After the beam weapons overview by Brenon, everyone settled down for what would be only an hour or so nap. Brenon
kept watch while all slept. He prepared Telgar's and Zhirrzh's gear for
tonight; making it as light as possible. He cleaned and prepped two
Needler Rifles and set aside 4 Doze grenades for the two, set aside a pair
of IR Goggles for Telgar and made sure they worked. Grabbed a container
for Zhirrzh to put his the gathered sample in. Also picked up any trash
left behind and tossed it in the Foxhole he dug earlier. Then covered the
hole back up. As dusk sets in and day slowly becomes night, Brenon wakes
those fast asleep and makes preparations for tonight's sorte. Brenon waits
for everyone to pack up their gear and assemble any items they might have
brought outside.
    "I suggest everyone grab a bite before we move out. Kah'liss, I want
you in charge of
rationing out food supplies, medecines and water."
    Everyone settles down and opens the first box of survival rations.
Divvying out servings to each, everyone realizes that this dehydrated,
water-mixed paste will be the only dependable food source. Hopefully
they'll be able to hunt on their own once they get out of the desert..IF
they get out of the desert..
    "Ok everyone lets fire up the explorer and get moving. Zhirrzh, with
your vision I'd like you up top so you've got a good view."
       Zhirrzh nods. "No problem."
    Brenon continues, "Raleigh, I'd like you to drive and Rolgar seated
next to you as his vision is better than mine at night. I'll be situated
just behind Raleigh keeping careful watch. We will not be using any lights
so we'll need those eyes up front. Raleigh, you may wish to grab a pair of
IR goggles yourself..."
      Raleigh is stirred from a deep sleep by Brennon.  He nods
confirmation
that he is awake and rises.  In all his life he couldnt remember the
last time he was this tired.  Approaching Kahliss, he whispers to the
Vrusk so no one else can hear.
    Kahliss looks at Raleigh and shakes his head with regret.  "Sorry, no we don't."  Perhaps it's a lie, perhaps not, but now is not the time to see whether stims should be used for extra 'energy', instead of life saving means.
    With that out of the way, Raleigh cleans up his area and helps pack up
the Explorer.  Climbing into the drivers seat, he hits the starter
button and smiles as the Explorers powerful engine comes to life.
    He gives Brennon the thumbs up and awaits the roll out...

     As everyone is boarding and ready for departure, Brenon pulls Zhirrzh
and Telgar aside. Speaking only to them.
"Again, Zhirrzh, you're point with Telgar trailing 30-40 yards as backup.
Be careful at the well, may be rigged or something? Who the hell knows,
make sure to look for tracks and the direction they appear to be coming
from. Grab a sample of water and put it in this. I've set aside a few
things you'll be taking with you, 2 needlers and 4 doze grenades."
"When referring to the well over comm channels, refer to it as 'HOPE'.
Don't want anyone picking up stray signals with strangers talking about a
well, might be the only one around for quite some distance and people have
a tendancy to put two and two together. You will also refer to any
sightings of people as 'BADGERS'. Got it? Good, let's get rolling"
    If everyones in the explorer and ready to go we move out. We've got a
short 6km drive ahead of us. would like to make that in 25-30 minutes.
    Zhirrzh grins and thinks to himself. "Now the fun begins."
   Bending down, he quickly removes his boots and sets them in the back of
the explorer, then grabs one of the needler guns and a couple of clips. He
immeditely snaps one clip into the needler and checks to make sure it is
ready to fire. Satisfied, he hooks the needler and the spare clip to his
bandolier. He then places the auto pistol, auto rifle, and gyrojet sidearm
into the weapon stores in the explorer and verifies the power store
connected to his holoscreen.
   Climbing up onto the top of the explorer, he begins testing various
hand and foot holds until he is confident that he can quickly change the
direction he's looking without falling off the explorer. Finally, he peeks
over the edge and looks down at Raleigh.
   "Ready to move."

