As Gyn wheels the Pantala around, its weapons strike the other ship, disabling it. Like the previous ship, it briefly ceases moving before tearing itself to pieces.
Scanning the wreckage of the vessels, Yamah finds no signs of Drift technology, suggesting that the drones were deployed from either another ship or the planet.
"Yes! Nice shooting, Greist!" Alorea throws her arms around the lashunta and gives him a hug.
She looks over Yamah's shoulder at the readout from the scans. "What were short-range drones like that doing out here? And where's the ship they belonged to? And what's an 'Azlanti'?"
Yamah performs a drumroll with both thumbs on a solid part of the interface in front of him when Alorea picks his brain. "I can only hypothesize as to what those drones were doing here: to intercept us and prevent us from reaching the planet. As to who they belong to, the Azlanti ... think big, bad and silent."
Oh, he doesn't like where this train of thought is going, but now that the train is catching up on speed, there's no stopping it. "If they are Azlanti, it would explain why none of us know the tech. If they are Azlanti, it would explain why they got no qualms using violence against us. But who knows, maybe it's a gang or a corporation doing something illegal? Surely we can't be having that much bad luck, right?"
As if.
"Yamah, can you get any readings on the colony from here, or are we too high up?" Gyn watches the wreckage float away with an anxious look on his face.
Before Gyn is done making the request, Yamah is already slaving away at the console to make it so. "Will try, Gyn, but don't hold your hopes up. Did we take any serious damage?"
Greist returns Alorea's hug. "And you, my friend."
He looks around, smiling. "To all of us, really. Nicely done, all. We're alive, and they are presumably not. So well done."
Yamah is able to find the colony's location without much effort. The colony itself is difficult to see through the fog, but the sensors show that the colony consists of several prefabricated housing modules, and has just over 100 life signs, most of which are human. Incongruous with the rest of the colony is a large building in the center that more closely resembles a fortress than a dwelling, and doesn't resemble any kind of Pact Worlds architecture. On the top are a pair of starship-scale cannons positioned to defend against any encroaching starships.
Seeing the cannons when the view on the display shifts to show them, Ainsemseo says "That can't be good. That building is probably where those drones were based at. Can anyone estimate the range of those cannons?"
"Perhsps it would be safer to land a fair distance away and approach the colony on foot?" Alorea offers.
Quite a few hm's and hrhrh's come out of Yamah as he studies the sensor's readings and listens to his companions discussing what to do next. "I agree with Alorea's assessment of the situation. Those cannons are meant to take on fliers, so at the very least, will break even with anything the Pantala brings to the field. I don't want to doubt our baby, but I'd put my money on those cannons if we went head to head with them."
Gyn searches for a good landing spot not too close or too far from the colony to set the Pantala down.
"I'm not against a good walk! Looking forward to seein' what this planet has in store."
"Agreed. A walk would be welcomed, and give us a chance to assess the situation further."
Having said this, Greist stands from the weapons console and stretches, rolling his head gently from side to side, then closes his eyes. The mote floating around his head flares for a moment. Greist's eyes open, and he smiles.
"Shall we, then?"
"Yes, let us land a ways away from the colony. While I won't particularly like the walk, it is much preferable to being shot out of the sky." Ainsemseo will then begin gathering what little belongings of hers are currently in the room.
Yamah is easily able to find a small clearing in the forest a few miles east of the colony, and Gyn is able to land the ship without any issues. The walk itself should take less than an hour.
out a humanoid shape running through the fog.
Once the ship has landed, Alorea suits up in her second skin armor and straps her laser rifle onto her back. She breathes deeply of the cool air of the forest, marveling at all the trees looming around her.
Her cybernetic eyes whir as she picks out the figure in the fog. "Hey! There's somebody there!" she says in a sharp whisper, pointing the silhouette out to her companions.
Upon landing, Ainsemseo will have put on her second skin armor before gathering the rest of the gear to take with her. She will leave behind her hygiene kit and field rations. However, she will be taking along Cubbers, safe in his Pet Carrier. (This is mostly to ensure that he does not mess up the ship while they are gone)
Looking in the direction that Alorea pointed, Ainsemseo speaks in a whisper as well. "I think that I can see them as well. Should we call out to whoever it is?"
Greist also dons his armor and collects his things, checking his sidearm and the items in his pack. As they walk, he notices the movement as Alorea calls it out.
"Agreed.", he murmurs. "There is definitely someone running over there."
He reaches up and pulls his mote to his hand, but does not call upon it yet.
A twitchy finger - a tick of his or an indicator that he's anxious? - repeatedly taps on the side of his pulsecaster pistol. In his other hand, Yamah holds a survival knife. If you didn't know any better, you'd half expect him to be some sort of pirate.
"It's running, so, it either has somewhere to be, or something it is trying to stay away from. I say we move forward, slowly, and see if we can catch its trail or intercept whatever is after it."
As the figure runs along a path more or less parallel to the group, two more figures come into view, following, but slower, as if they were in armor. The first figure suddenly turns, moving toward the Pantala's crew.
"Heads up! I think they spotted us!"
Alorea flaps her wings and flies up to the branches of a nearby tree. Her talons grip the branch and she unlimbers her laser rifle, holding it up and at the ready in case a fight breaks out.
Yamah immediately bolts for something that might soak a laser bolt or two. "Quick, find cover."
