Track 9: Born to Be Wild

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Freeze!" Zara says. (Liz has the gun and the mace, so Zara has nothing to enforce that with, but wants to keep the guy's attention on her instead of on Liz).

This empty threat brings only a chuckle from the man, which distracts him long enough for Liz to sneak up on him. He manages to dodge the mace, probably because it's hard to use it inside the crowded hut without hitting somebody else, but his has no appetite for facing a pistol.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Liz tries to mace the goon, but he moved too fast. "Drop your weapon, please," she says, training her gun on him.

The fellow complies.

"What's the game, lady? There ain't no banks to rob around here."

The man who was just barely knocked out manages to rouse himself enough to speak.

"They're after the stuff. Can't let 'em get it." He then collapses back into a stupor.

"Yeah?" the other asks. "Good luck. You'll need it. Maybe you can handle a few two-bit hired hands, but the guys with the stuff play rough. And I hear them comin' now."

His words are not merely a bluff, as the roar of an approaching helicopter of appreciable size comes from outside. The blast from its rotors thrashes the coconut trees as it draws near, approaching a flat, grassy area to land.

[jp1885]

“So who hired you? What’s the stuff? Answer quickly, there’s a good chap,” growls Tony, eyeing the helicopter warily.

[Mr. Handy]

Liz hands off the mace to Zara and takes out her EMP device, using it on the helicopter. "I'm afraid your mates may have a bit of a rough landing," she says.

[SunlessNick]

Zara scoops up the pistol of the guy Liz is covering (this one she keeps), and proceeds to tie him up - she doesn't bother with a gag, figuring there's no point in keeping pretending everything's normal. Once he's bound, she heads outside. Addressing the animal men, she says "Do you recognise me? Lota asked us to come. We're here to help you."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

“So who hired you? What’s the stuff? Answer quickly, there’s a good chap,” growls Tony, eyeing the helicopter warily.

"Delgado's the big boss, don't you know that? No reason to keep the stuff secret any more. You'll find out soon enough. It's whatyacallit, enriched U-two hundred somethin'. Ever hear of the Manhattan Project?"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Liz hands off the mace to Zara and takes out her EMP device, using it on the helicopter. "I'm afraid your mates may have a bit of a rough landing," she says.

Spoiler:

Let's see if the pilot can handle the landing. DEX 90Borderline failure . . .

Without warning, the helicopter begins veering wildly. Even over the roar of its rotors, the shouts of the men inside can be heard. It finally crashes to the ground, damaged but still in one piece. The shaken men inside wait for the rotors to cease spinning. Through a viewport in the spacious cargo area, it can be seen that two big, muscular fellows are struggling to lift a metal box of moderate size, evidently quite heavy.

"Come on, you mugs," yells the man seated next to the pilot. "We gotta get that stuff to the cave."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Zara scoops up the pistol of the guy Liz is covering (this one she keeps), and proceeds to tie him up - she doesn't bother with a gag, figuring there's no point in keeping pretending everything's normal. Once he's bound, she heads outside. Addressing the animal men, she says "Do you recognise me? Lota asked us to come. We're here to help you."

The animal people nod in recognition.

"They take Lota away," one fellow says. "Say kill if not work. We work, hard, hard, in the bad place, dig long time. You save Lota?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Yes, we'll save Lota," says Liz. "The stuff is enriched U-235, an isotope of uranium that can be used in the development of nuclear weapons."

[jp1885]

"Somehow I don't think a second brush with radiation will be particularly good for our health, or indeed anyone's. What say we relieve those chaps of their cargo and then rescue our hairy chums, hm? Question is... How...?"

[SunlessNick]

"Threaten to shoot their buddy?" Zara suggests, pointing at the thug who's outside the hut. [OOC: I can't remember, can Tony carry someone with him when he teleports?]

[Mr. Handy]

"We need to free and arm Lota's people first," says Liz. "They're a ready-made army. They can't use pistols, probably, but almost anything can be used as a club. It's okay for them to do that. Their law says not to spill blood, but clubbing someone unconscious need not spill any."

[SunlessNick]

Zara nods. Are the animal men restrained at all, or are they free to move?

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Threaten to shoot their buddy?" Zara suggests, pointing at the thug who's outside the hut.

The man laughs without mirth. "They'd run over the own grandmothers with a steamroller to keep that stuff. I ain't no martyr, but I ain't yellow either. Shootin' me won't get ya nothin'."

Spoiler:

[OOC: I can't remember, can Tony carry someone with him when he teleports?] No, just a small amount of weight; clothing, personal possessions, etc.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Zara nods. Are the animal men restrained at all, or are they free to move?

The beast folk, generally controlled with whips and the noise of gunfire, are unfettered. Understanding some of what is being said, some of them pick up rocks and coconuts.

Meanwhile, the two big men struggle with the heavy box.

"Are we supposed to lug this thing all the way to the cave?" one asks.

"Of course not," the man next to the pilot says. He emerges from the helicopter, dressed in light clothing. He wears a shoulder holster with a pistol. "Ramon's heard the chopper by now. He'll be here soon."

"He better be," the pilot says. "This baby ain't goin' nowhere. He's our only hope of getting off this chunk of rock in one piece."

They've been so busy, with the crash and unloading, that they haven't been paying any attention to the investigators or the beast folk, who are staring at them. The sound of an approaching motorboat comes from the nearby beach.

[jp1885]

"I think we need to get hold of that box before Ramon arrives; that'll give us a valuable bargaining chip. If we can get our friends to make a noise here and maybe draw some of the goons away, I can teleport behind them while you two girls sneak around the flanks with some of the sneakier-looking animal folk. Between us we can surround and jump them."

Having outlined his thoughts, he looks around to see if any of the animal folk have bows, slings or any kind of ranged weapons.

[SunlessNick]

"Who's good at sneaking?" Zara asks the beast men.

[Mr. Handy]

Liz puts her EMP device away, then ties up and gags their new prisoners. Then she takes back her mace now that Zara has a pistol too. "Sounds like a good plan," she says.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"I think we need to get hold of that box before Ramon arrives; that'll give us a valuable bargaining chip. If we can get our friends to make a noise here and maybe draw some of the goons away, I can teleport behind them while you two girls sneak around the flanks with some of the sneakier-looking animal folk. Between us we can surround and jump them."

Having outlined his thoughts, he looks around to see if any of the animal folk have bows, slings or any kind of ranged weapons.

It becomes obvious that throwing random objects is the most highly developed form of weaponry these beings possess. One of the animal folk tosses a large coconut at the man with the pistol.

Spoiler:

0nice throw! damage1ouch!

The nut hits the man directly on the head, knocking him on the ground unconscious. The one who threw it jumps up and down with glee and hoots a victory yell.

"Drop that thing and take care of these creeps!" the pilot shouts. "You know what to do." Considering caution to be a virtue, the fellow runs off to the beach, waving his arms at the approaching boat. Meanwhile the two big guys raise their fists and take swings at the nearest beast folk.


Neither of the big lugs is agile enough to land a punch, although if they do the results could be serious.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Who's good at sneaking?" Zara asks the beast men.

"We go," answer a couple of the more limber beast women.

Spoiler:

0

They both successfully sneak behind the heavy box, now set on the ground by the two big men, by running from one coconut tree to another.

The sound of the boat engine shutting down comes from the shore.