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(IC)
  After enjoying the spectacular sunset over the Crystal City,
Ooob-a-Loom sets about his assigned tasks setting up the camp site, one
pseudo pod never straying far from one of his Gyrojet pistols.  After
the camp has been established Ooob-a-loom volunteers to take the first
watch.  He will generally listen to any discussion regarding time of
entry into the city and will support any plan that involves a daytime
entry.  During this time Ooob-a-loom will remain quiet, leaving the
discussions to the more experienced members of the group.

  Upon entry to the city, Ooob-a-loom draws all four of his Gyrojet
Pistols and does his best to cover a 360 degree arc around himself.
Noticing the startled look of other party members when they see the
stocky, bristling Dralasite, he merely does his best imitation of a
human shrug, quite comical really, smiles back and says,
  "Can never be too careful!"
  Again he will remain quiet too see what plans the Enforcers have for
the search.  If no one else mentions the small building ahead then
Ooob-a-Loom gestures towards building 8 and says
  "That building over there looks relatively small and easily
defensible, perhaps we could clear it out first and put a rifleman or 2
in there to cover us as we search the other buildings, then if we run
into trouble we can bug out with some protection?"

  When the first building has been selected for searching Ooob-a-loom
holsters 2 of his pistols and moves forward to check the doorway for
any  security systems.
  "Where possible, I would like to check every doorway we find if there
are no objections?"

(OOC)
  Jeff, there was no mention of windows in these crystal buildings, do
we assume there are none?  Is it possible to see in or out of these
buildings?  Also, do I have a Techkit or at least access to one?

IC
Taam spits in anticipation and puts his rifle to his shoulder.  He moves to
check the door of building #7 and covers Ooohb's left flank as he checks
building 8.  Then he moves on to building 9, and looks south through the door
on the North side of the building.  If it's clear, he motions the rest of the
team up the NE-SW trail leading towards building #5.
    Taam is very interested in using his Geology, Engineering and Physics skills
to determine--
    The nature of these buildings--especially the blast marks on them
    The lowest point or most likely weakness in the local soil that would allow
    an underground entrance to be found (if not drilled out)

*spit*"C'mon yung-uns!  I kin handle this rifle lik' a pro.  N' if we's
cain't fin'e the entr'ance this way, we'll goes a-head and drills us a
entrance r'selves!" *spit*

Payne, with his laser rifle at the ready will venture over to
    building 12, then over to 13 then up to 10 just for a short hop to
    make sure nothing can get at us when we least expect it.

    Telgar takes a look around at the city now in front of him. It was a different
setting than what he had become accustomed to on this planet. As he takes
it in, he notices his partners readying their weapons just in case. Turning to
Brenon he whispers,"If there are things here that have kept the priests away,
then would it be wise to come forward with our weapons showing like this?
Maybe we should take a non-aggressive appearance and perhaps have someone
under holo-screen cover with some weapons at the ready. What do you think?"

OOC (Brenon)
Jeff, we're gonna approach it during day so we can see clearly what we're
getting ourselves into. We've already scouted and determined the coast is
clear (so to say).

IC:

"Raliegh, Oob-la-goom.... let's pull up to that building..just along it's
corner.(Brenon points out building 11)."

--------from Telgar----------
"If there are things here that have kept the priests away,
then would it be wise to come forward with our weapons showing like this?
Maybe we should take a non-aggressive appearance and perhaps have someone
under holo-screen cover with some weapons at the ready. What do you think?"
-----------------------------

Brenon answers, "Yeah, good points...all of them. Last thing we need right
now is a bunch of angry locals getting their panties in a wad. Or one of our
own getting spooked.