He has the feeling that the armored figures who spotted them aren't here to have a casual conversation about the weather.
Gyn packs up all his worldly belongings into a sturdy (if travel-stained) internal frame backpack, carrying enough supplies for a week or more of wilderness living. Stepping out of the ship's airlock, he breathes deeply of the misty forest air. "That's the stuff! I hope our stroll is more peaceful than our flight."
Gyn strains to see what his crewmembers see, not spotting the figure in the mist until it changes course and darts towards them. Thinking quickly, he darts into a bush, using the foliage to hide his presence. From his leafy vantage point, Gyn quietly draws his pistol.
Greist's brow furrows slightly in concentration, and suddenly the glowing mote in his hand changes shape, elongating and thinning out until what remains is a long, slender sword made of scintillating energy in his hand.
He lowers the sword to his side, and waits for the runner to approach.
Seeing the first figure veering towards the group, Ainsemseo will back away slightly. She will be trying to keep Greist between herself and those approaching them. As she sees him draw forth his solar weapon, she will retrieve her rifle from her back, but will keep it lowered at her side.
The figure finally becomes visible as he breaks through the veil of mist, revealing himself to be a human dressed in an environmental suit, holding a pistol. He visibly relaxes upon seeing Griest and Ainsemseo, despite Griest's solar energy sword. "Are you from the supply ship?" he asks, glancing briefly behind him.
Looking him up and down, Ainsemseo will try to get a sense of the man as she answers him. "Yes, we are from the supply ship. Who are those people chasing after you? What is happening here?"
Alorea keeps her weapon trained on the other figures, letting Ainsemseo handle the discussion.
Equal parts optimism and naivety, Yamah holsters his pistol and lets Ainsemseo do the talking. It seems trouble is afoot, but at least they didn't run into it headfirst. Sort of.
For the moment, Gyn maintains his stealthy position in the brush.
'Semseo can handle this. Until the shooting starts. Then I'll surprise 'em! Classic bush-rat.
Greist stands alongside Ainsemseo, content to let his friend do the talking. His expression calm, he watches the other figures as they approach.
In the stars there is peace. In the stars there is chaos. The stars are the primal forge of creation, and the cold fury of destruction. The stars are within me, as I am within the stars.
"The colony was taken over by humans calling themselves the Azlanti. I'm trying to get away to send a distress message."
He is interrupted by the crack of a rifle as two humans in strange armor emerge from the mist and open fire with their rifles.
Greist yells, "Take cover!" and runs due west, placing the rocks between him and the shooters. He closes his eyes, concentrating for a moment.
Alorea's eyes glow as her exocortex designates the closest soldier as her target. She raises her rifle and opens fire!
Cover? Right! Yamah draws his pulsecaster, and as he has no clear line of sight to his foes, runs forward towards cover. There, at the rocks, he presses himself against the cold and uncaring stone and waits for the right time to step out and strike.
Gyn creeps forward, sticking to the thick foliage despite the tricky footing. Pistol in hand, he lobs a rock to the far side of the clearing, hoping to distract one of the soldiers before taking his shot.
Gyn's not accustomed to aiming his gun at people, and the shot goes wide.
Taking Greist's advice, Ainsemseo runs to take cover behind the nearby protrusion of soil and flora. Aiming at the nearest of the two soldiers, she will fire once with her rifle.
Alorea's shot strikes her target and leaves a smoking wound on here shoulder.
The colonist moves to take cover, as do the two soldiers. One fires back at Alorea, while the other fires at Griest over the rock outcropping. Their shots fly wild as they move, however, and the both miss.
Staying behind cover, Ainsemseo will again fire at the nearer of their two assailants.
Yamah sidesteps the corner but fails to find an angle. There's but one thing and that's to push up further. He goes right around the rock until he finds the line of sight he's been looking for. Come on, don't fail me now.
Alorea fires twice more, but both blasts burn into the ground by her target.
Greist moves quickly around the side of the rocks, rushing out to face their assailants. He brings his glowing blade up and across, in a diagonal slash, but his movement throws his form off, and he swings wide.
Ainsemseo’s shot strikes the soldier directly in her already wounded shoulder, and she crumples to the ground.
Bursting from the underbrush, Gyn scampers across the clearing, scooping up a handful of bugs as he runs. Pressing his back against the rock, he flings the insects at the soldier, hoping to distract them before his attack.
Gyn's trickery with bugs works, if only for a brief instant, and his shot catches the soldier off guard. Yamah manages to get around his enemy's cover and lands a glancing shot. As Griest advances, the remaining soldier scrambles back, and his shot hits only dirt.
Greist steps up to the remaining soldier, sweeping his blade up from the ground, moving low and across his foe's centerline.
Alorea refocuses her combat tracking on the remaining foe. She takes aim and fires!
Once again Yamah finds himself in a bad position. His finger slips away from the trigger as he relocates to another rock, but where he's busy moving about, his companions are using their time to blow the last remaining Azlanti to the next dimension.
Seeing an opportunity, Gyn runs to flank the remaining soldier, pinning them between the ysoki's fervor and Greist's starblade. Tossing a rock at the back of their head, Gyn then attempts to use his pistol-mounted knife to stab the antagonist in the back of the knee.
The second soldier falls under a multitude of attacks from the group.