[Begin a Session: (88) Peril lurks ahead or just out of view]
Breaker's Log - Day 23
"In order for us to prepare this treatment, you will have to travel into the rainforest and gather enough of the plants to do so."
I thought that was the bad news. The good news was that I'd have an ATV and would be accompanied by a naturalist who could help me to locate and identify the plants. No, the bad news was that the predatory fauna we might encounter were not the most dangerous species out there. There were other species that were nocturnal, and even more frightening. If we couldn't complete the mission and be back to the compound by nightfall, the job would become significantly more perilous.
We spent the evening preparing the ATV for the mission, loading up rations, water, protective gear, sampling equipment and various other supplies. We were ready to roll out at the break of dawn.
[Scene Challenge: "Gather Petrichor Orchid" (Formidable)]
[Begin the Scene: Standard clock (6 segments)]
My guide on this mission was a naturalist by the name of Dr. Lowell Mackenson, but everyone just called him "Mack". He was a middle-aged gentleman who had clearly spent most of his life outdoors. His skin was deeply tanned and his features were rugged. Yet it was clear that no excursion was routine to Mack - each foray was an opportunity for wonder and discovery.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +Companion. 1+4+1 vs 5/5. Strong Hit with Match. +2 Momentum, +1 Forward, Mark Progress (1)]
I drove the ATV while Mack kept an eye out and directed me. His policy was that a careful, watchful advance would yield better results than a hasty one that might end in a dangerous situation. When we reached the denser part of the rainforest, where we would begin to find these orchid tubers, I slowed down and approached more carefully.
Mack whispered excitedly and pointed to a bright pink plant along the trail. We dismounted, Mack keeping watch as I carefully dug down around the root of the plant and extracted the tubers. Mack had told me what "orchid" meant, and as I dug up the plant I could see exactly why. We put the plant in the specimen container and drove on.
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Forward. 2+4+1 vs 2/6. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (2)]
Not too far along the trail, we located another cluster of orchids. Mack's guidance and vigilance were very helpful. His scoped hunting rifle was reassuring, too. As far as I could tell, we were making good progress.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, 3+4 vs 5/8. Weak Hit. +1 Forward]
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Forward. 3+4+1 vs 3/7. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (3)]
I was beginning to wonder it this was going too easily. It was barely midmorning and we had already gathered about a third of the supply that Dr. Jeffries and her team would need to make the serum. Mack cautioned me about becoming complacent - out here, he said, it could kill you. From his tone of voice and the look on his face, I got the idea that he had personally witnessed the consequences.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, 3+4 vs 4/5. +1 Forward]
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Forward. 2+4+1 vs 9/10. Burn Momentum (reset to 2). Weak Hit. Mark Progress (4), Mark Clock (1)]
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, 5+4 vs 1/2. Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (4), +1 Forward]
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Forward. 2+4+1 vs 4/9. Weak Hit. Mark Progress (5), Mark Clock (2)]
The orchids were becoming less abundant. Mack showed me signs where some had been dug up and eaten, the bright pink flowers trampled into the loam. The tracks were fresher and we could hear some kind of call in the distance. Mack became even more attentive to our surroundings.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +2+4 vs 2/4. Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (6), +1 Forward]
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Companion, +Forward. 2+4+2 vs 4/7. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (6).]
It had been about four hours, and Mack suggested that this would be a good time to take a break for lunch, before we got any closer to the hunting grounds of the various nasties we might soon encounter.
He asked me about growing up on Mirage, and had many questions about the climate, the wildlife and the varieties of sparse vegetation. He admitted that it didn't sound like a favorable place for human habitation, but I got the sense he might still want to visit and explore some day.
As far as what life was like on a world like this? I didn't really need to ask him - I was getting hands-on experience today. Hopefully, I wouldn't learn too much about the local wildlife. I knew to avoid going into the water, to watch out for insect mounds, and to avoid overhanging branches. Looking up before kneeling down to dig was already becoming second nature.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +Companion. 5+4+1 vs 4/9. Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (8), +1 Forward.]
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Forward. 3+4+1 vs 2/5. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (7).]
We continued deeper into the forest. Mack was becoming more wary, and each time I stopped to dig, he stood close by, rifle at the ready.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +1+4 vs 8/0. Miss. Mark Clock (3). Pay the Price]
We hadn't noticed that the birds and other small arboreal creatures had become quiet, so we didn't even hear it before it was on us. There was a sound like a cross between a hiss and a growl, and then a shadowy form dove down onto the ATV.
* * * * *
(For combat within the scene challenge, I am staying with the challenge moves and within the clock, but using a separate progress bar for the creature's Health. Ticks will be marked on the clock as appropriate.)
