Mitheral
"Growf!"
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Futuristic Tanis
- Thread starter Mitheral
- Start date
sharlene79
Member
Evacuation
Location - Mothership crash site - surface of the ocean
Time: Day 1, early morning
Characters present:
Amber Volkova (and some of the Dragons)
Amber Volkova nearly freaked when her cargo walker unit (industrial version of the one used in Aliens – self contained for use in toxic atmospheres) bobbed to the surface of the Tanis ocean, supported from sinking to the ocean floor only by a pair if inflated bioplastic prefab cabins and the grip she had clamped down on a cargo pod. The first thing she saw were the dragons landing on the cargo pods. If this had been a movie it would have been the coolest thing. But up close and personal was more than a little nerve wracking.
During the ride down to the planet’s surface she had been in her walker unit filled with impact gel, breathing through a snorkel tube. She had had a New Atlantean aqualung as well as a backup. But it would have become useless at the crushing depths of the ocean floor. Once the impact had slowed to sinking rates only, she had pressed the explosive charges that freed her to move about. Her sole task had been to release any cargo pods that didn’t auto eject. She had worried that the charges would never detonate leaving her trapped on a ride to the ocean bottom. But they had worked fine.
Now her concern was the huge reptiles that were starting to swarm the wreck. She wasn’t really armed. But the clamps on the walker could probably have crushed a young dragon’s skull – or at least a neck. But her initial panic subsided as she realized the dragons didn’t seem hungry, but rather curious. And … she had long been a fan of science fiction.
“Anne McCaffrey would have loved this. Mushu, I think we have found some long lost cousins of yours.” As her pulse calmed a little with her own attempts at humor she carefully started to adjust her position, careful to maintain a mechanical grip at all times. “Okay … time to play can opener.”
The movement of the strange bipedal form that was Amber did NOT sit well with the dragons. One landed in front of her, flapped its wings and hissed. It huffed itself up as large as it could. Amber couldn’t help but notice the baby fat still a little evident in the dragons. She winced. Her next thought was a sobering one.
“And where is your Mommy, Little One?” She immediately regretted that thought. The fledgling vanished – literally - as in it seemed to teleport away to anywhere but where it stood. The other fledglings merely dove away … as a huge version sporting a golden sheen appeared in their place and roared menacingly. “Oh … I just had to ask. Mushu … talk to her!” The stuffed animal picked that moment to be silent.
Amber’s lower jaw began to move of its own accord, setting her teeth to chattering. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then reopened them, steeling up whatever courage she could muster. She really had nowhere to go. “I wasn’t going to hurt them!” That only earned her a screech and peck. The dragon actually tried to bite the walker unit. Amber was grateful for the very solid construction of the walker. “Okay … my fault! I probably look like some dangerous predator. But all I’m doing is trying to save people. Look you, there are some of OUR kids in there!”
The mother dragon seemed a little taken aback at Amber’s tone.
“Yeah! Your kids were walking on OUR kids. Sorry if we were invading your space here. It wasn’t like we had wings to be picky about where we landed!” Amber knew her words were meaningless … or so she thought.
Location - Mothership crash site - surface of the ocean
Time: Day 1, early morning
Characters present:
Amber Volkova (and some of the Dragons)
Amber Volkova nearly freaked when her cargo walker unit (industrial version of the one used in Aliens – self contained for use in toxic atmospheres) bobbed to the surface of the Tanis ocean, supported from sinking to the ocean floor only by a pair if inflated bioplastic prefab cabins and the grip she had clamped down on a cargo pod. The first thing she saw were the dragons landing on the cargo pods. If this had been a movie it would have been the coolest thing. But up close and personal was more than a little nerve wracking.
During the ride down to the planet’s surface she had been in her walker unit filled with impact gel, breathing through a snorkel tube. She had had a New Atlantean aqualung as well as a backup. But it would have become useless at the crushing depths of the ocean floor. Once the impact had slowed to sinking rates only, she had pressed the explosive charges that freed her to move about. Her sole task had been to release any cargo pods that didn’t auto eject. She had worried that the charges would never detonate leaving her trapped on a ride to the ocean bottom. But they had worked fine.
Now her concern was the huge reptiles that were starting to swarm the wreck. She wasn’t really armed. But the clamps on the walker could probably have crushed a young dragon’s skull – or at least a neck. But her initial panic subsided as she realized the dragons didn’t seem hungry, but rather curious. And … she had long been a fan of science fiction.
“Anne McCaffrey would have loved this. Mushu, I think we have found some long lost cousins of yours.” As her pulse calmed a little with her own attempts at humor she carefully started to adjust her position, careful to maintain a mechanical grip at all times. “Okay … time to play can opener.”
The movement of the strange bipedal form that was Amber did NOT sit well with the dragons. One landed in front of her, flapped its wings and hissed. It huffed itself up as large as it could. Amber couldn’t help but notice the baby fat still a little evident in the dragons. She winced. Her next thought was a sobering one.
“And where is your Mommy, Little One?” She immediately regretted that thought. The fledgling vanished – literally - as in it seemed to teleport away to anywhere but where it stood. The other fledglings merely dove away … as a huge version sporting a golden sheen appeared in their place and roared menacingly. “Oh … I just had to ask. Mushu … talk to her!” The stuffed animal picked that moment to be silent.
Amber’s lower jaw began to move of its own accord, setting her teeth to chattering. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then reopened them, steeling up whatever courage she could muster. She really had nowhere to go. “I wasn’t going to hurt them!” That only earned her a screech and peck. The dragon actually tried to bite the walker unit. Amber was grateful for the very solid construction of the walker. “Okay … my fault! I probably look like some dangerous predator. But all I’m doing is trying to save people. Look you, there are some of OUR kids in there!”
The mother dragon seemed a little taken aback at Amber’s tone.
“Yeah! Your kids were walking on OUR kids. Sorry if we were invading your space here. It wasn’t like we had wings to be picky about where we landed!” Amber knew her words were meaningless … or so she thought.
Mitheral
"Growf!"
Evacuation
Mothership Engineering Section
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Jagga Reed
Dr. Jagga Reed groaned as he tried to move. He had been in the main power control room when the ship had impacted the ocean. The sudden deceleration had slammed him into the wall across the room hard. He had been prepared for the worst, wearing a heavy engineering suit for work around radiation filled with impact gel. Under all this – like most colonists – he wore a biosuit made of a thin bioplastic material that was could serve as a temporary vacc suit in a pinch if sealed and oxygen provided. Cased in an equally protected crate were force nuclear batteries and the makeshift Jagga field he had created for upgrading the shielding of the ship. Even with all the protection he had been battered around pretty well. He felt sore all over.
With a grunt he tried to move and didn’t budge. The exoskeleton of his suit had failed. He grimaced. Most men would have been stuck there to die. He was glad he had disengaged the powered system so he could move manually in such an event before the crash. He strained against the suit and slowly rolled over. The compartment was already filling with water.
“Plan B,” he thought to himself. This slow he would never make the climb through the ship before his oxygen ran out. And the compartments were surely going to be going into containment mode to slow filling up with water. His only course of action that remained was to head directly to an EVA maintenance exit.
He was now glad he hadn’t told the acting commander that he could have kept main power online longer to reinforce the shields. They wouldn’t have helped. And the main power units would have irradiated the region killing half the colonists and damaging the embryonic storage systems. He opened a smaller case and pulled out a Rad Tab – a warning device used to mark radiation levels in a serious event for later repair or containment efforts. The device glowed violet instantly. He decided to hold off activating the Jagga field. By the time he was going to be able to get outside the ship he would be at crushing pressures that he wasn’t sure the suit could handle. The suit would provide protection from radiation for awhile. He strapped the Jagga field assembly to him. Then he walked over to an emergency locker and pulled out Life Jaws.
By the time he made it to the EVA access port he was sweating and breathing far heavier than he would have liked. He swapped out a fresh O2 tank stored in the access area, an unofficial emergency procedure he had added long ago during the trip. He had never really expected to be saving his own life in the process. He activated the Jagga field and prayed it would still work. He was rewarded with a dull glow. Then he opened started flooding the compartment. As the water rose, the field created a bubble of air around him. He grinned slightly, pleased to see the results of his work working so well.
It was already getting very dark outside the ship as it continued to sink. He stepped out and instantly started to rise. It was then he realized there was a very good chance he was about to kill himself with a case of the bends. He adjusted the volume of the bubble to slow his ascent as best he could. He shook his head inside the engineering suit and laughed.
“Hell of a way to die after coming all this way.”
Mothership Engineering Section
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Jagga Reed
Dr. Jagga Reed groaned as he tried to move. He had been in the main power control room when the ship had impacted the ocean. The sudden deceleration had slammed him into the wall across the room hard. He had been prepared for the worst, wearing a heavy engineering suit for work around radiation filled with impact gel. Under all this – like most colonists – he wore a biosuit made of a thin bioplastic material that was could serve as a temporary vacc suit in a pinch if sealed and oxygen provided. Cased in an equally protected crate were force nuclear batteries and the makeshift Jagga field he had created for upgrading the shielding of the ship. Even with all the protection he had been battered around pretty well. He felt sore all over.
With a grunt he tried to move and didn’t budge. The exoskeleton of his suit had failed. He grimaced. Most men would have been stuck there to die. He was glad he had disengaged the powered system so he could move manually in such an event before the crash. He strained against the suit and slowly rolled over. The compartment was already filling with water.
“Plan B,” he thought to himself. This slow he would never make the climb through the ship before his oxygen ran out. And the compartments were surely going to be going into containment mode to slow filling up with water. His only course of action that remained was to head directly to an EVA maintenance exit.
He was now glad he hadn’t told the acting commander that he could have kept main power online longer to reinforce the shields. They wouldn’t have helped. And the main power units would have irradiated the region killing half the colonists and damaging the embryonic storage systems. He opened a smaller case and pulled out a Rad Tab – a warning device used to mark radiation levels in a serious event for later repair or containment efforts. The device glowed violet instantly. He decided to hold off activating the Jagga field. By the time he was going to be able to get outside the ship he would be at crushing pressures that he wasn’t sure the suit could handle. The suit would provide protection from radiation for awhile. He strapped the Jagga field assembly to him. Then he walked over to an emergency locker and pulled out Life Jaws.
