From the Sky [IC]

[ylvathrall]

The shuttle that Halcyon-Shaw put you on is nothing special, just a regular planetary shuttle that looks to have seen plenty of missions. Despite its age, it looks to be in good condition, and the android pilot seemed experienced. The trip planetside, which took a couple of hours, allowed plenty of time to familiarize yourselves with the other members of the team. It's not as though there's a great deal else to do on the way down. The shuttle's cramped interior has no windows; they're little more than a structural weakness for Askovel-III's high pressure atmosphere to capitalize upon.

Finally, after nearly two hours, the captain's voice comes on over the intercom from the pilot's compartment. "Coming in for the final approach," it says calmly. "There will be a little turbulence; don't worry, we aren't passing through a real storm. I'll be setting you down a few clicks outside the canyon where the probe landed. Can't bring her in any closer in this wind without risking a collision. There's a high-altitude storm blowing in, so once I set you down I'll be taking her back out of atmosphere."

[TheOneHawk]

After spending the flight doing as little talking as possible, Soran sighs with relief when the captain tells them they'll be landing soon. The fact that there's a storm blowing in and pickup will be, most likely, nearly impossible is only to be expected. That's just the way things are, nothing's ever as easy as it should be. As they make the final approach he pulls a smoke out of his pocket and sticks it in his mouth, unlit, until they finally land and he can step outside and light up.

[Hazuki]

Sharname has spent most of the journey as she does most flights. Sitting in the corner, with music in her ears (And tuned into the intercom, in case of emergencies), and trying to pass the time until they land. It's not that she hate traveling, but it's the worst part of a job that mostly leaves her free to do whatever she'd like. The weight of the weapons at her waist and the armor in her travel case don't make it any easier, mandatory expedition training be damned.

When the pilot informs them of the situation, she sends a brief "Thank you." back and re-checks her equipment. Finding that no thief has slipped into the shuttle, she settles into her seat and prepares for landing.

[Trenchfoot]

EV3621, perhaps in contrast to Soran and Sharname, would be quite open to conversation with the curious, and hides little about itself in casual chats. A white Solarian globe of power orbits the biomechanical thing casually, illuminating EV3621’s conventionally attractive features. Depending on the observer, the Android might be considered rather androgynous, and its skull and body are more mechanical in appearance than those of Androids one might more typically see out and about. Dim circuit traces glow in an electric green, making crop circles of energetic light across the visible skin and bio-metal of its chassis. There are a number of pallid scars that start on the organic flesh in one place and end across steel and metal and electric traces elsewhere.

The Android is not nude, at least, and has equipped itself with a worn, olive-drab D-suit that appears to have been refitted to fit the thing’s body. Its gear, which it did not bother to hide while bringing on board, clearly includes a few close-combat weapons, and a reliable model of slug-throwing pistol sits comfortably on the Solarion’s hip. A final detail involves an unusual insignia carved into the chassis of the Android’s neck. EV3621 doesn’t bother trying to hide the marking, and it is clearly visible to the casual observer.

EV3621 respects the unspoken wishes of Sharname and Soran, and leaves them be. At the announcement of the pilot, it engages. “Pilot.” it says to its fellow Android over the intercom, “When you have time, could you kindly forward the data on that storm to me?” EV3621 was ready to receive the data over a display screen, verbally over the intercom or, most preferably, using its computer with built-in communications device. He has a small variety of relatively universal cables for the thing, and he figures a shuttle pilot would have the most recent storm data fed to its navigation computer.

“And tell me, you wouldn’t happen to know the pilot that ferried in the first scouting party, would you? I’d like to ask them about the first group.”



The insignia might be recognizable to anyone who knows about Androids, or who has some streetwisdom. It’s a mark that identifies the Android as a ‘comfort thing’ who a person might pay for in exchange for time with them. The insignia merely identifies them, there’s no mention of who to talk to, or price, or anything of that nature.

There are some answers that EV3621 would seek out while still on Kolinar Station. If these are things we’ll all learn later, feel free to disregard this post. The Android would openly ask for information like this from Halcyon-Shaw Incorporated officials. Steinulfr, you very likely already have all of this planned out, and didn’t want to burden the cool-factor of being drop-shipped in with bulky details.

Number of crew in the scouting party, and their profiles (name, character attributes, skillsets).
Equipment taken in and lost with the scouting party (a ship? Expensive equipment, robots).
Nature of all communication with the scouting party since they were dropped off (all their ‘captain’s logs’, if you will).
The best possible map of the area we’ll be dropped in at, with competing Enclaves marked.
What kinds of long-distance communication methods will be available to us, if any.
What equipment Halcyon-Shaw will be sending with us (comms equipment, surveying equipment).
Is the shuttle we're on a Halcyon-Shaw shuttle, or is it hired out to many?

