Robotech - Southern Cross Adventure

[Purr]

Then, with a snap of his fingers, he says, "I know of a cave not too far from here. Papa told me that when he was a boy, there used to be a river that flowed through it, but ever since the Rain of Fire from the Zentraedi, the river dried up and left the cave all dry. I don't know if it is big enough for all the things you wish to hide in it, but at least some of these things can fit in it."

"Excellent! Miguel, I'm going to tell you something - did you know my suit can fly? How about this? You fly with me! I'll carry you, you show me this cave, then I'll fly you back to your sloth and return to work! I bet I can fly faster than you can run! What do you say?"

T'kar thought the sooner he had emptied out the cargo bunkers, the better. Plus, he would fly where he could as to leave as few tracks as possible. Even if the cave weren't big enough, he could have Honey using her Mega-damage blaster to open up the cave. Boy, what he would have given for a ground radar!

 

[Sherwood]

When you pull up to the farm, you see Mateo and Maya outside with two of their kids, taking care of various chores. They look up as you pull in, with concern on the face of the man that changes to relief as he recognizes you. He smiles and waves, motioning for you to bring your hover cycles into the barn.

"Ah! Captain Conway! You and your team are always welcome here. Please, come and put your cycles in the barn, just in case we get a visit from Santos' gang of thugs. They would not be as kind to you as we are. Maya! Look! We have more guests!"

Maya, Ana and Pedro come up, and Ana gives all three of you great big hugs while Pedro does his best to give a snappy salute to Deunan. Maya says, "It is good to see you, my friends! How are all of you doing? What brings you to our home?"

Pedro says, "Mama, they're here for the spaceman, of course! Then they will kick that mean ol' Mr. Santos in his squishy parts and make him run away!"

Deunan greets the man with a smile and wave of her own. "Mateo! You are looking good. Outdoor life agrees with you." She follows the directions to take the cycle into the barn, thinking to herself that if he is this concerned to have them hide their presence here, things must be bad and getting worse. With the hover cycle off and secured in the barn, Deunan gives Mateo a hearty handshake, then as Maya and the kids come up, she returns the hugs and gives Pedro a salute in return, being as serious as she can be, before dropping down to one knee to give him and Ana a hug and tossling their hair.

She says, "Sorry that we've been absent for a while. With the fall of the ASC, we've been scrambling to find a safe haven from the Invid. Things have been rough, but so far, we've all gotten through it in one piece. But now, I hear that there is someone making trouble for you and your friends, and we just can't sit by for that." She looks around, then asks, "You have other guests here? Are we intruding?"

Then Pedro mentions a spaceman! That has to be one of the survivors of the UEEF fleet that made it down! With a look back at Alan and Marlon, she says, "Did I hear that right? You have a member of the space fleet here? Where? I am anxious to meet this person!"

 

[Psychie]

"Excellent! Miguel, I'm going to tell you something - did you know my suit can fly? How about this? You fly with me! I'll carry you, you show me this cave, then I'll fly you back to your sloth and return to work! I bet I can fly faster than you can run! What do you say?"

T'kar thought the sooner he had emptied out the cargo bunkers, the better. Plus, he would fly where he could as to leave as few tracks as possible. Even if the cave weren't big enough, he could have Honey using her Mega-damage blaster to open up the cave. Boy, what he would have given for a ground radar!

Miguel gives you a grin. "I get to fly? That sounds totally awesome! I'll show you the way out there, and we can then get back home for dinner." He stands carefully next to you to let you pick him up and take off with your suit jets. With Honey tailing along behind, the teenager gives you directions on how to find this old waterway.

The sun is starting to get low as you are told to drop down to the ground, and Miguel directs you to follow him to a rocky cliff with a cave carved into it by years of running water. As you get closer, you can see that the cave is tall enough for a Destroid to be able to scrunch down into it, but it will be a tight fit to get them inside. Obviously, the Cyclones and the other ordnance will be able to slide in here without a problem.

Inside the cave, Honey kicks on its lights to illuminate the interior. If you just put the Destroids in, you can squeeze in four of the large mecha without running out of room. If you wish to have the Cyclones in there, they will take up space of one of the Destroids, since there are spaces that the smaller ride armors can be stacked into and save space. In any case, it will take some time to get everything in there without detection.

Wrapping up, you can see that the day is nearly over.

