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The meeting room on board the Keant isn't anything spectacular, a series of chairs are set up, along with a projector showing a mostly terrestrial planet.
Soon enough, another person walks in, heading towards the projector, "Well, let's get started." he says. Entering some information into a terminal and the picture of the planet focuses on a smaller northern area.
Sara is already in the front row, her small laptop set on her lap and she watches the screen with interest. "Will this be where we're going this time?" she asks.
Kallyn, meanwhile, is off to the side, having forgone a seat in favor of leaning against the wall with arms crossed and her ever-present hat pulled forward to hide her eyes. She peeks at the projection out the corner of her eye, the side of her hat canted up a little to let her see.
Lucius is standing at the back with a big bulge at the bottom of his lip, probably from a wad of chewing tobacco. He's dressed in normal clothing but has a protective and load bearing vest on his torso. He listens with a pen and paper in hand.
Arizhel is sitting next to Sara, dressed casually but sitting primly with her legs crossed at the knee and her hands folded in her lap. A sidewise glance goes to the Later as she asks her question, and the Terran stays quiet for the moment, perhaps awaiting the answer.
"Today, the location is a northern temperate environment. Our last scans suggested deforesting was starting to begin in the area and be settled with a greater population density." is the reply Sara receives. "This is simply recon and observation."
Sara nods at this, "Do we know how much time has passed on the planet since the last time we were there?" the small Later asks. She looks sidewise to Rish and offers a polite smile before looking back to the presenter.
"What are the rules of engagement, since I'm helping run your guys security along with whichever SDF you're bringing?" Asks Lucius from the back, looking up from his paper after having jotted down a few notes.
The redheaded Aukami chimes in with a question of her own: "Do we have any clue how far the locals have developed since our last visit? It has been a while... and that's from /our/ point of view..."
Cue more silence from the Terran. Rish seems content to wait for the answers to everyone else's questions for the moment. She does take out a PDA and make a few notes, however.
"Unfortunately we do not have a precise timefram of development." is the reply. "The ability to begin forest clearing suggests some developments, but we are unsure what this region has in terms of technology. As you are likely aware, the distances involved make trade of technology extremely difficult at best. As for rules of engagement, returning fire as a latter resort is preferable. The use of most of your weapons, if not all, will almost certainly involve introducing the locals to substantially more advanced technology." a pause, "Any other questions? We have another team I need to debrief quite soon."
Sara shakes her head, "Should we consider the possibility that the deforestation isn't necessarily from the locals, but perhaps a disease of some sort? Or is the amount of it too great for that kind of consideration?" she asks.
Lucius jots down some more info on his pad with a nod, then pauses to listen.
"Normally, yes." though the map changes to show another scan of the area, this one showing what looks to be deforestation in a localized, but more or less orderly way. "The pattern indicates that it is likely being done by the locals. That is one of the things we would like to know."
"I wonder if they still remember us," Kallyn muses absently, detaching herself from the wall and scoots towards the back or the room, "Ready to go whenever you all are."
Arizhel simply secures the PDA back in a pocket and rises, a glance going aside to Kallyn as she too makes her way toward the back of the room. "Who knows? It could be generations in the future for all we know. It's really too bad we can't pin down more of a conversion yet."
Sara simply nods and notes on her computer, "I'm ready then when everybody else is," she says as she packs the computer away.
"Why don't you guys carbon date rocks this time and compare them with samples from last time?" Suggests Lucius off handedly, as the pen and paper goes into a pocket on his vest. He turns to leave.
The ship lands, not unlike usual, a few miles from the targeted site, surrounded by several trees at this point.
Having been silent for the entire trip, Kallyn simply rises and moves to exit the ship with the group. First, middle, last, doesn't make much difference to her.
Sara prepares to exit the ship, making one last check of items in her bag. "I'll..um..let somebody more qualified go first," she offers.