[Vhaidara]

SL4Y3R

The greyscale android is silent for the shuttle ride. Once they reach the surface, he looks around, surveying the area for danger.

Perception: [roll0]

[Bhaakon]

Fisker huddles in his seats, bent over the glowing screen strapped to his left arm. He pokes and prods the interface, chattering to himself as he fiddles with the thing's programming for the twentieth time since the shuttle took off. "No, no, not that. That. yes, that's the right choice." He mutters "Again, again." He waves a paw over the thing to reset the little scenario, a heavily laden passenger tram approaching an intersection, each direction heading for a different flavor of disaster. As he watches the switch clicks over, sending the train barrelling into a stalled vehicle bearing a young family instead of over a structurally deficient bridge.

He sighs and turns the screen off with another wave of his paw and looks up.

"Hmm, oh, we're nearly here? Good. My legs are getting stiff." He tightens the harness on his seat and looks up to make sure the overhead storage where he tossed his pack is still locked. Lots of useful things in that bag. It wouldn't do to have it bouncing around the compartment in the turbulence.

[ylvathrall]

"Don't know anything about them," the pilot replies to EV3621. "Feeding the storm data to your computer now."

Conversation stops a moment later as, true to its word, the pilot runs into turbulence. The winds buffet the small craft, violently tossing it about, but the pilot is able to handle it with smooth professionalism, keeping the shuttle on track until the turbulence is past. It isn't much longer before you're settling down on solid ground, and the shuttle door opens.

The exterior is about what you would expect from the surface of Askovel-III. The ground is barren sand speckled with stunted greenish vegetation. The plants cling low to the ground, with narrow leaves and little in the way of frills. To the south the ground slopes down into what looks like a swamp, with standing water and a handful of low trees growing out of the undoubtedly acidic pools. To the north the desert stretches for another two kilometers or so before reaching the cliffs where the canyon network you're looking for is. The first of the canyons is visible from where you are, a gaping hole in the cliff face.

The ATV that Halcyon-Shaw provided is dropping off the back of the shuttle. The compact vehicle looks to be just large enough for all of you to fit on it, though it will be a bit cramped, and has a heavy windshield to protect against the wind. The surveying equipment and GPS beacons are already packed into sturdy black bags which are neatly tucked away on the back of the vessel.

Based on the atmospheric data the pilot's navigation computer sent over, the storm is unlikely to have much effect on the ground - it's a high altitude weather phenomenon, and the wind and rain are unlikely to reach the ground. It will likely last through the night before blowing over.

[TheOneHawk]

Soran steps off the shuttle and lights up as he casts a disapproving gaze at the ATV they've been sent with. Five people in a little thing like that. Typical. It beats the hell out of walking, though, so he heads over to it and clambers into the passenger seat. Once he's settled, having to crouch down a little to keep his head from hitting the roof, he calls back to the group, "I hope one of you's a good driver, cause I ain't in the mood to whack my head on this thing any more than I already have."

[Hazuki]

Sharname heads straight to the ATV once she's stepped out of the shuttle, easily finding a place to slip into the seats. She's slender enough that she won't take too much space, if she keeps her case on her lap.

"I can't drive, I'm afraid." She answers Soran's question. She hopes that Halycon-Shaw hasn't forgotten to hire somebody who can actually drive for this expedition.

[Vhaidara]

SL4Y3R

SL4Y3R doesn't speak, he simply opens the driver's door and climbs in, quickly familiarizing himself with the controls.

[Trenchfoot]

EV3621 accepts and analyzes the offered data, knowing it might be able to monitor the storm from below and keep the team posted on changes in the weather patterns. Since receiving its freedom, the Android hasn’t limited its exploration to starships and cities and world-orbiting stations. EV3621 has explored a variety of biomes, finding deserts particularly appealing. To the former slave, they were dry wastes of lifeless, shifting sands, interspersed with the occasional oasis and its lifegiving water. And out there, on the edge of vision, the mind might perceive a hazy mirage, and be fooled into wandering out there, to find nothing but a desiccating demise. How like the desert was the universe; a broad expanse of nothing, with occasional clusters of life huddling together in a cosmically-convenient hospitable spot, until some great sandstorm or star-death erases the place from memory.

