Ch 4. Landfall

[Mierin]

Sam resists the urge to wince at Shep's yelling, still feeling responsible for his injuries since he'd gotten them saving her life. Nodding at Abe, she says "Sorry about that. I appreciate any help you're able to provide us and for the shelter."

Curious, Sam goes over to where Shep and Autumn are and watches her treat Shep, seemingly without needing medical equipment. 'Interesting' she thinks to herself as she watches, not interrupting.

[Janxi]

"Don't worry, Tori. I got your six, dawg." Her tail swished as well, and she watches the beginning of the procedure as she removed her 8-point cap and readied her helmet. As it went on, she caught a sniff of something while having a 'nip.

Sense psychic and magic [dice=100]/ 30
sense supernatural [dice=100]/ 54

"Lawdamercy, Santiago. Yer full of surprises." She watched for the moment, realizing it was psychic surgery. She knew little about it, other than Shep could continue to be weak for some time. It wasn't like knife-and-needle surgery, and Shep wouldn't have an open wound, but if he still had an infection, he would need time to beat it. Even if the problem was resolved, would he still need time to recover? Jan wondered if performing psychic surgery as a house guest and turning the stranger's home into a convalescent hospital would be presumptuous.

"Socrates? May I borrow your nose for a perimeter check please? I'll stay out with Tori, and you can get back to supper."

She knew Shep was mad, but he couldn't send Tori out there alone. Now was not the time to throw more fuel onto the fire.

"Abe, thanks for everything pardner." She leaned and gave him a nuzzle that nearly knocked him down, but was clearly well intended, based on her loud purr. "I ain't never been no one's house guest before, so I'll remember this."

She pulled on her helmet and stepped out in the rain, tracking Tori's position, and made sure nothing else was around, sweeping the jungle with her thermals. She held the door for Socrates. "You comin'?"

Tracking [dice=100]/50
Locate sound [dice=100]/80
Identify sound [dice=100]/72
Still camouflaged
Termal on [rand=262711897889850057723898211804702990037753700478319859777373710708]

[Dome]

Richardson relaxes visibly when Tori and Janxi move outside. He feels better knowing they would be on guard. Everyone came in and just relaxed like they were back at the fort and not in a shack in the middle of hostile territory.

He was going to head out with Tori but when Janxi spoke up he held back, as they passed him he did says, "nice work with the Dino's. I'll be right here if you need backup."

[Janxi]

As she walked out she nodded to Richardson. "Thanks buddy. I got Tori's six, and you got mine. You done alright outta tha air and tha sub, and handle that pig purty good. Make sure you get a share of this here supper. If we're still here in 90 mikes, c'mon out and say hi. We'll sing out iffen when we need ya."

[Renekin Skywalker]

Socrates shook his head. "I am of equal value inside as outside, given the storm." He said. It was rather true. His psychic abilities were not hampered by walls and being central to the group meant better coverage for their safety, and his sense of sight sound and smell might as well be behind walls, for all the good they would do outside.

[Janxi]

Janxi stopped with one foot out the door, her tail swishing a bit. She switched to telepathy, and sent a message directly to Socrates. "Listen, I wasn't askin' you to come outside and smell the roses, we need your opinion as the SENIOR corporal among us. You wanna stay in here, that's fine, but I do want yer opinions on psychic surgery. Quit disappointin' me every time I begin to respect you. It's taxing every time I have to foxing do this. I would think you'd wanna save your psychics too, but fine, let's not try workin' together. That approach has failed up til now, so I'm reachin' out outta respect and friendship. Let's get on the same page, you and me.

"How long and hard is Shep's recovery gonna be, cuz I think you know more 'bout this mental surgery crap than I do. Is he still gonna smell like food after she's done, and don't you dare lie to me and say he don't smell like a wounded animal to you, like he does to us and pro'lly them dinos. You know we're in danger of losin' the storm's cover, so as senior corporal, you need to advise Sam these things blow over after 4-10 hours, dependin' on diameter and speed, which Shep never cared to tell us.