By the time he made it to the EVA access port he was sweating and breathing far heavier than he would have liked. He swapped out a fresh O2 tank stored in the access area, an unofficial emergency procedure he had added long ago during the trip. He had never really expected to be saving his own life in the process. He activated the Jagga field and prayed it would still work. He was rewarded with a dull glow. Then he opened started flooding the compartment. As the water rose, the field created a bubble of air around him. He grinned slightly, pleased to see the results of his work working so well.
It was already getting very dark outside the ship as it continued to sink. He stepped out and instantly started to rise. It was then he realized there was a very good chance he was about to kill himself with a case of the bends. He adjusted the volume of the bubble to slow his ascent as best he could. He shook his head inside the engineering suit and laughed.
“Hell of a way to die after coming all this way.”
sharlene79
Member
Evacuation
Location - Mothership crash site - surface of the ocean
Time: Day 1, early morning
Characters present:
Amber Volkova (and some of the Dragons)
Miyakani (Derahn)
Miyakani was a superb member of her species, the Derahn. She resembled a succubus from Terran mythology. Sensual was the word that best describe her. Her eyes are slitted, like a reptile’s. Her wings were partly batlike, partly saurian. Her fingers were tipped with razor sharp claws, hands slightly webbed. And she had a snake-like tail. Her smile revealed sharpened catlike teeth and a forked tongue - not smooth like a snake’s, but more pinkish and soft like a human’s. Their hide is dark greenish and smooth, like an amphibian.
Miyakani arrived at the cargo pod where Amber was still babbling at the dragons. The Mother dragon had calmed down as Amber babbled on. Half the words were meaningless. But in truth that didn’t matter. For some reason Miyakani understood enough to get the gist. She dove down as she made her final approach, gathering momentum, and then shot up and out of the water to land on the cargo pod. She stood before the mother dragon and spoke calmingly.
Amber’s eyes widened at the sight of Miyakani’s bipedal form. The woman’s attire was clearly native. Her top was basically a very loose net, designed not for coverage, but more utilitarian – for hanging tools and implements on. The weave became finer becoming a silky looking black cloth to cover private areas. Amber caught sight of the spear gun the alien carried, the slender knife on her side. The spear appeared to have corroded a little, but the knife looked brand new. The alien turned to her and moved in uncomfortably close to peer in through the clear plating.
“Gorka.” She spoke clearly with a tone of warning and gestured with both hands and gnashed her teeth to indicate something large and predatorial. Then she made the same gestured at Amber’s walker unit. “Gorka.” She pointed out to sea and repeated herself.
Location - Mothership crash site - surface of the ocean
Time: Day 1, early morning
Characters present:
Amber Volkova (and some of the Dragons)
Miyakani (Derahn)
Miyakani was a superb member of her species, the Derahn. She resembled a succubus from Terran mythology. Sensual was the word that best describe her. Her eyes are slitted, like a reptile’s. Her wings were partly batlike, partly saurian. Her fingers were tipped with razor sharp claws, hands slightly webbed. And she had a snake-like tail. Her smile revealed sharpened catlike teeth and a forked tongue - not smooth like a snake’s, but more pinkish and soft like a human’s. Their hide is dark greenish and smooth, like an amphibian.
Miyakani arrived at the cargo pod where Amber was still babbling at the dragons. The Mother dragon had calmed down as Amber babbled on. Half the words were meaningless. But in truth that didn’t matter. For some reason Miyakani understood enough to get the gist. She dove down as she made her final approach, gathering momentum, and then shot up and out of the water to land on the cargo pod. She stood before the mother dragon and spoke calmingly.
Amber’s eyes widened at the sight of Miyakani’s bipedal form. The woman’s attire was clearly native. Her top was basically a very loose net, designed not for coverage, but more utilitarian – for hanging tools and implements on. The weave became finer becoming a silky looking black cloth to cover private areas. Amber caught sight of the spear gun the alien carried, the slender knife on her side. The spear appeared to have corroded a little, but the knife looked brand new. The alien turned to her and moved in uncomfortably close to peer in through the clear plating.
“Gorka.” She spoke clearly with a tone of warning and gestured with both hands and gnashed her teeth to indicate something large and predatorial. Then she made the same gestured at Amber’s walker unit. “Gorka.” She pointed out to sea and repeated herself.
Mitheral
"Growf!"
Evacuation
Mothership Crash Site - aboard the Sea Knight
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’mar
Zhan de L’mar nursed the propulsion systems of the Sea Knight along as they approached the wreckage of the Tanis mission mothership. He and his twin sister Zhauna were more or less the last line of defense for the emergency. They had been ejected along with the other cargo pods, but intended to follow behind the mothership to assist in rescue efforts.
The Sea Knight and its pure research counterpart had been designed by Zhaun himself. He had taken the concept from an iconic show from the latter half of the 20th century. It was the flying sub, from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He had designed this original prototype during his career as an eco-terrorist. Only his submersible could do a whole lot more and was considerably more rugged. Unfortunately the trip had taken its toll. He was taking no chances on burning anything out unless needed. There was no point in trying to power up the fusion plant. That was a long, complicated process. So he settled for hydrox turbo propulsion – a clean system he could replenish later given sunlight and water.
Zhauna had gone into law enforcement. While she sympathized with her brother’s passions for the seas, she had not agreed with his methods. Even his goals were arguable back at the time. But given the hindsight of what had eventually happened to Earth’s oceans in all likelihood, she figured neither won the argument. In the end she had settled for talking him into giving up his crusade to save a planet no one man could save in favor of preserving a new one from mankind making the same old mistakes all over again.
Zhauna leaned over and tapped on the dial of the speedometer. Then she glanced up at her brother questioningly in silence. He scowled back at her.
“I could push her, but until I have had time for a proper shakedown I don’t dare. We won’t do anyone much good as a sailboat. They should have thawed me out sooner.”
Zhauna shook her head. “I’m sure the engineers went through the systems as thoroughly as they could with so much riding on everyone doing their part,” Zhauna pointed out.
“What …. Like Jagga Reed? The man was in prison for murder. You know that? I don’t know as I’d trust the guy. He’s a loner who may very well just let us all die.”
Zhauna shook her head. “He did his time. And look who’s talking. You were the one launching missiles into drilling rigs, fishing vessels and sea construction camps. It is a miracle no one ever died. Reed is the only reason the ship made it from what I hear.”
“Self preservation,” Zhaun argued.
“Really? He wouldn’t let anyone take his place in the engineering room during ride down. You see the mothership sticking up out of the water? Reed is about a mile or so below the ocean. And I think you have a real good idea what that means.”
Zhaun was silent for a short time. “I didn’t know about that.” His voice was low.
“This world is a second chance to get things right for a lot of people.”
Zhaun suddenly looked over sharply. “Wait! You don’t have some … thing for that guy, do you?”
Zhauna almost denied it instantly. But she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to irritate her brother just a little. “Well, he IS a real alpha male type…” She couldn’t help herself. She started laughing at the look her brother had on his face. Then she became serious. “And if I did? Get used to the idea of calling him brother.”
Zhaun could not come up with a counter to that one. He hated when his sister won arguments…
“Zhaun, look. I respect the man. I am Security and worked in Law Enforcement. So I know the man’s profile. One thing I have to say for the man – he never tried to avoid punishment. He made a mistake and paid the price willingly. I respect that.”
Mothership Crash Site - aboard the Sea Knight
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’mar
Zhan de L’mar nursed the propulsion systems of the Sea Knight along as they approached the wreckage of the Tanis mission mothership. He and his twin sister Zhauna were more or less the last line of defense for the emergency. They had been ejected along with the other cargo pods, but intended to follow behind the mothership to assist in rescue efforts.
The Sea Knight and its pure research counterpart had been designed by Zhaun himself. He had taken the concept from an iconic show from the latter half of the 20th century. It was the flying sub, from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. He had designed this original prototype during his career as an eco-terrorist. Only his submersible could do a whole lot more and was considerably more rugged. Unfortunately the trip had taken its toll. He was taking no chances on burning anything out unless needed. There was no point in trying to power up the fusion plant. That was a long, complicated process. So he settled for hydrox turbo propulsion – a clean system he could replenish later given sunlight and water.
Zhauna had gone into law enforcement. While she sympathized with her brother’s passions for the seas, she had not agreed with his methods. Even his goals were arguable back at the time. But given the hindsight of what had eventually happened to Earth’s oceans in all likelihood, she figured neither won the argument. In the end she had settled for talking him into giving up his crusade to save a planet no one man could save in favor of preserving a new one from mankind making the same old mistakes all over again.
Zhauna leaned over and tapped on the dial of the speedometer. Then she glanced up at her brother questioningly in silence. He scowled back at her.
“I could push her, but until I have had time for a proper shakedown I don’t dare. We won’t do anyone much good as a sailboat. They should have thawed me out sooner.”
Zhauna shook her head. “I’m sure the engineers went through the systems as thoroughly as they could with so much riding on everyone doing their part,” Zhauna pointed out.
“What …. Like Jagga Reed? The man was in prison for murder. You know that? I don’t know as I’d trust the guy. He’s a loner who may very well just let us all die.”
Zhauna shook her head. “He did his time. And look who’s talking. You were the one launching missiles into drilling rigs, fishing vessels and sea construction camps. It is a miracle no one ever died. Reed is the only reason the ship made it from what I hear.”
“Self preservation,” Zhaun argued.
“Really? He wouldn’t let anyone take his place in the engineering room during ride down. You see the mothership sticking up out of the water? Reed is about a mile or so below the ocean. And I think you have a real good idea what that means.”
Zhaun was silent for a short time. “I didn’t know about that.” His voice was low.
“This world is a second chance to get things right for a lot of people.”
Zhaun suddenly looked over sharply. “Wait! You don’t have some … thing for that guy, do you?”
Zhauna almost denied it instantly. But she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to irritate her brother just a little. “Well, he IS a real alpha male type…” She couldn’t help herself. She started laughing at the look her brother had on his face. Then she became serious. “And if I did? Get used to the idea of calling him brother.”
Zhaun could not come up with a counter to that one. He hated when his sister won arguments…
“Zhaun, look. I respect the man. I am Security and worked in Law Enforcement. So I know the man’s profile. One thing I have to say for the man – he never tried to avoid punishment. He made a mistake and paid the price willingly. I respect that.”
sharlene79
Member
Evacuation
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Amber Volkova
Miyakani
Dr William Greyson
Dr Muriel Reno
Major Amaretta Carnegie
And her brain chose then to lock up for a minute. When it did unfreeze, she murmured, “Get off the roof…” She forced herself to breath.