The Solarion passenger is unperturbed by the turbulence, though its orb of light flickers briefly with each shake. Upon landing, its noisily-green eyes leap upward, scanning the skies and seeking the stars. Without looking, its hand types notes out on its computer, noting their landing coordinates as far as it could tell, particularly with reference to the nearby terrain features. The swamp itself might not be so permanent, possibly filling and draining as the case may be, but the depression it hung in was surely notable. The canyon, similarly, could be marked on EV3621’s developing map.

Politely, EV3621 remains out of Sharname’s way, and the fellow Android as well. They each seemed to know right where they were going. It also does its best to steer clear of the Ysoki explorer, ensuring that it wasn’t in the rat-like creature’s path. As Soran smokes up, the Android pulls in a long draught of the air, olfactory sensors scanning the grey particles. It was difficult, as the air was already new and strange down here on the surface, but still an interesting exercise. EV3621 did not immediately recognize the brand of the stuff, so it gestures toward the cigarette. “Who do you smoke?” it asks the Vesk.

I'm attempting a Survival roll to get a firm idea of our location, and perhaps to gain some general information about the terrain beyond that is visible. As written, I'd also like to try to track the storm's progress. Steinulfr, I ask if you'll consider my use of the storm data, as well as observation of the surroundings as a possible equipment bonus of some kind to the roll.

[roll0]

[TheOneHawk]

Vintage Sobok's, when I can get 'em" Soran grunts, then pulls the pack out of his pocket and displays it with a dismissive gesture, showing a fairly generic brand. "Problem is, they're hell to get outside the Veskarium, even harder when you're on a neglected backwater craphole like this, so I'm stuck with these for the forseeable future."

[Trenchfoot]

The Android listens intently, mentally logging the name of the Vesk's preferred brand. Its eyes scan down to the pack, swiftly counting the remaining cylinders in the little box. Cigarettes... paper cylinders packed with poison-soaked herbs, tar and industrial byproducts. You wrapped factory sludge and dead plants, lit the end on fire, and then replaced the life-giving air in your lungs with the smoldering, ruinous grey byproduct of the burning filth inches from your face.

EV3621 found the act of smoking fascinating.

"And what will you smoke when that pack goes empty?" it asked.

[Hazuki]

"Excuse me," Sharname says once she can find a gap in the conversation. "When should I change into my armor?" She asks, rapping her fingers on the case.

[TheOneHawk]

Soran closes his eyes with a slightly frustrated expression and replies, "Something, nothing,
I don't know, I might not even survive to the end of the pack. You ask too many questions." With that he turns his attention to the android in the driver's seat. "You actually gonna drive or did you just sit there for the hell of it?"

[Vhaidara]

SL4Y3R

SL4Y3R looks at the Vesk, then at the rat who hasn't gotten into the vehicle.

[Bhaakon]

After several attempt, Fisker finally manages to reach the latch on the overhead compartment. Shuttles were supposed to be build it cleverly-place footholds for this sort of thing, but this planet was in the end of nowhere and had probably been modified by some unscrupulous oaf to carry more people, sacrificing any sense of reasonable accommodations in the process. Finally, though, he has the ponderous pack and secures it to his frame with its web of straps and waddles over to their newest conveyance.

"Even tighter quarters, fantastic." He mutters. Normally it wouldn't be an issue, but these people were preposterously oversized for a sealed environment. Probably couldn't even stand up in that ATV.

[Vhaidara]

SL4Y3R

Once the rat is on board and the doors are closed, the silent android begins driving.

[ylvathrall]

The trip north to the cliff's face is a simple one, the desert rolling by smoothly under the ATV's wheels. Things grow bumpier upon reaching the canyon, though; the rocky ground is more of a challenge to the vehicle. SL4Y3R manages to adroitly maneuver the ATV through the rocks without stalling or damaging it, but he still has to slow down to maneuver through them. There are several points in the first kilometer where the ATV nearly gets stuck and only a bit of clever driving manages to keep it rolling deeper into the canyon network. It branches a few times, but the GPS system suggests that only one of the forks is going the right direction to make it to the probe.

Only a few hundred meters after entering that canyon, you spot something lying on the ground nearby. A squat animal, most of its body is taken up by six stubby legs and a large jaw. Its back is hunched and muscular, and two compound eyes look out at the world from behind a translucent film.

It's also very clearly dead, with a large section of tissue on its side burned away.

