Post by Tori on Jun 22, 2010 11:25:22 GMT -5
Tori took a seat beside Janxi, field stripping her weapons, ensuring all functioned, and reassembled, before oiling everything well. The Hoppe's # 9 oil with teflon she ran through her bores, into the action, clip springs for her shotgun, firing pins etc would protect her weapons from the humid environment and immersion in water for a time, but proper field care was especially important in a swamp.
She cleaned off all of the focusing lenses on her laser, doublechecked iron sights, scopes and laser targeting. She checked all of her e-clips for full charge and replaced them in her LBG. She then looked one more time at her shotgun shells, both loose, and in clips. Their percussion caps were all intact, seated and undamaged. The plastic shells had no brass to tarnish, and were sealed at the crimp for humid weather and sea instertions.
Next, Tori pulled out her bow, which looked nothing like its ancestor the longbow. It was compact like a shortbow, but had an even greater draw than the english weapon. It had an odd shape, like a bat's wingspan. Her bow had a dual-hybrid cam, looking like a pulley system. She adjusted the sync of the cam to her satisfaction and oiled it, with the axles and brushings. She removed the string silencer and oiled the string, before replacing the husher. She checked limbs and found no defects, and then the sights with a laser pointer in the head of an arrow. Satisfied, she checked each arrow in her two quivers to ensure the head was properly fixed, and fletching appeared straight. Then she checked her fishing reel and arrow, which worked a bit like a harpoon for bow fishing. Everything went back to its right place.
She checked her armor, running a quick diagnostic to ensure it sealed airtight and its air supply was full. She tested the optics and found them operating five by five. She checked her non-weapon gear, as well. LBG, cammo, binocs, etc. Everything looked factory new. After such a costly war as Tolkien, it probably was.
With an eye on her explosives, she checked dets, timers and remotes. Plastic was pretty safe in the water, but she made sure all dets and caps were sealed. Her fusion block looked okay, and the extra limpets she carried were made for just this brand of warfare.
Last, from her upper forearms, she extended her vibro-claws, looking like some Pre-Rifts superhero with sideburns. She checked them for sharpness and the power system. All functioning within specs. She busied herself honing both her SDC knives, and making sure each had a coating of oil for exposure to salt water and extreme humidity.
"So Janx, you ain't takin your torp gun? I'll leave the speargun behind too, that is unless Cap't Sam or Shep thinks we'll need it." She still knew little about the AO. If the cats could get up close and personal by swimming in, she would take the weapon. Still, in bayous and streams, given their tendency to wind and meander, a normal laser rifle was almost as good in limited range engagements. Lasers were far more subtle than exploding harpoons and mini torpedoes, too.
"Capt'n Sam, Me and Janxi and maybe Soc are more disease resistant than humans, but that don't mean we're immune. You, Shep, Autumn and Richardson are gonna need be careful about your drinkin' water. Keep your canteens full of purified water at ALL times. IF they're full, they're less likely to slosh and take in swamp water. Drink yer canteen dry or else fill it up.
"Swamp water CAN make us all sick .If we can, we boil ALL our water before drinking, or use filterin' canteens. Take some extry purifying tabs, if we can find them on this boat, or rat-fox them out of survival kits. Use them if you got to. Just cuz a stream looks clear, don't mean the water is even remotely safe for drinkin'.
"Speakin of drinkin, it's gonna be hot and muggy, meanin' even in armor, we could sweat a lot. Everyone needs about 12 cups of water per day. Hydrate with a half-cup of water every half hour at least. If you feel thirsty, drink. They teach us that a lot of guys die in the desert from thirst and have water in their canteens. That shows their ain't no sense rationing.
"If an emergency, we can collect rainwater caught in palm fronds or in the leaves of elephant ears. Careful gettin' water from bromiliads. Sometimes, they got insect larvae in em, or bacteria. It may look like clear rain water, but it probably ain't.
"Swamp and jungles are some of the most hostile environments around. Like I said, you can die of dysentery from drinking the wrong water. Bugs out here will eat you alive, and skeeter spray's gonna wash off. Keep your armor, with helmet on, even if sleeping, to keep bugs off. We'll try to scrounge some bug nets once ashore. Skeeters carry malaria, encephalitis, Dengue fever and a lot of other bad stuff. Doc here can cure it, but it takes time, and it might take a little time for you to get sick. Prevent it first. There's all kindsa shit from all kinda places out in that swamp, big and small.
"Look out for dynos and earth animals like tigers, snakes and gators. They are at home in the swamp, and while they might not be able to do damage to armor, they can make things noisy, drag you into the water, or cause broken bones from falls. Look out for quick sand and sucking mud. You go down, sing out and we'll throw you a rope. Don't nobody jump in after a buddy. If you get sucked in, don't thrash. Stay calm, lean back in the water and brace your back with your weapon. We'll pull you out.
"You feel sick or take any kind of wound, I want everyone to go straight to doc. Toughin' it out is what we're trained to do, but a scratch can get infected overnight in this environment. Then you're on a litter and we're luggin you around the swamp with blood poisoning. That's bad. Same with sick, you have a sniffle, get doc. Better deal with it now, than when you get pneumonia or worse."