 

[Psychie]

Deunan greets the man with a smile and wave of her own. "Mateo! You are looking good. Outdoor life agrees with you." She follows the directions to take the cycle into the barn, thinking to herself that if he is this concerned to have them hide their presence here, things must be bad and getting worse. With the hover cycle off and secured in the barn, Deunan gives Mateo a hearty handshake, then as Maya and the kids come up, she returns the hugs and gives Pedro a salute in return, being as serious as she can be, before dropping down to one knee to give him and Ana a hug and tossling their hair.

She says, "Sorry that we've been absent for a while. With the fall of the ASC, we've been scrambling to find a safe haven from the Invid. Things have been rough, but so far, we've all gotten through it in one piece. But now, I hear that there is someone making trouble for you and your friends, and we just can't sit by for that." She looks around, then asks, "You have other guests here? Are we intruding?"

Then Pedro mentions a spaceman! That has to be one of the survivors of the UEEF fleet that made it down! With a look back at Alan and Marlon, she says, "Did I hear that right? You have a member of the space fleet here? Where? I am anxious to meet this person!"

Mateo looks reproachfully at Pedro, saying, "My son, you need to guard your words carefully. If it were not for the fact that Capt. Conway is a friend, you could have put us all in very great danger, not to mention the spaceman." Turning his attention to Deunan, he says, "Yes, there is an alien in the area. It was found by Ana and Pedro, and it is unlike anything I have ever seen. It is a large creature, but not as big as one of the Zentraedi, standing over eight feet tall, and it is all shaggy, like a bear. It says that its name is T'kar, and he is here to help us. Right now, he is with Miguel, tending to something, but should be back soon."

 

[Purr]

Inside the cave, Honey kicks on its lights to illuminate the interior. If you just put the Destroids in, you can squeeze in four of the large mecha without running out of room. If you wish to have the Cyclones in there, they will take up space of one of the Destroids, since there are spaces that the smaller ride armors can be stacked into and save space. In any case, it will take some time to get everything in there without detection.

"Hmm, a puzzle of sorts to be deciphered." T'kar mused outloud as he often did. "6 1/2 mecha plus Cyclones with room for only 4. Looks like I'll have to do some digging. But hiding them comes first! Glad my suit can fly - that'll cut down on time and not leave tracks."

"Time to get you home, Miguel! Have you met this Third Heavy Recon team? What is your expert opinion of the bunch?" As far as T'kar was concerned, calling Miguel an expert on the matter was not that great a leap - Miguel intuitively had far more experience and knowledge about this region of the planet than either T'kar or Honey.

"O.K., time to fly! C'mon, Honey! Let's get Miguel home. We can take a break and then we've got work to do! For the UEEF!" T'kar then proceeded to take Miguel back home lest his parental units worry. What did Earth-cubs call their parental units back in their sloths? Momma and Poppa Bears? No, that wouldn't make sense. Greater furless ones who came before? Naaah. Too wordy. Sure, they didn't call them by their first names. Too formal! Boy, these Earth-cubs had it rough!

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan is quite happy at the possibility that they would be meeting some member of the Expeditionary Force here to help them. Having some more informed and trained personnel would be a godsend. Her only question that is stuck in her mind is, just what kind of creature is this? A massive fuzzy bear-thing? What has the UEEF force run into out there?

 

[Psychie]

"O.K., time to fly! C'mon, Honey! Let's get Miguel home. We can take a break and then we've got work to do! For the UEEF!" T'kar then proceeded to take Miguel back home lest his parental units worry. What did Earth-cubs call their parental units back in their sloths? Momma and Poppa Bears? No, that wouldn't make sense. Greater furless ones who came before? Naaah. Too wordy. Sure, they didn't call them by their first names. Too formal! Boy, these Earth-cubs had it rough!

The short flight back to the farm is uneventful, and it is full dark by the time you land. When you step into the barn once more, you spot something very much out of place: three shiny new-looking hover cycles. Miguel doesn't look worried. He tells you, "If it were Mr. Santos' men, they wouldn't be parking their bikes in our barn to be hidden from view, and there would be more of them. It must be someone that papa doesn't want to be seen by them." He suddenly gets excited. "It may be Capt. Conway and her team! They are good friends. Come on! Lets go see them!"

He runs out of the barn and heads for the house, motioning for you to follow him.