Lucius has a nice sized backpack in the same camoflauge as his vest. The rest of his clothes are olive drab, long sleeve pants and a jacket, given that he's no longer working for the military. "Obviously myself, ma'am." He says with a big wide grin on his face. If one looks closely, his lower teeth are speckled with brown chewing tobacco. He takes the first step off.
Arizhel rises silently, pulling on a lightweight jacket, then a small pack. She waits for everyone else to move on ahead of her, including Sara. "After you," she offers to the Later, along with a slight little smile.
While there are plenty of trees in the area, there are a couple slightly travelled paths, most likely by humans. One of these directions lead towards what is most likely some kind of settlement.
"Hope you all brought some food and water." Lucius says, with a bit of a grin as he spits a big, nasty wad of brown onto the soil around the ship. He pulls a magazine from his vest and loads his rifle, then repeats this with his pistol and underslung launcher, readying them as well. He takes a quick look around the area before taking a knee and contemplating everything. The pad of paper comes out and he sketches something with his pen. After the childlike map has been drawn, showing nothing more than the immediate area, he points with his pen towards the likely path. "There. That's where we're going. Let's step off." His 'map' is stowed, and he grabs his rifle to head out at a brisk pace. "I also hope none of you are out of shape."
Sara nods and heads out ahead of Rish, "Thank you, ma'am," she says politely. She hurries to follow after Lucius, "Well..maybe a little, but I'll keep up, sir," she admits sheepishly.
Looks like Kallyn's taking second place! She moves to step out after Lucius, raising her chin to have a look at their surroundings. Now that she actually needs to see, her hat is adjusted to a more normal position and her eyes are plain to see - black, and impenetrably so. She just eyes the man in front of her. "Not our first trip here," she remarks shortly, "We're fine." She follows after him, adjusting her medical satchel slightly and keeping up with little issue.
Arizhel winces visibly at Sara. "Phew. I've been ma'amed," she says, adopting a feigned hurt expression. It doesn't last long, however, one corner of her mouth quirking upward in a wry smile. The Terran brings up the rear of the group without much problem, contenting herself with idle study of the surrounding scenery.
"No need to call me sir, missus. I'm not in the military anymore. And I work for my money, to boot." Quips the Martian, with his eternally wry grin set on his face. He nods at Kallyn's comment but says nothing else in reply. The rest of his attention is to the route they're taking, and the area around. Every once in a while he'll mark something down on his notepad.
Soon enough, civilization is indeed in sight, first by a lower frequency of grown trees, instead replaced by bits of stump, then what look to be farms, and finally off in the distance a settlement of some kind. Notably a great majority of buildings here are built of wood.
"Sorry..I ..um..Arizhel, right?" she asks of Rish. "I'm not sure I've met you before though, um..Mr..." Sara leaves that open for Lucius to fill in. "I've met Doctor Kallyn before though," she adds with a light blush.
"Guess we know why they're cutting down trees," remarks a somewhat unsurprised Kallyn, "So, how do we want to go about this observation? Direct approach tends to be the usual." She nods once to affirm Sara's words.
"Call me Lucius." The Martian says. As they near the edge of the woods, he calls for a halt with a raised hand, moving off to take a knee where there's a little bit of a room. "Pow-wow time. This isn't my show. We've walked about five and a half kilometres." He holds out his pad of paper to show the crude map. His eyes dart upwards to the group, expectantly.
"You could also call him Mister Castus if you feel like annoying him a bit." Rish offers to Sara, following it up with a quiet chuckle and a sidewise wink to the Martian. She pauses then, thoughtfully eyeing the map before she looks up and shrugs. "The direct approach seems like the best idea, really. Trying to hide and getting caught likely won't bode well."
Sara nods at the idea, "That sounds good. I can handle communication if it's needed." She too takes a look at the map then at the nearby farms. "They've advanced quite a bit it would seem."