The animal is a common scavenger on Askovel-III. Its hunched back has earned it the nickname of hyenoid among the locals, after an animal which was common on Golarion and still exists in zoos on Absalom Station. It has little resemblance to this animal beyond the first appearance, though. Its leathery hide contains compounds that can neutralize acids, and while it isn't able to survive in acid pools or storms, it manages to survive the constant low-grade exposure from the atmosphere. Those stubby legs, which are thick and strong enough to function under the high pressure, are surprisingly fast, and the hyenoid can cover a range of dozens of square kilometers. They live in small groups, eating a variety of small animals.

Those burn marks are very distinctly laser wounds. They look to be fairly fresh, as well - not more than a day old.

It's just over another kilometer to the probe site.

[Trenchfoot]

In response to the Vesk's statement, EV3621 quickly counts the number of questions it had asked. Two, had been the number. It wondered whether One, or Zero, were preferably to the scaled creature. It had asked a two-parter of the Android. Perhaps the rules applied to others, not to itself? That wouldn't be uncommon.

In response to Sharname's question, EV3621 does its best to provide an answer. "I would recommend changing as soon as you can. There's no telling what we might encounter."

It hear's Fisker's comment, but has nothing to add to it.

The Android observes the carcass, but is silently befuddled by the appearance of the wound.

"We all may wish to gear up, for that matter." it says, just the same.

[Hazuki]

Sharname peers at the carcass that their ATV has stumbled upon, then nods at EV's suggestion. "I'll get changed now." She says, slipping back into the ATV to do just that. The sight of a creature with a hole where there shouldn't be one does something to unnerve her, but the knowledge that she's traveling with professional killers does something to quell her worries.

[TheOneHawk]

Soran grunts as the wound on the side of the creature comes into view. "Looks like someone's been shooting lasers at the wildlife. Three shots from a laser rifle, I'd wager. Seen that kind of wound before." He takes a deep, final drag from his cigarette before tossing it out of the car. "D'ya suppose that's from our previous expedition, or from whatever caused them to need this one?"

[Trenchfoot]

EV6321 wonders about the implications of this carcass. Interesting how the dead held secrets... "It may depend on how long that creature has been dead. It hasn't been consumed by its fellows, or by other beasts. It hasn't been retrieved, cooked and eaten by hungry sentients like ourselves. If it is a recent kill, it could be our missing trio, or someone else entirely. Soran, tell us. Is it shot well, or is it shot poorly?"

Its question is a bit of a hunter's question. A good hunter can tell a good kill, or a bad kill, by looking at the corpse. The Android wonders if the Vesk can tell the same information.

While asking, EV3621 touches the semi-automatic pistol in its holster, and the Solarion's light glimmers with curiosity. "And does anyone recognize that creature, perhaps from a briefing? Knowing its behaviors might help understand this piece of the puzzle."

Steinulfr, how many days ago was the last transmission about "finding the ore deposit" received? Are we talking mere days, or weeks?

[TheOneHawk]

Soran muses for a moment before answering, "Shot well, I'd say. Tight grouping, centre mass. Either a pro held the gun, or someone got off some real lucky shots. Our missing three had one merc with them, another Vesk. I heard of him. Not a rifleman."

[Bhaakon]

Fisker's back pops alarmingly as he bends down to look at the dead beast, the seared flesh obviously the work of a laser weapon. The things were resistant to the caustic atmosphere, but whatever processes caused that were mostly concentrated in its thick outer hide, and the signs of corrosion were subtle but clear where the inner musculature had been exposed. "It's a hyenoid." Fisker mentions offhandedly. "Though I must admit that it doesn't bear much resemblance at all to its namesake...at least the pictures of them I've seen. This one has only been out here a day, at most, which might explain whey it hasn't been devoured yet. These things travel in small packs, and scavengers aren't known for sentiment. Keep an eye out for its mates."

He stands back up, stretching. "It also means that someone was still here to shoot it within the last cycle."

[Vhaidara]

SL4Y3R

The android in the drivers seat makes note of the downed animal and its wounds, and continues driving.

[Trenchfoot]

EV3621, its Solarion orb coming to a hovering stop near its chest, drinks in the details offered by its comrades. A professional shooter, bearing a rifle, managed a tight shot grouping on a native scavenger beast. The known fighter from the original scouting team was not a rilfe-bearer. The beasts travel in packs, and this 'hyenoid' was likely part of a pack. Perhaps a shooter encountered a pack, and slew one of the beasts to scare off the group. The shooting occurred within the last day as well.