[Defeat Shadowcat (Dangerous)]
[Face Danger: +Edge, +Companion. 1+3+1 vs 3/4. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (2)]
Mack dove out of his seat just as the claws of the great cat passed close enough to tear off his hat. His rifle was still in its scabbard, but he had drawn his pistol as he tucked and rolled. I skidded the ATV to a stop and dismounted, drawing my own pistol and taking aim on the creature.
[Face Danger: +Edge, +Companion. 1+3+1 vs 7/9. Burn Momentum (reset to 2). Strong Hit. Mark Progress (4)]
Frak, but this thing was fast! We had to keep on the move, dodging its lunges and swipes of its razor-sharp claws. I took careful aim, waiting for a good opening. My shots struck home. The creature was slowing, but only a little. It was clearly more concerned with harming us than with the harm we had done to it.
[Face Danger: +Edge, +Companion. 3+3+1 vs 1/3. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (6)]
Mack and I circled the creature in opposite directions. It paused, trying to choose its target. It leaped toward Mack and we caught it in a crossfire. It was bleeding pretty badly now.
[Face Danger: +Edge, +Companion. 3+3+1 vs 2/6. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (8)]
We were fortunate that this beast appeared to be hunting by itself. If we had come across a pack of them, or even a pair, we would have been in even greater danger. The beast was starting to limp. It growled at us and pounced at me...
[Face Danger: +Edge, +Companion. 4+3+1 vs 5/5. Strong Hit with a Match. Mark Progress (10). End the fight.]
There was a loud CRACK and the animal fell to the ground at my feet, unmoving. I backed carefully away from it. Mack cautiously crept forward, his rifle still at the ready. He nudged it with the muzzle of his weapon, but as we looked closer, it was clear that it had been a killing shot.
"Let's get out of here," Mack said, hopping into the ATV. "We'll try a different path. We don't want to be around here if anything else comes to investigate the commotion."
* * * * *
Mack told me a bit more about the creature as we doubled back on the trail. It was called a shadowcat, a solitary hunter even stealthier than a typical great cat. It had the capability to amplify the darkness around it, and unless one was looking directly at it, the beast was almost impossible to spot before it attacked. This is how it had managed to get the drop on us and ruin Mack's favorite hat.
Our work still wasn't done, and the battle had cost us precious time. It was now early afternoon, and even after we gathered enough tubers, we still needed to get back to the compound before nightfall.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, 1+4 vs 9/9. Miss with a Match. Mark Clock (4). Pay the Price - Peril (34) Disturbing remains or evidence of death.]
[Endure Stress -3 (2 Spirit). +Heart, 5+2 vs 4/8. Lose Momentum -1 (1), +1 Spirit (3)]
We turned onto a different trail, but after a couple of kilometers, Mack motioned for me to stop. He rushed over to the edge of the trail and stopped abruptly. He was visibly shaken. I walked up to see what he had found. There was a heap of something tan - as I got closer, I realized it was tattered khaki fabric. I could see the remnants of a Project Plowshare patch.
"It's Keats," he said softly. "He was out on a botanical survey a few weeks ago and never reported in. Don't get too close, those little buggers are driver ants."
He pointed to a spot in the pile of bones. "Looks like he broke his leg, and stumbled right through that mound over there while he tried to limp back to the compound. I wish we could bring him back, but it's not safe to touch the body. I'll log the position."
Mack snapped some images with his handcomp and made note of the coordinates, in the hopes that the Project could send out a recovery team at a later time. We stood for a moment in silence, and then mounted up to resume our mission.
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Companion. 5+3+1 vs 4/8. Mark Progress (8)]
We carefully made our way back to an area where the orchids grew, and found another cluster of them. Mack was even more vigilant as I dug up more plants.
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, 6+4 vs 2/9. Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (3), +1 Forward]
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Forward. 3+4+1 vs 2/6. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (9)]
The sample container was nearly full, and it was mid-afternoon. We wanted to gather as many tubers as we were able, to be sure that the researchers could manufacture as much of the serum as possible.
Mack looked up at the sky and checked his chronometer. "We'd better hustle," he said. "We've only got a couple of hours until dusk."
[Secure an Advantage: +Wits, +5+4 vs 1/2. Strong Hit. +2 Momentum (5), +1 Forward]
[Face Danger: +Wits, +Forward. 3+4+1 vs 3/6. Strong Hit. Mark Progress (10)]
[Finish the Scene: 10 vs 5/6. Strong Hit.]
We managed to gather enough to fill the container to the top as Mack's chrono chirped. "Time to head back, mate," he said to me. "Hope we've got enough."
We reached the gate just as the yellow star of Canopus sunk below the horizon.
[End a Session: Will the samples that Breaker and Mack gathered be enough for the Project to synthesize a treatment? How long can the afflicted Thalassians hold out? +1 Momentum (6)]