Inside the house, Alan, Marlon and Deunan are enjoying a nice cup of tea with Mateo and Maya when the door is suddenly opened by their oldest boy, Miguel. He looks happy to see the three of you. "Captain Conway! Alan! Marlon! Are you here to see the spaceman? He's coming along right behind me!" And sure enough, the doorway is filled with a large figure that doesn't quite fit inside the house. It is wearing some sort of MDC armor, and is carrying some large items, one of which is a massive shovel. Both Mateo and Maya seem to be at ease and is in no way startled by the appearance of this being, and seem to be pleased to see him.

Mateo says, "Capt. Conway? Meet T'kar, the spaceman. T'kar, this is Captain Deunan Conway, leader of the Third Heavy Recon Squad."

 

[Sherwood]

When she first hears the arrival of Miguel and T'kar, Deunan sets her drink aside and readies to grab a weapon. Then, when she sees that it is Miguel and not some bandit trying to rob the place, she relaxes. Then when she hears that this UEEF soldier is right with Miguel, a wide smile comes to her face. She is quite anxious to meet an alien (besides a loyal Zentraedi) that is not trying to kill her.

Deunan stands up to greet T'kar. With a friendly wave, she says, "Just in case no one has said it yet, welcome to Earth. I am Capt. Deunan Conway, of the Army of the Southern Cross, or what's left of it, since the place has been wiped out by these Invid. These two are members of my team. This is Staff Sergeant Alan McGregor, and this other fellow is Sgt. Major Marlon McKinney, both of which are valued members of the squad."

 

[Rykon]

Alan echoes Deunan's wave with his own, curiosity gnawing at the corners of his mind now that nerves had settled. "T'kar was it? I'd ask what brings a friendly face across the starry sea to a place like this, but I reckon we can take a guess or two. Still, I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say we'd love to hear your story. For all the people we've met from the reaches of space, not one encounter has started as friendly." Nor has their appearance been as majestic as an honest-to-god talking space bear.

 

[Purr]

Deunan stands up to greet T'kar. With a friendly wave, she says, "Just in case no one has said it yet, welcome to Earth.

Spoiler: Mood Music

"Workin' in The Coal Mine" by Devo =) Quite possibly, the perfect song for a Sekitan-mining Karbarran from outer space!
"Looord! I am so tired! How long can this go on?"

T'kar's tromping footsteps announced his presence before he entered the Sanchez home, wiping his dirty boots as best as he can prior to entry the primitive Earth-home. Stepping inside at 8 feet, 9 inches tall, T'kar moved with thoughtful care lest his massive limbs smash something.

Spoiler: First impression

This guy carrying a much-used space-shovel, a triple-barrel rotary shotgun, and a Mk. 25 automatic grenade launcher on his back all as if he were carrying a day pack.

(Image credit: Imgur)

The huge Bear-man paused and stared at each of the three military warriors seemingly taking in every detail his eyes provided him. To his Karbarran eyes, they looked so stunted, furless, and dreadfully skinny but with eyes alight with intelligence with stars-know-what happening in the hearts that guide them - in other words, perfectly human! Nothing wrong about that!

The atmosphere seemed informal so, speaking in kind of a goofy manner, he responded in his best English. "Heya Earth-people! Thanks for the welcome - you're the first to say it." He put his hand to his chest and bowed from the waist. "I'm Lieutenant T'kar the Prime Mover. I'm a Marine Technical Officer with the Bunker Hill, my call sign's, 'Ursa Maker.' I'm probably your first Karbarran, right?" He pointed a thumb in the direction of the barn. "Those old-style hover bikes in the herbivore-holder belong to you? Uh, you know ethanol's the way to go nowadays, right? Gasoline goes bad in about a year and cleaning the tanks is a real bear..."

"You can probably hear me better if I remove this." He casually removed his helmet.

Spoiler: He looks like this

(Image credit: Expeditionary Force Marines Sourcebook)

"There we go!" Just then, he realized his unasked-for advice as a stranger might not be welcome and hurriedly added with a hopeful grin, "Uh, you guys like role-playing games? If we join forces, we gotta do something during the downtime, right? Don't worry! I'm an O.K. Game Master!"

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan looks at the giant bear-man in front of them in surprise, then over at Alan and Marlon. He's a gamer? Really? She shakes her head in surprise. "Ah, no, I have not had the pleasure of playing any of those games before, but I suppose that we can discuss the possibility of me learning. Right now, however, I am more interested in getting to know more about your military training, and if we can hope to see more forces from your fleet coming down to render more aid."

