city itself (what is above ground, anyway) does
not cover much area. It appears to be no more than four Frontier city blocks
in size. Squinting past the reflection of colored sunlight the city expels,
you see that some buildings are in disarray, broken in places, ruined.
Despite the natural light show, the city itself seems eerily deserted.
As the Volturnus sun dips it's final farewell over the horizon, the vast
blanket of stars and Leo, Volturnus' reddish-orange moon, provide
the only light. While the view may be spectacular, away from the Frontier
cities, it's a view you've grown accustomed to on the planet. You can't
wait to see the morning dance of lights across the Crystal City.
You decide to spend a while here, away from
the town. If there is some...thing or some force keeping
the Edestekai away from the town, you'll want to take a closer look. Daelstrom
is soon off on a hike to the town for some initial reconnaisance, but when
he returns a few hours later, he reports all is quiet in the ruins and
nothing suspicious stands out. When the team is ready, you enter the town...
You notice paved roads throughout the city, though they
are now cracked and abandoned. Some large sections are churned up, and
rubble is strewn everywhere. Weeds and vines grow from the cracked streets,
and you note large vines are growing on most of the buildings. .
There seem to be different variety of these vines, as some patches grow
a yellow flower and small red berries. You note a good number of flying
insects, resembling dragonflies of the Frontier Worlds, buzzing in
and around these flowering vines. While the city seems devoid of intelligent
life, the thick growth is now home to a wide variety of creatures, from
small birds and lizards, to insects of all ranges. A large oval pool filled
with clear water sits off of the road to the Northeast.
It doesn't take long to realize this city did not
die of old age. There was clearly a battle of some type fought here - gaping
holes in some of the buildings indicate a bombardment, or a fight inside
the city. Some powerful weapons were at play, by the look of things.
Most of the buildings are made of a crystalline
material. However, there are some structures made of polished stone. A
few seem to be storage buildings, graneries or warehouses, but there are
also large and small pyramid structures. The Crystal buildings are curved
at various angles and have a definate natural feel to them, nothing like
the structured architecture in the Frontier. However, it is clear that
the crystal buildings are not a natural occurance; they were created
by skilled artisans.
OOC
Okay, here we go. Whether you choose to go during the night or the
day, you're still at the location on the map below. It will take time to
search for the underground entrance, and there's a good bit of ground to
cover. Making it more difficult, you don't know exactly what you're
looking for. The map is below. Let me know how you want to cover the area,
where you want to go, if you split up, etc.
Also, tell me if this is at night or during the day when you decide
to enter the town.
