0003 Pickup in the Sticks!

[terrymixon]

Bob goes up, through the turret and looks out at the surrounding area while Donovan grabs his rifle and moves to follow Bob to look out for a threat outside. They hear the sound of the air/raft suddenly go from a hummmm to a roar and see it leap up into the air in a banking turn. Behind it, on the sands, another of those creatures has emerged and is striking at the empty ground, as Zaki and Sigurn, in the air/raft, fly in a banking motion away from it. Sigrun is twisted around in her seat firing at the 'snake.'

Flighty draws his pistol and races to the Cargo Hold. Seeing the still dead creature, he runs over to the hole in the hull to look outside, ready for trouble. From his vantage point he doesn't see anything, but he hears the air/raft's grav lifters go to max with a roar from just outside his view to his right. Taking a leap to the sands outside, Flighty sees one of those giant 'snakes' coiled and striking at the empty ground. The air/raft is not in sight, as the ship is blocking it from his view, but he still hears its roar!

"Donovan! Get that turret on the loader and let's get back to the ship."

He'll head up to help and see if he can get a shot at the snake.

Flighty

[terrymixon]

Donovan let's fly with his rifle at the snake. "Engage with the ships turret if you can!"

"No one in there to do it," Flighty says as he levers himself up. "Get that loose and let's run before more of them show up! If Bob can drive the loader, we can cover him."

Flighty

[terrymixon]

Sigrun jams a leg forward to brace herself inside the passenger compartment and draws her borrowed sidearm. She knows in an instant that the medic driving is going to turn the air/raft away, hard, and adjusts her aim as she fires. Aiming for the creature's head she fires the autopistol attempting to put the whole contents of the magazine into her target.

Her first shot grazes the creature as it lunges, but her second hits it cleanly!

Zaki reefs the air raft into a steep chandelle away from the creature at max acceleration. The air/raft banks up and around, it's not meant to be flown like this, but Zaki pulls it off! She has the air/raft's rear toward the 'snake' now, does she fly away or continue around to give Sigrun another shot?

Zaki banks to Sigrun's side, riding the countergrav hard to tighten the turn and keep the creature in range without descending. She opens her comm with a visual command in her HUD. "We're fighting two snakes at the ship from the air raft."

"We're outside the ship," Flighty says. "Anyone with gunnery on the ship, take some shots that them while we board."

Flighty

[Tiglath]

Sigrun quickly cuffs away her tears before they shame her with such an apparent display of weakness. She also realizes that even a handgun's recoil is enough to further wrack her broken ribs with pain. Nevertheless determinedly she yells at Zaki "Já, já keep me on target!" and continues to fire targeting the snake's head.

[ateno]

Either way Karcsi will interpose his body between him and the woman and goat. Reaching back, Karcsi finds another spear in his hand as he faces off with the now seriously hurt and seriously angry Nyoka! [/i]

Karcsi is surprised at the weapon in his hand and steps back out of range of the strike and throws his spear at the body of the snake

He yells for the woman to "Run Away!"

Karcsi

[joertexas]

Sigrun quickly cuffs away her tears before they shame her with such an apparent display of weakness. She also realizes that even a handgun's recoil is enough to further wrack her broken ribs with pain. Nevertheless determinedly she yells at Zaki "Já, já keep me on target!" and continues to fire targeting the snake's head.

Zaki focuses on her flying, keeping the air raft in a steep turn while maintaining altitude and not running into the ship while doing so.

[helvorn]

Donovan called to Bob. "Go get the loader, I will cut the rest of the turret out. Let's get out of here!" Donovan slung his rifle and went to remove the turret by main force.

[terrymixon]

Donovan called to Bob. "Go get the loader, I will cut the rest of the turret out. Let's get out of here!" Donovan slung his rifle and went to remove the turret by main force.

Flighty will help.

[helvorn]

Donovan called to Bob. "Go get the loader, I will cut the rest of the turret out. Let's get out of here!" Donovan slung his rifle and went to remove the turret by main force.

Flighty will help.

Donovan will grin at Flighty. "Nothing fancy, just hack it out with the plasma torches!"

[terrymixon]

Donovan called to Bob. "Go get the loader, I will cut the rest of the turret out. Let's get out of here!" Donovan slung his rifle and went to remove the turret by main force.

Flighty will help.

Donovan will grin at Flighty. "Nothing fancy, just hack it out with the plasma torches!"

"Git er done!"

Flighty

[Eris]

Dreaming Karcis hefts this new spear, it feels different there's a trigger on it and when he points it at Nyoka the head of the spear flies out and strikes it, going through the snake's big head and lodging in it's brain.

Nyoka's spirit floats up from it's body, coiling and uncoiling, as it rises. Karcis watches as the snake spirit slowly dissipates into gray smoke then into nothingness. He has won! Now he can sleep!

Aboard the air/raft, Sigrun struggles to track the snake-thing as Zaki keeps turning the craft and angling it up. Still, she is able to put two more rounds into it! After the first, the snake shudders and collapses, after the second, it is certainly dead!