 

[Purr]

Ah, no, I have not had the pleasure of playing any of those games before, but I suppose that we can discuss the possibility of me learning.

T'kar smiled and bounced on his heels. "Oh, the invitation is open to all of you! You take on the roles of heroic adventurers in a long-lost human medieval atmosphere struggling against rewarding dangers like spooky dungeons and awe-inspiring dragons! But I'm not answering your question.

"I think the reason you don't know what a Marine technical officer is is because you're with the Army and I am a Marine! And I'm the only Marine you're likely to see for some time because we really got whipped up there!

T'kar spoke modestly. "But you do have me! What do I bring to the table? I bring sciences and technologies not found here on Earth. With my M.O.S. in Mecha Engineering, I can create and design UEEF-style mecha and Cyclones from the ground up. My love of the sciences allows me to create hydropnics labs for fresh food and certain fuels and more. Stars have always delighted me and with my degree in Astrophysics and my telescope, I might be able to point things out up there that are otherwise disguised or unseen. I'm a qualified medical doctor specializing in trauma and battle stress (hence the role playing games, which I can design!). As a experienced and devoted weapons engineer, I can help you improve your arsenal against the Invid, too!

T'kar gave one big ferocious snarl. "The list goes on, but! RAAAH! Never forget! I am first and foremost a 100% UEEF Marine! Semper Fidelis! Gung ho! Gung ho! And I'm here to, uh, kick names and... take butts! Or, er, that can't be right. How does that human adage go again, please?"

T'kar scratched his big fuzzy forehead with his paw.

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan is pleased with the first impressions she's getting of this friendly alien. A little odd to be thinking of an alien that is not Zentraedi like that; most encounters she's had with aliens have been less than pleasant.

"We can shelve the idea of the role playing games for the time being. Right now, we have come here to find out some details on a bandit group that is terrorizing the area. The discovery of another friendly here is a bonus! Its good to hear that you are a trained Marine, T'kar, along with a skilled doctor. Right now, Earth can certainly use all the help we can get against these Invid. Just to lay our cards on the table with you, my team is comprised of several Spartas-class hover tanks, and two older model Valkyries as our air power. Do you have any mecha operation skills? I do happen to have access to a few Destroids that you might be able to use if so."

 

[Purr]

T'kar stood up a bit straighter, put his hands on his hips, and gave a hearty chuckle. "'Do I have any mecha operation skills?' If it's a Destroid and I can fit in it, I can make it dance - not that I'm a great dancer or anything. But I mean, why build 'em if you can't even turn it on? Kind of like going through the process of cooking a great meal without being able to taste it - what a pity that would be!" T'kar rubbed his hands together. "Thank you for your offer of mecha - which I would love to see by the way - but I'm pretty partial to my own. Mister Freedom and I won't be winning any ace medals, but we're here to do our part! I've also recovered some UEEF mecha which I'm in the process of trying to hide. But not without help! Right, Honey? Honey?

"Oh Hoooney?" T'kar sang out, looked around, his furry head turning every which way. "Pardon me a moment, please." The big bear opened the front door to the Earthling's home and sure enough, there was Honey, hovering above a bunch of flowers like a mechanical bee choosing which to pollinate. "Hey! We're being introduced here! You gonna come inside and meet everybody?"

"Yes!" came the enthusiastic electronic voice.

"Well, come on inside, already!" T'kar moved out of the way of the door. "Earth-people, this is Honey! 'She's' my robot assistant. Isn't she a beauty?"

"Yes!"

T'kar skrunched his face in mild irritation. "I was asking them, you ding-a-ling!"

Honey proceeded to fly just out of arm's reach to each of the Army of Southern Cross personnel and examine them. This she did by way of hovering above and circling around them as if examining them from almost every possible angle. A small blue-white light appeared cone-like from her face. It was soft and not blinding as it illuminated each of the soldiers in eager curiosity. As Honey moved, she created a soft and pleasant whirring sound which accompanied her every locomotion. This in turn provided the Third Heavy Recon the means to visually and auditorily examine 'her' in return, something she did not seem to mind. She did hover away from any attempts to touch her smooth, hypercarbon surface lest they put fingerprints on her lenses. Honey, like T'kar, was not without her pride and curiosity.