"Lucius," Kallyn repeats, a mildly amused smirk flitting briefly on her features, "I knew a man with that name once. Anyway, I'm for the direct approach, too. Hope their language is still Terran-derived. Just easier that way. Oh, and if we need to intimidate them without hurting anyone give me a nudge. Bet they'll... oh, what's the phrase... Oh - bet they'll 'shit bricks' if I start tossing things around..." She taps her temple briefly.
The group gets up and goes towards town. Directly.
While the approach gains some notice, they're not approached by anyone on the outlying farms. As for the settlement itself, there's several pathways throughout, serving as primitive roads for people, animals pulling carts, and so on.
"That's unusual. I didn't know Aukami had names like Lucius." This Martian says, rolling his eyes at Kallyn slightly, as if he doesn't believe her little aside as being truthful. As they begin to move through the township, Lucius keeps his head on a swivel. "Medieval times." He mumbles, to himself. "Keep pressing?"
Arizhel chuckles quietly. "You've gone and opened a rather interesting can of worms with that observation, Lucius," she muses. A slight shrug is offered as she looks around. "I don't see any reason to stop just yet. If someone doesn't approach us soon, we can always attempt to go speak with one of them.
Sara nods, "I think we should continue on," she says, not really stopping. "Any of these roads should do I would think."
"The man I'm referring to was human," Kallyn replies, "As was I, at the time. 'Kallyn Lake' isn't really very Aukami, now is it?" She shrugs, then, "I don't see any reason not to proceed. My home was similar in many ways to this, nothing wrong with it. And they don't seem to mind us. Wonder where they keep their leader... let's look for a larger building. Something with stone, maybe - fancier. Just hope they haven't started with feudalism - nobles are so pompous."
"Visitors?" a rather short male says, complete with robes, seems to notice the group and approaches him. "Did our warriors make it all the way north?" he asks them, openly enough.
Lucius says something that sounds rather scathing in Martian Latin, though it doesn't appear to be directed at anybody in particular. As the male approaches, he moves out of the way to let the group parlay with him. He keeps his hand on his weapon, and his head glancing about pretty much everywhere.
A brow is raised at Lucius before Rish turns to the robed man, offering a slight bow. "We did come to visit, yes," she replies, "But we didn't meet up with any warriors of yours. Were they sent north long ago?"
"We're observers from another land. We came to find out more about your culture and your ways," Sara explains with a pleasant smile for the man.
"I know we sent them when we had conditions similar to last planting season." the robed man answers. "We had a problem, and we know a journey far to the north can be rewarded with a boon of knowledge of some form. They were given the best axes we could provide them. So you are not heading there as well?"
Kallyn just crosses her arms and lets the others speak. Much like Lucius is here to keep the party safe, she's just here to patch people up. And maybe kick some ass. Depends on her mood.
Lucius isn't doing much else than watching the farmlands, the terrain for somewhere to take cover, and the dude in front who's yammering on about some knowledge.
Arizhel nods in agreement with Sara, then purses her lips slightly. "Mmm. I see. That is awhile ago," she replies thoughtfully. "We're not headed up there just yet, but now you've got me curious. What problem were you having?"
Sara nods in agreement with Rish. "We can head that way if we need to. But perhaps we can help you?" she offers to the man.
"Raiders. They are incredibly fast and can strike from afar. We can not even touch them before they slaughter anyone sent." the robed man replies.
"Raiders, eh?" Lucius says from the sidelines. "They look anything like us. I mean.. stuff they carry? Weapons?" He motions down to his rifle and then to his vest.
"Mmm," Rish replies, again thoughtful as she gives a slow nod. She brushes a stray lock of hair out of her face and looks aside to Lucius, staying silent for the moment.
The redhead perks at the mention of raiders, a bit of interest seeping into her features. Kallyn looks to Lucius, "If you think we can take them, I want to try. Could use the outlet."
The robed man looks at the rifle Lucius carries, "I don't see anything like this. They look more like small bits of wood with feathers, about this" he holds his hands about a foot apart "long."
At this point, after the problem is explained slightly, someone else runs towards the town, obviously out of breath. "They come! Several of them are attacking one of the farms!"