"If Sam don't wanna leave him back and we wait for his recovery, we may have to assault without the storm. otherwise, we need to go on, leave Shep in safety here and execute the mission. Our third choice ain't well with me, and that's abortin' the mission., but we have a wounded man.

"As yer next in command cuz of yer experience and friendship with the bosses, in my opinion, I wanted to know what you think our best move is and share it with Six. Sam likes you better than us, and it's gettin' mission critical to make some decisions. I think you'll agree she seems a little distracted, especially in that ambush, but we're countin' on her more than even the rest of the team, and I'm countin' on you.

"Like I said, you were earning my respect, so whatever you advise, we copy, and what Sam decides is our plan of action, but now, we need a plan. I'm puttin' it on the line with you, and now lemmie get T to snap to."

At that, she walked back out into the rain, spotting Tori only from her tracks. She had gone to ground. Janxi briefly knelt beside her and mumbled aloud, loud enough for Tori to hear.

"Yeah Shep foxed up, and this is some of the most irresponsible shit I've ever seen. He put the mission at risk, and I'm puttin' in for Xiticix duty when we're done here. Pointin' it out to Shep ain't makin' it any easier on him or us. Do me a solid and secure the shit talk. Let's hope we can survive. The flop's crap. The turn card sucks and my hand sucks as bad as yours. But we ain't seen the river card and could still win this hand. We need Sam with a clear head, and whomever is out in the swamp with us to not sound and smell like a wounded buffalo."

She stepped away from Tori's position, the peptalk only loud enough for both cats to hear. Then, she shot up a tree with a pair of silent leaps, taking the high vantage point, even in the wind. She could hang on with claws.

She overlooked the rest of the team, Tori's position and the rest of the swamp, looking out for trouble. She used her thermal optics and occasionally took a peek through her scope at distant objects.

Tracking [dice=100]/50
Locate sound [dice=100]/80
Identify sound [dice=100]/72
Prowl [dice=100+10]/50
Still camouflaged

Scan with thermal and examine any target, near or far with sniper scope from tree[rand=46118957988938783836620103470493345596547403880575027608622880352]

[Renekin Skywalker]

Socrates took a long time to co-ordinate a response that Janxi could recognize as a response. Her statement was very long, extremely complex for the uninitiated, and, for the unitiated, hard to answer in that medium. THat was, infact, the first though Socrates had, more out of frustration. Socrates cannot send telepathic thoughts, he does not have the capability. A glance in Janxi's direction indicated this.

"One moment." He says to the others. Grabbing he helmet, he steps outside, next to Janxi.

"Your lack of respect for me is becuase I make judgement calls that do not immediately follow yours. Otherwise, I will continue, and this may not be in order: 1. Do not go too far from the house. Experience has taught that distance and loneliness make us targets. You stay close, I do not need to leave. 2. If you know something Shep did not share with us and you did not share it with us, you are as guilty as him. 3. I have no experience with psychic surgery. Dog Boys lack this power. 4. It is up to the medical technician to assess the time of recovery. 5. If Shep continues to smell like food, we will dunk him in mud, if we have to, until it changes. 6. I cannot speak to Sam's level of distraction. She has little experience in the Dinosaur Swamps, so she might not have immediately realized that she should look sideways. Richardson was caught in the same trap. What was his excuse? 7. I will take all this into consideration and speak with Sam, but recognize that I will make a judgement that may not be what you want, and your request that I speak with her absolves me from guilt in suggestion what is appropriate, even if it isn't what you want. Last: request permission before you enter my mind. It is a private space - the last one I have in the CS - and I choose with whom to share it. If there is nothing else, I will return to the house. Radio me when you or Tori need rest, and we can more evenly distribute the team's resources over time for guard duty."

[Tori]

Tori stood from her hiding place, looking almost as if she had been kicked. If Socrates had any empathy, he would realize Tori's feelings were hurt.

She knew at once what had happened and it had the expected result "Janxi reached out to you for help and some guidance, not to walk all over us and treat us like this. You seem to think this is about lack of respect. It is. You have never once shown a bit of respect for us. You can't keep kicking us and expect us to keep liking it. She tried to get your attention without causing another scene, and figured a psi-hound would understand how we cats do our communicatin'. I'll guaran-damn-tee ya, she weren't spyin' she was just sayin' 'help' and you gotta kick the cat again.