Zaki manages to swing the air/raft around and over the top of New Chance missing it by only a meter or two. That creature is out of sight now, but she's nervous as she looks around from her vantage point in the air. There are other tracks in the sand, none appear to be coming this way, but she just knows one or more will soon. And there is danger in the air, too! She doesn't see anything up there, but there is and she's sure of it!

[Eris]

Flighty will help.

Donovan will grin at Flighty. "Nothing fancy, just hack it out with the plasma torches!"

"Git er done!"

Bob returns with a second exoskeleton while Donovan and Flighty cut the last of the connections away from the turret. Between Donovan's exoskeleton and Bob's they wrench the turret up with a bolt they must have missed breaking free as they do. So, the turret is a little damaged, but it should be easily fixable. The pulse laser in it should still be fine as they had already disconnected from the wreak before they started working the turret free.

Bob says, "We might could carry this thing over to the ship between us, but we might get bogged down in all that sand carrying this heavy thing. It sure would be easier with the air/raft."

"Can we get that back over here?" he asks Flighty.

[terrymixon]

Donovan will grin at Flighty. "Nothing fancy, just hack it out with the plasma torches!"

"Git er done!"

Bob returns with a second exoskeleton while Donovan and Flighty cut the last of the connections away from the turret. Between Donovan's exoskeleton and Bob's they wrench the turret up with a bolt they must have missed breaking free as they do. So, the turret is a little damaged, but it should be easily fixable. The pulse laser in it should still be fine as they had already disconnected from the wreak before they started working the turret free.

Bob says, "We might could carry this thing over to the ship between us, but we might get bogged down in all that sand carrying this heavy thing. It sure would be easier with the air/raft."

"Can we get that back over here?" he asks Flighty.

“Zaki!” Flighty said over the comm. “We need a pickup on top of the wreck!”

Flighty

[Eris]

“Zaki!” Flighty said over the comm. “We need a pickup on top of the wreck!”

Zaki hears Flighty's request, but she needs to get to Sickbay and see what's up with the Autodoc. Those readings on Karcsi have her worried.

What is she to do?

[ateno]

Karcsi sits in the sand and rests.

[joertexas]

Zaki hears Flighty's request, but she needs to get to Sickbay and see what's up with the Autodoc. Those readings on Karcsi have her worried.

What is she to do?

"on my way," Zaki comms tersely. She points the air raft toward the wreck and brings it down to Flighty and the others. "Sigrun, keep watch. I think there's something flying toward us. We need to get out of here."

[Tiglath]

"on my way," Zaki comms tersely. She points the air raft toward the wreck and brings it down to Flighty and the others. "Sigrun, keep watch. I think there's something flying toward us. We need to get out of here."

Sigrun replies either with apparently uncharacteristic patience or it might be that her ribcage is really giving her some pain "Yes, I told you - there is a dragon". She ejects the partially expended magazine from the autopistol and loads the spare before holstering the weapon. "I can pilot the air raft but you fly better than me..." She grunts in pain as she helps herself to Zaki's rifle from the onboard rack and having checked it pulls back the charging handle to cock it before bracing her back against the air raft's windshield as she scans the desert sky "...but ...I think I kill things better than you".

Zaki will see that Sigrun's weapons handling is practiced and assured. Pain interrupts and hampers her movement but she overrides it. Not until she is ready with the rifle does she take her left hand from the foregrip to again rub at her eyes. Glancing down at Zaki from her braced standing position she says "Don't tell anyone that I shed tears" then states flatly "It was only the pain - I have nothing to cry about". She then turns her heterochromatic gaze back to searching the skies for dragons.

[helvorn]

Donovan sighs in relief as the turret pops free. He nods in agreement with Bob as Donovan frowns at the sandy expanse between the two ships. "We'll bog down for sure! Let's get this thing between us so we can hoist it directly on to the air raft."

[Eris]

Moving the turret is a clumsy procedure, but with two exoskeletons isn't a hard one. Donovan and Bob just have to take it slow and carefully as they set it down on the bed of the air/raft.

Zaki keeps the raft's motor running. Both she and Sigrun feel the raft sag slightly slightly as the heavy load is dropping onto the raft's bed. Flighty sees straps in the raft's bed that could be used to secure the ungainly turret into place.

Sigrun keeps scanning the skies, nothing visible at the moment.

OOC: After a few rolls of the dice...

The turret is secured, everyone climbs aboard, some barely hanging on, but aboard and the raft wobbles back to The New Chance entering the cargo hold and setting safely down.

Over the ship's comm you hear Doug's voice, "Hey, we've got something incoming from the southwest about 800 meters high, 3 klicks out and closing at about 30 kph. Um, radar cross section sort of looks like a winged airplane, but its moving way too slow for that."

[joertexas]

Over the ship's comm you hear Doug's voice, "Hey, we've got something incoming from the southwest about 800 meters high, 3 klicks out and closing at about 30 kph. Um, radar cross section sort of looks like a winged airplane, but its moving way too slow for that."

Zaki runs for the autodoc to check on Karcsi. "We have six minutes, less if it increases speed."