Her whiskers twitched as she tried to think of anything else. "Sorry, Capt'n. I can't think of nothin' else to say other than keep your feet dry, change socks twice per day, minimum and use Gold Bond if you got some."
She cleaned off all of the focusing lenses on her laser, doublechecked iron sights, scopes and laser targeting. She checked all of her e-clips for full charge and replaced them in her LBG. She then looked one more time at her shotgun shells, both loose, and in clips. Their percussion caps were all intact, seated and undamaged. The plastic shells had no brass to tarnish, and were sealed at the crimp for humid weather and sea instertions.
Next, Tori pulled out her bow, which looked nothing like its ancestor the longbow. It was compact like a shortbow, but had an even greater draw than the english weapon. It had an odd shape, like a bat's wingspan. Her bow had a dual-hybrid cam, looking like a pulley system. She adjusted the sync of the cam to her satisfaction and oiled it, with the axles and brushings. She removed the string silencer and oiled the string, before replacing the husher. She checked limbs and found no defects, and then the sights with a laser pointer in the head of an arrow. Satisfied, she checked each arrow in her two quivers to ensure the head was properly fixed, and fletching appeared straight. Then she checked her fishing reel and arrow, which worked a bit like a harpoon for bow fishing. Everything went back to its right place.
She checked her armor, running a quick diagnostic to ensure it sealed airtight and its air supply was full. She tested the optics and found them operating five by five. She checked her non-weapon gear, as well. LBG, cammo, binocs, etc. Everything looked factory new. After such a costly war as Tolkien, it probably was.
With an eye on her explosives, she checked dets, timers and remotes. Plastic was pretty safe in the water, but she made sure all dets and caps were sealed. Her fusion block looked okay, and the extra limpets she carried were made for just this brand of warfare.
Last, from her upper forearms, she extended her vibro-claws, looking like some Pre-Rifts superhero with sideburns. She checked them for sharpness and the power system. All functioning within specs. She busied herself honing both her SDC knives, and making sure each had a coating of oil for exposure to salt water and extreme humidity.
"So Janx, you ain't takin your torp gun? I'll leave the speargun behind too, that is unless Cap't Sam or Shep thinks we'll need it." She still knew little about the AO. If the cats could get up close and personal by swimming in, she would take the weapon. Still, in bayous and streams, given their tendency to wind and meander, a normal laser rifle was almost as good in limited range engagements. Lasers were far more subtle than exploding harpoons and mini torpedoes, too.
"Capt'n Sam, Me and Janxi and maybe Soc are more disease resistant than humans, but that don't mean we're immune. You, Shep, Autumn and Richardson are gonna need be careful about your drinkin' water. Keep your canteens full of purified water at ALL times. IF they're full, they're less likely to slosh and take in swamp water. Drink yer canteen dry or else fill it up.
"Swamp water CAN make us all sick .If we can, we boil ALL our water before drinking, or use filterin' canteens. Take some extry purifying tabs, if we can find them on this boat, or rat-fox them out of survival kits. Use them if you got to. Just cuz a stream looks clear, don't mean the water is even remotely safe for drinkin'.
"Speakin of drinkin, it's gonna be hot and muggy, meanin' even in armor, we could sweat a lot. Everyone needs about 12 cups of water per day. Hydrate with a half-cup of water every half hour at least. If you feel thirsty, drink. They teach us that a lot of guys die in the desert from thirst and have water in their canteens. That shows their ain't no sense rationing.
"If an emergency, we can collect rainwater caught in palm fronds or in the leaves of elephant ears. Careful gettin' water from bromiliads. Sometimes, they got insect larvae in em, or bacteria. It may look like clear rain water, but it probably ain't.
"Swamp and jungles are some of the most hostile environments around. Like I said, you can die of dysentery from drinking the wrong water. Bugs out here will eat you alive, and skeeter spray's gonna wash off. Keep your armor, with helmet on, even if sleeping, to keep bugs off. We'll try to scrounge some bug nets once ashore. Skeeters carry malaria, encephalitis, Dengue fever and a lot of other bad stuff. Doc here can cure it, but it takes time, and it might take a little time for you to get sick. Prevent it first. There's all kindsa shit from all kinda places out in that swamp, big and small.
"Look out for dynos and earth animals like tigers, snakes and gators. They are at home in the swamp, and while they might not be able to do damage to armor, they can make things noisy, drag you into the water, or cause broken bones from falls. Look out for quick sand and sucking mud. You go down, sing out and we'll throw you a rope. Don't nobody jump in after a buddy. If you get sucked in, don't thrash. Stay calm, lean back in the water and brace your back with your weapon. We'll pull you out.
"You feel sick or take any kind of wound, I want everyone to go straight to doc. Toughin' it out is what we're trained to do, but a scratch can get infected overnight in this environment. Then you're on a litter and we're luggin you around the swamp with blood poisoning. That's bad. Same with sick, you have a sniffle, get doc. Better deal with it now, than when you get pneumonia or worse."
Her whiskers twitched as she tried to think of anything else. "Sorry, Capt'n. I can't think of nothin' else to say other than keep your feet dry, change socks twice per day, minimum and use Gold Bond if you got some."