The mother dragon had backed off a little. But as if sensing Amber’s return to action the dragon flapped its wings, huffed up a little and hissed.
“Okay, okay. So the kiddies were curious and big, clumsy Amber was all scary. Sorry. But if I let go I sink like a rock. And I am not about to go EVA from this suit with you trying to bite it. Why don’t you do something productive like minding all your kiddies so my friends aren’t all scared to … to hatch. We can’t just leave the … the eggs behind. Some of us aren’t ready to hatch yet.”
The dragon calmed considerably as Amber babbled. Perhaps it sensed she wasn’t the threat her fledglings had announced. And Miyakani didn’t seem afraid. The dragon stood briefly on its haunches and gave a long keen that ended in a sort of high pitched roar. Activity by all the fledglings stopped very suddenly – save for a couple sliding off cargo pods as they played a draconic version of King of the Hill. Then they all suddenly started vanishing … save for one.
The holdout was a golden sheened fledgling very similar in hue to the mother. It keened defiantly back at its mother. Miyakani winced and grinned. The young queen was trying to make the strange containers hatch. It was the cargo pod that held Dr. Greyson. His pounding had triggered maternal instincts in the fledgling. The mother dragon practically sighed in exasperation. Then it spread its wings and took to flight gently so as not to rock the cargo pod and landed by her daughter.
Miyakani was still standing far too close. It was a little distracting. But Amber opened a channel to the Major. “Major, uhm … suggestions? Fledglings just cleared your pod. Dr. Greyson and Reno are sort of pinned down. I think the young female is sitting on the auxiliary hatch on top.”
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Amber Volkova
Miyakani
Dr William Greyson
Dr Muriel Reno
Major Amaretta Carnegie
And her brain chose then to lock up for a minute. When it did unfreeze, she murmured, “Get off the roof…” She forced herself to breath.
The mother dragon had backed off a little. But as if sensing Amber’s return to action the dragon flapped its wings, huffed up a little and hissed.
“Okay, okay. So the kiddies were curious and big, clumsy Amber was all scary. Sorry. But if I let go I sink like a rock. And I am not about to go EVA from this suit with you trying to bite it. Why don’t you do something productive like minding all your kiddies so my friends aren’t all scared to … to hatch. We can’t just leave the … the eggs behind. Some of us aren’t ready to hatch yet.”
The dragon calmed considerably as Amber babbled. Perhaps it sensed she wasn’t the threat her fledglings had announced. And Miyakani didn’t seem afraid. The dragon stood briefly on its haunches and gave a long keen that ended in a sort of high pitched roar. Activity by all the fledglings stopped very suddenly – save for a couple sliding off cargo pods as they played a draconic version of King of the Hill. Then they all suddenly started vanishing … save for one.
The holdout was a golden sheened fledgling very similar in hue to the mother. It keened defiantly back at its mother. Miyakani winced and grinned. The young queen was trying to make the strange containers hatch. It was the cargo pod that held Dr. Greyson. His pounding had triggered maternal instincts in the fledgling. The mother dragon practically sighed in exasperation. Then it spread its wings and took to flight gently so as not to rock the cargo pod and landed by her daughter.
Miyakani was still standing far too close. It was a little distracting. But Amber opened a channel to the Major. “Major, uhm … suggestions? Fledglings just cleared your pod. Dr. Greyson and Reno are sort of pinned down. I think the young female is sitting on the auxiliary hatch on top.”
Mitheral
"Growf!"
Evacuation
Mothership Crash Site - aboard the Sea Knight
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’mar
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’Mar
Amber Volkova
Amaretta Carnegie
Jagga Reed
and numerous other (colonists and natives)
Major Amaretta Carnegie took stock of the situation. It sounded as though all the cargo pods with colonists were successfully ejected – here or elsewhere. And when Dr Jagga Reed bobbed to the surface – a real surprise – she was more than a little pleased. Her gut had told her the man could be trusted, but for once she had doubted her instincts. The man had proven her gut could still be trusted.
The Major cracked open the auxiliary hatch and opened it up to reveal daylight. She maintained her composure at the sweet sight of a blue sky. There was no sign of the dragon that had been clamoring around atop her cargo pod. The Major hated to admit it, but she was a little disappointed. She opened a general comm channel. “All Call. Everyone report.”
After a few minutes she assessed the situation. The dragons weren’t attacking. That suggested they weren’t hungry. And the mother seemed “tame” enough that the L’mar’s could try to precede with the rescue operations. “Sea Knight 1, are all systems operational?”
Zhaun de L'mar responded. “Won’t know until we try. And I don’t want to burn any systems out using them unnecessarily. But my guess is that the critical and simpler systems should work fine. Already tested the winching systems. And I packed plenty of rope. Just need to tether everyone off and I should be able to tow them ashore like a tug.”
“Understood," the Major replied. "Ms Volkova has informed me that we can expect some large marine predators inbound.”
“Right. I’ll see what I can do on my end.” Zhaun responded. He turned to Zhauna. “Take the helm. I want to set up some sensors.”
Zhauna looked at her brother a little annoyed. “Don’t you think we have better things to do then satisfying some scientific research?”
“Absolutely. I’m searching for their communication patterns. I might be able to discourage them from considering us as their next meal.” He couldn't blame his sister for assuming the worst of him.
“Oh,” Zhauna responded, a little mollified. “Sorry.”
“No worries. I DO get a little caught up in my work sometimes. Thanks for keeping me in check.” Zhaun never looked away from his instruments. “I half wish I’d taken a Sojouner variant right now. Better sensors.”
Zhauna was a little surprised at her brother’s response. She smiled a little. “Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?”
Zhaun glanced up and grinned. Then he went back to his sensors. He grimaced. “Setting this to record. We need to hurry. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Mothership Crash Site - aboard the Sea Knight
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’mar
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’Mar
Amber Volkova
Amaretta Carnegie
Jagga Reed
and numerous other (colonists and natives)
Major Amaretta Carnegie took stock of the situation. It sounded as though all the cargo pods with colonists were successfully ejected – here or elsewhere. And when Dr Jagga Reed bobbed to the surface – a real surprise – she was more than a little pleased. Her gut had told her the man could be trusted, but for once she had doubted her instincts. The man had proven her gut could still be trusted.
The Major cracked open the auxiliary hatch and opened it up to reveal daylight. She maintained her composure at the sweet sight of a blue sky. There was no sign of the dragon that had been clamoring around atop her cargo pod. The Major hated to admit it, but she was a little disappointed. She opened a general comm channel. “All Call. Everyone report.”
After a few minutes she assessed the situation. The dragons weren’t attacking. That suggested they weren’t hungry. And the mother seemed “tame” enough that the L’mar’s could try to precede with the rescue operations. “Sea Knight 1, are all systems operational?”
Zhaun de L'mar responded. “Won’t know until we try. And I don’t want to burn any systems out using them unnecessarily. But my guess is that the critical and simpler systems should work fine. Already tested the winching systems. And I packed plenty of rope. Just need to tether everyone off and I should be able to tow them ashore like a tug.”
“Understood," the Major replied. "Ms Volkova has informed me that we can expect some large marine predators inbound.”
“Right. I’ll see what I can do on my end.” Zhaun responded. He turned to Zhauna. “Take the helm. I want to set up some sensors.”
Zhauna looked at her brother a little annoyed. “Don’t you think we have better things to do then satisfying some scientific research?”
“Absolutely. I’m searching for their communication patterns. I might be able to discourage them from considering us as their next meal.” He couldn't blame his sister for assuming the worst of him.
“Oh,” Zhauna responded, a little mollified. “Sorry.”
“No worries. I DO get a little caught up in my work sometimes. Thanks for keeping me in check.” Zhaun never looked away from his instruments. “I half wish I’d taken a Sojouner variant right now. Better sensors.”
Zhauna was a little surprised at her brother’s response. She smiled a little. “Who are you? And what have you done with my brother?”
Zhaun glanced up and grinned. Then he went back to his sensors. He grimaced. “Setting this to record. We need to hurry. We don’t have a lot of time.”
Last edited by a moderator:
sharlene79
Member
Evacuation
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Dragons
Derahn and Mogradoth
The Major cracked open the auxiliary hatch and opened it up to reveal daylight. She maintained her composure at the sweet sight of a blue sky. There was no sign of the dragon that had been clamoring around atop her cargo pod. The Major hated to admit it, but she was a little disappointed. She opened a general comm channel. “All Call. Everyone report.”
Once she had heard everyone’s reports and barked out orders to get the rescue operations underway she started to give their draconic escort – and the alien woman her attention. She ignored the expletive uttered by her lieutenant, Jasmine Anabwe. Fact was, she echoed the sentiment personally. This was not an unoccupied world. Humanity was about to have to make some choices – share or … She didn’t want to consider the with whom or what yet. Her gut was already telling her they couldn’t afford enemies.
At least for now the dragons seemed non hostile. The Mother dragon was staring right back at her. Amaretta couldn’t help but try to calculate how many shots it would take to kill the dragon. But that was a last resort option. And even then, only something to do if attacked. For all she knew the dragons were some integral part of the alien society. Humans couldn’t afford to turn a whole planet against them. And as Amaretta quickly realized, that meant she was going to have to take command of the situation as soon as possible to prevent any other humans from overreacting. The aliens weren’t being hostile. They were, if anything, trying to help.
A larger fledgling popped into the air nearby Amaretta pod and came to a fairly agile landing. Many of the hatchlings failed in their landing attempts on the smooth surface of the pods. The dragon kept its wings outspread a bit like a seagull, ready to take back to flight at an instant. But when Amaretta didn’t react, it slowly drew them in and cocked its head in curiosity. It keened a little, and then rocked side to side.
Jasmine chuckled. “She’s talking to you.”
“Mmm,” Amaretta responded. “So she is.” She stood up carefully in a smooth measured movement. The dragon huffed up and craned its head higher. “Ya suppose she thinks she’s boss?” As if in response the dragon gave a sharp keen. Amaretta sighed. Okay, they are cute for the moment. But we have work to do. Time to start getting the ropes and grapple buoys tied off and ready. I’ll get Greyson’s pod. No point in disturbing the nesting instincts.”
