Ch. 8 - Back in Action

[Mierin]

Sam also studies the map when Shep pulls it out and studies it quietly. Once the team is ready to head out, she has her JA-12 rifle ready, looking around for signs of trouble.

detect ambush [dice=100] out of 72%
detect concealment [dice=100] out of 65%
prowl [dice=100] out of 60%[rand=22545535846603898830625856188174593450149675856875137687914265631]

[dakota]

"Same map should be on everyone's comp, I just like maps better." Shep replied as he tucked it away. " Trust me kiddo, I won't need a break before anyone else. I ain't that old, just a little banged up. And yes, I fixed my helmet." He added, though the scowl could almost be heard even with his face hidden.

As they moved out, the squad was quickly aware how alive the swamp forests were alive around them with both large and small creatures. After about twenty minutes hike Tori and Takota knew something big was coming towards them, crashing through the trees but out of sight.

As they moved along, Kain got the impression they were being shadowed, though he couldn't see or hear anything through the foilage.

Over the team radio, Scope's voice was hushed," Is anyone besides me getting a bad feeling about this? Something's not right."

[Tori]

Tori gave the old Lt. Dan order with a couple of gestures in military sign language, "Get down; shut up!"

Her little round ears on top of her head perked and swiveled like radar dishes, pinpointing the location of the approaching target as her brain worked hard to identify it. Camouflaged, she half raised her carbine, ready to shred anything that came out of the trees towards the team.

"Contact forward," she barely hissed into the microphone.

Camouflaged
Detect concealment [dice=100] needs 50 fail
Detect ambush [dice=100] needs 60 pass
Detect mines/traps [dice=100] needs 50 pass
Judge distance and location of source of sound [dice=100] needs 84 pass
Recognize and identify prey by sound [dice=100] needs 76 pass
Sense psychic and magic energy [dice=100] needs 40 fail
Sense supernatural beings [dice=100] needs 58 fail
Camouflage janxi [dice=100] needs 70 pass
Prowl [dice=100] needs 90 pass[rand=713825853987612205096905149549236771086368632591614462800634095874]

[foxx]

"I got the same itch Scope's has..." Kain replied over the radio quietly. He took a knee and searches the surrounding foliage for either rat or dino. It could be something completely different. He switches on the thermal on his rifle and begins searching for large bodies of heat.

[Janxi]

Janxi saw Tori's signal and passed it on to those behind her. Damn it was good to have a real ops team, unlike the circus of the last hop.

She took cover and readied her rifle, to cover her point-cat and point-cat's understudy. If anything tried to get to Six, it would have to come through her. Good luck with that.

Judge distance and location of source of sound [dice=100] /84 pass
Recognize and identify prey by sound [dice=100] / 76 pass
Sense psychic and magic energy [dice=100] /40 fail
Sense supernatural beings [dice=100] /56 pass
Land Navigation [dice=100] /64, pass
Tracking: [dice=100] / 65 pass
Prowl [dice=100]/ 80 pass

Like Tori, she listened to the world around her, found her target and tried to identify what approached.[rand=4365052800526472603776745085743752896719232278278393495940993319]

[Mierin]

Sam raises an eyebrow when team members mention they feel like the team is being watched. Sam keeps her JA-12 rifle ready, looking around for signs of trouble.

detect ambush [dice=100] out of 72%
detect concealment [dice=100] out of 65%
prowl [dice=100] out of 60%
perception [dice=20][rand=614600472457542909300073068153514799003033450361833876445302041214]

[dakota]

On thermal scans, Kain could see their stalker was big, at least thirty feet nose to tail. But it's head was up, as if sniffing something ahead. Shep slid back beside him and asked softly over the secure radios, "_{What do we have?}

Where Sam sat, and then Janxi as well, both noticed something move off the trail to the side of them moving slowly passed them. It was hard to make out through the foilage, but it was big and quiet.

At the head of the trail, as Tori and Takota waited, whatever was coming towards them down the path was lumbering along, but they could tell there was more than one. Possibly a whole herd as they heeard one of them give a trumpeted sound similar to a goose, but much bigger and louder. Still they came towards the squad.

[foxx]

Kain shifted his weight to continue to follow the large creature with the scope, the barrels of his rifle and grenade launcher along for the ride. Over the radio he comments to Shep, "Large thermal image; thirty feet, probably bi-ped and its engaging in hunting activity."

[Tori]

"Negative..." Tori said when she heard Kain's assessment.

"We got dinos in a herd, honkin' like a mooin' cow. Strength in numbers, moseyin' 'long. I'm thinkin' quadrapeds. 'Erbavores at that. Bess not spook 'em, er we'll have us a stampede. They're grazin'. Recommend we give 'em a wide birf."

Tori held her position, waiting for instruction. She could go high if needed. A bunch of overgrown bovines wouldn't phase a nimble little kitty.

Still, she activated her own thermals, trying to get a better look at the herd. Most dinos were lone hunters. The exception were the raptors, and she had seen and killed them before. This was a grazing herd. Her tummy rumbled.