   The Explorer starts off with a slight lurch, spitting sand from beneath
its tires. Zhirrzh, on top, holds himself as the vehicle starts. It wasn't
comfortable up there with all of the gear, but he knew he was secure. As
long as Raleigh didn't try any stunts everything should be fine.
   The ride is slow and smooth, the Explorer occasionally skidding across
a soft patch of sand. Its 4 wheel drive makes for an easy traverse across
the desert, however. About 6km into the trip, Raleigh brings the Explorer
to a slow halt, surveying the territory around him. Flat, nothing but open sand for miles around.  Not so much as a
friggin bush, no cover.  He released the door hatch and walked around to
the passenger side where the others were getting ready.  "This is it. 2 cliks to the well."
Despite the situation, everyone seemed to be fairly relaxed while Zhirrzh and Telgar readied for their upcoming foray.
  "You two clowns keep your ass in the dirt and be careful out
there...K?  One yahoo with a high powered rifle and a pair of IR's can
really ruin your day in this." Raleigh pats Zhirrzh on the shoulder and
continues...
      "You just holler if you need the cavalry."
       "Don't wait up." Zhirrzh grins in return.
        The Yazirians scan with their own eyes, and a few others scan with pairs of IR goggles. Silence,
nothing, an any direction, save for the faint shadow of the well 2km away.
The soft whisper of the wind as it dances over the cooler air seems
haunting. But there is no sign of life anywhere. The sky is clear and the
temperature is steadily dropping. Both of Volturnus' moons are up,
granting a bit of light to the area.
   As Zhirrzh and Telgar make the final preparations for their recon,
Rolgar looks about the crowded cabin uneasily. "When they leave, I hope
you don't want us to stay in the Explorer. If we are attacked, one hit
would be a quick end. Perhaps we can establish a small perimeter here as
well."
   Lyrium nods. "I did not get a chance to begin my ecological analysis at
the LZ. I'd like to also start examining those sparse lily pad plants
we've seen sporatically (OOC - they were mentioned briefly when you
crashed, if you don't recal). If we get out of the desert it will good to
have data of one of the harsher environments of the planet."
 
 
    Zhirrzh jumps down from the top of the Explorer and takes in his new surroundings. "Way too open for my taste." Zhirrzh mumbles.
    Zhirrzh moves to the back of the Explorer and retrieves his boots, quickly putting them back on. Pausing for a moment, he reaches back into the Explorer to grab a flashlight, a holoflare, and a coil of rope. Slowly, he walks back to the front of the Explorer and stands staring in the direction of the well, now only 2 clicks away. He pulls in a long breath of night air and allows a toothy grin to emerge.
    Glancing over at Brenon, he gives a confident nod. "Ready to move. Just give the word."
As the explorer rolls to a stand still, the gentle hum that was associated with the
Explorer's engine quiets to soft pur, then finally ends as Raliegh shuts the explorer down.
Brenon whispers to Raliegh, "If things start to feel a little funny, I might say, 'Raliegh
Move In', that means I want you to haul ass as fast as possible towards the well, OK? If I
say 'Raliegh, Pull Back', that means I want you to ease the explorer back slowly...and
quietly. Got it? Good. I'm probably being over cautious here but I don't want to take
chances. I want to do everything by the book."
    Brenon turns to speak to the rest of the crew, "Everyone present at the Beam Weapons
training go ahead and arm yourself. It may seem I'm being anal or over cautious, the fact
is, I don't take chances if I don't have too. And this is a situation where I don't have
too. If you would, please keep quiet and coversation to a minimal." Brenon exits the
Explorer to speak with Telgar and Zhirrzh.
    Brenon notices Telgar and Zhirrzh prepped and ready to go. He whispers, "One last
thing,since first spotting HOPE we've assumed it's a well due to it's appearance. Remember
don't judge a book by it's cover. Who knows what function it may serve, maybe even a vent or
something for an underground facility. Just something to keep in mind...Good luck and be off with ya."
     Kahliss leans against his spot, preparing a 'cat'nap while he awaits the next turn of events...
    "Thanks." Zhirrzh grunts. "I'll be in contact." With that said, Zhirrzh throws a glance at Telgar as he turns to face the well. "Give me a good 35-40 meter head start, then follow."
    Immediately, Zhirrzh takes off at a slow jog, breathing evenly and regularly for the short distance to the well. As Zhirrzh gets within 1 click of the well, he slows to a walk and crouches low. His eyes and head move to cover every inch of terrain within five meters of his path. Wary, and alert, Zhirrzh keeps moving.
    Within half a click of the well, Zhirrzh stops and crouches with one knee in the sand.
    "Within half a click of HOPE." Zhirrzh whispers into his chronocom. "Proceeding to within 100 meters."
    Zhirrzh picks his knee up off the sand and carefully lopes another 400 meters. Staying low to the ground, he scans both the path in front and the area around the well, looking for anything out of place. At 100 meters from HOPE, Zhirrzh stops and lowers himself belly down, using the sand for concealment.
    "Zhirrzh to Telgar," he whispers again. "Within 100 meters of HOPE. Hold position."
    Carefully, Zhirrzh begins tracing every detail of the scene in front of him.
     Telgar listens as Zhirrzh relays his position and his order to hold position.  Dropping down into a short of crouch, Telgar puts a firm grip onto the rifle Brenon had prepared.  He scans the desolate and dark landscape for anything that might be hostile.  That is when he realizes that he has lost sight of Zhirrzh.  It's as if he had just melted into the sand, and Telgar figures that the skilled explorer had done just that.
    "No BADGERS yet.  It seems quiet for now.  How does HOPE look where you are?", Telgar whispers into his cronocom to Zhirrzh.
    There had been plenty of times Telgar had been ambushed by the corporations in settings like this... he was glad the group wouldn't have to go through something that rough, but he was well aware that it could still get pretty bad out here.  'Zhirrzh, I hope you know what you're doing up there', he says to himself.