“Well, he’s trapped in there with Dr. Reno. I doubt he’ll mind.” Jasmine grinned.
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Dragons
Derahn and Mogradoth
The Major cracked open the auxiliary hatch and opened it up to reveal daylight. She maintained her composure at the sweet sight of a blue sky. There was no sign of the dragon that had been clamoring around atop her cargo pod. The Major hated to admit it, but she was a little disappointed. She opened a general comm channel. “All Call. Everyone report.”
Once she had heard everyone’s reports and barked out orders to get the rescue operations underway she started to give their draconic escort – and the alien woman her attention. She ignored the expletive uttered by her lieutenant, Jasmine Anabwe. Fact was, she echoed the sentiment personally. This was not an unoccupied world. Humanity was about to have to make some choices – share or … She didn’t want to consider the with whom or what yet. Her gut was already telling her they couldn’t afford enemies.
At least for now the dragons seemed non hostile. The Mother dragon was staring right back at her. Amaretta couldn’t help but try to calculate how many shots it would take to kill the dragon. But that was a last resort option. And even then, only something to do if attacked. For all she knew the dragons were some integral part of the alien society. Humans couldn’t afford to turn a whole planet against them. And as Amaretta quickly realized, that meant she was going to have to take command of the situation as soon as possible to prevent any other humans from overreacting. The aliens weren’t being hostile. They were, if anything, trying to help.
A larger fledgling popped into the air nearby Amaretta pod and came to a fairly agile landing. Many of the hatchlings failed in their landing attempts on the smooth surface of the pods. The dragon kept its wings outspread a bit like a seagull, ready to take back to flight at an instant. But when Amaretta didn’t react, it slowly drew them in and cocked its head in curiosity. It keened a little, and then rocked side to side.
Jasmine chuckled. “She’s talking to you.”
“Mmm,” Amaretta responded. “So she is.” She stood up carefully in a smooth measured movement. The dragon huffed up and craned its head higher. “Ya suppose she thinks she’s boss?” As if in response the dragon gave a sharp keen. Amaretta sighed. Okay, they are cute for the moment. But we have work to do. Time to start getting the ropes and grapple buoys tied off and ready. I’ll get Greyson’s pod. No point in disturbing the nesting instincts.”
“Well, he’s trapped in there with Dr. Reno. I doubt he’ll mind.” Jasmine grinned.
Mitheral
"Growf!"
Evacuation
Mothership Crash Site - aboard the Sea Knight
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’mar
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’Mar
Amber Volkova
Amaretta Carnegie
Jagga Reed
and numerous other (colonists and natives)
Jagga frowned as he surveyed bobbed to the surface. This was where his plan has some serious flaws. His force field worked very much like the ones in old science fiction shows that were used as airlocks in the mode he was using to protect himself from extreme pressures and remain afloat. In short, it was preventing movement in both directions. He had a limited supply of oxygen. He’d sink like a rock the instant he turned the field off – or it ran out of power. And getting out of a suit filled with impact gel would take awhile – made worse by the loss of power to the exoskeleton. He’d probably sink to crushing depths long before he got free.
His brain was running through all his options when the water beneath him started to give way in a mass of bubbles as the Sea Knight surfaced under him. He mentally slapped his forehead as the simplest solution had evaded him. The voice of Dr L’mar came over his radio.
“Dr Reed, care for a lift?” Zhaun asked. “Keep your field on until my sister has time to get out to you. If we lose you, just reactivate. Any troubles and we’ll do what we must to recover you. Nice job getting us here.”
Zhauna said nothing. Her brother was being civil at least. In fact, for him it was exemplary behavior. “Dr Reed? I’ll be tossing a raft to you. Bioplastic, self-inflating … and pre-attached to a cable which will be attached to the dry dock lift rings on top of Sea Knight. You’re going to be fine. My brother and I were from New Atlantis. This is routine for us.”
“Understood,” Jagga replied gruffly. He wasn’t the social type, so he skipped the usual platitudes.
Mothership Crash Site - aboard the Sea Knight
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’mar
Zhaun and Zhauna de L’Mar
Amber Volkova
Amaretta Carnegie
Jagga Reed
and numerous other (colonists and natives)
Jagga frowned as he surveyed bobbed to the surface. This was where his plan has some serious flaws. His force field worked very much like the ones in old science fiction shows that were used as airlocks in the mode he was using to protect himself from extreme pressures and remain afloat. In short, it was preventing movement in both directions. He had a limited supply of oxygen. He’d sink like a rock the instant he turned the field off – or it ran out of power. And getting out of a suit filled with impact gel would take awhile – made worse by the loss of power to the exoskeleton. He’d probably sink to crushing depths long before he got free.
His brain was running through all his options when the water beneath him started to give way in a mass of bubbles as the Sea Knight surfaced under him. He mentally slapped his forehead as the simplest solution had evaded him. The voice of Dr L’mar came over his radio.
“Dr Reed, care for a lift?” Zhaun asked. “Keep your field on until my sister has time to get out to you. If we lose you, just reactivate. Any troubles and we’ll do what we must to recover you. Nice job getting us here.”
Zhauna said nothing. Her brother was being civil at least. In fact, for him it was exemplary behavior. “Dr Reed? I’ll be tossing a raft to you. Bioplastic, self-inflating … and pre-attached to a cable which will be attached to the dry dock lift rings on top of Sea Knight. You’re going to be fine. My brother and I were from New Atlantis. This is routine for us.”
“Understood,” Jagga replied gruffly. He wasn’t the social type, so he skipped the usual platitudes.
sharlene79
Member
Landfall
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Miyakani
Dragons
With a bit of teamwork, complicated a little by some of the fledgling dragons who decided this was all a game, the Tanis colonists managed to get the cargo pods tied off to the Sea Knight. The fledglings kept trying to catch the ropes when thrown from the Sea Knight at first. Then they tried to play Tug of War. But their interference was soon cut short by their mother who seemed to comprehend they were in the way. Besides, she did NOT like the Sea Knight and the huge waldo limbs that stretched forth. To her it resembled a giant crab.
The largest of the fledglings was had an ebony black hide. It was the only one who seemed to make itself of any use. Rather than intercepting the cables, it fetched the ones that were misthrown and started bringing them to their intended targets. Unlike some of the smaller dragons it stood aloof, more like an adult, and tried to ignore the antics of the others.
Once the cargo pods were strung up the Major gave the go ahead to start pulling them toward the shore. It was long before sonar showed the Gorka to be closing fast. It was going to be something of a race. Amaretta started considering the worst case scenario – that the Gorka were amphibious and capable of movement on land. Anyone caught outside the cargo pods would be fair game. The pods themselves could probably take a beating. Given the size of the larger Gorka – they might damage the Sea Knight badly. While the Major was armed, this isn’t the sort of battle she was prepared for.
“Dr L’mar, I am going to need to know how to kill those Gorka when they get ashore. Before you object, I would prefer to avoid it. But we are going to need to clear them away from the cargo pods. If you have any brilliant ideas, I’ll gladly entertain them. Personally I don’t want to waste ammunition like this.”
As Sea Knight approached the shore the humans could see a number of bipedal forms lined up on the shoreline. Many resembled Miyakani. But those were interspersed with what might be a second species that stood twice her height with a much more muscular frame. They also sported weaponry and armor. Amaretta adjusted her visor in to take a closer look. An initial review suggested nothing that would threaten the cargo pods or the Sea Knight. The larger aliens, whom she would later learn were called Mogradoth, might have the strength to damage control surfaces or even the waldoes. But they would be very unlikely to harm anyone unexposed.
Odds were they were from whatever close by village Miyakani was from. They must have overcome initial fears of the wreck of the mothership. As many of the Derahn females were clothed much like Miyakani, Amaretta guessed the Mogradoth were there to do much as she would in their position – to protect the gatherers from a threat. The downside was that they seemed primitive, perhaps territorial. She only hoped Miyakani would serve as a sort of liaison for them.
“Dr L’mar, if you have any extra video sensors that can keep an eye on the natives, the footage may prove useful later on.” Amaretta suggested.
“Lt Anabwe already has that covered. You are probably right. We are going to have to learn to live with them. Couldn’t hurt to learn their culture.”
The Sea Knight was a triphibious craft similar to the Flying Sub from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. On land it could move, albeit slowly. Its top speed even on a flat smooth road was only about 30 mph. But it did have excellent traction.
The Mogradoth eyed the Sea Knight and its procession with considerable apprehension. They looked almost ready to start a fight. Miyakani had already moved on ahead to speak with the warriors. It was very clear she was trying to prevent a war. And her attempts had already started an argument among them. The argument was due to be very short lived for the Gorka were right behind them. And if they could move on land, the natives were going to be a huge feast.
Miyakani was already yelling something about Gorka and pointing at the sea. After a brief cursory glance out at the water a Mogradoth, possibly a leader among the warriors began roaring orders. They required no translation. He pointed and the Derahn started fleeing inland.
Amaretta cursed and shouted. “The Gorka are amphibious!” It was the only logical reason the natives already ashore would flee.
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Miyakani
Dragons
With a bit of teamwork, complicated a little by some of the fledgling dragons who decided this was all a game, the Tanis colonists managed to get the cargo pods tied off to the Sea Knight. The fledglings kept trying to catch the ropes when thrown from the Sea Knight at first. Then they tried to play Tug of War. But their interference was soon cut short by their mother who seemed to comprehend they were in the way. Besides, she did NOT like the Sea Knight and the huge waldo limbs that stretched forth. To her it resembled a giant crab.
The largest of the fledglings was had an ebony black hide. It was the only one who seemed to make itself of any use. Rather than intercepting the cables, it fetched the ones that were misthrown and started bringing them to their intended targets. Unlike some of the smaller dragons it stood aloof, more like an adult, and tried to ignore the antics of the others.
Once the cargo pods were strung up the Major gave the go ahead to start pulling them toward the shore. It was long before sonar showed the Gorka to be closing fast. It was going to be something of a race. Amaretta started considering the worst case scenario – that the Gorka were amphibious and capable of movement on land. Anyone caught outside the cargo pods would be fair game. The pods themselves could probably take a beating. Given the size of the larger Gorka – they might damage the Sea Knight badly. While the Major was armed, this isn’t the sort of battle she was prepared for.
