[010] In The Ruins

[Tiglath]

(OOC: Yes please to Squee as "translator").

Foix will ask Squee to communicate with the Vargr as per Ana's direction.

He adds "Squee tell the Vargr we are friends and seek to find our missing people. Please ask about any other sophonts who dwell here".

[Ramona]

You want Squee to come down here to try and use telepathy to communicate with the Vargr?

Squee brought the new comers down here, no?

[ffilz]

You want Squee to come down here to try and use telepathy to communicate with the Vargr?

Squee brought the new comers down here, no?

I was more thinking she sent them down, you do have LOS between Squee and where you are, but you need someone near the entrance to keep communication open to the shuttle.

[Tiglath]

(OOC: Yes I thought we would! No sooner the thought than the deed ...)

As Squee enters the temple to communicate with the Vargr the long suffering Grimaud suits back up and takes up the dolphin's post at the temple entrance. He will keep watch (for feral Vargr!!!) and act as comms relay to the launch.

In the launch Lady Harper will now be armed and ready for EVA and will secure all onboard hatches. She will also keep watch over Grimaud's position.

[ffilz]

Squee opens up telepathic communication with the Vargr. It seems the spiders have been here for many lifetimes. They came in glowing metal birds from above. This Vargr came exploring when it saw the scout team enter the temple. Vargr have not been into the temple in at least a lifetime. Several lifetimes ago, the spiders invaded and wiped out many Vargr villages, however, in their conquest of the temple, a big explosion or fire happened wiping out most of them. Since then, the spiders rarely venture outside the temple, but they do prevent the Vargr from properly worshiping at the temple. The Vargr sneaked in while the spiders were busy with the Scouts. When asked, he's not sure why the spiders didn't immediately attack you, but you have more flash sticks (by this Squee interprets that to mean your weapons) than the Scouts had (a quick conference with Nathan and Taheri will indicate that of the 4, only two were armed, one with a shotgun and one with an auto-pistol).

Squee won't have much more time for exchange (Send Thoughts only lasts 120 seconds).

[joertexas]

Vee resumes her efforts to reach the ship on the comm.

[Tiglath]

Foix immediately replies to Squee “Tell him or her I think they are brave! What happened to the four human scouts? How many spiders are there?”

(OOC: Hopefully that leaves some "airtime" for others to chip in).

[Ramona]

“So this was a Vargr temple, the spiders arrived from space and have been trapped in here for, a long time. Where’s the Vargr village and where’s the spiders starship?”

“Oh, what the hell do they want with the scout team? Other than the obvious thought of dinner?”

[SpinwardMarch]

Cmdr. Taheri

Commander Ayanda Taheri: Tall (5'11"), broad shouldered, has a well-muscled medium build, olive complected, short black hair. Very no-nonsense, blunt person, prone to long strings of colorful invective if angered. If she gets quiet, and looks at something with narrowed eyes, watch out. Quotes ancient obscure Terran playwrights on occasion. Right now, she is in her vacc suit and carrying a laser rifle.

I hope the team is not on the menu. Spiders, huh? Not friendly, I bet.

[Tiglath]

Foix instinctively lights another Gauloise and offers one to Nathan “Smoke, M’sieu Quinn?” but his mind is clearly calculating. The Vargr’s revelation strangely seems to have made him more confident, more relaxed and somehow more “alive”.

As he exhales his first drag he speaks “We will respectfully decline the spiders’ invitation to dinner. Thanks to Squee and our new ally we now have a frame of reference for dealing with them. Also they have already lost this engagement by giving away the military initiative".

After a moment’s thought “I believe we both can conclude matters with those guarding the main corridor and secure our way out”.

Foix keys his comm and sends “Lady Anevey, it seems our hosts in the temple have committed a gross breach of etiquette and we must now snub them socially. I require the resourceful Ladies of House Foix to seal the pair of doors on either side of the main corridor. There is the SMG you used before and spare pistols in my kit. If you encounter Vargr assume they are allies. Assume spiders are armed and hostile - engage at your discretion. Stand ready for a hot extraction”.

He pauses then says “The Domain needs you, my Knight. Be careful”.

He adds “Grimaud, mon vieux, this is a Légion action - I know you will do your duty”.

(OOC: Foix, no doubt, would casually ask the impossible but I assume there will be some sort of emergency toolkit aboard the Launch? A short endurance welder/cutter, hull patches? Vee and Harper are resourceful – they’ll work it out! Who wouldn't want a chance to be eaten by spiders??? ).

Here's the Kiara Surabi (N/PCs and ship) link:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aLn ... BicLc/edit

[Ramona]

Ana sighs and rolls her eyes, “I they’re smart enough to get here on a starship, they’re smart enough to realize this place is significant to the Vargr, they’re and not going to walk away from it anytime soon, they’re also smart enough to know that they’re trapped here and if they’ve been here for ‘generations’ they’re also smart enough to know help ain’t coming.”