Brenon then turns and speaks to the group, "Ok, before we all get antsy and
trigger happy we need to have a plan. This is unfamiliar ground and
personally this place gives me the willies.... so here's the deal.
Daelstrom, you'll continue to provide point. I want you holo'ed up and armed
to the teeth in case an issue arrises. Remember everyone, keep your eyes
open for signs of an unground entrance. But most importantly keep your eyes
open for any signs of trouble. Ooob-la-room & Raliegh, you'll drive the
explorers along the streets trailing behind us. staying back about 20-30
meters. I think it best we appear non-agressive so let's keep our weapons
holstered and slung, except you Daelstrom. But keep the safetys off. Let's
split into two teams.......those that were in explorer 1 go with explorer 1
and visa versa."

OOC:
Brenon will be fine with people wandering a little bit, peeking in buildings
etc...as long as the two groups stay in the same areas. The only exceptions
to the teams will be that Brenon will have Ooob be his teams driver and have
Raliegh go to the other team to lead them.

IC
 Ooob-a-loom uses four pseudopods to salute everyone taller than
himself, that should cover the entire chain of command
  "Roger that!" he turns to Brenon, imitating a human grin  "Hey Brenon,
just call me Big Red, I know how much you humans have trouble with whole
sentences" and quickly ducks to avoid Brenon's jab.
  Big Red steers his explorer in the direction indicated by Brenon,
while humming softly to himself
  "Yeah, you got a great big convoy, ain't she a beautiful sight.
Convoy..."
    Payne hops back into the explorer along Ooob-aloob. He will not
display any type of weaponry that any possible locals could see,
however, the gyrojet pistol will be at his side just incase things
should get hairy.

OOC
    Taam thinks that its best if we just spread out across the city--I already
examined the feasibility of moving an explorer through and if the squares are
1m-2m that wont be possible.   In any event, several of us have already acted
in the absence of a plan. . .should we just revise it or what?  Will Jeff let
us do "tapbacks"?

(Daelstrom) I do hope so the image that comes to mind is horrific from a tactical stand
point (it reminds me of the line from "Blazing Saddles" when the head
rustler, played by Slim Pickens I believe says,
"then we'll go to Plan # 2. We ride in thar all a' whupen an' a' hollerin"

>Will Jeff let us do "tapbacks"?>

yes Jeff, will you?
If not then I'll suggest the explorers also don't enter the city (but for
different reasons then JeffBo pointed out) and that the teams don't become
separated except for an advance team (and not just Daelstrom, put the other
'Holo' on someone and have them go with. I suggest someone with security
systems skills.) but as Jeff already had me do this I make this point for
future excursions. and tell Taam "Shhh! We Youngins' is commin you'n'be shar
o' that" Jeff, please roll and see if I can mimic his inflection and accent.
then returning to a whisper "lets not anounce our presence until we are
ready, understood?"

(Referee)
Sure you can do 'tapbacks', if you like. Same thing as if everyone starts
running around like they're in Disney World and the parents scream out
"STOP, GET your sorry butts back over here and calm down!"
    The roads are wide enough for Explorers to travel. I don't like the standard
2m square the Volturnus maps use, especially in an area such as this city.
It's not like it's a minature city or anything. Explorers won't have any
trouble traversing the road.
    Taam, the buildings are made of your typical crystalline minerals - quartz,
Apophyllites, Stilbites, etc. You see nothing that pops out as an obvious
area that could have been drilled for an underground entrance.

(Brenon)
Hey guys, we need to keep things moving and we're not at one of those life
and death situations so let's just move along with my plan. No need to get
bogged down on simple little scouting missions, we'll never get anywhere
that way. Also, CaptainH(Taam), you can still perform your tasks you'd
designated in your email, just make sure you stay within your teams
perimeter.

(Referee)
Shall I just split into 2 groups and perform a search party amongst the two
teams? I've not heard nothing from you guys in a week. Which was
conveniently fine with me cuz I've been swamped, but we need to move.

Last thing was from Bud, he suggested splitting  the enforcers up as one
team was lopsided. So I propose

Brenon
Payne
Raleigh
Bud
Klik

Telgar
Daelstrom
Qball
Ooob-a-loom
Taam

And the Explorers (driven by Raleigh and Ooob) out front in WWII patrol
kinda positions. I'll go with this set up and have each team seach if I
don't hear anything in the next few days from you folks.