“Dr L’mar, I am going to need to know how to kill those Gorka when they get ashore. Before you object, I would prefer to avoid it. But we are going to need to clear them away from the cargo pods. If you have any brilliant ideas, I’ll gladly entertain them. Personally I don’t want to waste ammunition like this.”
As Sea Knight approached the shore the humans could see a number of bipedal forms lined up on the shoreline. Many resembled Miyakani. But those were interspersed with what might be a second species that stood twice her height with a much more muscular frame. They also sported weaponry and armor. Amaretta adjusted her visor in to take a closer look. An initial review suggested nothing that would threaten the cargo pods or the Sea Knight. The larger aliens, whom she would later learn were called Mogradoth, might have the strength to damage control surfaces or even the waldoes. But they would be very unlikely to harm anyone unexposed.
Odds were they were from whatever close by village Miyakani was from. They must have overcome initial fears of the wreck of the mothership. As many of the Derahn females were clothed much like Miyakani, Amaretta guessed the Mogradoth were there to do much as she would in their position – to protect the gatherers from a threat. The downside was that they seemed primitive, perhaps territorial. She only hoped Miyakani would serve as a sort of liaison for them.
“Dr L’mar, if you have any extra video sensors that can keep an eye on the natives, the footage may prove useful later on.” Amaretta suggested.
“Lt Anabwe already has that covered. You are probably right. We are going to have to learn to live with them. Couldn’t hurt to learn their culture.”
The Sea Knight was a triphibious craft similar to the Flying Sub from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. On land it could move, albeit slowly. Its top speed even on a flat smooth road was only about 30 mph. But it did have excellent traction.
The Mogradoth eyed the Sea Knight and its procession with considerable apprehension. They looked almost ready to start a fight. Miyakani had already moved on ahead to speak with the warriors. It was very clear she was trying to prevent a war. And her attempts had already started an argument among them. The argument was due to be very short lived for the Gorka were right behind them. And if they could move on land, the natives were going to be a huge feast.
Miyakani was already yelling something about Gorka and pointing at the sea. After a brief cursory glance out at the water a Mogradoth, possibly a leader among the warriors began roaring orders. They required no translation. He pointed and the Derahn started fleeing inland.
Amaretta cursed and shouted. “The Gorka are amphibious!” It was the only logical reason the natives already ashore would flee.
Mitheral
"Growf!"
Landfall
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
Miyakani pointed a finger out at the sea and craned her neck up to look at the tall male Mogradoth. “Brekassus, there were Gorka coming.”
“Good! But why in the spirits names did you not tell your idiot sisters to get out of the water and off the beach!” Brekassus growled. “Do you suppose the Others will taste better than Derahn?” Sarcasm dripped from his tongue. “Yes, of course! How cunning of you. Maybe when the Gorka had eaten the Others, they won’t eat the village.”
Miyakani actually smacked a fist into Brekassus stomach and instantly regretted it. She may as well have tried to hit a wall of solid stone. “Ow! Look, these Others may not be like the other Others.”
“If it looks like an Other, stinks like an Other ….” Brekassus saw no point in the argument. “Do you suppose they will die like Others too? One could only hope.”
Miyakani’s eyes widened in alarm. Brekassus might be right about that one. But she held her ground. “The Dragons do not seem to mind them.”
“Then let the Dragons help them. My duty is to our village. Now get the other Derahn inland!” Brekassus moved past Miyakani and forward to join the defensive line of Mogradoth. He spotted Kagoth with a dagger sticking out of his chest and glowering. The other Mogradoth male furiously told another male not to touch it. Brekassus couldn’t help but spot Kayannin, a female Mogradoth huntress rather pregnant looking and angrily storming off to a hunting party. The other females snapped to attention as she approached.
Brekassus did his best to fight back a grin as he pulled alongside Kagoth. “She still denies the inevitable?”
Kagoth glowered, but the scowl turned upwards. “She blames me for her condition.”
Brekassus could have enjoyed a session of goading the younger warrior, but he saw signs of the Gorka getting close as the Others pulled ashore with their strange machines. “Kagoth, take three and pull back to your mate’s position.”
“I’m fine!” Kagoth started to object.
Brekassus cut him off. “Of course you are! But that blood will make you excellent bait. You should be able to draw a Gorka in for the females to shoot the Gorka. The other warrior can work with you to melee. I intend to do the same. Of course, I won’t have a knife sticking out of me when I do.”
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
Miyakani pointed a finger out at the sea and craned her neck up to look at the tall male Mogradoth. “Brekassus, there were Gorka coming.”
“Good! But why in the spirits names did you not tell your idiot sisters to get out of the water and off the beach!” Brekassus growled. “Do you suppose the Others will taste better than Derahn?” Sarcasm dripped from his tongue. “Yes, of course! How cunning of you. Maybe when the Gorka had eaten the Others, they won’t eat the village.”
Miyakani actually smacked a fist into Brekassus stomach and instantly regretted it. She may as well have tried to hit a wall of solid stone. “Ow! Look, these Others may not be like the other Others.”
“If it looks like an Other, stinks like an Other ….” Brekassus saw no point in the argument. “Do you suppose they will die like Others too? One could only hope.”
Miyakani’s eyes widened in alarm. Brekassus might be right about that one. But she held her ground. “The Dragons do not seem to mind them.”
“Then let the Dragons help them. My duty is to our village. Now get the other Derahn inland!” Brekassus moved past Miyakani and forward to join the defensive line of Mogradoth. He spotted Kagoth with a dagger sticking out of his chest and glowering. The other Mogradoth male furiously told another male not to touch it. Brekassus couldn’t help but spot Kayannin, a female Mogradoth huntress rather pregnant looking and angrily storming off to a hunting party. The other females snapped to attention as she approached.
Brekassus did his best to fight back a grin as he pulled alongside Kagoth. “She still denies the inevitable?”
Kagoth glowered, but the scowl turned upwards. “She blames me for her condition.”
Brekassus could have enjoyed a session of goading the younger warrior, but he saw signs of the Gorka getting close as the Others pulled ashore with their strange machines. “Kagoth, take three and pull back to your mate’s position.”
“I’m fine!” Kagoth started to object.
Brekassus cut him off. “Of course you are! But that blood will make you excellent bait. You should be able to draw a Gorka in for the females to shoot the Gorka. The other warrior can work with you to melee. I intend to do the same. Of course, I won’t have a knife sticking out of me when I do.”
sharlene79
Member
Landfall
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
Dr. L’mar was still trying to pivot the Sea Knight a full 180 to aim the forward mounted weaponry out to sea when the Gorka started climbing ashore. He had mixed feelings about the idea of killing the creatures. But somehow he was fairly certain they weren’t on any endangered species lists. He had estimated there to be a pack of 7 large Gorka, 13 smaller and some even smaller, possibly juvenile. The largest Gorka stretched about 25 feet.
As the Gorka strode ashore it became evident that they were a sort of sea crocodile. They had fairly long legs, designed for mobility on land without dragging their bellies on the sand like their terrestrial cousins. One stood up on its hind legs to survey the scene for prey. It was in that moment Zhaun realized these were hunters that fed like sharks. They preferred injured prey first.
Amaretta was reading much the same. While she was no expert, she had good instincts for reading an enemy. If they made the meal too much of a bother to go after, they might just back off. “Dr. L’mar? Vulnerable spot? Best guess!”
“With that gun … forehead or behind the eyes if from the side. Up through the throat into the brain from below. Mind the tail. They may have a second brain!”
Amaretta’s weapon of choice was a blaster rifle. It wasn’t the ray gun from old Star Wars movies. She had a limited ammunition supply. It was really a charged slug thrower, a sort of a cross between a high energy rail gun and a particle accelerator. And it was absolutely lethal. She and Lt. Anabwe took aim. “Jazz, buy them time. Controlled bursts. I’m left. Center overlap. Make them count.” Her voice was dead calm.
Jasmine was scared witless. The thought of being eaten alive frightened the hell out of her. She knew Amaretta was putting on her mask for her sake. The Major was just as afraid. But she was damned if she’d show it in front of her troops. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have more than enough ammunition to kill the Gorka. It was whether they could kill them before people were overrun and eaten.
Without the fusion plant up and running the lasers were out. The fuel cells were charged for a few shots at best from ship’s power. The mini missiles were really torpedos and next to useless on land. And he feared the waldoes would be ripped clean off if he tried to grapple with a larger Gorka.
The Gorka standing up roared and the pack split into three groups. That came as a shock to the humans. Tactics weren’t something they had been expecting. The main pack went after the Sea Knight. The other two packs started flanking. Amaretta chose to take down the one standing as her first example. Three quick bursts burned a pattern of neat holes from the beast and through it relatively well developed brain. Gorka were similar to raptors in their hunting abilities and pack tactics. They had a surprisingly well developed brain. But that became their own weakness when a hypersonic superheated charged mass blew through it..
The Sea Knight didn’t fare so well. The systems were responding sluggishly. And before Dr L’mar could deal out much damage they were on it attacking it like it had been trying to steal their prey. A few actually broke off from their group and started trying to attack the walker with Amber in it. One was smart enough to grab a cable in its jaws and try to drag it back toward the water. But the largest ones were causing damage to the control surfaces.
That was when the dragons entered the picture. A pair of fledgling dragons (Thrum and Roche) appeared in the middle of the field. These were the runts of the clutch. One gave off a loud thrumming noise. The other thrashed and threw up as much sand as it could. Both started moving about and flapping their wings as though injured, before starting to draw away from the main pack.
That was when the dragons entered the picture. A pair of fledgling dragons (Thrum and Roche) appeared in the middle of the field. These were the runts of the clutch. One gave off a loud thrumming noise. The other thrashed and threw up as much sand as it could. Both started moving about and flapping their wings as though injured, before starting to draw away from the main pack.
Thrum was a natural at hamming it up. Almost too natural, for he got so caught up in his act he very nearly forgot the next part of the plan … evasion. And with three very large and hungry Gorka bearing down on him distraction was not a good idea for the bait. Fortunately for him, the Mother of Many didn’t know the plan her fledglings had cooked up. Before the three Gorka could finish closing the gap the Mother of Many ported into the air over the gap and allowed her to plummet with almost ground shaking force to roar an ear splitting challenge. That brought the other full grown dragons rushing to stand with her.