"Corporal, I am acting on my last general order from my squadleader as to where I want to guard this structure from. I think I know a good hide from a bad and will follow my own experience. You can see I am following your suggestion one. Two, I briefed y'all on the storms from basic nav studies and seamanship, and then on dino capabilities, all that shit. Don't say I'm just as guilty. I recall a psi-hound tellin' me to shut my big mouth."

"Three, we got kicked out, so you may as well find out how long we're going to be delayed here. It is something we might need to know. I was looking forward to a briefing from Abe on barbarians, but I'm askin you to take notes for me.

"For four, see number three. I would think you would like to find out as well. Decisive action is mission critical. Either we need the firepower and Shep will be okay doubletime, or we need the fire power and wait for him to recover, or we don't need the firepower and press the assault. Last case, we march with him wounded, which it is this SEAL's opinion that course of action failed once already. Otherwise, I say we pack up and leave. We need information to know what our team is capable of in a swamp. We're your experts on the environment.

"Five, you and I know mud ain't gonna do nothing. Six, we're all distracted and going nuts because of this bogus mission. Six is distracted, XO is sick, we have a non combatant, and you have two novice cats and a novice human to nursemaid. This sucks for all of us, but we don't need your barking orders, we need to communicate like a foxin' team to figure out what we can and can't do, and to start working on a plan. So far, the plan looks like we're here to fail, and that's not my way. I'm sick of making excuses for everyone! I'm sick of being kept out of the loop and told to shut up by you and everyone else! None of you consider we got some unique abilities vital to this mission.

"We're gonna sit right here and guard. Aye aye, sir. But please, don't just act for Shep and Sam, act for us too. Remind Sam of what we've told her already, and help her to make some decisions. Right now, since none of us know our method of extraction or timetable, we could be wasting time to rescue our guys and get to an arranged rendezvous. We've all failed to communicate this whole way through the mission. Me maybe worst of all, but damn, if we don't start talking and listening, we're going to fail our mission, we're gonna lose people and we could be stranded in this swamp a long time.

I'm requesting permission for me and Janxi to recon ahead and see if we can't find our objective. We'll observe and report any and all enemy activity, and can get a feel for where the prisoners are housed, watch routines, etc. You can order us to do what we was already doin; you can speak to us and on our behalf when plannin', or you could get Sam to sign off on the recon. And trust me, distance and loneliness are hallmarks of SEALS, Recon and cats. It's what we were trained and bred to do."

Her voice was not angry, and she was not mocking. She showed signs of frustration, because success and failure would be determined in the next few minutes. Deep down, she still believed the plan was meant to fail, but she hated failure more than anything. She wouldn't let that happen.

"Socrates, don't just work us, work with us. The jungle is our environment. It's where we're at home. Don't make us be the skelebots. I'm sorry for all the animosity til now. Help us and help the team, won't you? Give us and Sam what we need. When there is a plan, let us know, and we can guard as long as we have nothing else to do."


She watched her friend climb a tree and fade out of view. It was a comfort to know she was there, even if she couldn't see her. Especially because she couldn't see her, maybe even more. She waited for no reply from Socrates and vanished back into the vegetation. No matter what his response, if any, she would remain silent in her hide and defend the cabin, until new orders came along.


MA roll to trust [dice=100] 45 needed
prowl [dice=100] needs 60 (hide in undergrowth)
Still camouflaged
detect ambush [dice=100]45 needed
detect concealment [dice=100] 35 needed
detect traps and mines [dice=100] 35 needed


Sense psychics and magic [dice=100]30 needed
Sense supernatural beings [dice=100]54 needed
Judge distance and location of prey by sound [dice=100] 80 needed
Identify prey by sound [dice=100] 72 needed
Thermal imagery activated
[rand=15138102182544297938546307390522425570422271407842415112997701]

[Renekin Skywalker]

"I would suggest you reconsider what I have said, and not take it personally. I responded to Janxi's request for information as best I could. If you are insulted by my being frank, then you are insulted by my being frank. Making grand speaches about feelings solves little, here. If not making grand speaches about feelings upsets you, then I have nothing to offer that will keep you from being hurt."