Spoiler: Honey

(Image credit: Grigory Lebidko)

While this took place, T'kar's brain produced question after question after question. So many unknowns! As the queries arose, he prioritized and compartmentalized each, certain that he might annoy the Earth-people with his own scientific curiosities, for it was the rare soldier who enjoyed T'kar's investigations into their lives and ways of thinking. What eventually came out of T'kar's mouth was this and the longer he talked, the more frustrated he seemed to become.

"Deunan Conway, it seems we have a common enemy in this Mister Santos, the human... villain? Is that the right word? We Karbarrans, at least those I've been around for the few centuries I've been at it, we... just don't do these things to each other! And by that I mean, what this Mister Santos Earth-person is doing to Maya and Mateo and their Earth-cubs. I'm... embarrassed to say that I don't know quite what to make of it. Where I'm from, Earth-people have this word I've only heard once before. It's a bad word. I think you call a person like Mister Santos a... traitor? And if that's the case, then... since he's allied himself with the Invid, he therefore ought to be dealt with as if he were Invid? Am I getting this right? Help a Karbarran out here!"

 

[Sherwood]

"Deunan Conway, it seems we have a common enemy in this Mister Santos, the human... villain? Is that the right word? We Karbarrans, at least those I've been around for the few centuries I've been at it, we... just don't do these things to each other! And by that I mean, what this Mister Santos Earth-person is doing to Maya and Mateo and their Earth-cubs. I'm... embarrassed to say that I don't know quite what to make of it. Where I'm from, Earth-people have this word I've only heard once before. It's a bad word. I think you call a person like Mister Santos a... traitor? And if that's the case, then... since he's allied himself with the Invid, he therefore ought to be dealt with as if he were Invid? Am I getting this right? Help a Karbarran out here!"

Deunan nods with a grim expression on her face. "Yes, calling him a traitor is the right word, and the three of us are here to learn more about this man and his people before making our move against him. I don't want to leap into a fight without having the right intelligence of how many follow this man, and what firepower we are dealing with here. Anyone willing to sell their own people out to the Invid are no better than they are, and will be dealt with, one way or another."

She pauses, taking in the knowledge that this Karbarran is a Destroid pilot, and the fact that he has some UEEF mecha that need to be hidden away is more good news. After a moment, she says, "We have a place that might be able to help you with hiding these mecha, but it will take some effort to get them transported there in secret." Deunan doesn't go into any more details at the moment, knowing that too much information out there in the presence of civilians, even ones that are friendly to them, is a danger to operational security and if this gets out, it could be deadly for all of them.

 

[Purr]

T'kar stared. He did that a lot when his mind was working hard as it was now. Finally, he straightened and stood before this Third Heavy Recon team.

"Wow. I just can't imagine harming another Karbarran. All true Karbarrans do their fair share. Those who don't, get the boot, but not the shotgun!" The big bear-man's expression appeared confused and frustrated as the thought of killing a human being was naggingly distasteful, however necessary it might become.

Then he brushed the thought away. T'kar stood tall and declared with a firm voice. "Well, if we are to work together, there are two very important things that I need you to abide by. First is, I cannot abide laziness! If you expect me to do all the work while you sit around and play Playstation 10 all day, then Honey and I are gone. Secondly, I expect integrity! If you say you're going to do something, you had better mean it! Because I'll be watching.

T'kar displayed a proud grin. "However, as we Karbarrans are a people who value honor, strength of spirit, and a work ethic you can always bet your bottom line on, you can expect the same from Honey and me!

"Do you agree to these terms? If so, then I await your conditions for Honey and me." T'kar slowly folded his huge, very capable arms and patiently awaited your response.

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan listened carefully to the large alien, taking in his words. "I can agree to what you ask, so long as you understand that the group you are looking to become a part of has been a team for several years, have fought alongside each other and depended on one another for our very lives. My first priority is to keep my team safe and preserve the lives of as many people as possible. If at any time it becomes clear that you are going to be a liability, I'll be forced to ask you to move on. But let us all hope that it never comes to that, and that we will all become fast friends in no time."

She glances over at Alan and Marlon, then back to T'kar. "Is this acceptable to you? Can you see yourself working with us under those conditions? Because I can bet dimes to dollars that your help will be invaluable to our efforts to rid the Earth of the Invid."

 

[Sherwood]

Bump for some action!

 

[Psychie]

As everyone is talking in the house, you can hear the sounds of several diesel powered engines come rolling up the road towards the front of the house. Large trucks can be seen pulling up to a stop, all with several men in them.