"I hope that was a joke, little lady." The Martian frowns at Kallyn, who by no means is little. "I think I could maybe take a few people if we had to bug out. This is not an arsenal. You are not armed. No. We're not here for that." In Martian Latin, as the elder speaks, he swears. "Vulcan's dick, we don't need to get involved with these small people." The former soldier doesn't move, waiting for the others to decide.
Sara frowns at the explanation, "Wood?" she asks. "Your people are being plagued by..wood?" and with the one that hurries toward them she tilts her head to one side, "Perhaps we should get a look at these creatures?" she asks.
"He means arrows," Rish observes quietly. "Which no doubt means that they have bows as well." She looks aside to Kallyn then. "We're not equipped to go hunting," she replies. A frown creases her brow as the cry is raised about the farm, and she falls silent to look between the rest of the group.
Lucius jerks a finger at Rish. "You're in charge here, make the call. But we're not going into fucking combat. We can watch. I'm not getting involved in a dispute. Which means neither are you. So, we can watch, or turn back now."
Kallyn just blinks at Sara. "/Arrows/," she explains, "'Plagued by wood'... Light, do you have any idea how /valuable/ a good archer is in a primitive battle?" She looks to Lucius, then, "I am plenty armed and I am not joking. If you want to take the ladies and flee, then go. /I'm/ helping and you're not stopping me." She looks to the robed man, then, "Do you have any blunt weapons I could borrow? My weapon isn't good for arm's length."
The robed man seems disappointed at Lucius, but seems lightly hopeful when Kallyn offers assistance. "If you want to help, I may be able to find you something like that." he agrees.
"I'm not good in a fight..." Sara admits. "But I'll do what I can if I can. Perhaps we can talk to them and call a treaty of some sort?"
"While I'd rather not get involved..." Rish begins, angling a look at Lucius before her gaze flicks to Kallyn. "I don't think Mikage would think much of us simply leaving one of the station's doctors behind. So unless you'd like to try to force her to leave, it would appear we're all in." She pauses. "But *only* in this. Chasing archers through the woods and ending up as pincushions isn't my idea of a good time." A nod goes toward Sara, both acknowledgement and agreement.
Lucius grumbles. "I don't have a choice but to go with you, that's what my contract stipulates. But you're a fucking idiot liberal who can't keep her mouth shut and her fucking nose out of other people's business. I know your type right off the bat. Godsdamnit." He hoists his weapon. "Fine. We'll do it your way, you stupid fuck. I hope you don't plan on sending out a peace delegation." He shoots a look that says 'Don't even think of it' to Sara. "Cultures here aren't interested in treaties. And certainly not a raiding party. Don't be so naive." He nods tiredly at Rish. "I expect you to discipline her for usurping chain of command. I /will/ be lodging a direct complaint to the old man. Let's fucking go."
The redhead listens to Lucius' rant calmly, before taking a breath. "You have no idea how dangerous I am right now," Kallyn says softly, gesturing to her still-blackened eyes, "I'm not doing this for them. I need to get it out of my system before I hurt someone who doesn't deserve it. I /will not fall again/, even if it takes death... Mm, although it would be nice to go home early." She sighs, then, "Contracts and obligations, you guys are as dumb as I am to follow just because of that." To robed guy - "Bashy thing. Where?"
As for the robed man, it doesn't take him long to produce a primitive looking short staff. "I don't know how this would be effective for you, but it is what you asked for." a pause from him, "They won't come into the city, they aren't as mobile here, but the farms will be in the most danger."
Arizhel nods at Lucius. "Agreed," she replies. "But now isn't exactly a good time for it, all said." A wry smile, then. "I suppose hoping there aren't too many is about the best we can do for the moment, hm? And if there are, I'll save a seat for you in Hell." She winks and draws her blade, a faint crystalline note accompanying the motion.
