Ch.2 Exxon Pumping Station #31

[Snapper]

"Definitely no chopper. Let's go down out of the cold."

Randy headed back to the rest of the team. "Amanda thinks we're missing a chopper."

"So what was the story with this skull?"

[Joajackson]

Amanda followed Randy below.

[BoyBlunder78]

To engrossed in the skull to realise that he was mumbling to himself Gavin looked up as Randy and Amanda walked in. Turning the skull over in his hands,"Well i can tell you that our friend ' Bob' here was a big bugger. About 10-15ft tall and judging by the base of the skull, bi-pedal which tracks with what we know and seen from his comrades."

[Mr. Handy]

"My guess is someone took the chopper to try to escape," says Benjamin. "If we could find it, we could do that ourselves, if one of us can fly it."

[Snapper]

"Two and a half million years ago, there were 15 foot tall people, or humanoids or whatever? Is that back in, like, neanderthal times? Were our ancestors gorillas with clubs at that point? I didn't think our ancestors were bigger than us."

"I feel like I would remember reading about 15 foot tall homo-somethings. That would have made an impression even to a dumb kid like me."

"What it mostly makes me think of is the sasquatch legends."

[Mr. Handy]

"The Nephilim could get that big," says Benjamin. "They're the monstrous offspring of fallen angels and human women. Goliath is probably the most well-known of them, but he was a mere 9 feet and 4 inches. Relatively small as giants go. Og the king of Bashan had a bed that was thirteen and a half feet long and six feet wide. Granted, he may not have been quite that big himself."

[BoyBlunder78]

"Well whatever they are, at least one of them has been stalking us and judging by the playful snowball fight we had the the other day....i think there is a possibility it brought down our plane and maybe..maybe our mossing helio." Gavinsays looking over the team.

[Snapper]

After giving Ben a professionally concerned look, Randy shook his head in confusion.

"I don't understand how this has played out. The Exxon staff out here find a cave closed for two and a half million years, where they find this big skull."

"Which would be an interesting and even exciting discovery except Amanda's bosses don't want the news getting out and stuffing up their plans for the pumping station. So far, so, umm, possible at least."

"But then we get to the mass, grisly destruction of human bodies, and giant snowballs. What are we saying? The same giants are responsible? And these giants have been hiding up here all along, and have never been seen by anyone, including the native Canadian tribes? Or they have been hiding in the cave for millions of years and have now been freed to run a mock. "

"Is there a third option I've missed, because the first two don't seem very likely."

[BoyBlunder78]

Still holding the skull, staring into its eye sockets. Gavin says ine word."Sasquatch."

[Mr. Handy]

"Whatever it is, they're not all dead like this one," says Benjamin. "I guess they must have been very angry by people disturbing their remains, and they're responsible for the slaughter we saw. I wouldn't bet on them being able to tell one human from another too well. The Earth First group probably had nothing to do with the dig, but they still got murdered."

[Joajackson]

"Very well, we are talking about giants with anti-air capabilities that want us all dead because some idiots got into their home and stole their grandpas. Very well... We are dealing with superhumans with at least 1910s technology, that want us dead. Do we engage guerrilla style until we get reinforcements or do we try to retreat? While I am tasked to be security leader, this shit is absolutely over my clearence and jurisdiction."

[Mr. Handy]

"Retreat to where?" asks Benjamin. "The only way that might work is if we evacuate by air, and they've already shown the capability of dealing with that. We need to get the radio fixed first, which means finding a soldering iron. Then we can get out a message and call in help, but if they come in by air, they'll end up in the same situation we are. Once the enemy knows we're here, I don't think any amount of defenses will keep them out. Going toe to toe with them doesn't sound like a good idea either, though our weapons may give us an edge. So far they've been waging guerrilla warfare against us. Just waiting for them to come to us sounds like a recipe for failure. After we get the radio working, we may need to head out to the dig site and find out exactly what we're dealing with here. Fixing the broken snowcat could help there. Or we could simply evacuate in the snowcats once they're both working. But we won't want to actually go anywhere at night. Once the sun comes up, then we can travel."

[Snapper]

OOC:   How far away does sunset look?

[BoyBlunder78]

"This whole area is its kill zone, it blends in perfectly to its surroundings, the sightings we have seen or heard have been more a fluke than through actual skill. Day or night it has the advantage and is single minded in its actions. It isolated the base. It trashed all communication. He'll its made a helicopter disappear! Whatever we decide we have to assume that it is expecting us. There is no low risk action! What's the weather like outside?"

[Philulhu]

OOC:   Sunset is roughly 30 minutes away. The wind is still blowing a gale and snow is still falling.

[Snapper]

"Basic rule of scouting survival is get your shelter sorted early. Do we want to set up a camp somewhere for the night, before it gets dark?"

"My vote would be the cellar or the server room or the manager's office, if we move him out, obviously. Warm, access to a bathroom, several exits but defensible. The cellar has food too."

"Plan B is keep searching this place in the dark. But we're all exhausted after the last few days and likely to start making mistakes."

[Lost_King]

“I’d say the cellar is probably our best option. If we have to defend the manager’s office, the server room could get damaged; it’s too close for comfort. Same with being in the server room - we can’t risk damaging those computers before we have a chance to fix the radio.

If I understand correctly, we wouldn’t survive a direct attack, but some of us might be able to escape amidst the chaos. If we’re considering tactics, we want to give the survivors of any conflict as much of a chance to get out of here as we possibly can.”

[Philulhu]

“Are you saying we’re gonna die?!” cried Bill. “I thought you were a rescue mission?! You’ve got guns, haven’t you?!” With shaking hands, he pullled out his hip flask, then thought better of having a drink, and put it away again.

[Mr. Handy]

"We do have guns," says Benjamin, "better guns than these folks had, and some of us have excellent military training too. Plus we know a little about what to expect from the enemy. Securing the cellar for the night sounds good to me. I believe it has multiple entrances and exits, so we won't get trapped down there. We'll always have a way to retreat."

[BoyBlunder78]

"Some of us wont survive a direct attack.." Gavin taps his splint,"In the chaos, 'some' of us can escape." taps his splint again." Sais it before, law of the jungle, leave the lame behind, 'all adequate military training'?", looking at Bill , "Well kid, they are pretty well saying we are FUBAR'D!" Shaking his head he looks at Harold, "Well fuck you very much!