[Archived] Act 2 — The Gods of Coxa II

[ybn1197]

Captain Dillon Wyse

A quizzical look passes over Dillon's face. "My intent is not to trick you. Were we come from, we are men." Pointing at the new arrival he adds "And she is a woman."

[Inferno]

Commander Nadix Ar Eth, Science Officer:

The Edosian quietly scans the female plant alien with the tricorder. "Intriguing," he thinks.

[Grognardsw]

Ensign Costello looks at the flora female, intrigued. For a moment he hears his mother telling him to eat his vegetables. Then he watches the Captain for next steps.

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Ryerson:

Hoping the volume on his medical tricorder does not alarm the aliens, he scans of the creatures physiology.

[Starbeard]

The alien leader stoops his shoulders a bit. 'First you say you are gods, but you are too many to be gods. Then you say you are men, but you do not look like men.' The second alien points to the phasers that some of the officers are holding in their hands and adds ominously, 'Neither can men throw thunder.'

The first alien holds up his hand as though to call and end to the conversation, and turns to the Captain. 'You have no place here, so go; but leave us with the woman, we have been searching for her.' A glance suggests that the girl might be frightened. Before anyone can respond she dashes behind Dr. Ryerson and shouts out, 'No, don't let them take me back!'

edit: Meanwhile, the science and medical officers continue scanning the life forms silently, hoping to gain more information.

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Ryerson:

"My dear girl, I am a doctor not your shield." he says as he adjusts his tricorder's sensor to the girl.

[Starbeard]

Dr. Ryerson:

"My dear girl, I am a doctor not your shield." he says as he adjusts his tricorder's sensor to the girl.

The doctor's tricorder blips and chatters.

Please make two Discovery rolls (3D6 vs Dr Ryerson's Intelligence)—one for the male aliens, and another for the female—and post them to Dr Ryerson's private thread. Both rolls receive -5 for using a tricorder.

[ybn1197]

Captain Dillon Wyse

Fairly certain of the answer but still looking to buy some time, Dillon looks directly at the first alien. "How can we have told you that we are gods? We have just only arrived on your planet and you are the first we have met."

[max_vale]

LCDR Dale Collins; Helmsman

Dale had to fight his instinctive feelings of wanting to protect the girl and instead he kept his phaser not-quite pointed at the alien males while the Captain negotiated with them. He stayed tense and alert; occasionally looking and listening in all directions, doing his best to ensure that if the aliens were just trying to stall them while more of their companions quietly moved to strike from behind he'd be the first to know about it....

[Starbeard]

The lead alien stomps his spear into the ground impatiently. 'Are you saying you are not with the other gods who have come? Are you not also here to enter the ancient Temple?'

He pauses for a moment, but seeing the blank faces on the crew decides to explain a little. 'The gods have come from the heavens to our village. They have come to enter the Temple Which Cannot be Entered. They have adopted strange forms, like you…' he pauses for a moment to look at Nadix, nodding at him. 'Except their devil thrall is different, less ugly.'

The aliens are clearly tense and watch Dale and the security officers carefully. One of them adds, 'But Watrius, they hold the power of thunder, too! They must be gods—'

'Silence!' shouts Watrius, cutting him off. 'There are only six gods. If they are not mortal creatures like they say, then they must be devil imposters come to trick us. But not gods.'

[ybn1197]

Patiently Captain Wyse says, "I am saying that the others whom you refer to as gods are in fact not. We all are mortal creatures. They are no different than you or I."

[Inferno]

Commander Nadix Ar Eth, Science Officer:

The Edosian respectfully said to the alien life forms, "Where are these false gods now?"

[Grognardsw]

Ensigns Costello and Abbot sweat.

[Inferno]

Commander Nadix Ar Eth, Science Officer:

Beneath his tranquil exterior, Nadix was astonished and deeply concerned.
A preponderance of the evidence suggested that the Prime Directive and all that the Federation of Planets held dear regarding the preservation of indigenous cultures had been grievously violated on Coxa II.

He wondered who the other "devil thrall" was; an alien species more similar to these plant-based life forms than Edosians?

And he wondered what the crew of the Janus could do to repair the grave damage done to this culture and its religious beliefs.

[Starbeard]

The Coxan leader, now known to be named Watrius, stands a bit rigid at Nadix's question; the party is beginning to intuit the basic language of their physical demeanor, and can guess that he takes slight offense at Nadix's choice of words.

'The gods are in the village, preparing for the ceremony to open the temple. However, they cannot do so without the Rod of Life, which that woman has stolen,' he says, once again pointing to the woman. Indeed, it is now clear that she is carrying a small satchel out of which the end of a thin black rod can be seen, with thick antennae-like wires extending from it at irregular spots. The ends of the little antennae glow very softly of one hue or another. 'We must return with the Rod or our village shall perish.'

The woman speaks up again, 'Fool! If we give it to the gods we will perish!'
Watrius emits a furious puff of air and shouts back, 'Renegade! Seize her!'
His companions, hesitantly at first, but with renewed conviction seeing the party's own hesitancy toward violence, begin moving forward to capture the runaway.

[ybn1197]

Captain Wyse brings his hands up in an open peaceful manner, not trying to stir more trouble. ""Call your men back Watrius. Don't interpret our peaceful dialog as weakness. I'm not sure of all that is going on, but what I can tell you is that those 'gods' are not who they say they are. I propose a compromise of sorts. We want to see these 'gods' and you want the rod returned to your village. Let us accompany this woman back to the village and we can all see what is transpiring. Hmh?" As he speaks, he is looking between Watrius and the woman with the rod, but he also looks at Abbott and Costello to make sure they are on guard against the approaching men.

[Inferno]

Commander Nadix Ar Eth, Science Officer:

As the captain attempted to defuse hostilities, the curious Edosian raised an eyebrow at the so-called "Rod of Life" and surreptitiously scanned it with his tricorder.

[Grognardsw]

The security offers clutch their phasers, sweaty fingers poised on the trigger, waiting...

[max_vale]

LCDR Dale Collins; Helmsman


Dale keeps a firm grip on his phaser, doing his best to keep his attention on the alien males, alien female AND the anxious security officers all at the same time; hoping that NONE of them do anything rash....

[Starbeard]

The aliens push past the tense security officers and Dale toward the woman, who stands fuming from behind the ship's doctor. She clearly does not want to be taken, but sees no further use in running. She sends one last pleato the doctor, or to anyone who will listen, 'Please! You must help me! You must help us all, this is madness!'

She snatches the 'Rod of Life' from her satchel and points it awkwardly toward her assailants. 'Don't come any closer!' she exclaims. A low electronic hum is sounded, almost too low in frequency to hear, but curiously felt in the chest—not unlike the slight tickling sensation that runs through the body when standing on the main deck of the engine room during warp—and the little lights that cover the rod flash on and off with sudden enthusiasm.

There is a sharp snap, and an almost blinding flash of light. Sparks burst forth from Dr. Ryerson's medical tricorder, causing him to hurl the smoking machine away impulsively. The Coxans leap back in fright.

As the smoke clears everyone notes the young woman sprawled across the jungle floor a pace or two away from where she was originally standing, black marks across her clothes and face. Her eyes are closed and she is not moving.

Dr Ryerson, please make a 3D6 vs Luck roll, modified by Dexterity, to avoid taking damage from the exploding tricorder.