"No. We're civilized, you fucking shaved ape of an alien. Civilized people follow civilized rules. Contracts, obligations, and staying out of other people's business. Let's go now." Lucius returns to Kallyn, looking downright pissed now. He shuts up, ultimately, and motions forward. Presumably to whereever he thinks the farms are.
There's a brief flash of red, tinged bloody by the blackness it can't really shake off, as Kallyn glares a hole in the back of Lucius's head. She takes the staff with a nod of thanks and moves to follow, clenching the weapon with white knuckles as she tries so very hard /not/ to smash the man's head in. "I hope you get shot in the face," she grumbles in Hekayti, not really caring whether or not he understands.
The farm itself is in pretty poor shape at this point. From a distance several injured can be seen. Currently there are several horses at a storehouse, being loaded. Furthermore, they're being protected by men with bows atop horses. "That is them!" the robed man points out.
Lucius ripostes in Terran, "Go fuck yourself, you idiot harpy." Not quite at the height of his wit today. He follows alongside the robed man, moving to find some cover as they get closer to the raiders' wagons. A nice farmers' wall, only about half his height but acceptable when crouching, will do. He kneels behind it, raising his weapon and scoping out the dudes. "Your go, Loretta." Who he's talking to is anyone's guess.
Cover, yes. Cover is good. Rish drops behind the wall as well, though she's crouched fully behind it. She raises a brow at the bickering, and shakes her head. "Now isn't the time. Anyway. What's the plan, Lucius?"
"Only after I get to dance on your grave," Kallyn replies evenly, eyeing the farmer's wall with a sigh. She's 8'6", she has to crawl to make it work. "Huh, nice-sized party," she remarks with a peek over, "I can make a distraction..."
There appear to be about a dozen horse archers with support to take away the goods from the storehouse. The robed man doesn't say anything, preferring to hide behind the wall.
"Yeah, sure. Distract them." Lucius replies, uninterestedly.
Arizhel brings a hand up to her face and mutters to herself, shaking her head. "Alright. Fine. If by 'distract' you mean 'run at them like a crazy woman,' then I think we've got a problem. I'm hoping you've got something else in mind, though, cause I'm not real keen on charging a bunch of archers, personally."
The Aukami twitches. "You know what, fuck you guys," she says, "I didn't tell you to follow me. Go back to the ship, tell them I forced you or I was lost to circumstances beyond your control, just get out of my face before I throw YOU at them." Kallyn makes a motion as though to strangle someone, before huffing. "I'm an /Aukami/," she says, "I'm /psionic/, you dense fucks. I'm not suicidal, I'm not /that/ stupid, and I'm not /that/ crazy. I was going to chuck floaty rocks at them from a bunch of directions to disorient them."
"By distract I mean I have to try and protect her and she's the one with the ideas." Lucius says. He shifts his words to Kallyn, blandly. "Yeah, sure. Go ahead."
The Terran nods at Lucius, then shifts her eyes to Kallyn. "No. I may not agree with what you're doing, but I'm not leaving you here, either." Rish shrugs. "I also wasn't going to assume that you're psionic. By all means."
"All right then," Kallyn peeks over the wall again, looking to the raiders and their immediate surroundings with a soft sigh. Eyes narrow, and a single palm-sized stone floats up from beside one of the raiders to hover at eye level. And then another... and another. A load of small stones hover around the raiders, eerily stationary... and then they start to move, swirling and streaking through the air in a slow yet chaotic frenzy of movement that gradually picks up speed. She's not actually /trying/ to hit anyone, it should be noted. Although accidents could happen; she's not actively avoiding anyone either.
Once the distraction is sprung, a third of the archers aim towards Rish and Kallyn, their arrows missing. Lucius meanwhile sneaks off along the wall.
More arrows fly towards Rish and Kallyn, but miss. Between thrown and moved rocks, as well as Lucius's rifle, only nine more archers are still active.
With further rock throwing, combined with Lucius's controlled burst fire, the raiders run off with what has already been gathered, ending the battle.