Lowdown didn’t let such a thing as Mother get in the way of HER hunt. She was the lead huntress if any of them were, even if she wasn’t the largest or strongest. It was on her signal the rest of the clutch would attack. One moment the adults were facing three Gorka. The next instant a faint shimmer in the air flitted in and slammed into the back of one Gorka’s neck. The next instant it was covered in a mass of dragons – most of the clutch – save Thrum and Roche – and the young golden female, Sharda. Abyss, the huge black fledgling swooped and ported in close with a rock and let it fly at the head of a Gorka. Another large grayish blue one named Windrider was swooping in and hissing at the ones attacking Amber in the walker unit.
The swarm of dragons vanished and reappeared about ¼ mile in the air and dispersed leaving the Gorka to fall to its death.
The Mother of Many and the other adults took advantage of distraction and a battle began to ensue in which the Gorka were outnumbered two to one.
Amaretta and Jasmine switched up tactics and concentrated on not being swarmed themselves. But they barely had time to shoot two before the other lead Gorka of the four charging at them became targets for arrows. While the arrows didn’t all cause any sort of critical damage, the Gorka started to slow down. Their meal was fighting back way too hard.
The tide of battle switched rapidly as the flanking Gorka were driven back or killed, leaving only the ones attacking Sea Knight of the cargo pods. And as all forces turned their attention to them, the Gorka started to flee, harassed all the way by fledglings.
Major Amaretta Carnegie surveyed the carnage. Things could have gone a lot worse. She issued an All Call and had everyone report in. No casualties – save for damage to equipment. That done, she turned her attention to the natives – specifically the Mogradoth. There was a language barrier she had no way to cross.
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
Dr. L’mar was still trying to pivot the Sea Knight a full 180 to aim the forward mounted weaponry out to sea when the Gorka started climbing ashore. He had mixed feelings about the idea of killing the creatures. But somehow he was fairly certain they weren’t on any endangered species lists. He had estimated there to be a pack of 7 large Gorka, 13 smaller and some even smaller, possibly juvenile. The largest Gorka stretched about 25 feet.
As the Gorka strode ashore it became evident that they were a sort of sea crocodile. They had fairly long legs, designed for mobility on land without dragging their bellies on the sand like their terrestrial cousins. One stood up on its hind legs to survey the scene for prey. It was in that moment Zhaun realized these were hunters that fed like sharks. They preferred injured prey first.
Amaretta was reading much the same. While she was no expert, she had good instincts for reading an enemy. If they made the meal too much of a bother to go after, they might just back off. “Dr. L’mar? Vulnerable spot? Best guess!”
“With that gun … forehead or behind the eyes if from the side. Up through the throat into the brain from below. Mind the tail. They may have a second brain!”
Amaretta’s weapon of choice was a blaster rifle. It wasn’t the ray gun from old Star Wars movies. She had a limited ammunition supply. It was really a charged slug thrower, a sort of a cross between a high energy rail gun and a particle accelerator. And it was absolutely lethal. She and Lt. Anabwe took aim. “Jazz, buy them time. Controlled bursts. I’m left. Center overlap. Make them count.” Her voice was dead calm.
Jasmine was scared witless. The thought of being eaten alive frightened the hell out of her. She knew Amaretta was putting on her mask for her sake. The Major was just as afraid. But she was damned if she’d show it in front of her troops. It wasn’t as if they didn’t have more than enough ammunition to kill the Gorka. It was whether they could kill them before people were overrun and eaten.
Without the fusion plant up and running the lasers were out. The fuel cells were charged for a few shots at best from ship’s power. The mini missiles were really torpedos and next to useless on land. And he feared the waldoes would be ripped clean off if he tried to grapple with a larger Gorka.
The Gorka standing up roared and the pack split into three groups. That came as a shock to the humans. Tactics weren’t something they had been expecting. The main pack went after the Sea Knight. The other two packs started flanking. Amaretta chose to take down the one standing as her first example. Three quick bursts burned a pattern of neat holes from the beast and through it relatively well developed brain. Gorka were similar to raptors in their hunting abilities and pack tactics. They had a surprisingly well developed brain. But that became their own weakness when a hypersonic superheated charged mass blew through it..
The Sea Knight didn’t fare so well. The systems were responding sluggishly. And before Dr L’mar could deal out much damage they were on it attacking it like it had been trying to steal their prey. A few actually broke off from their group and started trying to attack the walker with Amber in it. One was smart enough to grab a cable in its jaws and try to drag it back toward the water. But the largest ones were causing damage to the control surfaces.
That was when the dragons entered the picture. A pair of fledgling dragons (Thrum and Roche) appeared in the middle of the field. These were the runts of the clutch. One gave off a loud thrumming noise. The other thrashed and threw up as much sand as it could. Both started moving about and flapping their wings as though injured, before starting to draw away from the main pack.
That was when the dragons entered the picture. A pair of fledgling dragons (Thrum and Roche) appeared in the middle of the field. These were the runts of the clutch. One gave off a loud thrumming noise. The other thrashed and threw up as much sand as it could. Both started moving about and flapping their wings as though injured, before starting to draw away from the main pack.
Thrum was a natural at hamming it up. Almost too natural, for he got so caught up in his act he very nearly forgot the next part of the plan … evasion. And with three very large and hungry Gorka bearing down on him distraction was not a good idea for the bait. Fortunately for him, the Mother of Many didn’t know the plan her fledglings had cooked up. Before the three Gorka could finish closing the gap the Mother of Many ported into the air over the gap and allowed her to plummet with almost ground shaking force to roar an ear splitting challenge. That brought the other full grown dragons rushing to stand with her.
Lowdown didn’t let such a thing as Mother get in the way of HER hunt. She was the lead huntress if any of them were, even if she wasn’t the largest or strongest. It was on her signal the rest of the clutch would attack. One moment the adults were facing three Gorka. The next instant a faint shimmer in the air flitted in and slammed into the back of one Gorka’s neck. The next instant it was covered in a mass of dragons – most of the clutch – save Thrum and Roche – and the young golden female, Sharda. Abyss, the huge black fledgling swooped and ported in close with a rock and let it fly at the head of a Gorka. Another large grayish blue one named Windrider was swooping in and hissing at the ones attacking Amber in the walker unit.
The swarm of dragons vanished and reappeared about ¼ mile in the air and dispersed leaving the Gorka to fall to its death.
The Mother of Many and the other adults took advantage of distraction and a battle began to ensue in which the Gorka were outnumbered two to one.
Amaretta and Jasmine switched up tactics and concentrated on not being swarmed themselves. But they barely had time to shoot two before the other lead Gorka of the four charging at them became targets for arrows. While the arrows didn’t all cause any sort of critical damage, the Gorka started to slow down. Their meal was fighting back way too hard.
The tide of battle switched rapidly as the flanking Gorka were driven back or killed, leaving only the ones attacking Sea Knight of the cargo pods. And as all forces turned their attention to them, the Gorka started to flee, harassed all the way by fledglings.
Major Amaretta Carnegie surveyed the carnage. Things could have gone a lot worse. She issued an All Call and had everyone report in. No casualties – save for damage to equipment. That done, she turned her attention to the natives – specifically the Mogradoth. There was a language barrier she had no way to cross.
Mitheral
"Growf!"
Aftermath of the Gorka Hunt
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
Once Brekassus felt certain the Gorka had given up, he still assigned a couple squads of his men to stand watch. Then he nodded to the females to move in to start cleaning kills. He pointed out a number of kills to leave untouched for the dragons. This was hardly necessary for the Mother of Many had already moved in to take her fill. The Gorka the fledglings had killed she left alone.
++++++++++++
While upset with her young, the Mother of Many was also proud of their kill. It had been their first large fledgling kill. She could not recall having ever used such a tactic, something only Lowdown could have engineered. Also, the use of a Rock to strike one of the other Gorka was something she had only seen once before.
As the fledglings started to gather around their kill Abyss and Sharda hissed at them. They parted to make way for them, but Sharda stopped short of taking the first bite. Instead she did something completely uncharacteristic for mere animals. She hissed and keened a low tone and the young all turned to look at Roche and Thrum sitting out beyond the edge of the flock. She head butted Abyss who nodded in return. The large black dragon echoed Sharda’s keen. Thrum was nursing his tail which had gotten nipped by the Gorka he had very nearly forgotten to evade. Both of the runts looked up startled. They lowered their heads shy of the attention, and crept almost timidly forward.
Sharda gave a sharp keen that was almost a yip. Then she leaned her neck down to touch her nose to Thrum’s tail. Her own tail twitch painfully, then began to heal rapidly. Thrum’s own tail tipped up as he started to rock happily, thrumming. His tail had been healed by a simple touch. He did a dog like act of chasing his own tail for a moment before Abyss growled for attention. The two leaders of the fledglings looked at one another, then down at the runts. Then they scratched the fallen Gorka.
Still very timid, the two inched forward to take a nip at the Gorka. Abyss grew impatient and growled. Then he encouraged them again. Thrum indicated a tail. That brought a lot of hissing. Abyss’ head rose and his eyes seemed to roll back. He shook his head so hard his body shook as well. Then he slammed his fore claw down on a haunch, bent his neck down and ripped the whole section off. Then he laid it down and nosed it over for the pair. It was clearly a choice section of the kill. For once the pair realized their good fortune, it took both to carry the kill away to feed on it, their tails wagging excitedly.
Only then did the feeding proceed normally. For even the Mother of Many had held back until the runt had stopped dragging their kill and looked to her.
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
Once Brekassus felt certain the Gorka had given up, he still assigned a couple squads of his men to stand watch. Then he nodded to the females to move in to start cleaning kills. He pointed out a number of kills to leave untouched for the dragons. This was hardly necessary for the Mother of Many had already moved in to take her fill. The Gorka the fledglings had killed she left alone.
++++++++++++
While upset with her young, the Mother of Many was also proud of their kill. It had been their first large fledgling kill. She could not recall having ever used such a tactic, something only Lowdown could have engineered. Also, the use of a Rock to strike one of the other Gorka was something she had only seen once before.
As the fledglings started to gather around their kill Abyss and Sharda hissed at them. They parted to make way for them, but Sharda stopped short of taking the first bite. Instead she did something completely uncharacteristic for mere animals. She hissed and keened a low tone and the young all turned to look at Roche and Thrum sitting out beyond the edge of the flock. She head butted Abyss who nodded in return. The large black dragon echoed Sharda’s keen. Thrum was nursing his tail which had gotten nipped by the Gorka he had very nearly forgotten to evade. Both of the runts looked up startled. They lowered their heads shy of the attention, and crept almost timidly forward.