"To my knowledge, no one else has made legal claim to the ore deposit yet. Not even the previous team. Their last communication, three days ago, indicated that they had activated their survey equipment and confirmed that something significant was at the site identified by the probe. There was nothing further." It falls into a thoughtful silence for a moment. "If others are here, they have not legally claimed the site with the company up there in the stars." Another brief pause. "We still have our chance to identify the extent of the deposit and stake our claim on the extent of it."

[ylvathrall]

Half a kilometer further into the canyon, it branches again. One fork continues straight towards the ore deposit, while the other looks as though it will loop around and approach the probe site from behind. They're both rocky, and the difficult ground may not be able to accommodate the ATV without careful driving.

On the canyon that approaches directly to the probe site, you can see a handful of rock formations that are just a bit too regular to be natural, with signs indicating that the rocks were moved into place. There are two on the left side of the canyon and one on the right, all fairly high up and difficult to access from this direction.

[Hazuki]

Sharname leans back in the ATV, sitting a little less comfortably thanks to her armor, and prepares herself for what's sure to be a bumpy ride.

[Trenchfoot]

The Android in the rear of the vehicle, seated up against the Vesk warrior, squints at the changes in terrain. It isn't certain about the difference in the two paths, but it observes the surroundings and the canyon as a whole just the same. Its internal databases list various recorded details about the appearances of mineral deposits, and the way different types of rock appear within eroded segments of a landscape. It develops the theory that this canyon was formed by a long-since dried-up source of some kind of acid, rather than the erosion of simple water-based rain. What a fascinating world...

EV3621 looks to identify the nature of the stones and boulders, wondering if it help their team's pilot navigate the boulders based on which ones were more likely to shift or break under the wheels of the vehicle. It was a long shot, but the Solarion was not one to simply sit and 'rubberneck' at the scenery during a mission. Its computer is in its hands, updating its nascent map of the immediate area.

I'd like EV3621 to attempt a Survival roll, following the failure of its Perception roll to spot the details listed in the spoiler. My intent is to provide SL4Y3R with a bonus to its roll to navigate through whichever path it chooses.

Survival
[roll0]

[Bhaakon]

Wheeled travel was so...inefficient, slow, bumpy, rump-blistering, nauseating. Not for the first time, Fisker wonders why the damnable shuttle couldn't have just hovered right up to the site and lowered them on a rope or something. Maybe if it had been a proper pilot instead of some fancy cab company hack. He was probably more worried about being on time for his next fare than getting them to the right place.

Yes, he'd have to write a sternly worded letter to the company management when he had the time, but for now he had more pressing concerns. The aforementioned nausea paramount among them. Remembering a trick from some cheap seafaring adventure vid he'd seen as a youth, he fixes his eyes on a landmark instead of allowing his vision to bounce about with the vehicles motion. And odd set of rock formations...and, hrm, a similarly regular set on the other side of the canyon.

"Someone put those there." Fisker points up to the arranged rocks. "Look how even they are. That's artificial. But...why? The reason I can think to put something up that high on the canyon is to give cover against people below. Or to push those rocks down on us."

[Vhaidara]

SL4Y3R

The pilot nods to Fisker, and turns off down the path that isn't set up as either an ambush or a shooting gallery. Or both.

Heading for the ore deposit

[ylvathrall]

The trip down the next canyon is bumpier even than before, but ultimately harmless to the vehicle and its occupants. Just a few hundred yards further, the GPS system is saying that the probe site is just beyond the cliff face beside you. It's about forty meters high, and surprisingly smooth, perhaps from the acid that likely wore the canyon down. The canyon continues for another hundred meters or so ahead of you before, apparently, merging back into the canyon it branched off from.

[TheOneHawk]

Soran glances at the GPS, then the cliff, then sighs. Of course. "Probe's either up top there, or back in that other canyon. You know, the one we specifically didn't go down for some reason. I don't feel like climbing today, let's loop back around over there." He points towards where the two canyons merge back together.

[Vhaidara]

SL4Y3R

The driver shrugs and turns the car around, backtracking to head up to the probe.

[ylvathrall]

Things proceed normally until the group has driven perhaps a hundred meters down the other path. The probe is about another two hundred meters forward, with the unusual rock formations half that distance away.

At that point, the silence is broken by the unmistakable crack of gunfire as a gun is fired from behind the rock formation on the right, aimed at SL4Y3R.

That was definitely a sniper rifle, scoped in on your location.

One attack on SL4Y3R. Initiative time!

Attack: [roll0] against KAC. SL4Y3R has a +2 cover bonus to AC against this attack.
Damage: [roll1] piercing