He turned and headed for the cabin. "Would I have respected you less if I stayed inside, or not given you two the first chance to hunt the dinosaurs? If I had not ben honest with you?"

With that, he headed inside. The matter, if not resolved, certainly clear in his mind.

[Janxi]

"Never mind him, Tori," Jan thought to her partner's mind. "We both tried an appeal to sanity and managed to make the big dog feel even bigger. It's like the old joke, 'You know what happens when you get out of the Marine Corps? You get your brain back. He doesn't want his people to look bad. Stay frosty out here, and we'll earn our pay. Maybe Sam will let us recon. We need a topo map."

"Someone's gonna die out here if you don't get yer think on, Socrates. The mission is in jeopardy. There's my Knute Rockne. How's that for frank? For what it's worth, thank ya for callin' us in on the dino kills and at least hearing us out. Please go back inside and take care of whatever you can take care of. If ya learn anythin' pass it on. It seems you ain't got nothin' else and you ain't gonna do nothin else. Just keep yer ears open for us. That's all we're askin anymore." She said from her tree, her tone resigned.

She returned her attentions once more to the swamp, anything Socrates could offer now other than a realistic sitrep would be useless, and maybe even insulting.

[Renekin Skywalker]

As Socrates sat at the table again, he signalled to Sam that he wanted to talk to her, at her leisure. "Now, then." He says to Abe, getting back on track. "Do you have any local maps?"

[dakota]

"Eight hours?" Shep looked at Autumn in disbeleif, but he knew he had no choice and he laid down on Abe's well used couch. Autumn soon found what had caused the infection. The meatball surgeons that had treated Trassk had left a fragment embedded in his skull and the tissue around it had festered and was infected, but it was easily found and removed.

"Maps? Nah, don't need them." Abe shook his head at Socrates. " Best bet is to go to the Cottonmouth Clan. They're village is only couple hours walk south of here, and they's friendly, to me at least. You trade them Raptor claws your cat friends took and they'll tell you whatever you want to know. " He looked at Sam," Ain't nuthin but a little hospitality once I knew you wasn't gonna bushwhack me." He grinned. " Bring you people in for a rest. the winds is gonna get stronger and the rains heavier here real soon, and even the dinos will find a place to hunker down. ain't nuthin gonna get inside this cabin, I promise you that."


Outside, Shagcat found the winds and rain were getting heavier, to the point that without their helmet's optics, they would not be able to see anything. And the only thing moving, even on thermal, was the pair of them.

[sasqaricious]

After the massive expenditure of energy Autumn sits down right beside Shep and breathes deeply. "I am hoping that does the trick and you should probably rest for a little bit." Herself looking a little pale. "It looks like whichever idiot Doctor that worked on you left a fragment in your skull. How do you feel?"

[Renekin Skywalker]

"So, Shep isn't going to bleed out in the middle of a pack of raptors?" Socrates asked, grinning.

Clicking on his radio, he says to the cats. "Team Shagcat, storm's going to get worse. Need a nap?" And switched it to receive. It would be for Shep or Sam to actually call them in.

It would be interesting to see what would happen when the cats had to part with their trophies.

[Tori]

"Tori here- solid copy. Negative on sack drill Socrates. We're five by five." She sounded tired, but wouldn't admit it. "Negative contact to report. Storm's rough now, but I think our chances of an encounter are negligible. Maintaining surveillance, over." The wind howled over the open channel as Tori spoke, punctuated by debris striking her armor and the occasional crack of thunder.

Still camouflaged
detect ambush [dice=100]45 needed
detect concealment [dice=100] 35 needed
detect traps and mines [dice=100] 35 needed


Sense psychics and magic [dice=100]30 needed
Sense supernatural beings [dice=100]54 needed
Judge distance and location of prey by sound [dice=100] 80 needed
Identify prey by sound [dice=100] 72 needed
Thermal imagery activated


[rand=3443012921168634455912055435754580104749875937274475970296931402451]