Sharda gave a sharp keen that was almost a yip. Then she leaned her neck down to touch her nose to Thrum’s tail. Her own tail twitch painfully, then began to heal rapidly. Thrum’s own tail tipped up as he started to rock happily, thrumming. His tail had been healed by a simple touch. He did a dog like act of chasing his own tail for a moment before Abyss growled for attention. The two leaders of the fledglings looked at one another, then down at the runts. Then they scratched the fallen Gorka.
Still very timid, the two inched forward to take a nip at the Gorka. Abyss grew impatient and growled. Then he encouraged them again. Thrum indicated a tail. That brought a lot of hissing. Abyss’ head rose and his eyes seemed to roll back. He shook his head so hard his body shook as well. Then he slammed his fore claw down on a haunch, bent his neck down and ripped the whole section off. Then he laid it down and nosed it over for the pair. It was clearly a choice section of the kill. For once the pair realized their good fortune, it took both to carry the kill away to feed on it, their tails wagging excitedly.
Only then did the feeding proceed normally. For even the Mother of Many had held back until the runt had stopped dragging their kill and looked to her.
sharlene79
Member
Aftermath of the Gorka Hunt
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
Miyakani reminded Brekassus of the part the humans had played. For this he growled and nodded. Meanwhile, Amaretta considered the options of the human colonists. The cargo pods had been packed with what was supposed to be 30 days concentrated rations per person in cryogenic suspension or awake. She held up a single finger, but did her best to ask to observe how to process the meat. Then she practiced on the human kills, bringing over some of the other human crew not tied up with recovery ops. She indicated the Derahn nets and shook her head, spreading her hands apart, palms up. Then she gestured to the first three kills and offered them to the Derahn.
To be honest, Dr Muriel Reno had already voiced her concerns about eating anything until she had a chance to test it. Amaretta didn’t argue. Rations were available. Their systems might need time to develop immunities to local diseases and bacteria. They were far from out of the woods.
Miyakani could sense the indecisive mindsets of the humans. The day was young. They were strangers here. They did not want to leave their things behind. And Miyakani was certain that was a wise thought. The Others were probably aware of the arrival of these Others. And from what she knew, the Others did not ask before taking. They demanded.
So the young Derahn woman approached Amaretta, who seemed to be giving orders to the others. Then she began introductions. She didn’t drag them out nor, did she greet Amaretta in traditional fashion as she would a visitor from another village. The Others seemed uncomfortable with close contact. Once names were exchanged, Miyakani pointed at the sun and gave a word for that. Then she counted…
Amaretta quickly started to get confused. She called over Amber, who apparently spoke dozens of languages (not true) and asked her to try to figure out what Miyakani was saying.
“She’s trying to warn us about something,” Amber suggested after only a brief time. “Dr Tanis is a much better linguist than I am. You know, their words for yes and no are very close to Japanese, Hai and Iyei. But their language is otherwise almost totally different.” She went back to trying to get the alien gossip as best she could, mostly through gestures than anything else.
Amber was looking pale when she reported nearly an hour later. “Major, we may have problems. I think we aren’t the only aliens to come to this planet in recent history. Unless I am mistaken they may even be humans. I never heard about any missions being sent here along with us… But whoever they are the Derahn do not like them. The … the Others, for lack of a better word, bring pain, collars I think. They make explosions. I think they have been enslaving the Derahn. And … they may very likely be coming in response to our crash.”
Amaretta nodded ever so slightly and considered their options. For the moment she was in charge. Everyone was looking to her for answers. This time her gut was giving her no clear indications of a best course of action. They were all bad – or at least not good. Trouble was on the horizon. So the best response was damage control.
“Dr Reed, if you would please assist Dr. L’mar with getting Sea Knight fully operational. We are going to need it for salvage operations. Dr Reno, get us some more personnel thawed out – the bravo group we agreed on.”
Dr Muriel nodded even though she was still inside a cargo pod and the Major couldn’t even see her. There was something about the Major’s tone that instilled a sense of order, something they all needed now. But it also made a cold pit start to form in her stomach. Muriel was accustomed to the dangers of BL 4 and 5 diseases. This should have been a walk in the park. She looked over at William Greyson. The man didn’t seem worried in the slightest at first glance. Then she caught his reassuring glance and knew better. He was as worried as she was, but didn’t want her to panic. He needn’t have worried so much. Then the Major started to lay out plans for the immediate future.
“Alpha Group, listen up. I want the contents of all but a couple cargo pods mobilized – unless the engineers can rig up some way to move them easily.” Amaretta had considered keeping people in the dark – then discarded the idea immediately. “We may be expecting company – technologically advanced like ourselves and possibly hostile. I’d rather avoid blazing a trail to the village of our new friends here. But I strongly suspect that won’t matter. If and when that company comes, I believe they will leave no stones unturned – and that will mean hostility toward Miyakani’s people.
“Miyakani seems to be inviting us to come with her. This seems to be met with mixed feelings. I am not certain of our welcome. So we will need to brief personnel as soon as possible to be on their best behavior. These people are primitive. Their customs will be very strange to us. We will respect their customs and laws as best we can. They may regard us as ... gods. If so, we will not be taking advantage of that. The company we are expecting seems to have taken advantage of technological superiority.”
Amaretta considered her next words very carefully. “The company may be a Consortium expedition. There were advances in propulsion that occurred after our mission departure. It is not entirely improbable that the Consortium could have gained access to possible target coordinates for our missions, and tried sending their own missions out, with the intent of hijacking us when we arrived. That we were not met immediately upon arrival, despite arriving before us, would suggest they suffered difficulties of their own. This assumes they were Consortium at all.”
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
Miyakani reminded Brekassus of the part the humans had played. For this he growled and nodded. Meanwhile, Amaretta considered the options of the human colonists. The cargo pods had been packed with what was supposed to be 30 days concentrated rations per person in cryogenic suspension or awake. She held up a single finger, but did her best to ask to observe how to process the meat. Then she practiced on the human kills, bringing over some of the other human crew not tied up with recovery ops. She indicated the Derahn nets and shook her head, spreading her hands apart, palms up. Then she gestured to the first three kills and offered them to the Derahn.
To be honest, Dr Muriel Reno had already voiced her concerns about eating anything until she had a chance to test it. Amaretta didn’t argue. Rations were available. Their systems might need time to develop immunities to local diseases and bacteria. They were far from out of the woods.
Miyakani could sense the indecisive mindsets of the humans. The day was young. They were strangers here. They did not want to leave their things behind. And Miyakani was certain that was a wise thought. The Others were probably aware of the arrival of these Others. And from what she knew, the Others did not ask before taking. They demanded.
So the young Derahn woman approached Amaretta, who seemed to be giving orders to the others. Then she began introductions. She didn’t drag them out nor, did she greet Amaretta in traditional fashion as she would a visitor from another village. The Others seemed uncomfortable with close contact. Once names were exchanged, Miyakani pointed at the sun and gave a word for that. Then she counted…
Amaretta quickly started to get confused. She called over Amber, who apparently spoke dozens of languages (not true) and asked her to try to figure out what Miyakani was saying.
“She’s trying to warn us about something,” Amber suggested after only a brief time. “Dr Tanis is a much better linguist than I am. You know, their words for yes and no are very close to Japanese, Hai and Iyei. But their language is otherwise almost totally different.” She went back to trying to get the alien gossip as best she could, mostly through gestures than anything else.
Amber was looking pale when she reported nearly an hour later. “Major, we may have problems. I think we aren’t the only aliens to come to this planet in recent history. Unless I am mistaken they may even be humans. I never heard about any missions being sent here along with us… But whoever they are the Derahn do not like them. The … the Others, for lack of a better word, bring pain, collars I think. They make explosions. I think they have been enslaving the Derahn. And … they may very likely be coming in response to our crash.”
Amaretta nodded ever so slightly and considered their options. For the moment she was in charge. Everyone was looking to her for answers. This time her gut was giving her no clear indications of a best course of action. They were all bad – or at least not good. Trouble was on the horizon. So the best response was damage control.
“Dr Reed, if you would please assist Dr. L’mar with getting Sea Knight fully operational. We are going to need it for salvage operations. Dr Reno, get us some more personnel thawed out – the bravo group we agreed on.”
Dr Muriel nodded even though she was still inside a cargo pod and the Major couldn’t even see her. There was something about the Major’s tone that instilled a sense of order, something they all needed now. But it also made a cold pit start to form in her stomach. Muriel was accustomed to the dangers of BL 4 and 5 diseases. This should have been a walk in the park. She looked over at William Greyson. The man didn’t seem worried in the slightest at first glance. Then she caught his reassuring glance and knew better. He was as worried as she was, but didn’t want her to panic. He needn’t have worried so much. Then the Major started to lay out plans for the immediate future.
“Alpha Group, listen up. I want the contents of all but a couple cargo pods mobilized – unless the engineers can rig up some way to move them easily.” Amaretta had considered keeping people in the dark – then discarded the idea immediately. “We may be expecting company – technologically advanced like ourselves and possibly hostile. I’d rather avoid blazing a trail to the village of our new friends here. But I strongly suspect that won’t matter. If and when that company comes, I believe they will leave no stones unturned – and that will mean hostility toward Miyakani’s people.
“Miyakani seems to be inviting us to come with her. This seems to be met with mixed feelings. I am not certain of our welcome. So we will need to brief personnel as soon as possible to be on their best behavior. These people are primitive. Their customs will be very strange to us. We will respect their customs and laws as best we can. They may regard us as ... gods. If so, we will not be taking advantage of that. The company we are expecting seems to have taken advantage of technological superiority.”
Amaretta considered her next words very carefully. “The company may be a Consortium expedition. There were advances in propulsion that occurred after our mission departure. It is not entirely improbable that the Consortium could have gained access to possible target coordinates for our missions, and tried sending their own missions out, with the intent of hijacking us when we arrived. That we were not met immediately upon arrival, despite arriving before us, would suggest they suffered difficulties of their own. This assumes they were Consortium at all.”
Mitheral
"Growf!"
