Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Isaac Black (Chief Armory Officer) in Main Sim - Mystery Planet - Columbia Landing Site

Posted by Vice Admiral CockRoach (GM) in Main Sim - Mystery Planet - Columbia Landing Site
[snip]

With everyone loaded and the pod door shut, the bay door opened and the pod dropped from the Bonnie. With a smooth glide it soon entered the blue-green toned world below buffeting through the atmosphere without much problem. The NE Bings at the pilot station spoke, “..We’re clearing the cloud cover shortly, we’ll be able to put down literally right next to the landing site of the shuttle if you want on the plateau, otherwise the only other clearing is about a kilometer and a half off near the northern edge of this same plateau. You would need to trek through some thick brush and small tree forests..” He said.

Further commenting came in then as scans cleared up, “..Local temperature is about 60 Degrees, 5-8mph winds from the northeast. The local wild life seems varied between local pack hunters, and smaller to mid-sized game…” As he spoke the pod was coming closer to the plateau and as if to drive home his report on the local life a quite large bug about the size of a baseball or so smacked into the front shield of the pod leaving a gooey green mush behind. “..Urgh..” Bings said, “..Yeah there’s also a sizable bug population it seems in flight..” he reported. “..Local terrain is full of various minerals that are giving off a low level interference on scans and safe transporter functioning. Expect hand scanners range to be reduced to 10 or so yards, anything beyond 20 is probably going to be junk for use.” He finished up hovering the pod above and to the south of the plateau now about 300 feet up in the air. “..So far no signs of human life, but again readings are murky. So where do you want me to land?” he inquired.

GM CockRoach

El had her nose to the small port window watching them descend. Her second alien world and both of them holding mysteries that connected them with Earth and the past, or, in the last ‘mission’, their future past. She only paid half the attention to the droning pilot talking temperature and wind and the like. Her head snapped around at the sudden smack of the bug which resulted in a shrug. She had grown up in a region were bugs were common and not small like she saw in her quick and only visit to North America. Even her Academy time in the United Kingdom didn’t have any to speak of, at least to her. “30 feet,” she said with a shake of her head that turned back to looking out at the forests. They looked normal. “Can see better.” She peered out to try to do just that, scanning for any movement beyond bugs.

“I’m hungry,” Aelef complained.

“Ration sticks are in the back. Won’t be long now and you can grab one on the way out,” she said absently. “Looks like our scanners will only be good for doing mechanics.”

Aelef looked at the big bug smear. “Is there any bug spray that would repel those? I might become their dinner. Imagine a swarm of them!”

El looked at the smear. “Maybe there’s a tennis racquet left aboard that you can use for them.” Even more absently she chewed a nail. “Pack hunters. I’d be more concerned about a group of wolves.”

“You take the bugs. I’ll take the wolves,” Aelef said. They not so silently waited to see where they would land.

• El, Eng & Aelef

NE Bings kept the pod hovering in the air, while he waited for one of the upper officers to make a choice of where for them to land. Meanwhile he kept an eye out for more of the giant flying bugs.

OOC: Bump!

GM CockRoach

Isaac spoke “find us the best landing site you can find” he said looking for a barff bag he never did like shuttles.

Lt. Isaac Black (AC)

“Next to the shuttle if fine, NE.” Ari looked around and shook her head. If there was trouble, she wanted the shuttle nearby. Not kilometers away through unfamiliar terrain.

“I think it’s a better idea with such short range capabilities and unknown dangers. I want our getaway as close as possible.”

She laughed lightly and hoped the swarm of insects wasn’t something they’d have to endure. Bugs the size of one’s first wasn’t her idea if a great time.

“Everyone get ready, we don’t know what we’re getting into, so save the exploring till we know what we’re up against. Fascinating as the place is, we have a mission first.” She smiled then glanced at the others. “THEN we’ll collect specimens and such. Fair enough?” She knew, being a scientist at heart, that exploration probably itched in everyone.

Ari
CO