    Raleigh sits impatiently in the drivers seat, beating
out a quiet drumb solo on the dashboard.
'It's too damn quiet!" he thinks to himself as he scans
the horizon as far as the Explorers front window will
allow.  Looking over at Brennon, he shakes his head in
amazementknowing full well that the wait has got to be
driving him crazy too...yet you couldnt tell by looking
at him.
  He mentally checked everything out again, something
he'd already done a hundred times over in the last
hour.  Keys were in the ignition, Assault rifle resting
on the floor next to him, everything checked out...or
did it?  Damnit! He was a Tech...not a friggin warrior.
He was so tired now he was near dillusional.  Did the
others feel this way?
  Closing his eyes for a moment and taking in a deep
breath, Raleigh again surveyed the terrain.  The night
air helped...for now anyway. The waiting went on...
 

        Zhirrzh hunkers down, burrowing into the soft sand, hiding himself
     from view of anyone who may be snooping. He then studies the structure
     before him.
 
     [DieRoll Zhirrzh]
     Concealment Check
        Column +1 (Level 1 Concealment)
        Die Roll   {{{{ Results Secret }}}}
 
 
        The structure is definately manmade, or /something/made, anyway,
     Zhirrzh notes. A hexagonal structure, probably 2 and a half meters
     tall, and perhaps only 4 meters in diameter. Rough stone slabs define
     the structure, and its roof is domed with a few curved stone pieces.
     He can see no entrance; if one exists, it will be on the Eastern side
     of the building. Zhirrzh scans the area keenly, looking for any
     obvious tracks or perhaps manmade trash that might be lying about. He
     understands that the blowing Volturnus wind would probably cover any
     tracks quickly, which was good for them as a team, but it didn't make
     tracking any easier.
 
     [DieRoll Zhirrzh]
     Tracking Check
        Column +1 (Lvl 1 Tracking) - 2CS (distance and prone position)
        Adjusted Column = 0
        Die Roll        {{{{ Results Secret }}}}
 
 
        Zhirrzh doesn't notice anything out of place around the structure.
     He's seen all he can from this vantage point, he decides, and prepares
     to make the last 100 meters to the structure...

 
    Zhirrzh relays his observations back to the rest of the team. "I'm moving in. Telgar, move in a clockwise circle around HOPE, remaining at least 30 meters distance until I alert you of the location of the entrance. Then take position 30 meters away."
    Zhirrzh pulls himself slowly out of the sand and approaches to within 5 meters of the structure, and begins to circle, carefully looking for any surprises or signs of occupancy. Finding the entrance, he quickly relays it to Telgar. "Zhirrzh to Brenon, moving inside HOPE."
 
        Zhirrzh approaches the structure, eyes keen and weapon ready, just
     in case. He rounds the south eastern corner of the structure and ends
     up on the eastern side, noticing the 1 meter tall entrance to the
     northeast. He scans the ground closely for tracks but finds none;
     either the building has not been used for a while, or the winds of the
     desert have erased all memory of visitors.
        The flashlight dares the darkness of the small interior. It is
     definately empty and houses a small well in the center of the
     structure. Zhirrzh checks traps but finds none. A rope attached to the
     well descends down into the dark recess of the well, and Zhirrzh
     shines the light down the chamber. A reflection of the light confirms
     that their initial theory was correct - this was definately a well,
     with water. Something in this desert was out here anyway, and this
     spot surely a welcome oasis to whoever they may be.
        Lifting the rope reveals a small, wooden bucket, and Zhirrzh
     promptly fills his container. Taking a final look around, he
     determines nothing out of place and can find no more clues. He gives
     the signal to Telgar to withdraw, and they make their way back to the
     Explorer....
 
 
        Lyrium has her toxyrad guage ready when Brenon presents the
     container to her. Everyone watches anxiously to see the results of the
     test.
        After several minutes of tests, Lyrium feeding small samples into
     the guage and analyzing the results, she speaks.
        "There are trace amounts of a form of arsenic here, a natural
     acidic occurance in the water. I wouldn't suggest drinking it
     straight, you'd surely get sick...but boiling it and capturing the
     vapors would clear the arsenic and make it potable, if we wanted to."
 
==================================================
     Referee's Note
 
     IF you elect to take water from the well, you'll need a place to store
     it. Currently your water packs are...full of water and you do not have
     empty containers lying about. The water you will consume today will be
     14 liters, so that gives you that much to refill, if you stick around
     the well.
 
     From the well, you still see desert in all direction.
 
     If you do stay at the well and get the water, there is a total of 12
     liters you can collect. (You do NOT know this now, so remember that)
 
     Lyrium is still pushing for some analysis time. She wants to spend
     some time in an area for enviromental, geological, and atmosperic
     studies. Doing so in a desert terrain would be valuable, as in any
     other terrain you may come across. This would take an hour or so for
     her to collect data in a spot, and then she'll have stuff for
     analysis. She reminds everyone that Streel did want this information
     as well..
 
     Jeff