Day 1 | Night | Between the Rock and the Hard Place

[Efren Lanville]

Efren was also in camp. He spent most of the evening running about checking packs, making preparations for an early morning excursion to seek after their quarries.

He watched the Muadh dance for a short time in the midst of his preparation. It seemed familiar in some deep forgotten recesses of his mind.

His mind remained focused on the task at hand for the most part. Sitting in close enough proximity to one of the CO's to make sure he could respond if something was asked of him.

[Ambrose Pantazis]

snip

Ambrose wanted to say no, wanted to make a point of practicing good light discipline given the indications of likely hostiles in the area, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. The price a fresh cooked meal from one of Mutelli's master chefs would be exorbitant in the Imperium. A rubyberry cobbler wasn't the indulgence he'd prefer, but it wasn't exactly settling for crumbs.

"I think that would be great for morale if you don't mind Lady Gray."

[Lydia Storm]

There was less mercy from the girl to the side.

"The smoke will attract attention and I would prefer not to waste more effort shooting things down again" she said in an annoyed tone.

[Cuyler Gray]

She nodded in understanding to each of them. It was a risk, but it was hard to imagine drawing much more attention than their landing had. She made a small fire. Only what was necessary for a quick and simple cobbler.

"It isn't much, but it should help relieve some of the stress from today's adventure."

- - -
Day 1 | Night | Between the Rock and the Hard Place, Starting a Fire, Average? Survival (Cunning), Explorer's Knife: 3eA+1eB+2eD 1 success, 3 advantage


Day 1 | Night | Between the Rock and the Hard Place, Cooking, Average? Education (Intellect): 3eP+2eD 2 successes, 1 advantage


If possible, use Advantages to reduce smoke.

[Kiran Alsahar]

Snip

A human, but even more human. Perhaps it meant focusing beyond just one aspect of what made them human. It wasn't just self-discipline that differentiated humans from animals, but the phenomenon of the healed femur. Abandoning the idea of the survival of the individual fittest lay the foundations for human advancement to begin with.

They wondered if the mantas had been attacked from above before? Or regularly if it wasn't trained behavior? Was it just one more aspect of human interference in the natural adaptation of Caladan's fauna? Caladan had been inhabited for a very long time, after all. Were they in a jungle or a garden?

[Kannon]

The meditative moment induced by the dance-like exercise had passed, but the inquiries it undug from the direct contact of Kiran's unconscious with the world would remain. Perhaps not as a problem to solve, but a reality to experience.

A garden...

[Kiran receives 5 XP to spend in their Force Power tree]

[Eileen Marsh]

While the rest of the people were getting comfortable, Eileen was finishing some touches on her own hidey-hole. The night made it easier for her to see where the light could escape from her leaf and moss roof.

Just like her dad taught her

He'd be proud

[Ambrose Pantazis]

Ambrose gratefully took a helping of the cobbler and sat down to enjoy it.

Looking to Lydia he called out, "Come on Storm, you know you want some. Do you know what most nobles would pay for a taste of this?"

[Lydia Storm]

Lydia stood, picking up her bag.

"Don't call for me when you get attacked. You're bringing it on yourself."

She turned and moved further away from the camp.

[Laila Bridger]

From where she sat, Laila called out.

"Attacked again, you mean. Attacked again. Bracing, isn't it?"

[Kiran Alsahar]

Kiran takes a few deep breaths and opened their eyes, blinking a few times before rubbing out the circle they'd made with their foot.

They went over and sat down near Efren. "It's like he said, we've already drawn attention, and we're not leaving the area. No one's coming for a couple of fires that wasn't already on their way."

[Laila Bridger]

"I mean, if the fucking thopters crashing didn't draw out a direct response, I'd say, we're just being observed."

She stretched and then ambled over to get some cobbler.

"If I were doing shady shit out here, I wouldn't attack us anyway. I'd lay low and hope we remained focused on repairing a thopter and leaving with stories about how the wildlife and the... whatsit fields make this a bad place to venture."

[Lydia Storm]

There was no reply as the girl walked past the thropter and into the darkness.

/exit

[Kiran Alsahar]

"That said, there's more out here that's been here longer than the cartel. This place feels cultivated. I don't know if it's the Muadh here or something else, " Kiran mused as they watched Lydia leave.

[Laila Bridger]

"And if I were a local who wanted as little as possible to do with the Atreides, same rules apply. Lie low, hope these noisy idiots just fix their thopter and get the hell out."

[Ambrose Pantazis]

"Except, despite early setbacks, our goal isn't to stay undisturbed and get ourselves out of here. We've got VIPs to make contact with and suspicious activities to investigate. Mission stays the same.

So, we'll let them think we're passerbys for now, but lets not fool ourselves too."

[Cuyler Gray]

"Will those VIPs be hiding from us, too?" Cuyler asked.

[Bernard Martikova]

"I... yeah Bern." He shook his head ruefully. "Just peachy." He looked back at the big bastard and smiled. "Matter of fact when you get a moment, you and I should talk tonight."

"Yeah, sure." Bernard says with a smile. He did want to check in with the CO first, but he could spare a few minutes talking with his kid brother. "I got some time now. Camp seems to be in some order, at least." He motions to the side of the camp to have their private chat.

[Laila Bridger]

She rolled her eyes at the pilot.

"There's a difference between what they probably know about our intentions and what we're actually doing. From what I hear, this was some sort of glorified toughen-the-kid-up camping trip, so unless they showed up waving big flags saying 'nobility,' the locals might not even know we're here for anyone important. But the chef makes a good point- do the people we're here for know any of us to look at us?"

[Ambrose Pantazis]

"I just want to make sure we don't fall into a gumption trap and work under the premise we're just aiming to get out of here. Our unfortunate landings changes little.

But yes, the VIPs will more than likely be hiding from us. The whole point of their trip was evasive tactics. The hunted will probably assume we're part of the training and the hunter will prioritize his charge. Although, he may scout us out to make sure we're not a threat."