Camouflaged
Detect concealment [dice=100] needs 50 fail
Detect ambush [dice=100] needs 60 pass
Detect mines/traps [dice=100] needs 50 fail
Judge distance and location of source of sound [dice=100] needs 84 pass
Recognize and identify prey by sound [dice=100] needs 76 pass
Sense psychic and magic energy [dice=100] needs 40 pass
Sense supernatural beings [dice=100] needs 58 fail
Prowl [dice=100] needs 90 pass[rand=7151537083018571548373768595178367913870102529646922822952994542]

[Mierin]

Sam replies to Tori, quietly "Agreed. Let's do our best to avoid them if we can." Sam continues on, keeping an eye out for trouble as she does.

detect ambush [dice=100] out of 72%
detect concealment [dice=100] out of 65%
prowl [dice=100] out of 60%
perception [dice=20][rand=4564756326867474043978642882656357808977533878741609136819925654]

[Janxi]

"Contact (left/right as appropriate)," Janxi breathed into her mic. "Calling this one a carnivore stalkin' tha herd."

She knew stalk tactics well. They were literally wired into her DNA. She was looking at the creature in her kind's role as apex predator from billions of years ago. She activated her thermals to watch his technique. Then, she pointed the stalker out to Sam.

"They're gon' panic when the baddie pounces. I'm recommendin' a detour, startin' right now, 'fore we git stomped."

Camouflaged
Judge distance and location of source of sound [dice=100] /84 pass
Recognize and identify prey by sound [dice=100] / 76 pass
Sense psychic and magic energy [dice=100] /40 fail
Sense supernatural beings [dice=100] /56 pass
Land Navigation [dice=100] /64, pass
Tracking: [dice=100] / 65 pass
Prowl [dice=100]/ 80 pass
[rand=7060166536433194449349316735004985481373503023138618748287866604]

[Takota]

Takota, carry the weapon he has in had, could not really duck down when the first sign to stop came up. He was hoping to stay quiet and let the whatever-they-are's bypass them but all the chatter on the radio finally gets to him and he has to add in his theory after looking around to see what it is Kain was talking about.

"Kain's contact is stalking your grazers Tori. They wont stampede toward the threat so we should be safe unless the stalker turns on us." Yep, having a loud weapon would help out if a stampede did happen but Takota doesn't worry about that at the moment. Instead he just looks for decent cover should a bunch of giant animals come crashing through the brush at them.

Judge distance and location of sounds [dice=100] need 84% = success

Recognize and identify prey by sounds [dice=100] need 76% = success

Prowl [dice=100] need 70% = fail

Track Animals [dice=100] need 45% / 55% = success

Detect Concealment [dice=100] need 45% = fail

Perception [dice=20+3][rand=268285090336576106412107055075467135033263359218845634289106819779]

[dakota]

At the head of the column, the first dinosaur came into view in the distance, It's massive plates along it's back identifying the stegosaurus in the lead. It seemed to have no idea anything was ahead of it, or didn't care as it continued right at the squad.

Both Sam and Janxi got a good look at one of the stalkers as it slipped forward into position. It's massive fangs jutting from it's jaw, the Allosaurus was lining up it's ambush point. A quick study put that point right on top of Tori and Takota.


Shep slid quietly in beside Kain as the second Allosaurus inched forward. The two of them were directly in the hunter's path. Shep's voice broke the silence. "Must be a mated pair or..., crap, Sam we got be trouble. I'm betting Kain and I are looking at momma teaching junior to hunt. She's gonne go ballistic she spots us."

[Janxi]

"Spots to Stripes and Silverback... Two gomers inbound from your six... Zoned on lunch. Recommend use treeblending with trunks aft... over." She whispered. Then, she used her telepathy to project the allosaurs' positions into Tori's and Takota's minds.

Janxi knew bowling through trees would alert the stegos and no predator wanted to do that. Though mama-scale's choice to stalk from the front seemed odd. She wouldn't want to face a spiky tail, but flanks seemed a better choice. She wondered if they could be hunting in a pack like lions, but assumed that to be for smaller dinosaurs. She readied her weapon just in case she needed to suppress the dinos and drive them away from Tori and Tacky.

She took some cover behind a tree herself, using her flexibility to blend into the treetrunk's shape, fading as only a cat could with another object, making herself "small" and low to the ground. A housecat could hide in a hole or behind a post and avoid detection if she wanted. Janxi did the very same thing. She kept the tree between herself and the Allosauruses, watching and waiting.

Camouflaged
Judge distance and location of source of sound [dice=100] /84 pass
Recognize and identify prey by sound [dice=100] / 76 pass
Sense psychic and magic energy [dice=100] /40 fail
Sense supernatural beings [dice=100] /56 pass
Land Navigation [dice=100] /64, pass
Tracking: [dice=100] / 65 pass
Prowl [dice=100]/ 80 pass







[rand=6283157957114763727184903740698652943055219603464557684076091393]

[foxx]

"Yeah, might be time for us to move away carefully." Kain mutter out loud over the radio, not even daring to breath hard. He took small comfort in guessing right about the predator in the area. He just didn't expect it to be so damn close. Those were the breaks in his line of work; getting close and personal with dangerous things. Kain carefully drops to a full crawl position and begins to work his way from the Allosaurus. He did not take his weapon out of his cradle just in case he needs to give the dino a face fully of high explosive shells should it decide to become cantankerous.

He signals Shep with a nod that he is ready to go when he is. He looks for the nearest line of trees where friendlies are and begins that way. Failing that, the nearest cover out of the way of the hunting predator and its prey.

Prowl [dice=100] out of 48%; Pass[rand=0461236905441854141774067014681672861922154856228259012911147729176]