Cat got your tongue?

(Klak)
Job searchin' got my tongue.  Unless something drastic happens, I will be
leaving NRAO in May.  I have an offer as an instructor at the Naval
Nuclear Power School (NNPTC) teachin young bucks how to run a nuclear
vessel without meltin themselves.  Just the theoretical stuff, really.  No
way I'm goin in a sub.  Too dark and (the real reason) too far from home.

Astrophysics to nuclear engineering/physics.  I pick all the cool sounding
jobs.
(Payne)Got me beat. This weeks entertainment, I mean job assignment, was
sitting in court watching a nit wit play attorney and waste the tax
payers money, and waste my judge's time on a trial that has been going
no where and will eventually lead...absolutely nowhere!!! In a
seriouness good luck to you, Darrell.
 

IC
Since this is more of a military situation Klik keeps her trap shut.
She'll go where she is needed/wanted.  She slips on one of those
skeinsuits and has the stunstick handy.  But the medkit is in hand.

She takes a radiation level reading unless some tech wants to do it.

OOC (Payne)
Payne requests to be traded to another team for personal reasons.   No, just kidding. Payne don't care about the groupings. Will the us
enforcers be on foot as we explore the city, if so Payne will take a cautious stance. If he is ordered to ride, he will just keep a
eye out for trouble.

IC

I suggest having a seperate window of the Crystal city map open while reading (Clicking opens new window)

 "Alright, guys," Brenon begins. "There's a lot of ground to cover here - that underground entrance can be anywhere. We'll take our teams and cover different areas. Raleigh, steer us around Building 7, we'll hook onto that road and investigate the buildings around there. We'll search the area around Buildings 1-5. Ooob-a-loom, you continue down this road, checking buildings 8-13, moving up between buildings 9 and 10 to search #6, if we don't get there first.  We'll meet up around the pool right over there. We'll be 100 meters or so away from each other, so let's be sure our cronos are on and we're in communication with each other.
    "Drivers, stay at your Explorers. You can stand outside them, but I want you able to make a quick getaway if need be. Gathering point will be in front of that pool if something nasty comes up - just give a shout and we'll all converge.. Remember, we don't want to give a hostile front, but be prepared for anything. Safetys OFF."
  The teams redistributed, the Explorers inching forward slowly, the two parties makes their way cautiously to the closest buildings to begin searching for the underground entrance. Telgar, Daelstrom, Martok, and Taaam make their way to the entrance of Building #11. Ooob-a-loom drives the Explorer slowly, inching forward meticulously, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary - out of the ordinary in this already strange environment, anyway. The second group, consisting of Brenon, Payne, Bud, and Klik, with Raleigh driving the explorer, stops at the entrance to building #7. He steps out of the Explorer as he watches the others enter the building. A pair of those small dragonfly-like insects you've seen buzz away from the vines and hover around the truck for a few minutes, investigating the new arrival. Once they deterime the truck isn't a source of food, they buzz loudly back to the building, bouncing in and out of the ivy.