Aftermath of the Gorka Hunt
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
From the Sea Knight Jagga Reed responded to the Major’s orders. “It will take time to check the Sea Knight for degradation of the fusion generator. If it checks out a cold start will take over an hour. The rest of the damage, while real is mostly superficial and self repairing.” He fell silent.
“Tell her,” Dr L’mar, prompted the larger man.
Jagga remained silent.
“Tell me what,” Amaretta demanded.
Jagga’s lips remained pressed thin. But Zhaun wouldn’t leave it alone. “Dr Reed was suggesting he could rig up his force field as a sort of sled. It would be nearly frictionless.”
“We could drag the cargo pods?” Amaretta made the conclusion.
Dr Reed gave Zhaun a hard stare. He hadn’t had time to think the problem through. “Uphill would be a problem. And the power source for the field would be the other problem. But yes, I could generate small force bubbles to trap air that would act like rollers. Crude but effective. But to be honest I am not certain we even have the parts to do the job.”
“Greyson, get all the engineers together. Free up Reed from the fusion generator if you can. Then make a quick estimate of feasibility. Maximize recovery operations, but with time restraints considered. Our mission priorities are the people and the unborn. If we have to leave equipment, it is expendable. Salvage what we can carry.”
William responded, “I know you want to minimize the chances of catastrophic interactions with the natives, but if we wake everyone, it will mean less mass to move, more people to pull a sled, more technical assistance. I take it you are concerned about waking up … kids?”
Amaretta almost grunted at that issue. It was a sort of knee jerk reaction. William had read her quite well. She had been avoiding waking children largely because children tended to act randomly and not according to plans. “I am. If we wake them, we need to keep them busy. Very busy.”
“Won’t be a problem. Not if we wake the right kids first.”
Mothership Crash Site
Time: Day 1 Early morning
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
Dragons
From the Sea Knight Jagga Reed responded to the Major’s orders. “It will take time to check the Sea Knight for degradation of the fusion generator. If it checks out a cold start will take over an hour. The rest of the damage, while real is mostly superficial and self repairing.” He fell silent.
“Tell her,” Dr L’mar, prompted the larger man.
Jagga remained silent.
“Tell me what,” Amaretta demanded.
Jagga’s lips remained pressed thin. But Zhaun wouldn’t leave it alone. “Dr Reed was suggesting he could rig up his force field as a sort of sled. It would be nearly frictionless.”
“We could drag the cargo pods?” Amaretta made the conclusion.
Dr Reed gave Zhaun a hard stare. He hadn’t had time to think the problem through. “Uphill would be a problem. And the power source for the field would be the other problem. But yes, I could generate small force bubbles to trap air that would act like rollers. Crude but effective. But to be honest I am not certain we even have the parts to do the job.”
“Greyson, get all the engineers together. Free up Reed from the fusion generator if you can. Then make a quick estimate of feasibility. Maximize recovery operations, but with time restraints considered. Our mission priorities are the people and the unborn. If we have to leave equipment, it is expendable. Salvage what we can carry.”
William responded, “I know you want to minimize the chances of catastrophic interactions with the natives, but if we wake everyone, it will mean less mass to move, more people to pull a sled, more technical assistance. I take it you are concerned about waking up … kids?”
Amaretta almost grunted at that issue. It was a sort of knee jerk reaction. William had read her quite well. She had been avoiding waking children largely because children tended to act randomly and not according to plans. “I am. If we wake them, we need to keep them busy. Very busy.”
“Won’t be a problem. Not if we wake the right kids first.”
sharlene79
Member
Derahn
Derahn Village
Time: Day 1 Early evening
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
The recovery operation took the better part of the day. Miyakani’s village wasn’t really that far of a walk inland. Half of the village was built over a freshwater lake or swamp. Or rather it looked as though it had been grown – in that Alien vs. Predator sense of grown. It was guarded by a stand of gigantic weeping willow like trees that gave off phosphorescence. The trees were clearly revered by the Derahn, who literally bowed before them and left offerings of choice pieces of the Gorka meat. Flitting to and fro among the trees were glowing things that suggested fireflies.
The Mother Trees stood guard from one side of the village, the oldest side. Very few of the natives actually trespassed on that area - and even those were strictly Derahn. The Mogradoth simply refused to enter the area. Clearly the trees held a very important role in their culture. Miyakani was once such Derahn. She bade others to wait before the first humans were brought into the village. There she walked among the trees and began to dance, attracting a small swarm of the fireflies. She danced there for some time before finally settling down into a lotus position and meditation. During her sleep the Mogradoth seemed to look at their human guests as prisoners. It was as if they were waiting for a shaman to pass judgment on them.
It was then that something truly miraculous happened. An intense glowing light the size of a human body appeared next to Miyakani, then merged with her. Miyakani’s body stiffened as she tried to scream, but only silence came out. Her eyes shot open in sheer terror and she began to shake violently as she rose off the ground and into the air. There she remained for nearly a minute until she returned to the ground and the glowing form separated from her.
The glowing form lingered there for several moments, its light almost angry. It seemed to regard everyone present. Then there was a brilliant, blinding white flash. It had a physical impact of everyone, native and human alike. In a single moment everyone fell to the ground unconscious.
It was the Mogradoth who awoke first, their constitution vastly stronger than those of human or Derahn. They had felt the tempered anger of the spirit. In all their life they could not recall such an event. Nor had such a legend or myth been passed down by storytellers. But it had happened now. They moved in and started disarming the humans, preparing them for movement.
The psychic barrage wasn’t the only thing that had occurred for the natives discovered the cargo pods were no longer on the beach. They were now on the shore of the Derahn lake. An Oracle class helicopter was standing in a clearing. This was scientific retrofit of an Omen class assault helicopter, sort of a futuristic version of a Soviet MI-24 Hind. It had not been one of the items packed in a cargo pod. There were also two Sojourners – scientific retrofits of the Sea Knight. And the fusion plant was now up and running on all three.
Of course, the natives knew nothing about the Human technology only that it wasn’t there before. To them it was a miracle. Heck, to the humans it may as well have been a miracle.
When the stronger humans started to wake up, they found themselves in high ceiling huts, clearly built for Mogradoth statures. Armed Mogradoths stood guard outside the hut. There had been so many humans that it took many huts to house them.
It was mid afternoon before the Derahn sent a representative to speak with the humans. It was Miyakani herself that came to them. She brought with her, Brekassus and Kagoth. She presented herself to the hut where Amaretta was kept. With her she had brought the Major’s blaster rifle, which she offered as a sort of peace offering. Then she spoke:
“I am Miyakani. I shall be the Speaker for my people. I have been given the knowledge of your language that I may do so. You are Others, the same, yet different. The other Others arrived long ago.” Miyakani frowned. “I do not understand the words of time. The Others had born a few children that have grown to adulthood. If you understand that period of time passage, then perhaps you understand. The Mak Taurog – Those Who Stand Apart - have described passage of time in terms of movements of our world, but it is a difficult concept.”
Derahn Village
Time: Day 1 Early evening
Characters present:
Colonists
Derahn and Mogradoth
The recovery operation took the better part of the day. Miyakani’s village wasn’t really that far of a walk inland. Half of the village was built over a freshwater lake or swamp. Or rather it looked as though it had been grown – in that Alien vs. Predator sense of grown. It was guarded by a stand of gigantic weeping willow like trees that gave off phosphorescence. The trees were clearly revered by the Derahn, who literally bowed before them and left offerings of choice pieces of the Gorka meat. Flitting to and fro among the trees were glowing things that suggested fireflies.
The Mother Trees stood guard from one side of the village, the oldest side. Very few of the natives actually trespassed on that area - and even those were strictly Derahn. The Mogradoth simply refused to enter the area. Clearly the trees held a very important role in their culture. Miyakani was once such Derahn. She bade others to wait before the first humans were brought into the village. There she walked among the trees and began to dance, attracting a small swarm of the fireflies. She danced there for some time before finally settling down into a lotus position and meditation. During her sleep the Mogradoth seemed to look at their human guests as prisoners. It was as if they were waiting for a shaman to pass judgment on them.
It was then that something truly miraculous happened. An intense glowing light the size of a human body appeared next to Miyakani, then merged with her. Miyakani’s body stiffened as she tried to scream, but only silence came out. Her eyes shot open in sheer terror and she began to shake violently as she rose off the ground and into the air. There she remained for nearly a minute until she returned to the ground and the glowing form separated from her.
The glowing form lingered there for several moments, its light almost angry. It seemed to regard everyone present. Then there was a brilliant, blinding white flash. It had a physical impact of everyone, native and human alike. In a single moment everyone fell to the ground unconscious.
It was the Mogradoth who awoke first, their constitution vastly stronger than those of human or Derahn. They had felt the tempered anger of the spirit. In all their life they could not recall such an event. Nor had such a legend or myth been passed down by storytellers. But it had happened now. They moved in and started disarming the humans, preparing them for movement.
The psychic barrage wasn’t the only thing that had occurred for the natives discovered the cargo pods were no longer on the beach. They were now on the shore of the Derahn lake. An Oracle class helicopter was standing in a clearing. This was scientific retrofit of an Omen class assault helicopter, sort of a futuristic version of a Soviet MI-24 Hind. It had not been one of the items packed in a cargo pod. There were also two Sojourners – scientific retrofits of the Sea Knight. And the fusion plant was now up and running on all three.
Of course, the natives knew nothing about the Human technology only that it wasn’t there before. To them it was a miracle. Heck, to the humans it may as well have been a miracle.
When the stronger humans started to wake up, they found themselves in high ceiling huts, clearly built for Mogradoth statures. Armed Mogradoths stood guard outside the hut. There had been so many humans that it took many huts to house them.
It was mid afternoon before the Derahn sent a representative to speak with the humans. It was Miyakani herself that came to them. She brought with her, Brekassus and Kagoth. She presented herself to the hut where Amaretta was kept. With her she had brought the Major’s blaster rifle, which she offered as a sort of peace offering. Then she spoke:
“I am Miyakani. I shall be the Speaker for my people. I have been given the knowledge of your language that I may do so. You are Others, the same, yet different. The other Others arrived long ago.” Miyakani frowned. “I do not understand the words of time. The Others had born a few children that have grown to adulthood. If you understand that period of time passage, then perhaps you understand. The Mak Taurog – Those Who Stand Apart - have described passage of time in terms of movements of our world, but it is a difficult concept.”
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