Mateo frowns. "There are some of Santos' men out front. Let me see what they want before they try to get inside and spot all of you here. Just your presence will be enough to start a fight." He heads out the door to meet with the men.

What do you do in the meantime?

 

[Sherwood]

Deunan looks over at Marlon and Alan, and says, "Weapons tight. We don't want to start a fight out here when we don't know the odds. Lets see if Mateo can get rid of these thugs before it gets ugly." She does, however, go over to the window and tries to sneak a peek out to get an idea of numbers of men involved, and what kind of armor and weapons (if any) that there are in the crowd.

 

[Rykon]

Alan nods and takes the wolverine rifle in hand. He carefully moves beneath a different window and squats down in anticipation of a firefight.

 

[Psychie]

For the two of you looking out of the windows, go ahead and give me Perception rolls, please.

 

[Sherwood]

Perception roll for Deunan.

 

[Rykon]

Rolling Perception...

Alan gets a 28!

 

[Purr]

Earlier...

Deunan listened carefully to the large alien, taking in his words. "I can agree to what you ask, so long as you understand that the group you are looking to become a part of has been a team for several years, have fought alongside each other and depended on one another for our very lives. My first priority is to keep my team safe and preserve the lives of as many people as possible. If at any time it becomes clear that you are going to be a liability, I'll be forced to ask you to move on. But let us all hope that it never comes to that, and that we will all become fast friends in no time."

She glances over at Alan and Marlon, then back to T'kar. "Is this acceptable to you? Can you see yourself working with us under those conditions? Because I can bet dimes to dollars that your help will be invaluable to our efforts to rid the Earth of the Invid."

T'kar stared hard, not at the Army leader, but at the ceiling. "Short answer, Army? Aye aye! Long answer? If I become a liability, you won't have to worry about that - I'll remove myself like any decent Marine would. One more thing - you're Army of Southern Cross. Me? I'm a UEEF Marine. I'm willing to ally with you, but I have no standing orders that tell me to follow under ASC command. Until I receive such an order, which may never happen, I follow the last orders I was given. In other words, you don't command me and I don't command your people either. Allies all the way, here for the same reason - liberate Earth!

T'kar gave an ursine grin. "And if we become friends? Great! I'm open to that! But right now, I just want to know how well Honey and I mesh with your team, Army."

* * *​

As everyone is talking in the house, you can hear the sounds of several diesel powered engines come rolling up the road towards the front of the house. Large trucks can be seen pulling up to a stop, all with several men in them.

Mateo frowns. "There are some of Santos' men out front. Let me see what they want before they try to get inside and spot all of you here. Just your presence will be enough to start a fight." He heads out the door to meet with the men.

What do you do in the meantime?

Now...

"Aw, fuddruckers!" T'kar snarled quietly, but he calmed himself and thought hard. T'kar looked around at the ASC team pulling out weapons like the old Wolverine carbine, an S.D.C. weapon. T'kar glanced down at himself in his Ursa Combat armor with a triple-barrel shotgun over one shoulder and an automatic grenade launcher over the other - all Mega-damage. Heck, if this Santos were armed like the ASC, Honey could take them out by itself. However, T'kar realized something else. Something dangerous. His very presence here endangered every one of Mateo's family members.

"Army? I'm going out back and getting SA (situational awareness or a combat-related understanding of what is actually going on). If Santos's guys get one look at me in this armor, they might break out Mega-damage weapons and fire in here. I'll be on radio channel Tac 2 if you need me. C'mon, Honey! C'mon, humans!" If there was another room, T'kar herded the human civilians into it, told them to lie down, well out of the room where the ASC might have a firefight. If there was not, T'kar took the family with him if they wanted to follow him. His plan was to get the civilians to safety and himself in a separate position of advantage against the enemy.

As stealthily as he could with Automatic Grenade Launcher in hand, T'kar slipped out the back of the house and into heavy concealment (since these wooded homes provided no cover from Mega-damage firepower). He tried to recall what he had already learned about the terrain. He attempted to get a view on the enemy while completely concealing himself and Honey (preferably in a forest or hilled area with some kind of high ground). At no point did he put himself or Honey into the line of sight or hearing of Santos's men if he could help it.

Because, the Karbarran Marine reasoned, if these Santos traitors were all equipped in Mega-damage body armor and firearms (unlike the ASC force)... then T'kar and Honey were the only force capable of stopping them if a firefight ensued.