    Ooob-a-loom parks the Explorer on the road, near building #11. He exits the vehicle and walks to the rear of the vehicle, standing guard as the rest of the team (Telgar, Daelstrom, Martok and Taam) move cautiously to the entrance of the building. Halting the rest of the group at the relative cover of a large tree, Daelstrom activates his Holo field. You watch as the large human shimmers a moment, then disappears entirely. If you watch close enough, you see the shimmering figure make its way to the entrance of the building.
    Daelstrom pauses at the entrance, draws his machete and hacks away at the vines that make the entrance impassable. A few of the dragonfly insects buzz away angrily. A large lizard slithers further down the wall, away from the unwelcome disturbance. The crystal doors are easy enough to open - Daelstrom pushes the doors and enters the building into what was once a lobby. A few crystal pieces of furniture align the room, and there is a large waiting area, complete with couches, in the middle of the room. A few small rodents scurry across the floor, but otherwise the area is empty. Thorne taps his crono. "All clear. Come on in." He deactivates the Holo field and is joined by Taam, Telgar, and Martok. "As Brenon said," the Explorer notes, "we don't know what we're looking for. An underground entrance...somewhere." The group fans out and begin searching for anything that may be the entrance. The familiar vines that have claimed this ruined town grown here as well, though not in as great abundance as outside.
    The crystal walls allow light inside the building in a varying array of colors. As the sun progresses through the day, the lighting will be of a different hue as it bounces in off a different crystal. You can't help but be impressed by the design, Taam especially. The old miner approaches a counter in one corner, probing the floor with a knife, half looking for the entrance, half cutting away at the vines. Mumbling something about not being a gardner, he causes the nearby Telgar to chuckle.
    "I imagine you'll be doing more than a gardner's job by the time we get through all of this," Telgar announces, checking the floor in his area.
    Taam grumbles something again, spits a stream of brown. He senses a movement out of the corner of his eye.

[DieRoll]
    "What in blazes!??!" Taam shrieks as he jumps backwards. A thick, thorned vine, once hanging quietly over the counter, had reached out towards the old miner. He watched, awestruck, as a few of the vines came to life, reaching out at him. After a few seconds, the strands curl up and settle back down, blending in with the rest of the growth. "I ne'r beleev'd it had I na' seen it wi' me own e'ys," he says, blindly swatting  at one of the buzzing dragonflies. The others in the room gather around, asking what happened.
    "Wha' 'appened? I'll tell ye' wha 'appn'd." He taps his crono, making sure everyone heard. "Ye need ta watch these dam'd vines - they reach'd out for me, they's meat eater's fer sure, but ole Taam 'ere, I still got it, I do. Jump'd outta its way afore it got me. You watch out fo' them vines thar! Damnation, N'er in my days a vine attackin' me..." He holds his knife towards the patch of vines before him, ready to defend himself from another attack. Before anyone has the chance to question this episode as delusion, a small squeak comes from another patch of vines nearby. Everyone turns to the noise. A small lizard had just been snagged by the thorny vines. You watch as it struggles briefly, but soon goes limp as the vines entangle tightly around the creature.
    "I'll be," Telgar says. "The old fella's telling the truth." This opens a verbal assault from the miner, who reminds Daelstrom he is in perfect state of mind, probably more so than anyone else in this group. Taam continues the grumblings until BudReeep chimes in on your cronos.
    "The Prenglar Fly Traps....Pitcher Plants on Morgaine's World, yes, it's entirely possible we've got some carnivorous plants around here. Very interesting indeed, we need to be careful. Good eye there, Taam. Do you see any difference in these vines than the others? A way to pick them out?"
    Taam regards the patch of carnivorous vines.. "Damned if I know, all these flying bugs seem to be buzzing all about it though."
    "Yeh, that's it," Daelstrom says. "See the berries there -- these other vines don't have the berries. I think the vines with the berries are the... 'tangler vines'. Makes sense, most carnivorous plants have some kind of temptation for their prey. Be it the sweet aroma of the pitcher plants, the flowers of the Mongad Stingers, or the --"
    "Yes, Yes," BudReep interjects excitedly. "Even the berries of the Laco Fire Daisies! Yes, I see these plants here. Very interesting indeed. I'll have to study these further. Everyone keep an eye out, be careful around the berry vines."
    Taam's team continues searching their building, with even more caution than before.
    "Baah, this will tak' us all day, it will. N'aer e'vn surea wha' we's look'n for," the miner groans after twenty minutes of searching reveals nothing.
    "Nothing else to do," Daelstrom shrugs. "Let's move on."
    The team heads to the entrance, pushing aside the dangling vines to step outside. Having been suddenly disturbed by the exiting party, a small swarm of the dragonflies buzz away, startled.
    "Damn fool bugs, they make ole' Taam's nerve's shake wha' with all thar racket like that." As if they heard the insults themselves, several of the dragonflies launch themselves at the group...