“I would hypothesize they saw the scout crew as a possible way off this rock, because they sure aren’t getting out of here with these guys.” She adds nodding towards the Vargr, “No offence.”

[Tiglath]

Foix replies "I hope they're smart enough to negotiate".

Then he muses “This place is the only “island” in a sea of radioactivity – the sum of its tactical and strategic value may simply be that”.

He shrugs “La Légion venerates memory because it is the curse of men that they forget - the same must be true of alien races. Perhaps Arthiop’s radioactive taint is because, at some time during their half remembered generational disagreement, both these star faring races nuked each back to living in caves”.

He then replies to Ana “The Spiders chose to kidnap Imperial citizens and thereby picked the wrong side. Out here such fatally flawed decision making inevitably dictates that either you or I show up - and yet they got us both. Is this the manifest destiny of a tragically cursed race or is Fate arachnophobic?”

[lenusmars]

Sara glances sideways at Nathan with a smile, glad to have another non-soldier nearby. it's definitely a club... in the bones, Foix might say, and no matter how close she was to any of them, even Ana, she knows she'll never quite be a part of it.

"A favor for our patroness. I'm sure we'll get something out of it. If this is your way of pursuing fortune, though, you might need another line of work. Riches in friends and experience, sure... Other kinds, not so much, yeah?"

She stands, listening to the story of the spiders as related by Squee. "They're probably not breeding or there would be more by now. I wonder what's in the temple that had them so interested. I mean, I get that it might be the safest spot from the radiation, but... It just seems like there's more to it. Maybe we could get a closer look at one of our friends's trophies?" Sara motions to her own neck to clarify.

[Ramona]

“I’m sure that, Imperial citizens, was probably the first box they ticked off when grabbing the team.” Ana looks at Squee with a frown, “Where’s the scout team from here? Up down? In out?”

“To many years crawling through bombed out buildings, collapsed tunnels, knee deep in mud and shit,” she looks at the others, “I really dislike being underground. It makes me irritable. Get in, get out, blow the place up.”

[SpinwardMarch]

Cmdr. Taheri

Awaiting orders, sir. This isn't her show, and she knows it. This is just another job.

[joertexas]

Foix keys his comm and sends “Lady Anevey, it seems our hosts in the temple have committed a gross breach of etiquette and we must now snub them socially. I require the resourceful Ladies of House Foix to seal the pair of doors on either side of the main corridor. There is the SMG you used before and spare pistols in my kit. If you encounter Vargr assume they are allies. Assume spiders are armed and hostile - engage at your discretion. Stand ready for a hot extraction”.

He pauses then says “The Domain needs you, my Knight. Be careful”.

"Always. Harper and I are on our way." Vee turns to Grimaud. "Be ready in case we need to leave in a hurry." She takes one of the pistols and a couple of spare magazines, and, with Harper, makes her way into the temple. "We're in, Foix."

[Tiglath]

Once Sara has examined the Vargr's spider necklace to her satisfaction (Foix offers the Vargr some energy bars as a diplomatic bribe).

Foix acknowledges Vee's last with a curt "Bien" and will then lead off in the direction of the last "fix" Squee had on the scout team.

(OOC: No doors mentioned as seen or found in the room with the Vargr so I assume we follow the main tunnel to the right in the hope that it turns left! This should also protect Vee and Harper's front as they seal the side doors in the main passage).

He turns to Ana and, gesturing for her to take point, says "I believe it's your honour, ma vielle" He winks at Sara and, failing to suppress a wry grin, says to Ana "You know, when you're irritable, you look particularly ... majestic".

Although Ana technically has point Foix will move in "bounds" with her alternating between moving and providing cover to cross exposed areas.

Foix indicates the team should open the door to the right hand side and, if it contains no threats, seal it and continue on.

(OOC: Edit/Stop Press: there is a door to the right. We will need to clear that first before going on. If there's no immediate threat visible we seal it and go onwards.

Quote: The main passage starts to descend, the ramp is some 12 meters long and steep enough to suggest that when it levels out it's at a lower level. At that level, you see three doors to the left and one to the right. After that, the passage looks to turn right.).

[joertexas]

Foix acknowledges Vee's last with a curt "Bien" and will then lead off in the direction of the last "fix" Squee had on the scout team.

Vee walks forward with Harper, her weapon ready.

[Tiglath]

Grimaud struggles along behind sweating freely and breathless in his vacc suit. He now has his external pockets stuffed with spare mags and has added a holstered pistol to his gear. He is half dragging a knapsack containing boxes of belted ammunition.

He gasps "Lady Anevey, Lady Harper! Please slow down! I haven't your lissome leggage and I can hardly ... um ... bodyguard you as well as carrying all this! He said this was a Legion action - it's sort of a code. We should be prepared for ... all eventualities, of course, but mostly ..." he takes a laboured breath "mostly those eventualities involving it all going to ... er ... merde".

[Ramona]

Ana leads the way down the passage watching above especially carefully, when they get to the next door she cracks it open and peaks in.