[Initiative Roll... Team has initiative]
{Turn 1}
    Taam swats in surprise as two of the bugs zoom down on him. He barely hits one of the bugs, causing it to buzz louder, more annoyed than before, but it retreats a foot away, gauging its target. The other large dragonfly clamps down on his wrist, lashing down and striking the top of his hand with its tail.  The sting pierces through him, a quick wave of pain, and Taam curses loudly, not so much at the pain (which is minimal), but at the damned bug that had the nerve to sting him.
{Taam takes 2 damage: Current STA: 38}
    Another bug dives for Telgar, who slaps at it, knocking it a few inches off course as well. Its wings flap by his ears loudly.
    Martok is the target of one of the annoyed bugs as well. He too slaps the bug, retreats a few steps, and slaps the persistant dragonfly again, hitting it right across the body. The insect lands on the ground, ruffles its large wings, and hobbles away, clearly having had enough.
    Daelstrom, standing next to Taam, bats at one of the insects, knocking one out of the air. It too hobbles away, ruffling its wings testily.

{Turn 2}
    All the while this battle with the bugs is going on, the team is steadily retreating to the road, away from the vines. Perhaps these bugs will leave them alone if you get out of their range. Taam knocks the remaining bug out of the sky with a dead-on hit, and crushes the insect under his boot once it hits the ground. Telgar quickly dispatches the remaining dragonfly as the team reaches the road. Ooob-a-loom, using one arm to steady himself against the Explorer, is laughing heartily at the group. "You look like a bunch of crazed Dagoons," the dralasite wheezes, bellowing in laughter again. Although it may have been a humorous scene, the dralasite seems to be enjoying it far too much.
    "The damned things attacked us," Daelstrom says, annoyed at the chuckling techex.
    "We should jes burn the damn'd vines an' all tha' lives in 'em!" Taam growls, staring back at the building they'd just left. "I'd swear t' this side a' --- Oooo!" Taam grabs at his hand as a icy pain shoots up his arm. He looks at the wound where the dragonfly pierced his skin. Already it was swelling, a bubbled green pus oozing slowly from the wound. The miner lets out another yelp as his hand begins to throb. With each throb, the icy stinging grows.
{Taam takes 5 damage... Current STA: 33}
 

    BudReeep clicks the crono off and approaches building #7, snooping perhaps too close to the newly discovered tangler vines. Before anyone can caution him, several vines come to life, moving in quick jerks towards the dralasite. Bud leaps back, just out of reach. "Very interesting species," he murmors, jotting notes in his logbook. "Not only do they respond by touch, as they would to strangle small creatures, but it seems they can smell their prey, and actually launch out at it. Most intriguing."
    Brenon, Payne, and Klik make their way inside the building, Bud following. A large hole blasted in the northern wall provides light - there is nothing fancy about this building. It probably once served as some sort of warehouse but it is empty now. Vines and buzzing dragonflies cling to the walls. After an in-debth search, which failed to reveal the secret entrance, Brenon chimes on the crono. "Raleigh, bring the Explorer around the building, we'll meet you on the other side." The team steps through the rubble into the sunlight. The Explorer comes into view, slowing  to a halt on the road. Here you have a closer view of the pool of water. The large oval pool is filled with clear, fresh liquid. Before you can investigate the water further, movement nearby draws your attention. Perhaps aroused by the sound of the Explorer, a large, hairy, ape-like creature suddenly runs out from a crack in the wall of building #4 you. He rushes to the edge of the pool, and begins to jump up and down, howling madly, and beating the ground with a large club. He's clearly addressing you, and howls threateningly your way. The creature resembles a large baboon, except with longer fangs than the ones you're used to seeing in the city zoos.
 
 

"Dragonflies"	Volturnian Baboon
Tangler Vines

Referee's Notes:
Taam's sting is burning badly. The pain he's just suffered doesn't seem to be the last he'll feel of that.

I took liberties with dialogue and actions. I just wanted to move things along. Enjoy.